Sweltering Heat Rediscovered

July 22 - August 6

This balmy episode features special guest Elijah Sobel, discussing swimming holes. Alexis and Kit chill out by finding ways to stay cool during record-breaking hot temperatures, focusing on “cooling things” such as iced tea, goldfish, and “uchimizu.” In Hiro's Corner, a refreshing look at the coolness of far-away twinkling lights.

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Sweltering Heat Spotify Companion Playlist

Swimming Holes and Elijah Sobel

“Where the River Deepens: Exploring Place-based Relationships Through the Swimming Hole Experience” by Elijah Sobel

Want to experience the river with Elijah? Check out his company in New Hampshire: North Country Kayak

About Elijah:

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Elijah fell in love with the White Mountains at an early age with ski trips to Tuckerman’s Ravine and hiking the Presidential Range.
When he was a child, his dad, David Sobel stuck him in the front of a whitewater canoe, and he ran his first Class III rapid at age seven. After attending the University of Vermont, Elijah moved to North Lake Tahoe, California. He spent seven years working in the outdoor recreation industry, honing his passion and craft for guiding individuals and groups in wilderness settings.
In 2019, Elijah relocated back to Bethlehem, New Hampshire and currently works for Holderness School. His excitement for paddling and experiences on the water is contagious, along with a strong focus on safety for everyone.
Inspired by an enduring sense of adventure and the possibilities of sharing his passion with others, Elijah is excited to bring guided trips for all skill levels to the North Country.

Poems Featured in this Episode

Summer Wind, by William Cullen Bryant

It is a sultry day; the sun has drank
The dew that lay upon the morning grass;
There is no rustling in the lofty elm
That canopies my dwelling, and its shade
Scarce cools me. All is silent, save the faint
And interrupted murmur of the bee,
Settling on the sick flowers, and then again
Instantly on the wing. The plants around
Feel the too potent fervours: the tall maize
Rolls up its long green leaves; the clover droops
Its tender foliage, and declines its blooms.

***

Hot Weather Philosophy (excerpt) by J. H. Harding

I only wish I could believe
While here in the flesh I moan,
That heat is cold and cold is heat,
I'd make a temperate zone...
I cannot... crawl from out my heated flesh
While winds blow through my bones.
Yet, I can dream of frost and snow,
Icicles and icebergs grand...

***

The first melon
shall it be cut into quarters
or into round slices?

— Basho

***

if someone comes
change into frogs!
cooling melons

— Issa

***

the clinking of ice
even this tea perspires
in sweltering heat

— Kit

***

Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of toast and tea

— T. S. Eliot

***

This edamame bean -
it flies for nine centimeters and then
enters my mouth

— Shiki

***

With a kitchen knife
choosing eels...
a cool evening

— Issa

***

Excerpt from The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame:

“The Mole wa