Podcast Summary: A Book with Legs – “Trent Preszler: Evergreen”

Podcast: A Book with Legs
Host: Smead Capital Management (Cole Smead)
Episode: Trent Preszler - Evergreen
Date: January 5, 2026
Guest: Trent Preszler, Author and Professor at Cornell University
Book Discussed: The Trees That Shaped America

Overview

In this episode, host Cole Smead speaks with author and professor Trent Preszler about his recent book, The Trees That Shaped America. Their wide-ranging conversation explores the botanical, economic, historical, and even spiritual significance of evergreen and coniferous trees in the development of the United States. The discussion covers the evolving role of evergreens—from fossil fuels to Christmas trees, from the backbone of early American industry to powerful symbols in cultural and religious traditions—while tracing the economic forces and ecological changes that have shaped and sometimes threatened forests throughout history. Preszler and Smead delve into forest management, the paradoxes of conservation, innovations in wood technology, and even the surprising social history of the lumber industry.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origin of Preszler’s Fascination with Evergreens

[01:51–03:41]

• COVID Inspiration: Preszler’s idea for the book originated during the first COVID Christmas, when he encountered spray-painted Christmas trees—far from the traditional “evergreen.” He learned the practice began as a way to cover up drought and heat blemishes and eventually became a novelty.
• Quote (Preszler): "So Evergreens aren't green anymore? Was the basic evergreen not enough?" (02:38)
• Business Implication: The move to treat Christmas trees as luxury goods—potentially requiring a “concierge service”—suggests a scarcity-driven rebranding.
• “We might be headed toward a future where we have a concierge service for real trees. They are incredibly rare... the industry itself has contracted 85-plus percent.” (Preszler, 04:39)

2. The Christmas Tree as Luxury, Commodity, and Icon

[03:46–08:37]

• Discussion about the luxury status of Christmas trees, changing supply and demand, and the Rockefeller Center tree selection process, which has developed into a spectacle with deep cultural significance.
• “Eric Powsey... just scouting for possible trees... literally pulls in someone's driveway and says, 'Hello, knock, knock, I'm the guy from Rockefeller Center. Can I cut down the gigantic Norway spruce in your front yard?'” (Preszler, 07:14)

3. Evergreen Ancestry – Archaeopteris and Fossil Fuels

[08:37–10:28]

• Explains the ancient origins of evergreen trees:
  • Archaeopteris, dating back 380 million years, collapsed and became the basis for coal.
  • “When we're digging up and burning coal... we are in effect reversing what happened in the Devonian... our economy is powered by fossilized Christmas trees.” (Preszler, 09:30)

4. Religious and Cultural Significance

[10:28–13:23]

• From pagan rituals to the Christian Christmas tradition, evergreen trees have provided a sense of hope and continuity through winter festivals.
• “The Christmas tree is secular and is now used as part of a holiday celebration for many different religions or even with people that don't have a religion at all.” (Preszler, 13:23)

5. The Unique Science and Material Benefits of Evergreens

[14:15–16:02]

• Cellular structure of evergreens explained; why their timber is so valued for construction (linear, LEGO-like cells).
• Turpentine as both an evolutionary adaptation (flammable for reproduction) and an industrial resource.
• “Their sexual reproduction depends on fire.” (Preszler, 16:02)

6. Deforestation and Resource Power – Historical and Modern

[17:11–19:05]

• The fall of ancient civilizations due to lack of forest resources, and the parallels today with minerals for batteries.
• “Rome collapsed in part because they ran out of trees... The Brits came to America in search of trees...” (Preszler, 18:02)

7. American Forests: Destruction and Regeneration

[20:30–22:14]

• Shift from deforestation for agriculture to contemporary forest regrowth in the Northeast, albeit with significant ecological differences.
• “We have more forest cover in the Northeast than we did 100 years ago... they may be forests no more than a swimming pool is a lake.” (Preszler, 21:58)

8. Forest Management: From Native Americans to Modern Policy

[22:38–27:03]

• Native Americans as sophisticated forest managers—controlled burns and forest “gardening”—contrary to the “wilderness untouched” mythology.
• “The original forests that the Pilgrims happened upon, they weren't virgin. Native Americans for tens of thousands of years were managing forests... burning parts... to create openings.” (Preszler, 22:55)
• Thinning practices and how modern sustainable forestry borrows from ancient wisdom.

