check out this wonderful new podcast series

Down to Earth is a podcast about hope. As climate change collides with our industrial food system, we focus not on doom but instead on people who are developing practical, innovative solutions. We invite you to meet farmers, ranchers, scientists, land managers, writers, and many others on a mission to create a world in which the food we eat is healthy—for us, for the land and water from which it springs, for the lives and livelihoods of the producers, and for the planet. This podcast is produced in collaboration with the Quivira Coalition.

Click HERE to listen.

 

listen: episode 3 of the just food podcast

Listen to the latest episode of The Just Food Podcast. The 6-part podcast series covers a range of topics aimed at cultivating justice and health. They are produced by the Berkeley Food Institute in partnership with the UC Berkeley Advanced Media Institute at the Graduate School of Journalism. Episode 3 tells the story of the nation’s first sugar-sweetened beverage tax which came into law in 2014 in Berkeley. It examines how the tax and the revenue it generates are shaping the health of Berkeley residents today.

Listen to the other podcasts in the series HERE 

the farmers aren’t alright

Rural View – Anton Novoselov

We recently ran a piece from VPR on farmers and the difficulties of accessing affordable health insurance – this is surely a topic that requires some serious thought and discussion in the years to come.

Wrapped up in our general well being is the taboo topic of mental health and as we invest our bodies, savings, and futures into the land, it can be a serious challenge to keep the spirit and mind at peace. Whether you are starting or running a business, changing fields, underpaid, or just exhausted, farming can be incredibly stressful work. So following on this theme we’d like to recommend the Ruminant’s recent episode on farmers and mental health.

The Ruminant is wonderful podcast and blog that discusses ideas, issues, and inspiration for today’s agrarians.

So give yourself and hour, pour glass of wine or warm a cup of milk. curl up and listen in on what is an important conversation for all of us to be having.

You can hear the episode here

 

a podcast to get your enlightenment on

Painting showing Rsabha’s Enlightenment or Kevala Jnana. From Pancakalyanaka of Rsabha series. Amber, Rajasthan c. 1680.

What is it about young farmers that makes them such fanatic podcast listeners? Is it the lonely nature of their tractor work? A need for brain food during otherwise mind-dulling tasks such as hand-weeding the parsnips? Do they have a desire to remain attune to the otherwise distant goings on of popular culture? Or is it an obsessive need to meet the pinnacle of multitasking in all moments? Regardless, every farmer I know can rattle off their favorites list

On Being with Kristina Tippet marks the top of ours: a little bit of soul food during some of the the more patience-trying, faith-testing, energy-zapping moments of the summer. Tippet makes intelligent and deeply engaging conversation with some of the greatest contemporary thinkers from scientists to seminarians– such as Nikki Giovani, Yo Yo Ma, Thich Nach Hahn, to name just a few– on subjects ranging from everything from Buddhist practice to the language of whales and elephants.

Two weeks ago, Tippet interviewed philosopher of ecology, climate activist, author, translator, and environmental activist Johanna Macy. The conversation delves heavily into the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, and (because, as before-mentioned, poetry may just be the thing to carry us up) we recommend this as a great starting place.

farmer voices

Farmer voices is a podcast series on PRX.org Give this episode a listen:

Young Farmer’s Sustainable Agriculture Tool Lending Library

and explore their new website and other entertainment offerings.

farmer to farmer podcast: profile of liz graznak

Check out the first episode of Chris Blanchard’s new Farmer to Farmer podcast. In this episode he speaks with Liz Graznak about the challenges and rewards of running an organic vegetable farm in the heart of Missouri’s corn and soybean country. You will hear her story, as well as practical tips and ideas about farming. Listen in your car, listen in the field.

Listen HERE or download the episode for playback later HERE.

Find more episodes of the Farmer to Farmer podcast, along with practical links, HERE.

If you want to be on Chris’s show, we hope you reach out to him!

talking chadwick

More than thirty years after his death, people still refer to Alan Chadwick in the present tense, a fascinating testament to the power of his personality and ideas. It is challenging, perhaps even foolhardy, to attempt to capture this complex man – such a huge person and influence – in a few web pages. 

The Talking Chadwick program features memories of pioneering organic gardener and teacher Alan Chadwick. You’ll discover stories by and about Chadwick apprentices and colleagues, both in audio clips and written narratives.

Click HERE to learn stories from Alan Chadwick’s gardening communities!