A People's Climate

“If you want to support Palestine, get free.”

In this episode of A People’s Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, for a powerful conversation about resistance in the face of Israeli militarism, occupation, and ecological devastation.

For two years, the world watched Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing campaign across Palestine — including the annihilation of Palestinian land, contamination of water, and the carbon-intensive bombardment that has choked the air and scorched the soil. Entire food systems have been erased. And yet, so many environmentalists remain silent. 

Vivien makes it clear that climate conversations cannot be separated from Western imperialism and genocide.

From saving heirloom seeds to ancestral farming practices, Vivien shares how Palestinian farmers and land stewards are not only protecting the environment but also preserving culture, memory, and survival itself.

Key Themes & Topics:

• The intersection of conservation, human rights, and food sovereignty
• Why protecting heirloom seeds is essential for culture, memory, and survival
• Israeli militarism and settler expansion in Palestine
• Ancestral agricultural practices that date back tens of thousands of years
• The long-standing destructive impact of industrialized agriculture on land and food systems
• Global solidarity with Palestine  

Resources

• Palestine Heirloom Seed Library
• Traveling Kitchen
• Subversive Rebels by Vivien Sansour
• Palestinian Land, Heritage, and Identity - Shilpi Chhotray in conversation with Rania Batrice

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“No matter how many billions you have, you don't have enough to buy our lives.”

Host Shilpi Chhotray is joined by Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, a fierce advocate taking on corporate power — from Big Oil to Big Tech.

You may know him as one of the two Black representatives who was expelled for demanding gun reform on the House floor after The Covenant school shooting in Nashville. But long before becoming one of the youngest members of the Tennessee legislature, Rep. Pearson was on the frontlines in South Memphis, organizing against a crude oil pipeline that threatened his hometown.

Now, in Rep. Pearson’s district, Elon Musk’s xAI project is expanding its empire with massive, unregulated data centers that pollute the air, threaten their water, and undermine hard-won environmental protections. 

This conversation is about fighting against entrenched corruption, unchecked corporate and political power, and billionaires who put profit over people’s health and future.

Key Topics Covered:

• Defeating the Valero / Plains All American Byhalia Pipeline
• The rise of Elon Musk’s xAI data center in Memphis and the environmental toll of artificial intelligence
• Money in politics: How corporate lobbying and billionaires shape elections and policy
• Civil disobedience: The role of protest, direct action, and speaking truth to power
• Keeping people power alive in the face of corruption and broken systems
• Proximity to the fight: Understanding your local representatives, connecting local struggles to federal policies, and focusing energy where it can make the most impact

Resources

• Memphis Community Against Pollution
• Rep. Justin J. Pearson’s Speech on the House floor before being expelled
• “How Long, Not Long” Martin Luther King Jr. speech after marching from Selma to Montgomery
• NAACP and Advocacy Groups Appeal Permit for xAI’s South Memphis Data Center

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What the soil can teach us in the fight for climate justice.

Solving the climate crisis isn’t about reinventing the wheel or the latest tech scheme — it can be as simple as growing food and building community. 

Host Shilpi Chhotray chats with Leah Penniman, farmer, educator, and co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, about the intersection of land, food justice, and racial equity. Leah shares how Afro-Indigenous farming practices offer solutions to the climate crisis— but also serve as a tool for personal and community healing. 

From the legacy of Black farmers in the U.S. to the ongoing exploitation of agricultural workers, this conversation reveals how land is not only the foundation of sustenance but the basis of revolution, independence, and justice.

