Episodes
Sept. 20, 2022
630: Simplifying Meditation Words and Meaning
The notes I read for this episode were long, so instead of including them in the podcast notes, I posted them as a separate blog post: The text from episode 630: Simplifying Meditation Words and Meaning . My book: Leadership ...
Sept. 18, 2022
629: Michelle Nijhuis, part 2: Stopping doom scrolling
We started talking about Michelle's commitment to avoid scrolling on vacation. She did. It sounds like it was both no big deal and something worth building on. We had intended to keep the recording to under thirty minutes for...
Sept. 15, 2022
628: Jay Walker, part 2: Kayaking together on the Hudson
I think Jay's commitment may be the first where I participated and we had a blast! You may remember he committed to kayaking on the Hudson. He invited me to join. As you can see from the picture, I did, and we kayaked togethe...
Sept. 14, 2022
627: Nadeem Akhtar, part 1: A Long-Time Listener from Norway
Nadeem contacted me as a listener to suggest Abdal Hakim Murad as a guest, as I hadn't hosted any Muslims on the podcast by then. I learned a lot and enjoyed meeting Abdal, plus Nadeem and I stayed in touch. When Janet Allake...
Sept. 12, 2022
626: Jay Walker, part 1: Organizing New York City's Queer Liberation March
Regular readers and listeners know my passion for cleaning my local park, Washington Square Park, and how my heart breaks at how we abuse this sliver of a vestige of nature, especially the mornings after the Queer Liberation ...
Sept. 7, 2022
625: Listener Questions, volume 01
I answer my first listener questions. If you have questions on topics I write about, like leadership, sustainability, sustainability leadership, sidchas, habits, academia, physics, podcasting, and so on, contact me . This epi...
Sept. 6, 2022
624: John Biewen, part 1: Seeing Whiteness and Other Systems
I came across John from listening to one of his podcast's season, Seeing White , about the development of whiteness as a race. I listened to the whole series, which I found fascinating and provocative. Then I discovered anoth...
Sept. 3, 2022
623: AJ Jacobs, part 1: Be Curious and Act
AJ is in some ways a kindred soul, actually doing things many people hear about or even talk about, but rarely do. Regular listeners might remember our mutual friend Mike Michalowicz suggesting we talk. We start by talking ab...
Sept. 2, 2022
622: Stephen M. R. Covey, part 1: Trust & Inspire
Stephen's book, Trust & Inspire , recounts today's effective way to lead, by creating trust and inspiring. He laments people still relying on the old techniques of commanding and controlling, which may have worked in more ind...
Aug. 31, 2022
621: Whitney Tilson, part 3: Talking sustainability with a Harvard-Trained Investment Advisor Who Flies Monthly
In our third conversation, Whitney and I get more friendly and conversational, fun conversation. He's been picking up more garbage, which I hope is part of a journey of continual improvement. Since long before we met, he ride...
Aug. 28, 2022
620: Nature delivers what psychedelics do, but we don't know what we're missing (feat. Sam Harris and Roland Griffiths)
Listening to an episode of Sam Harris's podcast featuring Roland Griffiths, Johns Hopkins neuroscientist researcher, on psychedelics revealed that much of their benefit sounds a lot like my guests talking about their experien...
Aug. 24, 2022
619: Dr. Michael Gurven, part 2: The Forager Population Paradox and what do we do
Most second conversations on this podcast come weeks or months later, after the guest does his or her Spodek Method commitment. In Michael's case, our first conversation was so engaging, we kept talking almost two hours, so I...
Aug. 23, 2022
618: Dr. Michael Gurven, part 1: Our ancestors evolved to live to 72 years*, and did (not 30).
*"The average modal age of adult death for hunter-gatherers is 72 with a range of 68–78 years. This range appears to be the closest functional equivalent of an 'adaptive' human life span." Would you be surprised that humans e...
Aug. 19, 2022
617: Janet Allaker: A long-time listener shares what This Sustainable Life means to her
Janet shared how she found This Sustainable Life , what kept her coming back, the guests she liked, and how it's affected her. I wish I had recorded episodes with listeners before to learn what you all like, don't like, and w...
Aug. 12, 2022
616: Michael Lombardi, part 1: Culture, Leadership, and Football
Leaders who know how to lead and change culture know culture eats strategy for breakfast. This concept figures strongly in Michael's book, Gridiron Genius . When most people watch football, they see the game, maybe the game p...
Aug. 9, 2022
615: Living off the grid without solar either (as all humans once did)
Regular listeners know I started an experiment disconnecting from the electric grid. I began May 22. Then on July 22, I posted an episode that the solar panel or battery broke, or both. I didn't see how I could continue so sa...
Aug. 9, 2022
614: Michelle Nijhuis, part 1: Living off the grid for 15 years
Where was Michelle Nijhuis all my life? She lived off the electric grid for fifteen years and I was about two months in, so we shared stories of the experiences. She did it much longer and her fiance had to assemble everythin...
Aug. 1, 2022
613: Our Next Constitutional Amendment
My proposal and rationale for the next amendment for the United States Constitution. It will sound crazy, impossible, and too hard at first, as it did with me. But the more you consider it, the more the objections will fade. ...
July 29, 2022
612: Sebastian Junger, part 1: Humans Thrive on Mutual Dependence, Feeling Needed, But Our Culture Isolates.
When I wrote up my experiment to live with my apartment off the grid in Manhattan for a month, I looked up what I did the morning I started. My library records show I borrowed and listened to Sebastian's book Tribe , then my ...
July 28, 2022
611: Etienne Stott, part 6: Activism and Leadership
In this sixth conversation between an Extinction Rebellion Rebel and a home-grown sustainability leadership (I hope) leader, we explore more of the life of someone who has devoted himself to solving our environmental problems...
July 24, 2022
610: Abortion and Sustainability
Here are the notes I read from: 40% of pregnancies are unplanned. Overpopulation is a major problem for environment so it's a topic for this podcast. Girlfriend who pressured me into unprotected sex and got pregnant Not only ...
July 22, 2022
609: Finishing My Off-the-Grid-in-Manhattan Experiment in Month 3
Having just started month three of living off the electric grid in Manhattan, technical issues led me to stop the experiment. I'm not sure the problem, but connecting the solar panels to the power station, it doesn't charge. ...
July 18, 2022
608: Parents Just Don't Understand
The notes I read from: Yesterday my mom suggested I move away from the city if it makes me feel so bad. Last week my dad reaffirmed that he wouldn't appear on the podcast without some vague conditions he was using my invitati...
July 17, 2022
607: Mike Michalowicz, part 2: Being the Icebreaker
Mike committed to a year-long task. Few guests go for so long. Since we're in a writing group together, I've seen him in between, but since I want you, the listeners, to hear guests' results first, I didn't ask him if he stay...