This Sustainable Life

347: Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll, part 4: More sex

13 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dov and I started by talking about experiencing fun for the first time. I'm not the most fun person ever but a lot more now than before. He handled co...

346: Julie Margretta Wilson: Covid-19 devastating education

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Education and learning, not just scoring higher on tests, is at the core of my leadership practice. Today I bring a luminary of education work, Julie ...

345: Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll, part 3: Drugs

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the notes for the introduction I read for this episode:This episode covers a few big experiences that led to my dedication and intensity, sta...

344: My Race Background

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Race is a major topic since police killed George Floyd in custody.I consider one of the major problems that people don't feel heard or understood. I s...

343: Chad Pregracke: One River, One Piece of Garbage at a Time

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many people suggest people as guests who are doing "environmental things". They don't know my strategy with this podcast, which I describe in my solo ...

342: Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll, part 2: Sex

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For background, first listen to my first Sex, Drug, and Rock and Roll episode, part 1: Rock and Roll, how Bruce Springsteen's Broadway show motiv...

341: NFL Tight End Chris Manhertz, part 1: Making your dreams happen

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I love talking to professional athletes. Today I talk with Chris Manhertz, a tight end in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. We cover three main thin...

340: Michael Turner, DDS, MD: On the front line of Covid-19 in New York City

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Want inside views of covid-19 in the epicenter of the epicenter?Michael has been working at the front line of Covid-19 in New York City.He's also my b...

339: Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams: Food Matters

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brooklyn Borough President means Mayor of Brooklyn. If Brooklyn separated from New York City, Eric Adams would be the mayor of the third most populous...

338: Abbey Ryan, part 1: Technique and Mastery Through Practice

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I consider leadership a performance art and the environment the most beautiful thing around. Abbey and I talked about beauty, art, performance, teachi...

337: Why we feel miserable under lockdown

09 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I discuss the connection between perceiving lack of variety in food made from scratch and feeling miserable and bored under lockdown, despite having a...

336: Julian Guderley: GreenPlanet BluePlanet

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you measure an interaction with someone by how much it affects and improves your life, my conversation with Julian was profound. Why? His conversat...

335: Rhonda Lamb, part 2: reversing food deserts

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The quote you just heard was Rhonda's description how showing people how to cook the way I showed them could save time and money for people to enjoy f...

334: Jethro Jones, part 2: Biking in -40 degrees. Why not?

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode starts off strong with Jethro's matter-of-fact description of riding a bike in minus 40 degree weather. He's a principal going to school,...

333: A racist with a heart of gold is still a racist

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This pandemic continues to reveal new aspects of relationships—or rather spending time with people does. I think we used to spend more time with peo...

332: How leaders choose better

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leadership means choosing and deciding for yourself and for others. To lead effectively, it helps to know how you choose and what happens in your hear...

331: Rob Harper, part 2: A Pro-Trump View

25 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our second recorded conversation covered Rob's experience with separating his recycling.The first time we met we meant to record but ended up speaking...

330: Lockdown Inspiration from Nelson Mandela

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many of us are struggling living in lockdown.Nelson Mandela has inspired me in many ways. Going beyond subsisting in captivity, he emerged from 27 yea...

329: John Perkins: Touching the Jaguar

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A great joy of podcast success is talking to people who changed your life. I read John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man about ten years ago...

328: Tony Wagner, Learning by Heart

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

People often ask for advice on how to lead in a given situation, what leadership means, or one tip they can improve their leadership with. Nearly none...

327: Rhonda Lamb, part 1: The Bronx and farm-fresh vegetables

18 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You'll hear about Rhonda and how we met in the beginning of our conversation, but I brought her in for a different reason than most of my other guests...

326: Why Should I Care About Oskar Schindler?

16 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I used Oskar Schindler in my third TEDx talk along with a few others as examples of people who took risks to do what they considered right—and that ...

325: My Mom, Marie Spodek: All in the Family

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I thought about recording with parents for a while. Environmental action is personal and people keep asking me what motivates me.Well, now you'll get ...

324: Marina McCoy, part 1: A Waste-Free Earth Through Music

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to talk to someone who finds ways to do more, not to get credit for what she's already done.Overwhelmingly, conv...

323: Steven Kotler: Future Is Faster Than You Think

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One of my goals of this podcast is to bring people with alternative views. I won't deny this motive being mainly selfish. I want to learn and grow fro...