Key Topics Covered:

• Farming as a spiritual and ecological practice that reconnects humans to the earth.
• Pitfalls of industrial agriculture, from soil degradation, pesticide contamination, and contributions to the climate crisis 
• Afro-Indigenous farming practices that sequester carbon, restore soil, and increase resilience to extreme weather.
• Land justice and reparations: Historical land theft, racialized wealth disparities, and efforts to build Black land commons.
• The Trump Administration's impact on Black Farmers and the agri-food industry.
• How modern food systems continue to exploit the most vulnerable, including undocumented farmworkers and incarcerated individuals, whose labor produces the food we eat

Resources

• Soul Fire Farm
• Farming While Black by Lean Penniman
• Black Earth Wisdom by Leah Penniman
• AP investigation “Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands”

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The largest dam removal in U.S. history.

For the first time in over a century, the Klamath River flows free again—thanks to the vision, courage, and determination of the Yurok Tribe. 

In this episode of A People’s Climate, Shilpi Chhotray interviews Amy Bowers Cordalis, a member of the Yurok Tribe and leader in the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. 

From devastating fish kills and lost salmon runs to confronting corporations and navigating the law, Amy shares a story of environmental restoration, Indigenous sovereignty, and the power of nature-based solutions. 

This is a story of rivers, resistance, and the multi-layered fight—legal, political, and cultural—to heal the land and its people.

Key Topics

• Largest dam removal in U.S. history
• Indigenous-led environmental restoration and sovereignty
• Rights of Nature and legal personhood for ecosystems
• Multi-generational activism and cultural preservation
• Climate justice and regenerative nature-based solutions

Resources to Explore

• The Water Remembers by Amy Bowers Cordalis  (Bookshop) (Amazon)
• Yurok Tribe Celebrates 50-year Anniversary of Mattz v. Arnett

Credits

Presented by Counterstream Media and The Nation
Powered by Wildseeds Fund
Host: Shilpi Chhotray
Executive Producer: Mindy Ramaker
Engineer: Dennis Maxwell
Project Manager: Marianella Nuñez
Additional Research: Sarah Morgan

🌐 apeoplesclimate.org
📱 @counterstream_media
📧 [email protected]

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A call for big, bad, bold courage.

What does true climate action look like when it’s rooted in sovereignty, resistance, and liberation? 

In this powerful episode of A People’s Climate, Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Nick Tilsen—Oglala Lakota land defender and CEO of NDN Collective—to unpack the meaning of LandBack, the historic fight for the Black Hills, the release of political prisoner Leonard Peltier, and the deep ties between Indigenous struggles and Palestinian resistance. 

From direct action at Mount Rushmore to building legal strategies against unjust laws, this conversation is a call for big, bad bold courage.

Key Topics

• The LandBack movement as a critical climate solution
• Nick Tilsen’s arrest at the 2020 Mount Rushmore action in defense of sacred lands and climate justice
• The release of Leonard Peltier after nearly 50 years in prison and its importance for today’s activists
• Parallels between Indigenous resistance and the struggle for Palestinian liberation
• Legal strategies to defend environmental movements against criminalization
• Practicing liberation in daily life and building a future rooted in justice

Resources to Explore

• NDN Collective
• Nick Tilsen’s Podcast: LandBack for The People
• LandBack
• The Fallout From The Greenpeace Verdict (The Nation)

Credits

Presented by Counterstream Media and The Nation
Powered by Wildseeds Fund
Host: Shilpi Chhotray
Executive Producer: Mindy Ramaker
Engineer: Francisco Núñez-Capriles
Project Manager: Marianella Núñez
Additional Research: Marianella Núñez

🌐 apeoplesclimate.org
📱 @counterstream_media
📧 [email protected]

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In this episode of A People’s Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Patrisse Cullors, author, educator, artist, and abolitionist who you may also know as the co-founder of Black Lives Matter. They explore the deep connections between racial justice, environmental justice, and the fight for a more just and caring world. 

From her childhood experiences in Los Angeles to organizing around police brutality, climate justice, and cultural work, Patrisse shares why her vision is rooted in care, creativity, and nonviolent action. 

Together, they unpack what it means to build coalitions across movements, resist systemic violence, and imagine a future beyond just survival.

