Introducing a new format: STEWARD Debates! Join host Sophia Li for a live debate to a sold-out audience recorded during New York Climate Week to tackle this question: Are Sustainability and Affordability Complementary or Contradictory?”

A responsibly made cotton T-shirt costs twice to three times its fast-fashion equivalent. In food, organic produce can cost over 50% more than conventional options, while globally we waste nearly one-third of all food produced. And in design and culture, circular practices promise longevity, yet require upfront costs many cannot afford.

The paradox deepens when we look at scale: producing “sustainable” goods for millions often means consuming more land, water, and energy in absolute terms. What sustains the planet in principle may strain resources in practice.

To explore this tension, we are joined by voices across fashion, food, culture, and design, who will test not only the economic models but the moral imperatives that shape how we live, eat, wear, and create. This episode explores the tensions with access, ethics, and economic realities from personal and industry lenses.

This powerhouse panel features experts from design, fashion, food, and culture:

Karen Pflug, Chief Sustainability Officer, Ingka Group

Hawa Hassan, Chef and James Beard Award Winner

Adam Met, Musician AJR Band, Adjunct Professor at Columbia

Olivia Cheng, Founder & Creative Director Dauphinette

Join us for a stimulating discussion where our panelists are given the rare space to speak freely about these controversies with the help of some audience participation. 

Resources:

Read Adam Met’s Neo-Industrial Revolution: A Declaration for a New American Climate

Buy Hawa’s new cookbook: Setting a Place For Us

Read Karen’s opinion piece: It’s Time To Make Sustainability Work for the Many

Stay up to date with Sophia ⁠@sophfei⁠ and ⁠@steward.media⁠ on Instagram and Tiktok.

Credits:

Created by Sophia Li

Produced by Morgan Von Steen, Delilah Harvey, PodHouse

Video by PodHouse

Hosted at The Bench

Sophia Li joins Outrage + Optimism for this special preview episode for the Be Hope global podcast takeover - a collaboration of shows amplifying courage and possibility in facing the greatest challenges of our time.

Alongside Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson, we explore how states, cities, and communities in the US are holding the line on climate when federal leadership fails.

What does it take to take Trump to court on clean energy? Attorney General Peter Neronha of Rhode Island tells us about his landmark lawsuit to restart the nearly completed Revolution Wind project.

How can we bring more people with us on this transition? Musician and climate advocate  Adam Met introduces his Neo-Industrial Revolution declaration, calling for a new language of climate that connects with jobs, prosperity and everyday lives.

From Courtrooms to Statehouses: The US Climate Pushback.

Follow ⁠@outrageoptimism and Sophia ⁠@sophfei⁠. Stay up to date with us ⁠@steward.media⁠ on Instagram.

We're back! Just as we wrap up fashion month, Sophia chats with Kering’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Marie-Claire Daveu, for a live discussion on what comes next at this pivotal moment for fashion.

In 2019,  Kering (home to Gucci, Balenciaga, YSL to name a few) was ranked the world’s second most sustainable company across all industries—and #1 in luxury and fashion by the Corporate Knights’ Global 100 Index. This episode dives into how fashion brands can reconcile growth with sustainability and how do we move past consumer sustainability fatigue?

Follow @kering_official and Sophia @sophfei. Stay up to date with us @steward.media on Instagram.

This episode features Dr. Britt Wray, researcher, director of CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry and author of Generation Dread.

STEWARD Asks explores the questions on everyone's mind—the complex, urgent issues of impact, climate, and sustainability—through insightful 1x1 interviews with today's leading voices. Stay up to date with us ⁠@steward.media⁠ on Instagram.

Go to ⁠mill.com/steward⁠ for $75 off your Mill food recycler that handles peels, bones, stalks, and forgotten leftovers.

Welcome to a special Earth Month edition of STEWARD podcasts in collaboration with Beyond Noise. As the current headlines are dominated by the state of the economy, we dive into how investing in climate is good for the economy and planet and how to strategically disrupt while navigating change.

Meet our roundtable speakers:

Ida Liu, Former Global Head, Citi Private Bank, @idaliu1

Samina Virk, North America CEO of Vestiaire Collective, @saminanyc3

Lauren Singer, co-founder, Overview Capital, @trashisfortossers

Marina Testino, Sustainability Editor, Beyond Noise, @marinatestino

Moderated by Sophia Li, award-winning journalist, @sophfei

Stay up to date with us ⁠@steward.media⁠ on Instagram.

Go to ⁠mill.com/steward⁠ for $75 off your Mill food recycler that handles peels, bones, stalks, and forgotten leftovers.

Welcome to STEWARD Asks with award-winning journalist Sophia Li. This first podcast is asking a very hard truth: have we reached 1.5 °C?

This podcast was filmed at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan in conversation with acclaimed filmmaker and climate activist, Josh Tickell. He is the mastermind behind the documentary Kiss the Ground which is a three-part feature length documentary series on solutions to combat the climate crisis like regenerative agriculture. Common Ground, their second part of this trilogy is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. 

Follow Josh @joshtickell and Sophia @sophfei. Stay up to date with us @steward.media on Instagram.

Go to mill.com/steward for $75 off your Mill food recycler that handles peels, bones, stalks, and forgotten leftovers.