The Imperfect Advocate Podcast

Food waste is a big environmental problem, but what if there were an easier way to keep it out of the landfill?

In the first installment of a new seasonal series, Green Products I Love, Karen combines more than 30 years of environmental experience with her perspective as a consumer to share products that solve real environmental problems.

First up is the Mill Food Recycler, affectionately known in Karen's house as Milly Bobby. Karen explains why food waste in landfills contributes to climate change, what methane has to do with it, and how Mill has changed the way she handles food waste at home. She shares what she loves about the product, what surprised her, and a few limitations to consider.

Because being an Imperfect Advocate isn't about doing everything. It's about making small changes that add up.

In this episode of The Imperfect Advocate Podcast, Karen Auld invites listeners to kick off Plastic Free July with curiosity instead of perfection. Australian educator Rebecca Prince-Ruiz grew a global movement from just forty participants, Karen explores why meaningful environmental change begins with something much simpler than most people realize: noticing.

On the pod, Karen also asks for a moment of silence for Recyclops. Don’t know who Recyclops is? Tune in to find out and be inspired by his mastermind daddy, Rainn Wilson.

Karen also shares her own Plastic Free July experiment, including one simple swap that will eliminate dozens of single-use plastic bottles each year without sacrificing her favorite afternoon iced tea. Thanks Firebelly Tea!

Whether you're a lifelong environmentalist or simply curious about reducing waste, this episode offers practical ideas, hope, and a gentle reminder that advocacy isn't about being perfect. It's about noticing, making one small change, and trusting that those small actions can inspire something much bigger.

Summer has always been Karen Auld's favorite season. The warm air, longer days, birdsong, and blooming flowers serve as a reminder to slow down and pay attention. In the Season 8 premiere of The Imperfect Advocate, Karen explores what it means to tend not only our gardens, but our lives.

Using the garden as a metaphor, she reflects on the "weeds" that quietly steal our energy, the relationships and habits that nourish us, and the importance of trusting that growth can't be rushed. Just as a garden needs healthy soil, sunshine, water, and time, our dreams require encouragement, rest, community, and consistent care.

This episode invites listeners to pause, take inventory of what they're cultivating, and embrace the simple practice of tending what they want to grow. Welcome to a season of tending, growing, and blooming together.

Spring may bring flowers, but it also brings mud.

In Episode 2 of the Imperfect Advocate Podcast spring season, Karen explores the messy beauty of living systems through the work of author and systems thinker Margaret Wheatley.

From Vermont’s famous “mud season” to ecosystem diagrams that mysteriously leave humans out of the picture, this episode examines how modern life has conditioned us to see ourselves as separate from nature, from each other, and even from our own humanity.

Karen reflects on why we crave certainty, why disorder often signals growth rather than failure, and how systems thinking can help us reconnect with the living world around us.

After a longer-than-expected winter break, Karen returns for Season 7 of The Imperfect Advocate Podcast with reflections on growth, happiness, and what it means to move through life seasonally rather than linearly.

In this episode, Karen shares what she’s been learning while pursuing her Master’s degree in Happiness and Overall Wellbeing at Centenary University, including the SPIRE model for whole-being happiness: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational, and Emotional wellbeing.

Through stories about graduate school, surgery recovery, spring planting, and messy personal growth, Karen explores why happiness is not about perfection or constant positivity, but about creating the conditions that support a meaningful life.

Karen also previews the next episode’s exploration of Margaret Wheatley’s work on messy systems, community, and “sane leadership on behalf of the human spirit.”

If you’ve been in a quiet season, this episode is your reminder that growth rarely arrives all at once — and that sometimes we all just need a winter.ou can be.

When the world feels heavy, many of us feel the pull to help — and the paralysis of not knowing how. In this episode of The Imperfect Advocate Podcast, Karen Auld speaks honestly about feeling powerless, naming the emotional weight many are carrying right now, and reframing what it means to “be a helper.”

Drawing on positive psychology research from Martin Seligman, Karen explores how action — even small, imperfect action — restores agency and reduces helplessness when it’s aligned with our values and strengths. She shares a personal story about her husband and father-in-law designing dozens of homes for Habitat for Humanity, not by becoming different people, but by offering what they already do best.

The episode also weaves in insights from Ben Zander and The Art of Possibility, including the idea of contribution as expression (not sacrifice) and the power of “shining eyes” — a sign you’re working in alignment.

If you’ve ever thought “I want to help, but I don’t know what to do,” this episode offers clarity, compassion, and a practical next step — including a free character strengths assessment to help you fumble forward as the helper only you can be.

On the Winter Solstice—the darkest day of the year—we begin Season 6 of The Imperfect Advocate by turning gently toward the dark instead of away from it. Inspired by a quote from Rumi, Karen guides listeners through a loving-kindness (metta) meditation to help generate warmth, compassion, and light—even when everything around us feels dark. Includes a special 10% listener discount for the Color Love and Kindness coloring book.

In the season finale of 11 Life Lessons from Stranger Things, Karen and Bill explore the ultimate truth behind Hawkins — and our own hearts: love is the most powerful force in the universe.

From Eleven’s childhood memory of her mother saying “I love you.” To Mike’s heartfelt confession and Max’s “good memory” that saved her from Vecna, we see that love is not weakness, it’s energy. It’s renewal.

Karen connects these scenes to the groundbreaking work of Dr. David R. Hawkins (Power vs. Force) and Dr. Barbara Fredrickson (Love 2.0), explaining how love literally vibrates at higher frequencies, syncing hearts and strengthening health. Together, she and Bill show how love is both science and soul — a renewable resource we can all tap into.

From Stranger Things to real life, this episode is your reminder that love restores, love expands, and love creates.

In this episode of 11 Life Lessons from Stranger Things, Karen and Bill talk about the power of making your own rules — not breaking them, but creating a life aligned with your own values.

Inspired by Eleven’s evolution from following Hopper’s “Don’t Be Stupid” rules to defining her own path with Max, Karen explores how true empowerment means moving beyond templates and trusting your inner guidance.

They discuss mentors like Robert Holden and Brené Brown, who remind us that joy and success can’t be lived by someone else’s definition. From neighborhood golf courses to drag queens hiking in heels, this episode celebrates creative courage, “good trouble,” and the ripple effect of living authentically.

Making your own rules isn’t rebellion — it’s alignment. It’s how we stop playing small and start changing the world, one brave step at a time.

In this episode of 11 Life Lessons from Stranger Things, Karen and Bill explore the power of empathy in driving change. Inspired by Murray Bauman’s advice to Nancy and Jonathan in Season 2, they unpack how meeting people where they are isn’t about deception—it’s about translation and understanding.

Drawing on psychologist Dr. Renée Lertzman’s concept of radical attunement, Karen explains how real change begins when we tune into both our own emotions and others’—whether they’re anxious, ambivalent, or aspiring toward action.

From the hive mind of the Upside Down to our own cultural habits, this episode reminds us that transformation starts with connection, not correction.