This week on Sea Change Radio, we highlight a scenario that is constantly being played out in cities all over the world as humankind continues to encroach upon wildlife habitat. This time, however, the dynamic is a little bit unusual as large chinook salmon are finding their way into small urban creeks in downtown San Jose, California. Today we are speaking with environmental writer and fisherman Jeremy Miller as he recounts a piece he recently penned for Sierra Magazine. We try to unearth the mystery of how these fish ended up in a major metropolitan area, look at federal protections which differ based upon a fish’s origin, and discuss the role of the local water district in all of this.

This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with atmospheric scientist and Columbia University professor, Adam Sobel, about the havoc that is currently being unleashed on the scientific community by the Trump administration. We look at how these draconian measures could hamper the progress of mankind and learn more about an academic funding system that relies heavily on federal research grant money. Then we turn to the alarming arrest of recent Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil - we discuss his plight and what it tells us about this administration’s open disdain for the U.S. Constitution.

Roman Polanski’s classic 1974 film, “Chinatown,” which laid out a fictional account of California’s north-south water wars, turned out to be quite prescient. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome Katie Licari of Afro LA, who breaks down the ongoing tale of Los Angeles water and the impact this never-ending thirst has had on two very rural regions of California – Inyo and Mono Counties. We learn about the colonialist history of LA water rights and look at the monopolistic grip the LA Department of Water & Power holds over these counties.

Just a few days after being inaugurated for a second time, Donald Trump expressed an interest in the United States taking over Greenland, saying "I think Greenland we'll get because it has to do with freedom of the world." This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to Paul Bierman, a geoscientist and Professor at the University of Vermont, whose recent book about Greenland seems more relevant than ever. We discuss Greenland's melting ice sheet, try to intuit the President's melting brain and obsession with the region, and talk about how the current administration has put the American scientific community as a whole in peril.

What does naming and re-naming streets, buildings, airports, and even bodies of water say about us as a people? Whether a name inspires, entertains, or haunts us, there’s power in assigning words to people, places, and things. We can see it unfolding right before our eyes with the current US administration renaming key landmarks. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to Deirdre Mask, the author of “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power.” We learn about the history of attributing names and numbers to roads and houses, look at how important seemingly obvious innovations like zip codes are, and discuss the socio-political impact of things named after confederate leaders.

An implicit assumption within the structure of the American justice system is the notion that punishment is productive. Research shows, however, that locking people up does not address the underlying causes for most criminal behavior -- in fact it actually exacerbates the likelihood of reoffending. With 95% of incarcerated people expected to reenter our communities, it seems pretty clear that our punitive practices are decidedly unproductive. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome back to the show Scott Hechinger, a civil rights lawyer, former public defender, and the current Executive Director of the nonprofit advocacy group, Zealous. We talk about the set of informational films that his organization has recently produced, discuss the fight that lies ahead for immigrants, and look at the measures that are being taken by the current federal administration to push for more capital punishment.

Those of us who studied anthropology in the latter half of the 20th century most likely learned that the birthplace of humankind was East African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. But for much of that same period, the apartheid regime in South Africa largely prohibited archaeological excavations, at least in part because it didn’t want to unearth any evidence that Blacks and Whites shared common ancestors. This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a look at some of the stunning archaeological discoveries that have emerged from South Africa over the past fifteen years. Our guest today is Dr. Keneiloe Molopyane, an archeologist who leads research in an area known as the Cradle of Humankind. In our wide-ranging discussion with Dr. Molopyane, we get a quick anthropology lesson, learn more about discoveries from the region, and explore the historical context of these prehistorical finds.

Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise.

Keneiloe Molopyane (KM) | 00:17 - Human evolution is very, very complex and you kind of want to view it as a braided stream model. So you have your, your main river, and from your main river comes streams and tributaries. Some link into other streams, some sort of go extinct.