Key Topics

• How racial justice and climate justice are deeply interconnected
• The role of abolition in addressing systemic violence and environmental harm
• Nonviolent direct action as both a strategy and philosophy for change
• The science of organizing
• Coalition-building across movements and communities
• Cop City
• Abolition Aesthetics and art as resistance

Resources to Explore

• Patrisse Cullors DEI Manifesto
• Patrisse Cullors Website
• Dignity and Power Now
• Learn more about Cop City in the Shilpi Chhotray hosted “People over Plastic” podcast episode: The Hot Seat.
• Learn more about Cancer Alley in the Shilpi Chhotray hosted  “People over Plastic” podcast episode: Secret Sauce

Credits

Presented by Counterstream Media and The Nation
Powered by Wildseeds Fund
Host: Shilpi Chhotray
Executive Producer: Mindy Ramaker
Engineer: Dennis Maxwell
Project Manager: Marianella Nuñez
Additional Research: Sarah Morgan

🌐 apeoplesclimate.org
📱 @counterstream_media
📧 [email protected]

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One woman’s fight against one of the most powerful chemical companies in the world.

In this episode of A People’s Climate, Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper and relentless environmental activist, to explore her decades-long fight against Formosa Plastics—a $250 billion petrochemical giant polluting the Texas Gulf Coast. 

From hunger strikes to scaling the White House fence, Diane’s unwavering activism has not only won a historic $50 million settlement, but transformed her community’s fisheries and galvanized citizen-led environmental justice. 

Her story is a masterclass in persistence, civil disobedience, and the power of ordinary people to create extraordinary change.

Key Topics

• Diane Wilson’s activism against Formosa Plastics 
• The historic $50 million settlement and community-led ecological restoration
• Citizen science and nurdle collection as evidence in legal action
• The power of civil disobedience
• Co-founding CODEPINK and the Texas Jail Project
• Parallels between environmental and anti-war activism
• The ongoing fight against corporate polluters and systemic injustice

Resources to Explore

• Diane Wilson
• Nurdle Patrol
• CODEPINK
• Texas Jail Project

Credits

Presented by Counterstream Media and The Nation
Powered by Wildseeds Fund
Host: Shilpi Chhotray
Executive Producer: Mindy Ramaker
Engineer: Francisco Núñez-Capriles
Project Manager: Marianella Nuñez and Sarah Morgan
Additional Research: Sarah Morgan

🌐 apeoplesclimate.org
📱 @counterstream_media
📧 [email protected]

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This isn’t climate talk as usual. This is environmental justice.

A new climate podcast by Counterstream Media and The Nation. Hosted by Shilpi Chhotray and powered by Wildseeds Fund. 

The climate crisis is here—and the solutions being pushed? They’re failing. Tech gimmicks, shallow policy fixes, and corporate greenwashing won’t save us.

What will? People power. 

The communities on the frontlines are fighting for their lives and our future. They’re the ones with real solutions—not just for the 1%, but for everyone.

Host Shilpi Chhotray has spent nearly a decade alongside these communities. Her guests have gone toe-to-toe with the biggest polluters on the planet, built movements in the millions, and restored entire ecosystems.

The future we need is being built from the ground up. Not by corporations. Not by billionaires. By us. The people demanding justice, reclaiming power, and rebuilding what’s been broken.

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Over nine powerful episodes, we bring together activists, organizers, and movement leaders who are fighting on the frontlines. These are climate conversations about real, grassroots action that puts power back in the hands of the people.  

Every conversation reveals not only why the fight matters, but how communities are already putting solutions into practice, offering roadmaps for change.

Guests include: Diane Wilson, Patrisse Cullors, Nick Tilsen, Amy Bowers Cordalis, Leah Penniman, Representative Justin J. Pearson, Vivien Sansour, and Elizabeth Yeampierre.

🌐 apeoplesclimate.org
📱 @counterstream_media
📧 [email protected]

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