Chrysalis with John Fiege

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/25-abraham-joffe-the-polar-bear-tradeListen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate.Why is there an international trade in polar bear body parts, despite their iconic status as a symbol of climate change?More than any other animal, the polar bear is an icon of climate change.Considering this iconic status, you might be surprised to learn that there is an international trade in polar bears.In the early days of talking about the greenhouse effect, scientists and activists had a hard time getting the public to care about the abstract, seemingly far-off threat of climate change.Listen on Apple PodcastsPolar bears, however, offered a story and a powerful visual to help the pubic understand the possible consequences of a changing climate.The diet of a polar bear is composed almost exclusively of seals, and they hunt those seals almost entirely on the sea ice in the Arctic. As the climate warms and the Arctic sea ice disappears, polar bears have much less habitat to hunt seals.Scientists in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s began to document the loss of sea ice and eventually its impact on polar bears. By the late 1990s, polar bears began to appear in the media as symbols of climate change. The iconic status of these charismatic, fuzzy, white teddy-bear-like animals, and their extraordinarily adorable cubs, achieved new heights in 2006, when the Academy Award-winning Al Gore climate change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, used polar bears in their graphics as a symbol for the threat of climate change.Listen on YouTubeIn 2008, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listed polar bears under the Endangered Species Act, making the polar bear the first animal listed soley due to the threat of climate change. Despite arguments from some scientists and activists that the polar bear deserved an endangered listing, the highest level of protection, due to the dire prospects for sea ice, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under George W. Bush decided to list polar bears only as threatened, one level below endangered.Over the years, there has been a lot of debate about whether the polar bear should have been used as the symbol of climate change. The criticism is largely that polar bears and the Arctic can seem far away and unrelated to people's lives and the immediate threats of climate change to people all over the world. Polar bears, critics argued, were not the best symbol for mobilizing the public to demand an immediate reduction of carbon emissions.Listen on SpotifyRegardless of whether polar bears were an effective icon of climate change, the fact is that their future in the wild is in grave danger.The lowest levels of sea ice in the Arctic typically occur in September, and the largest global climate models predict that the Arctic will be practically free of sea ice in September by 2050, if not before.It is on the context that the Australlian flimmaker, Abraham Joffw, has released his film about the global trade in polar bears, called Trade Secret. I was shocked to hear that a trade in polar bears even exists, as was Abraham when he forst learned of it. Some of the trade is illegal, but much of it is legal, and there are countires and other powerful players fighting to keep the trade open.Listen on CaptivateTaking joy or profit in buying or selling the body parts of endangered animals seems to plumb the depths of depravity, but sadly it's a reality; and Abraham's film brings this story to light in a captivating way.I saw Trade Secret last fall during Climate Week in New York City, at the Climate Film Festival, where my film Raising Aniya was also screening. Soon after the screening, Abraham sat down with me to discuss how he found this story and the epic journey to make the film.I'm John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films.Here is Abraham Joffe.Notes and Media Recommendations:An Accidental Icon https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/polar-bear-climage-change-iconWhy Polar Bears Became an Icon of Climate Change https://www.earth.com/news/polar-bears-climate-change-2/Bearing Witness? Polar Bears as Icons for Climate Change Communication in National Geographic https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2018.1435557Why the Climate Movement doesn't Talk About Polar Bears Anymore https://grist.org/culture/climate-change-polar-bears-symbol-history/The Polar Bear as a Climate Icon https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/polar-bear-as-a-climate-iconWhy Polar Bears are no Longer the Poster Image of Climate Change https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231113-climate-change-why-photos-of-polar-bears-dont-workThe polar bear became an 'accidental icon' of climate change. Is it time to rethink that? https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whatonearth/retire-polar-bear-as-climate-icon-1.6555579The Big Meltdown https://time.com/archive/6742122/the-big-meltdown/Arctic Meltdown, TIME Magazine, September 4, 2000https://content.