Down-To-Earth by Jenna

Transport journalist Carlton Reid breaks down bike history, boom(s), and why bikes are our future

Jenna Matecki chats bike boom(s) with bicycling and transport journalist Carlton Reid, author of Roads Were Not Built for Cars, Bike Boom, and hundreds of articles for Forbes, The Guardian, BikeBiz, and more.

Mater Iniciativa's Malena Martínez on Peruvian food, biodiversity, culture

Jenna speaks with Malena Martínez, Co-Director of Mater Iniciativa, an interdisciplinary gastronomic and cultural research organization dedicated to investigating, conserving, and sharing Peru’s rich biodiversity. Malena, chefs Virgilio Martínez and Pia León, and the Mater team are behind the world-famous Central, Kjolle, Mayo, Mil, and Ichu restaurants.

NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir talks space, nature, penguins

Jenna Matecki interviews NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir, a nature-loving scientist who spent 205 days living aboard the International Space Station. Penguin catching, space friends, serendipities, gravity, optimism, expeditionary skills, COVID-19, Artemis, the Moon, Mars, female astronauts, marine biology, caving, Antarctica, Neutral Buoyancy, aliens, and more.

Ethnobotanist Alejandro de Ávila dives into Oaxaca, Mesoamerican biodiversity

Dive into a world of hot chocolate, botanical gardens, textile museums, little red bugs, seafaring canoes, geothermal cooling, and magic with Jenna and Alejandro de Ávila, founding director of Oaxaca, Mexico’s ethnobotanical garden - Jardín Etnobotanico de Oaxaca. Alej is also the curator of Oaxaca’s textile museum - Museo Textil de Oaxaca.

Plant-based Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn explains healthy nutrition, reversing heart disease

Jenna interviews Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a legendary down-to-earth doctor who has reversed and cured heart disease for thousands of patients, and advocated for a plant-based diet since 1984. You may recognize him from the documentary Forks Over Knives, praise from President Clinton, books or videos from his wife Ann, daughter Jane, or son Rip, the Cleveland Clinic, or piles and piles of well-cited nutrition papers, studies, and essays. Heart disease is the *leading cause of death for Americans* and, as someone who was born in the US heartland, I could not recommend hearing what Dr. Esselstyn has to say more.