The Norton Library Podcast
Thoreau is Punk! (Walden, Part 1)
Sep 07, 2026
Season 5
Episode 3
The Norton Library
In Part 1 of our discussion on Henry David Thoreau's Walden, we welcome editor Jedidiah Britton-Purdy to discuss the relevance of Thoreau's questions about modernity to today's AI debate, the similarities and differences between Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and common misconceptions about Thoreau's life in the woods.
Jedediah Britton-Purdy is Professor of Law at Duke University and a scholar of environmental and constitutional law. His books on environmental themes include After Nature and This Land Is Our Land. He has also written about Henry David Thoreau in venues including The Atlantic, The Nation, and n+1. He grew up in West Virginia.
To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition of Walden and Other Writings, go to https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393870701.
Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.
Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at nortonlibrary@wwnorton.com or find us on Twitter at @TNL_WWN and Bluesky at @nortonlibrary.bsky.social.