How are local farmers working to make agriculture more sustainable? On today's show we sit down with August Stubler, the head farmer at SkyFarm at POST Houston to talk about the innovative work being done to create newer, more ecologically friendly, agricultural systems. 

Today we sit down with Mary Anne Piacentini, Executive Director and CEO of Coastal Prairie Conservancy, to discuss the role of conservation organizations in building better environments all around us. Beyond the work of habitat creation and maintenance, conservation is a complex mix of science, law, education, and outreach that creates spaces that plants, humans, and animals can enjoy. Piacentini discusses the work of Coastal Prairie Conservancy throughout Southeast Texas, and how they are helping to protect our natural areas for generations to come.

Today we're sitting down with Yilun Cheng (Houston Chronicle) to talk about her recent series of stories focused on where and how we're building new homes in the Houston metro area. Through her reporting, the Chronicle has learned that nearly 1 in 5 new homes built in the area are in FEMA designated floodplains. We talk through what this means for flood risk throughout Houston, and what can be done about it. Later in the hour our researcher Nomin discusses how new parks are built in unlikely places, and our researcher Sophia has another piece in her Critter Corner series on animals around town.

With Hurricane Katrina's 20th anniversary landing in August, we sit down with Dr. Andy Horowitz (University of Connecticut) to discuss his book Katrina: A History, 1915-2015. Together we discuss the longterm impacts of the disaster, how the conditions in New Orleans were primed for disaster, and what recovery means -- and what we can learn -- in an age of more frequent extreme weather. 

Today we sit down with Brandon Ballengée, a biologist and artist, who researches and makes art that explores the unique ecosystems of the Gulf Coast. Reflecting on the fifteenth anniversary of the capping of the capping of the oil leak  caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Dr. Ballengée helps us understand the ongoing harm caused by the spill and the ways we can remember the devastation and continue to understand its relevance.

A thriving economy exists around our natural resources: tourists flock to take in beautiful destinations. But maintaining and leveraging these sites takes work. So today we're talking about EcoTourism, both how nature can attract tourists (and their dollars), and the ways that tourists are increasingly thinking about how they can "travel green." Our guests are Sasha Francis (Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council) and Dr. Bryan Schmidt (William and Mary). 

On today's show our researcher Jadyn turns the tables to sit down with Weston Twardowski (Rice University) to talk all about the environmental consequences of the agricultural system how what we choose to eat impacts the world around us. 

As our environments change, whether from natural disaster or man-made forces, part of adapting to our new reality is processing the loss of what was as we accept what is. On today's show, Dr. Chaney Hill (Rice University) sits down with our usual host Dr. Weston Twardowski (Rice University), Dr. Jennifer Ladino (University of Idaho), and Dr. Nick Koenig (University of Idaho) to talk about the ways that we process environmental change. Later in the hour our research Sophia has another Critter Corner special all about local animals and plants.

We sit down with Ian Rosenberg (Senior Vice President of Projects & Planning) and Karen Farber (Vice President of External Affairs) at Buffalo Bayou Partnership to talk about the expansion of Buffalo Bayou East and the coming projects that will remake one of the most iconic parks in Houston over the next few years. Later in the hour our researcher Nomin has a piece on the surprising environmental differences between common products, and our researcher Sophia chats animals and local fauna.