Podcasts

Independent Radio on CDs, DVDs and the Internet

Vandana Shiva’s Celebration of Gandhi’s Home Rule; Part TWO of TWO

By MariaSeptember 30, 20152015GMOs, Organic Farming

This is the conclusion of the one hour talk by the Indian physicist, ecologist, author and seed saver Vandana Shiva.
This part of her speech is an indictment of industrial agriculture – much of it based on her research into the Green Revolution and her work with the Indian government and the UN.
Monsanto claims that Glyphosate can’t harm humans because we do not have the shikimate pathway that plants and bacteria have. Shiva says what they ignore – or deliberately not tell us – is that the human body is made up of 600 trillion cells – most of which are bacteria. Many of the trillions of bacteria in our bodies and especially inside our gut are affected by the Roundup [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)

Vandana Shiva’s Celebration of Gandhi’s Home Rule; Part ONE of TWO

By MariaSeptember 23, 20152015

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a philosopher, environmental activist and eco feminist. She is the co- founder and director of the Navdanya Research Foundation and the author of numerous books including, Soil Not Oil, Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis, and Stolen Harvest, The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply.
It was an extraordinary experience to hear her speak in the standing room only Little Lake Valley Grange in a very small former logging town in Northern California. Willits maintains one of the earliest successful economic Localization Projects.
Vandana Shiva had been invited by the Charter Project of Mendocino. If the voters approve, Mendocino would be joining Counties such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Santa Clara and San Mateo and [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)

RISING SEA LEVELS – Causes, Data and a Look into the Future

By MariaSeptember 15, 20152015

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has over 20 years of data on sea level rise in the oceans of the world. They give regular public updates and you will hear from four of their scientists who reported in a teleconference on August 26, 2015.
Sea level rise, NASA scientists say, is already occurring. The open question is just how quickly the seas will rise in the future. The consequences of global sea level rise could be more serious than the worst-case scenarios predicted by the dominant climate models and the IPCC, which don’t fully account for the accelerating breakup of ice sheets and glaciers.
With:
— Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division
— Steve Nerem, lead for NASA’s Sea Level [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)

The loss of West Antarctic Glaciers – Interview with Prof. Eric Rignot

By MariaSeptember 8, 20152015Antarctic, Climate Change

Repeat of June 2014 Broadcast
The world was shocked in May 2014 when NASA announced that parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appear to be in an irreversible decline. That area holds 4 feet of sea level rise. This rebroadcast prepares for an update of the melting – one year later. Eric Rignot is one of the lead scientists in this project. I called him on May 23, 2014 to find out how the teams arrived at these data:
Interview on Remote Sensing Technology with Professor Eric Rignot. He teaches Earth System Science at UC Irvine and is a glaciologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena
A new study by Professor Eric Rignot and researchers at NASA and the University of [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)

Witness to the Melting of the Greenland Ice – An Inuit Elder Speaks (updated)

By MariaSeptember 1, 20152015

During construction of the ceremonial fire pit for the 2008 second circumpolar meeting, an Inuit elder allowed his one on one conversation to be recorded. This is a moving and wise comment on our common future. In his carefully chosen expression in English lies the urgency in which he attempts to reach out to the Western “Civilizations” – urging us to understand the Inuit plight while at the same time grasping that our own survival is at stake as well. Movingly he also expresses his fears and at times despair to reach us in the West before it is too late for us all.
When I first heard his voice in 2007 I wished I could move radio stations to play [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:59 — 19.9MB)

The Climate Deception Dossiers – Our Common Future Under Climate Change FOUR

By MariaAugust 26, 20152015

Internal Fossil Fuel Industry Memos Reveal Decades of Corporate Disinformation
In July 2015 the Union of Concerned Scientists published the Climate Deception Dossiers. After years of research, whistle-blowing and Freedom of Information Requests a truly sordid picture emerges of fossil fuel corporations internally admitting that climate change is real while at the same time spending millions of dollars to buy scientists who say climate change is a hoax. These bought-off scientists and politicians make statements such as: the sun makes things warmer, not humans or CO2 – and anyway CO2 is good for you and agriculture.
The Deception Dossiers report the theft of letterheads of reputable organizations such as the NAACP and the American Association of University Women. Forged letters that [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:59 — 19.9MB)

Hurricane Katrina and the War on the Poor (from Archive)

By MariaAugust 18, 20152015

SF Paramedics Prevented, at Gun Point, from Rescuing Themselves and Others
After being turned away from shelters they and a large group of African Americans try and walk to safety. Gretna Sheriffs block the Greater New Orleans Bridge across the Mississippi and shoot over their heads when they try to leave the flooded city. Later their temporary shelter is destroyed by a helicopter, a police officer, gun drawn, threatens them in a furious rage and takes away their food and water. Just before night he forces the group to flee into the night of a ‘shoot to kill’ curfew in New Orleans.
When they finally get picked up they, and thousands of others, sit in a dirty cage at the New [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:01 — 19.9MB)

