Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains in discussion with Rhishi Pethe
Join us (along with Rhishi Pethe!) to discuss Lucas Bessire's Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains.
The Ogallala Aquifer lies under eight states and supplies water to some of the most productive farmland in America. As changing climate patterns and intensive water use from irrigated agriculture drain the aquifer faster than it can recharge, communities across the High Plains face an uncertain future. In Running Out, anthropologist Lucas Bessire returns to southwest Kansas, where five generations of his family farmed and ranched. Drawing on memoir and ethnography, Bessire explores themes such as family inheritance and complicity, the realities of agriculture, eroding democratic norms, and what it means to take responsibility for what we leave behind.
About our discussant:
Rhishi Pethe has 25+ years of technology experience in food and agriculture. He runs Metal Dog Labs, an independent firm providing analysis, advisory, and fractional leadership. Rhishi has had product and technology leadership roles at Alphabet X (the moonshot factory), The Climate Corporation (Bayer Crop Science), Amazon, and startups. He co-founded the AgTech Alchemy community, which has more than 3700 members.
Rhishi aims to explore and shape progress by closing the gap between cutting-edge technologies and real-world practice. He has extensive experience in supply chain & logistics, product management, data and technology strategy, robotics, and AI.
He created the weekly newsletter at the intersection of technology and food/agriculture, “Software is Feeding the World.”