In this episode, Dr. Tammy Horn Potter, Kentucky State Apiarist, describes the fascinating history of honey bees in America from World War I to today. Listeners may be surprised to learn that bees were so integral to the war effort in WWI that beekeepers were exempt from the draft. Listen to also learn how traumatized veterans found mental healing in beekeeping.
Tammy keeps bees with her husband and is the author of several books, Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation (2005), Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Teach us About Local Trade and Global Markets (2012), Flower Power: Establishing Pollinator Habitat (2019), and Work I Knew I Must (2021). You can email her at
[email protected].