EcoJustice Radio

Breathing clean air and drinking clean water are fundamental rights. However, these rights have been denied to many low-income communities and communities of color, who often live next to massive industrial facilities that pollute the air and water. Our guest is Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali [https://www.mustafasantiagoali.com/] former EPA official and now Executive Vice President at the National Wildlife Federation and Founder and CEO of Revitalization Strategies. He has been working toward solving historical injustices that target certain communities for class- and race-based discrimination putting them in the path of harm from toxic exposure, climate disruption, and industrial accidents.

In this show we discuss Dr. Ali's history of working at the EPA and why he had to leave that position. We talk about the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, OH; the EPA regulation of forever chemicals in drinking water; and vehicle pollution standards. We also discuss how the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gasses has been dialed back by a recent supreme court decision.

Through his public advocacy, Dr. Ali shares his holistic approach to empowering and revitalizing vulnerable communities to secure environmental, health, and economic justice. And how all of us can use our talents to be part of the larger change while also curbing climate anxiety and burnout.

Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali is a thought leader, international speaker, policy maker, community liaison, trainer, and facilitator. Dr. Ali serves as the vice president of environmental justice, climate, and community revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) [https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Leadership/Mustafa-Santiago-Ali]. He is also the founder of Revitalization Strategies [https://www.mustafasantiagoali.com/about-mustafa/], a business focused on moving our most vulnerable communities from “surviving to thriving.”

Before joining NWF, Dr. Ali was the Senior Vice President for the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC), a national nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that connects the Hip Hop community to the civic process. Prior to joining the HHC, Mustafa worked 22 years at the EPA and 2 years on Capitol Hill working for Congressman John Conyers, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He began advocating on social justice issues at the age of 16 and joined the EPA as a student, becoming a founding member of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice.

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

More Info/Resources:

https://www.gq.com/story/mustafa-ali-epa-interview

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Guest: Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 177

Join Paula Peters, citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe as she shares the historical and cultural legacy and story of the Wampanoag: the People of the First Light. She unravels common misperceptions and false narratives around the first “Thanksgiving” and the harvest of 1621 involving Native people and the first colonizers, the Pilgrims. By acknowledging what has gone before, she invites us to envision and collectively create a balanced way forward for humanity.

The Wampanoag have lived in southeastern Massachusetts for more than 12,000 years. They are the tribe first encountered by Mayflower Pilgrims when they landed in Provincetown harbor and explored the eastern coast of Cape Cod and when they continued on to Patuxet (Plymouth) to establish Plymouth Colony.

In 2020, America commemorated the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage and the founding of Plymouth Colony, a story that cannot be told without the perspective of the indigenous people who were here as that ship arrived and who still remain.

For Part II of this interview, CLICK HERE https://www.patreon.com/posts/116836972?pr=true

Video Links:

NK 360 The First Thanksgiving with Linda Coombs: https://youtu.be/pba21_DOGl8?si=4BuJUMlpk0U9zLAK

Story of Squanto, Smithsonian Channel: https://youtu.be/N-uE7cbH1-I?si=DY2Il4PYp0C4bG7x

Cranberry Day: Traditional Harvest Festivals, Smoke Sygnals/Smithsonian: https://youtu.be/g2pSir70DG4?si=RRA9b9uk4v4LS0rZ

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

LINKS

The Thanksgiving Story from the Wampanoag Perspective: https://wilderutopia.com/traditions/wampanoag-thanksgiving-stolen-land-massacred-hope/

Native Knowledge 360: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360

Plymouth 400: https://www.plymouth400inc.org/category/news/

Suppressed Speech Wamsutta Frank B. James:http://www.uaine.org/suppressed_speech.htm

Native Land Conservancy: https://www.nativelandconservancy.org

Linda Coombs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGSmn2UPicQ

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/692454/colonization-and-the-wampanoag-story-by-linda-coombs/

Paula Peters is a politically, socially and culturally active citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. For more than a decade she worked as a journalist for the Cape Cod Times and is now co-owner of SmokeSygnals [http://smokesygnals.com], a Native owned and operated creative production agency.

As an independent scholar and writer of Native, and particularly Wampanoag history, she produced the traveling exhibit “Our”Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History and The Wampum Belt Project documenting the art and tradition of wampum in the contemporary Wampanoag community [https://www.plymouth400inc.org/category/news/].

