This Sustainable Life
Episodes
647: Kris de Decker, part 1: Low and No Tech Magazine: We believe in progress and technology
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kris created and runs what I consider one of the top sites online. It has influenced my behavior and expectations to enjoy living more sustainably, in...
646: Noah Gallagher Shannon, part 1: Uruguay is an environmental role model
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I see our environmental problems and lack of effective solutions as a failure of imagination, as regular listeners of this podcast and readers of my b...
645: Hamilton Souther, part 1: Living Among the Matsés in the Peruvian Amazon
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Suggest to people in our culture that we consider not growing the GDP nonstop and most react with fear at what they see as the inevitability of recess...
644: Janet Allacker, part 1.5: Joy first
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our second conversation, Janet reveals that she did part of her commitment, but found traveling not by car took longer than she expected and didn't...
643: Gaya Herrington, part 3: Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of our second conversation, Gaya was finishing her book, leaving KPMG, and soon starting at Schneider Electric. The book just came out, Fiv...
642: Listener Questions 03: Fermentation and my dream job
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I answer:Have you tried making home made yoghurt from plant milk and friendly bacteria. I guess you'd want non packaged options like m...
641: Listener Questions, volume 02: What Motivates Me To Care?
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here is the listener's question this time:Where do you think your concern and consideration for others comes from? Is it mostly nature or nurture? (E....
640: Mark Mills, part 2: Low cost, high availability energy creates wealth
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mark and I share more highly researched, thoughtful conversation on human welfare and the environment. We see things differently, but I consider our c...
639: Bruce Robertson and Milad Mousavian: Carbon Capture and Storage Is Not a Climate Solution
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I learned of Bruce and Milad's Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) report, The Carbon Capture Crux – Lessons Learned, with...
638: Mat Johnson: Exploring and Expressing Identity
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Longtime listeners know I spent some formative years in some rough neighborhoods in Philadelphia. In researching them for my upcoming book, I discover...
637: Holly Whitaker: Overcoming Addiction, Embracing Freedom
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I read Holly's book because I see us as a society and individuals addicted to what pollution brings. What can we learn from someone who overcame a dif...
636: Mark P. Mills, part 1: "Renewables" aren't renewable
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mark is a physicist who went into business around the environment. There aren't many of us, so I think you'll hear a rapport we enjoyed that I think y...
635: John Biewen, part 2: Turning off screens at 8pm
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Do you keep your screens by your bed? Do you find yourself running in circles like: Twitter to email to latest news to Facebook to Instagram to Twitte...
634: Donald Robertson, part 1: Thinking in Systems (a third listener episode)
08 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Don regularly reads my blog. We've emailed for years so after inviting to record episodes with other listeners, I invited him.We both find a systems p...
633: Alan Ereira, part 1: Meeting the Kogi of Colombia's Sierra Nevada mountains
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I learned of Alan soon after learning of the Kogi (see below). He lived with and made films of them, among many other documentaries and films. He also...
632: Mitzi Perdue, part 1: Sex Trafficking in Ukraine
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mitzi just returned from the Ukraine War, invited by General Andriy Nebytov from the Kyiv Regional Police. He invited her after reading her piece Huma...
631: Stephen M. R. Covey, part 1.5: To Arrive Where We Started and to Know the Place for the First Time
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing a long trend of guests sharing partially doing their commitments but not stopping, Stephen comes back for an episode 1.5, not yet his episo...
630: Simplifying Meditation Words and Meaning
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The notes I read for this episode were long, so instead of including them in the podcast notes, I posted them as a separate blog post: The text f...
629: Michelle Nijhuis, part 2: Stopping doom scrolling
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We started talking about Michelle's commitment to avoid scrolling on vacation. She did. It sounds like it was both no big deal and something worth bui...
628: Jay Walker, part 2: Kayaking together on the Hudson
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I think Jay's commitment may be the first where I participated and we had a blast!You may remember he committed to kayaking on the Hudson. He invited ...
627: Nadeem Akhtar, part 1: A Long-Time Listener from Norway
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nadeem contacted me as a listener to suggest Abdal Hakim Murad as a guest, as I hadn't hosted any Muslims on the podcast by then. I learned a lot and ...
