HEAL Utah Podcast

We’ve had a few staff changes here at HEAL Utah and we are so excited to introduce you to our new Development Director, Turner Bitton, and Grassroots Organizer, Carmen Val Dez! Listen to this week’s episode (the last of the 2019 HEAL Utah Podcast season) to hear about their background, how they’ll live their best HEAL life with us, and what challenges they are excited to take on in their new roles. You can meet Turner and Carmen in person at our 20th Anniversary Fall Party on October 10th! Get tickets today at www.healutah.org/fallparty2019 (and don’t forget to ask about their cows or dogs when you meet them at the party).

This episode is brought to you by KUHL Clothing.

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

Did you know that Utah has part-time legislators, that there are only 45 days a year where they can pass laws, and that citizen’s can come to the State Capitol Building and lobby them during that time? HEAL Utah Policy Associate Jessica Reimer not only spends all 45 days of the legislative session at the Capitol, but she also develops bills and helps push them forward to become law. We sat down with Jessica to chat about how Utah’s legislative process works, how HEAL successfully works on environmental legislation (its all about values), and how you can get involved! Listen now and then sign up to get HEAL’s updates during the legislative session at https://www.healutah.org/get-legislative-updates/.

This episode is brought to you by KUHL Clothing.

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

If you’re into big mountain freestyle skiing, you probably know about Dash Longe. But did you know that he is also a dad, filmmaker, and environmental advocate? Lately, Dash has been on a mission to refocus himself, his skiing, and his advocacy locally. The day his new film was announced (Stone’s Throw, which is premiering on October 3rd and will benefit HEAL Utah!) and the day before the Global Climate Strike, we sat down with Dash to talk about athletes acting as advocates, how change will come with people power, and what world he wants for his daughters. Listen today and then join us and Dash on October 3rd at the Commonwealth Room for Stone’s Throw premier (bit.ly/stonesthrowslc)!

Watch the trailer for Stone’s Throw below:

DPS Cinematic // Stone’s Throw Trailer from DPS SKIS on Vimeo.

This episode is brought to you by KUHL Clothing.

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

This week we sat down with another Torrey House Press author, Zak Podmore, to discuss his new book Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political Rivers of the New West and his life on the river. Zak has a long history with the uranium industry, a history that is ongoing for him even today in San Juan County. This industry, along with other radioactive waste issues, is something that HEAL is especially familiar with. We dive into the issue of uranium milling and Utah’s long relationship with radioactive waste. His book Confluence is on sale this October.

This episode is brought to you by KUHL Clothing.

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

Tim Sullivan and Michael Yount call themselves Salt Lake City cheerleaders, but they do more than just cheer on this growing city – they are an integral part of its development and are changing the way we think about using our streets, landscape, and public spaces. Tim and Michael are the owners of Little City Inc., a Utah Benefit Corporation that creates temporary, urban spaces utilized for walking, transit, and bicycling while providing affordable space for entrepreneurs and makers. We sat down this them in this week’s episode to learn how Little City Inc. came to be, what a Utah Benefit Corporation is, and why we need to be using big city solutions as Salt Lake continues to develop. Listen and then be sure to check them out at www.littlecityinc.com!

This episode is brought to you by KUHL Clothing.

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

This week we caught up with Ayja Bounous to talk about our favorite thing – skiing – and our least favorite thing – climate change. Author of Torrey House Press‘ new book Shaped by Snow: Defending the Future of Winter (available in November 2019), Ayja has a deep, familial connection with winter and environmentalism. Together, we dive into how climate change is impacting our relationship with winter and with each other, and what the ski industry is and isn’t doing to protect the season that they depend on. Listen to this week’s HEAL Utah Podcast episode too to find hope for our winter even when it feels hopeless.

More on Shaped by Snow: Defending the Future of Winter by Ayja Bounous, published by Torrey House Press: Skier and debut author Ayja Bounous explores threats to winters and watershed in the face of climate change and the far-reaching impacts of a diminishing snowpack on the American West—from ecological and economic perspectives and in regard to emotional and psychological health—as she realizes how deeply her personal relationships are tied to the snow-covered mountains of Utah’s Wasatch range.

This episode is sponsored by KUHL Clothing!

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

How can you run a sustainable business when it inherently produces emissions? Owner of Publik Coffee Roasters and Publik Kitchen, Missy Greis, hasn’t found all the answers but she has come to a few conclusions. On this episode, we talk with Missy about building a sustainable business – from installing solar panels to balance out emissions caused by roasting coffee and using local products to accepting occasional monetary losses for the sake of the environment. Plus, Missy opens up about the many obstacles to being sustainable and what small businesses should know before getting started. So whether you’re trying to start your own business or you just love Publik coffee, listen to this week’s episode and don’t forget to bring your own mug to Publik next time you go!

This episode is sponsored by KUHL Clothing!

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

If you’ve come to any of HEAL Utah’s main events in the last three years, they were most likely orchestrated by our Development Director, Hannah Whitney. In honor of her last few months here at HEAL (she’s leaving this fall to ski volcanoes in Chile!), we sat down with her to get her “how I came to Utah” story and to learn how she got involved with environmental nonprofits after a short stint of pro-skiing. Plus, we dive into what a Development Director actually does at a small organization like HEAL. We’ll miss you Hannah!

This episode is sponsored by KUHL Clothing!

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

Jason Groenewold came to Utah in the 90s with skis, a tent from Walmart, and $500 in his pocket. Decades later, he had built up a thriving environmental nonprofit and won countless victories against the giants of nuclear, chemical, and toxic waste. In this week’s episode, our host Michael talks with Jason about the origins of HEAL Utah (including how it grew from local citizens to an office based out of his bedroom to an alliance continually influencing statewide policy) and how a small group of grassroots activists can – and do – make a difference.

Learn more about the origin story of HEAL Utah from one of its founders, Chip Ward, in Canaries on the Rim.

This episode is sponsored by KUHL Clothing

Subscribe to the HEAL Utah podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or our RSS feed.

Dr. Sandra Steingraber was there when Tim DeChristopher looked the judge who would sentence him in the eyes and said “This is what hope looks like…This is what patriotism looks like…This is what love looks like, and it will only grow.” Those words were the impetus to her long career in activism, writing, and taking her research as a biologist from the halls of science to the halls of power to create meaningful change. Dr. Steingraber was also our 2019 spring breakfast speaker! She sat down with HEAL Utah’s Executive Director, Dr. Scott Williams, the day before our breakfast to talk about everything in her life, from her cancer diagnosis that led to her fight on fracking to that day at Tim DeChristopher’s trial that changed the course of her life, and everything in between.

This episode is sponsored by KUHL Clothing.

Listen and subscribe on iTunes here.

RSS feed