The EcoCiv Podcast

The Ecological Mindset Podcast Series welcomes Venu Mehta. Venu shares her extensive expertise on Jainism, especially as it relates towards the transition to an ecological mindset. She describes how that forgiveness can be…

In a new podcast series, the Ecological Mindset Series, we welcome Dr. Brianne Donaldson, Director of Religious Studies at UC Irvine. Brianne discusses the core principles of Jainism, specifically looking…

In a new podcast series, the Ecological Mindset Series, we welcome Jeffery D. Long, a professor of Religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College.  Jeff expresses the fundamental principles of Jainism and…

Shivani Bothra shares her long-standing knowledge on Jainism and the Dharma traditions. She describes the role of Jainism in today’s society, describes how her classroom introduces Jainism to a wider…

Andrew Schwartz speaks with David Stroh and Dr. Marilyn Paul. David is Founder & Principal of Bridgeway Partners. David is the author of the best-selling book Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results. David co-founded one of the first firms to apply systems…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Indra Adnan. For over twenty years, Indra has been writing, consulting, network-building and event-organizing on themes like the future of politics, conflict transformation, the role of the arts, and integral thinking. She is Founder and Co-initiator of The Alternative UK (a political platform which answers the question: if politics is broken,…

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Andrew Schwartz talks with Dr. Steve Waddell. For over 35 years, Steve has worked as a consultant, community organizer, educator, researcher, and collaborative leader. His work with organizations, networks, and systems ranges from local to global. He is the founder and co-lead of The SDG Transformations…

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. In this episode, we are sharing a podcast interview from the Good Dirt Podcast where Mary and Emma Kingsley from Lady Farmer, and EcoCiv Co-Founder Andrew Schwartz, talk about what it means for humans to live sustainably on the Earth, the fundamental shifts in many of our most basic…

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Andrew Schwartz speaks with Riane Eisler. Dr. Eisler is a social systems scientist, cultural historian, futurist, and attorney whose research, writing, and speaking has transformed the lives of people worldwide. Internationally known for her bestseller The Chalice and The Blade: Our History, Our Future, and for…

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. In this episode, we are sharing a podcast interview from the Conservation Careers podcast where Nick Askew, Founder and Director of Conservation Careers, and Anna Hixson, EcoCiv's Associate Director, Projects and Foundation Relations, talk about the biggest challenges facing us as a global society, how to…

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Andrew Schwartz talks with Richard van der Laken, who is the co-founder of What Design Can Do based in Amsterdam. Richard is a creative director based in Amsterdam, with a rich background in graphic design and art. Together with his co-founder Pepijn Zurburg, they also…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Zack Walsh about common goods for the common good. Zack is a systems thinker and environmental philosopher whose research has included a focus on rethinking the organization of human communities for an ecological civilization. He was Senior Researcher of Economics and Governance at One Project, Research Associate for the Institute for…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Tim Jackson about post capitalism, post growth economies, and the future of work for the long-term wellbeing of people and the planet. Tim is an ecological economist and writer, Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (a multidisciplinary research centre which aims to understand the economic, social and…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Michael Steger about the intersection of psychology and economy for an ecological civilization—that is, reframing work for the long-term wellbeing of people and the planet. Mike is the Founder and Director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose, and a Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University. He also serves as…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Natalie Foster. Natalie is the co-chair and co-founder of the Economic Security Project, a network to support exploration and experimentation of a guaranteed income and reigning in the unprecedented concentration of corporate power. She is also a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute's Future of Work Initiative, which advocates a comprehensive…

Andrew Schwartz speaks with Richard Dunne. Richard is Director of Education for The Harmony Project at the Sustainable Food Trust in the UK. The Sustainable Food Trust's work on Harmony in food and farming seeks to demonstrate how and why we must put principles of Harmony into practice to accelerate the transition to sustainable food…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Bridget Mugambe. Bridget is a social scientist with over 15 years of work experience with NGOs in management, strategic planning, budgeting, fundraising, and gender mainstreaming. She's an expert in policy analysis, advocacy, capacity building, and the generation and dissemination of information on food sovereignty. She serves as the Program Coordinator for AFSA (Alliance…

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Andrew Schwartz talks with Vandana Shiva about why the world's farmers are going hungry. Vandana is an internationally renowned author, scientist, and activist whom Forbes Magazine identified as one of the 7 most powerful women on the globe. In this deep dive discussion on the…

Ellie Leaning speaks with Salva Dut, who is the founder and chief strategy director for Water for South Sudan. Salva was born in a rural village in southwestern Sudan to the Dinka tribe. At 11 years old, the Sudanese Civil War reached his village and separated Salva from his family. He joined thousands of boys,…

