Listen to season three of “A Little Green,” an Avocado Green podcast featuring stories of resiliency in the face of climate change.
Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on StitcherA Little Green is a podcast that explores our relationship with the planet. The first season of the series featured experts across the climate movement. People like Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, Jade Begay, and Professor Sarah Jaquette Ray helped us better understand our role in the climate crisis and how we can make a difference. In season two, we heard personal stories from people who have had life-changing experiences with nature, emphasizing our reciprocal relationship with the planet.
This season, we’re highlighting amazing resiliency efforts in the face of climate change. Host Christina Thompson connects with grassroots groups across New York City to learn about the innovative, inspiring, and collaborative ways they’re protecting their communities. From Red Hook to the Bronx, each episode features people who care deeply for their neighborhoods — people who are making tangible change today.
Listen to the first two seasons of A Little Green: Season 1 and 2.
Episode 1: A Turning Point for New York City
“It’s one thing understanding that intellectually… it’s another thing actually seeing what happened.”
In September of 2023, heavy rainfall led to flooding in New York City. Images of cars covered in water were all over the news and reminded people of one of New York’s most harrowing weather events: Superstorm Sandy. To kick off this season of A Little Green, host Christina Thompson sets out on a mission to find the upside. She asks local experts what the city’s learned in the years since Sandy, and what’s been done to make New York more a resilient, climate solutions-oriented place to live – for everybody.
Featured:
- Dr. Anthony Broccoli – Co-director and Earth Systems Science Lead, Rutgers Climate Institute
- Gita Nandan – Founder of the RETI (Resilience, Education, Training and Innovation) Center
- Dr. Alison Branco – Climate Adaptation Director, The Nature Conservancy in New York
Episode 2: An Estuary Transformed
“What if the rebuilding of the city in the face of a climate crisis is a moment to build a more just and a more environmentally flexible city?”
Before we can understand what the future of New York City could look like as our climate changes, we need to go back… way back. With the help of local historian and professor, Kara Schlichting, Christina learns about what the area was like before European colonization, how settlers changed New York’s waterfronts, and how the development of industrial port infrastructure set the city up for economic dominance — and put New Yorkers on a collision course with environmental issues we’re contending with to this day. How can our past help us determine what an equitable future might look like?
Featured:
- Kara Schlichting – Associate Professor of History at Queens College, CUNY, Author of New York Recentered: Building the Metropolis from the Shore
Resources:
- Manahatta to Manhattan: Native Americans in Lower Manhattan, National Museum of the American Indian
- Robert A. Caro – The Power Broker
- Vision 2020 New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan
- Russell Shorto – The Island at the Center of the World
Episode 3: A New Era of Climate Adaptation
“You can multiply the benefits and you can also multiply the joy.”
Big storms aren’t going anywhere any time soon, so it’s essential to understand how cities like New York are adapting to and preparing for these increasingly precedent weather events. Christina gets the lowdown on some of the massive resiliency projects happening in the city. She learns about an exciting model for climate adaptation planning — one that marries community voices with global design thinking. And, we get insight into one development that’s been the subject of some controversy on the Lower East Side.
Featured:
- Amy Chester – Managing Director, Rebuild by Design
- Damaris Reyes – Executive Director, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES)
Resources:
Episode 4: If the World is to be Saved…
“If the world is to be saved, it will be saved by those who care deeply for very small places.”
We’ve heard about some of the giant resilience efforts happening in New York; now it’s time to think a little bit smaller and talk about… oysters! Not only are oysters a delicious treat, but they’re also fundamental to the health and sustainability of New York’s waterway ecosystem. To learn all about their environmental superpowers, Christina joins the team from grassroots organization City Island Oyster Reef for a day out on the water. By partnering with other nonprofits, the Department of Environmental Conservation, local restaurants, and a crew of dedicated volunteers, CIOR is working to restore oyster populations, create new reefs, and allow these amazing little creatures to do what they do best.
Featured:
- Sally Connolly, Mike Carew, Barbara Dolensek, and Luna Placchi of City Island Oyster Reef
Resources:
In celebration of Earth Day and the launch of our newest season of A Little Green, we’ve partnered with the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a nonprofit dedicated to creating high-quality public green space for communities across NYC. A percentage of every mattress order placed during Earth Month will support NYRP’s environmental stewardship of more than 80 acres of New York City parkland. Together, we can create a greener, more resilient city for all.
Do you have a story of resiliency to share? Email us at [email protected] to share!
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