Our Common Future Under Climate Change – Part THREE – Kevin Anderson

By MariaAugust 12, 20152015

From the July 7-10 conference held in Paris
Professor Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester, UK, says that we need to immediately begin a drastic scale down of carbon emissions to prevent a collapse of the climate system. The Copenhagen Accord of 2010 stated that the increase in global temperature needs to be held below 2 degrees Celsius in order to avoid dangerous climate change. Anderson says that by postponing carbon reduction we are already on our way to a 4 degree Celsius warming.
In advanced economies, a reduction of emissions of between 80-95% from the 1990 baseline is needed, according to a Tyndall Centre working paper. And as much as half of the world’s [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)

Our Common Future Under Climate Change – Part TWO – John Schellnhuber

By MariaAugust 5, 20152015

From the July 7-10 conference held in Paris
Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber expressed the urgency and the scale of the problem we have to solve: In order to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius we need to bring about the end of the carbon economy over the next 20 or 30 years. Otherwise we have not the slightest chance of avoiding dangerous climate change.
Schellnhuber says that we live in a deadly economy that destroys the world and are currently making the choice whether to live instead in an economy that is protecting creation. And even if we cannot change the supply side immediately due to the power of corporations we can begin by changing demand through a global social [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:59 — 19.9MB)

Our Common Future Under Climate Change – Part ONE – Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and Ségolène Royal

By MariaJuly 28, 20152015

From the July 7-10 conference held in Paris
French Ministers Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (Education) and Ségolène Royal (Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy) with a guest appearance of Jon Stewart and climate change deniers on the Daily Show.
TUC Radio is focussing on climate change in preparation of the Climate Summit coming up in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015 (COP 21)
In the early days of July, 2015, over 100 countries sent 2000 delegates to Paris to discuss the physical, economic and social aspects of climate change. The conference hoped to inspire ambition for a global climate treaty later this year in December at the COP 21 Climate Conference, also in Paris.
Some prominent conference speakers stated matter of factly that we need [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)

Sandor Katz: Wild Fermentation TWO of TWO

By MariaJuly 21, 20152015

Sandor Katz is a much loved fermented food maker, teacher and respected author of two books: Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation. His mission is to rescue this ancient craft from oblivion and to inspire people to practice the arts of fermentation in their kitchens. This is the Question and Answer section after his talk at the second annual Heirloom Seed Expo in Santa Rosa, CA in September 2012. Katz responds to practical DIY questions about yoghurt, Kefir, and Kombucha. He ends with an inspiring linguistic flourish about political ferment and social change.
Recorded September 13, 2012

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:59 — 19.9MB)

Sandor Katz: Wild Fermentation (ONE of TWO)

By MariaJuly 14, 20152015

Redemption of the much maligned bacteria that are essential to life.
Rounding out the programs by Paul Stamets and Jack Gilbert, it is my pleasure to repeat a talk by Sandor Katz and his eloquent redemption of the much maligned bacteria and microorganisms without which life would not be possible. The original broadcast was in February 2013.
When he left New York City and joined a rural off the electric grid community in Tennessee over two decades ago he knew very little about growing vegetables and even less about fermenting them. His amazing development as teacher and author of two books: Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation, was fueled by fond memories of pickles he relished as a kid in NYC, [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:02 — 19.9MB)

Bacteria and You: A Love Story (TWO of TWO) Dr. Jack Gilbert

By MariaJuly 7, 20152015

Gilbert teaches at Argonne National Lab. and the University of Chicago
A recent article in Mother Jones described the work of Dr. Gilbert: “Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you’ve probably heard about the human microbiome. Research into the composition, function, and importance of the galaxy of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that, when we’re healthy, live in symbiotic balance in and on us has become one of the fastest moving and most intriguing fields of scientific study.”
Dr. Gilbert wrote: “There are a nonillion bacteria in the world – give or a take a few quadrillion. This almost incomprehensible number is greater than the number of stars in the known universe. Microbes are vital to [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)

Bacteria and You: A Love Story (ONE of TWO) Dr. Jack Gilbert

By MariaJune 30, 20152015

Gilbert teaches at the Argonne National Lab. and U. Chicago
Dr. Jack Gilbert is on a mission to induce love, understanding and respect for bacteria. He has formidable academic credential with the Argonne National Lab. He is the group leader for Microbial Ecology in the Biosciences Division, and manages the Earth Microbiome Project. That’s an ongoing effort to characterize the microbial diversity of our planet. And he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, and the Associate Director of the Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology.
In this one hour lecture given in June 2015 in Chicago Dr. Jack Gilbert explains that we are unable to survive without the trillions of bacterial cells [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:01 — 19.9MB)

Paul Stamets: Mushrooms, Bees, and Saving the World (TWO of TWO)

By MariaJune 23, 20152015

This is the conclusion of a one hour speech recorded in May 2015 in Seattle, not far from Stamets’ home near Olympia, WA. Stamets begins with the story of the rarest mushroom in the Pacific Old Growth forest, the Agarikon; and how the Department of Health bio-defense program had to acknowledge the extraordinary healing power of that mushroom. That’s followed by a groundbreaking recently concluded analysis of the deaths of honey bees and what can be done about it.
Paul Stamets has studied mushrooms for over 40 years. He discovered new species of fungi, saved ancient ones from extinction, and pioneered countless techniques of mushroom cultivation. Along the way he found many ways how fungi can be healers of people and [ . . . ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)