PODCAST · society
This Sustainable Life
by Joshua Spodek: Author, Speaker, Professor
Do you care about the environment but feel “I want to act, but if no one else does, it won't make a difference,” and “But if you don't solve everything, it isn't worth doing anything”? We are the antidote! You're not alone. Hearing role models overcome the same feelings to enjoy acting on their values creates meaning, purpose, community, and emotional reward. Want to improve as a leader? Bestselling author, 3-time TEDx speaker, leadership speaker, coach, and professor Joshua Spodek, PhD, MBA, brings joy and inspiration to acting on the environment. You'll learn to lead without relying on authority. We bring you leaders from many areas — business, politics, sports, arts, education, and more — to share their expertise for you to learn from. We then ask them to share and act on their environmental values. That's leadership without authority — so they act for their reasons, not out of guilt, blame, doom, gloom, or someone telling them what to do.
Episodes
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863: Robert Parkinson: Tyrants and Rogues: Understanding the Declaration of Independence
I can't help but copy from my blog post on finishing reading Robert's book. It describes what to expect from the first half of our conversation and his book. The second half of our conversation relates the revolutionary era and leadership today applied to a situation that is far closer to their...
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862: Andrew Levy: A role model for today: Robert Carter III freed more slaves than any other American
Regular readers of my blog know how important Robert Carter III has become to me as a role model. He inspires me. I believe this episode will inspire many of you. If you don't know who he is, you're in luck. Here is a post of mine with links to many resources on him: Resources on Robert Carter…
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861: Cara Judea Alhadeff, part 1: Actually acting, the joys we feel, and the friction we face
A mutual friend introduced Cara and me. He knew we both were doing our best to live by our values in avoiding hurting others through pollution and depletion. On the face of it, our living situations look different. Her family converted a bus into a home. I disconnected my apartment from the...
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860: Christopher Ryan, part 1: Civilized to Death
The predominant responses to the idea of polluting and depleting less include fears of reverting to the Stone Age, losing civilization, being invaded by aggressive opponents, dying at 30, dying from small cuts, and reverting to a past viewed as worse than today. My upcoming book describes why we...
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859: Jack El-Hai: The Nazi, the Psychiatrist, Nuremberg, and Why to Find Humanity in Those We Call Monsters
How do you make sense of an entire society or nation violating its values? Consider Germany in the 1930s, in which a whole nation seemed to embrace Nazism. It's tempting to say they're all monsters, but how could over 50 million people change in a few years? Not genetics. They must have been no...
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858: Beth Bailey, the great-grandmother influencer leading the cleaning of Mérida, Mexico
As a great-grandmother, Beth probably wouldn't describe herself as an influencer, but what else do you call it when videos of her go viral and prompt people to follow her? Longtime podcast listeners may remember episode 754: (Aunt) Trish Ellis and (Niece) Evelyn Wallace, part 1: Not Even Cancer...
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857: Kim Stanley Robinson: Science fiction writing and leadership
I met Stan in person at an event in Brooklyn. I had read Ministry for the Future a few years ago. He pointed out something I hadn't noticed since most people identify him as a science fiction writer. Ministry for the Future isn't exactly science fiction. He projects into the future, but he only...
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856: David Jenkins, President of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship
Most environmentalists that I know of consider themselves progressive or liberal. They propose solutions that increase regulation and grow government, often in the style of the New Deal. Their role models are generally also progressive and liberal. They present conservatives as opponents, even...
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855: Peter DeCarlo PhD: Shocking Cancer Alley research from the scientist who did it
That this country has a region called Cancer Alley is beyond tragic. We know we're causing it, not just the companies operating the polluting refineries and other industrial plants. All of us who buy their products are funding them. I wondered if it was fair to call the region Cancer Alley. Is…
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854: John Perkins, part 2: New Book Preview: The Art of the Steal (and restoring American ideals)
John returns to describe his upcoming book The Art of the Steal: Trump and the Economic Hit Man Presidency, described as his best book of the Economic Hit Man series. I'm honored that he came to this podcast first. Longtime listeners and readers know how much of an impression Confessions of an...
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853: Kate Williams: CEO, 1% for the Planet
I'd seen the "1% for the Planet" logo many times and figured it was an organization that helped, but I didn't think of how. The businessman in me wondered, shouldn't companies just lower prices 1% and let people donate what they want? Does one percent make much difference? Kate was passing…
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852: Steven Pressfield, conversation 2: His new book, The Arcadian (and A Man at Arms)
It turns out Steven's readers split into two camps with little overlap. I figure most listeners belong to the War of Art camp. If you haven't read the book and want to live a better life, I recommend it, in the top few percent of recommendations. It's powerful, engaging, memorable, and short. The...
