Gulf Streams

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. 

Ep. 22 The Risks of Carbon Capture and Storage

Pulling the carbon out of the air and storing it underground may sound like a dream solution to Climate Change, but 50 years into attempts it still isn't economically viable as a solution, and increasingly advocates worry about potential risks to human health and our environment related to carbon storage. We talk with Becky Smith of Clean Water Action and Paige Powell of Commission Shift to learn what Carbon Capture is and what the associated risks are. Later in the episode our research Jadyn Bray Boyce has a story on droughts in Texas, and our researcher Siena Yiin discusses compostable plastic. 

Ep. 21 Indigenous Foodways

In the first of a multi-episode series on the ramifications of meat production (on the environment, on animals, and on humans) we start by thinking of the cultural and spiritual importance of meat in society – and the important role that animals play in our ecosystem. Indigenous experts Lucille Contreras (Founder and CEO of Texas Tribal Buffalo Project) and Huatse Gyal (Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Rice University) share different ways of raising, rearing, and consuming meat and animal sourced foods. In the second half of the episode we also sit down with Hannah Pittman of Grounds Krewe to discuss how to make Mardi Gras more sustainable. 

Ep. 20 Reappearing Prairies

Prairie was once the dominant landscape throughout Houston and along the Texas coast. Today only a fraction remains. But local advocates are working to help restore the prairie throughout our landscapes and help us reimagine our relationship to our local (and urban) environments. We speak with Prof. Maggie Tsang of Rice University and Jaime Gonzalez of The Nature Conservancy to learn more about reimagining lawns and restoring native habitat. 

Ep. 19 Climate Migration

As the climate changes habitable landscapes are changing. Coasts are moving underwater, hot places are becoming unliveable, and formerly arable land is losing access to water. These changes are, and will, force migrants to seek new homes across the globe. We talk with Leticia Guiterrez (Air Alliance Houston), Aaron Ambroso (Houston Climate Justice Museum), and Kairn Klieman (University of Houston) about how climate change is already impacting refugees and driving migration across the globe – and what is to come.

Ep. 18 Regulation Evasion

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has been in the news this week across Texas for a story that exposes how industry polluters have managed to avoid regulation by misrepresenting their emission levels and going through less comprehensive regulatory processes than should be required. We sit down with three reporters who broke the story, Dylan Baddour (Inside Climate News), Martha Pskowski (Inside Climate News), and Alejandra Martinez (Texas Tribune) to talk about this statewide issue. 

Ep. 17 Petrochemicals

Petrochemicals are everywhere, but their use and manufacture involves highly toxic processes that endanger nearby communities across the globe. Gulf Streams host Dr. Weston Twardowski is joined by Chaney Hill (PhD Candidate at Rice University) to talk with Dr. Alice Mah (University of Glasgow) and Dr. Joseph Russo (Purchase College) about what petrochemicals are, how they impact local communities, and what organizers are doing to demand more responsible practices by industry around the world. 

Ep. 16 Concerns Over Recycling?

Recycling has a lot of positive connotations, after all, it's the green thing to do right? But with the prospect of a new advanced recycling plant opening in Houston – one that doesn't seem to be recycling – what are the risks around something most of us think of as an unqualified good. We talk with James Bruggers (Investigative Reporter at Inside Climate News), Jennifer Haidaya (Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston), and Brandy Deason (Climate Justice Coordinator at Air Alliance Houston), about this new development. 

Ep. 15 Elizabeth Rush

Putlizer Prize Finalist Elizabeth Rush joins us to discuss her recent book The Quickening: Creation and Community and the Ends of the Earth. In a conversation about her work we discuss her adventure to Antarctica, the dangers represented by a rapidly disintegrating glacier, and what it means to bring a child into the world in an age of uncertainty.