Narrator | 00:39 - Those of us who studied anthropology in the latter half of the 20th century most likely learned that the birthplace of humankind was East African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. But for much of that same period, the apartheid regime in South Africa largely prohibited archaeological excavations, at least in part because it didn’t want to unearth any evidence that Blacks and Whites shared common ancestors. This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a look at some of the stunning archaeological discoveries that have emerged from South Africa over the past fifteen years. Our guest today is Dr. Keneiloe Molopyane, an archeologist who leads research in an area known as the Cradle of Humankind. In our wide-ranging discussion with Dr. Molopyane, we get a quick anthropology lesson, learn more about discoveries from the region, and explore the historical context of these prehistorical finds.

Alex Wise (AW) | 01:48 - I'm joined now on Sea Change Radio by Keneiloe Molopyane. She is an archeologist and she's based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Keneiloe, welcome to Sea Change Radio.

Keneiloe Molopyane (KM) | 02:01 - Hi guys, how are you?

Alex Wise (AW) | 02:03 - So, I just recently visited your site and the area where the excavations have been taking place that have borne some amazing fruit in terms of what we know of early man. Why don't you first explain the findings that have come out of this region from Molapa and the Rising Star cave system, both, um, Homo Naledi and Australopithecus Sediba. Those are fascinating new breakthrough findings from the last couple decades that most people aren't really very aware of.

Keneiloe Molopyane (KM) | 02:41 - Yeah. Uh, sure. I mean, I could, uh, shed some light on, on my research area. Um, so as Alex said, I am an archeologist. Primarily I do hold a PhD degree in biological anthropology. Um, so essentially that means I study skeletons for a living. And then I decided to dive into paleo anthropology, which is ancient skeletons of ancient humans for a living. And one of the best places to do that is a very small region in the province of , which is in South Africa. That's where, uh, Johannesburg is based and this region is known as the cradle of humankind. And now the cradle of humankind is about 45 minutes from both Pretoria and from Johannesburg, which are our two major cities in the halting region. And so in the cray of humankind, it's just, it's dotted with a whole bunch of cave systems. And of those hundreds of, of caves, there are about 13 to 15 that are known as official Hominin fossil bearing cave systems. So you have the famous Doane Cave where the fossil of Mrs. Place came from.

Disgust, disdain and disbelief are emotions many of us have felt since the November election - and with good reason. But how long can we stay disillusioned and disaffected before fighting back? This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with author Dave Zirin, from The Nation and Edge of Sports, to have a cathartic chat about the future of this country and how to cope.

Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise. 

Dave Zirin (DZ) | 00:20 - History's gotta be our guide. Like there have been reactionary and revanchist periods in US society before. I think the real difference here, honestly, is people's lack of belief in an absolute truth. 

Narrator | 00:35 - Disgust, disdain, and disbelief or emotions many of us have felt since the November election and with good reason. But how long can we stay disillusioned and disaffected before fighting back? This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with author Dave Zirin from The Nation and Edge of Sports, to have a cathartic chat about the future of this country and how to cope.

Alex Wise (AW) | 01:10 - I'm joined now on Sea Change Radio by Dave Zirin. He is the sports editor at The Nation, and he also runs the Edge of Sports, the Edge of Sports podcast, TV show, and he's the author of 11 books. Dave, it's a pleasure to have you back on Sea Change Radio.

Dave Zirin (DZ) | 01:29 - No, it's great to be here because we need a sea change, so why not start here with you, Alex? 

Alex Wise (AW) | 01:34 - Well, thank you. Like a lot of Americans, I'm at a crossroads spiritually right now in terms of fighting the good fight. When I read articles that tell me, you know, we got to keep fighting. I can't help but feel a little bit defeated at this point. I read a, a title of an article called the Triumph of Ignorance, that this latest election was the triumph of ignorance. And I can't help but feel that yes, the most vulnerable in our populations will suffer from this election, but so many of those people who are going to be affected by it voted for Trump and his lackeys. So how does one keep fighting the good fight in the face of all this terrible news, Dave? 

