-> Short Survey: Tell us what you think of Second NatureWhether you're a parent, an auntie, a coach, a godfather — there's a lot to think about when it comes to raising a more sustainable generation. How can we raise young people to take better care of the planet than the generations before them? For our last episode of season 3, we're looking into the future to see how younger generations are thinking about climate change. From plant-based eating to civic engagement, we’re talking to our community, Moms Clean Air Force, and Commons founder Sanchali Seth Pal to find out how folks are raising kids to take action.🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading an citations in the full show.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.🐣 Here's Sanchali's list of sustainable baby stuff!Episode CreditsListener contributions: Amea Wadsworth, Brian Stancheski, Elisabeth, Federica, Jacqueline Elliott, Liv, Sara Rego, Sare, Tiffany, Willa Stoutenbeek, Paloma, Stevia, Ezra, Ace, Aza, Stella, EmmettEpisode expert: Alexandra ZissuEditing and engineering: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
-> 🚨 Tell your U.S. reps not to cut federal funding for public libraries.-> Short Survey: Tell us what you think of Second NatureLibraries are icons of the sharing economy. When we borrow books, media, and tools from the library, we save ourselves from needing to buy new stuff. But did you know that libraries are also community hubs for climate resilience? From heatwaves to hurricanes, thousands of people have used libraries as free spaces to escape the elements and find respite. In this community episode, we're everything that our listeners get from their local libraries. 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes and citations. 📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Kelly Kandra Hughes, PhD, Alexa Rivera, Sare, Shaila, Taylor Barkley, Evan GoodchildEditing and engineering: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
Microplastics seem to be everywhere, inside and outside our bodies. These micro and nano particles are shedding from our clothes, our tires, food packaging — basically anywhere there's plastic. People, animals, and plants are consuming these microplastics, thereby complicating the issue and contributing to health problems. But what health issues? And how do we avoid them? The science is still a work in progress, but today, we're finding out what we know so far. We’re going to find out from an actual scientist what we know and don’t know about the health implications of microplastics and what we can do about it. And we’re going to try our best to find our way to a place of understanding without complete overwhelm. 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes and citations. Here's the MPI paper Barbro shared!📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Kylie Kovatch, Artie Sadahiro, Nicole Collins, Parisa Golchoubian, Brian StancheskiEpisode expert: Prof. Dr. Barbro MelgertEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
NOTE: An early version of this audio has an error around 4:50. If you hear that error, it's likely because your podcast player downloaded the first version. Please re-download the episode to hear the correct version! And forgive us, as we're merely human beans 🫘 . Is climate news stressing you out? Same. We're experiencing funding cuts to environmental agencies, while climate disasters like heatwaves and storms persist, and wildlife and environmental protections are at risk. It's a tough time to be an environmentalist, and all this stress and sadness can lead to climate anxiety (aka eco-anxiety).If you've felt anxious about the state of our climate, you're not alone. We thought it was a perfect time to bring back this episode from last season, where we hear from you our listeners, to hear various ways to cope with climate anxiety through nature, community, and gratitude.If you're looking for more resources to help with climate anxiety, we highly recommend this list from the team at All We Can Save.🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Adyasha, Artie Sadahiro, Camille, Liv, Natalie Pullen, Nick Blocha, Savannah VizeEditing and engineering: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
🔗 TAKE ACTION: Stop State AI Regulation Ban in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" ActWhen you ask ChatGPT to write a cover letter, make your grocery list, or edit an image, what's actually happening in the real world? As AI gets bigger by the day, it's requiring more and more energy, water, and land in communities around the world. Tech companies are investing billions of dollars in data centers and technologies to power AI, but are they also investing in sustainable and equitable resources to keep it going?Today, we’re going to take a step back from the chatbots to understand the true impact of AI, how we’re tracking and regulating that impact, and we’ll find out what it will take to build a sustainable future for AI with Shalolei Ren — associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California Riverside whose work focuses on AI for good. 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Kylie Kovatch, Artie Sadahiro, Nicole Collins, Parisa Golchoubian, Brian StancheskiEpisode expert: Shaolei RenEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