9. Human Ingenuity and Logistical Feats

[28:12–31:00]

• The Chacoans (Ancient Puebloans) cut and carried hundreds of thousands of pine logs more than 40 miles using “tump lines”:
• “They would essentially walk two or three guys wide, maybe a 30 foot trunk, going across the desert with the trunk... suspended from their foreheads with tump lines.” (Preszler, 28:40)
• The evolution of sawmills from brutal labor to technical innovation (the circular saw).

10. Economic and Political History: White Pines and Revolution

[33:19–35:06]

• The high value of American white pines for the British navy, colonist resistance, the Pine Tree Riot—a forerunner to the American Revolution.
• “The American Revolutionary War really started with the pine tree riot, which happened a year before the Boston Tea Party...” (Preszler, 35:06)

11. Evergreen Wood: Democratizing Homeownership

[35:53–37:09]

• Balloon frame construction with standardized lumber like 2x4s revolutionized housing, allowing for mass building and homeownership.

12. Forest as Energy: Steam Age to Coal

[37:54–39:23]

• Early American reliance on wood for energy and its inefficiency compared to later innovations like coal.
• “A single steamboat could burn through... 70 to 100 cords of wood a week... that's a lot of wood. It's crazy and it's not efficient.” (Preszler, 38:33)

13. Charcoal, Kilns, and Timber Chemistry

[41:06–43:09]

• Charcoal production via pyrolysis and the intricate, water-filled structure of fresh-cut timber (compressed “drinking straws”).
• “Tree trunks are basically just compressed drinking straws, but billions of them… that's what gives wood its stringy and kind of tough quality...” (Preszler, 42:15)

14. Turpentine, Pencil Industry, and the Downside of Extraction

[43:27–46:24]

• Turpentine's diverse uses: ship-building (naval stores), furniture, industrial solvents, even questionable medicinal purposes.
• Cedar cruisers drove the massive pencil industry, consuming nearly all of America’s old-growth Eastern red cedars.

15. Species, Water, and Ecological Niche

[47:27–48:38]

• Different species’ adaptive traits—coastal redwoods absorb fog, inland sequoias rely on snowmelt; Sitka spruce loves bogs.

16. Redwoods, Sequoias, and the Lament of Loss

[48:38–51:41]

• The rapid exploitation of sequoias; Walt Whitman’s “Farewell, my brethren...” becomes a symbol for the endangered tree’s voice.
• “There are more giant sequoias growing in England today than there are in California in their native habitat.” (Preszler, 51:22)

17. Labor History: Diversity and Tragedy in Lumber Camps

[52:17–54:28]

• Surprising social history: 19th and early 20th-century lumber camps included many gay men and people of color, both marginalized in other sectors.
• “The timber cutting labor force... consisted primarily of queer men... and it was also racially quite diverse as well.” (Preszler, 52:23)
• Life was brutal and dangerous: “Lumberjacks had about a 50-50 chance of dying in a 10-year career in the forest.”

18. Fire, Building, and Modern Timber Innovation

[55:26–59:07]

• Fire as a historical threat (e.g., Chicago Fire) and modern innovations in fire-resistant timber construction (cross-laminated timber).
• “Concrete is the single most polluting substance on Earth... the more ways we can think of to substitute other materials for concrete, the better.” (Preszler, 56:55)
• Tradeoffs between timber panels: beauty, modularity, and carbon footprint vs. logistical costs.

19. The Dominant Trees of American Timber

[59:13–61:19]

• Douglas fir: hard, versatile, once used for homes, ships and war materials; now farmed intensively. Lobolly pines now dominate the southern timber industry.

