Apples in Winter

Mercedes Ponce de León has played a significant role in shaping Uruguay's cannabis movement, from the years leading up to the country's historic legalization to helping build one of Latin America's most influential cannabis events. We get into her early involvement in cannabis advocacy, the travels that introduced her to Jack Herer's work and deepened her passion for the plant, inc...

Coach Michael Harris is a Georgia-based cannabis and hemp advocate with a longtime presence within the plant community. In this episode, we get into the social currency of cannabis, the way the plant brings people together through shared experiences, conversation, music, food, and the rituals surrounding consumption. We talk about the rules of the cypher, consumption safety, knowing what you’re sm...

Mira Fannin is the designer and founder behind Sweet Skins, an independent eco-clothing company based in Eugene, Oregon. What began more than a decade ago selling clothing at Eugene’s Saturday Market has grown into a consciously produced line built around natural and lower-impact fibers, including hemp, organic cotton and wool. In this episode, we get into Mira’s journey as a designer and why hemp...

Alex Escher is the founder of Hemp Hollow Processing and a board member of the U.S. Hemp Building Association, with work that spans two very different corners of the hemp industry: hemp building and flower processing. In this episode, we start with hempcrete and the growing use of hemp as a building material. We get into hemp homes, what makes hempcrete unique, and what it actually takes to move a...

Kris Uhlhorn, better known as “The Bongfather,” is the founder and head artist behind Special K Glass, where he’s been creating one-of-a-kind, hand-blown glass since 1998. In this episode, we get into Kris’s nearly three decades in glassblowing and cannabis culture, how Special K Glass grew from a modest operation into a recognizable name in functional glass art, and what makes soft glass such a u...

Zev Paiss has spent more than four decades working in sustainability as an educator, consultant, author, and advocate, with a career spanning land use, urban agriculture, renewable energy, resilient local economies, and industrial hemp. He was also part of the early days of Colorado’s modern hemp movement, serving as a hemp expert witness and becoming involved with the early National Hemp Associat...

Bernardo Duque Carreira is the co-founder and CEO of 8000Kicks, a company on a mission to bring hemp back into the mainstream through sustainable footwear. What began as a late-night conversation with friends grew into a global brand built alongside his grandmother, Otília, whose decades of textile experience helped shape both the company and its commitment to quality. In this conversation, we exp...

Stacy Moore has spent much of her life helping people. Long before founding Healing Harbors, she served as a Coast Guard helicopter mechanic in Alaska, accompanying rescue missions before returning home to Maine to become a caregiver. It was through caring for a stroke patient that an unexpected path unfolded, one that would eventually lead her into the world of cannabis, hemp, and natural wellnes...

Oleg Maryasis entered the cannabis industry in 2012, beginning with vaporizer technology before shifting his focus to cannabinoids, education, and the science behind cannabis. Today, he serves as Director of Education at Lock and Key Remedies, Director of Education and Compliance at NYCBUD, a licensed New York dispensary, and earned his Master's Degree in Medical Cannabis Science & Therape...

Fresh off a trip to Mary Jane Berlin, now the world's largest cannabis trade show and conference with more than 85,000 attendees from around the globe, I've been reflecting on one of the things that always stands out at events like this: community. As cannabis continues to evolve through research, policy reform, medical programs, and expanding markets around the world, it's easy to foc...

David Sergi is a Texas-based attorney who has spent decades working at the intersection of hemp, cannabis, and regulatory law. In this episode, we unpack the legal battles shaping the future of hemp, from the high-profile fight unfolding in Texas to the broader questions surrounding THC definitions, federal oversight, enforcement actions, and regulatory uncertainty across the United States. We als...

Micaela Machado is a sustainable designer, hemp building advocate, and artist whose work sits at the intersection of creativity, natural materials, and environmentally conscious building. This conversation explores hemp as a building material, what makes it so unique, and the growing momentum behind hemp construction. We also discuss the incredible projects Micaela is involved in through her work...

John Roulac is the founder of Nutiva, one of the earliest companies to help bring hemp foods into the mainstream in the United States. Over the course of several decades, his work has spanned entrepreneurship, regenerative agriculture, environmental advocacy, policy, and media, including serving as an executive producer of the film Kiss the Ground. More recently, he’s focused on rethinking everyda...

Attorney David Bush has practiced law for more than 34 years and is widely considered one of, if not the first, hemp attorneys in the United States. Having represented both cannabis and hemp clients through major periods of industry change, David offers a rare firsthand perspective on the early days of cannabis legalization, the emergence of hemp regulations, and the rapid rise of the Colorado hem...

James Johnson’s path moves from military service into the evolving world of hemp and cannabis, carrying with it a perspective shaped by discipline, structure, and lived experience. In this conversation, we get into the realities of cannabis and hemp within military culture, the contradictions surrounding alcohol, and how those systems influence perception and access. We also touch on his work in h...

Priya Mishra is the founder of Hempvati, working at the intersection of industrial hemp and medical cannabis in India, where the conversation around the plant is still layered with stigma, history, and complexity. Her work spans farmer education, patient support, research, and policy, all grounded in a deeper effort to reshape how cannabis is understood and accessed. In this conversation, we get i...

Rachel is a first-generation farmer in Illinois and one of the grassroots forces behind hemp’s return in the state, working at the intersection of farming, policy, and community organizing. As founder and president of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, she has helped shape legislation, educate growers, and build a regional hemp movement from the field to the policy table. In this conversation,...

Rick is a fourth-generation farmer in North Carolina, carrying forward a family legacy that dates back to 1865. After time away building a life in DC, he returned to the land and helped lead a transition from tobacco to hemp, working across both fiber and CBD production. In this conversation, we get into what that shift actually looks like on the ground, what it means to rework a generational farm...

Gordana Stevancevic was born in Belgrade and moved to Italy with her family after the bombing of Serbia in 1999. She studied economics and entrepreneurship, and later completed postgraduate work in medical cannabis at the University of Padua. Her path eventually led her into textile hemp, where she’s focused on rethinking materials through a lens of sustainability, function, and design. In this co...

Beach has been involved in the hemp world since the early days, founding Hemptations in the mid-90s, long before hemp re-entered mainstream conversation in the U.S. In this conversation, we get into what those early years actually looked like, what it meant to build a store centered entirely around hemp products in Cincinnati, Ohio, and how his perspective has taken shape over decades of advocacy,...

Apples in Winter. A conversation podcast. Launches March 20.