Trace Material
38 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 88 ratingsTrace Material breaks down the building blocks of our constructed environment, one material at a time. What can plastic tell us about suburbanization? What does redlining have to do with lead paint? And how did a president’s bias shape what our walls are made of?
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Episodes
Harvesting Housing
September 07, 2022 06:00 - 20 minutes - 27.8 MBWe’ve spent this season tracing how fungi, and especially mycelium, can shake up industries and remediate the harm caused by climate change. We’ve talked about foraging, growing, healing and commercializing mycelium. But there’s one frontier we saved for this episode, the last of this season. It’s one that, here at Healthy Materials Lab, we’re honestly most excited about: affordable housing. We speak with Chris Maurer and the team at BioHab, who are building housing with mycelium. This pr...
Mycelium for the Masses
August 24, 2022 11:00 - 23 minutes - 32.5 MBMycelium based materials have a wealth of potential applications. But how does a new material get out of the experimental phase and into mass production? That transition is often where material development can stall. Luckily, that isn’t happening with mycelium. In this episode, we speak with Gavin McIntyre, who is the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Ecovative. Ecovative is a revolutionary company at the forefront of the mycelium industry. He leads us through the journey Ecovati...
Nature's Detox
August 10, 2022 06:00 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBDid you know that Mycelial networks can break down dead plant or animal matter and they can connect with the roots of living plants to share nutrients between them? Whether that was news or not, mycelial networks are much more complicated than you might imagine. To get down in the dirt with them, we spoke with Maya Elson. Maya works with CoRenewal, a nonprofit dedicated to providing education and research in ecosystem restoration, where she leads projects around post-fire bioremediation an...
Down in the Dirt
August 10, 2022 06:00 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBDid you know that Mycelial networks can break down dead plant or animal matter and they can connect with the roots of living plants to share nutrients between them? Whether that was news or not, mycelial networks are much more complicated than you might imagine. To get down in the dirt with them, we spoke with Maya Elson. Maya works with CoRenewal, a nonprofit dedicated to providing education and research in ecosystem restoration, where she leads projects around post-fire bioremediation an...
The Citizen Scientist
July 27, 2022 05:00 - 19 minutes - 26.9 MBThe power of fungi has been neglected by academic institutions and marginalized in the larger society. By the 1960s the American imagination had linked fungi to magic mushrooms, the counterculture movement, and Nixon’s war on drugs. That lingering association has meant that American mycophiles have gathered in community at the margins. We wanted to dig into those margins with William Padilla Brown, a citizen scientist who’s been thriving at them. William is the founder of Mycosymbiotics, an...
Into the Woods
July 13, 2022 07:00 - 18 minutes - 25.6 MBIn this episode we go on a journey led by revered mycologist John Michelotti into the forests of the Catskill mountains to learn the basics about what makes mushrooms so special. Can fungi change the way we approach our ecosystem? Can they give us healthier food systems, healthier bodies, healthier materials, and healthier housing? That’s what we want to explore this season, and there was no better place to start than deep in the woods with an expert. Visit catskillfungi.com to schedule a m...
Season 3 Trailer
June 02, 2022 11:00 - 1 minute - 946 KBTrace Material explores the intersection of our lives and the lives of the materials that surround us, one material at a time. This year, for Trace Material’s third season, the podcast team at HML is investigating fungi. Does this mysterious kingdom hold the keys to a healthier future? Tune in this summer to find out and subscribe today!
Trace Material Live: The Plastics Inferno
November 22, 2021 11:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBOver the course of this season, we’ve told stories of iconic plastic objects like Tupperware and Bakelite and looked at how this material has woven itself into our culture and our bodies. We’ve traced how we found ourselves in the plastics age, but what comes next? To help us envision the future plastics, we invited Pete Myers to speak with us in our first ever live taping of Trace Material. Pete is the founder and chief scientist at Environmental Health Sciences (which publishes the famous...
The Social History of Plastics
September 22, 2021 10:00 - 24 minutes - 17 MBWe're looking back at the stories we've told on this season of Trace Material. How did we find ourselves living in the plastics age and where might we go from here? Be sure to go back and listen to any episodes you may have missed this season! For more information, head to our website at healthymaterialslab.org/podcast, or give us a follow on Instagram @healthymaterialslab and Twitter @parsons_HML. If you've been enjoying this season, please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Po...
The Social History of Plastics
September 22, 2021 10:00 - 24 minutes - 17 MBWe're looking back at the stories we've told on this season of Trace Material. How did we find ourselves living in the plastics age and where might we go from here? Be sure to go back and listen to any episodes you may have missed this season! For more information, head to our website at healthymaterialslab.org/podcast, or give us a follow on Instagram @healthymaterialslab and Twitter @parsons_HML. If you've been enjoying this season, please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Po...
