#88: Joey Santore Wants to Stop Humanity (and So Should You)

Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t

Joey Santore calls himself, among other things, “a mildly irreverent botanist with no credentials and no filter” and that’s a pretty apt description. Joey learned his crafts—equally botany and art with the odd Molotov cocktail of social criticism thrown in—by living them. His self-education, the same way that humans have been going about it for 99.99999% of our existence is a testament to the fact that if you want to know something, go out there and do it. Let’s not forget that while all academia (which Joey has referred to as “a fart in an elevator”) involves education, not all education involves academia.

Every answer to a question led to more questions.”

One of the really super nice parts here is that Joey invites us all along for the ride, sharing what he learns and the experience of learning it in a collection of impromptu seminars and field trips on his YouTube channel and on @crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt.

It might tell you a lot about Joey to learn that he has a tattoo of ruler marks on one hand so he can always measure finds out in the field. It might also tell you a lot about Joey to learn that he’s got a collection of alias’ beyond Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t that include personas like “Tony.” And speaking of Tony, he, and to a little bit of a lesser extent Joey, talks in a thick Chicago-ese that sounds like he’s ordering brats at a Bears game when he’s talking about stamens and stems.

But hit play on the podcast and you can hear for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

A VERY PARTIAL LIST OF SOME Things You May Learn

>> Climate Change USA. Where do we move?
>> Why aren’t PLANTS as sexy as ROBOTS?
>> The Super Nice Department of Unauthorized Forestry
>> Why and How to STOP HUMANITY. 🙂
>> Upping the act of being observant
>> True Fact: Fascinating people are easily fascinated.
>> The exciting adult playground that is the outdoors.
>> The joy that is iNaturalist
>> The context of geological timescale
>> One Question for two famous penis-obsessed billionaires.

Nice Links

• On Instagram @crime_pays_but_botany_doesnt
• Tweets of botany and art @joeysantore
• Find Joey’s merch with things like shirts that say “Botany Or Death” here (with the 100% money-back guarantee from the Super Nice Club)