Greg and Obi invite Director of California Department of Parks and Recreation, Armando Quintero, onto the program. An experienced parks professional with expertise in park operations, outdoor education, equity and access, and diversity and inclusion in hiring and retention, Armando Quintero has a degree in environmental science and biology. He was executive director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at the University of California (UC), Merced, from 2014 to 2020, and served as director of development at UC Merced from 2008 to 2014. He was an elected member of the Marin Municipal Water District from 2008 to 2020. In 2014 he was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as a member of the California Water Commission and served as chair of that Commission from 2015 to 2020.

Quintero held multiple positions at the National Park Service (NPS) from 1976 to 1998, including chief of the Special Park Uses Group and district ranger at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, personnel staffing specialist for NPS, park ranger and supervisory park ranger at the Point Reyes National Seashore, and park ranger at the Sequoia National Park and at the John Muir National Historic Site.

This episode originally streamed live on YouTube July 3 at 10am PT.

When we embarked on the journey to create PLACE AND PURPOSE, our goal was simple yet profound: to immerse ourselves in the essence of a single location and use it as a lens through which to explore the complexities of our world. Now, as we approach our 23rd episode, we find ourselves reflecting on the incredible journey we've undertaken. We've asked countless questions, delved into a myriad of topics, and unearthed layers of understanding. In this episode, Greg and Obi not only reflect on what they've learned and gained but also look ahead to the uncharted territories of the future.

Greg and Obi invite author Manjula Martin onto the show. Manjula is author of the national bestseller The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History. She is coauthor of Fruit Trees for Every Garden, which won the 2020 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Martin edited the anthology Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living, and she was formerly managing editor of the National Magazine Award–winning literary journal Zoetrope: All-Story. She was born in the Santa Cruz Mountains and currently lives beneath the redwoods in Sonoma County, California. This episode originally streamed live on YouTube May 2 at 10am PT.

Join us for an inspiring episode as our two esteemed hosts, Greg Sarris and Obi Kaufmann, dive into and explore Greg's newest book: THE FORGETTERS (Heyday 2024). 

Greg and Obi invite special guests Layel Camargo and Niko Alexandre from the Shelterwood Collective onto the show. 

ABOUT LAYEL
Layel is Yaqui and Mayo of the Sonoran Desert. As a transgender and gender non-conforming person, they’ve dedicated the last decade advancing climate justice through storytelling by creating campaigns like ‘Climate Woke’ with The Center For Cultural Power and supporting media projects like ‘The North Pole Show’ with Executive Producers Rosario Dawson and Movement Generation, Justice and Ecology Project. They are the producer and host of ‘Did We Go Too Far’, a climate justice podcast. Most recently, Layel was named on the Grist 2020 Fixers List. They graduated from UC Santa Cruz with degrees in Feminist Studies and Legal Studies.

ABOUT NIKO
Nikola is a Black queer forester by training and by calling. Nikola was raised by the deserts of New Mexico and the alpine mountains of Southern France. After attending a nature-based healing gathering following the Pulse massacre, Nikola committed his life to healing through tending the earth and reclaiming land stewardship as a way of nurturing a future for the communities he belongs to. Nikola holds a Master’s of Forestry and Master’s of Business Administration from Yale University, and founded Conservation International’s Ecosystem Restoration Program.

Greg and Obi invite artist and illustrator Eric Wilder onto the show. Eric was trained early in his life as a traditional singer and storyteller by grandparents, Sidney and Essie Parrish of the Kashia Pomo people. Eric has dedicated his life to sharing his knowledge through his art, stories, and practice of both traditional and contemporary native culture. He has served as a consultant on historical texts and as Tribal Secretary and Tribal Chairman on the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians Tribal Council and currently works professionally doing graphic design. This episode originally aired live on YouTube February 8, 2024 at 9am PT.

Join us for an insightful and inspiring episode as our two esteemed hosts, Greg Sarris and Obi Kaufmann, come together to reflect on the events of the past year and kick off the new year. Together, Greg and Obi will engage in a thoughtful discussion that delves into the highs and lows of the past year, sharing personal anecdotes and lessons learned, reflecting on the future, their aspirations, and resolutions. This episode will air live on YouTube January 11, 2024 at 10am PT.

Greg and Obi are joined by professor Adina Merenlender. Adina is a Professor of Cooperative Extension in Conservation Science at University of California, Berkeley in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department, and is an internationally recognized conservation biologist known for land-use planning, watershed science, landscape connectivity, and naturalist and stewardship training. She is the founding director of California Naturalist, which to date has graduated over 4,000 certified California Naturalists. 

Greg and Obi invite public lands policy expert Caryl Hart onto the show. Caryl Hart, PhD is an attorney and expert in public lands and park policy, with over 25 years of advocacy, scholarship and administrative experience. She is currently Vice Chair of the California Coastal Commission where she has served since 2019. Also, she serves as Chair of the Great Redwood Trail Agency. Dr. Hart served for 13 years as a member of the California State Parks Commission, including seven years as Chair. In 2014, Dr. Hart was appointed by Governor Brown to serve on the Parks Forward Commission to assist in forming a sustainable path forward for the California State Park System. From 2010-2017, Dr. Hart was Director of Sonoma County Regional Parks, a system of 50 parks and regional trails including Doran, Stillwater and Gualala Pt Regional Parks on the Sonoma Coast, and Spud Pt Fishing Marina in Bodega Bay. As a native Californian, born in Los Angeles and raised in the Santa Barbara area, Dr. Hart is dedicated to the protection of our coast and ocean, and in insuring maximum public access for all Californians and visitors to our state. This episode originally aired live on YouTube October 26, 2023 at 10am PT.

Greg and Obi sit down to talk with Rebecca Solnit, a writer, historian, and activist. She is the author of more than twenty books on feminism, western and urban history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and catastrophe. Her books include Orwell’s Roses; Recollections of My Nonexistence; Hope in the Dark; Men Explain Things to Me; A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster; and A Field Guide to Getting Lost.