Food Freedom Radio

Laura Hedlund sits down with Chef Lachelle Cunningham to uncover the deep ancestral roots of soul food and its vital role in community healing. The two dive into the powerful significance of Juneteenth, exploring the ongoing fight for agricultural equity and true food justice. By honoring historical struggles, they showcase the incredible resilience found in…

Join Laura Hedlund and Laurie Fitz for a chat with the owners of Mastel’s Health Foods, a beloved local wellness staple since 1968. We’re diving deep into the wild world of natural supplements, women’s health, and the absolute importance of being your own best medical advocate. Tune in for an empowering conversation about building a…

After a relentless ten-year battle against city pollution, a group of stubborn utopians in Minneapolis finally secured the funding to turn an old warehouse into a massive indoor urban farm. Laura Hedlund chats with Dean Dovolis from the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute to hear the incredible grassroots story behind this hard-won community victory. Get ready…

Lily Gross as a teenager wrote about Factory Farms, as a college student she studied declining bee population and today she is opening Minnesota’s first Farm Stop.  Radish Farm Stop sells only local food.    Laura talks about the intentional destruction of 420,000 Peach Trees in California and says humans need a new operational system -one…

Join Laura Hedlund as she dives into the delicious world of the Farmers Kitchen + Bar, a Minneapolis gem that’s bringing the farm right to the heart of the city. She sits down with Gary Wertish from the Minnesota Farmers Union to chat about why supporting our local growers is about so much more than…

Laura Hedlund digs into the idea that what we do to the earth, we ultimately do to ourselves, while highlighting some incredible local efforts to build a more resilient food system. Urban farmer Elyssa Eull of California Street Farms shares the realities of feeding a neighborhood from a tiny city plot, and Chef Lachelle Cunningham…

Laura Hedlund welcomes James Kaechele from The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (https://www.ftpf.org) to discuss the “Fruitful Minnesota” initiative, a massive project planting 1,000 fruit and nut trees across the Twin Cities to provide fresh food and environmental benefits. We also hear from Clara Lewis at the Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) (https://www.neon-mn.org/) abo...

Laura Hedlund is joined fellow AM 950 host Philip Anthony of the Downright Upright Show to swap stories about their “lazy yards” and the magic of freezing garden raspberries for that perfect summer smoothie. They don’t shy away from the heavy stuff either, digging into how heart-centered economics and local farming can help fix a…

Laura Hedlund takes us behind the scenes of the “People Not Polluters” coalition to reveal why it might cost a staggering billion dollars a year to clean up Minnesota’s nitrate-contaminated water. She’s joined by Laura Schrieber of the Land Stewardship Project to explore the terrifying link between groundwater pollution and health, plus how the “Oat…

If you’ve ever felt like your kitchen cabinets are secretly judging you, Laura Hedlund and guest Colleen Waterston (host of Sorting Through Life Sundays at noon on AM950)  are here to tell you that it’s time to drop the shame. They dig into the emotional baggage we keep in our junk drawers and share why…

Laura Hedlund sits down with James Beard Award-winning food writer Beth Dooley to chat about why perennial foods are the “pioneer saplings” of a brand-new kind of integral living economy. From the deep, earth-healing roots of Kernza to the satisfying crunch of local hazelnuts, they explore how shifting our agricultural focus can actually restore the…

Laura Hedlund sits down with agroecologist Liz Carlisle and Aubrey Streit Krug from The Land Institute to dive into their new book, Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Agriculture. You’ll hear all about how switching from short-lived annual crops to deep-rooted perennials like Kernza and fruit trees can actually heal our soil while feeding our…

Laura Hedlund hosts a soulful roundtable discussion on how urban agriculture is literally planting the seeds of change across Minnesota. This episode features a deep dive with community heavyweights like Brett Olson, Michael Chaney, Britt Howell, Courtney Tchida, Dawn Lamm, Lane Brown, and farmer Jane Matayo Windsperger as they explore the intersection of food security,…

Laura Hedlund sits down with Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk, PhD, MBA—the CEO and co-founder of Canomiks and WhatToTrust.com—to pull back the curtain on the $60 billion supplement industry. They dive into how genomic science is being used to validate traditional Ayurvedic remedies like turmeric, helping you find products that actually do what they say. It’s an essential…

Laura Hedlund sits down with Lucas Rhoads, Monta Hayner, and Lori Cox to dig into the heavy reality of how neonicotinoids are poisoning our bees, birds, and even our drinking water. They explore the systemic nature of these toxins and the frustrating reasons they’re still everywhere in the U.S. while other parts of the world…

Laura is joined by Ayub (Yubi) Hassan of Blue Horn Tea and Bilal Madani of Crème Foods as they share their experiences as entrepreneurs navigating the social and economic landscape of Minneapolis. They discuss the deep connection between cultural heritage and community resilience, highlighting how Somali tea and Basque cheesecake serve as bridges for unity…

Laura speaks with Teresa McCormick, the Executive Director of The Good Acre, to talk about how Minnesota’s largest non-profit food hub is shaking things up. Teresa explains their “farm to community” mission, which connects local farmers with schools and hospitals to ensure everyone gets a seat at the table with fresh, healthy food. We also…

Laura Hedlund takes us inside Zion Community Church to meet the “brigade” of neighbors fighting a local humanitarian crisis with radical community love. You’ll hear how volunteers like Ryan and Kaylee are sourcing fresh produce from local farmers to pack hundreds of shelter-in-place kits for families terrified to leave their homes. It’s a moving reminder…

Join Laura Hedlund as she explores the intricate connection between our microbiome, fermented foods, and overall well-being. Guest experts Andreas Gomez and Jonah Uyldert share their insights on how a healthy gut can bolster our physical and mental health. #FoodFreedomRadio #Microbiome #GutHealth #Fermentation #HealthyEating #WellnessJourney #Probiotics #NatureLedGardening #HealthAndWellbeing #Pod...

Laura Hedlund explores the healing path of planetary health alongside Teddy Potter and Angelica Walton, moving from a culture of stress toward one of collective care. Together, they discuss how a planetary health diet and a shift in our core mindset can help us rebuild a more resilient and interconnected community. #FoodFreedom #PlanetaryHealth #SustainableLiving #EnvironmentalJustice…

In this final 2025 episode of Food Freedom Radio, Laura Hedlund interviews activist Robin Greenfield about his journey toward personal agency and radical sustainability. Greenfield discusses his lifestyle pledges, including living below the poverty line and foraging 100% of his food, while offering practical tips on wild fermentation, DIY green powders, and the importance of…

Host Laura Hedlund interviews Will Crombie of Organic Compound about building a resilient, community-focused food system through agroforestry and regenerative farming practices. Crombie shares his family’s journey transforming 42 acres into hazelnut and tree-range chicken production, advocating for local economic models over the industrial system. #RegenerativeAgriculture #Agroforestry #Orga...

Host Laura Hedlund speaks with Curt Arens, Senior Editor of Nebraska Farmer, to discuss the economic and cultural repercussions of Tyson Foods closing its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska. They examine the factors driving the closure, including drought and low cattle inventory, while analyzing how this impacts a town where the cattle population vastly…

Laura Hedlund speaks with Michael Wright, Executive Director of Biomimetics International, to explore the exciting concept of the “Biosverse” and its potential for creating sustainable solutions by modeling nature’s 4-billion-year history of research and development. They discuss how systems thinking, biosensing, and embracing complexity can help solve huge challenges like plasti...