The Kathleen Sessions |

Episode 381. Kathleen discusses her one month experiment with a Continuous Glucose Monitor.

The quote mentioned in the podcast, “When we know better, we do better,” is by Maya Angelou.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

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–Instagram

0:00 – Intro

0:35 – Why did Kathleen choose to wear a CGM?

5:37 – Biggest takeaways from the CGM

7:02 – What contributes to high, healthy, and low glucose levels?

8:28 – No naked carbs

8:51 – Burger and fries vs. steak and fries

12:47 – Data driving habits

15:22 – Exercise and glucose levels

20:09 – Sleep and stress on glucose levels

22:33 – Nutrisense app

23:33 – Who should use a CGM?

29:08 – Why Nutrisense over other brands?

31:30 – Onboarding experience

32:53 – Does the application hurt?

33:59 – Supporting education in the app

35:09 – Wearing the CGM in public

38:03 – What Kathleen wishes was different about the CGM

40:33 – Maintaining healthy glucose levels vs. calorie needs 

43:31 – A Gen Z’s perspective on CGMs

46:12 – Conclusion

Episode 380. Kathleen interviews Dr. Phillip Tabb about biophilia and thin places and how to instill more qualities of both into the design of our cities, neighborhoods and every day lives. Dr. Tabb is Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Texas A&M University, the land planner of Serenbe and the author of Serene Urbanism, Biophilic Urbanism, and the soon to be published Thin Places.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekathleensessions

To support this podcast, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and The Kathleen Sessions on your favorite podcast app.

–Instagram

0:00 – Intro

1:00 – Placemaking

2:25 – The first place

2:56 – Sacred/charged places

3:30 – What makes a village vital?

4:00 – Patterns in charged places

9:27 – English vs. U.S. villages

17:03 – Placelessness in U.S.

18:30 – Serenity and placemaking

20:30 – Streetscape in U.S.

26:30 – What is Biophilia?

30:57 – Land planning with biophilic design

36:06 – Criticalness of biophilic design

38:52 – Define thin places

42:48 – Why are thin places important?

49:08 – Everyday thin places

52:26 – Phill’s favorite thin places

55:31 – Thin places in Ireland

1:01:42 – Positive outcomes of thin places, biophilia, critical land use, and placemaking

1:03:13 – Pro-individual positive outcomes

1:04:21 – Pro-social positive outcomes

1:05:55 – Pro-environmental positive outcomes

1:07:12 – Expression of these concepts in Serenbe

1:10:58 – Themes in Serenbe

1:15:37 – Grateful for Dr. Tab’s work!

1:18:02 – What made Serenbe possible

1:19:12 – Dr. Tab’s book recommendation

1:21:42 – Conclusion

Episode 379. Kathleen interviews Prudence Ferreira about the power of design and engineering to solve some of our country’s biggest housing and energy issues. Prudence serves on the PHIUS Board of Directors where she was previously president. She has consulted on over 30 passive design projects across seven different climate zones.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekathleensessions

To support this podcast, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and The Kathleen Sessions on your favorite podcast app.

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00:30 Passive design definition

00:35 A climate specific, cost optimized set of building science principles

00:55 A logical pathway to Net Zero

01:20 What constitutes passive design

2:45 Building as assets vs liabilities

04:25 Continuous insulation

04:35 Avoidance of thermal bridging

05:35 Energy recovery ventilation

05:50 Air sealing

09:36 It comes down to how we design and construct the building

10:10 Maintain comfortable temperatures reagardless what is going on outside in terms of extreme temps

10:35 Allows our homes to protect and shelter us regardless of what happens to the grid

11:45  It’s about paying amazing attention to design and then construction execution

12:41 Cost differentials to build with passive design methods

14:22 Scale – large projects like multifamily and dorms, drives down the costs and may even not add to the cost at all because of savings in other areas like mechanicals

14:30 Passive design certification

15:30 Scale and costs further explained

19:00 Large scale at a 1% cost premium for passive design, setting up a pathway to net zero buildings.

