How We Got Here Stephanie Spera and Rachel Lupien

After MUCH delay due to some pretty big life things (ahem welcome to the world baby August) we are back to wrap up Season 2 with a fun lil chat about what life is like as an Assistant Professor. Assistant to the Professor (Michael Scott?) …I mean sometimes, tbh. Follow along as we talk about many added job functions as you go from postdoc to prof, and listen for the stress in our voices. It’s not all rosy, but we also have the freedom to record a podcast at work LOL!

This week on the podcast Steph and Rachel talk about how similar the events in their lives have been over the past two weeks, and catch up with a friend of the pod(cast hosts), Jeff Kerby. Jeff is an award-winning natural history photographer with a passion for science. He currently works as a postdoc in ecology and geography, which is the coolest, but we are here to talk to him about his photography life. He photographed his first feature story for National Geographic in 2017 on gelada monkeys living in the Ethiopian Highlands. And just this past month, National Geographic named one of his photos (of a monkey giving birth, see below) one of the 100 Best Photos from this Century.

This week on the podcast (which is delayed thanks to many a daycare illness) Steph and Rachel catch up post-holiday and chat with Cate Mingoya.  Cate is an urban planner, which we learn can mean a huge range of things! Cate is the National Director of Climate Resilience and Land Use at Groundwork USA, which is a network of environmental justice organizations. She works with people and communities to improve their environmental, economic, and social conditions, increase the likelihood of upward mobility, and improve health and overall quality of life.

Cate also has a book coming out later this year, so stay tuned!

This week on How We Got Here, Steph and Rachel talk to the incomparable Ben Cosgrove. Ben is a composer-performer whose music explores themes of landscape, place, and environment. Ben has performed in every U.S. state except for Delaware (some day!), collaborated with groups ranging from rock bands to research scientists, and held residencies and fellowships with institutions including the National Park Service, the National Forest Service, and NASA. The gang talks piano lessons, flutists, and not being deterred when your college declines your proposal for an interdisciplinary major.
You can follow Ben on Instagram and Twitter.

Check out his latest solo album, “The Trouble with Wilderness,” and his latest collaboration with Max García Conover, “Vol. One.”

And if you want to catch Ben live, check out his tour dates here.

On this episode of How We Got Here, Steph and Rachel chat with THE Aja Barber—writer, stylist, consultant, activist—whose work deals with the intersection of sustainability, fashion, colonialism, the textile industry, feminism, and all the ways the not-great systems we live with affect our buying habits. WHEW! Aja tells us all about how problematic the fashion industry is, how she found herself with a job that didn’t even exist just 10 years ago, and how dads are the kings of slow fashion (but also gender norms and social pressures UGH!). Aja teaches us how everyone can practice sustainable buying practices, including those of us who are on a tight budget (thrifting, eBay, deciding if you really need a sequined sweater from ASOS that you’ll only wear once to a holiday-work thing?) or plus size (hello, @selltradeplus and Conscious Clothing!)

Episode Notes

You can support Aja on Patreon here.

Follow her on Instagram (@ajabarber, informative and delightful) and Twitter (@AjaSaysHello, informative and spicy).

And, you can buy her (informative and fantastic) book Consumed at any of these links.

Scientist turned policy maker… ahh, yes, we can all dream! This week we talk to the many-a-hat-wearing Dr. Cassaundra Rose, who works for the state of Maine in the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and… the Future. So cool. Cassy is the Senior Science Analyst and Climate Council Coordinator (CCC for those in the know), where she uses her science background to form policy and organize a huge group of volunteers.

Listen to Cassy tell us all about her early love for the ocean, including the time she touched a SHARK, her journey to the governor’s office, and her cats. We talk a lot about cats. Per usual.

You can follow Cassy on Twitter and Instagram, AND you can follow Cassy’s cats on Instagram @tavi.and.max!