Rootstock Radio

By Rootstock Radio

What's Rootstock Radio about?

Rootstock Radio celebrates the changemakers who are working to restore and revitalize our broken food and farming system. We balance the doom-and-gloom with real-life solutions for contributing to a sustainable future.

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Rootstock Radio episodes:

06.17.2019
Dr. John Fagan on the Toxins in our Food and Environment
On this final episode of Rootstock Radio, we're talking to Dr. John Fagan of Earth Open Source Institute about an all-encompassing model of health, climate change, pesticides and science. It's been a great 4 years of doing this podcast, and...
06.10.2019
Chef Luke Zahm: The Difference Between a Fad and a Revolution
Today on Rootstock Radio, Chef Luke Zahm of the Driftless Cafe gets real about what it takes to be conscientious in the restaurant industry, and why serving local food is so important to the greater local food system. Tune in...
06.03.2019
Mari Margil: Giving Nature the Legal Rights it Deserves
Mari Margil and her team at the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund are committed to defending the rights of our environment under the law. Already they have assisted the first places in the world to secure Rights of Nature in...
05.27.2019
Anthony Reyes: Growing Skills (and Food) at the Homeless Garden Project
Today on Rootstock Radio, we’re talking with Anthony Reyes, Farm Manager at Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California. Anthony’s interest in food and agriculture was piqued in college, where he studied food, agriculture and social justice. But after he...
05.20.2019
Ashleigh Eubanks: Food and Cooperation in the Boroughs of New York City
Today we’re talking to community organizer Ashleigh Eubanks of RiseBoro Community Partnership, where her work includes food systems education, supporting local co-op development, building cross-movement solidarity and fostering local leadership. Not only that, Ashleigh was named one of Brooklyn Magazine’s...
05.13.2019
Sarah Potenza: How WWOOF Did Ecotourism Long Before it was Cool
WWOOF’s model for cultural exchange on organic farms connects people from all over the world through shared values of good food, sustainability and community. WWOOF was doing ecotourism before that term had even been invented! Tune in to hear about...
05.06.2019
Cara Loriz: Protecting the (Often-Overlooked) Foundation of Our Food System
Have you ever stopped to think about how the plants that produce our seeds are treated? Today on Rootstock Radio Cara Loriz, Executive Director at Organic Seed Alliance, is talking about an often-overlooked and truly fundamental piece of our food...
04.29.2019
Amanda Oborne: Helping the "Ag of the Middle" Thrive
Farm infrastructures in the U.S. are designed to support either very big or very small farms, which sometimes leaves mid-sized producers—the “Ag of the Middle”—without resources or a market. Amanda Oborne of Ecotrust is supporting these often-overlooked farms in order...
04.22.2019
Chef Mary Cleaver on Eating Local in the Urban Jungle (and Happy Earth Day!)
We’re ringing in the 49th anniversary of Earth Day with a special Rootstock Radio conversation with Chef Mary Cleaver, one of the country’s foremost authorities on sustainable food and local sourcing. She's also an alumnus of Earth Dinner, a special...
04.15.2019
Cheyenna Layne Weber: The Cooperative Economic Model Our Earth Needs
Today on Rootstock Radio, Cheyenna Layne Weber, Brooklyn-based writer and community organizer with the Cooperative Economics Alliance of New York City, talks about her pursuit of art and activism that elevates the needs of people and the planet over profit....
04.08.2019
Kendra Klein: Reducing Exposure to Pesticides, a Scientifically Proven Way
On today’s episode of Rootstock Radio, we’re chatting with Kendra Klein, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth (FOE) and a seasoned writer, researcher and advocate (Kendra’s been at this kind of work for a full 17 years!). Kendra...
04.01.2019
Eric Holt-Gimenez: Hope for a Democratic Food System
Eric Holt-Giménez firmly believes that our food system is not, in fact, broken. As he shared with us in early 2018, the agriculture system we’re operating today never really worked in the first place. Today on Rootstock Radio, we’re...
03.25.2019
Naomi Starkman of Civil Eats on Fixing TWO Broken Systems: Food & Media
On this week’s episode of Rootstock Radio, founder and editor-in-chief of Civil Eats Naomi Starkman reflects on 10 years spent building a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. She’s not interested in being beholden to...
03.18.2019
Betty Izumi: How Teaching "Food Gratitude" Encourages Kids to Eat Their Veggies
Today Betty Izumi, who holds the title of project director and "principal investigator" at Harvest for Healthy Kids, discusses a neat way to get kids to eat their fruits and veggies -- "Food Gratitude," a practice she observed while conducting...
03.11.2019
Bob Quinn: The Modern Benefits of Ancient Grains
Today on Rootstock Radio we’re talking to an organic farmer and sustainable agriculture pioneer who’s in the habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve—and in his hat. Often seen with a few stalks of the ancient grain Kamut® tucked...
03.04.2019
Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern: Racial (In)Justice, Immigration and Labor in the Food System