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851: J. Eric Oliver: How to Know Yourself
This podcast is about leadership first and foremost, applied to sustainability. Most of the time when people hear or read "sustainability," that concept overrides everything else. They forget or don't notice else, but here, in this podcast it comes second. If you haven't developed the social and...
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850: AJ Harper, part 1: Write to change lives, including yours
Two core elements of leadership are effective communication and creating community. AJ has done both. I can attest from taking her writing workshop and participating in her author community since. I wrote the first draft of Sustainability Simplified in her workshop. I also valued the book she...
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849: Josh Bandoch, part 3: How to Get What You Want: Mastering the Art and Science of Persuasion
Josh Bandoch published a book on persuasion, influence, and leadership: How to Get What You Want: Mastering the Art and Science of Persuasion. I wish I'd had this book decades ago. It handles myths many people hold about persuasion that hold people back, then builds up the skills and theory to...
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848: Peter Simek, part 1: EarthX's CEO
I met Peter in person at a local (Manhattan) event that EarthX hosted for media people. I was invited for hosting this podcast. We spoke about leadership and sustainability. We focused on crossing political boundaries. We shared about our successes in these efforts, how important we consider such...
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847: Tzeporah Berman: Ending Fossil Fuels by Treaty
I met Tzeporah at an event called Climate Week NYC last fall. She was nearly the only person there who spoke about decreasing and stopping extracting fossil fuels. I had to bring her here. Our conversation grew more compelling and interesting as we spoke. The early parts about energy sources...
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846: Gail Eisnitz: The Inside Story of a Life Investigating Factory Farms
Gail shares her investigations into meat industry practices, exploring how exorbitant slaughterhouse production line speeds in a consolidated slaughter industry affect animals as they are being handled and killed, and how the proliferation of massive factory farms impacts animals being raised in...
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845: Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon: The War on Cars and Life After Cars
Doug and Sarah's podcast The War on Cars is a podcast that delivers news and commentary on the latest developments in the worldwide fight to undo a century’s worth of damage wrought by the automobile, approaching the topic from all angles, from politics to pop culture. They release two regular...
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844: Maya Lilly, part 1: Effective Storytelling and Producing The Years Project
Since I've seen Maya's work on the Years Project with people like executive producers James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, I was worried I might feel starstruck. Oh wait, she also worked with series creators Joel Bach and David Gelber (of 60 Minutes); chief science advisors podcast guest…
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843: Judith Enck, part 2: The Problem with Plastic (the Book)
Judith just published The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late. I've read a lot about plastic and hosted many authors. I won't lie. Before starting the book, I thought I should read it because I knew her, but didn't expect much. Instead, I learned a...
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842: Silvia Bellezza, part 1.5 and 2: When at first you don't succeed
Since Silvia teaches as a business school, I'll address a leadership aspect of our interaction. I skimped on a leadership step, so we did an episode 1.5, which is my lingo for redoing episode 1 when the person wasn't able to fulfill his or her commitment. That's my responsibility as leader of the...
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841: Sandra Goldmark, part 1: Fixation: How to Have Stuff without Breaking the Planet
How often does something break that you know could be fixed, but you don't know how and there are no places to fix it? I remember repair stores all over the place, but the field doesn't exist any more. We all know about planned obsolescence and how products are designed to break. Now we feel we...
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840: Dr. Leonardo Trasande, part 1: Sicker, Fatter, Poorer: The Urgent Threat of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals to Our Health and Future ... and What We Can Do About It
I found Dr. Trasande quoted in a Washington Post article The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about: Phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, are linked to an array of problems, especially in pregnancy. He said, "Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are one of the biggest global health...
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839: Saabira Chaudhuri: Consumed: Throwaway Plastic Has Corrupted Us
Reading Saabira's New York Times piece Throwaway Plastic Has Corrupted Us told me she saw more about plastic and its effect on our culture than most. A quote from it: "The social costs of our addiction to disposable plastics are more subtle but significant. Cooking skills have declined. Sit-down...
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838: Zach Rabinor, part 2: What if your business and values clash?
Zach and I got so into our first conversation that we had to take a second one to get to the Spodek Method. Listen for yourself, but I hear Zach working with three motivations: His surfer, outdoors self wants to conserve, protect, and enjoy nature and enable others to do the same by experiencing...
