Everything's Changing

When communities get involved with research, the possibilities are endless! This week Will and Rebecca talk to Chris Blume, a wildlife biologist who studies bats - well, specifically bat poop. Working with community partners in Baltimore and beyond, Chris studies the distribution of pollutants like heavy metals throughout neighborhoods. And he also gets the chance to introduce residents to the nature thriving all around them!

Are humans part of nature? Is nature in cities? You better believe it! This week Rebecca and Will talk with Aleigh Hunt, a city kid turned urban ecologist. In this episode we talk with Aleigh about the importance of establishing human connection to nature in our communities, equitable access to green space, and the potential for wildlife to flourish in urban centers. 

Do emotions belong in climate change communications? That's an emphatic YES from Will and Rebecca and our guest this week. Rishya Narayanan is an expert climate communicator and platform builder. She is also a co-founded of Professionals of Color in the Environment (POCIE), a group dedicated to connecting BIPOC environmental professionals in Massachusetts. Join Will, Rebecca, and Rishya as we talk about telling climate change stories, creating transformative spaces, and hear a cameo from Rishya's adopted parrots!

Kids are courageously curious, and the best education harnesses that curiosity. This week we're back at camp with Devin Genovese from Truckee Meadows Park Foundation. Will and Rebecca talk with Devin about learning through play in outdoor education, how to spark joy with bottle rockets, and how climate change is shaping their programming. Plus, hear Rebecca say the word "crick" like an old-timey person.

What does an urban farm have to do with climate change? How can seed-saving build resilience? And why am I craving carrots? This week Will and Rebecca talk to Marlene Hild of Urban Roots in Reno, Nevada. As a farm educator (and experienced gardener), Marlene knows first-hand how teaching kids about gardening and farming can lead us to a sustainable future. Plus, Will once again defends New Jersey and Reno from the ire of rest of America.

Digging in the dirt, splashing in ponds: outdoor experiences help build life-long love for nature and our non-human neighbors. But how can educators navigate bringing kids outside in a changing climate? And how is climate change affecting how we teach young people? This week Will and Rebecca talk to Lora Allison, nature educator and nature camp director about just those questions!

Welcome back to Season 3 of Everything's Changing! Rebecca is joined this season by Will Kaselow: naturalist, scientist, and New Jersey stan. For our first episode together, we talked to Chantal Bilodeau, playwright and artistic director of the Arts & Climate Initiative. Join us as we explore the role of theater in climate action, have our minds blown by the “solar punk” movement, and kick off the latest season of EC!  

It's the end of Season 2! Juliet and Rebecca take some time to reflect on our conversations over the past nine episodes. From sitting with climate grief to planting milkweed, our guests let us explore climate and environmental topics in new ways. Plus, Rebecca tries out a new way to say "hello" (spoiler alert: it doesn't work).

If you think you're seeing more extreme weather events on the news more often in recent years, you're right: weather-related disasters have increased in the last 50 years. Dr. Allison Wing, professor in the department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science at Florida State University, is one expert that's looking to help humans stay ahead of these disasters as much as possible. In this episode, Dr. Wing chats with Juliet and Rebecca about her research into tropical cyclones (aka hurricanes), what more extreme weather means for us, and how meteorologists like her are working alongside technology to help us stay informed about coming disasters.

Just in time for National Monarch Butterfly Day, Rebecca and Juliet are chatting with Dr. Rebecca Snyder, curator of conservation and sciences at the Oklahoma City Zoo. Dr. Snyder helped found the Oklahoma Monarch and Pollinator Collaborative, also known as Okies for Monarchs, which involves 50 organizations around the state, in increasing habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. Check out this week's episode to learn more about these majestic creatures, what we can do to revitalize populations and the wonderful world of zoo conservation efforts!

The climate crisis brings with it a plethora of human emotion: shame, grief, hope and much more. Dr. Rebecca Nestor, an organizational consultant, facilitator and coach is looking to help build communities that offer people places to tackle all these emotions — alongside a nice slice of cake. In this episode, Rebecca and Juliet chat with Dr. Nestor about how she's helping to build climate cafes, what they offer people and how — or why — to set up one in your own community.

We all know that sea-level rise, pollution and degrading ecosystems are bad for the planet, but are they bad for us, too? Yes, says Jessica Schiff, graduate student at Harvard who works with the Harvard Center for Climate Health and Global Environment, or Harvard C-Change. In this episode, Juliet and Rebecca chat with Jessica about the intersection between health and climate change and Harvard C-Change's work to explore the direct and indirect impacts of global climate change on human mental and physical wellness.

If you're looking for a way to level up your walk in the woods look no further than forest bathing (no water involved), a mindfulness practice of engaging with nature that began in Japan with the aim to combat burnout and help inspire people to save the forests. In this episode, Rebecca and Juliet chat with Tam Willey, a certified forest therapy guide about the history of the practice and how it can help to heal and rebuild our connection to nature and ourselves.

If you thought environmental activism was a job just for the young, think again. In this episode, Rebecca and Juliet chat with Jeff Haverly, Leader of the Heartland Chapter of Elders Climate Action, an organization of climate activists committed to non-partisan efforts to end the climate crisis and build and just and sustainable future for their children and grandchildren. They discuss the importance of collective action, why climate deniers aren't crazy and how we can engage with them in a more respectful and meaningful way, and more!

How do you connect women's empowerment, environmental justice and art, all while creating community around the climate crisis? If you're Monica Jahan Bose, you do it with saris. In this episode, Rebecca and Juliet speak with the artist and former environmental lawyer about how she tapped into her heritage by partnering with women in her ancestral town in Bangladesh to launch an interactive art project called “Storytelling with Saris” that aims to empower women and connect international communities in the fight against climate change.