626: Jay Walker, part 1: Organizing New York City's Queer Liberation March
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Regular readers and listeners know my passion for cleaning my local park, Washington Square Park, and how my heart breaks at how we abuse this sliver ...
625: Listener Questions, volume 01
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I answer my first listener questions. If you have questions on topics I write about, like leadership, sustainability, sustainability leadership, sidch...
624: John Biewen, part 1: Seeing Whiteness and Other Systems
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I came across John from listening to one of his podcast's season, Seeing White, about the development of whiteness as a race. I listened to the whole ...
623: AJ Jacobs, part 1: Be Curious and Act
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
AJ is in some ways a kindred soul, actually doing things many people hear about or even talk about, but rarely do. Regular listeners might remember ou...
622: Stephen M. R. Covey, part 1: Trust & Inspire
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen's book, Trust & Inspire, recounts today's effective way to lead, by creating trust and inspiring. He laments people still relying on the o...
621: Whitney Tilson, part 3: Talking sustainability with a Harvard-Trained Investment Advisor Who Flies Monthly
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our third conversation, Whitney and I get more friendly and conversational, fun conversation.He's been picking up more garbage, which I hope is par...
620: Nature delivers what psychedelics do, but we don't know what we're missing (feat. Sam Harris and Roland Griffiths)
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Listening to an episode of Sam Harris's podcast featuring Roland Griffiths, Johns Hopkins neuroscientist researcher, on psychedelics revealed that muc...
619: Dr. Michael Gurven, part 2: The Forager Population Paradox and what do we do
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Most second conversations on this podcast come weeks or months later, after the guest does his or her Spodek Method commitment. In Michael's case, our...
618: Dr. Michael Gurven, part 1: Our ancestors evolved to live to 72 years*, and did (not 30).
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
*"The average modal age of adult death for hunter-gatherers is 72 with a range of 68–78 years. This range appears to be the closest functional equiv...
617: Janet Allaker: A long-time listener shares what This Sustainable Life means to her
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Janet shared how she found This Sustainable Life, what kept her coming back, the guests she liked, and how it's affected her. I wish I had recorded ep...
616: Michael Lombardi, part 1: Culture, Leadership, and Football
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Leaders who know how to lead and change culture know culture eats strategy for breakfast.This concept figures strongly in Michael's book, Gridiron Gen...
615: Living off the grid without solar either (as all humans once did)
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Regular listeners know I started an experiment disconnecting from the electric grid. I began May 22. Then on July 22, I posted an episode that the sol...
614: Michelle Nijhuis, part 1: Living off the grid for 15 years
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Where was Michelle Nijhuis all my life?She lived off the electric grid for fifteen years and I was about two months in, so we shared stories of the ex...
613: Our Next Constitutional Amendment
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My proposal and rationale for the next amendment for the United States Constitution.It will sound crazy, impossible, and too hard at first, as it did ...
612: Sebastian Junger, part 1: Humans Thrive on Mutual Dependence, Feeling Needed, But Our Culture Isolates.
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When I wrote up my experiment to live with my apartment off the grid in Manhattan for a month, I looked up what I did the morning I started. My librar...
611: Etienne Stott, part 6: Activism and Leadership
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this sixth conversation between an Extinction Rebellion Rebel and a home-grown sustainability leadership (I hope) leader, we explore more of the li...
610: Abortion and Sustainability
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here are the notes I read from:40% of pregnancies are unplanned. Overpopulation is a major problem for environment so it's a topic for this podcast.Gi...
609: Finishing My Off-the-Grid-in-Manhattan Experiment in Month 3
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Having just started month three of living off the electric grid in Manhattan, technical issues led me to stop the experiment. I'm not sure the problem...
608: Parents Just Don't Understand
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The notes I read from:Yesterday my mom suggested I move away from the city if it makes me feel so bad. Last week my dad reaffirmed that he wouldn't ap...
607: Mike Michalowicz, part 2: Being the Icebreaker
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mike committed to a year-long task. Few guests go for so long. Since we're in a writing group together, I've seen him in between, but since I want you...
