Economic models can operate in support of life on earth, rather than at the expense of the living world. Listeners of this episode can dip their toes into a variety of economic approaches that are available to us, from doughnut economics to the circular economy to the well-being economy to the regenerative economy to degrowth.

This mini-documentary chronicles the journey of host Alice Irene Whittaker in 2019, when she traveled pregnant with her third child to Colorado to interview acclaimed, award-winning environmental economist and regenerative rancher Hunter Lovins.

Around a kitchen table in her regenerative ranch, Hunter answers curiosities about a circular economy that is modelled on nature’s cycles, and envisions the large-scale transition to renewable energy and ecologically-responsible business. Hunter reflects on her lived and professional experience in transforming landscapes and soil through regenerative agriculture.

A moment in time between two women is captured in this thought-provoking conversation that unfolds surrounded by horses, the homes of herons, and wide open sky. This episode challenges economic growth as a concept, dreams of the demise of the fossil fuel industry, and encourages designing an economy that fosters happiness and well-being.

Imagine creating a food future where all people have access to nourishing affordable food, growing practices are regenerative, and our food systems transition from being global and fragile to regional and resilient.

An expert in reimagining resilient local food systems, Barbara Swartzentruber is currently Executive Director of the Smart Cities Office at the City of Guelph, where the City and County of Wellington are collaborating with public and private sector partners to build a circular, regenerative regional food system.

Facing international problems of daunting proportions, we interrogate: what are the roles of individuals, communities, and cities? Can we stomach the current economic model, and what are the alternatives? How can food connect and strengthen community?

There is a haunting beauty to the discarded massive objects like ships, planes, cars, and phone booths that sit in waste graveyards around the planet. These relics of the past and symbols of our disposable culture are spotlighted in Scrap, a new documentary by filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum, who tells the stories of the human beings who have relationships with these objects at the end of their useful life. This episode talks about witnessing what happens to the mammoth waste that we create and discard, and delves into the lost arts of repair, reuse, and restoration that people are reclaiming in the burgeoning circular economy.

Meet the woman who digs through and documents Manhattan’s waste, to divert from landfill, raise consciousness, and create systemic change.

Anna Sacks, aka the Trash Walker, creates viral TikTok and Instagram videos that shed light on the brand new merchandise that luxury brands deliberately destroy in the name of growth. This conversation explores not just our society’s waste problems - but also its solutions.