322: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll, part 1: Rock and Roll

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in Philadelphia in the 70s meant Bruce Springsteen was a part of my life. I’ll always remember a fan in a promotional radio b-roll clip f...

321: Marni Kinrys, part 2: Making Stewardship Normal

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Before we recorded, Marni humbly said what she did wasn't that big of a deal, just a bit more than she normally did. She wondered the point of sharing...

320: Confronting doof

04 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I got a taste of what I believe leads people to tell me they can't avoid packaging or buying fresh, local produce.Living in a semi-rural area led me t...

319: Avoid doof

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Food is fundamental to our environmental problems.Most of what American restaurants and supermarkets sell looks like food but isn't by my definition. ...

318: Why pandemics will keep increasing and how we can reverse the trend

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I don't normally post other people's material, but 1) I found this video the most valuable I've seen on pandemics and 2) a previous guest, Dr. Michael...

317: My United Nations and UNICEF talk on leadership and the pandemic

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Attendees said my talks brought tears to their eyes.Technically I spoke at the UN last week and UNICEF this week, but virtually not physically there, ...

316: Joel Fuhrman, part 2: Eat for Life

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Joel talked so passionately about everything I look to bring out in other guests, I hardly spoke about his commitment with bringing bags. No problem, ...

315: Diversity: Where are female deliverypeople? Or research on them?

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An article I read about research into diversity asked about levels where different groups felt occupations became "sufficiently diverse." It looked at...

314: Brent Suter part 2: A Major League pitcher and his farmers markets

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you love hearing people at the peak of the human condition behind the scenes, you'll love this episode with Major League Baseball pitcher Brent Sut...

313: Jeff Kirschner, part 2: Still Working On It, Still Learning

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I'm releasing Jeff's part 2 at the same time as 1.5 since they're both short episodes and still haven't led to achieving his goal. You'll hear we joke...

312: Jeff Kirschner, part 1.5: Leaders Fail, but Bounce Back Too

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff felt his challenge wasn't big but openly shared that, in his terms, he failed at it.We all fail. I haven't studied it scientifically, but I belie...

311: Jeff Kirschner, part 1: Building Community Around Cleaning Litter

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Since I don't use many apps and pick up litter already, I felt modest expectations of Jeff's Litterati, but I love it. It delivers the main things I l...

310: The Start and End of Any Serious Conversation on the Environment

21 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode puts together the most important and fundamental considerations about the environment:What worksThe basic cause contributing to all envir...

309: Roberta Baskin: Covid-19 Social Connection Amid Physical Distancing

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Roberta and I met last September. Our scheduled time to record came just after the covid-19 situation hit the US.We reflected on the change. The conve...

308: Marni Kinrys, part 1: The Ultimate Wing Girl

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Previous guest and retired dating coach guru Brad P suggested inviting Marni as a guest, his longtime friend and colleague. She coaches men on attract...

307: Covid-19, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and leading through crises

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

People are criticizing politicians and others over handling Covid-19. I don't blame or criticize people for not knowing how to handle particulars of t...

306: Covid-19, avoiding people, and family

15 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I chose to stay at my mom's outside the cityWhy?Read stories, saw difference between places with SARS and MERS experience versus notNY and US woefully...

305: The greatest danger from covid-19 would be not learning from it

14 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

My notes that I read from for this episode:Greatest danger is not to learn from it.Starting story: Preparing to launch on 9/11. While nothing on scale...

304: How ecotourism can work

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I view ecotourism skeptically at best. While I imagine someone could create tourism that increased the world's ability to sustain life and human socie...

303: The environmental results I predict versus what I work for

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

People ask, "Josh, do you really think you can make a difference?" or comment that what I or anyone does won't matter.In the first part of this episod...

302: Nir Eyal, part 1: Make yourself Indistractable

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I met Nir Eyal at a podcast recording of Will Bachman, who long ago hosted me on his podcast (see links below).Nir recently publish a book, Indistract...

301: Does It Scale? My Modified Tesla Strategy

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you've listened to this podcast, you know my Building Block---my technique to lead one person to share and act on his or her environmental values. ...

300: Larry Yatch, part 3: Discovering New Emotions With His Sons and Wife

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As a sneak preview to my third TEDx talk, I used this conversation wit Larry as an example. Sorry you'll have to wait a month for the organizers to ed...

299: Dr. Joel Fuhrman, part 1: Eat to Live

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Food is important part of environment, as you know. The book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman changed a lot for me. I came across it after my experimen...

298: Is polluting child abuse?