606: Nakisa Glover, part 3: The Joy of Gardening
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nakisa shared about the intersection of nature and its disappearance growing up, as well as her growing awareness of it, family, community, and a poll...
605: Etienne Stott, part 5: My Work from an Extinction Rebellion Rebel's Perspective
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Etienne and my continued exploration of each other's work, we look at my leadership work from his perspective.What are the differences between lead...
604: Whitney Tilson, part 2: Overcoming feeling uninformed about the environment to act on it
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We start by my reading the emails where I invited Whitney to this podcast by cursing with a few f-bombs, showing how we started our interactions. Befo...
603: Mark Victor Hansen: Chicken Soup for the Sustainability Leadership Soul
09 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You've heard of The Chicken Soup for the Soul book and series. I had to start this conversation by apologizing that I did the opposite of the advice e...
602: Ash Beckham, part 2: How to Out-Boulder the Boulder, Colorado Crowd
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to the difference between Ash's tone, her level of engagement, and her type of engagement between what she talks about in the first few minutes...
601: Bill Benenson, part 3: Hadza Versus American Culture and Little Kids with Sharp Knives
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since Bill visited the Hadza in modern-day Tanzania, and I've been learning about cultures that have lived for tens to hundreds of thousands of years,...
600: Etienne Stott MBE, part 4: What it's like rebelling with Extinction Rebellion
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Following up last conversation with Etienne, on Extinction Rebellion's mission, strategy, and tactics, this time we talk about his path from disengage...
599: A Guy Forced Me to Accept a Twenty Dollar Bill for Picking Up Litter
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here are the notes I read from for this post:Walking through park2017, pandemic"Thanks"Not thankworthyRestored faith / Nobody does / interrupting / co...
598: Bill Benenson, part 2: Dirt! and Kiss the Ground, behind the scenes
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I indulge in asking Bill about his and his wife Laurie's passions, filmmaker friends, goals, and so on. He talks about passionate peers he's worked wi...
597: Josh Martin, part 2: If at first you don't succeed . . .
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Martin started to do his commitment to shop at the farmers market, but it didn't connect. I think we didn't connect it to his experience of the e...
596: Sandra Pérez, part 1: Keeping New York's LGBTQIA+ Pride March clean
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sandra took responsibility when she didn't have to, as the Executive Director of NYC Pride, to respond to my requests to talk to an organizer. Longtim...
595, Jason Slaughter, Creator of Not Just Bikes, part 1: Ending Car Dependency
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Watch Jason's Not Just Bikes videos. I've watched them all. They're informative, engaging, funny, researched, provocative, and keep you coming back, b...
594: Etienne Stott, part 3: An insider's, activist's view of Extinction Rebellion
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Etienne Stott is using his Olympic gold medalist status to augment his impact acting on the environment, including working with Extinction Rebellion o...
593: How I disconnected from the electric grid in Manhattan for 2 weeks (and counting)
11 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Your story is truly inspirational": feedback from an attendee.The government advisory Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board invited me to speak on sus...
592: We're thinking about and using solar and wind wrong. Here's how they could work.
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Including their greatest proponents, nearly everyone thinks of and uses solar, wind, and other so-called renewables wrong if their goal is to reach su...
591: Whitney Tilson, part 1: Acting on intrinsic motivation versus feeling you have to save the world
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Whitney's background and accomplishments are incredible and we start with them. He shares his beliefs and mindsets that lead to his high performance i...
590: Ash Beckham, part 1: Being vulnerable, supporting others, growing yourself
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We started from Ash's TEDx talks, which cover vulnerability, intimacy, and support. You can listen to our conversation on its own, but it won't hurt t...
589: Abraham Lincoln and Sustainability, part 1: Is the US a racist nation? What should we do then?
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The start of this episode's text:Regular listeners know I’ve been living with my apartment off the electric grid for two weeks, in Manhattan, not of...
588: Mark DiMassimo, part 1: Leading with integrity
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We start with one of the great cases of a corporation choosing to act with integrity in the face of pressure and incentive not to. Mark was part of th...