20. America's Forest Wealth and the Paradox of Harvesting

[62:20–64:04]

• Ezra Cornell founded Cornell University from white pine timber land deals.
• The “Forester’s Paradox”—responsible, active management (including harvest and thinning) can increase overall forest health and biomass.

21. Cultural Trends: The Rise of the Artificial Christmas Tree

[64:04–66:48]

• From toilet brush trees to lifelike artificial models, driven by consumer demand.
• Preszler’s stance: buy real trees—support farmers, maintain open space, avoid more plastic and microplastic pollution.
• “Ten different trees that someone's not buying from a small family farmer who's growing real trees... it's our most renewable resource we've got.” (Preszler, 64:39)

22. Revaluing Natural Resources

[66:48–68:17]

• Discussion on the underpricing of American public lands, national parks, and the “America the Beautiful” passes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Our economy is powered by fossilized Christmas trees."
  — Trent Preszler (09:30)

• "We have more forest cover in the Northeast than we did 100 years ago... they're forests. They may not be a forest any more than a swimming pool is a lake.”
  — Trent Preszler (21:58)

• “It's a paradox that you harvest more of something and it actually grows better.”
  — Trent Preszler, on the Forester’s Paradox (63:17)

• "Concrete is the single most polluting substance on Earth...water is number one and concrete is number two."
  — Trent Preszler (56:55)

• "The Christmas tree is secular and it is now used as part of a holiday celebration for many different religions or even with people that don't have a religion at all."
  — Trent Preszler, summarizing the 1984 Supreme Court decision (13:23)

• “The timber cutting labor force... consisted primarily of queer men... and it was also racially quite diverse as well.”
  — Trent Preszler (52:23)

• “You literally are then only burning the carbon. And because it's concentrated like that, you get a hotter, faster fire than you would with just plain wood.”
  — Trent Preszler, on charcoal and pyrolysis (41:06)

• "There are more giant sequoias growing in England today than there are in California in their native habitat."
  — Trent Preszler (51:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• COVID Christmas & Luxury Trees – 01:51–06:52
• Rockefeller Center Tree Selection – 07:07–08:37
• Origins of Evergreens & Fossil Fuels – 08:49–10:28
• Religious & Cultural Evolution – 10:28–13:23
• Supreme Court Ruling: Secular Symbol – 13:23
• Material Science/Timber Use – 14:15–16:02
• Deforestation & Historical Parallels – 17:11–18:02
• Forest Recovery in the Northeast – 20:30–22:14
• Native American Forest Management – 22:38–24:44
• Ancient Log Transport - Chacoan People – 28:12–31:00
• Pine Tree Riot & Founding of US Currency – 33:19–35:06
• Balloon Framing Revolutionizes Housing – 35:53–37:09
• Wood-Powered Steamboats, Coal Transition – 37:54–39:23
• Structure & Chemistry of Wood – 41:06–43:09
• Cedar Cruisers & Pencils – 44:38–46:24
• Redwoods, Sequoias, and Walt Whitman – 48:38–51:41
• Queer & Diverse Lumberjack Workforce – 52:17–54:28
• Fire, Timber, and Modern Housing – 55:26–59:07
• Douglas Fir & Loblolly Pine – 59:13–61:19
• Forester’s Paradox – 63:17
• Artificial vs. Real Christmas Trees – 64:04–66:48
• Valuing Public Land & National Parks – 66:48–68:17

Additional Resources

• Preszler on Instagram: @preszlerwoodshop (68:33)
• Book: The Trees that Shaped America by Trent Preszler

Conclusion

This episode offers a rich, multidimensional exploration of forests and their legacy in America—full of remarkable history, scientific insight, economic lessons, and lively observations. Preszler’s contributions invite listeners to rethink their relationship to forests, the materials of modern life, the persistence of natural resources, and the values embedded in both our landscape and our traditions.

For anyone interested in how value investing, history, and environmental stewardship intersect, this is an episode not to miss.