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837: Zach Rabinor, part 1: Getting serious about sustainable travel?
I met Zach at an event I spoke at sponsored by the Young Presidents Organization, whose members tend to be successful in business. The criteria to join require it. I knew the people would be friendly, but suspected they would pollute and deplete more than most without realizing it. Zach plays a...
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836 Dr. Robert Fullilove, part 5: Unsustainability is upstream of imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and racism
Since our fourth recording, Dr. Bob and I spoke at length about what's driving me and keeping me going beyond where nearly anyone else does on sustainability leadership. We cover in this recording most of that conversation, plus we go in other directions. He shares the commonalities of what he…
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835: At last! I can access my roof to charge solar for the first time in 18 months.
This week, I charged my solar panel and battery on my roof for the first time for over 18 months. My building had to do maintenance during which no residents could access the roof. They told us the job would take 5 months, but it took over 18. They also didn't say exactly when it would start…
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834: Do Americans Know How to Prepare Food From Scratch?
Late summer means produce at peak ripeness, especially peaches and heirloom tomatoes. Regular readers of my blog and subscribers to my newsletter have read of how my volunteering to bring overstock food from stores to places that give it to anyone for free has led to my getting for free amounts I...
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833: Aaron Blaise: A Master Disney Director and Animator on Self Expression, Leadership, and Nature
Aaron and I met after I got to see a screening of his recent short animated film Snow Bear. I knew about Aaron's achievements from participating in some of the biggest animated movies of all time. I expected to talk about art, creativity, and expression, topics I love. We did, after first hitting...
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832: Robert Fullilove, part 4: Action in the Center of Civil Rights in the 1960s
Dr. Bob worked in the heart of the US Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. He shares stories of his interactions with Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture), John Lewis, and more. In earlier conversations with him, I shared what brought me to him. I had been telling people who acted as if acting on...
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831: Glenn Hubbard: Dean of Columbia Business School on Adam Smith and Leadership
I can't help but call Glenn "Dean Hubbard" since I met him as a student at Columbia Business School. That was 2005, making him one of the guests I've known the longest. I invited him to the podcast after seeing a talk he gave on the 300th birthday of Adam Smith. My recent learning more about…
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830: Jo Nemeth, part 2: Nature improves time with loved ones
We jumped in to talking about her Spodek Method commitment. She lives in a suburban area. There's a place near her that borders on bush, which I guess is Australian for undeveloped land. This spot with a bench designed for experiencing nature has been a short walk away from her for a long time…
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829: Adam Galinsky, part 1: Do you love being inspired? He wrote the book on it.
Adam teaches leadership at Columbia Business School, where I learned there were classes in leadership, which changed the direction of my life. Regular listeners know I consider leadership the most important missing element in sustainability. To change the environmental effects we're barreling…
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828: Richard Reeves: For Boys and Men: support and love over misunderstanding
When people talk about helping men, a lot of people think any and maybe every man might just have latent misogyny, so helping him risks augmenting misogyny. Richard Reeves has researched the situation extensively and for whatever advantages they (we) once had in some areas, still have in some of...
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827: Chris Berdik: Scientific American loved his book Clamor (so did I)
Sound pollution is pollution. You know it's been growing for your whole life with little sign of decreasing. I wish I lived in a world with less sound pollution, but given that I do, I'd rather be aware and conscious of it than not know. Ignorance of how much sound was affecting me wasn't…
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826: Jo Nemeth, part 1: Living without money frees her to do what she loves
Can you imagine living without money? Humans lived without money for 250,000 years, so it's not necessary for life. Money seems like an invention on par with the big ones, like fire, the wheel, writing, and language. Right off the bat, Jo shares how her life before choosing to live without money...
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825: Ryan Mandelbaum, part 2: Rising to the challenge of random acts of friendliness
Ryan shares his experience approaching people to share in his joy. The task is not easy anywhere, least of all the Bronx, where he doesn't live but was visiting. Do people in the big city want to hear why some guy is walking around looking at trees and the sky? They wouldn't know he was bird...
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824: Dr. Rob Reed, part 2: Learning to love leading effectively
Rob starts by sharing his experience from leadership coaching in the context of a hospital with people in intensive care as well as their families. Situations are often emotionally intense. Treating just facts doesn't work, or can work against you. It can be "terribly ineffective" (not unique to...