587: Josh Martin, part 1: How to Reach the Ivy League and the NFL When You Start Late and Unprepared
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Regular listeners know I love talking with professional athletes. They open themselves to failure every time they compete. They often make incredible ...
586: My Kitty Hawk moment, on the way to a Moon Shot
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More continual improvement: the more sustainably I live, the easier each next step. Business people know about continual improvement, also knows as ka...
585: Douglas McMaster, part2: If a restaurant can run with no trash, we can too
28 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When a man who founded a restaurant that uses no trash cans meets a guy who doesn't fly and hasn't filled a load of trash since 2019, we start by expr...
584: Freedom, continual improvement, fun, and curiosity: day three only solar in Manhattan
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I share thoughts after two days using only solar power in Manhattan. After recording I turned off the circuit to the whole apartment. I'm on the roof ...
583: Growthbusters called me extreme, so I responded
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The notes I read from for this episode:“Lead by example”. I’m not leading by example.“Extreme” implies values, as does “middle ground” a...
582: Gaya Herrington, part 2: How to change systems
21 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gaya gets systems, how to change them, and not fall prey to rationalizations that sound tempting but are self-serving excuses like "individual actions...
581: Dr. Ambrose Carroll, senior, part 2: cultural differences on how we view the individual
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ambrose and I start by reviewing his commitment. After a bit, as best I can tell, we talked past each other. Every now and then, the Spodek Meth...
580: How wrong your beliefs making you fear living sustainably
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Aren't we living in the best time in history? Don't we have to keep pressing forward to avoid returning to medieval serfdom or the Stone Age and every...
579: Derek Marshall, part 2: Running for Congress, sharing honest personal experiences
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You've heard every politician pay lip service on the environment. They talk abstractly about carbon dioxide levels, solutions to spend more money, and...
578: Warren Farrell, part 2: Sex, race, and intimacy: How to listen and communicate
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is available on video.Before our conversations, I tended to see Warren as mainly focused on issues where men and boys suffer that society...
577: Michael Carlino, part 6: Discussing the moral case for fossil fuels (and more)
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you've been following Michael and my conversations so far, you know to expect thoughtful, considerate conversation coming from different perspectiv...
576: Nakisa Glover, part 2: The need to feel heard and act
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nakisa talks about her community in Charlotte, North Carolina, the environmental and social challenges it faces, the level of engagement, the biases i...
575: Chef Douglas McMaster, part 1: A restaurant with no trash cans because it produces no trash
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Doug is the opposite of the catastrophe we've made of the food industry. He created a restaurant with no trash cans; not for the customers, not for th...
574: Frances Moore Lappé: Food, Democracy, and Taking Back Control of Our Choices
23 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We spend most of our time talking about Frances's latest book, Daring Democracy. I couldn't help sharing how, decades after reading Diet for a Small P...
573: Scott White, part 2: An energy CEO considers leading on sustainability
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scott went above and beyond acting on his sustainability commitment to run. He battled covid during training. Did the extra effort bring him down? On ...
572: Geoff Colvin, part 2: Are we losing humanity when we lose touch with nature?
16 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Geoff's story of his commitment to act on his childhood memories of playing along the Missouri River in South Dakota starts off interesting, then turn...
571: Chef Dan Barber, part 1: Supporting the whole ecosystem and farmers at every turn
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Barber is helping revitalize our food system. We start by going over his background, how fear drove him maybe most of all.Then we get into what dr...
570: Bill Benenson, part 1: Documenting and learning from the fascinating Hadza
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you agree innovation and technology has its drawbacks, you may still worry: if we don't press onward, aren't we risking reverting to the stone age ...
569: Stop funding Russia invading Ukraine
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
People and nations are funding Russia's invading Ukraine, where tens of thousands have died and millions have become refugees. The laws of supply and ...
568: Etienne Stott, part 2: When you threaten the power of the establishment, it starts to kick back
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Etienne starts by sharing how his government in England is beginning to increase how much it threatens punishment for people protesting, including wha...
567: Nakisa "Sista Sol" Glover, part 1: Environmental Justice, Social Justice, Organizing, and Action
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nakisa describes herself as naturally loving science, born into a hip hop world, combining these starting points. She starts by describing her journey...
