When plastic made its foray into daily life in the 1950s, it was billed as the liberation to an existence constrained by household drudgery. Plates could be tossed instead of washed; coffee could be chugged on the go and then chucked into a rubbish bin; and frozen TV dinners could be stripped of their plastic wrap and popped in the oven at a moment’s notice. Life Magazine touted the disposable revolution in an article entitled ‘Throwaway Living’; a mere half-century later, every piece of plastic modern mankind ever made is still with us. Indeed, 8 million metric tons of these metamorphosed fossil fuels continue to enter our oceans each year, choking all life in the pervasive plastic path of its micro-pieces, and ultimately working its way up the food chain, into us.

We’ve been taught that we can use plastics so long as we recycle, but that system, is in fact, grievously broken, and perhaps never should have been the answer all along, as I learned in this thought-provoking conversation with Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, executive director of the 5 Gyres Institute, the ocean conservation non-profit that first discovered plastic microbeads in 2012 and campaigned for a successful federal ban in 2015. But how can we even begin to tackle the 5.25 trillion particles of “plastic smog” (that’s 270,000 tons) polluting our oceans worldwide? How can we reverse the seemingly inescapable grasp of a now entrenched throwaway society? Rachel is an awe-inspiring former journalist and mom of three (as well as my friend and neighbor, lucky me!), and she digs deep in this interview -- unraveling not only the history of plastic and the roots of our throwaway society, but channeling the save-everything mentality of her great-grandmother to inspire all of us toward a post-plastic revolution through doable change.   

Sometimes when I’m up at night thinking about the inexorable alteration of the human existence since my own childhood and in the mere 150 years since America’s Industrial Revolution (yup, this is my brain not on drugs), what haunts me most is this: My two little girls -- and entire generations of human beings -- are now growing up without seeing the stars.

And it’s not only megacity-dwelling people like us: Because of the ceaseless lights of our cities, suburbs and their surrounds, an astounding 80 percent of the world now lives under perpetual skyglow. In fact, two-thirds of Americans have lost the ability to see the Milky Way, and an unfathomable 99 percent of people (not to mention animals and plants) living in the United States and Europe will never experience the circadian rhythms of true darkness and natural light.

Not surprisingly, there is a growing body of evidence on how our disconnection from the darkness may be profoundly impacting human health, not to mention its link to our modern-day epidemic of cancer and chronic disease. But I have bigger questions: What does it mean to the human existence, to our human souls, that we can no longer see and therefore dream about the heavens; that we no longer look up at the night sky and innately recognize our millions-year-old relationship with the universe?

These were some of the topics at hand in my fascinating conversation for today’s episode with John Barentine, an astronomer who’s made it his mission to bring back the natural night sky in his work with the International Dark-Sky Association. John has had a remarkable career as an astronomer (a former researcher at NOAO and the NSO, as well as a former staff member at Apache Point), author and science communicator -- the last of which is apparent when you listen to John so eloquently deconstruct and discuss this epic topic, as well as inspire us on how to take action on light pollution and change our children’s literal vision of the future. 

My interview today is with Greg Hennes, the brainchild behind the newly launched Prairie Mountain Folk School, a center for folk education and traditional craft set amidst the breathtaking natural landscape of Joseph, Oregon. In this tiny, remote town (population: 1,089) tucked into the vast wilderness of the Wallowa Mountains and the Zumwalt Prairie, Hennes hopes to foster a community where people from all over the world can relearn the traditional crafts of our ancestors that are on the brink of extinction -- blacksmithing, weaving, spoon carving, even cabin building -- from the actual local craftspeople and artisans preserving this heritage.

In this episode, Greg guides us through the history of folk education and the makings of Prairie Mountain Folk School along with his other no-less-ambitious project, the Kickstarter-funded and artist-powered restoration of Joseph’s historic Jennings Hotel (warning: one click and you’ll be planning your next vacation). I for, one, loved hearing more about life in this stunning little-known corner of America, but was particularly moved by what Greg had to say about what is really driving the renewed interest (some might say fervor) toward traditional skills: namely, the deeply human need for real human interaction and community that’s missing from our modern world. 

As we hurtle toward a world of digital jobs and automated consumerism (hello, Instacart and Amazon Dash), we urbanites who long for a deeper connection to the natural world, to our food sources and to do something real with our own two hands that doesn’t involve the pushing of a button, often think the lifestyle choice has to be either-or: Either we sock those dreams away in the “one day” file and surrender to the economic leviathan of modern city life, or we leave the city (and our livelihoods) behind to pioneer a homestead somewhere out in the country. But seven years ago, Root Simple founders Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne delivered us an alternate path forward with the release of their bestselling book The Urban Homestead and seminal follow-up, Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World. From their hilltop bungalow set on 1/12 acre in Eastside Los Angeles, the pair sparked a DIY revolution -- bringing permaculture front yards, backyard chickens, wild-fermented beer and home-constructed milk crate dry toilets forever into the (almost) mainstream.

I’ve been following Erik and Kelly’s work here in LA for nearly a decade now, and was excited to have the opportunity to check in with Erik to hear how far he and Kelly have progressed on the path toward self-reliance, since the book’s release. But as so often happens in these interviews, what transpired turned out to be a much different conversation than the one I had anticipated. Erik and Kelly have faced some serious life circumstances in the past year, and as a result Erik came to our talk with some new truths to reveal about the realities of running an “urban homestead,” the fool’s errand of self-sufficiency, and the real importance of community.

When I first came up with the idea for the Uncivilize Podcast, I knew that my first interview had to be with veteran outdoorsman Sean Critchfield, lead instructor for the Wisdom Keepers SchoolApprentice of the Wild program here in Los Angeles, via which he teaches ancient and wilderness skills to more than 200 children, including my own two kiddos. My girls and I began taking Sean’s classes last spring (adults accompany younger students plus he teaches adult classes, too), and since then we can’t imagine life in LA without him. He has become a much beloved mentor as our family transitions from mere outdoor enthusiasts to people with a true outdoor skill set.

But it is also Sean who undoubtedly inspired this podcast, because he has opened up a world of possibility by doing what so many others in the wilderness / primitive skills movement wouldn’t dream of doing: choosing to reside in the midst of a megacity while he pursues a life immersed in the natural world and the fundamental skills of self-reliance. As a result of that seemingly paradoxical choice, he is not only living proof of the idea that nature is not, in fact, “somewhere else,” but an essential facet of the human existence with which we must all find a way to make our home; he has been able to share his knowledge with so many. 

Whether like me, you’re just entering the exciting world of plant identifying, animal tracking, fire making and shelter building and are overwhelmed about where to start, or you’re a veteran outdoorsperson struggling with navigating the realities of our hyper-modern world, I know you’ll appreciate the urban rewilding wisdom Sean brings to this interview. He’s also a gentle soul and a gifted storyteller (you should see this man hold rapt a dozen-plus otherwise rowdy kids in the woods), and I promise you’ll find yourself mesmerized by the profundity of his thoughts on nature, on learning, and on using the circumstances of our reality to more fully connect with the world around us, wherever that may be.