Farmers market season is upon us! As we've started seeing spring crops here at markets in the Northern Hemisphere, we're thinking about the power of locally grown food. As our food supply chains have gone global — we’ve gained more access to nutritious foods in areas where they may be hard to grow — but we’ve lost touch with seasonality and the source of our food. And we’ve lost touch with plenty of foods altogether. Locally grown food not only gives us more nutrients, but done right, it can bring biodiversity to local land, build climate resilience, and even offer diversity and economic resilience in our communities.Today we're reconnecting to local food through our global community, learning more about how our food system favors big agriculture, and with connecting the dots between food justice and equity Tagan Engel — a chef, food justice organizer and host of the podcast/radio show Table Underground. 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes: www.thecommons.earth/episode/6-connection-and-resilience-through-local-food📱 To join the Commons community, download the app: https://www.thecommons.earth/second-nature📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram @secondnatureearthEpisode CreditsListener contributions: Elizabeth, Stella, Joao Vilca Soto, Lin Diaz Maceo, Airlea Rasul, JessikaEpisode expert: Tagan EngelEditing and engineering: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
Microplastics are seemingly everywhere, even our clothes. From production through wash days, synthetic fabrics are shedding microplastics into the air and water. It's a big issue that's going to take shifts from manufacturing to our own homes, and we wanted to start tackling this big discussion with the help of our friends at the podcast, Conscious Chatter. Earlier this year, host Kestrel Jenkins spoke with Dana Zhaxylykova. Dana is an environmental scientist and microplastics researcher, who's originally from Kazakhstan and currently based in Germany. She uses Instagram to share practical and actionable tips about microplastics through a scientific lens.👖 Hear more from Kestrel and Conscious Chatter here.📷 Follow Conscious Chatter on Instagram.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram. (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
The climate crisis has a way of making hard things even harder — and that includes gender disparities. From their professional lives to their personal lives, climate change has left many women vastly under-resourced and at risk, all while taking on the heavy toll of caring for their families and communities through climate mitigation and resilience. In this episode, we hear how the climate gender gap is affecting our community, talk to WOCAN founder Jeannette Gurung about how women continue to work through vast climate inequities around the world, and we hear from Commons' founder and CEO Sanchali Seth Pal about how health disparities women face as a result of climate disaster. 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Aliya Hirji, Lin Diaz Maceo, Nicole Collins, Sobia Zaidi Episode expert: Jeannette GurungEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Introduction (01:57) - How gender perceptions affect sustainable behavior (04:50) - How our community experiences the climate gender gap (10:50) - Interview with WOCAN founder, Jeannette Gurung (25:21) - How climate change is disproportionately affecting women's health (31:52) - Outro
Planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence have us in a disposable consumption cycle. But it hasn't always been this way. When and why did we stop thinking things were worth fixing?In this episode, we get a history lesson in planned obsolescence, visit Adrienne Ferre, who is helping run a Makers Hub in LA, complete with a tool library and repair cafes. And we catch up on Right to Repair legislation with Commons' founder and CEO Sanchali Seth Pal. 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Season 3 submissions coming soon!📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Holly Kane, Katrina Rodabaugh, Maya Roman, Sare, Taylor Barkley, VerityEpisode expert: Adrienne FerreEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
This episode originally aired on June 12, 2024. Becoming more conscious consumers is a pivotal step in building a more sustainable economy, but how do we deconsume in a consumerist world? When we buy less, we save money, cut down on clutter, and lower our emissions. This collective shift has another big impact — helping us to steer the economy away from disposable products, unsustainable resource use, and dangerous supply chains.On this episode of Second Nature, we hear listeners' take on overconsumption and their tips for deconsumption. We also chat with climate activist and educator Lauren Bash about Buy Nothing groups, Repair Cafes, and her own deconsumption journey. Plus, we find out who's doing all this overconsuming and the impact it's having on the rest of the world.🌎 To see photos of our contributors as well as citations, and further reading, check the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.A great way to cut down on overconsumption is to get a handle on what you’re consuming. If you want a sustainable spending buddy to help you track the emissions of every purchase and gives you personalized tips, try the Commons app.Episode creditsListener contributions: Alyssa Barber, Amea Wadsworth, Andrea Reno, Caitlyn Luitjens, Daria Panova, Jonas Schäfer, Mac Hansen, Madeline Streilein, Nicole Collins, Rachel Orenstein, Timmin Vooijs, Willa StoutenbeekFeaturing: Lauren Bash and Sanchali Seth PalEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningha (00:00) - Introduction (04:06) - Overconsumption is everywhere (06:47) - Why does stuff make us so happy? We ask our community (10:05) - How do we overcome overconsumption? We ask Lauren Bash. (22:33) - What is the big-picture impact of all this stuff we’re buying? And what are we doing with it? (28:16) - Outro
Help us win a Webby! It only takes a minute to vote. Vote here!Often on urban lots, behind chain link fences, adorned with hand-painted signs, plots burgeoning with fruits, vegetables, and flowers, flanked by compost piles — the humble community garden feels like a salve for so much that ails us. On this Community Voices episode, we're going from Los Angeles to Brazil to hear how community gardens have brought people much more than fresh fruits and vegetables. With food prices on the rise and so many of us losing touch with the abundance of our communities, we thought it’d be nice to hear how community gardens have helped you, our community.🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Season 3 submissions coming soon!📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Dr. Sheridan Ross, Alexa Rivera, Clara, Nick Blocha, CamilleEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Introduction and the origin of community gardens (03:49) - Dr. Sheridan Ross in Compton Community Garden (06:54) - Nick in Illinois (09:05) - Camille in San Diego, California (10:29) - Alexa in Los Angeles, California (13:10) - Clara in Floripa, Brazil