Our Plastic Future
September 08, 2021 10:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBMore than any other generation, Gen Z’s lives have been marked by climate change and climate anxiety. In this episode of Trace Material, we speak to young climate activists to understand how they’re imagining a future away from plastics and a materials designer working to make that future a reality. For more information, head to our website at healthymaterialslab.org/podcast, or give us a follow on Instagram @healthymaterialslab and Twitter @parsons_HML. If you've been enjoying this seas...
The Guilt Eraser
August 25, 2021 10:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBThe nation’s first plastic bag ban in Suffolk County, NY set off panic in the plastics industry. How did industry create the myth of recycling and squash potential bag bans? We speak to Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who sponsored the bag ban in 1988, about the decades long fight to ban plastic bags in Suffolk County and the tactics used by the plastic industry to thwart these bans. Plus, Kara Napolitano from SIMS Municipal Recycling Facility in Brooklyn offers us a new way to think about p...
Dance Against the Incinerator
August 11, 2021 10:00 - 35 minutes - 24.1 MBThe push to promote disposable plastics created mountains of new waste that will never biodegrade. The burden of that waste has been placed almost entirely on the shoulders of low-income communities of color. This week, activists share a story of community opposition to the construction of a garbage incinerator in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark during the 1980s, and their ongoing fight for environmental justice. For more information, head to our website at healthymaterialslab.org/p...
Out of the Factory
July 28, 2021 10:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBThe connections between vinyl chloride and diseases like cancer were first understood inside the factory setting. Workers were quite literally on the frontline. But today we're taking you outside the factory walls and into fenceline communities and suburban homes. For part one of this story, listen to The House of Documents. For more information regarding PVC and vinyl chloride, head to our episode page.
The House of Documents
July 14, 2021 10:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBIn the 1970s, workers in PVC factories across the country began getting sick with a rare form of liver cancer. While the plastics industry claimed they were unaware of what was causing that cancer, internal documents told a different story. Today we’re telling a story about corporate concealment, cancer, and of course, plastic.
The House of Documents
July 14, 2021 10:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBIn the 1970s, workers in PVC factories across the country began getting sick with a rare form of liver cancer. While the plastics industry claimed they were unaware of what was causing that cancer, internal documents told a different story. Today we’re telling a story about corporate concealment, cancer, and of course, plastic.
Mi Sueño Tupperware
June 30, 2021 10:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBIn post-war America everything that people touched––paint, fabric, dishes, jewelry––could be made of plastic. But how did this first generation living in a plastic world learn to accept it as part of their daily lives?
The Fourth Kingdom
June 16, 2021 10:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBOur story starts at the turn of the twentieth century, when the natural materials everyday objects were made from were becoming scarce. Enter the era of the inventor, it was time to forge new materials and build a new world.
Season 2 Trailer
April 07, 2021 11:00 - 3 minutes - 2.1 MBHere's a first listen of Trace Material Season 2: Stories from the Plastics Age, coming your way June 16th! We were curious: what will future societies think of us when they dig up relics of our present day?
Looking Back at Hemp
October 14, 2020 11:00 - 14 minutes - 10.2 MBThis will be our last episode of Season 1. We’re taking a look back at all we’ve learned over the last 12 episodes. We’ve traced the story of hemp from its colonial roots in America, through the war on drugs, and legalization. The future of the plant is wide open. And we hope as we all build it together, the past can be reckoned with instead of being pushed aside in favor of profit.
A New Dawn in New Castle
September 30, 2020 11:00 - 15 minutes - 10.7 MBIn this episode, we’re heading to New Castle to see how the folks at DON are building a hemp industry from the ground up to support their vision of healthy, affordable, accessible housing.
A New Dawn in New Castle
September 30, 2020 11:00 - 15 minutes - 10.7 MBIn this episode, we’re heading to New Castle to see how the folks at DON are building a hemp industry from the ground up to support their vision of healthy, affordable, accessible housing.
Talking Shop with Alex Sparrow
September 15, 2020 14:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MBAlex Sparrow is repairing centuries old buildings across the UK, and in doing so, laying the groundwork for a carbon neutral future. As you may have guessed, he’s doing it with HempLime. Alex literally and figuratively wrote the book on HempLime construction and we were lucky enough to Talk Shop with him. Take a listen as Alex shares his wealth of experience from across the pond in the UK to help us understand what might be possible to grow the superstar HempLime material building industry ...
Talking Shop with Blake Eagle
September 02, 2020 11:00 - 26 minutes - 18.6 MBOn this week’s episode, we’re heading back to the Sun Valley to Talk Shop with Blake Eagle. Blake is a contractor who, after years of exposure to the unhealthy materials of standard practice building, decided to construct Idaho’s first HempLime home for his family. Blake shared with us the benefits of building with HempLime and the difference living with it has made to him and his family.
