Full Expression

Matt Goulding is a co-founder of the independent media company, Roads and Kingdoms and the co-author of the New York Times best selling series Eat This, Not That! With Roads and Kingdoms, Matt Goulding has written a number of books that merge food culture, politics and history in engaging, creative formats: Grape Olive Pig (about Spain) Rice Noodle Fish (about Japan) Pasta Pane Vino (about Italy). He currently divides his time between the tapas bars of Barcelona and the barbecue joints of North Carolina.    I spoke with Matt Goulding about his journey to becoming a food writer, what makes a great title, and how a tweet from Anthony Bourdain changed his career. You can find out more about Matt Goulding’s work at www.roadsandkingdoms.com.

David Quammen is an American non-fiction writer and the author of 17 books about the history of science, evolutionary biology, zoonotic diseases and the outdoors. His articles have appeared in Outside Magazine, National Geographic, Harper's, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, and other periodicals. David Quammen’s highly acclaimed books include Spillover, The Song of the Dodo, The Tangled Tree and his most recent work, Breathless, about the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a conversation about David's lifelong journey into nonfiction writing and extensive field reporting. 

Laura Guido-Clark is an interior designer and material and color consultant. She has worked with a wide array of everyday products, from furniture, cars, electronics and chocolate. Her recent work includes an update of the iconic Aeron chair. In 2011 Laura founded Project Color, a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing urban neighborhoods with paint and pattern. In 2017 she founded Love Good Color, a revolutionary color tool that fuses science with the senses.  

Alam Khan is a musician, composer and performer. The son of Mary Khan and sarode master, Ali Akhbar Khan, he began studies in Indian classical music at the age of seven. Alam has played alongside India’s tabla masters in venues throughout the world. His other collaborations include the Tedeschi Trucks Band the San Francisco Symphony, Bob Weir and his hip hop project, Grand Tapestry. Alam is a teacher of advanced instrumental instruction at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California.

Chris Blum is a graphic artist and art director who works in a variety of mediums, from product graphics and advertising to film and video production. He’s also a lifelong producer of art boxes: dimensional collages that combine wordplay and found objects to make a statement about current events and cultural affairs. Chris is an ardent student of pop culture and I collaborated with him for many years when communicating about issues of food and agricultural policyI spoke with Chris Blum about his ability to visualize his creative projects, working with Tom Waits, the art of making a wine label, and his great grandfather’s confectionary

J Henry Fair is a photographer and storyteller who works at the intersection of art, environmental science and the industrial economy. For decades he has been taking what he describes as “ironically beautiful images of terrible things.” His abstract and highly composed aerial photographs capture coal mining, factory farming, clearcut forestry and other activities. His work is featured in a new book, Human Nature: Planet Earth in Our Time published by Chronicle Books.

Jessica Martin is a visual artist who lives, practices and teaches in Healdsburg, California. She works in various mediums, from painting to sculpture and ambitious urban curating. Her pieces often involve extensive research into how the passage of time affects and shapes our memories. She received an M.A. from the California College of the Arts in 2006 and has been working as a professional artist ever since.        

Shea Breaux Wells is a vocal artist, performer and songwriter. She was raised in Texas in an artistic household and later found her way to Los Angeles where she explored numerous musical styles, from art rock to jazz and electronic music. Shea is also a world class vocal instructor who teaches people to sing with intention and technique.

Ames Morrison is a , wine maker and partner at Medlock Ames Winery in Sonoma County California. He studied ancient history at Tulane University before serving in the Peace Corps in Guatemala and teaching public high school in New York City. Raised on a farm in Virginia, Ames decided to pursue his love of agriculture. I spoke with Ames about his conservation-based approach to agriculture, the extraordinary challenges of climate change, and the many skills required to make humanity’s most magical elixir.

PC Muñoz is a Northern California poet, percussionist, producer, performer and recording artist. For the past 30 years he has worked in a wide range of musical styles from hip hop and jazz to pop, classical and spoken word. PC has recorded with rock legend Jackson Browne, Berkeley Symphony violinist Matthew Szemela and synthesizer wizard Dr. Fink. His genre bending collaborations with former Knonos Quartet cellist Joan Jeanreneaud earned a Grammy nomination. He currently serves as the first Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley California.

Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. is a classically trained percussionist and drummer for The Killers. While pursuing a music degree at the University of Las Vegas Nevada in 2002, he joined bandmates Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer. The Killers have recorded six best-selling albums and performed in 50 countries. I spoke with Ronnie about his experience as a wedding photographer, the importance of mastering the art of listening, and the making of the band’s upcoming album, “Pressure Machine.”

Abra Berens is a farm-to-table chef and author of the 2019 cookbook, Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables. She is a chef at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan and the co-founder of Bare Knuckle farm in Northpoint, Michigan. I spoke with Abra about her writing process, her experience at the Ballymaloe Cooking School in southeast Ireland, the hard work it takes to grow vegetables, the importance of reducing food waste, and why being a professional cook sometimes means being an entertainer.

