Government seems to move slower than the pace of climate change, so do our votes for climate candidates and policies actually make a difference?

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In this episode, we're connecting the dots between climate and policy and hearing from people around the world about how their governments’ policies are affecting their lives and their regions. We're also catching up with HEATED editor-in-chief Emily Atkin to hear how climate reporting has changed over the past couple of presidential terms and how she keeps her head above water after a decade of reporting on climate. We'll also talk to Commons founder Sanchali Seth Pal about climate policies around the world that have actually worked.

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If you're looking for resources to help you vote for the planet in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, or any upcoming U.S. election, here are some resources that could help: Vote Climate U.S. PAC's Voter Guide, Climate Cabinet's Climate Scorecard, League of Conservation Voter Scorecard.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Anandi Yadav, Clara, Danielle Bird, Lindsay Kerns, Michael Chase, Nick Blocha, Shai
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
• (06:12) - space
• (07:04) - Marker 2
• (09:03) - Marker 3
• (14:31) - Marker 4

Plant-based cheese is better than ever, but can we expand our expectations of cheese to ease our reliance on Big Dairy?

Cheese is delicious. Even aspiring vegans find cheese hard to quit. But making dairy cheese is not only rough on the planet — the dairy cows’ lives aren’t great either. In this episode, we’re getting the full picture of the impact of dairy cheese, including the United States’ decades-long surplus cycle with the cheese industry and how it’s connected to Pizza Hut’s Summer of Cheese.

We’re chatting with famed vegan chef and cheese icon, Miyoko Schinner about how far plant-based cheese has come and her favorite plant-based cheese bases. We’re learning practical tips to learn to love plant-based cheese, and having our very own cheese taste test.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Amea Wadsworth, Diana Holguin, Drew Crabtree, Kenzie Rattray, Melissa Athina, Miriam Jornet
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0

Gifting isn't easy for everyone, and it certainly isn't cheap. On top of that, unwanted gifts can be wasteful and lead to piles of returns or trash. But becoming a more sustainable, low-waste gifter will make you a better gifter and save you money!

In this episode, we give you dozens of great gift ideas from our community, and all of them are backed by the research of leading Dr. Julian Givi. We'll also talk about the carbon (and waste impact) of big holidays like Christmas.

If you want more gift ideas, we've got you covered! The Commons team curated gift guides for everyone on your list with over 300 unique, memorable gift ideas, including vintage items, experiences, and DIYs.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Read the episode Click here to view the episode transcript.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Adyasha, Alyssa Barber, Amea Wadsworth, Anandi Yadav, Cara Haberman, Deb Hansen, Ezra Chaviv, Kelly Kandra Hughes, PhD, Morgan Gallagher, Rachel Orenstein, Timmin Vooijs
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0
• (00:00) - Marker 1