Hot & Bothered: a climate podcast

Thank you for joining us for Season 2 of Hot & Bothered. 

We’re closing out the season and our water and environmental justice series with Giulio Salerno, Deputy Director of the Wild Oyster Project in the SF Bay Area. Learn about how we’ve changed the bay itself over the years, and what and why the Wild Oyster Project is doing to bring oysters back.  Follow Wild Oysters and find out how to get involved at https://wildoysters.org. Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions. Resources: https://thewatershedproject.org/ https://www.rowanjacobsen.com/books/the-living-shore Music by QubeSounds.

What’s with the delay you ask?! Oh, you didn’t notice? Well let me tell you about my two week adventure in Bali for an experimental conference, the fourth Digital Naturalism Conference. There’s boat people, missing tardigrades, and dinosaurs, oh my! Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions. Resources:  https://www.dinacon.org/, https://2025.dinacon.org/ https://www.seacommunities.com/ https://www.scubadiving.com/pak-eka-named-june-25-sea-hero https://www.alieward.com/ologies/tardigradology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buugeng https://visitnorthbali.bulelengkab.go.id/informasi/detail?kode=34020313&slug=rumah-plastik-mandiri https://www.arkakinari.org/l https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/filastine-and-nova-arka-kinari-ship-stranded-pacific-ocean-pandemic/ Laut Loud - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHONUjU6RafM0ny32U9cR-pMUXB0uVekS  Music by QubeSounds.

While flash flooding does make headlines in DC—like the dog daycare center in Northeast that flooded in August 2023 leaving 10 dogs dead—we don’t as often hear about how chronic flooding is increasingly problematic for certain District residents. This week, Hola Cultura Assistant Editor and investigative journalist Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe walks us through what he uncovered about the disproportionate impact flooding is having on poorer DC communities, stories of individuals being hardest hit, how climate change is exacerbating the problem, and the solutions that are bringing the most hope.   You can find Marcelo on LinkedIn and learn more about Hola Cultura here. You can also catch Marcelo hosting Hola Cultura’s podcast, “The Climate Divide,” which examines DC’s heat islands and related health disparities along racial, ethnic and class lines.   Resources: The Hidden Costs of Flooding in D.C.’s Poorest Wards | Pulitzer Center (by Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe) DC Flood Task Force Other Hola Cultura investigative reporting: Development is wiping out trees in less-affluent parts of Washington, DC, putting residents’ health at risk, grantee finds - The Fund for Investigative Journalism Investigative Series: D.C.’s Heat Islands / Serie: Islas De Calor En D.C. | Hola Cultura  

Getting our feet wet with our water and environmental justice series we are joined by Walt Ray who is the Chattahoochee Program Director for The Trust for Public Lands. He shares all about the process of creating a 100+ mile network of greenways, blueways, and parks along the river and connecting Metro Atlanta. Listen to learn about their collective impact methodology and how to launch a similar project in your community.     Follow Walt on LinkedIn. Find out more about the Chattahoochee RiverLands on their website.  

In our closing biodiversity episode, we sit down with Amber Hasselbring to hear about the work that Nature in the City is doing to save butterflies and connect people with nature. Find Nature in the City on the web at natureinthecity.org and on Instagram at @natureinthecity. Follow them on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/nature-in-the-city-projects-sf. Become a Nature Keeper to support their work for local wild places. Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Resources: Biodiversity Factsheet from WHO Reimagining San Francisco Music by QubeSounds.

Seeing a river otter trotting around the National Mall is cute, but predators like otters returning to the region is also an indicator of the Anacostia River’s improving health! This week, we are back in DC speaking with Jorge Bogantes Montero, Natural Resources Specialist at the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS). He explains to us how the various restoration, reforestation, and educational activities AWS leads are having an outsized impact. From planting wild rice in the marshes, to propagating freshwater mussels, to invasive plant management—listen in to hear all about the amazing progress being made to boost biodiversity along the Anacostia, ultimately improving the health of the watershed and surrounding communities. Oh! And if you’re local, you can join their discovery boat tours, trash pickups, mussel surveys, and paddling excursions (see events calendar link below). You can find Jorge on LinkedIn and learn more about the Anacostia Watershed Society here. Resources: -          Anacostia River Cameras Show Native Wildlife Returning | DCist (includes pics!) -          North American River Otter Spotted Near the Tidal Basin | DCist (includes pics!) -          Climate Change Is Hurting River Water Quality | Maryland Today   -          Anacostia Watershed Society - Events Calendar   Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Music by QubeSounds.

