Episodes
Nov. 7, 2021
527: Mike Michalowicz, part 1: Entrepreneurship, stewardship, and engaging, compelling writing
Mike and I are in an online writing group together. For a while I knew him as the funny and diligent guy whose books have thousands of reviews online. Then I read his big one, Profit First . I know entrepreneurship from livi…
Nov. 7, 2021
526: A recent talk on doof, heroin, crack, and sustainability
This talk gets to the root of what I see destroying Earth's ability to sustain life and our health and happiness in the process. Here is the audio a recent talk I gave on doof , building up to what we can do to get rid of it…
Nov. 4, 2021
525: Katie Redford, part 1: She beat a multinational oil company in court just getting started
Katie is the sort of role model I do this podcast to bring to the world. Her challenges are huge, but her passion and determination greater. I can find a million people who say they care about the environment. They probably …
Nov. 2, 2021
524: James Rebanks, part 1: Pastoral Song
James Rebanks' first massively bestselling book, The Shepherd's Life , and the images of that life he posts online, at first make you think he hails from another time. It describes a life both almost unimaginable to most cit…
Oct. 29, 2021
523: Dr. Warren Farrell, part 1: Actually listening to men, what they keep to themselves
If I measure a book's quality by how much it changes my perspective and enables me to improve my life, Dr. Farrell's The Myth of Male Power (1993) is one of the best books I've read. He's written valuable book after valuable…
Oct. 25, 2021
522: Abdal Hakim Murad, part 1: Britain’s most influential Muslim thinker
A reader followed up on my conversations with religious figures and authorities from branches of Christianity and Judaism. He wrote You have presented religious people with «the book». That’s good, and I hope you will find s…
Oct. 21, 2021
521: Blake Haxton, part 2: Teamwork is crucial. How to solve that we're divided
I loved Blake and my conversation so much, I'm releasing our first two conversations back to back. Also, our first one didn't reach to The Spodek Method, so he hadn't taken on a commitment based on his environmental values, …
Oct. 16, 2021
520: Blake Haxton, part 1: Paralympic victory and maybe the most important message I've heard on sustainability
I learned of Blake through the mailing list of the maker of my rowing machine, Concept2. Their piece on him described him as a Paralympic bound athlete. I was impressed, but only thought of him as a potential guest on watchi…
Oct. 13, 2021
519: Terik Weekes, Chief Engineer for Elroy Air: The future of electric flight
Should you prepare for a future of clean air travel, curb your flying, or other? I saw Terik speak on a panel on electric flight. As Chief Engineer at a company winning awards for battery-powered planes, he knew what he was …
Oct. 11, 2021
518: Killing cities, gardens, and parks, New York's cruel "Open Restaurants" overreach
Don't outdoor restaurants sound nice? During the pandemic, New York City allowed restaurants that couldn't host people indoors to serve them outdoors. Many restaurant owners credit the rule for keeping them in business. We n…
Oct. 8, 2021
517: Michael Carlino, part 2: Faith, God, the Bible, and Values
Nearly everyone I talk to who works on conservation or would call themselves an environmentalist or something like it treats American conservatives and evangelicals as adversaries, lost causes, hurdles, or even the enemy. Th…
Oct. 5, 2021
516: Geoengineering: Prologue or Epilogue for Humanity?
Here are the notes I read from, responding to this op-ed piece and this review for a book I've talked to the author about but haven't read. Geoengineering Prologue or Epilogue for Humanity? Introduction, context Geoengineeri…
Oct. 3, 2021
515: Chad Foster, part 2: A blind man overcoming the trap of feeling you have to fix the world
Our conversation in this episode starts by covering his commitment from last time. After a few minutes, it becomes apparent he picked a commitment based on feeling he had to fix the world---that is, extrinsic motivation disc…
Oct. 1, 2021
514: Jojo Mehta: Ecocide: why you want this law more than you've imagined
First, I'm so used to talking to people who don't act and try to convince themselves and others that individual actions don't matter, I loved talking to someone inspiring a movement to change international law, making progre…
Sept. 30, 2021
513: Jon Levy, part 2: Which influences more, shame and guilt or support and love?
Jon and I start by talking about his book, You're Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence . Some of the celebrities he's met and researched come up. Then we started talking about this podcast and how I could ap…
Sept. 29, 2021
512: Perhaps our greatest lesson, from of a Paralympic athlete who endured catastrophe
"Unearned suffering is redemptive," said Martin Luther King. In today's episode I share what I learned today recording with Blake Haxton, a guest whose episode will appear soon. He lost two legs to flesh-eating disease in 20…
Sept. 27, 2021
511: Joe Collins, part 1.5: Can We Clean South Central Los Angeles?
Last time Joe committed to organizing and participating in a beach clean-up as part of his campaign. In today's episode he shares the state of the region, including the extent of homelessness, drugs, and violence, which made…
Sept. 22, 2021
510: Jonathan Hardesty, part 6: "This method of doing things is making me become a better husband and parent"
Jonathan and I continue practicing the Spodek Method. Since last recording, he practiced it with his wife. This time he shares how it went. I picked up on a nuance, that she picked a commitment disconnected from her intrinsi…
Sept. 20, 2021
509: Joe Romm: From science to working with James Cameron, leading through story
Coming from a background in science but realizing that sharing numbers and data didn't influence, Joe had to unlearn a lifetime of mainstream science education. He recognized that the best known scientists, like Darwin and E…
Sept. 15, 2021
508: Eric Orts, part 2: To the U.S. Senate, living the values he leads
Since Eric's last time here, he formally declared he is running for office. Now he's reporting back months into his campaign. Did Trump not being in office slow him down? Or did our environmental problems motivate him even m…
Sept. 13, 2021
507: Behind the Mic: Teamwork Versus Leadership
Today's episode explores a subtle but potentially meaningful and large shift, considering focusing on sustainability teamwork more than sustainability leadership. The main difference is that I think people feel taking a lead…
Sept. 11, 2021
506: I lost $10 million on September 11, 2001. Here is what I learned from those who sacrificed and served.
Sorry for the slow pace of this episode, but just before recording I looked at the firehouse across the street from my apartment, the small plaque naming the firemen who died trying to help others, and the flowers people put…
Sept. 10, 2021
505: Michael Carlino, part 1: From the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Michael begins by describing himself as a Protestant evangelical conservative PhD candidate at one of the largest and oldest Baptist seminaries, what that description means, and what experience and choices brought him there.…
Sept. 7, 2021
504: Dar-Lon Chang, part 2: Activists on Exxon's Board (and fighting a real estate developer who lied about sustainability)
Reading front-page headlines about activist investors gaining some control of Exxon's Board of Directors reminded me of past guest Dar-Lon Chang, who worked at Exxon for sixteen years. I asked if he had inside information on…