This Sustainable Life

Many of us are struggling living in lockdown. Nelson Mandela has inspired me in many ways. Going beyond subsisting in captivity, he emerged from 27 years imprisoned on Robben Island---South Africa's Alcatraz---to become President. Today's episode shares part of what I believe helped him, which I believe can help us. First, he endured 27 years. We're only a few months in, and not in a small cement...

A great joy of podcast success is talking to people who changed your life. I read John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man about ten years ago. I couldn't put it down---as much from the writing as the stories and content. It led me to see the world differently, especially government, corporations, America, money, what my taxes support, politics. It recalled Upton Sinclair and Henry Thoreau...

People often ask for advice on how to lead in a given situation, what leadership means, or one tip they can improve their leadership with. Nearly none of the questions help someone improve their leadership. The most useful question I can think of is: How do I learn to lead? In other words, what steps can I take to learn to lead? No leader would answer: read a lot of books, magazine articles, or jo...

You'll hear about Rhonda and how we met in the beginning of our conversation, but I brought her in for a different reason than most of my other guests. I invite a lot of people to my famous no-packaging vegetable stew. Though I created the stew with accessibility from the start, people kept saying I didn't understand that for some people they were less accessible, especially the "single mother in...

I used Oskar Schindler in my third TEDx talk along with a few others as examples of people who took risks to do what they considered right—and that I think nearly all of us do. People like Rosa Parks and those who operated the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. I'm going to share about Oskar Schindler in a bit so you learn more than the movie showed. The video of the talk is being edited a...

I thought about recording with parents for a while. Environmental action is personal and people keep asking me what motivates me. Well, now you'll get almost 50 years more background. Another issue with family and changing habits, lots of people talk and ask about challenges of changing others or selves within close relationships. This episode will give you my background, environmental and otherwi...

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to talk to someone who finds ways to do more, not to get credit for what she's already done. Overwhelmingly, conversations with people about acting on our environmental values seem to find it begrudging---a burden, a chore, deprivation, sacrifice. They imply things like, "God, how much more do I have to do?", "Isn't it okay to use compostable?", "It's so compl...

One of my goals of this podcast is to bring people with alternative views. I won't deny this motive being mainly selfish. I want to learn and grow from alternative view. I grew up viewing technology and efficiency as better ways for humans to live. I saw them as ways to decrease our impact on nature. I've changed, as my podcast episodes distinguishing raising efficiency from decreasing total waste...

Growing up in Philadelphia in the 70s meant Bruce Springsteen was a part of my life. I’ll always remember a fan in a promotional radio b-roll clip from one of the classic rock stations saying excitedly, definitively, “He’s the best, he’s Bruce. . . He’s the Boss!” One of the earliest albums I bought was Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ . My high school girlfriend’s older brother saw every show of hi...

Before we recorded, Marni humbly said what she did wasn't that big of a deal, just a bit more than she normally did. She wondered the point of sharing it. So this second conversation with Marni was short and we talked as much about the podcast as about what she did. Which is to say, the episode narrated itself. I look forward to where it's mainstream for stewardship to feel second-nature, for peop...

I got a taste of what I believe leads people to tell me they can't avoid packaging or buying fresh, local produce. Living in a semi-rural area led me to shop in a large supermarket for the first time in a year or two. They carried only doof and stuff shipped from across the country and world. I share the story and the uplifting results. Here are the notes I read from: When I talk about taking over...

Food is fundamental to our environmental problems. Most of what American restaurants and supermarkets sell looks like food but isn't by my definition. It makes us obese, diseased, fatigued, poor, dependent, and such, whereas food, like fruits and vegetables, bring us together. Many of us are addicted to salt, sugar, fat, and convenience. Yet people addicted to salt, sugar, fat, and convenience can...

I don't normally post other people's material, but 1) I found this video the most valuable I've seen on pandemics and 2) a previous guest, Dr. Michael Greger, created it. It's an hour, so I summarize its highlights in this episode, but watch the whole video for the comprehensive view with full data and references. My summary covers What current media coverage includes---the urgent, important What...

