The SustainUW Podcast

Dr. Barbara Hendrie is the Regional Director for the UN Environment Programme's North America Office and has built over two decades of experience in sustainable development and humanitarian affairs, working for both the United Kingdom and United States governments. In this episode, hosts Rose Adler-Rephan and Kylie Thomasen speak with Dr. Hendrie about her remarkable career path, her crucial environmental work with the UN, and her thoughts on how individuals can make a difference at a global scale. 

In our latest episode of the Green Paths series, host Eliza Lindley speaks with Lori Peppard, who is a service area representative at Second Harvest Foodbank. From teaching in California to working for the Red Cross, Lori has had a wealth of experiences that have brought her to this stage in her career. Listen in as Eliza talks with Lori and traces her path to a career in hunger relief--which also has close ties with various aspects of sustainability. 

About the Green Paths series

What makes for a sustainable food system? How do we balance our personal and cultural food habits with our impact on the planet and each other? And what is a "sustainable diet" anyway? In this episode of the Wicked Problems series, hosts Rose Adler-Rephan and Kylie Thomasen speak with two special guests from UW–Madison: Tom Bryan, who is a teaching faculty member in the Organic Agriculture certificate and a Greenhouse Supervisor at the Greenhouse Learning Community; and Brad Boley, who is a faculty member in the Department of Food Science and leads a research program in food chemistry and health.

Gray wolves elicit conflicting reactions in American culture, from awe and reverence to fear and hatred. They are also a hot topic lately, as different groups and political forces argue about whether they should be included on the federal endangered species list and whether states like Wisconsin should allow hunting seasons for them. But how did the gray wolf get on the endangered species list in the first place? And why do some Wisconsinites, and Americans in general, seem trigger-happy when it comes to wolves?

In this episode of Hot Topics, hosts Norma Behrend-Martinez and Grace Martin explore the state of the wolf hunt in Wisconsin as well as the deeper cultural and environmental history of wolf-human relationships. Assisted by UW–Madison Professor Adrian Treves, they also delve into the deep insight and fundamentally different philosophies offered by indigenous perspectives on wolves. 

In our first episode of the Green Paths series, host Eliza Lindley speaks with Dr. Tim Lindstrom, who is the intern program manager for the UW–Madison Office of Sustainability as well as an instructor in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. We'll hear about Tim's journey from Kansas City to Sweden to Madison, and how Tim's varied experiences, educational background, and personal interests finally landed him in his current position. 

About the Green Paths series

Plastic: it's everywhere, it's incredibly useful, and it offers certain accessibility advantages--but it's a huge sustainability issue. In our first episode of the Wicked Problems series, hosts Rose Adler-Rephan and Kylie Thomasen explore the thorny tradeoffs that we face with single-use plastics. 

Series Description

Welcome back to The SustainUW Podcast, hosted by student interns at the UW–Madison Office of Sustainability! For our second season, we're delighted to bring you a new approach and a new set of hosts. Over the coming year, we'll be dividing our episodes into three series: Wicked Problems, Green Paths, and Hot Topics. Learn more about each of these series in today's introduction episode and meet the whole podcast crew!

Host Marina Minic takes listeners on a delightfully zany yet informative trip through her adventures with fermentation, from cheese to yogurt to kombucha. Come along for the ride--and try out her kombucha recipe when you're done! 

We all know that Earth Day commemorates our planet and offers people an opportunity to dedicate themselves to living more sustainable lives. But what's the history of Earth Day, and how has that history intersected with a broader history of social and environmental activism, especially on college campuses? In this bonus episode, hosts Catie McDonald and Marina Minic explore these questions and interview students at an Earth Day rally on the UW–Madison campus. 

What is the history of farmers markets and how can they be used as a tool for justice? What is direct trade and how does it differ from Fair Trade? In this episode, which was made in collaboration with the Social Justice Hub, hosts Marina Minic and Arushi Gupta discuss markets and trade with special guests: Alfonso Morales, who is Vilas distinguished achievement professor at UW–Madison and managing director at Farm2Facts; and Aureal Ojeda, entrepreneur and founder of Outwoken tea, a direct trade tea supplier.