Entrepreneurs and other creators want to innovate, to create meaningful new things that people love. Once in a while someone delivers at an extraordinary level, devoting themselves to expressing themselves so personally and authentically that they inspire us to seek greatness in ourselves to share. I was fortunate enough to experience such a leap forward–unexpectedly and contrary to my expectations, as I’ll explain. I’m not a restaurant critic, nor a[…] Keep reading →

After making my famous no-packaging vegetable stews for friends who hosted me across the country, one friend’s mom emailed me: “Hi Josh, My son says you make an awesome vegetable stew with seasonal produce. Is there a formula for it?” One of my main goals is to make cooking delicious, economical, healthy food available to everyone, so I’m happy to share. I wrote the following: (EDIT: she acted on the[…] Keep reading →

Marion Nestle is a hero for me. Food may be the greatest interest that got me into acting on my environmental action. Avoiding packaged food emerged from avoiding fiber-removed foods, which emerged from reading Diet for a Small Planet in the 80s, which also motivated her. She, her books, and blog, Food Politics, are voices of sense in a crowded field. Her most recent book is The Unsavory Truth: How[…] Keep reading →

My third conversation with Geoff covers using his research to figure out what to do. I start with a few questions on how to create a vision for the future based on his research. Can we change our growth trajectory, currently leading to ever-accelerating growth, without sacrificing the superlinear growth that makes cities and presumably culture stable? Recall that sublinear growth leads to companies’ and animals’ limited lifetimes. Without leadership,[…] Keep reading →

First, I thought Christmas was supposed to be about peace and goodwill. I didn’t come up with the concept of a “war” on Christmas. I heard it most from Christians. Snopes traces it to Henry Ford, who attacked Jews with it: “Last Christmas most people had a hard time finding Christmas cards that indicated in any way that Christmas commemorated Someone’s Birth,” wrote Henry Ford in 1921, more than 80[…] Keep reading →

I can’t stand our nanny state that coddles corporations and gives them welfare without requiring they do anything to help society in return. They’ve manipulated the government to redistribute money from people who work for a living, like me, to corporations that get handouts. It’s like socialism for corporations. What made me think of it was a passage from Marion Nestle‘s Food Politics. Since interviewing her, I’ve been reading and[…] Keep reading →

My series answering the New York Times’ Ethicist column with an active, leadership approach instead of an analytical, philosophical perspective continues with “Should Kids Whose Parents Could Earn Higher Salaries Get Financial Aid?”. I have a friend with school-age children who is a professional in a fairly lucrative field. The spouse is in a nonlucrative field. My friend chose to work fewer hours to spend time with their growing children,[…] Keep reading →