Ebony Bailey speaks with Lauren Ornelas. Lauren is the Founder and President of Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.), a vegan food justice nonprofit that promotes veganism, fights for workers, and works on lack of access to healthy foods in Black and Brown communities and low-income areas. She has been an animal activist for three decades, during…

Ebony Bailey speaks with Jayson Maurice Porter, who is a PhD candidate in history at Northwestern University and recent Fulbright-García Robles Scholar. His dissertation focuses on Mexican environmental history and political ecology, and he teaches more broadly on environmental social justice, Black geographies, and science and technology in the Americas. Ebony talks with Jayson about how…

In this episode, EcoCiv's strategic partnerships coordinator, Ellie Leaning speaks with Larry Swatuk, who is a professor of international development at University of Waterloo. Larry's expertise blends technical hydrological knowledge and freshwater governance with more systemic and long-term approaches to water in different settings, meshing well with EcoCiv’s approach of long term and systemic solutions…

Jeremy Fackenthal speaks with Zack Walsh, who works at the One Project as a senior researcher of economics and governance. The One Project is a recently launched think-tank that is rooted in relational ways of thinking about ecology, economics, democracy, and more. Their research focuses on “how to create practical, equitable systems that align and…

As the socio-economic effects of coronavirus worsen, the deep failures of our global economic order are being revealed. Is this the end of the neoliberal era? What will the economy look like after COVID-19? Can our next economy promote the overall well-being of people and the planet? On this episode of the EcoCiv podcast, Andrew…

As world leaders struggle to address the coronavirus pandemic, one thing has become certain: this is more than a health crisis. From Covid's impact on economic systems, ecological systems, and systems of production and consumption, to its effects on systems of governance, to its exacerbation of injustices experienced by the poor and vulnerable ― it's…

EcoCiv's communications manager, Ebony Bailey speaks with designer, activist, and academic, Julia Watson. Julia is a leading expert on indigenous, nature-based technologies, as profiled in her new book, Lo-TEK, Design by Radical Indigenism. She also teaches Urban Design at Harvard's Graduate School of Design and at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Lo—TEK…

On this episode, Austin Roberts speaks with political activist, David Cobb. David has been involved in progressive and radical politics in the U.S. for many years. He was the Green Party presidential candidate for the 2004 election, and in 2016, he served as the campaign manager for fellow Green Jill Stein during her presidential run.…

Philip Clayton speaks with ecological economist Mark Anielski. Mark is the author of the award-winning book, The Economics of Happiness (2007), and most recently, An Economy of Well-Being (2018), which presents a new economic model for measuring progress and performance called Genuine Wealth. Philip and Mark begin their discussion by diving into the major themes…

Jeremy Fackenthal speaks with Philip Clayton and Andrew Schwartz about their exciting new book, What is Ecological Civilization: Crisis, Hope, and the Future of the Planet. As you will hear in their conversation with Jeremy, Philip and Andrew wrote this book as an accessible introduction to the idea of ecological civilization by asking eight major…

Philip Clayton speaks with Ernst Conradie, who is senior professor of religion and theology at the University of Western Cape in South Africa. Ernst is also one of the task team conveners for the first W12 Congress: a meeting of cities from around the world to address the escalating global water crisis. This event—which EcoCiv…

Philip Clayton speaks with Dr. Kelli Archie, who is an environmental social scientist and senior research specialist at EcoCiv. Kelli's research interests focus mainly on climate change adaptation, specifically on reconciling the supply and demand of climate information, how attitudes and beliefs about climate change affect adaptation decisions, household-level adaptation decisions in vulnerable areas, and…

EcoCiv’s podcast manager, Austin Roberts speaks with Jason W. Moore. Jason is an environmental historian and historical geographer at Binghamton University, and the author of 2015's Capitalism In the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital. He also edited the 2016 book, Anthropocene or Capitalocene?, and with Raj Patel, he co-authored the 2017…

Philip Clayton speaks with Devon Hartman, who focuses full-time on fighting global warming in the building sector – the largest contributor to greenhouse gas proliferation. Now retired from his 35 year role as President and CEO of HartmanBaldwin Design/Build Inc., a full service Architecture and Construction company, he has created CHERP – the Community Home…

Jeremy Fackenthal speaks with philosopher and religious ethicist Michael Hogue about his work on political theology and the Anthropocene. Michael's most recent book is titled American Immanence: Democracy for An Uncertain World, which was published in 2018 by Columbia University Press. Michael is a creative and rigorous scholar who has an impressive ability to work across…

Jeremy Fackenthal speaks with activist and social entrepreneur, Manda Brookman about Extinction Rebellion. Those of you who follow EcoCiv on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter will already have some familiarity with Extinction Rebellion, as we often share news stories about the important work that they are doing. Extinction Rebellion describes itself as “an international movement that uses nonviolent…

