
At a Distance
A podcast about the bigger picture. Host Spencer Bailey calls on leading minds, from scientists and technologists to artists and climate activists, to zoom out and look at some of the planet’s most pressing issues from a whole-earth, long-view perspective.
Latest episodes

Mar 21, 2022 • 42min
Andrew Carmellini on the Future of Restaurants in America
Chef and restaurateur Andrew Carmellini, co-founder of the NoHo Hospitality Group, talks with us about using food as a way to nourish communities, why there’s no recipe for scaling restaurants, and the nuanced realities of local produce.Episode sponsored by Château Troplong Mondot.

Mar 7, 2022 • 43min
Dr. Jo Handelsman on Why We Must Care for the Soil Beneath Our Feet
Dr. Jo Handelsman, author of the new book “A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet,” discusses the urgency of developing new antibiotics, why she’s opposed to calling soil “dirt,” and what Indigenous agricultural systems can teach us about protecting and rebuilding farmlands.Episode sponsored by Château Troplong Mondot.

Feb 21, 2022 • 48min
Samuel Ross on Designing Objects That Record and Reflect on the World
British designer, creative director, and artist Samuel Ross, founder of the fashion label A-Cold-Wall, speaks with us about his reverence and respect for materials; essentialism as a response to excess; and why art, at its best, provokes questions. Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

Feb 7, 2022 • 33min
Jay McInerney on Looking at Society Through the Lens of Wine
Novelist and veteran wine writer Jay McInerney, famous for his 1984 cult classic “Bright Lights, Big City,” talks with us about how vineyard owners are coping with the climate crisis, the opportunity plant-based fine dining presents for rethinking wine pairings, and why great food should cost a certain price.Episode sponsored by Château Troplong Mondot.

9 snips
Jan 24, 2022 • 39min
Kate Orff on How Humans Can Rebuild Natural Systems
Kate Orff, founding principal of the landscape architecture and urban design studio Scape, discusses rewilding as one tool among many for restoring ecological infrastructure, oysters as engineering assistants in preventing coastal flooding, and other out-of-the-box solutions local and federal authorities should be considering before the next hurricane hits. Episode sponsored by Château Troplong Mondot.

Jan 10, 2022 • 37min
Kathleen Finlay on the Vast Potential of Regenerative Agriculture
Kathleen Finlay, president of the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming in New York’s Hudson Valley, speaks with us about the great opportunities to be harnessed within local food systems, the health benefits of subscribing to a C.S.A., and the importance of giving people a voice in determining their foodscapes.Episode sponsored by Château Troplong Mondot.

18 snips
Dec 13, 2021 • 48min
Marc Peter Keane on Finding Peace of Mind in Japanese Gardens
Kyoto-based landscape architect, artist, and author Marc Peter Keane talks with us about listening to stones, how well-tended environments can help engage the senses, and the importance of thinking about the world not as a series in individual parts, but as a confluence of them. Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

11 snips
Dec 6, 2021 • 49min
Daniel Schmachtenberger on the Dire Need for an Open Society
Social philosopher Daniel Schmachtenberger, a founding member of The Consilience Project, discusses the importance of taking multiple perspectives on a single situation, the challenge of international coordination when trying to solve global problems, and how collective action can mitigate catastrophic and existential risk.

Nov 29, 2021 • 28min
Wava Carpenter on Design as a Tool for Storytelling
Wava Carpenter, the curatorial director of the Design Miami fair, speaks with us about what she’s doing to make Design Miami a potent platform for conversation, how the pandemic created an ideological shift in the design industry, and the age-old debate around what constitutes “art” versus “design.”
Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko. https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en

Nov 22, 2021 • 38min
Bernie Krause on Tuning in to Nature’s Soundscapes
Bioacoustician and musician Bernie Krause, author of the new book “The Power of Tranquility in a Very Noisy World,” talks with us about quieting the mind by listening to nature, what he learned after losing his home and studio in a 2017 California wildfire, and his recordings of more than 100 species in their natural habitats for “The Great Animal Orchestra,” an immersive audio-visual exhibition now on view at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts (through May 22, 2022).
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