Earthbound Episodes

Do We Need to Colonize Mars to Survive? A Book Review of Dr. Peter Solomon's 100 Years to Extinction In 2017, Stephen Hawking warned that humanity had just 100 years to move beyond Earth or face extinction. That bold predicti...

Climate, Energy, Morality, and How We Thrive as a Species on a Finite Planet We tell ourselves stories to help us cope with existence, but too often we bend our stories to fit a misguided, destructive, and utterly unsustainab...

This bonus episode features a short reading from my Thinking Out Loud section of my newsletter. Is empathy a strength or a weakness? How do we respond to forces that hide behind masks and seek to coerce, intimidate, and terro...

What if the sun, the same star that’s powered life on Earth for billions of years, could finally free us from the fossil fuel stranglehold that’s choking our future? That’s the question at the heart of this episode’s conversa...

In a world of either-or thinking, where you’re expected to choose between hugging trees or hugging flags, Katherine Lacefield offers a refreshing alternative. The founder of Just Be Cause Consulting and host of the Just Be Ca...

With this bonus holiday episode, I revisit a short article I originally wrote for a now-defunct website and republished on Medium back in 2022. Blood and Cigarettes takes us back to Christmas Eve and the trenches of World War...

What Would The Ocean Say If You Could Ask It A Question? Exploring the intersection of art, science, and environmental activism, this episode features thought provoking conversation with Joshua Harrison , director of the Cent...

How I Felt Ridiculous When I Ordered Same-Day Delivery In this short bonus episode, I briefly examine the complexities of modern consumerism and the often-overlooked hidden costs of our convenience-driven shopping habits. As ...

The 1970s “Crying Indian” campaign, as it came to be known, with its poignant imagery and simple message about littering, has left an indelible mark on American culture. Yet, as we unpack the history and implications of this ...

Feed the inner duck Not with human news Or greedy things that suck, But give it quiet views; Comments from the moon. Opinions from the sky. The insights of a tune. The wisdom of a sigh. -Michael Leunig History Doesn’t Repeat,...

Here Comes the Apocalypse! Panicked or Prepared? The art of preparation in today's polycrisis, conspiracy-driven world is far from straightforward. In all cases, it is an art that encompasses, among other things, science-base...

The Golden Toad If you’re like me, by the time you first heard about the Golden Toad, it was already gone. A flash of gold high in the damp cloud forest of Costa Rica. This mysterious and elusive species, native to a tiny hab...

The Mountain Valley Pipeline and Stories of Resistance in Appalachia Amidst the Appalachian dawn, our exploration of community resilience and environmental justice unfolds through the lens of Denali Sai Nalamalapu, author of ...

Vanquish the Storm Lords and Anthrogs! The power of stories to shape our understanding of the world is a central theme explored in this episode. We welcome Laurel Colless , an author dedicated to igniting the imaginations of ...

Wildfire Days "Wildfire is actually a natural part of our ecosystems and our landscape, particularly in the American West. Fires had been burning naturally for millennia and keeping the forest healthy." "It's the most incredi...

Raising Children in a Climate-Changed World My conversation with Bridget Shirvell, author of 'Parenting in a Climate Crisis', explores the challenge of raising children in an era defined by environmental uncertainty. Acknowle...

A Sound Environment Exploring the multifaceted nature of sound, this episode features an enlightening conversation with Chris Berdick about his book, Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World and How We Can Take It Back . Berdick...

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. -Gary Snyder When the world faces existential threats like climate change, how do we make ethical choices that matter? In this thought-provoking episod...

It's 3:00 AM. All is quiet, the world is asleep. But is it? In this illuminating episode, we journey into the darkness to explore the vibrant and often overlooked world of nocturnal creatures, guided by the passionate insight...

Taking It to the Streets Protests and social movements are often seen as spontaneous eruptions of public sentiment. What drives people to take to the streets? What motivates them to take their anger and frustration offline, o...

Finding Calm in the Chaos – A Personal Journey Through Depression How do we find our footing and protect our peace of mind in a world that often feels overwhelming, where fear and uncertainty seem to be the new normal? In thi...

Green amendments are emerging as an effective and essential tool in the quest for environmental justice, ensuring that citizens have the constitutional right to a healthy environment, which is intricately linked to their righ...

Reviewing A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith The notion of colonizing Mars often sounds like a thrilling adventure, but let’s hit the brakes on that rocket ship for a moment. Right off the bat, we tackle the idea th...

A conversation with David Lipsky, author of The Parrot and the Igloo Global warming is a long history spent in the hall of ironies, a statement that resonates throughout our discussion today. We delve into the fascinating yet...