An Organic Conversation

If you live in a city and spend a significant amount of time on your devices, this show is for you. New research has found that a cellphone is addictive, literally. The best antidote? Nature! The temperatures are warming, a big spring cleaning is around the corner, and with it, we allow the energy of the natural environment to re-enter our lives. What does that really mean and how important is it? Just how much does the world of te...

Imagine there is a new world out there, a different dimension, right at your fingertips, that you could enter at any time, that can bring you joy, and pleasure, and healing. That world exists, and it is our topic in this episode - Essential Oils. We have had shows on scents and the importance of our ability to smell, and while we appreciate the beauty and comfort a nice scent can give to us, we were stunned when we came across a br...

Ever heard of Patience Gray? If you have – good for you! And if you haven’t, you still most likely are affected by her passion and work every day, as this woman has defined our modern way of eating and cooking more than any other woman of her time. We are talking with the author of a new book that is honoring Patience Gray's dedication to food, and her unwillingness to accept societal standards, luckily, as we are all better for it...

We talk a lot about sustainability on our plates on this show - organic food and agriculture as the foundation for social and environmental justice. But of course, the conversation about how to create true sustainability on this planet includes all aspects of human life. Today it’s about sustainable fashion. We are speaking with an expert about the fashion industry in this episode, specifically about the insane amount of fabric was...

In the world of news and politics and social and environmental justice we, as a culture, often focus disproportionately on what is not working. From a deeply human perspective, the film Love Thy Nature brings the balance back in focus by reminding us of the beauty of this planet and the blessing to be alive. Host Helge Hellberg is speaking with the filmmaker of Love Thy Nature today – an incredibly powerful conversation and the ess...

The average American consumes about 150 pounds of refined sugar a year. That's almost half a pound of refined sugar each day. Refined sugar is in everything, not just in sugary drinks, but even in our cut meats, in our bread, and in most everything else. It’s there for two reasons – it makes things taste better, and, it gets us hooked, because sugar is addictive. Today we are talking with an expert on sugar, a doctor who has made u...

In honor of the San Francisco Green Film Festival, we are covering a handful of outstanding documentaries, new films that are as brilliantly produced as they are critical to know as they are – hopefully – shaping our society and our way of life. We are starting today with Riverblue - a close look at the unbelievable environmental implications of fast and cheap fashion. The destruction is so extreme, overwhelming, and so visible, th...

What would our society be without women? Impossible to comprehend, right? And yet, women have been marginalized for hundreds and hundreds of years, fighting long and hard for equal pay, for voting rights, for a true recognition of their value in business, their leadership, and their critical role in society. Tiffany Shlain's film 50/50 explores the 10,000-year history of women + power and asks, what’s it going to take to get to a 5...

Many people, especially young folks, are dreaming of their own small piece of land, self-supported, away from the stresses of the city, to live a lifestyle of peace, based on a deep relationship to nature and self. Today, we are learning what it takes to make that dream a reality from people who have done it.

Guests:

Shawn & Beth Dougherty, Co-Authors, The Independent Farmstead, The Sow's Ear, Ohio

*Originally Aired January 20, 2...

Governmental agencies are in place to make absolutely sure that we are protected, and that we are able to live lives that are healthy, and safe. The drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, brought forward a picture that one can adopt to many other products and public safety areas, from drugs, to air, and food, just to name a few. So how safe are we, really? Today we’ll talk with an expert who has made public safety his career, an...

Guests:

Food is everything – from the fields to the grocery store, from our plates to our health, from community to personal and professional re-integration. We all need to eat, every day, and because of it, being trained in any aspect of food production, preparation, or nutrition, will provide a foundation for one’s life that a person will be able to stand on forever. That is the idea behind our guest today, an amazing non profit that off...

Just as with other large predators, from Grizzly Bears to Wolves, humans have hunted these species and in many regions of the planet have brought them to near or complete extinction. New scientific studies show the critical importance that those animals had and have on the ecosystems that they were or are a part of. As for the oceans, sharks play this critical role. There are over 400 shark species in the world, and in this episode...

Food is thy medicine, again today. Osteoporosis, or loss of bone density, is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and many other Western Societies. The common answer to bone loss is usually Calcium. While Calcium has an important role in our overall bone health, there is much more to the story. In this hour, we are speaking with a physician about how to prepare and combine whole foods to prevent and treat Osteopo...

Today we are putting the plant world front and center again, this never ceasing to amaze interconnected web of life that offers us so much beauty and healing. We are speaking with a Naturopath about a plant that commonly does not get the attention it deserves: Comfrey. How can Comfrey, known as the great mender, provide its amazing properties to you and your body? We’ll find out today!

Guest: 

Dr. Holly Lucille, ND, RN, Naturopat...

We are what we eat – this old saying about how much our food intake affects our physical health is now being expanded into our mental health as well. In recent years, research has been showing the direct connection between what we eat and what – or how – we think. In other words, our mental capacity and our mood are the direct result of our diet. Today Helge Hellberg is speaking with a Psychiatrist specifically about how to best ad...

Food insecurity is defined by not knowing where your next meal is coming from. And yet, while food insecurity is a reality for some 50 million Americans, nearly half of the food we produce in this country is thrown away. How can that be and what can be done about it? We are speaking with an expert on food waste today and will introduce to you to an organization who has not just solved the issue but created a true win-win-win scenar...