The secondhand clothing market isn't equipped for textile recycling. So when your donated clothes don't sell, where do they end up?With the rise of overconsumption and fast fashion, clothes have piled up in thrift stores, landfills, and incinerators around the world. Countries like Ghana and Chile are dealing with fashion waste from countries like the U.S., UK, and China, and the impacts are vast. Mountains of clothes lead to fires, polluted waterways, dying ocean life, and lost livelihoods. So how do we stop the cycle? How can we donate with purpose and dignity, and get fashion brands to actually take accountability for the full lifecycle of their clothes?Listen to hear what our community does with their used clothes, how a new law could force companies to clean up their act, and how Los Angeles's Suay Sew Shop is dealing with the untenable amount of clothing donations from wildfire relief. ➡️ If you want to support Suay Sew Shop, you can browse their site here and contribute to their Textiles Aren't Trash fire relief campaign. By the way, you can earn rewards for Suay purchases and donations in the Commons app!🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Season 3 submissions coming soon!📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Holly Kane, Maya Roman, Nate Rauh-Bieri, NickEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:01) - Introduction (02:45) - Mirrored catastrophes in Ghana and California amplify the clothing crisis (06:43) - Community voices: What do you do with clothes you don't want anymore? (10:00) - Direct vs indirect donations (12:00) - An interview with Sumaq Alvarado del Aguila, one of the leaders at SUAY Sew Shop — an LA-based vertical sewing and production shop that's recycling millions of pieces of clothing (30:17) - Sanchali shares progress for clothing company regulation and responsibility (35:12) - Last looks and points to remember
In a capitalist society, value is measured in dollars and cents. But the resources we take from planet Earth can't be repaid in any kind of financial currency, and we're already paying the price for the debt we owe. So the question on many people's minds is "Can we even have ethical consumption under capitalism?" In this episode, we find out that despite having differing opinions on the answer to that question, we often agree on the solutions for what comes next.Listen to hear how our community answers the title question, economist and sociologist Juliet Schor helps us plan for what comes next, and Commons founder and CEO Sanchali Seth Pal explains how modern and historical boycotts can be tools for collective action.➡️ If you want to vote with your dollar, join our April challenge in the Commons app (available in U.S. and Canada) This Earth Month, we're avoiding the brands spending millions to block climate progress. 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Season 3 submissions coming soon!📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Shai, Nicole Wiegman, Tessa Maurer, Paulina Acosta, Haley Kline Murphy, Marina Savarese, Bhaskar, Haley, Maya Roman, Marta De PriscoEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Introduction (04:58) - Community montage: "Can we have ethical consumption under capitalism?" (08:36) - Earth Overshoot Day (10:11) - Interview with Juliet Schor, economist and sociologist (24:13) - Interview with Sanchali Seth Pal on the power of collective action and boycotts (32:19) - Outro
Feeling bummed out by climate setbacks? Or maybe you're outright angry? We're here for you. With 40% of Americans starting to align their money with their views, it's clear that we're ready to push back on recent climate challenges.In season 3 of Second Nature, we're balancing hope and action — from company boycotts to community gardens. With the help of community voices from around the world, top-tier experts, and a dose of history and data, we'll give you all the motivation and inspiration you need to take climate action that matters. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode! (00:00) - Trailer
This episode originally aired on June 4, 2024. We're about to break ground on season three, the soil outside is warming up and we're ready to get our hands in the dirt. So we wanted to revisit this episode as we prep our gardens for spring.Stoops, balconies, and windowsills are ripe for growing food. Today, we're riding out the ripple effect that urban gardening can have on our lives and the planet.Second Nature is your community for practical, sustainable living. On this episode, we're getting inspiration and practical tips to start small, fruitful home gardens in urban spaces. We're also talking about the carbon footprint of home gardens and realizing the ripple effect that growing our own food can have on our lives and the environment.🌎 To see photos of our contributors and their gardens as well as citations, and further reading, check the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Second Nature is a podcast by Commons, the sustainable spending app that tens of thousands of people use to track their footprint. Earn rewards for climate-friendly purchases and find new, action-based content in the app every week. Download the app and join our June Collective Challenge: Sustainable Transit. Episode creditsListener contributions: Sameera Mokkarala, Lindsay Kerns, Daria Panova, Brian Stancheski, Tara Haug, RooeyFeaturing: Nelson ZêPequéno and Sanchali Seth PalEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