19:40 We have the technology, we have the building science know how to do net zero energy buildings that don’t cost any more than conventional buildigs

21:00 Less reliant on heating and cooling needs, thus financial savings once the building is operating

21:25 What kinds of energy reductions do we see with passive design and how does that equate to operating cost differentials?

23:15 Greatly reduced utility bills due to energy preservation. In a cold climate, the buildings heat themselves

23:35 Use and contain the heat thrown off from people, appliances, etc.

24:00 Not wasting any useful internal gains

24:15 How do energy reductions in passive design compare to conventional construction and other certifications like LEED

26:45 PHIUS – Sets passive house standards for North America

27:30 Climate specific passive house vs German passive house methods which are one size fits all

28:00 Why have we been slower in the United States to adopt this very basic, solid engineering approach?

30:40 The politics of energy. Not a left vs right thing, just solid engineering and building design.

34:00 Passive design and self reliance

34:30 Not dependent on the grid, energy independent

35:30 Not a political issue, an engineering issue. Engineering is above politics

36:00 Other barriers to passive design

36:15 Public misperception is that passive design is aesthetically unattractive. How do we overcome that barrier?

37:00 Early adopters, lessons learned.

37:30 Trump speech on passive house

38:00 Passive house can look like anything you want.

38:15 Passive house branding, and the word passive does not connect with people.

40:30 ‘Resilient’ as a better word than passive?

41:45 Passive design as a matter of national security.

42:30 The fragility and aging of our grid.

43:15 The Department of Defense,  the Army Core of Engineers, Armed Forces

44:00 The state of Massachusetts, building code

44:15 Once local contractors have experience, things snowball

45:15 Train the trades

47:10 Once they go passive, they don’t go back

47:15 The builder gets to bring back a nobility to the trade.

47:30 Builders make a massive difference to the process

48:30 That contagious excitement and pride is contagious.

49:00 A noble, honorable trade

49:20 Experience as a solution

50:10 Personal journey

53:30 Thornton Tomasetti  

58:20 Book Recommendation: Transforming Design and Construction

Episode 378. Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau answers listener questions and comments about meditation. Although there are many ways to approach meditation and to answer these questions, Kathleen responds directly from her personal experience and a practical approach.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekathleensessions

To support this podcast, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and The Kathleen Sessions on your favorite podcast app.

–Instagram

00:00 Why Meditation?

00:43 See the Fiction, Drop the fiction

01:20 “I have tried meditation, but I am bad at it. I can’t sit still.

02:04 We practice meditation, we practice. That is how we become skillful.

02:30 Basketball analogy

03:11 “I play guitar. Isn’t this a form of meditation?”

03:30 Pilot/Fighter Jet

04:45 Meditation – 3 Skills

08:16 “How often should I meditate and how long should I do it?”

09:35 “Why focus on the breath? The breath feels vague to me.”

12:20 “I know that meditation would help me, but I do not have the time to do it.”

14:00 “I love meditation because it is a time I can solve my work problems.”

16:20 “I am religious and not sure how meditation fits into that.”

18:10 “The transition from the calm of meditation back to the reality of my day feels jolting. Any suggestions?”

20:55 “My back hurts when I try to sit in the meditation posture.”

23:00 The side benefit of meditation —the physical benefits.

Please subscribe to The Kathleen Sessions on our YouTube channel and your favorite podcast app.

Episode 377. Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau shares five books that have a profound influence on her life.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekathleensessions

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:43 The first book: A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein

1:50 If you have an interest in architecture, interior design, home building, urban planning

2:06 Why some places, buildings, rooms feel amazing and others do not

2:47 The second book: Collapse by Jared Diamond UCLA

3:07 The most important book I have ever read. Should be required reading.

4:04 How we should be building, where we should be building, urban planning, the environment, soil, erosion, farming.

