Ep. 9 - Reframing Resistance (Live from NYC Climate Week)

Bringing frontline stories into focus.For this special season finale, recorded live during NYC Climate Week, host Shilpi Chhotray convenes a powerful storytelling event with three frontline media makers: Chantel Comardelle, Alexandra Norris, and B. Preston Lyles.This is more than a conversation about films or campaigns — it’s an intimate window into the lived realities of climate and environmental injustice. From Indigenous land loss in Louisiana, to the ongoing fight against the petrochemical buildout in Cancer Alley, to exposing the violence of toxic prisons, this discussion centers the human stories too often sidelined in mainstream climate narratives.Our guests speak candidly about their experiences, what sustains them in the face of systemic harm, why frontline voices must lead solutions, and how storytelling itself becomes a vital tool of resistance, survival, and collective power.This live storytelling event was made possible in partnership with Dr. Margot Brown, Senior Vice President of Justice and Equity at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Frontline Resource Institute. Special thanks to Chess Jakobs, Counterstream Media’s Impact Producer, who produced this event.Key TopicsFrontline climate and environmental justice: Stories from communities directly impacted by the climate crisis  and extractive industries.Indigenous displacement: The Isle de Jean Charles Choctaw Nation and climate-driven migration.Sharon Lavigne’s fight against petrochemical expansion in Cancer AlleyToxic prisons: The intersection of mass incarceration, environmental harm, and systemic injustice.How spiritual grounding and faith sustains organizing. Using film and media to reclaim narratives and highlight underrepresented stories.Narrative power: How media shapes perception, policy, and the climate movement’s priorities.ResourcesLet No One Lose HeartToxic Prisons CampaignRise St. JamesPreserving Our PlaceIsle de Jean Charles Choctaw NationFrontline Resource InstituteEnvironmental Defense FundLearn more at apeoplesclimate.orgWe want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] and let us know your thoughts.Love what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review—it helps others discover the show.Find us instagram: @counterstream_media