In 2020 she wrote the introduction to the 400th Anniversary Edition of William Bradford’s, Of Plimoth Plantation. Paula is also the executive producer of the 2016 documentary film Mashpee Nine and author of the companion book, a story of law enforcement abuse of power and cultural justice in the Wampanoag community in 1976. Paula lives with her husband and children in Mashpee, Massachusetts, the Wampanoag ancestral homeland.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, Indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 242

Photo credit: Paula Peters

In this episode, we explore the precarious existence of grizzly bears in the United States, focusing on their survival challenges and the intricate interplay between human development and wildlife conservation. From the historical land grabbing and habitat destruction to the current threats posed by climate change, we delve into the struggles of maintaining genetic diversity and the critical need for interconnected habitats. With insights from experts and advocates like Doug Peacock and Terry Tempest Williams, we discuss the pressing issues of delisting, trophy hunting, and the impact of climate change on grizzly bear populations. Join us as we examine the role of grizzlies in our ecosystem and the urgent need for coexistence to ensure their survival and ours.

We include clips from four documentaries on the grizzly bear.

Grizzly Country: https://youtu.be/2_XPRozm4CI?si=M7XpfUKCTuFUCB98

Directed by Ben Moon, presented by Peak Design

The Beast of Our Time: Climate Change and Grizzly Bears: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cfuSIlEIyY

Produced by Save the Yellowstone Grizzly and Never Give Up Films

Peacock’s War: https://youtu.be/2KJ-ia0O71U?si=8aPXc2MG05sKCgMc

Peacock's War, PBS Nature profiles Vietnam veteran Doug Peacock, who's battling to protect grizzly bears while dealing with war memories. Filmed in Montana's Glacier National Park.

Grizzly 399: Queen of the Tetons - PBS Nature Documentary: https://youtu.be/9gXa-bs_9i0?si=_BrGyekmC0h0rPIC

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Resources/Articles:

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/05/23/grizzly-hunting-is-trophy-hunting/

Doug Peacock, [https://dougpeacock.net/] born in 1942, is a U.S. author, filmmaker, naturalist, and Vietnam War veteran. He is best known for his work dedicated to grizzly bear recovery in the lower-48, his book Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness and serving as the model for the well-known character George Washington Hayduke in Edward Abbey's novel The Monkey Wrench Gang.

His other books include ¡Baja!, Walking It Off: A Veteran’s Chronicle of War and Wilderness, and The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears (co-authored with Andrea Peacock). His latest book, Was It Worth It: A Wilderness Warrior’s Long Trail Home, won the 2023 National Outdoor Book Award, and a 2022 award for literature from the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

Doug is the co-founder of several conservation organizations including Round River Conservation Studies and Save The Yellowstone Grizzly.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 241

Photo credit: National Park Service-CJ Adams

In this episode, we delve into the controversial and complex world of deep seabed mining. We feature a panel of experts from the Wonderful World Festival in Norway [https://www.wonderfulworld.no/] discussing the environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications of extracting minerals from the ocean floor. Marine Scientists, a documentary filmmaker, mining industry officials debate the need for and consequences from extracting rare earth minerals for renewable energy technologies. Discover the unknowns of the deep sea, the ethical considerations, and the potential impact on future generations. Join us as we explore whether the pursuit of these resources is truly necessary and the role of storytelling in shaping our understanding of the ocean's mysteries.

We start with an introduction by panel moderator, Anders Dunker.

Next are excerpts from a TED Talk by Sandor Mulsow, Marine Geologist from Chile. Also included is the trailer of the documentary film DEEP Rising, which he is featured in.

Sandor Mulsow TED Talk https://youtu.be/tIg1M0b43jQ?si=_SWZ6pZs-S9lSNA1

Then we feature excerpts from the panel, that can be listened to in its entirety here…

The Deep Sea and the Mining Business: https://youtu.be/qPm1HdyvYaM?si=nw6sSrWN_8DP0A_Y

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Anders Dunker [https://www.andersdunker.com/] is a Norwegian writer and philosophical journalist based in Los Angeles and an associate professor at Oslo International School of Philosophy. In contributions across a range of publications, including Le Monde Diplomatique, Ny Tid, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, he writes about nature, technology, social change, and the planetary future. He is the editor of the book series 'Futurum' at Existenz Forlag and a regular contributor and board member in the Norwegian Writers’ Climate Campaign, as well as a collaborator in Technophany – A Journal of Philosophy and Technology. In 2019, he published Rediscovering Earth (Spartacus and O/R books). In 2022, his collection of essays, Thinking on the Planet, was published by Existenz Publishers. Unknown Territory is his third book.

