Episodes

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...

In this episode, we return to the conversation that I had with Dr. Fayola Jacobs from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. During the second half of our conversation, Dr. Jacobs and I spoke about the importance of improving access for marginalized folks, strategies for navigating and challenging the norms and conventions of higher-education, and growing the content and format of academic discourse in the hopes of making it more inclusive of...

In the first episode of Just Sustainability, I’ll introduce you to Dr. Fayola Jacobs, who is an Assistant Professor in the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Dr. Jacobs does really cool work examining, through a Black feminist lens, how various agencies plan and respond to natural disasters. Earlier in her life, she created and hosted anti-oppression workshops aimed at helping mental healthcare providers better serve marginalized communities....

To introduce you to Just Sustainability: Curious conversations about equity, sustainability, and social justice, Peter Levin from the Institute on the Environment interviews me (Clement Loo) and we talk about what I’m trying to achieve with this podcast and how I think about the sustainability and equity. Links: https://environment.umn.edu/