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20000904,00.htmlMove over, polar bears: Climate change has a new symbolhttps://grist.org/article/move-over-polar-bears-climate-change-has-a-new-symbol/Polar bears https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear/Polar Bears: Listing Under the Endangered Species Acthttps://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33941.htmlPolar Bear Designation Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-study/polar-bear-designation-under-us-endangered-species-actCourt Upholds Endangered Species Act Protection for Polar Bearshttps://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/court-upholds-endangered-species-act-protection-polar-bearsThe Polar Bear as a Climate Icon https://polarjournal.net/the-polar-bear-as-a-climate-icon/Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Extent - Earth Indicatorhttps://science.nasa.gov/earth/explore/earth-indicators/arctic-sea-ice-minimum-extent/#:~:text=Key%20Takeaway:,decade%20due%20to%20warmer%20temperatures.Charctic Interactive Sea Ice Graph https://nsidc.org/sea-ice-today/sea-ice-tools/charctic-interactive-sea-ice-graphSea Ice https://arctic.noaa.gov/report-card/report-card-2025/sea-ice-2025/Predicting the Future of Arctic Icehttps://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/arctic-ice-study#:~:text=One%20set%20of%20projections%20from,the%20global%20climate%20model%20systems.%E2%80%9DSimulations suggest ice-free Arctic summers by 2050 https://climate.esa.int/nl/projecten/sea-ice/news-and-events/news/simulations-suggest-ice-free-arctic-summers-2050/Arctic Sea Ice in CMIP6https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2019GL086749Why has the Arctic sea ice minimum not set a new record in over 10 years? https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/why-has-the-arctic-sea-ice-minimum-not-set-a-new-record-in-over-10-yearsUntitled Film Workshttps://untitledfilmworks.com.au/CreditsThis episode was edited by Isabella Fleming. Music is by Daniel Rodríguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/24-laura-dunn-live-prophets-liveListen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate.If you’re concerned about what we’re doing to the climate and ecosystems around the planet and you’ve ever expressed those concerns to anyone, you probably know what it feels like to be seen as a Cassandra—the pessimist, the naysayer, the party pooper of Greek mythology. But the part of the myth we often forget is that Cassandra was a truth teller. She was right!The theater artist and activist, Laura Dunn, has brought the myth of Cassandra into an uproarious cabaret musical, called Live! Prophets! Live!, where Cassandra is a scientist who journeys into the underworld, where she meets many other truth-telling, trouble-making, prophetic woman from across the ages and confronts the very modern problems of climate change and ecological catastrophe.Listen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcats Laura Dunn is a multitalented theater artist: a playwright, actor, musician, composer, and activist. She’s also a poet and recipient of the Oregon Literary Fellowship from Literary Arts. Through her nonprofit theater company in Portland, Oregon, called The Broken Planetarium, she creates original productions that bring together professional artists and people new to theater. This kind of theater is all too rare, but it has a special ability to build community and draw more people into creativity and performance—and into a fun, campy, important discussion about how to change the world for the better.Listen on SpotifyPhoto Courtesy of Laura DunnI'm John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films.Listen on YouTubeI recorded this conversation in November of 2022. You can see Laura's lastest productions at brokenplanetarium.org.Here is Laura Dunn.Recommended Readings & Media:Spider Blue By Laura Dunn https://dulcetshop.myshopify.com/products/spider-blue-laura-christina-dunn?ref=brokenplanetarium.orgPissed-Off Prophets & Climate Catastrophe: The Broken Planetarium's Live! Prophets! Live! By Brett Campbell, for Oregon Arts Watchhttps://www.orartswatch.org/pissed-off-prophets-climate-catastrophe-the-broken-planetariums-live-prophets-live/How to Make Thrilling Theater About Climate Change Negotiations By Alex Marshall, for the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/theater/kyoto-royal-shakespeare-company.htmlCreditsThis episode was researched by Lydia Montgomery and edited by Sarah Westrich, with additional editing by Isabella Fleming, Arthur Koenig, and Marta Kondratiuk. Music is by Daniel Rodriguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.-----------Subscribe at https://www.johnfiege.earth/

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/23-christy-rupp-from-rubble-rats-to-plastic-pangolinsListen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate.Waste is often invisible—or at least many people work hard to make it disappear. Through landfills, incineration, and cargo ships traveling across oceans, we have become adept at pretending that waste is not a problem and that it can disappear.Who is Christy Rupp?Christy Rupp is a New York City-based artist who has spent her career bringing waste to light, making the invisible visible and the unnoticed noticed. She grew up here in Buffalo, but she started her career in the art world in the 1970s in New York City. Some of her early work brought attention to the rats on the streets as they experienced a population explosion due to the 1979 garbage strike, which itself made the garbage and the rats more visible.Listen on Apple PodcastsHer work exposes ecological threats often hidden from sight—from acid rain, to fast food, to microplastics; and often waste materials are her medium—from cardboard, to chicken bones, to credit cards—drawing