Joey Santore

ABOUT THE BOOK

Concrete Botany is a gritty, kick-in-the-guts look at the ecological disturbance humans have caused and the resilience of the plants living amongst it.

Delivered in his raw and unapologetic yet botanically accurate tone, Joey Santore—the unforgettable host of Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t—offers an often unsettling view of human-caused ecological destruction and its impact on the natural ecosystems our very lives depend on.

The choices of modern civilization have led to a messed up planet, scraped bare and covered in concrete and invasive species. We’ve wiped out entire ecosystems, moved invasive plants to new continents where they don’t belong, and, in a few hundred years, we’ve managed to muck up the intricate balance of a planet that has been evolving for eons. The consequences of our actions are now at our doorstep, ready to strike a match.

But not all is lost. In this groundbreaking examination of plants and their role in the Anthropocene (the age of human disturbance), we see light through the cracks in the concrete and learn that humanity’s course correction starts with an understanding of plant ecology. With this knowledge comes the realization that the lives of humans and plants are interconnected in ways humans cannot live without. Plants are the base of every terrestrial ecosystem on the planet, and their presence can heal the damage humanity has caused. Our willingness to restore native plant communities and the biodiversity they support (starting in our immediate surroundings) is an essential first step in the right direction.

While returning every abandoned brownfield and old rail corridor into a native plant– filled, fully restored ecosystem may be out of reach for the average citizen, fostering the native ecology and biodiversity of our own backyards is not. Concrete Botany is ultimately about how the choices we make as individuals can help ensure humanity’s survival on a very disturbed and rapidly changing planet.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joey Santore is the misanthropic Chicago Italian creator and host of Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t. A self-described “tender bastard beneath an epidermis covered in spines, caustic sap, & irritating hairs,” Joey is the writer, director, producer, editor, and talent behind the brand’s many videos, podcasts, and written missives. He’s into botany, taxonomy, evolution, and toilet humor. Joey’s everyman’s approach to plant ecology and evolution is adored by millions of plant and nature lovers worldwide.

PRAISE

“Meet Botany’s Badass… a breath of fresh air [who is] not afraid to mix the sacred, mundane, and lewd.”
—Outside

“Santore is an amateur, self-taught botanist who posts videos nearly every day to his YouTube channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, which he describes as ‘a low-brow, crass approach to plant ecology as muttered by a misanthropic Chicago Italian.’”
—Chicago Magazine

Botanist Joey Santore on WIRED to answer the internet’s burning questions about plants! What’s the weirdest plant in existence? Why do the leaves change colors in the fall? Can you cross-breed fruits? Why are plant medicines so taboo?

‘It Just Kind of Struck Me.’ The Thick Chicago Accent Guy Addresses the Sad Fate of the Coyote Pup From the Video —Time Magazine

Meet the YouTube Botanist with a Thick Chicago Accent and Foul Mouth on Chicago Tonight on WTTW-TV

Life & Work with Joey Santore in Voyage Austin

Listen to Joey on the Pacific Horticulture’s Garden Futurist Podcast

Watch a webinar in conversation with the North American Native Plant Society: Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t. In Conversation with Joey Santore. Feb. 25th, 2025 Webinar