Josh is a tech-for-social-good entrepreneur, urban pioneer, and nature photographer. Josh grew up in New Jersey and moved to Pittsburgh to attend CMU, then started and sold several businesses. Today, he runs a company called Reseed that helps smallholder farms capitalize on their regenerative farming practices by selling their carbon credits. Josh talks about how we can hijack capitalism and hack the system to use market forces for good. And, of course, we talk about how food is at the center of everything.

Rayden is an ice hockey player, artist, and expert community builder. We talk at a point in his life and his career, where he is passing the torch at Grow Pittsburgh and venturing out to see what's next. We talk about  growing up without a lot of structure, Jewish food culture, boarding school, his work in the Pittsburgh agriculture scene, hospital food, food shaming, how to build a team, his personal portal to nine mile run watershed, and what might be next for him now.

Erika is a baker, artist, and founding member of Pittsburgh's first cooperative bakery.  Erika tells me about her work on America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Illustrated, and Milk Street; recipe development (including the lemon layer cake in episode photo); her writing career; and the reality of burnout in the culinary arts field.

Growing up both in the Philippines and the US, and now having perfected both cooking and farming, Rafael has a unique perspective on our food system. We talk about bite-sized goals, assimilating to American culture, and his new restaurant venture!

Bahay Kubo, the song that helped Rafael select what he would grow: https://www.tagaloglang.com/bahay-kubo-lyrics-recordings/

Noise alert: This interview was recorded at Hilltop Urban Farm in Pittsburgh, outdoors, and it was a windy day. I learned that we need to protect the microphone from the wind.

Beth is a writer, scholar, food tour guide, educator, gardener, and soon-to-be bakery owner. She always connected to people through food and found her way to Chatham University's Food Studies program to bring food to the forefront of her work. As a founding member of Pittsburgh's first bakery co-op, she is eager to create that space for others.