Sandor Mulsow, Marine Geologist, long-time member of the International Seabed Authority, the UN's own body for safeguarding the health of the oceans. He is a professor at Universidad Austral de Chile, and was featured in the documentary film DEEP RISING. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandor-mulsow-b98a2214/?originalSubdomain=cl]

Other Members of the panel

Matthieu Rytz, filmmaker, visual anthropologist, director of the documentary DEEP RISING [https://www.deeprising.com/]

Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, marine biologist and Global Head of Policy at Deep Sea Mining at WWF Norway

Øystein Bruncell Larsen - COO Loke Marine Minerals of Norway

Rune Høyvik Rosnes, Seabed Intervention technologist, economist and business developer, Deep C

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 239

Dive into our conversation with Whisper Camel Means, a wildlife biologist from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, as she illuminates the critical role of Indigenous knowledge in wildlife conservation. Discover the stark realities facing Turtle Island's wildlife, explore the rich history of the Salish and Kootenai peoples [https://csktribes.org/], and learn how we can alter our behaviors to coexist harmoniously with our non-human relatives. This episode, recorded at the end of last year, is a profound reminder of our interdependence with nature and a call to action for preserving the legacy of our planet's diverse ecosystems for generations to come.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Whisper Camel-Means is the Division Manager of the Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation in the Natural Resources Department for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on the Flathead Reservation [https://csktribes.org/] in Western Montana. She is a wildlife biologist by training and now an administrator over multiple disciplines including restoration of the Bison Range for the Tribes [https://bisonrange.org/about/]. She works on outreach projects and climate change planning. She is an enrolled tribal member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, Indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 203

Join us in this episode featuring the profound art of Mark Steven Greenfield, whose work delves into the African American experience, historical stereotypes, and social justice. Discover his two thought-provoking series, HALO and Black Madonna, which reimagine influential Black figures as saintly icons and challenge the narratives of white supremacy. Through a rich tapestry of stories and imagery, Greenfield invites us to explore the transcendental divinity within every black face. Listen as he shares his journey of using art to deconstruct stereotypes, preserve history, and inspire change.

We present Los Angeles Art Critic Shana Nys Dambrot and African American visual artist Mark Steven Greenfield discussing his exhibition from the Ronald Silverman Gallery at Cal State LA, recorded by L.A. Art Documents. We also feature Yoruba DUNDUN Talking drum ensemble, and an excerpt from a PBS show featuring Greenfield called Craft in America.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Resources/Articles:

L.A. Art Documents YouTube: https://youtu.be/IMFtfhAdJM4?si=gcXNAZfIYh38QStd

PBS Craft in America: https://www.pbs.org/video/mark-steven-greenfield-his-work-qakt1c/

Yoruba DUNDUN Talking Drum Ensemble: https://youtu.be/F0L2fhqFzKU?si=xFJMJ9axI-p9nV7V

Mark Steven Greenfield is an African American visual artist from Los Angeles [https://www.markstevengreenfield.com/]. His work deals primarily with the African American experience and in recent years has focused on the effects of stereotypes on U.S. culture stimulating much-needed and long overdue dialog on issues of race. He has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States as well as internationally. He has served on multiple arts and community boards and received a long list of awards, accolades, and residencies over the years.

Shana Nys Dambrot features a weekly substack called 13Things LA [https://hijinxarts.substack.com/]. She has been Arts Editor for the L.A. Weekly, and a contributor to the Village Voice, Flaunt, Artillery, and other culture publications. She studied Art History at Vassar College, and is the recipient of the 2022 and 2024 Mozaik Future Art Writers Prize, the 2022 Rabkin Prize for Art Criticism, and the LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Critic of the Year award for 2022. Her surrealist novel Zen Psychosis (Published by Griffith Moon) was released in 2020. Her personal substack is https://substack.com/@shananys

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 238

Photo credit: Detail of Mark Steven Greenfield painting “The French Solution” from the Black Madonna Series

Join us as we explore the transformative potential of tiny living with Lindsay Wood, the Tiny Home Lady, and Theresa Bradley, founder of Race to Zero Waste. Discover how tiny homes can redefine the American Dream, address the housing crisis, and contribute to environmental sustainability. Our guests from a 2023 interview share insights on the challenges and rewards of downsizing, the intricacies of zoning laws, and the movement's accessibility. Tune in to learn how living with less can lead to a richer life.

