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In this episode of the Spatial Stack, Matt sits down with Dr. Chris Tucker, chairman of the American Geographical Society, in the year the AGS turns 175.
Chris makes the case that spatial thinking is foundational literacy, on the level of language or math, and that the 4.5 million people who have taken AP Human Geography are already practicing it every day in jobs that never mention geography. He shares how a single question from a CIA veteran, about why we cannot draw a bounding box on a map and pull in everything known about that place at that moment, set the direction for almost thirty years of his career.
The conversation also covers what has changed about getting into this work. The advanced degree, the expensive workstation, and the expensive software used to be the price of entry. Free tools and YouTube replaced all three.
Chris then takes on a challenge: name five careers that do not sound geographic but where spatial skills give you a real edge. Surveying, the CAD and built environment world, aviation, marine navigation, and conservation all make the list, along with a case for why geography works as both a horizontal and a vertical.
We also get into the AGS itself, from the Fliers' and Explorers' Globe signed by Amelia Earhart, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Neil Armstrong, to the geographers at 156th and Broadway who worked on the inquiry behind the Treaty of Versailles.
If you have ever struggled to explain what you actually do for a living, this conversation gives you better language for it.
Connect with Chris Tucker and the AGS:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-tucker-5595689/
American Geographical Society: https://www.americangeo.org
Email: tucker@americangeo.org
LEARN MORE
AGS 175th anniversary campaign: https://www.americangeo.org
The Fliers' and Explorers' Globe: https://www.americangeo.org/globe
Geography 2050 (Africa: Shaping the Future): https://www.geography2050.org
Teen Maptivist: https://teenmaptivists.org
CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 – Welcome and Chris Tucker's Background
00:01:21 – 4.5 Million AP Human Geography Students
00:04:48 – Spatial Thinking as Foundational Literacy
00:09:08 – 175 Years of the American Geographical Society
00:12:03 – The Fliers' and Explorers' Globe
00:15:05 – The AGS and the Treaty of Versailles
00:18:02 – The 175th Anniversary Campaign
00:21:49 – How Matt and Chris Found Geography
00:24:59 – Free Tools and Getting Back Into the Work
00:27:07 – Advocating for Geography in Schools
00:30:55 – Geography as Horizontal and Vertical
00:35:01 – Five Careers Where Spatial Gives You an Edge
00:40:34 – Getting Involved with AGS and Geography 2050
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