Podcast Summary: NPR's Book of the Day
Episode: ‘Bog Queen’ cherishes Earth’s mossy wetlands and the bodies they preserve
Date: November 18, 2025
Host: Scott Simon (with introduction by Andrew Limbong)
Guest: Anna North – Author of "Bog Queen"
Episode Overview
This episode explores Anna North’s latest novel, Bog Queen, which entwines forensic anthropology, environmentalism, and a deep reverence for bogs—the mossy wetlands that both decompose and preserve. North discusses her fascination with bog bodies, the environmental significance of peatlands, and the parallel lives of her two protagonists: a present-day anthropologist and a Druid woman from the Iron Age. The conversation delves into the moral and ecological dilemmas of digging up the past and invites listeners to consider what it means to care for both people and the planet across millennia.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
The Mystery and Meaning of Bogs
- Preservation Power of Bogs:
- Anna North describes her initial amazement at seeing bog bodies in the British Museum:
"How amazing. This is a real person who lived and breathed thousands of years ago. And I can still see him. And we can learn so much about him and his life from his body and from studying him." (Anna North, 02:51)
- Bogs, contrary to common belief, don’t just decompose—they also preserve, sometimes for millennia.
- Anna North describes her initial amazement at seeing bog bodies in the British Museum:
- The Landscape as a Character:
- North's firsthand visit to bogs inspired depictions in her novel, noting both their beauty and their ecological fragility:
"There are spots of real biodiversity that could come back if protected properly. So I really got obsessed with bogs themselves and with the moss that creates the bogs and the way it can operate as a colony, not as a single organism." (Anna North, 03:29)
- She emphasizes humankind’s tendency to neglect the non-human world's agency and impact.
- North's firsthand visit to bogs inspired depictions in her novel, noting both their beauty and their ecological fragility:
Protagonists and Parallel Lives
- Agnes the Anthropologist’s Journey:
- Driven by “care and responsibility toward the dead,” Agnes finds her worldview and sense of duty expanding as she investigates the ancient body.
"She sort of took shape in my mind is her sense of care and responsibility toward the dead and her sense that our duty of care toward human beings doesn't necessarily stop when someone dies..." (Anna North, 04:12)
- Driven by “care and responsibility toward the dead,” Agnes finds her worldview and sense of duty expanding as she investigates the ancient body.
- The Druid Woman’s World:
- Set in Britain’s Iron Age, the Druid is reimagined as both religious and political—“a wannabe cosmopolitan” with ambitions that outsize her world:
"...she’s very smart, she’s very driven...maybe she overestimates her own power a tiny bit in ways that come back to haunt her." (Anna North, 04:50)
- Set in Britain’s Iron Age, the Druid is reimagined as both religious and political—“a wannabe cosmopolitan” with ambitions that outsize her world:
- Connecting Across Time:
- The narrative voice alternates between Agnes and the Druid, drawing parallels between their curiosity, ambition, and need to look beyond themselves.
"Both of these women are really passionate about their work...they have to learn to look outside themselves." (Anna North, 05:38)
- The narrative voice alternates between Agnes and the Druid, drawing parallels between their curiosity, ambition, and need to look beyond themselves.
Ethical and Environmental Tensions
- Should the Past Stay Buried?
- North acknowledges protest movements demanding the reburial of bog bodies and reflects on the ethical complexity:
"This is a human, we can learn so much. Two, like this is a human. Should we be doing this? What is the value of knowledge versus what is the value of respecting something..." (Anna North, 06:33)
- North acknowledges protest movements demanding the reburial of bog bodies and reflects on the ethical complexity:
- Conservation vs. Curiosity:
- The novel pits the forensic investigation against contemporary environmentalists, who warn that disturbing bogs damages critical ecosystems:
"...even any excavation poses a risk to this landscape. That's literally like standing between us and climate change." (Anna North, 07:26)
- North underscores that peatlands are among the planet’s greatest carbon sinks, and that both scientific and ecological interests carry weight.
- The novel pits the forensic investigation against contemporary environmentalists, who warn that disturbing bogs damages critical ecosystems:
The Voice of the Moss and Hope for the Planet
- A Memorable Quote from the Moss:
- North allows the moss itself a voice, shifting perspective with poetic lines like:
"A colony of moss does not experience emotions like fondness or intimacy, but if it did, it might say we held her. We kept her safe under the surface in our bath of earth for many times her lifespan..." (Anna North, 01:54)
- North allows the moss itself a voice, shifting perspective with poetic lines like:
- Nature Endures:
- Reflecting on climate despair, North notes the resilience and longevity of moss, offering a humbling cosmic perspective:
"...some of these organisms have been around a lot longer than us and some of them will be around after we're gone...colony of moss does not speak yet. If it could, I think it would tell us that some of our human dramas are not important to it at all." (Anna North, 08:26)
- Reflecting on climate despair, North notes the resilience and longevity of moss, offering a humbling cosmic perspective:
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the Non-Human World:
"People tend to think that we always drive events on the earth, but there are many other organisms here that have huge impact on us and our lives."
— Anna North (03:44) -
On Whether to Excavate the Past:
"Should we be doing this? What is the value of knowledge versus...trying to respect something, trying to respect it in the way that it might have been respected in its time."
— Anna North (06:46) -
On Bogs as Carbon Sinks:
"Bogs are actually, and peatlands in general are one of the most important carbon sinks in the world. They store an enormous, enormous amount of carbon."
— Anna North (07:28) -
Moss Has the Last Word:
"It is important and also cheering to remember that some of these organisms have been around a lot longer than us and some of them will be around after we're gone."
— Anna North (08:26)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 01:45 — Opening reading: The moss’s perspective
- 02:14 — Introduction to Bog Queen and its premise
- 02:51 — Anna North’s inspiration and bog visit
- 04:07 — Agnes’s evolving sense of care and responsibility
- 04:50 — Reimagining the Iron Age Druid
- 05:38 — Parallels between the two protagonists
- 06:33 — Ethical dilemmas: Should the bog body remain buried?
- 07:26 — Environmental tension: Science vs. conservation
- 08:26 — The philosophy and endurance of moss; “eventually we triumph”
Conclusion
Anna North’s appearance on NPR’s Book of the Day offers rich, layered insights into her novel Bog Queen—a haunting, lyrical exploration of what it means to care for the dead, for the land, and for a world where human curiosity and ecological stewardship are in delicate balance. Bogs, with their damp mysteries and ancient memories, become not just settings, but moral crossroads—as North reminds us, sometimes it is the non-human world that holds us, and perhaps, ultimately, outlasts us.