Talking Shop with Cameron McIntosh
August 19, 2020 12:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBThis week we’re Talking Shop with Cameron McIntosh, the owner of hemp/lime construction company Americhanvre. Cameron is a leader in the emerging US HempLime landscape and in this episode, he chats with HML co-director Jonsara Ruth about how his past work with ceramics and working at a plant nursery led him to hemp.
Talking Shop with Mattie Mead
August 05, 2020 10:00 - 32 minutes - 22.7 MBFor our first ever Talking Shop episode, HML Director Alison Mears spoke with Hempitecture co-founder and CEO Mattie Mead. Based in Ketchum, ID, Hempitecture built the United States’ first public use hemp building as well as many private residences. Along with his co-founder, Mattie was on the 2020 Forbes list of 30 under 30 in manufacturing and industry. Mattie and his partners at Hempitecture hosted the first US Hemp Building Summit in 2019. Listen now to hear his exciting and innovative ...
The Natural Building Omnivore
July 22, 2020 11:00 - 11 minutes - 8.25 MBThis episode features Chris Magwood, who is our neighbor to the North. He talks to us about the industry's successes and struggles and what he hopes for the future. But...we don't just talk about hemp, Chris is a natural building omnivore and you'll never be able to guess the other plants he uses to build houses!
Build Local
July 08, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBIn this episode we’ll drop in on a HempLime construction workshop that we at Healthy Materials Lab hosted alongside CoExist Building, a HempLime company from Pennsylvania. HML Directors Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth will take us through the basics of building with hemp and we’ll pay a visit to CoExist’s farm in Blandon, Pennsylvania to hear about their hemp house on wheels.
Growing Pains
June 24, 2020 11:00 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBThis episode we’re back in the Bluegrass State talking brass tacks with farmers who are dealing with the growing pains of a burgeoning hemp industry. We hear from the folks at Harrods Creek Farm in Goshen, Kentucky about the pitfalls and stumbling blocks they’ve encountered as they scale up an industrial hemp operation on their small farm.
The Green Path
May 20, 2020 10:00 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBIn Episode 4, we turn to Winona LaDuke. Winona is a two-time Vice Presidential nominee, an internationally renowned environmentalist...and a hemp farmer. With Winona's help, we’re backing up a little bit to look at the context of the American hemp boom. We know hemp has the potential to change our world, but what is it exactly about our world that needs to change? Part of what Winona thinks needs to change is our dependence on fossil fuels. Peter Hille, President the Mountain Association fo...
Booms, Bills and Busts
May 06, 2020 08:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MBIs hemp legal to grow and sell everywhere in the United States? What exactly is CBD? And if hemp and marijuana are both cannabis, where does that leave “hemp’s illicit cousin?” In Episode 3, we tackle these questions and more as we wade through the murky water that hemp is in now.
Booms, Bills and Busts
May 06, 2020 08:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MBIs hemp legal to grow and sell everywhere in the United States? What exactly is CBD? And if hemp and marijuana are both cannabis, where does that leave “hemp’s illicit cousin?” In Episode 3, we tackle these questions and more as we wade through the murky water that hemp is in now.
Pot's Benevolent Cousin
April 22, 2020 05:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBWho’s responsible for the downfall of hemp? How could a plant that was proven to be so useful just up and vanish? We hear from cannabis historian Emily Dufton who helps us answer those questions and many more.
Hemp in the Bluegrass
April 08, 2020 05:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBWe’re going back in time to before hemp was considered controversial. To explain where we are today and why it’s such a hot button issue, we’re going to trace hemp’s history in the United States by looking back at the early American hemp economy. Who benefited and who suffered?
Introducing Trace Material
April 08, 2020 04:00 - 2 minutes - 1.77 MBWelcome to Trace Material, a new podcast from Parsons Healthy Materials Lab. HML Co-directors Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth make the case for digging into the materials we surround ourselves with every day and introduce you to your hosts for season one.
Season 1 Trailer
April 01, 2020 05:00 - 1 minute - 1.34 MBTrace Material is a new podcast from Parsons Healthy Materials Lab exploring the intersection of our lives and the lives of the materials that surround us. Each season we dig into a material you might find in your home to discover what it can tell us about our history, our culture, and our bodies. In our first season, we’re exploring the miracle plant that is hemp.
Trace Material: Coming April 8
April 01, 2020 05:00 - 1 minute - 1.34 MBTrace Material is a new podcast from Parsons Healthy Materials Lab exploring the intersection of our lives and the lives of the materials that surround us. Each season we dig into a material you might find in your home to discover what it can tell us about our history, our culture, and our bodies. In our first season, we’re exploring the miracle plant that is hemp.
Trace Material Series Trailer
October 31, 2019 15:00 - 2 minutes - 1.68 MBMusic for this trailer is an adapted version of the song Greylock by Blue Dot Sessions, licensed under CC 4.0.