Can you understand something like food without considering politics, economics and social conditions? Professor Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern doesn’t think so. Catch her insights on this week’s episode of Rootstock Radio. Tune in to hear about: The lowdown on guest worker...
02.25.2019
Liz Carlisle: Lentils, Legumes & the Power of Pulses
Tune in to hear about: - How farmers in Montana turned a cover crop into a cash crop and are fixing nutrients in their soil, all while taking a “slow money” approach. - Liz’ realizations about conversation and land stewardship...
02.18.2019
Terry Oxford: Sustainable Urban Beekeeping
Terry Oxford is a beekeeper…on the rooftops of downtown San Francisco. It’s true! Urban areas can often be better habitat for bees than the countryside because of the parks and residents’ gardens that tend to grow flowers during a wider...
02.11.2019
Leah Penniman: Amplifying the Voices of Black and Brown Farmers
Tune in to hear about: - What cover cropping and vermicomposting have in common. - How Europeans essentially kidnapped skilled Black agriculturalists. - How Leah’s upbringing and experiences brought her to a connection with the earth and farming. - Why...
02.04.2019
Fred Provenza: Where Wonder Meets Science (And Why They Aren’t Mutually Exclusive)
Listen in to hear about: - Imbuing his writing (and latest book) with a little more heart and soul than your average scientific text. - Plant consciousness and what Fred thinks about it—Totally implausible? Absolute fact? Tune in to find...
01.28.2019
Mai Nguyen: How Food Can Turn a ‘Place’ into a ‘Home’
Tune in to hear about: - How Mai learned that cooperation is essential at a young age - Why a connection to the land is often especially important to refugees - How Mai and other committed citizens changed legislation in...
01.21.2019
Alex Eaton: Let's Talk About Poop (Cow Manure, That Is)
Alex Eaton, CEO and cofounder of Sistema Biobolsa (or Sistema.bio), talks about the innovative solution Sistema.bio presents to small (and even larger-scale!) farmers. This incredible biodigester system turns animal manure into both rich fertilizer and methane gas that can be...
01.14.2019
Florencia Ramirez: How Much Water Do You "Eat"?
Florencia Ramirez is a researcher at the University of Chicago’s School of Public Policy and author of the book Eat Less Water (not to mention an activist, educator and mother!). Today, she talks with us about how conserving water—perhaps the...
01.07.2019
Jon Steinman: The Magic of Food Co-ops
Tune in to hear about: Jon’s personal interest in food, the food system and eating well. The way consumer-owned grocery stores (aka food cooperatives) are being used to alleviate food deserts with fresh, local and natural items, not just...
12.17.2018
Arty Mangan: From Juice to Climate Change
Arty Mangan, director of Bioneers’ Restorative Food Systems Program, has spent a lot of time working with farmers and producers, in the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica, and has some great things to share about the organic industry, soil...
12.10.2018
A-Dae Romero Briones: The Revival of Agriculture in Indigenous Communities
From bringing awareness to the strengths that indigenous populations can draw on -- a long history of working with the land, strong agricultural traditions and ample land on reservations -- to engaging native youth in the food systems of their...
12.03.2018
Starhawk: Applying Permaculture to Plants…and People
Author, activist and permaculture designer Starhawk shares how agricultural permaculture can inform social permaculture (and what the heck that even means). Plus, she digs into how to engage with someone you don’t agree with in a productive way—a worthy endeavor...
11.20.2018
Activism 101: Age is Just a Number
Kristy Drutman, a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley who is now the California Digital Campaigner for 350.org, talks about her work as an environmental activist over the past 5 years, her passion for environmental storytelling and organizing,...
11.19.2018
The State of the Seed Industry (And Why You Should Care)
Mark Schapiro, award-winning international and environmental journalist, talks about his most recent book Seeds of Resistance: The Fight to Save our Food Supply, how he got interested in seeds to begin with and how seeds are—in many ways—the most primal...
11.12.2018
Rice: The New Frontier of Sustainable Ag
On this episode… Co-founder and CEO of Lotus Foods, Ken Lee, talks about the winding journey (literally, time spent traveling through China) that brought him and his partner, Carol, to the creation of Lotus Foods and why he says that...
11.05.2018
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin: The Next Frontier in Regenerative Agriculture & the Power of Stories
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, is not only responsible for the incredible regenerative agriculture system happening at Main Street Project and the recent recipient of a lifetime Ashoka Fellowship as a result of this work, he’s also the author of In the Shadow...
10.29.2018
Denise O'Brien: Amplifying Women’s Voices in Communities, on Farms & in Legislature
Seasoned farmer, community volunteer, and founder of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, Denise O’Brien, talks about how she and her husband have experienced positive and negative shifts around the idea of organic food—and agriculture in general—over the last forty...
