The Hero’s Journey℠ Podcast

We all want to eat food, but we don’t necessarily have the wherewithal to learn where and from whom our food came. That is where good storytelling comes in. Today, our guest is the Emmy and James Beard Award Winning Sophia Roe. Sophia is a chef, writer, and the founder of Apartment Miso. In this episode we go deep into Sophia’s background and how that informs her advocacy today, her relationship with food, and her interest in supply chains. In this candid episode, Sophia opens up about why activism requires you to be in a consistent  relationship with sorrow, the pressure of actively needing to care about everything, and advice for the younger generations about how to stay motivated and hopeful. 

Plugs:

Website

Counter Space

Instagram

Apartment Miso

For our season finale, we have Andrea Rogers, a Senior Litigation Attorney at Our Children’s Trust. For over a decade, Andrea has been successfully litigating in the climate space and serves as co-counsel in Juliana v. United States, Held v. State of Montana, and Navahine F. v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, and supports a number of other youth-led cases. In light of the most recent win in Held v. State of Montana, where the judge ruled that the state’s failure to consider climate change when approving fossil fuel projects was unconstitutional, we wanted an inside scoop about all ongoing youth-led climate cases. In this episode, Ashley and Andrea discuss the role of legal precedent in case law, the landscape of current legal challenges, how this work found her, the wins we can celebrate, what inspires her, why a judicial strategy is required to make political change happen, a picture of the world if these cases continue to win, and more. This is a great episode for anyone curious about how we can use litigation as a tool to both address the climate crisis and give young people a voice in the face of a political system that can often create a feeling of powerlessness. 

“If you’re going to fight for anything, you should fight for freedom of speech.” 

Today on the pod, we have the inimitable journalist Carey Gillam. Carey shares her Kansan origins, what drew her to journalism in the first place, her career trajectory from national correspondent to uncovering Monsanto’s wrongdoings, how she’s stayed resilient in the face of corporate pushback, the value of non-profit journalism, dissecting the concept of “truth”, the need for nuanced thinking, and more. In this candid conversation, Ashley and Carey get real about their individual experiences as women in the media facing hostile actors. Thought-provoking and powerful, we end with the urgent call for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. 

Resources

The Twitter Files

The New Lede

The Guardian

The Intercept

Investigate Midwest

ProPublica

THE MONSANTO PAPERS: Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption, and One Man's Search for Justice

WHITEWASH: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science

Plugs

Carey’s Website and Twitter

The New Lede Twitter and Instagram

If Elon Musk can put a gas station in a garage, why can’t you put a landfill in your kitchen? Joining us today is Matt Bertilli, CEO of eco-friendly company Lomi Home Composter- the first countertop composting appliance on the market. Does that sound too good to be true? Ashley certainly agrees, but she bought Lomi anyways and now has the greenest lawn in the neighborhood, sans chemicals. In this episode, Matt challenges our notions about the power of capitalism and impact entrepreneurship to effect change. Ashley and Matt discuss all things waste streams and management, the impressive climate impact of composting, why we should focus on progress over perfection, solving social problems with the market, the complexities of venture capital, the challenges of staying on mission, the importance of intellectual honesty, and more. 

Resources:

Epic Gardening

Plugs

Lomi Website

Lomi Instagram

Lomi Tiktok

Pela Case Website

When you prioritize diversity over specialization, amazing transformations can take place. Paula Daniels, our guest today has activated this theory of change throughout her career and spearheaded institutional change on local and national scales. Currently, Paula is the Co-founder, Chief of What’s Next, and Founding Chair of the Center for Good Food Purchasing. In this episode, we discuss Paula’s origins, how indigenous ingenuity motivated her towards food policy, her experience with civil service, the ins and outs of a food policy council, the power of procurement, Paula’s cat, turtle, and dolphin theory, and so much more. 

Resources: 

Center for Good Food Purchasing 

How Cities Can Build Food System Resilience

Plugs:

Paula’s Podcast

Center for Good Food Purchasing Twitter

Jailing a Nation

True Cost Accounting for Food: Balancing the Scale

True Cost of Food: School Meals Case Study

Investing in a Good Food Future

What Hurricanes Warn Us About the Future of Food

Designing a Renewable Food System

Within the non-profit industrial complex, communities of color are chronically underfunded. This is a problem today’s guest, Iara Peng is working to solve. Iara is the founder and CEO of JustFund, an online portal democratizing philanthropy by connecting grantmakers directly to organizations. In this fascinating episode, we learn about Iara’s personal relationship with concepts of democracy, why she drove the original Declaration of Independence from Vermont to New York, why philanthropy is inherently exclusionary, her visionary solution to making grantmaking more accessible, and more. Ever wondered what Donor Advised Funds are or why philanthropy lacks accountability? This episode is rich with information the average person might not know about the philanthropic world and how we can build a more equitable system. 

Resources: 

Why Freedom Matters: Celebrating the Declaration of Independence in Two Centuries of Prose, Poetry and Song

JustFund Website

Plugs:

JustFund Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Iara Peng LinkedIn

How do we overcome the personal and industrial inertia that keeps our society stagnant? The answer according to today’s guest, Senator Chris Lee, is with wholesale change. Chris Lee is a State Senator in Hawaii and was the youngest member ever elected to the Hawaii State Legislature. He has authored laws making Hawaii the first state to commit to 100% renewable energy and a carbon negative economy by 2045. In this episode, Ashley and Chris discuss how he became a legislator in the first place, what it takes to get elected, the health scare that changed the trajectory of his political career, his policy wins, why your vote actually does matter, how everyone can participate in the democratic process, and more. For anyone curious about what it’s really like to run for office and coalition build for real change, this episode is jam packed with helpful insights and practical advice. 

Resources:

Schoolhouse Rock - I'm Just a Bill

Plugs: 

Senator Lee’s Twitter and Instagram

On today’s podcast we have San Diego’s clean energy godmother Nicole Capretz. Nicole is an environmental attorney, the founder and CEO of the Climate Action Campaign, and the primary author of San Diego’s 100% clean energy action plan. Nicole has been doing climate work and activism before people knew or cared about climate change. If you or someone you know is interested in politics, civil service, or running for office, this episode is rich with anecdotal advice and wisdom. Nicole shares her personal journey, the lessons she’s learned along the way, how to stay resilient when facing powerful actors, and strategies for fighting cynicism. 

Resources:

San Diego Climate Action Plan

Plugs:

Climate Action Campaign 

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign Facebook

The less news coverage you have, the less accountability. In a society where local news outlets are collapsing, news is becoming more and more consolidated, news mistrust is at an all time high, and outlets are dependent on corporate funding, choosing to be an independent investigative journalist is an act of serious heroism. Today,  we have Helena Bottemiller Evich, founder and editor-in-chief of Food Fix, the go-to source for food policy news and analysis. Helena is an award winning reporter who previously led food coverage at Politico. In this episode, Helena and Ashley dive deep into the infant formula debacle and its relationship to the larger food conversation, why food policy deserves its own beat, why Helena classifies herself as an “accidental journalist”, why media coverage in politics matters, what the investigative process looks like, how we maintain connection with people we deeply disagree with, and more. 

Resources:

Politico Climate Change Series 

The Great Nutrient Collapse 

‘Lessons have not been learned’: FDA knew of positive test months before latest infant formula recall

How Washington keeps America sick and fat 

Diet-Related Diseases Pose a Major Risk for Covid-19. But the U.S. Overlooks Them.

Plugs:

Food Fix

Twitter: @hbottemiller @foodfixco