As President Trump talks about draining the swamp in Washington D.C., we turn our attention to actual swamps. Associated with death and decay, while also celebrated for their beauty and biodiversity, few landscapes evoke such contradictory sentiments as swamps.

This hour we speak with experts about the surprising history, culture, nature, and politics associated with America's wetlands. We'll also talk with a woman who spent eight years of her life living in these inhospitable environments on a makeshift houseboat.

GUESTS:

• Michael Grunwald - Senior writer for Politico Magazine, and Editor-at-Large of POLITICO’s new public policy site, The Agenda; author of The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise (@MikeGrunwald)
• Dr. Anthony Wilson - Professor of English at LaGrange College, GA; author of  Swamp: Nature and Culture, and Shadow and Shelter: The Swamp in Southern Culture
• Gwen Roland - Writer, and former full-time resident of the Atchafalaya river basin swamp; author of Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp, and Postmark Bayou Chene

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.