10.22.2018
Dr. John Ikerd: An Economist’s Take on Efficiency in Agriculture
Dr. John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agriculture and Applied Economics at the University of Missouri, talks about : How the calorie count in our food is skyrocketing as the nutrient density plummets How the loss of independent agriculture producers...
10.15.2018
The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
Vice President of Communication & Engagement at Project Drawdown, Dr. Katherine Wilkinson was lead writer for the New York Times bestseller Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. Katherine didn’t have time to go into each of the...
10.08.2018
The Case FOR Playing with Your Food
Creative food event planner and award-winning writer and multimedia producer, Lola Milholland, talks about starting her Portland-based organic ramen noodle company Umi Organic and the importance of being playful with food. From ‘experimental ice cream socials’ to ‘noodle luges’ Lola...
10.01.2018
Rebuilding Food Sovereignty on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
On this episode… Nick Hernandez, director of the Food Sovereignty Initiative and member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, shares his personal definition of food sovereignty and how it can be as simple as...
09.24.2018
LaRayia Gaston on Feeding the Homeless: Mind, Body & Spirit
On this episode… LaRayia Gaston talks about how her life has been shaped by her passion for feeding the homeless community, and how Lunch On Me is about much more than simply food. She shares how practices recently embraced by...
09.17.2018
Author Kristin Ohlson & How the Soil Will Save Us
On this episode... Kristin talks about what got her interested in soil in the first place, and she details her journey from knowing very little about the relationship between carbon, plants, microorganisms and soil, to writing an entire book about...
08.27.2018
Farm Labor Rights and "Ecofeminism" with Rosalinda Guillen
Rosalinda Guillen is a widely recognized rural justice leader and a champion of farmworker rights. Born in Texas, Rosalinda spent her first decade in Coahuila, Mexico before emigrating with her family to LaConner, Washington in 1960. At the age of...
08.20.2018
Hippies, Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs & Revolutionaries
Jonathan Kauffman is a San Francisco-based writer who’s made food the subject of his career. For eleven years he reviewed restaurants in the Bay Area and Seattle as the staff critic for the East Bay Express and the Seattle Weekly....
08.13.2018
Connection, Resistance and Reform Through Food
Julia Turshen is the bestselling author of Feed the Resistance, named the Best Cookbook of 2017 by Eater, and Small Victories, named one of the Best Cookbooks of 2016 by the New York Times and NPR. She is currently working...
08.09.2018
How One Organic Farmer Fought For Her Rights—And Won
In this episode, Atina talks about what led her to organic farming, shares her own painful stories of being forced to sell the farm that had been in her husband’s family for years and of fighting the proposed route of...
08.09.2018
Pesticides and Birth Defects—What You Should Know
Dr. Paul Winchester is the Medical Director of the NICU at Franciscan St. Francis Health and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also conducts research on the epidemiology of birth defects, including the...
07.23.2018
Inside the Chocolate Industry with Simran Sethi
In this 3rd and final episode in our 3-part series on tea, coffee and chocolate, we talk with author Simran Sethi about: The number of species that provide 95% of the world’s calories—take a wild guess before you listen,...
07.16.2018
Inside the Coffee Industry with Kickapoo Coffee
The second installment in a three-part series on tea, coffee and chocolate, TJ Semachin and Caleb Nicholes, co-founders of Kickapoo Coffee, talk about the coffee industry: where it's been, where it's headed, and what their small roastery (and others like...
07.09.2018
Inside the Tea Industry with Ahmed Rahim
Did you know that tea leaves are never washed after they’re picked? This means that if your tea is not organic, you’re basically brewing a mug of chemicals to sip on. Yikes. This week Ahmed Rahim, co-founder of Numi Organic...
07.02.2018
Who Owns Our Seeds?
This week on Rootstock Radio, we're discussing organic plant breeding with Dr. Bill Tracy of University of Wisconsin - Madison. What is cross breeding compared to GMO? How does it work? And who owns all our seeds these days anyway?...
06.25.2018
Dr. Erin Silva, "Soil Whiz"
Dr. Erin Silva is a whiz with all things soil. On this episode of Rootstock Radio she talks about soil stewardship - both the good and the bad - how organic agriculture practices and healthy soil go hand in hand,...
06.18.2018
The Mother Hen of Green Bloggers
"I want to help others who are in my predicament," thought Leah Segedie at the beginning of her journey toward personal health. Since then, she has founded both the Mamavation blog and the ShiftCon Social Media Conference, and she has...
06.11.2018
Fighting Global Hunger with "One of the Best Ideas America Ever Had"
M.J. Altman, editorial director at World Food Program USA and host of their Hacking Hunger podcast, talks about fighting global hunger, empowering women, supporting small-holder farmers, and more about the organization 60 Minutes dubbed "one of the best ideas America...