SALT! We love it on our food but what about in our water, corroding our bridges and harming our wildlife? While the 20 million tons of salt used on roads and sidewalks help keep us safe in winter months, it also ends up in our streams, drains, drinking water, and has real consequences for our infrastructure and environment. In this episode, Juliet and Rebecca chat with Emily Bialowas of Winter Salt Watch about the harmful impact of road salt and what we can do to minimize it.

From Iceland to Kenya, Nikhil Bahl's work as a nature photographer has taken him across the world and back again, capturing and witnessing the beauty of our planet — and how it's changing. On this episode, Juliet and Rebecca kick off season two by digging into Nikhil's life and work, his experience of the rapidly altering landscapes he works with, and the realities of trying to plan for and understand a world in flux.

Did you miss all nine other episodes this season? You're in luck — in this episode, Rebecca, Juliet and Veronica talk through their favorite highlights and guests from season one. They touch on “courageous radical imagination,” the importance and difficulty of community action around climate, and, among other things, why Veronica thinks everyone who doesn't use a top sheet is a sociopath (Yeah, it's a hot take but we're edgy and that's how we roll). Check it out, take care, recycle, compost, think empathetically about mushrooms and hang in there — we'll see you next season!

In this episode, THE CICADAS ARE COMING and Veronica is excited. She, Rebecca and Juliet also catch up with Susie Wang, a researcher focusing on environmental psychology, who looks into how people feel about climate change. Susie talks about her forays into environmental neuroscience and behavioral research and offers advice on how we can all be communicating more effectively on the topic -- spoiler alert, the key is remembering that we're all not so different after all. Check it out!

In this episode, Rebecca, Veronica and Juliet weigh the pros and cons of a dairy-free lifestyle — the cons mainly being that you can't eat cheese — and discuss the controversial aspects of Meatless Monday's. They also chat with Paige Curtis, an environmental writer and advocate, to discuss her whitepaper “Recycle Your Vibrator,” which delves into the need to drastically improve sustainability in the sex tech industry. Check it out now for some hot tips that can help you keep the planet cool.

It's Earth Day! So Juliet, Rebecca and Veronica got together to share 5 TOP TIPS to help you spice up your sustainability efforts. Check it out!

In this episode Juliet, Rebecca and Veronica explore the ways that Google could help everyone sound less like a jerk on the internet and imagine themselves into the wild world of a Simlish voice actor. They also speak with Dani Cessna, hunter, park ranger, backpacker, Cli-fi fiction writer and all-around cool person. Dani offers a glimpse into the world of being a conservationist, the ways she's seen climate change impact our National Parks and why you should start talking to your park rangers. Check it out now, especially if you're a Google executive who's ready to make “Google Niceties” happen. Note: Dani is speaking to us personally from her broad range of experiences, and not speaking on behalf of the National Park Service or the U.S. Government.

In this episode, Veronica, Juliet and Rebecca dig into the long lost world of Xanga, the time Rebecca was internet scammed while playing Neopets and how difficult it is to upgrade technology. They also catch up with Eve Mosher, an environmental activist and artist who regularly uses her art to illustrate the impacts of climate change. Eve speaks about her work, how creative expression can help people process climate change and how courage, imagination and playfulness can help us sculpt a better future. Check it out now and let us know if you have any hot Neopets tips!

On this episode Juliet, Veronica and Rebecca delve into the experimental world of podcast animal commentary. They also catch up with Kenneth Mendez, CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, who clues them into how climate change is making everyone's allergies worse — and what that means for the future. Check it out and rest assured that no cats were harmed in the making of this episode.

In this episode, Rebecca, Veronica and Juliet let you in on their therapist's best advice for coping with the stress of being home legitimately all the time... constantly... it never ends. They also dig into the problems of urban heat with Owen Franklin, Pennsylvania State Director for the Trust for Public Land. Owen tells us about the Heat Response Project, an initiative in Philadelphia that looks to use art to address the question: “Why should we care about urban heat and what can we do about it?” Check it out now for a cameo by Veronica's hungry cat and then go get your daily dose of Vitamin N!

In this episode, Veronica, Juliet, and Rebecca discuss the best path to body hair equality, men's thicc thighs, and the dark side of lawns — metaphorically. They also catch up with Hana Newcomb, manager at Potomac Vegetable Farms in Northern Virginia, who offers insights into what climate change means for crops, the importance of local and organic produce, and how gardens can help us all feel a little more (food) secure. Check it out now before the controversy around Rebecca's hatred for raw tomatoes brings this podcast to a screeching halt!

In this episode Rebecca, Veronica, and Juliet discuss the particulars of the scent of Limited Too, the horrors of shirtless teenage mall models, and how the simple act of composting could save us all from a top-soilless future. We also catch up with Ben Parry, CEO of Compost Crew, a food scrap recycling business in the Washington, D.C. area. Ben spotlights the importance of composting to local communities and offers tips on what you can (and probably should) compost, including the HUMAN BODY. Check it out or just wait for the romance novel adaptation, entitled “Black Gold,” coming soon.

In the premiere episode of Everything's Changing, Juliet, Rebecca and Veronica talk about why they are starting this podcast — spoiler alert: it's because of anxiety. They also catch up with expert Amy Langston, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at William & Mary who fills them in on ghost forests, a spooky consequence of sea level rise. We're already thinking about transitioning to a podcast about Twin Peaks so check it out while we're still around!