Down-To-Earth by Jenna

Jenna speaks with Malena Martínez, Co-Director of Mater Iniciativa, an interdisciplinary gastronomic and cultural research organization dedicated to investigating, conserving, and sharing Peru’s rich biodiversity. Malena, chefs Virgilio Martínez and Pia León, and the Mater team are behind the world-famous Central, Kjolle, Mayo, Mil, and Ichu restaurants.

Jenna Matecki interviews NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir, a nature-loving scientist who spent 205 days living aboard the International Space Station. Penguin catching, space friends, serendipities, gravity, optimism, expeditionary skills, COVID-19, Artemis, the Moon, Mars, female astronauts, marine biology, caving, Antarctica, Neutral Buoyancy, aliens, and more.

Dive into a world of hot chocolate, botanical gardens, textile museums, little red bugs, seafaring canoes, geothermal cooling, and magic with Jenna and Alejandro de Ávila, founding director of Oaxaca, Mexico’s ethnobotanical garden - Jardín Etnobotanico de Oaxaca. Alej is also the curator of Oaxaca’s textile museum - Museo Textil de Oaxaca.  

Jenna speaks with Malena Martínez, Co-Director of Mater Iniciativa, an interdisciplinary gastronomic and cultural research organization dedicated to investigating, conserving, and sharing Peru’s rich biodiversity. Malena, chefs Virgilio Martínez and Pia León, and the Mater team are behind the world-famous Central, Kjolle, Mayo, Mil, and Ichu restaurants. 

Jenna interviews Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a legendary down-to-earth doctor who has reversed and cured heart disease for thousands of patients, and advocated for a plant-based diet since 1984. You may recognize him from the documentary Forks Over Knives, praise from President Clinton, books or videos from his wife Ann, daughter Jane, or son Rip, the Cleveland Clinic, or piles and piles of well-cited nutrition papers, studies, and essays. Heart disease is the *leading cause of death for Americans* and, as someone who was born in the US heartland, I could not recommend hearing what Dr. Esselstyn has to say more.

Jenna chats with Keith Larson PhD, an evolutionary ecologist based in the arctic who has dedicated his career to speaking with the public and raising awareness around the impacts of climate change.

Jenna introduces Down-To-Earth (despite the geese) and chats with soil "chef," Cuauhtemoc Villa – Portland-based regenerative farmer, bokashi and biochar expert, cannabis and wine industry consultant, indigenous agriculture specialist, and mentor to a movement of young people determined to achieve food sovereignty.