What's Rootstock Radio about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Rootstock Radio episodes:

Dr. John Fagan on the Toxins in our Food and Environment

Chef Luke Zahm: The Difference Between a Fad and a Revolution

Mari Margil: Giving Nature the Legal Rights it Deserves

Anthony Reyes: Growing Skills (and Food) at the Homeless Garden Project

Ashleigh Eubanks: Food and Cooperation in the Boroughs of New York City

Sarah Potenza: How WWOOF Did Ecotourism Long Before it was Cool

Cara Loriz: Protecting the (Often-Overlooked) Foundation of Our Food System

Amanda Oborne: Helping the "Ag of the Middle" Thrive

Chef Mary Cleaver on Eating Local in the Urban Jungle (and Happy Earth Day!)

Cheyenna Layne Weber: The Cooperative Economic Model Our Earth Needs

Kendra Klein: Reducing Exposure to Pesticides, a Scientifically Proven Way

Eric Holt-Gimenez: Hope for a Democratic Food System

Naomi Starkman of Civil Eats on Fixing TWO Broken Systems: Food & Media

Betty Izumi: How Teaching "Food Gratitude" Encourages Kids to Eat Their Veggies

Bob Quinn: The Modern Benefits of Ancient Grains

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern: Racial (In)Justice, Immigration and Labor in the Food System

Liz Carlisle: Lentils, Legumes & the Power of Pulses

Terry Oxford: Sustainable Urban Beekeeping

Leah Penniman: Amplifying the Voices of Black and Brown Farmers

Fred Provenza: Where Wonder Meets Science (And Why They Aren’t Mutually Exclusive)

Mai Nguyen: How Food Can Turn a ‘Place’ into a ‘Home’

Alex Eaton: Let's Talk About Poop (Cow Manure, That Is)

Florencia Ramirez: How Much Water Do You "Eat"?

Jon Steinman: The Magic of Food Co-ops

Arty Mangan: From Juice to Climate Change

A-Dae Romero Briones: The Revival of Agriculture in Indigenous Communities

Starhawk: Applying Permaculture to Plants…and People

Activism 101: Age is Just a Number

The State of the Seed Industry (And Why You Should Care)

Rice: The New Frontier of Sustainable Ag

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin: The Next Frontier in Regenerative Agriculture & the Power of Stories

Denise O'Brien: Amplifying Women’s Voices in Communities, on Farms & in Legislature

Dr. John Ikerd: An Economist’s Take on Efficiency in Agriculture

The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming

The Case FOR Playing with Your Food

Rebuilding Food Sovereignty on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

LaRayia Gaston on Feeding the Homeless: Mind, Body & Spirit

Author Kristin Ohlson & How the Soil Will Save Us

Farm Labor Rights and "Ecofeminism" with Rosalinda Guillen

Hippies, Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs & Revolutionaries

Connection, Resistance and Reform Through Food

How One Organic Farmer Fought For Her Rights—And Won

Pesticides and Birth Defects—What You Should Know

Inside the Chocolate Industry with Simran Sethi

Inside the Coffee Industry with Kickapoo Coffee

Inside the Tea Industry with Ahmed Rahim

Who Owns Our Seeds?

Dr. Erin Silva, "Soil Whiz"

The Mother Hen of Green Bloggers

Fighting Global Hunger with "One of the Best Ideas America Ever Had"