Attendees said my talks brought tears to their eyes. Technically I spoke at the UN last week and UNICEF this week, but virtually not physically there, and to Toastmaster groups organized by UN and UNICEF workers. Both talks were similar. I recorded the UNICEF talk. I spoke on A past New York City crisis---the 2003 blackout Lessons I learned from it How we risk not learning from the COVID-19 crisis...

Joel talked so passionately about everything I look to bring out in other guests, I hardly spoke about his commitment with bringing bags. No problem, I loved hearing his views, history, and approach. I went with it. He also approaches the environment from food, though from a medical background. I just kept learning from him. Sadly, we as a culture keep moving toward disease and pollution, however...

An article I read about research into diversity asked about levels where different groups felt occupations became "sufficiently diverse." It looked at positions at tech companies, for example. I support diversity. I came across the article from the newsletter from Heterodox Academy, started by previous guest Jonathan Haidt , which promotes diversity, particularly of viewpoints. I would promote div...

If you love hearing people at the peak of the human condition behind the scenes, you'll love this episode with Major League Baseball pitcher Brent Suter. I think you'll also hear the subtext of food connecting his family already and his teammates soon. Sports and food I love sports, competition, and athletics. I love food, meaning fresh vegetables and fruit. This conversation with Brent, I felt li...

I'm releasing Jeff's part 2 at the same time as 1.5 since they're both short episodes and still haven't led to achieving his goal. You'll hear we joke about it but, if I'm open, I'm frustrated at what I feel as my failure. I intend in these interactions, beyond helping guests share and act on an environmental value, to deepen their appreciation of that value so they feel they acted meaningfully an...

Jeff felt his challenge wasn't big but openly shared that, in his terms, he failed at it. We all fail. I haven't studied it scientifically, but I believe that the more successful the leader, the more openly they share their failures. Jeff shares his and I learned from his openness and comfort with vulnerability. If you'd like to learn to face failure better, I predict you can learn from Jeff. It's...

Since I don't use many apps and pick up litter already, I felt modest expectations of Jeff's Litterati , but I love it. It delivers the main things I look for: fun, community, connection, effectiveness, and free---the opposite of what many people connect with litter. As I'm writing, the app has recorded over 5 million pieces of litter picked up by over 150,000 people in over 165 countries . I thin...

This episode puts together the most important and fundamental considerations about the environment: What works The basic cause contributing to all environmental problems Earth's carrying capacity An attainable bright future A means to reach it that has worked on a smaller scale It feels to me like a solid TED talk. On Alan Weisman: 250: Why talk about birthrate and population so much? 248: Countdo...

Roberta and I met last September. Our scheduled time to record came just after the covid-19 situation hit the US. We reflected on the change. The conversation is less scripted but of the moment. I decided to post it in the moment, foregoing editing (I hope you don't mind the sound quality [EDIT: Since posting, my editor worked his magic and improved the audio quality]), gaining poignancy. I don't...

Previous guest and retired dating coach guru Brad P suggested inviting Marni as a guest, his longtime friend and colleague. She coaches men on attraction, dating, and so on. Curious? She pioneered women coaching men in this area, as you'll hear in our conversation, helping transition the field in ways you'll hear her describe. Her fourteen years of experience led her to expertise, understanding, s...

People are criticizing politicians and others over handling Covid-19. I don't blame or criticize people for not knowing how to handle particulars of this situation, but we can respond more effectively. Some parts of the situation are unique to Covid-19. Some are endemic to crises. We can learn from how people handled past crises effectively and ineffectively. Today I talk about John Kennedy learni...

I chose to stay at my mom's outside the city Why? Read stories, saw difference between places with SARS and MERS experience versus not NY and US woefully underprepared govt, corps. People didn't get it Not worried about my health, but system Advice is distance What could happen Closer to Italy than China or Iran Talked to friend in medicine Talked to friend who had been following most US lacks cen...