In this episode, Kyla and Kristen uncork the topic of ethics and wine. Topics: South African wine and Apartheid legacies; Fairtrade wine; migrant labour and wineries; pesticide use on vineyards; organic wine; biodynamic wine; salmon-safe vineyards; climate change and wine; boxed versus bottled; and animal welfare and wine.
Read MoreIn part two of this two-part seafood series, Kyla and Kristen explore questions about animal welfare and human rights in fishing and fish farming. Kristen talks about her seafood-alternative kitchen disaster. Kyla considers getting a monkfish as a pet. Topics: animal welfare and wild-caught versus farmed fish; human trafficking and the fishing industry; seafood sustainability labels; what to think about when choosing ethical seafood.
Read MoreIn part one of this two-part seafood series, Kristen explains how fishing works and the problems behind the overfishing crisis. Kyla discovers what a monkfish looks like. Topics: overfishing; illegal, irregular, and unreported fishing; seafood fraud; different fishing methods; and the environmental impacts of fishing and aquaculture.
Read More“You’re just giving side-eye to all of the dogs in the airport, being like: ‘Hey! Don’t narc!’” In this episode – recorded on 4/20 – Kristen and Kyla talk cannabis. Topics: how cannabis works; the cannabis supply chain; legalisation; the Canadian cannabis market; the Mormon grandma story; Cannabis and the environment; and which method of consumption is best (it’s not disposable vapes).
Read MoreIn this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Alix Jansen to talk about COVID-19 and inequality. Alix is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on work and social policy in advanced industrial democracies. Topics: COVID-19 and racial, gender, social, and economic inequalities; the white collar quarantine; the economic crisis and COVID-19; social policy responses; and possible long-term legacies of the pandemic.
Read More“Certainly that feeling of apocalypse is amplified when you wake up and it’s like 9:00am in the summer, the sun should be high in the sky, and you’re like, ‘It’s dark out.’” In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Robert Miller, a progressive activist and Extinction Rebellion organizer in the heart of oil country. The discussion is all about personal behaviour changes and where they fit in the global climate movement. Topics: the Wetsuweten solidarity blockades; protest and our relationship with public spaces; Robert’s climate crisis awakening; belief and the climate crisis; climate anxiety; the most important personal behaviour change for the climate; community-building as democracy; first steps to joining the climate movement.
Read MoreCOVID-19 is a health crisis, but it isn’t only a health crisis. In this bonus episode, Kristen and Kyla discuss ten unexpected effects of the pandemic.
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“I mean I just smell like vinegar. I don’t know if that’s better.” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen fail at the ultimate sustainability challenge: going zero waste. Kyla and Kristen are not ready for handkerchiefs or reusable toilet paper. Topics: what is zero waste; the disposable society; single-use plastics and our oceans; the zero waste movement; zero waste principles (reduce, reuse, recycle, compost); how to go zero waste(ish); waste-free shops; Kristen and Kyla try DIY zero waste recipes while #socialdistancing.
Read MoreIn this special bonus crossover episode, Kyla, Kristen, Kieran, and Matty D. imagine their own ethical movies. Do any of us have a future as producers? Listen in to hear what we came up with!
Read MoreKyla runs the show for this special collaborative episode on movies, featuring Kieran and Matty D. from Potential Spoilers (a podcast that predicts the plot of movies from the trailer). Topics: diversity in Hollywood; the environmental impact of the film industry; animals and film; child actors; baby burlesque used to be a thing and it is just as horrifying as it sounds; what you can do to help; Kyla, Kristen, Matty D., and Kieran see independent movies.
Read MoreSocial distancing! In this bonus episode, Kyla and Kristen each shout out three problems and three champions as the COVID-19 pandemic asserts itself in Canada. Kyla notices how pandemics change our lives and routines in unexpected ways. Kristen realizes she had no idea what a week’s worth of groceries looks like.