This episode originally aired on July 9, 2024. As more and more people are boycotting big brands like Amazon, we thought it was the perfect time to bring back this episode about how ditching convenience culture can actually make us more sustainable citizens.Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our use of Amazon has skyrockted, making the company the second biggest U.S. parcel carrier after the US Postal Service. Amazon has become the poster child for convenience culture, but the time we save for the sake of convenience is putting us in financial and carbon debt. In this episode, we're grappling with our fraught relationship with our Amazon Prime subscriptions and getting practical tips to break free from convenience culture and start shopping more sustainably. On this episode, you'll hear:Listeners share their complex, conflicted feelings about using Amazon. MIT research scientist Erez Yoeli shares how we can have a more sustainable relationship with Amazon and how to close the action vs intent gap.How Amazon gets you to buy so much stuff and how its fast-paced shipping comes at the cost of workers' health and pay.🌎 For resources, photos of our contributors citations, and further reading, check the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode creditsListener contributions: Daria Panova, Diana Holguin, Freya Dumasia, Karen Jean and Rachel Martinson, Katee Hui, Kimberly Foley, Lawrence Hott, Miriam Jornet, Nicole Collins, Rozalia Agioutanti Featuring: Erez Yoeli and Sanchali Seth Pal Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
This episode originally aired on May 29, 2024. As we're prepping for season 3, we're revisiting this episode in honor of our February Collective Challenge in the Commons app: Boycott Fast Fashion. Join us!Fast fashion is cheap, but the low cost to customers comes at a high cost to garment workers, communities, and the environment. So, how do we break free from the fast fashion cycle?Second Nature is your community for practical, sustainable living. On this episode, we're commiserating with listeners over the allure of fast fashion and getting real tips to break free from it. Plus, we're doing the math on the impact of buying less fast fashion and talking to Kestrel Jenkins (journalist and host of Conscious Chatter) about the human cost of fast fashion. On this episode, you'll hear:Practical guidance from real-life, former fast fashion shopaholics. An interview with journalist and Conscious Chatter host Kestrel Jenkins about the human cost of fast fashion and how to recenter the supply chain in our buying habits. What happens when get this right? Commons CEO and founder Sanchali Seth Pal does the math on how ditching fast fashion can make a real carbon impact. 🌎 To see photos of our contributors, citations, and further reading, check the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Second Nature is a podcast by Commons, the sustainable spending app that tens of thousands of people use to track their footprint. Earn rewards for climate-friendly purchases like plant-based restaurants, and join collective challenges. Download the app and join May's collective challenge, Secondhand Shopping.Episode creditsListener contributions: Alyssa Barber, Drew Crabtree, Freya Dumasia, Hattie Webb, Kellie Rana, Lawrence Hott, Madeline Streilein, Miriam Jornet, Romina Román, Rozalia Agioutanti, Tavia Anon, Willa Stoutenbeek Featuring: Kestrel Jenkins and Sanchali Sate PalEditing and engineer: Evan GoodchildFact checking: Sophie JanaskieHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
We're excited to hear from your for season 3! Fill out this form to start your submission to Second Nature: https://j09c5.app.link/e/KfZvWw9izPbAfter you fill out the form, you'll receive questions based on the topics you chose, with details about how to submit your audio.At the end of this call for submissions, you heard the voices of listeners Jordan Webb, Cindy, and Artie Sadahiro. (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
When you’re trying to live more sustainably, fashion can be hard to navigate. The industry is ripe with greenwashing that masks exploitative practices for people and planet. But sustainable fashion is an expansive, exciting world of circularity, repair, and trustworthy, responsible brands.On this episode (our season 2 finale!), we’re coming face-to-face with the cost conversation when it comes to sustainable fashion, getting real about overconsumption, envisioning a practical future for the industry with fashion expert Samata Pattinson, and finding out what sustainable fashion means to you. Plus, we’re talking to Commons’ Carbon Strategy Manager Sophie Janaskie about what to look for in a sustainable brand. ➡️ If you’re struggling to find sustainable fashion brands that you can trust, we got you. The Commons team has researched and rated hundreds of fashion brands so you can skip the greenwashing. Check it out here: thecommons.earth🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Season 3 submissions coming soon!📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Alexa Rivera, Cindy, Danielle Bird, Faith Winston, Liv, Obehi Ehimen, Verity Editing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0 (00:00) - Marker 1
A third of the food we produce goes to waste, and a shocking amount of that waste happens in our own homes. The good news is that fighting food waste is easy with a few life hacks up your sleeve. And even better, it'll save you money too. In this episode, we hear what types of food our community struggles with and get their tips to curb the waste. We're asking plastic-free, low-waste chef Anne-Marie Bonneau about her recipes and tips to eat our food before it becomes waste. We're also reckoning with the amount of money we're tossing out with our food waste and finding out some surprising upsides to food delivery. 🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Amea Wadsworth, Anandi Yadav, Cindy, Jessica Tucker, Jordan Webb, Nick Blocha, Shayda Soleiman, Sierra Editing and engineer: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0 (00:00) - Marker 1