Launching into our series about the importance of Biodiversity in our cities, we are joined by Alex Dileo, Founding Board Chair of the Intown Atlanta Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society. Alex brings her passion and patience learned from her own yard to grow a group of Atlantans who are interested in spreading native plant knowledge, appreciation, and protection. Listen to learn how to join or create a similar group in your own community.   Follow Alex on Instagram and on LinkedIn. Find out more about Georgia Native Plant Society on their website.   

On our last episode on sustainable design, Liz Cahill shares with us the wonder of clothing swaps and takes us on a tour de force of BuyNothing groups in San Francisco. Follow Liz on LinkedIn or Instagram. Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Resources: Double Vision Thrift Buy Nothing No Rules San Francisco Free Clothing San Francisco Fancy Free SF Music by QubeSounds.

On our San Francisco stop on sustainable design, we have our first of two episodes with Liz Cahill, co-founder of Decentered Arts! Join us as Liz takes on on her upcycling journey, from her frugal origins to becoming a trash fashion icon. If you just touch the trash, you too may find love and community. Follow Liz on LinkedIn or Instagram and the Piles Collective on Instagram. Find Hot & Bothered on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Resources: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyxsalazar/ https://www.instagram.com/pilesofsanfrancisco Music by QubeSounds.

Sustainable design is no stranger to the DC Public School system! In our second episode on sustainable design, we bring in Heather Jauregui, Director of Sustainability at design firm Perkins Eastman, to share the work her firm has been doing to rebuild, revitalize, and renovate at least 14 DC public school buildings since the district dedicated $4 billion in 2007 to make its facilities healthier, more energy efficient, and sound. Come explore the far-reaching effects of “net positive education.” You can find Heather on LinkedIn and learn more about Perkins Eastman here. Resources: Latrobe Prize Study Produces New Insights into Benefits of School Modernization (full report as well as a more approachable summary) Net Positive Education Green New Deal (GND) for DC and Green New Deal for Schools - Sunrise Movement This Hyper-Sustainable Elementary School Is the First of its Kind   Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Music by QubeSounds.

Welcome to Season 2 and our series on Sustainable Design! We're kicking it off with Lawson Sumner, Co-founder and Chief Engineer at Ampere EV, one of Forbes 2025 30 under 30. Lawson is a graduate from Georgia Institute of Technology who co-developed an aftermarket EV powertrain that can turn any vehicle into an electric vehicle. We learn about his passion for motorsports and how Ampere EV is bringing this technology to antique and modern vehicles. Follow Lawson and AmpereEV on Instagram and on LinkedIn. Find out more about Ampere EV on their website.    Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Music by QubeSounds.

Join us for our launch of Season 2 of Hot and Bothered: a climate podcast! We discuss the season 2 topics and what we've been up to since Season 1! Join us weekly throughout the summer for new episodes.  Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions. Music by QubeSounds.

Join us for our reflection on Season 1 of Hot and Bothered! We share our ideas for Season 2 and ways to get involved, including a call for additional hosts to expand the pod. Email us at [email protected] if you’re interested! Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community (it’s free!) to help us evolve the podcast. Resources: The Night That Changed San Francisco Cycling Forever | KQED Flooding rushed into a doggy day care. A dispatcher called it a water leak. Hola Cultura Tiny little D.C. has more green buildings than most states : NPR mossy.earth Wolves saved Yellowstone National Park - The Northern Range Mr. Trash Wheel Refuse Refuse San Francisco CalWave Climatebase Fellowship Terra.do Work on Climate Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.

Join us for our last episode for Season 1 to learn about “green infrastructure” from Travys Harper, Trees Atlanta’s first Green Infrastructure Manager. He shares his ideas about what to plant and designs on channeling your rainwater to not only benefit your gardens but how it can play a vital role in combating climate change in your local watersheds.  Follow Travys on LinkedIn and Trees Atlanta on Instagram.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community (it’s free!) to help us evolve the podcast. Resources: Trees Atlanta City of Atlanta green infrastructure plan  Rain Gardens in Home Landscapes Presentation from University of Georgia’s Extension Office Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.

Can’t get enough of trees and green infra? We got you! We sat down with Paawan Kothari from Friends of the Urban Forest about why and how we’re stubbornly trying to get trees to grow where there once were sand dunes. Listen for the low down on those winter storms and some ways to help our pollinator friends.   You can find Paawan on LinkedIn and Friends of the Urban Forest at friendsoftheurbanforest.org. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Follow us on LinkedIn and join our Patreon community (it’s free!) to help us evolve the podcast. Resources: Adopt a Yard Tree Certified Wildlife Habitat Programs Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.