566: The CEO of Ford and Boeing, Alan Mulally: Leadership environmentalism should learn from
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"What I do doesn't matter," say many environmentalists as they order steak or buy tickets to fly some place. That's the addiction speaking.I recently ...
565: Sam Quinones, part 2: Fentanyl feels worse but addicts more (like Facebook, McDonald's, flying, etc)
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In one of the highlights (lowlights?) of our second conversation, Sam shares that fentanyl users don't like its experience as much as heroin's. On the...
564: Lauren Carlisle, part 1: Dancer, psychologist, philosopher
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lauren's unusual knack for attracting a refined mix of brilliance and emotional unavailability created a storied dating life from 2010-2019 which incl...
563: Derek Marshall, part 1: Candidate for California's 23rd Congressional District
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Derek is looking to flip a district that has been moving more Democratic through demographic shifts and redistricting. Can he pull it off?He reached o...
562: Sam Quinones, part 1: America's addiction: opioids, meth, fentanyl (and fossil fuels)
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You'll hear why Sam's books win so many awards: he deeply, personally explores fascinating, critical, current topics, then tells rich, detailed storie...
561: Scott Hardin-Nieri, part 2: Faith and Personal Challenge
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scott emailed me that he didn't explore wilderness meaninglessly listening to birds as much as he committed. From experience, I know some guests overc...
560: Geoff Colvin, part 1: How to Become an Expert
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My first week's assignment to my leadership classes at NYU for years has been to watch Geoff's conversation with Charlie Rose. Geoff got his MBA at NY...
559: The Silky Smooth Seduction of Addiction
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I decided to avoid putting screens on while I ate for a month. I expected to enjoy my food more, to find the euphoria I often feel from fresh, healthy...
558: Michael Carlino, part 5: Which is the danger, lowering or raising the human population?
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This conversation was one of the most fascinating I've had. I couldn't have had it when I was younger. Michael and I are learning each other's world v...
557: Rollie Williams, part 1: Comedy and climate change
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I hope you know Climate Town. Watch a bunch of episodes if you haven't. This Sustainable Life listeners and hosts talk about the show. It's funny and ...
556: Judith Enck: Beyond Plastic's Founder and President
29 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Judith shares her work, motivation, and vision on a problem everyone sees killing people and wildlife, but shies from applying themselves to, maybe be...
555: EJ Perry, part 1: Brown's quarterback on clutch performance
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who doesn't love knowing about something big before everyone else?EJ Perry is something big, a very talented quarterback being scouted by the NFL, com...
554: Sea walls won't protect us from our garbage. Stopping polluting gives us our best chance.
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My notes that I read from for this episode:Sea wall for Manhattan, like Holland: expensive, huge, likely won't workControversial already. Natural solu...
553: Gaya Herrington, part 1: How far have we passed our limits to growth? What does that mean?
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Five months ago, Gaya's work led to headlines like Yep, it’s bleak, says expert who tested 1970s end-of-the-world prediction. The 1970s predictions ...
552: Hilary Link, part 2: colleges and universities talk sustainability but rarely act. This college president does.
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hilary describes her commitments as achieving some success and some failure, but learned from both.We start with her personal experiences and memories...
551: Chad Foster, part 4: Flying to skiing, but not camping in the back yard
16 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we talk about how to lead people, but I can't help notice on listening afterward how quick and easy it is for him to fly his whole fam...
550: Rick Ridgeway: A Life Lived Wild: K2, Everest, and places no human had seen
14 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Prepare to be awed at Rick's stories of adventure, discovery, nature, and humanity. He has summited K2, Everest, and more. He's visited places possibl...
549: Abdal Hakim Murad, part 2: High and low tech in the new green mosque in Cambridge, UK
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many people and mainstream society seem to view technology as the solution to our environmental problems---and the more and the newer the better. Abda...
548: Erik Bottcher, part 1: a New York City politician awesome enough to pick up litter
08 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Erik Bottcher is my elected legislator. New York City's council presides over a budget bigger than most countries'.Yet I met him picking up litter. He...