I Am Interchange

In this episode, Tate Chamberlin hosts Charli Cooksey, Founder and CEO of WEPOWER. For Charli, her calling to uplift marginalized communities and reshape policy often faces systemic barriers. When passion alone isn't enough, how do we keep moving forward amid oppressive forces? Charli stands at a crossroads, balancing the need for rest with her commitment to activism. This journey is transformative yet painful, reminding us that our dreams, even if deferred, hold power. Charli's story is still unfolding—rich with potential and heartache—showing us we can create, shape our world, and keep dreaming.

Without the Amazon, the world as we know it ends. With no hyperbole, it is the churning epicenter of weather systems worldwide. It creates rain. It regulates temperature and humidity. It stores carbon dioxide. It regulates trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean and all the moisture they move. It releases around 20 billion tons of water into the atmosphere every single day. It supports ecosystems not found anywhere else on the planet. And we know next to nothing about most of what lives there. The XPRIZE Rainforest competition's 2024 winner, Team Limelight, aims to change that, to show all of us that the planet's greatest buried treasure is worth fighting for. And that the time to fight is now.

In this second installment of a two-part special Rio G20 series, host Tate Chamberlin interviews Team Limelight Rainforest's Dr. Thomas Walla, Professor of Biology at Colorado Mesa University, and Outreach Robotics Cofounder Guillaume Charron, two among the many creative minds intent on tackling the world's most pressing concerns in XPRIZE competitions around the globe. Here, they break through the Amazon's canopy to shed light on the world's most misunderstood treasure and all the sway it holds over the future of literally everything.

Each year at the G20 Summit, the "Group of 20" heads of state and international governments meet to address issues impacting global economies, politics, and environmental health. This year's Summit in Rio de Janeiro hosted the XPRIZE Rainforest award ceremony, the culmination of a five-year competition that fueled teams helmed by the best and brightest minds from diverse backgrounds to innovate solutions to imminent concerns endangering the future of rainforest ecosystems and, by extension, the health of the very planet. Tune in to hear XPRIZE Executive Vice President of Biodiversity & Conservation Peter Houlihan describe the advances inspired by the competition, and the profound hope he's found exploring the planet's deepest hearts of darkness.

How does ecological data analysis inform financial policies that challenge the status quo to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, thereby addressing the climate crisis and saving the world as we know it? It's a mix of positioning, ingenuity, investment, and good old-fashioned act-now-and-think-later responsiveness. Simple. For a more detailed accounting, check out the latest episode of the I Am Interchange podcast: Vibrant Data.

In this episode, Tate Chamberlin is joined by esteemed ecologist and data analyst Eric Berlow, venture capitalist and 2050 founder Marie Ekeland, and We Are Human managing partner and Katapult Ocean partner and chair Sindre Østgård. Together, they discuss the critical role of data analysis, fiscal policy, and entrepreneurial innovation in shaping the global response to the climate crisis. As deadlines for achieving these vital goals loom large and remain largely unmet, how do we bridge the gap in both knowledge and action to save a planet on the brink?

Wealthy nations, which have profited from exploitation and extraction, face a crucial moment to confront their histories. This recognition is vital for real change and challenges our assumptions about environment, race, religion, and wealth.

We must also consider the ethical implications of pressuring poorer nations, which have contributed the least to environmental issues, to transition to sustainability. Is it unjust to impose such burdens without adequate support, risking further inequality? A just transition from extractive practices to an inclusive ethos requires embracing responsibility for past actions and paving the way forward.

In this episode, Tate Chamberlin explores the nature of justice in the face of change with esteemed guests Ignacio Packer, executive director of Caux Initiatives of Change, Douglas Drummond, CEO of Weaving Waters Collective, and Boise State University president, Marlene Tromp. When all around is evolving, how does equitable accountability define a just path forward?

It's not hard to be inspired by Candice Mama, even her voice burbles forth with the twinkling lyricism of joy. And that joy, that effervescence of self, has been hard won in a story capable of breaking even the soundest of hearts: the violent loss of her father at the hands of "the most evil man in the world." If she can find a way to engage the world with hope — to literally walk herself out of consuming depression to forgive the man that murdered her father and champion his release from prisons both outward and in — then what, really, are the barriers for so many of us that cling to resentment, anger, and pasts that simply don't serve? What are the real barriers to reconciliation?

As we approach 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, we find ourselves at a critical inflection point for democracy. The promise of equity demands that every policy and investment provide significant, sustained support to those most in need. This support must act as a bridge to creating an equitable economy, fostering an inclusive and compassionate society, and strengthening an accountable democracy. In this pivotal moment, we must ensure that our collective efforts address systemic inequalities, amplify marginalized voices, and create pathways for all individuals to thrive. Only by prioritizing these goals can we fulfill the foundational ideals of our nation and build a more just and resilient future. To that end, we are in need of a revolution of the soul.

In this podcast, Tate Chamberlin hosts distinguished author and Duke University history and public policy professor Nancy MacLean, PolicyLink president and CEO Michael McAfee, and RepresentUs co-founder and CEO Josh Lynn in a discussion of the messy truths about democracy and getting things done.

We often find ourselves looking to leaders and governments to direct solutions for our increasingly complex problems, but what better place to look than at a problem's source. As Mexico City struggles under the yoke of a burgeoning population and ever-dwindling resources, particularly water, it may find itself at the forefront of innovation, of those sorts of grassroots efforts that eventually dictate structural change. In this case, residents of the city have long utilized creative strategies for water harvest, capture, reuse, and urban gardening, thereby reducing their reliance on government and supply chains. These everyday people simply looked at a problem and solved it, to the best of their ability, with what they had. They made resources last. And, in so doing, they fed into their own autonomy. They became proactivists in their lives, livelihoods, and the future of their beloved city.

In this podcast, Tate Chamberlin hosts Enrique Lomnitz, and Gabriela Vargas Romero as they reflect on the city's resilient population, innovative regenerative solutions, and hope, in all its vibrant colors.

As young Tanzanians, in particular, struggle to define their way in the world, questions arise about the true nature of opportunity, and what to do when there is a lack. Does the mere existence of options suffice? Amidst political and social landscapes intent on the misleading adage to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps," it seems the individual is to blame for failing to carpe their diem. But the process of how we become what we become — the choices and experiences that lead us from point a to z, beginning to end — is far more complicated than adages can convey. Opportunity resides in place as much as presence.

Here, at the African Regenerative Futures Summit in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Tate Chamberlin hosts Veronica Likunama, Dr. Stephanie Ndung'u, and Victor Muhagachi as they examine the nature of opportunity in a tiny country on the cusp of technological, social, and political evolution.