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823: Mark Mills, part 5: We’ll Never Have an Energy Transition
Reading Mark's recent piece We’ll Never Have an Energy Transition in Manhattan Institute's City Journal prompted me to write my recent post, When they say “transition fuel,” they mean “more polluting and depleting,” not less pollution or depletion. Read them both and you'll see he inspired what I...
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822: Ryan Mandelbaum, part 1: Wildlife Is Everywhere, Including (especially) NYC (and where you live)
This recording went far beyond my usual preference for recording with guests in person when I can. We met in Prospect Park on one of the peak birding days of the year. Tons of people were out with powerful binoculars and cameras. You'll hear lots of birds chirping in th background and even people...
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821: Rob Reed MD, part 1: Learning leadership transforms your life and work
Rob is one of my coaching clients. I asked him to be a guest here since many people perceive leadership and learning it as different than I mean. His work in medicine may not be at the center of sustainability, but I work in leadership, which I apply to sustainability. Listen to this episode to...
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820: Andy Samuel CBE: From worry before the workshop to Fun and Community during and after
Are you thinking about acting more but concerned about feeling guilty or judged that you aren't doing enough? If so, you'll love this conversation. I feel honored to work with people with Andy's background and community, which you'll hear about in our conversation. Despite his working with prime...
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819: A Course in Sustainability Leadership: 6: Our Brighter Future
This last recording in the series brings together the opportunities. We can't fix all the world's problems or to go back in time and change history. We can't change that people are already dying by the tens of millions annually from environmental problems, a number projected to increase by…
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818: A Course in Sustainability Leadership: 5: The Celebrity Opportunities
Look up "Greatest of All Time" on Wikipedia and you'll find Muhammad Ali. This lesson shares how he went from being just the heavyweight champion of the world to the greatest of all time, transcending sport to becoming a statesman. Business people say "culture eats strategy for breakfast," and…
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817: A Course in Sustainability Leadership: 4: The Political Opportunities
Sustainability has become a polarized partisan political issue, despite everyone wanting clean air, land, water, and food. In the US, neither the Democrats nor Republicans have a vision of or plan to sustainability. Both rely on purported solutions that exacerbate and accelerate our current...
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816: A Course in Sustainability Leadership: 3: Business/Entrepreneurial Opportunities
The solution in video 3---the Spodek Method---creates a new, more effective situation than anything I know of in sustainability. People act on their own motivation that they felt before I met them. Instead of me motivating them, it was more like I unleashed and inspired them. That's the…
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815: A Course in Sustainability Leadership: 2: The Solution
Now that we understand our environmental problems as cultural, proposals based in technology, market incentives, and legislation don't address the problem. They generally won't achieve the desired outcome and will often achieve the opposite. I share my path toward discovering a solution that…
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814: A Course in Sustainability Leadership: 1: The Actual Problem
Do you think our environmental problems are rooted in greenhouse gas levels or emissions? Or biodiversity loss? Or any of what makes the headlines? They are symptoms. They all result from our behavior, which results from our beliefs, stories, role models, images, and what makes up our culture. If...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Do you care about the environment but feel “I want to act, but if no one else does, it won't make a difference,” and “But if you don't solve everything, it isn't worth doing anything”?
We are the antidote! You're not alone. Hearing role models overcome the same feelings to enjoy acting on their values creates meaning, purpose, community, and emotional reward.
Want to improve as a leader? Bestselling author, 3-time TEDx speaker, leadership speaker, coach, and professor Joshua Spodek, PhD, MBA, brings joy and inspiration to acting on the environment. You'll learn to lead without relying on authority.
We bring you leaders from many areas — business, politics, sports, arts, education, and more — to share their expertise for you to learn from. We then ask them to share and act on their environmental values. That's leadership without authority — so they act for their reasons, not out of guilt, blame, doom, gloom, or someone telling them what to do.
HOSTED BY
Joshua Spodek: Author, Speaker, Professor
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does This Sustainable Life have?
This Sustainable Life currently has 871 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is This Sustainable Life about?
Do you care about the environment but feel “I want to act, but if no one else does, it won't make a difference,” and “But if you don't solve everything, it isn't worth doing anything”? We are the antidote! You're not alone. Hearing role models overcome the same feelings to enjoy acting on their...
How often does This Sustainable Life release new episodes?
This Sustainable Life releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 871 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
Where can I listen to This Sustainable Life?
You can listen to This Sustainable Life on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts This Sustainable Life?
This Sustainable Life is created and hosted by Joshua Spodek: Author, Speaker, Professor.
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