As house prices escalate, the concept of living in smaller homes has gone viral. Whether fixed to land or portable, the tiny house movement has swept across the US. Yet, what is the day-to-day reality of living the downsized life?

Our guests, Lindsay Wood - The Tiny Home Lady [https://www.thetinyhomelady.com/] - and Teresa Bradley from Tiny Green Adventures [https://www.youtube.com/@tinygreenadventure], bring a dose of reality to the challenge, but also the splendor, of living simply with few belongings in a tiny home. Can you really save money by going tiny? Is it a net positive for the environment? And what about zero waste, is that possible? Are tiny homes the way to tackle the housing crisis across the United States?

Tiny Homes, although lauded as a green way forward in a world covered in wasteful McMansions and debt enslaving rent payments, must overcome land and building regulations (that in many places) still consider this form of housing either illegal or difficult to approve. We go into all these points and more on this show.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Lindsay Wood, "The Tiny Home Lady" [https://www.thetinyhomelady.com/] is on a mission to develop 100,000 Tiny Homes as attainable and affordable houses in California and across the US. Lindsay has been investing in Real Estate since 2015 and believes Tiny Homes are a solution to the housing and climate crisis. Lindsay consults and guides people dreaming of going Tiny through The GO TiNY! Academy, GO TiNY! Showcase.

Teresa Bradley is the founding Director of Race to Zero Waste [http://racetozerowaste.org] and lives with her partner, daughter and cat who all live a low waste lifestyle while traveling most of the year in a 24-foot Class C Motorhome. She and her partner travel for environmental project work throughout California and showcase their lifestyle on their Instagram & YouTube channel called Tiny Green Adventure [https://www.youtube.com/@tinygreenadventure] .

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

More Info/Resources:

https://garageshedcarportbuilder.com/tiny-homes-a-big-idea/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 172

According to Dr Kristine Nichols, a soil microbiologist and regenerative agriculture expert, of the 900 million arable acres in the U.S., only about 1.5% is being farmed regeneratively. Yet, this continues to change, despite consolidation of farms, the majority of foods on this continent are still grown by small farmers. Regenerative is our future and also our past, as Indigenous peoples have long cared for this Earth, knowing it is our inheritance and responsibility. We owe a debt to how they have cared for the land through their culture, lifeways and connection to Mother Earth.

Our guest from earlier this year, Gabe Brown, Regenerative Farmer and Rancher out of North Dakota, and a Partner in Understanding Ag [https://understandingag.com] and the Soil Health Academy [https://soilhealthacademy.org/] is a leading voice reminding us to return to tend the land as stewards, relatives, and children born of the land. Regenerative farming promotes soil health, restores the water cycle, increases biodiversity and the holistic health of the ecosystem. Aligning with regenerative farms, and creating beyond sustainable local food systems, requires us to shift to a consciousness of caring for the Earth as Indigenous peoples have done since time immemorial. Understanding and undertaking this personally and collectively is key to the continuance of life.

It all begins with the soil, whether we are talking about food security and sovereignty, climate change or the need to heal ourselves and the soil, so that all life from microbes to insects to plants, animals, and humans can thrive together. It is not a hierarchy but a circle and cycle of care that we must urgently attend to for future generations. Gabe Brown joins us now to share his journey and how we can collectively contribute to an abundant future with regenerative farming.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Featured Video:

Understanding Ag:

https://youtu.be/9yPjoh9YJMk?si=aclF95oje6IFq6EY

Gabe Brown is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources. Gabe and his wife and son operate Brown's Ranch [https://brownsranch.us/], a diversified 5,000 acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. Gabe was named one of the twenty-five most influential agricultural leaders in the United States and is also the author of the book, “Dirt to Soil, One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture.” He is a partner in Understanding Ag [https://understandingag.com] and an instructor for Soil Health Academy [https://soilhealthacademy.org/], which focuses on teaching others the power and importance of healthy functioning ecosystems.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, Indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 209

Photo credit: Gabe Brown

In this transformative episode from earlier this year, Dr. Zach Bush [http://zachbushmd.com/] shares his insights on the intricate links between the health of our planet and the health of humanity. Learn about the light energy within us that has been dimming since the 1940s and its relation to the rise of chronic diseases. Delve into the ancient stories of human spirituality and their impact on our modern world with Host Carry Kim. This is a conversation that will change the way you see your place in nature.

