Episodes

This episode, where I have the pleasure of introducing you to Cathy Jordan, was recorded live as part of the 2021 annual meeting of the Institute on the Environment (IonE) at the University of Minnesota. It was a really fun experience to get to record the podcast with a live (albeit virtual) audience and I must thank Courtney Peters, Julie Hanus, Sofia Leyva, Kellcee Baker, Ben Fink, and — of course — Cathy for helping to make it happen. It was really cool to record the first live episode of Ju...

During the concluding half-hour of our conversation, Janiece Watts and I spoke about: finding common cause with one another across the silos of our work, what institutions of higher education might learn from activists, and the importance of the narratives and perspectives of marginalized folks. Janiece Watts is the Director of Culture and Partnerships at Fresh Energy, a board member of the Headwaters Foundation and MN350, and is a member of the St. Paul Climate Justice Advisory Board. Links: ...

In this episode Janiece Watts and I talk about the importance of “connecting the dots” when thinking about the relationships between place, race, equity, and sustainability. We also discuss strategies for building coalitions to make social and political change. Janiece Watts is the Director of Culture and Partnerships at Fresh Energy, a board member of the Headwaters Foundation and MN350, and is a member of the St. Paul Climate Justice Advisory Board. Links: https://fresh-energy.org/our-team/j...

In this episode of Just Sustainability it’s my distinct pleasure to introduce you to Janiece Watts. I first learned about Janiece through Troy Goodnough (whom you might have listened to on the final episode of season 1 of Just Sustainability). I’m not sure how Troy became acquainted with Janiece but I clearly remember him excitedly telling me about how he just met someone that is a rising star among the young leaders working to achieve a more sustainable energy future. Moreover, this rising sta...

We’ve reached the conclusion of the conversation that I had with Taylor Brorby. When I asked him about whether there were topics that he wanted to talk about that we had not as of yet broached, he asked me about the things that were presently driving my work. That led us to a long conversation about climate change, social and restorative justice, and the need to attend to histories and narratives that are often ignored. Taylor Brorby is an essayist, poet, short storyist (or whatever one calls f...

In the third part of our conversation, Taylor and I spoke about how he works personal stories about growing-up in a rural community, being gay, and being diabetic into social commentary about discrimination and the harms associated with our extractive economy. Taylor Brorby is an essayist, poet, short storyist (or whatever one calls folks who write short stories), educator, and activist. https://blackearthinstitute.org/staff/2171/ https://www.wofford.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/environme...

In the second part of our conversation, Taylor Brorby and I pick-up where we left off at the end of the previous episode. Speaking about our childhoods growing-up in rural oil towns led us to talk about how biases affect one’s work and strategies to overcome those biases. Later in this episode, Taylor and I switch topics to storytelling and strategies for telling stories that resonate with broad audiences. Taylor Brorby is an essayist, poet, short storyist (or whatever one calls folks who write...

Taylor Brorby is an essayist, poet, short storyist (or whatever one calls folks who write short stories), educator, and activist. I invited him onto Just Sustainability for several reasons. First, Taylor’s just a fun person to chat with. He’s thoughtful, irreverent in the best way possible, and draws connections that challenge me to think in new ways (that I would likely never get to on my own). Second, and relevant to the topic of drawing surprising and fruitful connections, Taylor’s work ofte...

I suspect that, for the past decade, I’ve worked more closely with Troy Goodnough than with any other colleague or collaborator. I can’t think of many of my professional projects […]

In the conclusion of our conversation, Stephania Fregosi and I talk about the skills that we believe are necessary to solve difficult problems, the need to better attend to wellness within the domain of sustainability, and how folks might better make space for more inclusive discourse. Stephania Fregosi is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) Advisory Council and one of the original and longest serving members of AASHE’s DEI committee. ...

In the second part of our conversation, Steph and I talk about about how institutional rules requiring political neutrality can interfere with discourse about sustainability (especially given that topics such as climate change and racial equity have been made into politically loaded, and often partisan, topics). We also discuss the sort of tools that professional organizations might provide for their members. And, we end this episode musing about the importance of attending more to skills and vo...

When I think about the integration of equity and sustainability within higher education, I can’t help but to think of Stephania Fregosi. Steph is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) Advisory Council and one of the original and longest serving members of AASHE’s DEI committee. It seems to me that AASHE is an organization that plays one of the most central roles in shaping discourse about sustainability within the academy and Steph is one...