05 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

[EDIT: moments after posting this episode, I found my first example of someone else posting on this idea only two months ago, Environmental Pollution:...

297: RIP James Lipton, a huge influence and inspiration

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

James Lipton, who started and hosted the show Inside the Actors Studio, died yesterday.Here are the notes I read from for this episode:I could talk ab...

296: Solutions have to work for everyone

27 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I describe how important I consider the accessibility of my personal behavior solutions -- a matter of integrity, not to be confused w...

295: Brent Suter, part 1: Major league baseball pitcher and steward

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I met Brent through guest Tia Nelson, both Wisconsin celebrities---she in politics, he in sport---who work with the Outrider Foundation.He is this pod...

294: Population: How Much Is Too Much?

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What is Earth's carrying capacity? Why is it important?Many ask how we will feed 10 billion people. Mathematician way of asking is if we can feed so m...

293: Alan Weisman: My Greatest Source of Environmental Hope

20 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alan Weisman's book Countdown changed my strategy to the environment. It ranks among the top most influential works I've read, watched, or come across...

292: The environment is the outward manifestation of our beliefs

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the notes I read from for this episode:Outward manifestationBeen saying latelyWhen you see pollution, dingy skies, sea levels risingAny one p...

291: Lorna Davis, part 2: Can an Executive Buy No Clothes for a Year?

16 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Lorna's challenge is one of the longest and most personal at over a year.I also couldn't wait to bring her story to you most because within weeks she ...

290: Excessive Self Interest, from Thomas Kolditz

14 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I ask people their reasons for polluting activities like flying, take-out, taking taxis or ride shares where public transit serves. They consistently ...

289: Rob J. Harper, part 1: The Conservative Black Cowboy I met at Google

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Most people will find my conversation with Rob unexpected, but talking with someone with his experience and views has long been one of my goals. Peopl...

288: Vince Lombardi: What It Takes

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly everyone treats acting on the environment as a burden or chore---especially would-be leaders who don't do what they say others should. They lea...

287: David Katz, part 1: Stopping ocean plastic

06 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

David's TED talk has over 2 million views. I recommend watching it to learn about his project, Plastic Bank, though he describes it in our conversatio...

286: Paul Smith, part 2: At the edge of my seat

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We'll hear about Paul's experiences with eating out, eating at movie theaters, using prepared food, and his changing views on waste that came from exp...

285: How to take initiative

04 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Click here for the video of this episodeIf you're like most people, you want to act on the environment. You want to make sure you make a difference an...

284: Why not escape to nature?

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

People often ask me why I don't live in the country.Here are the notes I read from for this post:They say you could live in natureThis is a fundamenta...

283: Nadya Zhexembayeva, part 2: The Reinvention Guru

01 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nadya indulged me in taking this podcast in new directions after listeners said they'd like to hear more unscripted conversation for a more human conv...

282: Vanessa Hering, part 2: Food, fitness, fun, and winning

31 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Who doesn't love food? Vanessa also loves whole, fresh vegetables and fruit. If you haven't seen the movie The Game Changers, about athletes who love ...

281: People don't want to do small things. They want to do meaningful things.

30 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The notes I read from for this episode:People don't want to do small things. They want to do things that matter.Stop telling people small things they ...

280: Paul Smith, part 1: How to tell stories to lead

29 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You probably know the value of stories---though it's probably bigger than you think. You probably could improve your storytelling. Even if you're impr...

279: Role model and global leader Mechai Viravaidya

25 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the notes I read from for this episodeI've said we don't have many role models. Well I found one. I was wrong. I'm going to tell you about a ...

278: I have an environmental dream

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the notes I read from for this episode, along with the text of the speech:You might know I gave a series of talks at NYU that preceded this p...

277: The joys and challenges if leaving addiction

19 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the notes I read from for this episode:I recently recorded conversations with Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Eat to LiveRewatched The End of Dieting and a...

276: Service. stewardship, and the huge rewards they create

18 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The notes I read from for this episode:Service and giving back using Jason McCarthy GoRuck guy on Jocko.Friend, Dan Zehner, knows JasonTold me about h...

275: Go Big

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you are thinking of doing something to act on the environment, go big. Instead of thinking the littlest thing you can do, think of the future and g...

274: Applying Leadership and the Environment in corporations

11 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode describes how I train corporate and institutional leaders in environmental leadership.Here are the notes I read from:Talking with more an...

273: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers

10 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I understand why historical reasons lead us to look to scientists, journalists, educators, and legislators for leadership, but they don't know how to ...

272: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pumping iron, and the environment

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ruth Bader Ginsburg knows about lifting weights and exercising because she does it. No amount of reading, watching TED videos, debating, or analysis c...

271: Vanessa Hering, part 1: Champion body builder, vegan, Ivy MBA

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Vanessa's original post said sheWanted to be a better advocate for veganism: so I trained 1.5 years and won the UPENN body building competition.When a...

270: Extinctions: Agriculture isn't so peaceful

02 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I've read and thought about animals going extinct. My friend and guest Lorna Davis in her TED talk talks about her love for rhinos and passion to save...

269: 7 more things that everyone gets wrong about the environment

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

1: The villain. People think nature, government, or corporations. It's beliefs2: The solution. People think technology, market, innovation. It's chang...

268: Hunter Lovins, part 2: Sustainability will work. It will take work.

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I recorded our second conversation the day after the September 20, 2019 climate marches. Hunter is more than well-connected.I wanted to hear and bring...

267: Seth Sheldon, part 2: Inside the United Nations

27 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Before we spoke, Seth implied he didn't do as much on his challenge as I expected so I expected a short conversation.I think it's important for listen...

266: Thoughts on my MAGA interview

24 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

My notes I read from for this post:Yesterday I posted my interview on a site that strongly supports Donald Trump. I do not. Yet I described it as one ...

265: I was wrong

22 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the notes I read from for this episode:Ways I was wrongI usually start my story about acting more sustainably with my personal challenge to b...

264: Larry Yatch, part 2: Navy SEAL precision

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode brings you a trainer who has reached top levels of leadership and teaching leadership break down how to learn.How to learn to learn. Let ...

263: My Google Talk: How to start a podcast on the environment

15 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I posted a few Clips from my speaking at Google to my blog. They didn't video record the whole event, but I did get the audio, so today's episode is m...

262: Unstable for a phase change

14 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

People talk about leadership causing ripple effects and hope that environmental action may lead to ripples.I see the potential for more. People like a...

261: We have failed, but it's not over. Are you giving all you've got?

13 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

My perspective on personal action continues to evolve.In conversation with someone at an event this evening, I started realizing the meaning in asking...

260: Creating the Muhammad Ali of the Environment

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I started this podcast with the goal of creating a Mandela of the environment---a role I considered essential but saw no one remotely approaching it.L...

259: Caspar Craven, part 2: with his wife and son

10 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After resetting during conversation 1.5, Caspar returns with his son and wife---Columbus and Nicola---for a touching proper second episode.The three o...

258: The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After recording three episodes (248, 250, and 251) on Alan Weisman's Countdown, I read his earlier book, The World Without Us, which I found equally t...

257: Larry Yatch, part 1: Navy SEAL Officer precision leadership

05 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Do you want to reach your potential? Do you want to get past seeing your properties as limitations?Larry shares going from being what he is and we all...

256: Why Personal Action Matters

04 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why bother not flying if you're one person out of billions? Aren't you just missing out and suffering without meaningfully changing anything?These que...

255: Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I've recorded a few posts about how what many people call minimalism is really more maximal. From the outside it looks like minimizing stuff.d People ...

254: Accidents of birth: communicating despite differences

30 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Following up episode 253, I address race, sex, sexual preference and other difference people use as excuses to stop listening or understanding over.He...

253: My greatest triumphs, my greatest shames

29 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here are my notes that I read from for this post:My greatest triumphs, my greatest shames.When I share personal stuff people always write how they lik...

252: Tia Nelson, part 2: A lifetime of Earth Days

26 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tia has been active on the environment for a long time, working with government, non profits, as an individual, and since birth deeply connected with ...

251: Let's make overpopulation only a finance issue

23 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here are my notes that I read from for this episode.New comment from reading Countdown by Alan WeismanOverpopulation is major issue.Challenges are cul...

250: Why talk about birthrate and population so much?

22 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Readers and listeners have commented on my writing and posting lately about population and birth rates. Why do I talk about them? Isn't America below ...

249: Florida Mayors Jerry Demings and Buddy Dyer, part 2: Humility and Action from U.S. officials

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Since our first episode, I've been talking about these mayors choosing to pick up garbage. I believe that a man never stands so tall as when he bends ...

248: Countdown, a book I recommend by Alan Weisman

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I just finished an eye-opening book, Countdown, by Alan Weisman. It covers population.Weisman traveled to and reported on about a dozen places' views ...