We all know trees remove carbon from the atmosphere, but tree canopy also plays an important role in lowering surface temperatures. In this week’s episode of Hot & Bothered, Marymount University Associate Biology Professor Dr. Susan Agolini (pictured here with her daughter at a tree planting event in Arlington) walks us through a heat mapping study conducted in the county, what the study uncovered about the interplay between surface temperatures and socioeconomics, and the role tree canopy plays in keeping the county cooler… plus local efforts underway to protect existing canopy and plant more trees! You can find Susan on LinkedIn.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod!   Resources:   Arlington Tree Canopy study: New Tree Canopy Data from Civic Federation Webinar — Arlington Tree Action Group The Lancet: Planting more trees could decrease deaths from higher summer temperatures in cities by a third, modelling suggests EcoAction Arlington: Tree Canopy Fund; Tree Canopy Equity Program  Arlington County, VA: Grants to Plant or Maintain Trees on Private Property Arlington Tree Action Group  

How do you shift a metro from car-centric to safe for all types of mobility? We close out our Transportation series with Rebecca Serna, Executive Director of Propel ATL. Listen in as Rebecca shares her experience working with a nonprofit organization that advocates for safe streets for all, working closely with the City of Atlanta to reduce traffic fatalities, and celebrating non-automotive transportation options.  Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn and Propel ATL on Instagram.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Atlanta Vision Zero Vision Zero SF League of American Bicyclists America Walks

What's it like to create accessible bike infrastructure? This week, we sit down with Christopher Kidd to get a city planner’s point of view. Christopher is the project manager for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's Active Communities Plan. Find out about the hurdles they’ve faced with the bicycle master plan and how they’re working to make sustainable transportation inclusive to all - both people and devices! If you live in SF, answer their survey and look at their schedule of events! Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Building California: Deal that will speed up infrastructure projects signed into law  You Want to Ride Your Bicycle? A Look into the Active Communities Plan | SPUR Work Commute Mode Choice | Vital Signs Greenhouse Gas Inventories | DC DOEE CleanPowerSF | City Performance Scorecards (Correction: 60% not 75% renewable)  The San Francisco housing crisis, compared with other major cities Washington, D.C. and San Francisco | SPUR   Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.

Boosting access to eco-friendly methods of transportation is key to achieving a low-carbon future, and we need to invite everyone to the party. In this week’s episode, Marley Blonsky talks to us about co-founding All Bodies on Bikes, a non-profit working to create a size-inclusive bike community through judgment-free community rides. Marley shares how biking is a key player in a low-emissions future, how she’s working with sporting goods companies to create clothing and equipment that improves access for all, and how the size-inclusive bike movement has implications for other marginalized communities. Bonus: an All Bodies on Bikes chapter is opening in the DC area (and maybe your city, too)!  You can find Marley on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: The Podcast — All Bodies on Bikes All Bodies on Bikes Local Chapters How riding a bike benefits the environment Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.

As we close out our 3-part series on Food Systems, we are joined by Natasha Dyer in Atlanta to learn more about composting wasted food. Natasha is a circular economy professional who transitioned her career from fashion to composting and is now focused on the entire waste stream through the SWEEP Standard. We learn about her passion for diverting wasted food and get tips on starting a community compost program.  Follow Natasha on Instagram and The SWEEP Standard on LinkedIn.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: The SWEEP Standard SF composting history and 2022 California state-wide mandate progress Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.

We’re diving into food again! This week, we chat with San Francisco Bay Area native Dan Kurzrock about how he’s fighting food waste. Dan is CEO and Co-Founder of Upcycled Foods, Inc. We cover his unlikely climate origin story, how they're upcycling and innovating, to growing an upcycled food movement. Follow Upcycled Foods, Inc. at upcycledfoods.com, LinkedIn, or Instagram Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Reduced Food Waste | Project Drawdown Upcycled Food Association Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.

Ever wonder what work is being done to make our food system more sustainable? Meet Mike Ross, co-founder and CEO of Beanstalk Farms–a vertical farming venture based in Herndon, VA (just outside of Washington, DC). In our very first episode, Mike shares how his innovative farming methods have sustainability–as well as efficiency and nutrition–at heart. You can find Mike on LinkedIn and Beanstalk Farms on Insta and Facebook. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Environmental Impacts of Food Production - Our World in Data How Two Alexandria Brothers Transformed a Data Center into an Indoor Farm (northernvirginiamag.com) Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.

Welcome to Hot & Bothered, a podcast showcasing the inspiring stories of local changemakers making a positive climate impact in communities across the United States! Join us as we delve into the lives and work of individuals who are taking proactive steps to protect our planet and create a sustainable future for generations to come.   Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.