Tim Weed is an exceptional musician who has mastered numerous stringed instruments — from guitar to 5-string banjo and mandolin. For the past four decades he has been a touring and recording artist. His latest project, Light and Dark, consists of two original compositions for banjo and 82 piece orchestra. It was performed and recorded with the Prague Metropolitan Opera in 2019.  I spoke with Tim about his daily approach to music, the importance of understanding and overcoming fear, his lifelong journey to learn various musical styles, and his instinct to just play and surrender to the Muse …

Adam Wolpert is a painter of the naturalist landscape tradition. He is also a co-founder of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in Sonoma County, California, an intentional community and thought leading nonprofit education center. A lifelong visual artist, for the past three years Adam has been engaged in a project of painting large intimate portraits of trees he calls, The Great Oaks.   I spoke with Adam about his focus on why he values his creative practice more than finished products, the discipline and patience that the craft of painting requires, how drawing and painting can positively affect your mindset and memory, and the importance of doing what you love, showing up every day, and having faith. 

Peter Schaumann is a native of Pennsylvania, and currently resides in Newtown Square. He is a graduate of Philadelphia College of Art, and has been on the faculties of Philadelphia College of Art and Moore College of Art and Design. Following a distinguished career as a New York illustrator where he was cited for numerous honors and awards, he turned to fine art, figure painting, and portraiture. His work has appeared in many galleries across the United States. Peter has earned numerous awards for his portraiture and most recently completed a painting of Tom Wolf, the former governor of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Society of Portrait Artists. Peter is also my first cousin. 

Bonnie Hayes is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and educator. The eldest of seven children from a highly musical family, she attended Washington High School and San Francisco State University. Her brother, Chris, was the lead guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News. Her brother, Kevin, was a drummer with the Robert Cray Band. Bonnie has performed in numerous bands as well as on tours with Bob Seeger, Belinda Carlisle and Billy Idol. Her songs have been recorded by Cher, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Cole, Robert Cray, David Crosby, Adam Ant and Booker T and the MGs. Between 2013 and 2022 she served as the chair of the songwriting department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Bonnie Hayes is also a long-time board member at Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco. She currently directs Blue Bear's All Star Songwriting Program for teens.    I spoke with Bonnie Hayes about her early years in the San Francisco music scene, her many ideas about the craft of songwriting, and why she believes limitations can positively help define an artistic persona.    You can find out more about Bonnie Hayes here.

Michael Pollan is an author, educator, documentary film creator and avid gardener. His work investigates the nexus of nature and culture and spans topics of gardening, agriculture, nutrition and cuisine, and neuropsychology. Six of his nine books have been New York Times bestsellers; three of them (including, How to Change Your Mind) were immediate #1 New York Times bestsellers. His other books include This is Your Mind on Plants, Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Botany of Desire, A Place of My Own and Second Nature.  The Omnivore’s Dilemma  won the California Book Award, the Northern California Book Award, the James Beard Award for best food writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. I was grateful to include his Introduction in two versions of my book, Food Fight: A Citizen’s Guide to the Food and Farm Bill and his essays in Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature and CAFO. I spoke with Michael Pollan about his lifelong exporation with immersive journalism, the value of being open to other people's creative ideas, and what it's like to be interviewed by Stephen Colbert.   

Davia Nelson is a radio producer, screen writer and casting director. She began in radio as a DJ in high school in Los Angeles. She later attended UC Santa Cruz and began documenting the community through a series of oral history pieces. With her partner, Nikki Silva, Davia founded “The Kitchen Sisters,” one of the most lasting and prolific public radio production teams in modern history. Their NPR series include “Hidden Kitchens,” “Lost and Found Sounds,” the “Sonic Memorial Project,” “The Hidden World of Girls” and “The Keepers.” They have won 2 James Beard Awards, 2 Peabody Awards and the DuPont Columbia Award among others. Davia has also worked in the film industry as a casting director for Francis Ford Coppola, Wim Wenders and Wes Anderson, among others. She was a screenplay writer and producer of “Imaginary Crimes,” starring Harvey Keitel. In January 2022, the Library of Congress acquired The Kitchen Sisters' archive, includung more than 7,000 hours of audio recordings.  I spoke with Davia about her lifelong journey as a sonic detective, her tips for conducting a great interview and why she believes storytelling is one of our most vital necessities.  

Joe Breeze is an American bicycle frame builder, designer and advocate from Marin County, California. An early participant in the sport of mountain biking, Breeze — along with other pioneers including Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly and Tom Ritchey — is known for his central role in developing the mountain bike. Joe is the co-founder and curator of the Marin Museum of Bicycling and the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in Fairfax, California. He helped me immensely with the introduction of a Chronicle book I wrote in the late 1990s, called Fat Tire: A Celebration of the Mountain Bike. I spoke with Joe about the early days of mountain biking on Mt. Tamalpais, what it takes to be an industrial designer, and the key role the bicycle will play in sustainable transportation while keeping a smile on our faces. 

Hal Mayforth is an American cartoonist, illustrator and abstract painter. A nationally recognized illustrator, Hal’s work has been widely published in magazines from Rolling Stone to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. His colorful paintings have been exhibited in galleries around the United States. He is a lifelong musician and most recently was the artistic collaborator on my “Gratitude” video that was released in May 2022. I spoke with Hal Mayforth about his journey to becoming a professional illustrator, his daily practice of automatic drawing, his affinity for abstract expressionism and art history, and his guiding belief in doing what you love. You can learn more about Hal Mayforth’s work at www.halmayforth.com.