4:29 The third book: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, Phd

4:55 My insomnia journey

6:39 The fourth book: Atomic Habits by James Clear

8:36 James Clear has the perfect name. Clear and robust writer

9:04 The fifth book: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

11:37 Passage from Maya Angelou

Please subscribe to The Kathleen Sessions on our YouTube channel and your favorite podcast app.

Episode 376. Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau interviews architect Christopher Locke about his perspectives on the current state of architectural design and the influence that buildings, and who designs them, has on individuals and society at large.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekathleensessions

To support this podcast, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and The Kathleen Sessions on your favorite podcast app.

–Instagram

:28 The current state of architecture

1:37 Who do architects serve?

2:09 Architecture in response to people, the times and politics

2:48 Diversification

2:58 Inherent tension/challenges of architecture

4:20 What makes for great building design?

6:11 Buildings as part of the public realm

7:21 Architecture as product

9:45 Product vs process

10:10 The politics of space

10:25 It takes strong leaders

10:37 The financial component how projects get funded

10:57 What drew Christopher to architecture

11:51 Architecture as lasting legacy

12:06 Architecture as stewardship

12:22 Righting the wrongs and amplifying voices

13:29 The positives of architecture are infectious

14:30 Architecture school, educational journey

14:47 Design in Color

16:49 Architecture and identity

19:12 A cross section of architecture

20:36 Roadblocks and springboards

21:00 A lack of black and brown architects

22:50 How do we solve for a lack of diversity in architecture?

24:23 Revisiting apprenticeship in architecture

26:33 Moving beyond quotas and token employees

29:38 What do you wish more young people knew?

Please subscribe to The Kathleen Sessions on our YouTube channel and your favorite podcast app.

Episode 375. Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau shares her personal pickleball tips and her philosophy about why the sport is striking a chord.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekathleensessions

To support this podcast, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and The Kathleen Sessions on your favorite podcast app.

–Instagram

:37 Why? Why is pickbleball so popular?

2:14 An emphatic case for warming up.

2:34 Lateral movement, achilles tendon.

3:48 The ping pong comparison. Don’t sweat it.

4:45 Singles vs. Doubles.

7:00 Nobody to play with? You have options.

9:09 Bad habits. Nip them fast.

9:40 Pickleball lessons.

10:25 Affordable ways to play pickleball.

12:04 Strength work for lateral movement/knees/injury prevention.

15:20 Wrist and elbow injury.

16:38 Paddle tweaks. Grip size.

19:30 Inflammation.

20:37 Lower back.

23:04 The beauty of an athletic stance.

24:43 My bad habit is…

25:44 Nuance, touch, brain health, winning.

26:35 The downside of only hitting the ball hard.

27:44 A philosophical bend: Pickleball and the educational system. Feeling success, getting inspired, getting obsessed and staying in school.

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Kurt Paulsen is a Professor of Urban Planning in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Host: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Website: https://www.thekathleensessions.com

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekathleensessions

To support this podcast, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and The Kathleen Sessions on your favorite podcast app.

–Instagram

1:44 What makes a city great?

6:50 Urban Planning Definition

10:40 Los Angeles as case study

13:25 Cities born out of transportation

14:48 Accommodating the car, ceding control of the streets to the engineers

18:46 Growing up versus out

19:50 The American city has made driving cheap and housing expensive

23:10 Zoning tension

31:17 Soulless

24:21 Small town vitality

34:25 The nationalization of retail

36:05 State DOTs

36:28 We can stop doing stupid

39:04 The impact on humanity, the human experience

43:00 The public realm

46:36 The case for poetry

47:33 Learning what gets built and why

52:13 Breaking out of the scripts

Episode #373. Dear Ted, where have you been? This show will lift your heart to the moon, make your belly hurt from laughing, and bring you to your knees with wild gratitude. More of this in my life, please.

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About Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau

Episode #372. Daily Score. Screw annual resolutions. The end of the year is a lifetime away. Do your personal bean counting every day and course correct as needed. How are you living today? How are you living in this moment?

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About Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau