Carbon Social Club is a podcast about art and the environment. Each episode we interview artists, writers, and makers about how environmental change influences their creative process. We talk about human-environment relationships, the impacts of climate change, and the realities of environmental justice.
Mixed media artist Kirk Rankin, known to family and friends as K5, talks about using art to foster justice work, how creative expression has helped keep him happy and occupied during the pandemic, and how he juxtaposes life between Washington, DC and New England. Lauren lived next door to K5 when she was in college, and he was 4, and this episode is the first time they’ve spoke as adults. Kirk/K5 lives in Burlington, Vermont.
Dr. Jane Zelikova is a climate change scientist working at the intersection of science and policy. She talks about her contribution to the new book, All We Can Save, co-founding 500 Women Scientists, and the important work of making science open, inclusive, and accessible.
Kwasi Asare, co-Founder of the start up Esaiyo, and founder of Fedia, talks about pivotal life moments that inspired him to follow an unconventional path connecting art, media, technology and politics, including his time working with Diddy and Bad Boy Entertainment and his experience as a NYC investment banker during 9/11.
Painter Kathi Smith talks about small (really small!) island life, incorporating memory, history and place into her paintings, and life as a full time artist. Kathi is Assistant Professor in Studio Arts and Art Appreciation at Husson University, and her work is shown at Greenhut Galleries. She lives in Ellsworth and on Great Cranberry Island, Maine.
Dr. Michael Dorsey, renewable energy investor, public intellectual, and diplomatic disruptor, speaks about the environmental implications for the 2020 presidential election, climate justice, and his hope that the Biden administration prioritizes clean energy development.
Comedian Gregg Gethard and sociologist Tariem Burroughs talk about the mood in Philadelphia leading up to, and after, the 2020 presidential election. They discuss Philadelphia’s ethos, the Flyers mascot Gritty, and Guliani’s press conference at Four Season Total Landscaping. They also get serious on how they feel as adoptive parents with mixed race families whose government is often pushing against, not for them.
Ross Kenyon, communications lead for Nori carbon removal marketplace, talks with Lauren about producing and hosting the podcasts Reversing Climate Change and Carbon Removal Newsroom.
Culinary Nutritionist Christa Demment González talks food justice, making fresh produce accessible through simple recipes, and pivoting during Covid to produce cooking videos in English and Spanish.
Maine youth climate activists Ayano Ishimura and Matilda Allen spoke with Lauren about helping their island community act on climate change, successfully lobbying their town council to declare a climate emergency, and curating a show of climate-related art. As interns with A Climate to Thrive, they are working toward local energy independence and a climate resilient island. They live on Mount Desert Island and Great Cranberry Island, Maine. www.aclimatetothrive.org/
Author Jaime Fountaine talks to Lauren about the the weirdness of the suburbs, growing up working class and translating that into her writing, and the ickiness of self-branding. Jaime is the author of the novella ‘Manhunt.” She lives in Philadelphia. http://jaimefountaine.com/
Dr. Word Smith, aka Ed Campbell, Doctor of Chinese medicine, yogi, and Tibetan translator talks with Lauren about his experiences and thoughts on racism in America, the role of generational trauma, and how 90s hip hop influences who he is today. Word grew up in Philadelphia and now lives and travels around the world.
Architect and urban geographer Siddharth Menon talks with Lauren about the political economy of concrete, colonialism in architecture, and archiving traditional and indigenous building practices. Originally from Mumbai, Siddharth is a PhD candidate at University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Biologist-turned-jeweler Stacy Hopkins talks to Lauren about metalwork, art inspired by the rawness of nature, life as an American ex-pat in Italy, and manifesting the life you want. Stacy lives and works in the Upper Valley of Vermont.
Steven Dunn talks with Lauren about writing, hip hop, ghosts, and the omnipresence of coal when growing up in rural West Virginia. Steven is the author of the novels "Potted Meat" and "water & power."
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