Dave Zirin (DZ) | 02:20 - Well, first and foremost, again, thanks for having me. Second, of course, we need history to be our guide, and we have to know that nothing in this country that's worth a damn was given to us on high. It has all been fought for from below. The other thing we learned from history is that struggle and opposition can come up from the wildest and most unexpected of places. And when it does come up, when it does rise, and I, I'm not only telling you it will rise, Alex, I'm saying it is rye zing right now demonstration in DC right now, freeway in la shut down yesterday. I mean, people are starting to wake up after an incredibly bruising year. And we could talk about what was so bruising about the past year if we can, but the anger and audience for a fight back. And it is so real and it's never been angrier. I mean, you think about the response to, uh, the, the Luigi killing of the healthcare CEO and I mean, I couldn't, I went to New York and there's Luigi Graffiti all over the place now. I think that's more of a cry of despair. You know, people feel like, well, there's nothing we can do. So the best we can hope for is kind of a lone assassin to extract justice from a society built on such terribly savage inequalities. But the, the anger in our healthcare system that exploded after that, I think was something that took a ton of people off guard. I mean, the, the governor of New York even set up a hotline for CEOs if they felt threatened or dangerous. I mean, it was unbelievable that, that our tax dollars are going to a CEO hotline. Thank you Kathy Hochul, about to push forward a $2 billion stadium for the Buffalo Bills on our tax dollars. Thanks for that. Um, but I think what we're looking at here is the potential for us to try to reclaim what's ...

This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a break from worrying about the election and look beyond these shores. First, we speak to Ayoola Dominic, the CEO and Co-Founder of Koolboks - an innovative refrigeration solution for the large swaths of sub-Saharan Africa that don’t have reliable access to electricity. We get an in-depth look at the company’s technology, learn about the challenges they’re facing and discuss the relationship between Koolboks and the Clinton Global Initiative. Then, we revisit part of our 2023 conversation with author Tim Killeen who has chronicled efforts to curb deforestation in the Amazon.

Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise.

Ayoola Dominic (AD) | 00:17 -So what Koolboks has done is we've integrated for the first time in freezers, lithium-ion batteries. So what happens is when you have power, you can connect them to the grid, and when we don't have power you can actually charge with the solar panels.

Narrator | 00:35 - This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a break from worrying about the election and look beyond these shores. First, we speak to Ayoola Dominic, the CEO and Co-founder of Koolboks, an innovative refrigeration solution for the large swaths of Sub-Saharan Africa that don't have reliable access to electricity. We get an in-depth look at the company's technology, learn about the challenges they're facing, and discuss the relationship between Koolboks and the Clinton Global Initiative. Then we revisit part of our 2023 conversation with author Tim Killeen, whose chronicled efforts to curb deforestation in the Amazon.

Alex Wise (AW) | 01:37 - I'm joined now on Sea Change. Radio by Ayoola Dominic. He's the CEO and Co-founder of KoolBoks. Ayoola, welcome to Sea Change Radio.

Ayoola Dominic (AD) | 01:47 - Thank you so much, Alex, for having me.

Alex Wise (AW) | 01:49 - It's a pleasure to have you. Why don't you explain to us what Koolboks is, and if you can summarize what your product is all about, that would be great.

Ayoola Dominic (AD) | 01:58 - So I'll, I'll start with, uh, a bit of a context. So in, in Sub-Saharan Africa, you have over 600 million people that lacks access to electricity and therefore lacks access to refrigeration. Um, as compared to Europe and America, where you have a hundred percent penetration in refrigeration in Sub-Saharan Africa, you'll be shocked to know that it's only 17%. I repeat only 17% of the people have access to refrigeration.

Alex Wise (AW) | 02:30 - We're talking permanent refrigeration, like you have a refrigerator running 24 7, right? 

