Today we are delighted to welcome Josh Farley. Josh is the Ecological Economics lead for Leadership for the Ecozoic, a professor in Community Development & Applied Economics, and a Fellow at the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont.

Josh’s research interests span a wide range—including the economics of food, the democratization of monetary systems, the rethinking of ecosystem services, agroecology in Vermont and Brazil’s

Atlantic Forest, the evolution of cooperation, economics of information, and the commons. 

But Josh is more than an academic. He’s a community builder and mentor who brings people together through the way he lives. He often hosts spaces beyond the university, to garden, forage, fish, and cook together. Any meal with Josh and his family includes food from his garden or caught, hunted, or raised by people he knows.

The textbook that Josh wrote with Herman Daly is currently being updated for publication, see the 2nd edition here: https://islandpress.org/books/ecological-economics-second-edition#desc 

About

Radio Ecozoic is created and hosted by Bobi Steel, Juliana Neira, Lindsay Ofrias, and Shaun Sellers. It is executive produced by Julian Flavin and Sean Cannon. Music is by Marxist Jargon. The show is a project of the Leadership for the Ecozoic Initiative, which is based at McGill University and the University of the Vermont, as well as the Critical Media Lab, which is housed in McGill University's anthropology Department.

Leadership for the Ecozoic - https://www.l4ecozoic.org/

Critical Media Lab (CML) - https://criticalmedialabmcgill.com/

A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of hosting Aaron Vansintjan and Vijay Kolinjivadi at McGill University to discuss their new book, The Sustainability Class: How to Take Back Our Future from Lifestyle Environmentalists. This episode is a recording of their campus talk, where they share the personal experiences that led them to co-author the book, revealing what goes on behind the scenes at international climate negotiations. From backroom deals to corporate greenwashing, they break down how these summits shape the mainstream environmental agenda—and why that can be a problem. More than a critique, they present a compelling vision for a more sustainable future–one that is grounded in collective action.

Vijay is an assistant professor at the School for Community and Public Affairs at Concordia University in Montreal. He’s also a co-editor of the website Uneven Earth and has contributed to Al Jazeera, New Internationalist, Truthout, and The Conversation.

Aaron is the founder and co-editor of Uneven Earth and co-author of The Future Is Degrowth. His work has been featured in The Guardian, Truthout, openDemocracy, and The Ecologist.

Check out their book here: https://thenewpress.org/books/the-sustainability-class/

Follow The Sustainability Class on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainability_class/

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About

Radio Ecozoic is created and hosted by Bobi Steel, Juliana Neira, Lindsay Ofrias, and Shaun Sellers. It is executive produced by Julian Flavin and Sean Cannon. Music is by Marxist Jargon. The show is a project of the Leadership for the Ecozoic Initiative, which is based at McGill University and the University of the Vermont, as well as the Critical Media Lab, which is housed in McGill University's anthropology Department.

Leadership for the Ecozoic - https://www.l4ecozoic.org/ 

Critical Media Lab (CML) - https://criticalmedialabmcgill.com/ 

In the second episode of Radio Ecozoic we’re joined by Lizah Makombore, a PhD fellow with the Leadership for the Ecozoic Initiative. Her life and work embody the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu, a value system that emphasizes community-centered action through the teaching, 'I am because we are.' 

Lizah is from Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa for many years. She is the first in her family to pursue higher education, and as we will hear, Lizah honors the resilience of her ancestors by fostering community and shared purpose in everything she does. With over a decade of experience in the NGO sector, development organizations, and higher education, Lizah has contributed to climate change policy and efforts supporting water stewardship and small-scale farming across Sub-Saharan Africa.

In this episode, Lizah shares how Ubuntu principles guide her research on sustainable agriculture at the University of Vermont, she also talks about her parenting style as a mother of twins, and shares her journey navigating the challenges of graduate school in a new country. 

Together we explore how honoring our roots and finding strength in community can help us thrive as scholars, caregivers, and global citizens. Let’s begin! 

Links: 

L4E - https://www.l4ecozoic.org/ 

Critical Media Lab (CML) - https://criticalmedialabmcgill.com/ 

Lizah's bio - https://www.l4ecozoic.org/lizah-makombore

Radio Ecozoic is created and hosted by Bobi Steel, Juliana Neira, Lindsay Ofrias, and Shaun Sellers. It is executive produced by Julian Flavin and Sean Cannon. Music is by Marxist Jargon. The show is a project of the Leadership for the Ecozoic Initiative, which is based at McGill University and the University of the Vermont, as well as the Critical Media Lab, which is housed in McGill University's Department of Anthropology.

In the very first episode of Radio Ecozoic we’re thrilled to welcome Josh Sterlin, a friend and fellow researcher with the Leadership for the Ecozoic initiative. Josh’s PhD thesis, Cultural Rewilding: An Ethnographic Study of the Nature Connection Movement, explores wilderness awareness education and culture-building in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. After a technical glitch forced us to re-record the episode, we were grateful for the chance to sit down with Josh again in July 2023 and dive even deeper into his research. A lot had happened in the time between the two recordings, including a devastating wildfire season across North America that made the conversation about connecting to wilderness, especially through forests, all the more poignant during the second recording. In this episode, Josh takes us through his experience working with wilderness schools as part of his PhD fieldwork, how he has continued to practice their teachings in his own life, and introduces us to the concept of a “sit spot.” A sit spot is a simple yet powerful way to foster a deeper connection with the broader natural world, which involves regularly sitting quietly in the same outdoor location to observe your surroundings. Josh offers guidance on how to create your own sit spot, whether you're in a forest, a park, or even an urban area, and explains how this practice can help cultivate a sense of belonging and a greater capacity to care for both the beauty and destruction we face in today’s world.

Links: 

L4E - https://www.l4ecozoic.org/ 

Critical Media Lab (CML) - https://criticalmedialabmcgill.com/ 

Josh’s website - https://jsterlin.org/about

Wilderness Awareness School - https://wildernessawareness.org/ 

How to create a sit spot - https://wildernessawareness.org/articles/sit-spot-faqs/#:~:text=The%20best%20Sit%20Spot%20is,safe%20while%20you%20are%20there.
https://wildernessawareness.org/articles/core-routine-sit-spot/