Compost, Cotton & Cornrows

In episode 53 of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique sits down with energy justice attorney, activist and self-proclaimed "Climate Auntie" Raya Salter for an unfiltered conversation about what it truly means to fight for environmental justice in an era defined by corporate power and political upheaval. From exposing the fossil fuel industry's decades-long misinformation campa...

In this profound and deeply reflective episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique sits down with acclaimed author, essayist and climate writer Mary Annaïse Heglar for a conversation about what it means to bear witness in a world shaped by ecological crisis. Drawing from her upbringing in Alabama and Mississippi, Mary reflects on the Black Southern traditions, elders and landscapes that...

In this deeply personal episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique sits down with creative director, stylist, vintage curator and image consultant Talia Bella for a conversation that expands what sustainable fashion can truly mean. Together, they move beyond conversations about fabrics and production practices to explore style as survival and self-expression. Drawing from her upbringing...

What if the scientific method had a soundtrack? In this inspiring episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique sits down with Jamaican American artist, environmental scientist and educator Jordan Ayanna (better known as The Singing Scientist ), to explore what happens when music becomes a tool for climate education, cultural storytelling and collective transformation. From conducting oyst...

In this expansive episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, Dominique sits down with André Ware, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Bee U NYC, an organization using urban beekeeping as a gateway to environmental education, leadership development and career pathways for underrepresented youth. Born and raised in Brooklyn, André reflects on how transformative travel experiences (from Chile and Ke...

In this joyful and deeply affirming episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, Dominique sits down with Crystal Walker, better known online as Compost Fairy, a radical composter, gardener and educator who is transforming how people think about their relationship to waste. Together, they explore composting not simply as a gardening technique, but as a cultural practice rooted in reciprocity, regene...

In this deeply expansive episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique sits down with environmental justice legal strategist Victoria Elizabeth Whalen for a conversation rooted in land, memory, climate justice and the fight for future generations. From growing up Black in sacrifice zones across the American South to discovering how redlining, pollution and systemic racism shaped her lifelo...

How are Black fathers navigating their own postpartum depression in a world that rarely gives them space to feel? In this deeply moving episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique sits down with Dallas-based advocate, father and founder of Daddy Stroller Social Club, Kalvin Bridgewater, for an honest conversation about Black fatherhood, emotional wellness and redefining masculinity throu...

What does it mean to build an independent luxury brand rooted in restoration instead of extraction? This week on Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, Dominique Drakeford sits down with Tammuz Davis, founder of COVE -  a London-based vintage jewelry brand transforming forgotten archival pieces into modern statements of individuality, sustainability and cultural memory. Together, they unpack the environm...

In this expansive and grounding episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits in powerful conversation with Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, a globally recognized climate scientist, former president of the American Meteorological Society, and one of the most trusted voices translating atmospheric science into everyday life. From his early days at NASA to advising national and globa...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford is in a rich and grounding conversation with floral designer, horticulturalist  and agricultural leader Dee Hall Goodwin. She is the founder of Mermaid City Flowers and the global network Black Flower Farmers. Living in Norfolk, Virginia, with roots in Brooklyn and St. Lucia, Dee invites us into a world where flowers are porta...

CCC is on a two-week Spring Break  Use this time to tap into past episodes, share your favorites and stay connected to the community. We’ll be back next week continuing Season 2 with more depth and necessary cultural climate conversations. Compost, Cotton & Cornrows: the space where Black & Afro-Indigenous Vanguards are redefining sustainability through storytelling! @Compost_Cotton_Cornro...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits in a powerful conversation with Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey, the visionary behind Afrogallonism - a radical artistic practice transforming discarded yellow oil containers into monumental sculptures, performances, and communal rituals. Living and working in Accra, Ghana, Clottey unpacks how these everyday object...

Episode 41 | In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits in conversation with meteorologist and climate storyteller Alesha Ray, whose journey from journalism to national broadcast weather reframes environmentalism through a lens that is both scientifically rigorous and deeply human. Together, they unpack the power of meeting people where they are, redefining sustai...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows podcast, Dominique Drakeford sits in conversation with Antonio Reynoso, Brooklyn’s 20th Borough President and the first Dominican to hold the office in New York City history. Raised in Williamsburg by Dominican immigrants who arrived seeking opportunity, Reynoso reflects on growing up in a neighborhood shaped by poverty, environmental injustice and...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits in conversation with Diamond Spratling, MPH, award-winning Climate DisruptHER, two-time TEDx speaker and founder of Girl Plus Environment, a nonprofit mobilizing Black and Brown women at the forefront of climate solutions. Raised in Detroit, Diamond traces how her childhood—playing in neighborhood green spaces while her f...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits in rich conversation with Fredeline “Freddie” Amedee-Benjamin, co-owner of Papa Rozier Farms, a vertically integrated farm-to-store ecosystem rooted in Haiti What began as a mission to sustain Bati School evolved into a 50-acre regenerative farm producing cold-pressed castor and moringa oils that are grown, harvested, pre...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits in powerful conversation with Catherine Coleman Flowers - MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and one of the foremost architects of modern environmental justice. From her upbringing in Lowndes County, Alabama where rows of cotton met front doors and fami...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows , Dominique Drakeford sits with Christa Barfield, aka FarmerJawn - regenerative agriculture powerhouse, James Beard Award winner, and founder of the largest Black woman-owned regenerative farm in the United States. From managing 128 acres across Pennsylvania to building markets for heritage crops like Nigerian spinach, Christa breaks down what sust...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, host Dominique Drakeford sits with Heather McTeer Toney, executive director of the Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, 2025 Forbes Sustainability Leader, former mayor of Greenville Mississippi and former Regional Administrator for EPA Region 4. Together they explore what sustainability looks like when it begins with Black life, cultural memory and liv...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, Dominique Drakeford sits with Latham Thomas, renowned birth justice advocate, cultural theorist and founder of Mama Glow, a global maternal health and education platform transforming how birth, healing and care are practiced across communities worldwide. Known for pioneering a model of birth work rooted in Black feminism, spirituality and justice,...

This week, Compost, Cotton & Cornrows interrupts our regularly scheduled program. No guest. No interview. No promo assets.  Host Dominique Drakeford offers a short grounded  reflection on nervous system care, burnout and the radical necessity of pause as a sustainability practice. In a world saturated with trauma, crisis and constant resistance, this episode reframes rest and re-regulation as...

In this episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, Dominique Drakeford sits with Kev aka “The Plant Papi”, creator and cultural storyteller known for weaving plant care, mental wellness and radical self-honesty into everyday life. What begins as a conversation about houseplants opens into something deeper: how plant care becomes a mirror. Kev reflects on how tending plants during the pandemic help...

In this uncompromising conversation, Dominique Drakeford sits with Maurice Carney, co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Congo, to name what the world has been trained to ignore: the Congo is not a footnote to modern life … It is its foundation. From the transatlantic slave trade to King Leopold II’s genocidal regime, from the assassination of Patrice Lumumba to today’s cobalt-powere...

In Episode 31 of Compost Cotton and Cornrows, Dominique Drakeford sits with Ciara Imani May, founder of Rebundle and producer of Reclaimed Beyond the Braid, for a conversation that reframes beauty as a climate and health conversation rooted in agency ownership and truth. What begins as a personal question about what synthetic hair is made of opens into a powerful exploration of sustainability as h...