This is episode two, recorded at Eco Nomic Futures in San Francisco. Not a conference exactly—more a meeting point. Where conversations crossed paths around food, land, economics, and what happens when systems lose their connection to life.

Today, we’re somewhere that feels both familiar and overlooked at the same time—Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The kind of place people call flyover country, a place many don’t think twice about, even as the people who live here are quietly shaping a future the rest of us will eventually feel.

Turtle Island. Before there were countries—before anyone called this land the United States, or Canada, or Mexico—this was Turtle Island. A continent of nations, overlapping territories, trade routes stretching farther than modern highways, and relationships thousands of years old. Today, that history is being carried forward by contemporary Indigenous leaders at Fort Mason—San Francisco’s skyline in the backdrop, summit banners hanging over a conversation that reaches far beyond the city around it. This is the First Nations Economic Compact.

In this episode, we talk with Nora Latorre, R.C. Carter, and Katie Stebbins — people working to shift the food system from the inside out. From how we feed our kids to how we nourish entire communities. Because we are what we eat. And maybe the way we feed our children is the clearest reflection of the future we’re willing to build.

In this episode, we talk with “Sleevs” Emily Messner, Joey Young, and Chris Denson about the evolution of journalism—from editorial boards and ad sales to freelancers, podcasts, and algorithms. How we depict what’s true, and whether journalism can still sustain itself.

In this episode, we sit down with Zohra Zori, Lucy Petroucheva, and Angela Eifert to talk about displacement, belonging, and the slow learning curve of new cultures. We’ll look at the mistakes, the forgiveness, and the “othering” that happens when you’re new. We’ll talk about refugee camps that stretch on for years, the difference between sustainability and dependence, and the unspoken emotions you carry when you leave everything behind.

Washington, D.C. isn’t just a backdrop of monuments and marble. It’s a living, breathing city—home to more than 700,000 people who work, who raise kids, who build their lives here. Known for decades as Chocolate City, D.C. carries a proud history of Black culture and resilience. And yet, unlike every other city in the United States, its residents watch democracy without fully taking part in it.

Today, we’re sharing stories of communities confronting climate change, dismantling systemic barriers, and working tirelessly to ensure equitable access to healthy food—because food security is fundamental to a thriving society.

Beneath the surface of our planet’s icy crown lie stories of ancient times, fragile ecosystems, and communities woven into the glaciers’ icy embrace. These frozen giants—part of the cryosphere, the world’s vast frozen regions—are more than just stunning landscapes; they are vital sentinels of our climate’s health and the future of life on Earth.