Second Nature

With the price of everything on the rise, can you live sustainably without spending more money? In fact, frugal living has always been sustainable. Clothes drying on the line, a cookie tin reused as a sewing kit, a Cool Whip tub filled with leftovers. Choosing stuff that lasts over stuff that's designed to be trashed, choosing to reuse before buying new, and choosing to skip stuff that doesn't serve us — these money-saving tips are also tips to live sustainably. Not only that, they liberate us to exist outside a world centered on consumption. In this episode, you'll get all kinds of tips from our community on how to save on everything from groceries to electricity.🌎 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 be a part of the Commons community? Download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Amandine Thomas, Amber Sit, Anna, Brian Stancheski, Grace Hebert, Justina, Madeline, Melissa Tan, Nicole Collins, Robbie AhmedEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:27) - Sustainable living has always been rooted in frugality. (03:30) - One razor is saving me hundreds. (05:19) - Our community’s favorite sustainable savings tips (23:49) - There’s more where that came fom (00:25) - 48 Community Classifieds

[This episode originally aired October 16, 2024] 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 CreditsListener contributions: Amea Wadsworth, Diana Holguin, Drew Crabtree, Kenzie Rattray, Melissa Athina, Miriam JornetEditing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (01:41) - Our community loves cheese (03:28) - Big Dairy, cheese caves, adn America’s decades-long milk obligation (07:35) - We’re drinking less milk than we used to, but we’re eating more cheese. Let’s talk about it. (10:54) - If one person can teach us to learn plant-based cheese, it’s famed chef, Miyoko Schinner (25:37) - How does cheese production impact the planet? (33:50) - Is it all or nothing?

In the midst of the one-year anniversary of LA’s devastating, off-season wildfires, we’re reminded that to live in a time of drastic climate change is to prepare for the improbable. From bigger tornadoes and more severe floods to prolonged droughts and deadly heatwaves, no region is immune to the increasing intensity of natural disasters driven by climate change. The rest of the world is coming face-to-face with the brutal reality that people in the Global South have faced for years — when it comes to climate disasters, it's not a matter of if they'll hit you, but when. But there are things we can do at home and in our communities to adapt before, during, and after disasters. On this episode, we hear from community members around the world about the climate disasters they’ve experienced and how their communities are adapting. We’re speaking with meteorologist Chase Chain about how discussing the weather means discussing climate change. And, we’re talking about how to make ourselves and our communities less vulnerable to the effects of climate disasters. 👉🏽 And don't miss Chase Cain's on-the-ground, behind-the-scenes coverage of the LA wildfires.🌎 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 be a part of the Commons community? Download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Airlea Rasul, Anandi Yadav, Anna , Elisabeth , Tessa Maurer, Tiffany, Zayna ZubairEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:09) - No one is immune to natural disasters. (02:40) - How can we better prepare for climate disasters, at home and in our communities? (05:52) - How people around the world are adapting to a new normal (12:44) - Interview with meteorologist and climate reporter, Chase Cain (36:15) - Your prep to-do list. (38:00) - Community Classifieds

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 CreditsListener 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.

[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 CreditsListener 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

Laurent Lebreton, Head of Research at The Ocean Cleanup, and Cinchali St. Paul, founder of Commons, dive deep into the plastic crisis. They discuss how the recycling myth has failed, revealing shocking rates: only 5% in the U.S. and 9% globally. Laurent shares insights from his ocean cleanup missions, emphasizing the fishing industry's role in plastic pollution. Cinchali highlights the fossil fuel industry's shift towards plastics, forecasting its growth as demand for oil decreases. Together, they call for systemic change and community action to combat this pressing issue.

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 CreditsListener 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

In a riveting discussion, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist and climate policy expert, shares her vision for collective climate action. She emphasizes the importance of community resilience and the need to bridge gaps in public support. Ayana advocates for reviving traditional practices, creating ripples of change rather than seeking glory, and finding joy at the intersection of skills and climate work. The conversation encourages transitioning from individualism to collaboration, inspiring listeners to join local climate efforts and embrace a collective approach.

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!

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 CreditsListener 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