Read More“Don’t get rid of all your pants. You’ve gotta wear pants.” In this episode, Kristen and Kyla talk about what it means to have a conscious closet. Kristen’s hoodie becomes mattress stuffing. Kyla glues her shoes. Topics: escaping fast fashion; what is a conscious closet; fashion personality types; doing a wardrobe impact inventory; your clothing reuse plan; where clothing donations go; recycling clothes; clothing resale and rentals.
Read More“That’s like our whole show: ‘Better than nothing, I guess!’” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen talk about the environmental impact of clothing. Topics: the environmental impact of polyester, other synthetics, cotton, cellulosic fibres, wool, and bast fibres (best fibres!); pollution, water use, and emissions in the production of clothing; tools you can use to find sustainable clothing; the environmental impact of tossing clothes; Kyla and Kristen do an impact inventory of their wardrobes.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kristen and Kyla unravel the problems with fast fashion. Kyla learns that making clothes really is that hard. Kristen calls out Jay-Z and P-Diddy. Topics: what is fast fashion; we are buying (and throwing out) so many clothes; how the fashion supply chain works; offshoring; FDR, labour hero; sweatshops; garment industry disasters; forced labour; child labour; why is everything so shitty; is it getting better; what you can do.
Read MoreNot on my wash! In this episode, Kristen and Kyla air their dirty laundry. Kristen is appalled by her own wardrobe. Kyla is worried she doesn’t wash her clothes enough — although honestly, if it saves the planet... Listen in for practical tips on doing ethical laundry! Topics: water and energy use; how often should you wash your laundry (it’s a clothes call); waste-free detergents and softeners; Kyla’s (soap) nuts; plastic microfibre pollution; and microfibre capture devices. Clean jokes only, we promise.
Read More“I need to be able to fit my cellphone in my pants; this is a feminist crisis!” In this bonus episode, listen to more of Kristen and Kyla’s discussion with food, migration, and labour historian Alexandra (Lex) Sundarsingh. Topics: Lex misses stationary street food; Toronto’s racist health panic (the one about food trucks, not 2019-nCoV); Pad Thai robots!!; France’s kitchen brigade system; Canada is terrible at food diplomacy; sea lice is a thing, apparently; Lex’s new project on complaints filed by female Indian indentured labourers on British colonial sugar plantations.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by food, migration, and labour historian Alexandra (Lex) Sundarsingh. Lex adds her knowledge about historical human rights abuses in sugar production — which, unfortunately, look a lot like present-day human rights abuses in sugar production. In their discussion, Lex, Kyla, and Kristen explain sugar production and why human rights practices are so fraught. They also discuss what you can do if you want to combat human rights abuses in sugar. Topics: indentured servitude in the British empire; sugarcane versus sugar beets; sugarcane is still a human rights hellscape; there’s some baggage in the history of Canadian sugar beet production; Stevia and biopiracy; Kyla goes through sugar withdrawal; Kristen struggles to find fair trade; Lex is giving out Sweetness and Power like it’s a car and she’s Oprah.
Read MoreVeganuary is over! How did Kristen and Kyla do?
Read MoreVeganuary — it’s what’s for dinner! (And breakfast, and lunch…) In this episode, Kristen and Kyla talk about veganism. This episode looks at the history of veganism and vegan activism, as well as vegan eating. Topics: Veganuary at the Golden Globes; veganism is getting more woke (but it hasn’t always been); there’s secret meat in everything; meat substitutes; and cultured meat. Kyla and Kristen also discuss their Veganuary successes and failures.
Read More“Convert it into a wetland! — that should be the new ‘burn it down’.” In the second part of our two-parter on vegetarianism, Kyla and Kristen look at the environmental impact of animal- versus plant-based protein. They also discuss their challenges. Topics: the new Canada food guide; environmental gains from eating less meat (emissions, land use, water use, air pollution, ocean dead zones); Kristen’s excellent vegan wine adventure; Kyla just wants a cheeseburger.
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