Episodes
May 6, 2020
335: Rhonda Lamb, part 2: reversing food deserts
The quote you just heard was Rhonda's description how showing people how to cook the way I showed them could save time and money for people to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. After Rhonda and my first conversation, I reco…
May 1, 2020
334: Jethro Jones, part 2: Biking in -40 degrees. Why not?
This episode starts off strong with Jethro's matter-of-fact description of riding a bike in minus 40 degree weather. He's a principal going to school, but could be talking about radical mountain biking. I don't remember my p…
April 30, 2020
333: A racist with a heart of gold is still a racist
This pandemic continues to reveal new aspects of relationships—or rather spending time with people does. I think we used to spend more time with people, not mediated by the internet or distracted by screens and other powered…
April 27, 2020
332: How leaders choose better
Leadership means choosing and deciding for yourself and for others. To lead effectively, it helps to know how you choose and what happens in your heart and mind when you choose---that is, how your intellect and emotions inte…
April 25, 2020
331: Rob Harper, part 2: A Pro-Trump View
Our second recorded conversation covered Rob's experience with separating his recycling. The first time we met we meant to record but ended up speaking for three hours, partly meeting as person-to-person and also talking abo…
April 23, 2020
330: Lockdown Inspiration from Nelson Mandela
Many of us are struggling living in lockdown. Nelson Mandela has inspired me in many ways. Going beyond subsisting in captivity, he emerged from 27 years imprisoned on Robben Island---South Africa's Alcatraz---to become Pres…
April 21, 2020
329: John Perkins: Touching the Jaguar
A great joy of podcast success is talking to people who changed your life. I read John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man about ten years ago. I couldn't put it down---as much from the writing as the stories and con…
April 20, 2020
328: Tony Wagner, Learning by Heart
People often ask for advice on how to lead in a given situation, what leadership means, or one tip they can improve their leadership with. Nearly none of the questions help someone improve their leadership. The most useful q…
April 18, 2020
327: Rhonda Lamb, part 1: The Bronx and farm-fresh vegetables
You'll hear about Rhonda and how we met in the beginning of our conversation, but I brought her in for a different reason than most of my other guests. I invite a lot of people to my famous no-packaging vegetable stew. Thoug…
April 16, 2020
326: Why Should I Care About Oskar Schindler?
I used Oskar Schindler in my third TEDx talk along with a few others as examples of people who took risks to do what they considered right—and that I think nearly all of us do. People like Rosa Parks and those who operated t…
April 13, 2020
325: My Mom, Marie Spodek: All in the Family
I thought about recording with parents for a while. Environmental action is personal and people keep asking me what motivates me. Well, now you'll get almost 50 years more background. Another issue with family and changing h…
April 10, 2020
324: Marina McCoy, part 1: A Waste-Free Earth Through Music
I can't tell you how refreshing it is to talk to someone who finds ways to do more, not to get credit for what she's already done. Overwhelmingly, conversations with people about acting on our environmental values seem to fi…
April 9, 2020
323: Steven Kotler: Future Is Faster Than You Think
One of my goals of this podcast is to bring people with alternative views. I won't deny this motive being mainly selfish. I want to learn and grow from alternative view. I grew up viewing technology and efficiency as better …
April 8, 2020
322: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll, part 1: Rock and Roll
Growing up in Philadelphia in the 70s meant Bruce Springsteen was a part of my life. I’ll always remember a fan in a promotional radio b-roll clip from one of the classic rock stations saying excitedly, definitively, “He’s t…
April 7, 2020
321: Marni Kinrys, part 2: Making Stewardship Normal
Before we recorded, Marni humbly said what she did wasn't that big of a deal, just a bit more than she normally did. She wondered the point of sharing it. So this second conversation with Marni was short and we talked as muc…
April 4, 2020
320: Confronting doof
I got a taste of what I believe leads people to tell me they can't avoid packaging or buying fresh, local produce. Living in a semi-rural area led me to shop in a large supermarket for the first time in a year or two. They c…
April 3, 2020
319: Avoid doof
Food is fundamental to our environmental problems. Most of what American restaurants and supermarkets sell looks like food but isn't by my definition. It makes us obese, diseased, fatigued, poor, dependent, and such, whereas…
April 3, 2020
318: Why pandemics will keep increasing and how we can reverse the trend
I don't normally post other people's material, but 1) I found this video the most valuable I've seen on pandemics and 2) a previous guest, Dr. Michael Greger, created it. It's an hour, so I summarize its highlights in this e…
April 2, 2020
317: My United Nations and UNICEF talk on leadership and the pandemic
Attendees said my talks brought tears to their eyes. Technically I spoke at the UN last week and UNICEF this week, but virtually not physically there, and to Toastmaster groups organized by UN and UNICEF workers. Both talks …
March 30, 2020
316: Joel Fuhrman, part 2: Eat for Life
Joel talked so passionately about everything I look to bring out in other guests, I hardly spoke about his commitment with bringing bags. No problem, I loved hearing his views, history, and approach. I went with it. He also …
March 27, 2020
315: Diversity: Where are female deliverypeople? Or research on them?
An article I read about research into diversity asked about levels where different groups felt occupations became "sufficiently diverse." It looked at positions at tech companies, for example. I support diversity. I came acr…
March 25, 2020
314: Brent Suter part 2: A Major League pitcher and his farmers markets
If you love hearing people at the peak of the human condition behind the scenes, you'll love this episode with Major League Baseball pitcher Brent Suter. I think you'll also hear the subtext of food connecting his family alr…
March 23, 2020
313: Jeff Kirschner, part 2: Still Working On It, Still Learning
I'm releasing Jeff's part 2 at the same time as 1.5 since they're both short episodes and still haven't led to achieving his goal. You'll hear we joke about it but, if I'm open, I'm frustrated at what I feel as my failure. I…
March 23, 2020
312: Jeff Kirschner, part 1.5: Leaders Fail, but Bounce Back Too
Jeff felt his challenge wasn't big but openly shared that, in his terms, he failed at it. We all fail. I haven't studied it scientifically, but I believe that the more successful the leader, the more openly they share their …