Our common nature is a musical journey with Yo-Yo Ma and me, Ana Gonzalez, through this complicated country.

We go into caves, onto boats, and up mountain trails to meet people, hear their stories, their poetry, and of course, play some music, all to reconnect to nature, and get closer to the things we're missing.

Listen to Our Common Nature from WNYC wherever you get podcasts. Hi, it's Francis Lamb here with a special podcast.

On Friday, June 8th, America woke up to the awful news that Anthony Bourdain had died.

Since then, the world, the food world,

but really just the world, has been remembering and reflecting on the life of this truly unique person. The tributes have been heartfelt and moving the astronaut Scott Kelly,

said that he watched Tony's show from space and it made him feel

more connected to our planet. The writer Michael Twitty admired Tony for being someone who used

his platform to center the stories and voices of people of color and the invisible. The writer

Rachel Kong said Tony's love of Malaysian food where her family's from made her finally feel understood.

Even my wife got into a cab that night and the driver out of the blue just started talking to her.

But how much he loved that guy, Anthony Bourdain.

I never knew him, and that's a lifelong regret that I'll have now.

But reading the encomiums coming

from pretty much everyone, black, white, brown, yellow, men, women, non-gender-specific. It's obvious

that he meant so many things to so many people. When Tony introduced himself to the world,

it was in the form of his writing.

His book, Kitchen Confidential,

basically invented the image we have today

of the macho bad boy chef.

He was a storyteller and an entertainer,

an ambassador from the pirate republic of the kitchen.

...