Second Nature

Commons
  • 4.7 (74)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

How can we live sustainably in an unsustainable world? Second Nature is a podcast by Commons exploring how our sustainable choices impact our lives and the planet. Every week hear how listeners are taking public transit, composting food waste, eating more plant-based meals and practicing deconsumption to create the kind of world they want to live in. We'll calculate the carbon impact of collective action and get expert answers to your burning climate questions. Everyone’s sustainable life is unique. Tell us about yours. thecommons.earth/podcast 🌎 Join a community of tens of thousands of people using the Commons app to track their emissions and get rewarded for sustainable living: https://www.thecommons.earth/get-the-app-second-nature Follow us on Instagram to get behind-the-scenes footage and more stories from Commons' climate community: https://instagram.com/secondnatureearth

  1. A No-Buy Challenge Might Just Change Your Life

    6D AGO

    A No-Buy Challenge Might Just Change Your Life

    Do you feel like you’re drowning in advertisements, clutter, or debt? A no-buy year could help. In a capitalistic society, we're brainwashed to default to buying our way out of our problems. That's what makes a no-buy challenge so much more than a New Year's resolution or an extreme budget. A no-buy or low-buy challenge not only gives you permission to hop off the buy-buy-buy hamster wheel — it also makes you more privy to sneaky marketing and helps you put your money toward what actually makes you happy. These are the kinds of mental shifts that could stick with you for life.  In this episode, we hear from listeners about the different ways to do a no-buy or low-buy year, and what they've learned about themselves and their finances in the process. 🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes. 📞 Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you! 📱 Want to try no-buy challenge join the Commons community, download the app. 📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram. Episode Credits Listener contributions: Amandine Thomas, Cara Sanford, Daria, Justina, Melissa TanEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - What is a no-buy year? (03:18) - A no-buy new year’s resolution made Amandine more stylish and saved her lots of money. (06:43) - Melissa has found freedom and simplicity in her no-buy challenge. (11:20) - Daria’s secondhand challenge rippled out from clothes to other parts of her life. (13:15) - After switching to part-time work, Cara was still able to live comfortably due to the success of her no-buy challenge.

    22 min
  2. What Actually Happens to Your Clothing Donations?

    12/31/2025 · BONUS

    What Actually Happens to Your Clothing Donations?

    [This episode originally aired April 2,2025] The secondhand clothing market isn't equipped for textile recycling. So when your donated clothes don't sell, where do they end up? With the rise of overconsumption and fast fashion, clothes have piled up in thrift stores, landfills, and incinerators around the world. Countries like Ghana and Chile are dealing with fashion waste from countries like the U.S., UK, and China, and the impacts are vast.  Mountains of clothes lead to fires, polluted waterways, dying ocean life, and lost livelihoods. So how do we stop the cycle? How can we donate with purpose and dignity, and get fashion brands to actually take accountability for the full lifecycle of their clothes? Listen to hear what our community does with their used clothes, how a new law could force companies to clean up their act, and how Los Angeles's Suay Sew Shop is dealing with the untenable amount of clothing donations from wildfire relief.  ➡️ If you want to support Suay Sew Shop, you can browse their site here and contribute to their Textiles Aren't Trash fire relief campaign. By the way, you can earn rewards for Suay purchases and donations in the Commons app! 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes. 📞 Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you! 📱 To join the Commons community, download the app. 📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram. Episode Credits Listener contributions: Holly Kane, Maya Roman, Nate Rauh-Bieri, NickEditing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Introduction (02:45) - Mirrored catastrophes in Ghana and California amplify the clothing crisis (06:43) - Community voices: What do you do with clothes you don't want anymore? (12:00) - n interview with Sumaq Alvarado del Aguila, one of the leaders at SUAY Sew Shop — an LA-based vertical sewing and production shop that's recycling millions of pieces of clothing (30:17) - Sanchali shares progress for clothing company regulation and responsibility (35:12) - Last looks and points to remember

    39 min
  3. Can We Recycle Our Way Out of the Plastic Crisis?

    12/24/2025

    Can We Recycle Our Way Out of the Plastic Crisis?

    From the halls of government to the depths of the ocean, how deep does the plastic crisis go, and can we recycle our way out of this mess? Plastic has completely permeated our existence, and its effects are far-reaching, from soil to glaciers. Recycling was supposed to take care of this mess — or was it?   In this episode, we’ll figure out how the plastic industry is behind one of the biggest greenwashing schemes of all time, the current state of recycling, and why Big Oil is banning big on plastic. We’ll also hear from our plastic-perplexed-but-optimistic community and our expert, Head of Research at The Ocean Cleanup, Laurent Lebreton. Episode Credits Listener contributions: Anna, Mac Hansen, Sawyer, Sobia Zaidi, Tiffany, Valli Divya, Rachel RadvanyEpisode expert: Laurent Lebreton, Head of Research at The Ocean CleanupEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:17) - Intro (08:12) - How does our community handle plastic recycling? (12:31) - Interview with Laurent Lebreton, Head of Research at The Ocean Cleanup (32:22) - How Big Oil is banking on plastic. (39:54) - Outro