In the last part of our conversation, Shawn Shafner and I talk about the parallels between the POOP Project and Shawn’s coming-out process, we review some strategies for approaching difficult conversations (including: “The Shit Sandwich,” “Punch-Pull,” and “Respectful Conversation”). And, finally, we talk about the axioms of Shawn’s worldview: The Four Noble Poops. Shawn Shafner is an educator, an artist, and an activist. He skillfully invites folks to join him in difficult conversations about ...

In the second episode with Shawn Shafner, Shawn and I spoke about defecatory justice, Queerness, and liberatory discourse. Shawn Shafner is an educator, an artist, and an activist. He skillfully invites folks to join him in difficult conversations about uncomfortable (but necessary to discuss) concerning sustainability and equity (with a particular emphasis on poop and public sanitation). Shawn is the founder of the POOP (The People’s Own Organic Power) Project, the creator and star of several ...

In hindsight Shawn Shafner, also known as The Puru, played an important role in the creation of the Just Sustainability podcast. Several years ago, I spent several days hanging out and chatting with Shawn while he was performing and giving a number of talks at the University of Minnesota Morris. Speaking with Shawn led me to think more deeply about how poorly most of us within the academy (myself included) invite folks to join in our discourse and think more expansively about how we might be bet...

Dr. Ian Werkheiser is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and the director of the Center for Collaboration and Ethics at the University of Rio Grande Valley. He also the host of my favorite philosophy podcast: Thought About Food. Dr. Werkheiser, like many of the guests on Just Sustainability, seems to involved in more projects that should be physically possible. In his case, those projects tend to revolve around food justice and how communities resist oppression and marginalization. On our sec...

Dr. Ian Werkheiser is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and the director of the Center for Collaboration and Ethics at the University of Rio Grande Valley. He also the host of my favorite philosophy podcast: Thought About Food. Dr. Werkheiser, like many of the guests on Just Sustainability, seems to involved in more projects that should be physically possible. In his case, those projects tend to revolve around food justice and how communities resist oppression and marginalization. On this ep...

Dr. Teresa Peterson is a citizen of the Upper Sioux Community. She’s on the Board of Directors and is a co-founder of Dakota Wicohan, which is a nonprofit organization that […]

Dr. Teresa Peterson is a citizen of the Upper Sioux Community. She’s on the Board of Directors and is a co-founder of Dakota Wicohan, which is a nonprofit organization that […]

On this episode we meet Sean Sherman and learn about the impact of settler colonialism, Indigenous foods and foodways, the reclamation of Indigenous cultures and knowledges, and Indigenous education. Sean Sherman is Oglala Lakota and was born in Pine Ridge, SD. He’s a two-time James Beard Award winning chef, author, educator, and activist. He’s also been awarded a First Peoples Fund Fellowship, Bush Foundation Fellowship, and the National Center’s First American Entrepreneurship Award. He desc...

Heid Erdrich is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She is astoundingly multi-talented and is a prolific and award-winning poet, cookbook author, storyteller, artist, curator, and educator. She co-founded and lead the Turtle Mountain Writing Workshop, co-founded The Birchbark House (a fund to support indigenous language revitalization efforts), and was the director of Wiigwaas Press. Her efforts have helped to better center Indigenous voices and narratives across a broad ...

Heid Erdrich is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She is astoundingly multi-talented and is a prolific and award-winning poet, cookbook author, storyteller, artist, curator, and […]

In the second half of the conversation that I had with anthropologist Dr. Nina Ortiz, Nina and I talked about a number of topics. One of the topics that we discussed concerned how small rural towns and small colleges needed to change in similar ways to remain sustainable given changing economic and social conditions. We also spoke about the conventions of higher education, how those conventions are laden with cultural biases, and how to begin to expand scholarly discourse beyond those biases. L...

On this episode of Just Sustainability we meet Dr. Nina Ortiz, who’s an anthropologist at the University of Minnesota Morris. Nina strikes me as the archetype of a scholar activist — her work is the epitome of community engaged research. More specifically, her scholarship focuses on the experiences of immigrants who live in rural towns within the Midwest of the United States and often revolves around topics such a fair employment, inclusive social and economic infrastructure, and access to educa...