In episode 227, Kestrel welcomes Yessenia Funes, the Climate Editor at Atmos, to the show. A new climate and culture magazine, Atmos is curated by an ecosystem of adventurers, creatives, and journalists, and dedicated to pioneering progress around the world.
“So much of what we do is working with frontline organizers, so that they can tell their own stories — inviting them to come write for us, creating space so that they’re not just quoted in an article, but they’re writing the article. And I think that there’s sometimes hesitance to do that in the media industry, out of this sort of obsession with objectivity — I think is honestly what sometimes drives some of that. And we do that in a way that, we’re not here to necessarily push an agenda, but we’re here to give people space to to tell their truth, tell their stories and to educate the public about the battles that many of these people are fighting.”On this week’s show, Yessenia shares more on what led her to writing about race and the environment. She is now focused on telling human-centered stories, and welcoming frontline organizers to write their own stories on how the climate crisis is impacting them and their communities.
Kestrel asks Yessenia for her thoughts on where she thinks the media stands today, when it comes to covering stories around environmental racism and environmental justice.
“It’s an exciting moment now to see so much understanding of what environmental racism is, of what environmental justice is, but it is alarming to see the slow response to do anything about it, especially at a scale that matters.” -Yessenia
“Report: we have just 12 years to limit devastating global warming” via Vox, addressing the IPCC report from 2018 that Yessenia mentions
“My favorite thing about working here at Atmos is just our dedication toward heart-centered and community-centered stories.” -Yessenia
“You don’t need to have a graduate degree or a bachelor’s in environmental studies or climate science to be an expert on your community — you just need that lived experience, and I think there’s a growing recognition of how vital the lived experience is now.” -Yessenia
Professor Bryan Higgins, mentioned by Yessenia — taught a class about the history of national parks in the U.S.
“‘It’s About Sacrificing’: Indigenous Youth Runners Call on Biden to Shut Down DAPL” on Atmos
“How Black Women Have Reimagined Nature On-screen” on Atmos
“The Climate Movement Has Always Been Black” on Atmos
“A Bright, Green Future” on Atmos
The Frontline, newsletter edited by Yessenia — “a daily reminder that the warming of the world is unjust”
Follow Yessenia on Instagram >
Follow Atmos on Instagram >
S05 Episode 260 | What are you latching onto? A special edition recap — highlighting what we learned on season 5 to take us intentionally into season 6
S05 Episode 259 | Georgina Johnson's book "The Slow Grind" & the inevitability of degrowth in fashion
S05 Episode 258 | Aja Barber on how the *affordability* story is fueling a messed up narrative & why we need a culture shift
S05 Episode 257 | Farai Simoyi of The Narativ on the need for safe spaces where global designers can be seen, valued, and heard & educating the next generation of fashion's leaders
S05 Episode 256 | Shilla Kim-Parker of Thrilling on the digitization of secondhand & supporting small business
S05 Episode 255 | Gee's Bend Quilters: the original purveyors of sustainability & exploring the meaning of an equitable collaboration with Mary Margaret Pettway & Greg Lauren
S05 Episode 254 | Johnathan Hayden on using a brand as an experiment, questioning ownership over one's trash & how augmented reality could impact sustainability in fashion
S05 Episode 253 | Advocating for the U.S. to appoint a fashion czar, what are The Green Guides and more on the intersections of politics & fashion
S05 Episode 252 | Frankie Collective on reimagining supply chains for *upcycling* & embracing sustainability and streetwear through reworked design
S05 Episode 251 | CiscoSews on the freedom in nonbinary design & experimentations with upcycling
S05 Episode 250 | Natalie Shehata on why *diversity* is tokenistic and advocating for holistic inclusion
S05 Episode 249 | Isiah Magsino on fashion's current obsession with *genderless* and paying respect to queer & trans communities who have been stepping out of the binary forever
S05 Episode 248 | Ocean Rose on botanical dyeing, sustainability as a collection of idiosyncrasies & the art of slowing down
S05 Episode 247 | Christian Allaire of Vogue on the deep meaning behind Indigenous ribbon work & fashion as a means to reclaim culture
S05 Episode 246 | Nia Thomas on building an autobiographical brand & breaking up with plug and play approaches to doing fashion
S05 Episode 245 | Eshita Kabra-Davies of By Rotation on fashion rental, making the sharing economy personal & challenging the pressure of *newness*
S05 Episode 244 | Alyssa Beltempo on creativity over consumption & shifting the narrative away from placing *all* responsibility on the consumer
S05 Episode 243 | Julia Perez of Jae and Leona on separating self care from capitalism, launching a skincare line during the pandemic & advocating for skincare as liberation
S05 Episode 242 | Questioning the meaning behind *regenerative fashion* and building new fashion systems with Christy Dawn & Oshadi Collective
S05 Episode 241 | Reimagining waste as a resource, creativity's battle against commerce & the importance of welcoming financial sustainability into the larger conversation
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