attention to the presence of that waste and its ecological impacts.Listen on YouTubeFrom the fall of 2024 through the winter of 2025, the Anderson Gallery at the University at Buffalo hosted an exhibition featuring more than forty years of Christy’s work, curated by Anna Wager. On November 15, 2024, I recorded an interview with Christy as we walked through the gallery and discussed much of the work on display.Listen on SpotifyI’m John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films. On the page for this episode, you will find both the audio as a podcast and the full video of our gallery walk and interview, including close-ups of many of Christy’s art works.Listen on CaptivateHere is Christy Rupp.Notes and Media RecommendationsChristy Rupp's Website: https://christyrupp.com/Christy Rupp's Wikipedia Page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_RuppNoisy Autumn Sculpture and Works on Paper By Christy Rupphttps://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Noisy-Autumn/Christy-Rupp/9781647224844"Manifesto for Maintenance Art—Proposal for an Exhibition" By Mierle Laderman Ukeleshttps://queensmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Ukeles-Manifesto-for-Maintenance-Art-1969.pdfCreditsThis episode was edited by Jamie Hager, with color grading and additional editing by Isabella Fleming. Music is by Daniel Rodríguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker. Camera and production sound are by Jamie Hager and Marc Baan.Special thanks to Anna Wager, who curated Christy Rupp’s show and arranged the podcast recording at the Anderson Gallery at the University at Buffalo.-----------Subscribe at https://www.johnfiege.earth/

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/22-revisiting-poisoned-ground-at-love-canal-with-luella-kenny-photographs-and-upcoming-live-eventListen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate. See Luella Kenny Tour PhotosIn 1978, Luella Kenny was living in the Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, when her 6-year-old son, Jon Allen, mysteriously became ill. He was in and out of hospitals over the next several months as he struggled with seizures, hallucinations, swelling, nausea, and labored breathing. Over and over, Jon Allen would never recover in the hospital, the doctors would send him home, and he would get sick again. Jon Allen turned 7 in September of 1978. In October, he fell sick again. He was vomiting, his heart was racing, and he had trouble breathing. He went to the hospital one last time, where his heart stopped beating.Jon Allen’s death was traumatic and devastating for Luella and her family: her husband, Norman, and Jon Allen’s two older brothers, Christopher and Stephen. His death was also a turning point in the struggle of Love Canal residents to convince politicians and health officials that the many unexplained illnesses, birth defects, and miscarriages were linked to the toxic pollution under their homes and schools and coursing through their streams.Just years before Love Canal became the site of a school and a housing development, it was used as a toxic waste dump by the Hooker Chemical Company, which was acquired by Occidental Petroleum in 1968. By the time residents started asking whether there was a link between the illnesses and the toxic chemicals in the ground, Occidental Petroleum denied any culpability, hiding behind the lack of environmental laws when they did the dumping, and their disclosures to the school board when they sold them the dump for one dollar.After Jon Allen’s death, Luella began to speak out and demand answers. She began to tell Jon Allen's story, as painful as it was. She realized that talking about her experiences could help prevent other young children from dying needlessly in the future—in Niagara Falls or in one of the many other neighborhoods near a toxic waste dump somewhere else in the country.Listen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcats Luella is now 89 years old, and she still regularly gives tours of her old neighborhood and recounts what happened to her, her son, and her neighbors.Last month, I was privileged to be on one of her tours as part of the University at Buffalo Humanities Institute conference. Over four hours, she showed us around the neighborhood, recounted her story, and answered questions. We drove past her old house, where Jon Allen used to play in the backyard by the creek, which was later found to be highly polluted with dioxin. We did not stop. A new family lives there now. On April 16, 2026, I will be recording a live podcast conversation on stage with Luella, along with Keith O'Brien, author of the book Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe.Keith’s remarkable work of literary nonfiction places the reader in the middle of the story of Love Canal, as if it’s playing out in real time, like a thriller. His meticulous research and extensive interviews connect dots and create a clear timeline, revealing many new insights about an infamous chapter in American history. His book allows you to feel the story—the horror, the outrage, and the courage of those who fought back against powerful men in industry and government who would let all of this happen.Official Love Canal memorial, which does not recognize the residents, activists, and government officials responsible for catapulting Love Canal into the national spotlight. Photograph by John Fiege © 2026.In our conversation, we will hear from Luella about her story and