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 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 ou how the plastic industry is behind one of th 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 Radvany
• Episode expert: Laurent Lebreton, Head of Research at The Ocean Cleanup
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting 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

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 Hebert
• Episode expert: Dr. Mara Einstein
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting 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

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.

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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.

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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 Stoutenbeek
• Episode expert: Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting 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

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 Credits

• Listener contributions: Holly Kane, Katrina Rodabaugh, Maya Roman, Sare, Taylor Barkley, Verity
• Episode expert: Adrienne Ferre
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting 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

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!

1. Fill out this form to start your submission to Second Nature.
2. After you fill out the form, you'll receive questions based on the topics you chose, with details about how to submit your audio.
3. Record your audio and send it our way!Call for Submissions: Contribute to Season 4!

‍-> Short Survey: Tell us what you think of Second Nature

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Whether you're a parent, an auntie, a coach, a godfather — there's a lot to think about when it comes to raising a more sustainable generation. How can we raise young people to take better care of the planet than the generations before them?

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‍For our last episode of season 3, we're looking into the future to see how younger generations are thinking about climate change. From plant-based eating to civic engagement, we’re talking to our community, Moms Clean Air Force, and Commons founder Sanchali Seth Pal to find out how folks are raising kids to take action.

🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading an citations in the full show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.
🐣 Here's Sanchali's list of sustainable baby stuff!

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Amea Wadsworth, Brian Stancheski, Elisabeth, Federica, Jacqueline Elliott, Liv, Sara Rego, Sare, Tiffany, Willa Stoutenbeek, Paloma, Stevia, Ezra, Ace, Aza, Stella, Emmett
• Episode expert: Alexandra Zissu
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

-> 🚨 Tell your U.S. reps not to cut federal funding for public libraries.
-> Short Survey: Tell us what you think of Second Nature

Libraries are icons of the sharing economy. When we borrow books, media, and tools from the library, we save ourselves from needing to buy new stuff. But did you know that libraries are also community hubs for climate resilience? From heatwaves to hurricanes, thousands of people have used libraries as free spaces to escape the elements and find respite.

In this community episode, we're everything that our listeners get from their local libraries.

🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes and citations.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Kelly Kandra Hughes, PhD, Alexa Rivera, Sare, Shaila, Taylor Barkley, Evan Goodchild
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham