Conversations from Byron
Mammoth: Chris Flynn in conversation with Tony Birch
Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct mammoth, this is the (mostly) true story of how a collection of prehistoric creatures came to be on sale at a natural history auction in New York in 2007. By tracing how and when these fossils were unearthed, Mammoth leads us on a funny and fascinating journey from the Pleistocene epoch to nineteenth-century America and beyond, revealing how ideas about science and religion have shaped our world.
With our planet on the brink of calamitous climate change, Mammoth scrutinises humanity’s role in the destruction of the natural world while also offering a message of hope.
In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Tony Birch talks with friend and author Chris Flynn about the writing of Mammoth. Their candid discussion touches on many subjects, including Chris’ Irish upbringing, climate change, fossils, world leaders, and the role of humour in climate fiction.
Thanks to Delta Kay, Arakwal Bundjalung woman, for the Welcome to Country on this podcast.
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About the authors
Chris Flynn
Chris Flynn is the author of Mammoth, The Glass Kingdom and A Tiger in Eden. He lives on Phillip Island.
Tony Birch
Tony Birch is the author of three novels: the bestselling The White Girl, which won the 2020 New South Wales Literary award for Indigenous Writing and was shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin award; Ghost River, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing; and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. He lives in Melbourne.
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