Bugs will infest a plant until they kill it, then when it dies, they die. It’s happening to the fig tree and cherry tomato plants in my windowsill garden. If they could keep their population low enough to avoid killing the plant,…
I don’t like my world being full of junk “food,” litter, and pollution, but if it is, I’d rather see it for what it is and feel a disgust that motivates me to change it than to keep myself in denial and…
What’s the difference between burning rain forests for someone’s livelihood and family in the Amazon and paying for people to drill oil that we squander in the rest of the world? I’m not asking to accuse. I see some differences, but not…
Not everyone gets his or her dream job. Michael Werner did, on sustainable product design at Google and Apple. Since our conversation he’s become Google’s lead on circular economy. Whatever your thoughts on these companies, he is in a position to help…
How many kids should you have? I’ve heard people justify how many kids they should have for various reasons. I think of how decisions happen. We tend to decide first, based on emotions—the wiring we were born with that helped our ancestors…
Laura and I explore the feelings and emotions around our environmental behavior, specifically that we don’t like, like throwing away food. I predict you’ll find her descriptions of how people feel familiar. In other episodes I’ve shared how I find that our…
Remember how enthusiastic Caspar sounded at the end of the first episode? He made doing his commitment sound so easy. Well, sometimes it is, but not always. He emailed me to postpone, saying he hadn’t done as much as he expected. I…
People tell me they prefer personal stories and stories of humility, not just success. Well, this morning I messed up my fig tree. I’m still learning about gardening. I felt like a brute. Plus you can hear about my morning holocaust of…
This episode is about doing what others don’t, but want to. We recorded it nearly 2 years ago when I was still getting into my groove. We start talking what sounds like about oranges but we’re talking about leadership — doing what…
The U.S. is ramping up its Presidential campaigns. The environment is an issue for many reasons. At first you’d think because of global warming, plastic, mercury in fish, extinctions, bees are mysteriously dying, and so on. But any candidate knows it’s important…
I’ve known Michelle longer than almost any guest. I met her in business school, which would mean 2005 or 6. She may be the friendliest guest of the show, partly from our being friends. But I’ve seen her in a room of…
A friend introduced me to Hunter and I met her in person a day she was teaching in Bard’s MBA program. We start with Limits to Growth, the 30-year update (the book, a synopsis), preparing to talk about her new book, A…
I hear a lot of people’s reasons for not flying, for using single-use plastic, for leaving the air conditioner on when they’re not home. I know them not just because people told them to me. I know them because I’m human and…
James is fascinating and, I believe, fascinated. He interviewed me as much as I did him. The recording starts mid-conversation since we were just talking but his engineer started the recording. You’ll hear a few minutes in when we found out we…
Caspar leads a fulfilling life and helps people do the same. What’s his expertise? How has he found purpose more than others? Why do corporations book him to help them with morale? He sailed around the world with his family. He lived…
I’ve learned in leading that you can lead people best when you meet them where they are. That means speaking their language and understanding their perspective. Many people I talk to take their cues from the Bible, including guidance on how to…
Brandon loves negotiation and teaching it. He learned from the top in the field and practices it apparently 24/7. We start our conversation by covering negotiation as developed by an FBI hostage negotiator—Chris, his father. More than the family nature of their…
Everybody talks about political polarization, the communication messes this nation and world are in, and how people who disagree can’t talk to each other any more, so we can’t resolve conflict. I do it too—that is, get into conversations where I shut…
When I studied physics and spent time in universities, I met a lot of Nobel laureates. Physics is Nobel heavy so Columbia physics connected me to 3. Other science departments led me to another 1 or 2. The business school led me…
People ask me if I worry or lose sleep from my environmental habits in a world where most people pollute profligately and unnecessarily. In this post I try to illustrate by analogy how it feels. How would you feel if you were…