Ours is a time that requires fortitude, resiliency, introspection, observation, connection and action. We are aware of the multitude of things afflicting humanity and the world, much of which has been human-induced whether we speak of climate change, conflicts, injustice of all kinds, destruction of the ecosystem and our microbiomes, degradation of soil, loss of biodiversity or personal dis-ease and the deterioration of collective health.

Dr. Zach Bush has devoted his life and research to the exploration of what harms and what heals ourselves, our food systems, waterways, the soil, and the often unseen world of microbiology. His journey has been a deep and collaborative dive into understanding and revealing root cause. How did we get here and how will we change to chart a better course not just for humanity, but for all inhabitants with whom we share this planet? This conversation is more inquiry than "answers." It is a pondering of our times and an asking of questions, without the resolution of "answers." It is an attempt to connect some of the dots between human and planetary health and to awaken our collective memories as intrinsic parts of Nature.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Zach Bush, MD [http://zachbushmd.com/]is a renowned, multi-disciplinary physician and internationally recognized educator on the microbiome as it relates to human health, soil health, food systems, and a regenerative future. He founded *Seraphic Group [http://seraphicgroup.com/] and the non-profit Farmer’s Footprint [http://www.farmersfootprint.us/] to develop root-cause solutions for human and ecological health. His education has highlighted the need for a radical departure from chemical farming and pharmacy, and his ongoing efforts are providing a path for consumers, farmers, and mega-industries to work together for a healthy future for people and the planet.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, Indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 214

In this episode, host Jack Eidt delves into the groundbreaking archaeological discoveries at the Huaca Montegrande site in the Peruvian Amazon with guest Karen Gordon, an associate at ASICAMPE, the nonprofit Association for Scientific Research of the Peruvian Amazon [https://abundantearthfoundation.org/ancientcacao/]. They explore the ancient Marañon culture, their sophisticated agroforestry practices, and the origins of cacao, the plant responsible for the world’s chocolate. Traces of cacao have been found in 6,000-year-old ceremonial pottery vessels from what is now recognized as the oldest monumental temple site in Peru, predating the pyramids of Egypt or Mesopotamia. Tune in to learn how these findings are rewriting the history of organized human settlement and spirituality in the ancient Amazon.

Nominated as one of the Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries in the World, Montegrande is currently unearthing the story of the ancient Amazonian Marañon Culture and their sophisticated agroforestry practices, social structure, and cosmovision – 3,000 years before the more well-studied Inca and Nazca cultures. These findings completely rewrite the history of organized human settlement and spirituality in the ancient Amazon. Groundbreaking evidence from Montegrande points to the Marañon Culture as being the earliest human stewards of cacao in the world, tending its domestication, cultivation, veneration and trade.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Resources/Articles:

https://inboundperu.com/2022/03/11/the-world-will-get-to-know-huaca-montegrande-where-historys-oldest-cacao-was-found%ef%bf%bc/8644/

Ancient Builders of the Amazon on Nova PBS: https://youtu.be/dY82nZTxXQ4?si=UcvfsGJtvJQY_GAs

Karen Gordon - Equal parts soul-filled and inspired educator, Karen's work as a restoration ecologist and land steward has spanned California's Channel Islands to the Peruvian Amazon for the last 30 years. She has called Costa Rica's cloud forested mountaintops home for the last two decades.

ASICAMPE is a small Peruvian nonprofit research organization led by Dr. Quirino Olivera; making significant contributions to Amazonian and world history. Nevertheless, the Huaca Montegrande project, destined to become and UNESCO World Heritage Site, faces multiple threats and requires protection to continue their work. For more information and to support their work: https://abundantearthfoundation.org/ancientcacao/

Musical interludes by Oscar Jimenez Fernandez. IG: @oscarjimenezfdc

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer and Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 237

Photo credit: ASICAMPE