Regular listeners and blog readers know I talk about litter and how much we wreck nature, especially my neighborhood’s back yard, Washington Square Park. Click the links below to see some of the worst litter you’ve seen, in a supposedly nice part of town. Today the opposite: someone who brings joy, fun, creativity, music, and dancing to the park. Alan began playing drums in the park three years ago and[…] Keep reading →

We’ve been human for maybe 300,000 years. For most of that time our ancestors hunted and gathered in small groups. You might think that means they didn’t practice politics since they didn’t have governments with three branches and giant domed buildings on hills with highly-paid lobbyists trying to influence them. If you understand politics to mean group decision-making in general, they were likely more political in that in hunter-gatherers today,[…] Keep reading →

Since our last conversation, check out the reviews that have come in about Home on an Unruly Planet from past guests of this podcast: “With deep, compassionate reporting and elegant prose …  Ostrander finds creativity, vital hope, and a sense of home that outlasts any address.”—Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction “As each new climate calamity obliterates, incinerates, or engulfs entire communities,[…] Keep reading →

Since our last conversation, check out the reviews that have come in about Home on an Unruly Planet from past guests of this podcast: “With deep, compassionate reporting and elegant prose …  Ostrander finds creativity, vital hope, and a sense of home that outlasts any address.” —Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction “As each new climate calamity obliterates, incinerates, or engulfs entire[…] Keep reading →

Analects are selected miscellaneous written passages, often words to live by. Here are ones on sustainability leadership, many I created. I’ll keep update the following as I develop new ones. You can’t lead others to live by values you live the opposite of Systemic change begins with personal change To cross the finish line of the marathon of changing a system, you first have to cross the starting line of[…] Keep reading →

I’ve meant to collect the top principles in sustainability leadership, the things I say nearly daily and govern embracing living sustainably. “Nothing is more damaging to you than to do something you believe is wrong.” — Abraham Lincoln Systemic change begins with personal change. You tell me what you fear losing most and I’ll tell you exactly what you’ll get more of. You can’t lead someone else to live by[…] Keep reading →

I’m no expert on indigenous cultures, but I’m learning more about them all the time. I’ve had guests on the podcast who lived years and in cases decades with the San in Southern Africa, the Hadza in Tanzania, the Tsimane in Bolivia, the Kogi in Colombia, and the Matses in Peru. I’ve also had Native American guests. I’ve attended workshops in New York by Native Americans. Besides learning from others,[…] Keep reading →