    46 min
  4. Putting Planet Over Profits: How to Spot and Avoid Greenwashing

    12/17/2025

    Putting Planet Over Profits: How to Spot and Avoid Greenwashing

    We see greenwashing everywhere — from product labels to fossil fuel ads. But it goes even deeper than that. Greenwashing gets in the way of climate policy changes too! On this episode of Second Nature, we’re hearing how our community dodges greenwashing, talking through 4 questions to ask yourself to see if a brand is greenwashing, and we’re talking to Dr. Mara Einstein about how greenwashing has evolved with the rise of social media.    📱 To join the Commons community and see our expert brand ratings, download the app.🚫 Check out the Dirty Money list.📞 Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you! 🌎 Find further reading and citations in the full show notes. 📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram. Episode Credits Listener contributions: Obehi Ehimen, Louka, Leïla Six, Nicole Collins, Verity, Danielle  Bird [s2], Bo Meisl, Kenzie Rattray, Grace HebertEpisode expert: Dr. Mara EinsteinEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Companies have gotten really good at greenwashing (02:43) - How to know if a company is greenwashing (07:54) - How our community finds and avoids greenwashing (11:57) - Interview with Dr. Mara Einstein about the background go greenwashing and how social media has perpetuated it. (36:00) - Taking collective action against greenwashing

    41 min
  5. What Are We Going To Do Now?

    12/10/2025

    What Are We Going To Do Now?

    For the past three seasons of the Second Nature, hundreds of you have shared climate actions you take in our own homes — composting, avoiding overconsumption, eating less meat. These practices give us a strong foundation for what comes next.  ‍ This season, we’re focusing our energy outward and making our efforts bigger by proxy with the help of community. This first episode serves as a mission statement for our season of community and connection, and we are extremely honored to have our first guest of the season be the one and only Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. ‍ Be sure to listen to the end of the episode to hear our first-ever Community Classifieds — an audio bulletin board of community climate efforts to join around the world. Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you! 🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading and citations in the full show notes. 📱 To join the Commons community, download the app. 📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram. Episode Credits Listener contributions: Amandine Thomas,Braden Marazzo-Nowicki, Liv, Melissa Tan, Willa StoutenbeekEpisode expert: Dr. Ayana Elizabeth JohnsonEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Intro (02:32) - How our community is taking collective action (05:45) - Transition to systemic thinking (07:36) - Interview with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (23:55) - Outro (26:05) - Community Classifieds

    29 min

  6. SEASON 4 TRAILER

    Coming up in Season 4!

    Season four is coming soon, and this season, we're thinking big. Like the ever-connected mycelium networks beneath the world's greatest forests, we're reaching out to one another and finding ways to sync up with community and make efforts bigger than ourselves.  This season, we're coming together to focus our we're efforts where we have the most collective impact — from boycotting greenwashing to building resilience in climate disaster. With perspectives of our worldwide community, top-of-their-field experts, and of course some history and data, we're going to make this a season to remember. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

    3 min
  7. Why Don't We Fix Things Anymore?

    11/26/2025 · BONUS

    Why Don't We Fix Things Anymore?

    We're one week out from a new season of Second Nature! Before our season 4 launch, we wanted to bring it back to one of the community's favorite episodes from last season: Why Don't We Fix Things Anymore? Planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence have us in a disposable consumption cycle. But it hasn't always been this way. When and why did we stop thinking things were worth fixing? In this episode, we get a history lesson in planned obsolescence, visit Adrienne Ferre, who is helping run a Makers Hub in LA, complete with a tool library and repair cafes. And we catch up on Right to Repair legislation with Commons' founder and CEO Sanchali Seth Pal.  🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes. 📞 We'd love to hear from you! Season 3 submissions coming soon! 📱 To join the Commons community, download the app. 📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram. Episode Credits Listener contributions: Holly Kane, Katrina Rodabaugh, Maya Roman, Sare, Taylor Barkley, VerityEpisode expert: Adrienne FerreEditing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Intro (04:29) - History of planned obsolescence (09:10) - From clothes to toys, our community shares what they're repairing (15:26) - Interview with Adrianne Ferree, executive director of the Maker's Hub in Compton (30:42) - Looking at the latest strides in Right to Repair (38:02) - Outro

    41 min

  8. 10/23/2025

    Call for Submissions: Contribute to Season 4!

    Season 4 is underway! We’re hard at work on the new season and we can’t wait to hear your contributions. For the best shot at getting on season 4, please send in your submissions before November. But feel free to continue submitting through November as well.  Submitting to the show is easy! Fill out this form to start your submission to Second Nature.After you fill out the form, you'll receive questions based on the topics you chose, with details about how to submit your audio.Record your audio and send it our way!Call for Submissions: Contribute to Season 4!

    3 min
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Trailers

4.7
out of 5
74 Ratings

About

How can we live sustainably in an unsustainable world? Second Nature is a podcast by Commons exploring how our sustainable choices impact our lives and the planet. Every week hear how listeners are taking public transit, composting food waste, eating more plant-based meals and practicing deconsumption to create the kind of world they want to live in. We'll calculate the carbon impact of collective action and get expert answers to your burning climate questions. Everyone’s sustainable life is unique. Tell us about yours. thecommons.earth/podcast 🌎 Join a community of tens of thousands of people using the Commons app to track their emissions and get rewarded for sustainable living: https://www.thecommons.earth/get-the-app-second-nature Follow us on Instagram to get behind-the-scenes footage and more stories from Commons' climate community: https://instagram.com/secondnatureearth

Information

  • Creator
    Commons
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Commons
  • Show Website
    Second Nature

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