Episodes

In the second half of the conversation that I had with liz Thomson, we spoke built on our discussion about the relationship between equity and disability by talking about universal design principles and the creation of counter- and home-spaces as a framework for improving sense of belonging. liz and I finished our chat reflecting upon interdependence, mutual support, and community. Elizabeth (liz) Anh Thomson, PhD is 5’2″, dark-skinned, disabled, Vietnamese adoptee, gender non-conforming person...

It was really cool to have Elizabeth (liz) Anh Thomson, PhD as a guest for the Just Sustainability Podcast. One of the reasons that I created this podcast was that I wanted an excuse to pester friends and colleagues with the random questions that I have about the cool work that they do. The conversation that I had with liz for Just Sustainability is a perfect example of how this podcast affords me opportunities to do just that. How often does one get to take up 90 minutes of one’s supervisor’s ...

In this episode Mark Pedelty discusses the idea of music as communication, Ecosong.net, and different approaches to podcasting. Mark is a musician, environmental activist, podcaster, and a Professor of Communication as well as an Affiliate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Links: https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/pedeltmh https://www.ecosong.band/ https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/publiclandspodcast https://iupress.org/9780253023001/a-song-to-sav...

Mark Pedelty is a hard person to describe succinctly. He has a broad range of interests and engages in a lot of different sorts of work. One could say that Mark is a scholar that is interested in how we communicate (and how we might communicate more effectively) about sustainability and social change. But that description leaves out that Mark is a musician and an organizer of musicians. It would also fail to acknowledge that he is a podcaster and a storyteller. Mark is also someone who thinks a ...

Ren Olive has spent their career working to build and strengthen access to food in a range of communities and to improve the capacity of institutions of higher-education to support the sustainability and economic development of communities across Minnesota. They’ve in the past worked at the University of Minnesota’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Second Harvest Heartland, and will soon be the Grants Development Coordinator at the Rochester Community and Technical College. Lin...

I first met Ren Olive about 8 or 9 years ago camping at the Land Institute’s Prairie Festival in Salina, KS. I clearly remember having a number of very thought provoking conversations with them throughout that weekend about topics such as removing the barriers to food access in rural communities, democratizing food systems, developing more sustainable approaches to agriculture and food, and building more resilient communities. In the years following our initial meeting, it’s become clear to me ...

I first learned about Patrick Moore from Theresa Peterson (who is featured on the first season of the Just Sustainability Podcast). Theresa suggested that I should record an episode with Patrick because of his extensive community organizing related to protecting the waters of Minnesota and his allyship in support of the Indigenous nations in the Upper Midwest. Theresa, as she often is, was right: meeting and chatting with Patrick was a wonderful experience. Patrick has had a long career related...

In this episode we return to Amanda Corris’ conversation with Eugene Chislenko. Amanda and Eugene talk about Philosophers for Sustainability and the role of professional philosophers in social discourse and advocacy. Eugene is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Temple University and is one of the co-founders of Philosophers for Sustainability. His scholarship covers a broad range of topics related to moral philosophy and moral psychology, history of philosophy, and — most salient given the...

In this episode Amanda introduces us to Eugene Chislenko. Eugene is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Temple University and is one of the co-founders of Philosophers for Sustainability. His scholarship covers a broad range of topics related to moral philosophy and moral psychology, history of philosophy, and — most salient given the focus of this podcast — the role of professional philosophers in the collective efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Links: https://www.eugenechi...

Julia Gibson often describes themselves as a farmer-philosopher. Her scholarship often weaves together themes such as palliative care ethics and remembrance, the impact and role of narratives and stories, resisting colonialism, and the rights and representation of non-human species in political discourse about environment and sustainability. Julia is core faculty in the Environmental Studies program at Antioch University New England and works the land on their family’s farm in eastern New York. ...

Julia Gibson often describes themselves as a farmer-philosopher. I would describe them as the author of some of the most exciting work that’s been recently published about environmental and animal ethics. Her scholarship often weaves together themes such as palliative care ethics and remembrance, the impact and role of narratives and stories, resisting colonialism, and the rights and representation of non-human species in political discourse about environment and sustainability. Julia is core fa...

Ray Burns is the Tribal Partnerships Manager for the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research in North Dakota (ND EPSCoR). Moreover, at the time that the conversation featured in this episode was recorded, Ray was the President of Leech Lake Tribal College in Cass Lake, MN. During the second half of the conversation I had with Ray, he told me more about tribal colleges, the role they play in nation rebuilding, what non-tribal institutions might learn f...

Ray Burns is the Tribal Partnerships Manager for the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research in North Dakota (ND EPSCoR). Moreover, at the time that the conversation featured in this episode was recorded, Ray was the President of Leech Lake Tribal College in Cass Lake, MN. I first met Ray 7 or 8 years ago when he served as the Director for the Native American Student Success Program at the University of Minnesota Morris. There are very few people I kn...

When I first met Simon Franco about a decade ago he was the Student Success Coordinator for Multi-ethnic Student Programs at the University of Minnesota Morris (which the precursor to the position that I currently hold). Soon after that initial meeting, Simon changed jobs and became the Assistant Director of Student Activities and Leadership (still at UMN Morris). In his Assistant Director role Simon created the Morris Leadership Education and Development (MLEAD) program. In this episode of Jus...

When I first met Simon Franco about a decade ago he was the Student Success Coordinator for Multi-ethnic Student Programs at the University of Minnesota Morris (which the precursor to the position that I currently hold). Soon after that initial meeting, Simon changed jobs and became the Assistant Director of Student Activities and Leadership (still at UMN Morris). In his Assistant Director role Simon created the Morris Leadership Education and Development (MLEAD) program. MLEAD is a series of w...

In the previous episode of Just Sustainability it was my pleasure to introduce you to Emily Brier and to share the first half of the conversation that I recorded with Emily. During that first half, Emily and I spoke mostly about how she thought about inclusive pedagogy and some of the steps that she has taken to make the courses that she teaches more accessible to students. In addition to being an educational innovator, Emily is also a terrific poet and contributed a great deal to supporting an...

There are at least two things about Emily Brier that would be of interest to listeners of this podcast. First, she’s innovative educator that has thought a lot about and built her courses around inclusive, accessible, and socially just pedagogy. Second, she’s a poet who writes about the relationships between food, women, and Queerness in Appalachia (she’s also done a lot of work with the Appalachian Studies Association). I first became familiar with Emily after a colleague sent me a copy of her...