from Keith about how he wove her story into the narrative of his book.If you’re in Buffalo on April 16, please join us in person. In the show notes, you can find the registration link. It’s filling up fast, so register soon. If you can’t make it in person, you can also register to watch online.You can see my photographs from Luella’s tour of Love Canal last month at johnfiege.earth.See Luella Kenny Tour PhotosPlease subscribe to receive a notice when we release the conversation as a podcast.Notes and Media RecommendationsParadise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe, by Keith O'Brienhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/665371/paradise-falls-by-keith-obrien/Love Canal: The Story Continues..., by Lois Gibbs https://archive.org/details/lovecanalstoryco0000gibbLove Canal: A Toxic History from Colonial Times to the Present, by Richard S. Newmanhttps://global.oup.com/academic/product/love-canal-9780190053840?cc=us&lang=en&Credits This episode was edited by Isabella Fleming. Music is by Daniel Rodríguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.-----------Subscribe at https://www.johnfiege.earth/

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/21-ken-baker-rethink-food/Listen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate.New York City is one of the wealthiest cities in the world–and the financial capital of the world. And yet, food insecurity in the city is rampant. About one in three adults and nearly half of families with children experience "food hardship" each year, defined as "sometimes or often running out of food, or a person worrying that they will."Listen on Apple PodcastsAt the same time, about 40 percent of all food in the United States goes unsold or uneaten each year. The greenhouse gas emissions that result from this wasted food are equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions of 42 coal-fired power plants. Once this excess food is produced, the best way to minimize the climate impacts is to donate or upcycle the food that will otherwise go to waste.What if this excess food in the food system could be rescued and put to use to create jobs, to build community, and to combat inequality and food insecurity?This is exactly what a nonprofit organization in New York City, called Rethink Food, has been doing since its founding in 2017 by Matt Jozwiak (You-swee-ak). Jozwiak is a former chef at Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant in Manhattan with three Michelin stars, voted–also in 2017–the world's best restaurant.Listen on YouTubeRethink Food began finding and rescuing excess food in the food system and turning it into high quality meals that they gave away through their growing list of partner organizations in the city. The organization remains chef-led, priding itself on creating nutrient dense, culturally relevant, and great tasting meals.Rethink Food has grown rapidly since its founding and today serves over 40,000 meals a week, sometimes over 50,000 meals a week. They've accomplished these amazing numbers by partnering with restaurants and other kitchens around the city, often creating meals between lunch and dinner, when the kitchens typically see little use.Listen on SpotifyKen Baker is one of the people who's been with Rethink Food through much of its growth. He grew up with a single mother in Baltimore and experienced food insecurity himself as a child, before getting into food service early in life. He now serves as the culinary director at Rethink Food and helps build the organization's impact through the relationships he's built around the kitchen and around the city.Ken Baker at Rethink Food. Photograph by John Fiege © 2025.I met Ken in the course of production on a new film I'm making about consumption and waste in New York City. I've found him to be an extraordinarily warm person, driven by deeply held values.For me, Ken's story, and the story of Rethink Food more broadly, is one of cascading solutions. I often talk about cascading crises–of climate change, habitat destruction, mass extinction, and environmental injustice. Ken and Rethink Food show us that this cascading effect can also work in reverse: a cascade of solutions, rather than a cascade of crises. It's inspiring and hopeful.Listen on CaptivateIt turns out that a solution to the huge ecological problem of food waste can also serve as a solution to injustice, inequality, food insecurity, loneliness, lack of purpose, lack of community, and more.I'm John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films.I recorded my interview with Ken in September of 2025, during Climate Week, at the offices of Rethink Food. Occasionally, in the distance, you will hear the telltale signs of life in the heart of Manhattan.Here is Ken Baker.Notes and Media Recommendations:Robin Hood, "Robin Hood Poverty Tracker Finds One in Three New Yorkers Have Used a Food Pantry Over a Three-year Period Following the Pandemic"https://robinhood.org/news/poverty-tracker-spotlight-food-assistance-pantries-2024/Natural Resources Defense Council, "Food Waste 101"https://www.nrdc.org/stories/food-waste-101Rethink Foodhttps://www.rethinkfood.org/The World's 50 Best Restaurants: Eleven Madison Parkhttps://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/best-of-the-best/eleven-madison-park.htmlCreditsThis episode was edited by Isabella Fleming. Music is by Daniel Rodríguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.-----------Subscribe at https://www.johnfiege.earth/