Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I can admit that I love hiking in no small part because of the aesthetics, right?

I'm a sucker for the boots and the woolly socks and the comfy beanie and even the more techware stuff with all its pockets and compartments and waterproof doohickeys.

Nick Offerman, the actor and comedian,

loves the outdoors for much more elevated reasons. I mean, in today's interview, he uses the

very Nick Offerman-y phrase, respite from the rectilineer lines of human construction. He's got a book

out now that's a testament to the pastoral called Where the Deer

and the Ants Float play. And to talk about it, he ventured far out into the depths of nature

with NPR's Scott Simon. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods, NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

What forbidding God-forsaken wilderness are we in now?

This, I believe, is known as Central Park on the island of Manhattan.

Oh, my gosh.

Wild and untamed?

Well, I saw a pretty healthy rat 20 minutes ago. Please don't talk about our producer that way.

You have made a point of getting out in the wilderness. I mean, a lot of people do without it.

I grew up in a small town, and that was kind of my my pastime was riding my bike to the

creek and going fishing with my family and building a tree house and and I guess I never got out

of the habit. I need to get out and look at the creek or look at some trees to keep myself from being affected by Los Angeles traffic or too much looking at my iPhone.

What do you find when you look around?

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