Travis Higginbotham has an extremely niche job: he's a trainer for cannabis growers. It's a pretty straightforward plant to grow in a backyard or closet. But as the crop legalizes and greenhouses and indoor grows get larger, normal crop issues like IPM (integrated pest management), worker safety, and sustainability come to the fore. So in the interest of making larger-scale crop knowledge accessible, Travis & I got together & nerded out about running cannabis grows.

This interview was super long, so it's divided into 5 parts. The first two are here on Soundcloud, and the next three will post once a month. If you Must Have The Whole Thing immediately, the full 5-part series is available on Patreon at the $5 level as well: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5610560

Part two of the interview with Travis!

The rest of this 5-episode series will post monthly, or you can listen to all 5 right away on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5610560

Travis Higginbotham has an extremely niche job: he's a trainer for cannabis growers. It's a pretty straightforward plant to grow in a backyard or closet. But as the crop legalizes and greenhouses and indoor grows get larger, normal crop issues like IPM (integrated pest management), worker safety, and sustainability come to the fore. So in the interest of making larger-scale crop knowledge accessible, Travis & I got together & nerded out about running cannabis grows.

This interview was super long, so it's divided into 5 parts. The first two are here on Soundcloud, and the next three will post once a month. If you Must Have The Whole Thing immediately, the full 5-part series is available on Patreon at the $5 level as well: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5610560

Caitlin Rosenthal is a former McKinsey consultant turned historian of business practices, teaching at UC-Berkeley. Her recent book Accounting for Slavery traces how US business culture and practices were not born in the Industrial Revolution and northern factories as commonly believed, but on Southern and Caribbean plantations. She can be found on Twitter at @CC_Rosenthal .

Caitlin Rosenthal is a former McKinsey consultant turned historian of business practices, teaching at UC-Berkeley. Her recent book Accounting for Slavery traces how US business culture and practices were not born in the Industrial Revolution and northern factories as commonly believed, but on Southern and Caribbean plantations. She can be found on Twitter at @CC_Rosenthal .

Patrick Wyman is a historian and host of the Tides of History podcast. He grew up in eastern Washington doing a lot of construction & farm jobs. Hope you have as much fun listening as we did comparing notes on rural bosses throughout the ages.

Patrick Wyman is a historian and host of the Tides of History podcast. He grew up in eastern Washington doing a lot of construction & farm jobs. Hope you have as much fun listening as we did comparing notes on rural bosses throughout the ages.

Joe Swartz is a 4th generation farmer who started using hydroponics back in its early days—the 1980s—to help keep his family’s small farm open. Some thirty years later, it’s the longest-running hydroponic operation in the US northeast. Joe’s main job now is training new growers. In a hydro industry that’s full of hot new tools, Joe’s a great witness to how they’re still just tools. Running a good operation is still about making sure those tools serve the plants, and the humans on deck have all the training & support they need to use the tools properly.

Joe Swartz is a 4th generation farmer who started using hydroponics back in its early days—the 1980s—to help keep his family’s small farm open. Some thirty years later, it’s the longest-running hydroponic operation in the US northeast. Joe’s main job now is training new growers. In a hydro industry that’s full of hot new tools, Joe’s a great witness to how they’re still just tools. Running a good operation is still about making sure those tools serve the plants, and the humans on deck have all the training & support they need to use the tools properly.

Mike McGolden is an engineer who builds equipment for making biochar. We talk about the drama of getting new green technologies ready to use, and the additional drama of convincing people to use it once it’s ready.