Gulf Streams

Ep. 32 Superfund Sites and Pollution in Houston

Jackie Medcalf, founder and Executive Director of Texas Health and Environment Alliance, joins us to discuss superfund sites in Houston, ongoing pollution challenges, and the risks of these sites to human health. 

Ep. 31 On the Move: Climate Migration with Abrahm Lustgarten

Today we're talking to Environmental Journalist and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Abrahm Lustgarten about his new book, On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America. Lustgarten argues that the coming decades will redefine where human beings can live on the Earth, and that this change will fundamentally reshape both population centers around the globe and the US. We'll dig into what this means for areas at risk, like Houston, but also how we might prepare for new waves of international and intra-national migration.

Ep. 30 Kids Doing the Work: Climate Corps and Young People Changing the World

Young people are leading the way on environmental action and building resilience. On today's episode, we sit down with American Youthworks: an organization working across Texas and Louisiana to build a climate corps of young people, giving them valuable job training and skills for a life in conservation and environmental repair work. We speak with four of their corps members and learn about how these young folks are beating climate anxiety by getting to work building a better planet. 

Ep. 29 Meat and Food Waste Reduction with Chef Anita Jaisinghani of Pondicheri

We sit down with Award Winning Chef Anita Jaisinghani, chef and co-owner of Pondicheri Cafe in Houston and author of Masala: Recipes from India, the Land of Spices, to talk about the role our diets play in climate change and our environment. We discuss the importance of reducing our meat intake for our health and our planet, ways of doing so, and how restaurants can lead the way in lowering food waste. 

Ep. 28 No Wasted Space: Turning Empty Downtown Buildings in Farms

Repurposed empty downtown buildings have become a constant talking point post-pandemic. What can we use this valuable real estate for now that office spaces are downsizing? We talk to Cath Conlon (CEO Blackwood Educational Land Institute) about the SkyFarm on top of POST Houston and Bart Womack (CEO Eden Grow Systems) about indoor farming in the historic Esperson Building.

Ep. 27 Energy Futures: Live from CERAweek and a New Houston Project

This week we have two stories focused on energy. Up first, we speak with Christ Tomlinson (Houston Chronicle Business Columnist) about the annual CERAweek energy conference which just concluded in Houston. Then we talk to Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry (Founding Co-Directors of Land Art Generator) about their international design competition Land Art Generator (www.landartgenerator.org) combining art and energy and a new public art work with the ability to power 40 homes coming to Houston in the near future. 

Ep. 26 Bargaining for the Common Good: Labor, Unions and the Environmental Movement

As climate change shifts industries and economies, how can we ensure that labor has a seat at the table? We sit down with Dr. Claire Ravenscroft (International Christian University, Tokyo) and Dr. Casey Williams (Rice University) to discuss what labor activism can teach the environmental movement, and how we can work to ensure good clean jobs in a new economy. Later in the hour our researcher Siena talks with Dr. Dominic Boyer (Rice University) about flood resilience in Houston. 

Ep. 25 Pork

Pork is the most produced meat globally, and is only growing in popularity. On today's episode, we sit down with Dr. Alex Blanchette (Tufts University) and Dr. Mindi Schneider (Brown University) to discuss how the global pork market is evolving and the consequences for our environment based on the way we raise our pigs. 

Ep. 24 Beef

The second in our series on meat production, we dive into the history of beef production. How did America create the modern industrial beef industry and how does this history help us reimagine what the future of industrial agriculture could be? I'm joined by our researcher Jadyn Bray-Boyce who joins me in a conversation with Dr. Joshua Specht, Associate Professor of History at Notre Dame and author of Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table-History of How Beef Changed America. 

Ep. 23 Forever Chemicals

In the second piece in our series on plastics, we're discussing PFAs (Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances): a type of so called "Forever Chemical" that are in a remarkable breadth of consumer products, and, increasingly, our food, water, and blood. On today's episode we discuss what these substances are, why the use of them is growing, and what's being done to address these materials and the plastics that they are in. We're joing by Jenny Gitlitz (Director of Solutions to Plastic Pollution at Beyond Plastics), Brandy Deason (Climate Justice Coordinator of Plastic Pollution at Air Alliance Houston), and Dr. Michael S. Wong (Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemcial and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University) to discuss this problem and potential solutions.