Jeremy Lent returns to the podcast to host a fascinating dialogue with Eileen Crist. As listeners of this podcast will recall, Jeremy is a well-known author and a leading theorist of ecological civilization. He was a previous guest on episode 2 and episode 13, so be sure to check those out if you haven't already…

Andrew Schwartz speaks with Matthew Segall, who is a philosopher at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a popular blogger at Footnotes2Plato.com. He is also the author of a number of books, including The Physics of the World-Soul: The Relevance of Alfred North Whitehead's Philosophy of Organism To Contemporary Scientific Cosmology. Throughout his work, Matthew…

Andrew Schwartz speaks with organic farming pioneer, David Vetter. David has been an organic farmer in Nebraska for more than 40 years, and he has long been inspired to grow organic by his own theological commitment to being a good steward of the Earth. He now runs the successful, organically certified business, Grain Place Foods.…

Jeremy Fackenthal speaks with Catherine Keller, who is professor of constructive theology at the Theological School of Drew University. Keller is a leading progressive theologian and process philosopher whose work attends to matters of social and ecological justice, postmodern philosophy, and feminist theology. She is the author of numerous books, including Face of the Deep: A…

Andrew Schwartz speaks with Gambian human rights activist Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan. Muhammed is the coordinator for Africans Rising, which is an emerging pan-African movement working for justice, peace, and dignity, and which aims to build solidarity across campaigns for social, economic, environmental, and gender justice. Muhammed talks with Andrew about the mission of Africans Rising, how…

Philip Clayton hosts a dialogue on the subject of Deep Adaptation versus Deep Transformation, with Jeremy Lent arguing in favor of the latter and Naresh Giangrande defending the former. A previous guest on the EcoCiv Podcast, Jeremy is a well-known author and a leading theorist of ecological civilization. Naresh is the co-founder of Transition Town…

EcoCiv's communications manager, Megan Anderson talks with Sofie Karasek, who is the deputy communications director for the Sunrise Movement. If you haven't already heard of Sunrise, you will learn all about the important work that they are doing in this episode. But in short, Sunrise is an American youth-led activist movement that advocates for political…

Jeremy Fackenthal talks with Dr. Shelley Yael Dennis about her important new book, Edible Entanglements: A Political Theology of Food. Anyone concerned about food justice and global environmental politics should read this book, which brings together the disciplines and discourses of political theology, new materialism, nutritional science, climate science, and political ecology. Jeremy and Yael have…

Andrew Schwartz talks with author and activist, David Korten. A former professor of the Harvard Business School, David later became a prominent critic of the globalized economy and the expanding power of corporations over societies. His work now focuses on the need to transform the globalized economy in the direction of an ecological civilization. David…

Jeremy Fackenthal talks with Karyn Bigelow, who is a research analyst at the non-profit organization, Bread for the World. As you will hear in their conversation, Karyn is passionate about issues relating to food justice, and she is currently looking at the ways in which climate change impacts food security and nutrition. They also talk…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Brian McLaren, who is a well-known author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. As a former college English teacher and pastor, Brian is now a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity”—one that emphasizes justice, generosity, and working toward the common good with people of all faiths. He has published many…

Andrew Schwartz talks with Venerable Pomnyun Sunim – a Korean Buddhist monk and activist. Venerable Pomnyun is the founder of a number of organizations, including the Jungto Society, a volunteer Buddhist community that advocates for peace, sustainability, and human rights; the Join Together Society, an international aid organization that helps children who are hungry, sick, or…

EcoCiv's president, Philip Clayton talks with James Thornton, who is an environmental lawyer and founding CEO of ClientEarth – Europe's first public interest environmental law organization. A member of the bars of New York, California and the Supreme Court of the United States, James moved from a Wall Street law practice to found the Citizens'…

EcoCiv's president, Philip Clayton talks with Mary Evelyn Tucker—one of the world's leading scholars in the field of religion and ecology. She has published hundreds of articles and many books, including Ecology and Religion (co-authored with John Grim) and Journey of the Universe (co-authored with Brian Swimme). She is also the co-founder and co-director of the Forum…

Karenna Gore, director of the Center for Earth Ethics, talks about the moral dimensions of the ecological crisis, her interest in American indigenous traditions, studying liberation theology with James Cone, challenging GDP as a measure of social well-being, connections between women's rights and environmental issues, and what gives her hope.

Anthropologist, writer, and filmaker Isabella Alexander discusses her work relating to transnational migration, how migration issues intersect with global climate disruption, and how she finds hope while raising awareness about complex systemic injustices.