I found Dr. Trasande quoted in a Washington Post article The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about: Phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, are linked to an array of problems, especially in pregnancy. He said, “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are one of the biggest…
Reading Saabira’s New York Times piece Throwaway Plastic Has Corrupted Us told me she saw more about plastic and its effect on our culture than most. A quote from it: “The social costs of our addiction to disposable plastics are more subtle but…
Zach and I got so into our first conversation that we had to take a second one to get to the Spodek Method. Listen for yourself, but I hear Zach working with three motivations: His surfer, outdoors self wants to conserve, protect,…
I met Zach at an event I spoke at sponsored by the Young Presidents Organization, whose members tend to be successful in business. The criteria to join require it. I knew the people would be friendly, but suspected they would pollute and…
Since our fourth recording, Dr. Bob and I spoke at length about what’s driving me and keeping me going beyond where nearly anyone else does on sustainability leadership. We cover in this recording most of that conversation, plus we go in other…
This week, I charged my solar panel and battery on my roof for the first time for over 18 months. My building had to do maintenance during which no residents could access the roof. They told us the job would take 5…
Late summer means produce at peak ripeness, especially peaches and heirloom tomatoes. Regular readers of my blog and subscribers to my newsletter have read of how my volunteering to bring overstock food from stores to places that give it to anyone for…
Aaron and I met after I got to see a screening of his recent short animated film Snow Bear. I knew about Aaron’s achievements from participating in some of the biggest animated movies of all time. I expected to talk about art, creativity,…
Dr. Bob worked in the heart of the US Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. He shares stories of his interactions with Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture), John Lewis, and more. In earlier conversations with him, I shared what brought me to…
I can’t help but call Glenn “Dean Hubbard” since I met him as a student at Columbia Business School. That was 2005, making him one of the guests I’ve known the longest. I invited him to the podcast after seeing a talk…
We jumped in to talking about her Spodek Method commitment. She lives in a suburban area. There’s a place near her that borders on bush, which I guess is Australian for undeveloped land. This spot with a bench designed for experiencing nature…
Adam teaches leadership at Columbia Business School, where I learned there were classes in leadership, which changed the direction of my life. Regular listeners know I consider leadership the most important missing element in sustainability. To change the environmental effects we’re barreling…
When people talk about helping men, a lot of people think any and maybe every man might just have latent misogyny, so helping him risks augmenting misogyny. Richard Reeves has researched the situation extensively and for whatever advantages they (we) once had…
Sound pollution is pollution. You know it’s been growing for your whole life with little sign of decreasing. I wish I lived in a world with less sound pollution, but given that I do, I’d rather be aware and conscious of it…
Can you imagine living without money? Humans lived without money for 250,000 years, so it’s not necessary for life. Money seems like an invention on par with the big ones, like fire, the wheel, writing, and language. Right off the bat, Jo…
Ryan shares his experience approaching people to share in his joy. The task is not easy anywhere, least of all the Bronx, where he doesn’t live but was visiting. Do people in the big city want to hear why some guy is…
Rob starts by sharing his experience from leadership coaching in the context of a hospital with people in intensive care as well as their families. Situations are often emotionally intense. Treating just facts doesn’t work, or can work against you. It can…
Reading Mark’s recent piece We’ll Never Have an Energy Transition in Manhattan Institute’s City Journal prompted me to write my recent post, When they say “transition fuel,” they mean “more polluting and depleting,” not less pollution or depletion. Read them both and you’ll see…
This recording went far beyond my usual preference for recording with guests in person when I can. We met in Prospect Park on one of the peak birding days of the year. Tons of people were out with powerful binoculars and cameras.…
Rob is one of my coaching clients. I asked him to be a guest here since many people perceive leadership and learning it as different than I mean. His work in medicine may not be at the center of sustainability, but I…