Ayoola Dominic (AD)  | 02:36 - Correct. And you obviously, we know what that means in terms of food wastage. About a third of all food is wasted before it gets to market. And we're talking small restaurants, we're talking small bars, and these are things that normally we would take for granted in the West, but it's a real problem in Africa. So, um, looking to solve this problem, myself and my co-founder, like three years ago, designed to found a company called the Koolboks. And the goal was to make refrigeration affordable and accessible to everyone that needs it. So using the sun and water, which is abundant in Africa, we created a solution that is able to generate refrigeration for up to four days, whether or not you have power, whether or not you have sunlight. And this we did by storing energy in the form of ice as opposed to just storing energy in the form of batteries. But of course, looking at the peculiarity of the customers we serve, then the big question, I mean, what good is the technology if no one can afford it? So what we did was we integrated in our units a pay as you go technology enabling individuals and small businesses to be able to pay as low as 10 to $15 every month to own a refrigerator. And today we've deployed in over 6,000, um, units across 26 countries in only three years, and we're still doing more actually.

Coral reefs are among the planet's most beautiful treasures, hosting creatures strange and colorful. They're more than just pretty, though. Coral reefs provide vital habitats for a vast array of marine organisms, they are an essential piece of ocean ecosystems, and they actually protect coastlines from erosion. This week on Sea Change Radio we speak to Curt Storlazzi from the US geological survey who outlines a recent study promoting the bolstering of coral reefs off of Puerto Rico and Florida. Storlazzi compares coral reefs to seawalls in terms of protecting us from rising sea levels, gives a snapshot of the study's cost benefit analysis, and explains how the proposed reef bolstering program could help protect vulnerable coastal populations.

Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise.

Curt Storlazzi (CS) | 00:24 - We're working with Nature. Nature figured out how to do this. We haven't been the nicest to nature, but we're learning that if we take care of nature, hopefully it can help continue to take care of us, and we just need to help accelerate that recovery.

Narrator | 00:39 - Coral reefs are among the planet's most beautiful treasures, hosting creatures, strange and colorful. They're more than just pretty, though Coral reefs provide vital habitats for a vast array of marine organisms. They're an essential piece of ocean ecosystems, and they actually protect coastlines from erosion. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to Curt Storlazzi from the US Geological Survey, who outlines a recent study promoting the bolstering of coral reefs off of Puerto Rico and Florida. Storlazzi compares coral reefs to sea walls in terms of protecting us from rising sea levels, gives a snapshot of the study's cost benefit analysis and explains how the proposed reef bolstering program could help protect vulnerable coastal populations.

Alex Wise (AW) | 01:44 - I am joined now on Sea Change Radio by Curt Storlazzi. He is a research geologist at the US Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. Curt, welcome to Sea Change Radio. 

Curt Storlazzi (CS) | 01:53 - Thank you for having me. 

Alex Wise (AW) | 01:54 - So you and your colleagues at the USGS have just completed a study outlining the value of Coral Reef Restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico. Maybe you can summarize it for us to just get started?

Curt Storlazzi (CS) | 02:09 - What are we trying to do? We're trying to provide unbiased sound, scientific information to guide management. Over the past decade or so, uh, we show that coral reefs act like natural submerged breakwaters dissipating a lot of wave energy, and thus protecting the coastline in the associated coastal communities. Our colleagues have also shown, however, that over the past decades to half a century, that the reefs have severely degraded, they've gotten deeper and less complex, and that's allowing more wave energy to reach the shoreline, and it's causing increased erosion and, uh, and coastal, uh, flooding during the storms. So this study that we just did, which was funded by the 2017 Hurricane supplemental, so, you know, following hurricane's, Irman Maria, that really negatively impact Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Florida, as part of the billions of dollars for recovery, the government put a little bit of money aside to say, what can we do to reduce these impacts in the future? Because we know, again, as those reefs have degraded, they've gotten deeper and, uh, less complex that's allowed more wave energy to reach shore, reach the shoreline. One, to understand of how can we work with nature to re, to, uh, increase that effectiveness of, uh, protect or the, their ability to protect the coastline. And so using a really complex modeling system, uh, it's 12 steps and like most 12 step processes, long and painful. But , it comes to a, a good conclusion. Um, basically what we were able to do is model coastal flood...