Sustainable Culture

Over in Seattle, in a well-seasoned bar, somewhere in a single situated chair with a particularly choice view sits our guest today, Mr. Jeff Barlow, waiting. He’s got a sketchpad, stuff to draw with, and an impressive ability to trust his own process in the moment - the envy of any creative. The band, who’s about to provide live music for the night, is about to have their picture taken, and not in...

This episode is with the genuinely badass Sarah Philp, owner of Little Bear Tattoo Co. in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Her recent few years have been quite the wild ride of growth as she has become the owner of her own tattoo shop. She even trained her own husband how to tattoo, who works as an artist at Little Bear alongside her. She's created quite the thriving little community, and it made for an exce...

This week's episode features Megan Ryan, Communications Specialist and Eric Ladwig, Executive Director for Hospice of North Idaho. They were voted 2024's Best Hospice Care Provider by Business Journal of North Idaho and have tons of wonderful things going on for the community. Hospice can be a hard subject for many, but its people like these two that reaffirm confidence and demystify the heavy sub...

This week I had the great fortune of interviewing another Idaho Conservation League scientist! This time it was none other than Adrian Gallo, a soil scientist and Climate Program Manager. We discuss agriculture, groundwater, aquifers, and soil. I hope you join us! Idaho Conservation League: idahoconservation.org. Our website: sustainableculture.online Follow on instagram: @sustainablecultureonline...

We're back once again with chill chats about reading books, imagination, and owning a bookstore. Alex of Bookishly Happy graciously sits with me and as we discuss a variety of topics surrounding reading culture, including the challenges of getting into reading and, yes, banned books. Join us! Check out Bookishly Happy on their instagram: @bookishlyhappycda. Check out our instagram: @sustainablecul...

This week a long-time friend of the podcast returns to guest host, Bri AKA Peebs. The concept of electrification (the large-scale switch to electrical energy from fossil fuels) is one gaining attention in recent months following the signing of the historic Inflation Reduction Act. We agree we need to switch away from fossil fuels urgently, but we also have opinions. See Peebs' work: @pb.doodles ,...

This week we approach topics that tend to be difficult discussions: domestic and sexual abuse. Kaitlan, Outreach & Education Coordinator, and Sophia, Counselor of Safe Passage join me in this fantastic breakdown of their work and where our culture sits on these issues. These two are beaming with passion for what they do, and it shines right through to the audio level. If you or someone you kno...

This episode I got to discuss one of my favorite industries, coffee! I'm joined by the hilarious and delightful Aaron Jordan of Roast House Coffee, a Certified Organic coffee roaster based in Spokane, Washington. Aaron shares his history of how he got started in coffee, why he's stayed in it for 17 years now, and the opportunities he sees with the knowledge he's gained throughout the years. We als...

After over two years in hiatus, the podcast is finally back! Kick back and enjoy this heartwarming and sincere discussion with the owners and operators of Ten/6, an Alice in Wonderland themed Cajun breakfast place in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. You read that right! It is truly an experience to be had. We break down their history with food, their philosophy on turnover and management practices in the res...

It's our last episode of our 8-episode winter season already! As the weather begins to warm up and the soil begins to thaw, many of us are anxiously waiting to get back into our gardens again, playing outside. Thus, friend and expert worm (and food) farmer Jeremiah Brunelle joins us for a fun, educational & lighthearted episode all about worms!

Today our guest is a nutritionist trained in integrative and functional nutrition, she’s also an instructor of health and nutrition at Great Northern University, the brilliant Karmen Gregg. Karmen’s been in the field for over seven years, has a ton of education, including the PhD she’s currently working on. It’s amazing how we forget just how nurturing the act of preparing and eating food for your...

How do we build community? Getting the community involved sure helps with that! Our guest today is Jeni Hegsted, Founder & Executive Director of Emerge, a local art collective. Emerge is a fascinating and encouraging case study for growing a solo vision into a collective one, enthusiastically continuing to thrive as their vision evolves. Check Emerge out here: emergecda.com

Bri returns once again to the podcast to help me take an objective look at a true phenomenon of our time. This episode wades through a few key critiques of environmentalism from Ayn Rand, random internet opinions, and a high school debate teacher. We share notes, comments, guidance & rants on this café esque discussion. Light trigger warning for those sensitive to topics surrounding religion &...

The intelligent and ever-resourceful Brian Seguin returns to conclude our discussion on who and what is included in a community. How do you feel belonging in your community? Do you feel at home where you are? Who or what makes you feel at home; and how do those distinctions affect your perspective on who or what a community is composed of? Satish Kumar says, "We have to shift our attitude of owner...

Every now and then in life we come across individuals with the grace and intention to sit with us and hear us speak about what's actually happening. Why are we so passionate about what we believe? How did our identities become what they are? How would sustainability mindsets and environmentalism movements change if I learned how to integrate my pain, my trauma and even my grief into the rest of my...

What community is more integrated than the bee community? We marvel at the idea. Abby Henning is an artist & flower child, less bee-keeper and more bee-communer. Her bond with bees is quite personal, and was kind enough to delight me with her story. Visit our brand-new website (and Etsy shop): sustainableculturepodcast.com Take a look at Abby’s shop, Humble Bee Apothecary: @humble.bee.apotheca...

What would it look like if Idaho's salmon population nearly collapsed? Well...it kind of did. And thankfully there are people doing some pretty cool stuff about that. Mitch Cutter is a Salmon and Steelhead Advocacy Fellow at Idaho Conservation League. He graces us with his deep knowledge on the salmon situation in Idaho, what Idaho Conservation League is doing about it, and where he sees us going...

We could always simply read the dictionary in situations like this, but how can we explain the emotional response that the word "community" conveys? Friend and guest Brian Seguin joins us on the show to help me unpack another loaded word.

After a long absence, I approach a few foundational ideals within the philosophy of interdependence as it relates to individual responsibility. What would it look like if a society of people practiced interdependence on a micro scale? How could a restructuring of one's life support a sustainable community?

Coffee is the second most popular drink in the world, just under water. Hundreds of billions of people drink this lovely and delicious beverage worldwide and the industry is only growing. Coffee pro and fellow sustainability enthusiast Ty Paluska joins us to discuss the coffee industry at large and how we might approach positive changes on a local and global scale.

Let's be honest about something for a second. We're all struggling a little right now. As tensions remain at a high in our country, we thought it imperative to spend some time in a positive atmosphere. Bri returns to the podcast as we share some good news and keep things light. We'll share some our own struggles and discuss plenty of ways to break out of those negative mindsets.

Who owns the land? Who makes your money? Who owns the labor? Who will own the robots? Who owns the ideas? In our second entry to our series, we examine the five pillars of distributive design as we follow the path left for us by Kate Raworth in her book Doughnut Economics.

As the need for meaningful cultural change in the 21st century becomes more of a spotlighted issue, we’ve also been seeing a steady and problematic rise with economic inequality throughout the country for some time now. Where does inequality play into the picture of building community, and how is it connected to environmental health?

Having finished Dr. Jane Goodall's wonderful book Reason For Hope: A Spiritual Journey, we're back to share our thoughts.

Last month's episode brought us into the woods of interpersonal communication when we spoke about developing our listening skills. This time we look closer at how we learn from our surroundings and each other. I discuss the connections among observation, rationality, intuition and experience.