Dr. Ming Kuo, Professor of Environmental Psychology and Director of the Landscape and Human Health Lab at University of Illinois joins the podcast to discuss the myriad psychological and physiological benefits that exposure to nature can provide, from decreased aggression, improved executive function and memory, and more. We discuss Dr. Kuo's attention restoration hypothesis and her research supporting decreases of crime in places with more green spaces, the inequitable distribution of trees...

Dr. Paul Mohai, a giant in the environmental justice field and professor at University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainabilty, joins the podcast to discuss "what is environmental justice? and why is it important?" and issues related to the long fight for environmental justice across the nation and in Michigan Background reading: The Environmental Justice wake up call (New York Times, Lisa Friedman and Julia Rosen) Choking to Death in Detroit: Flint Isn’t Michigan’s Only...

Writer and editor at National Geographic Natasha Daly, whose investigative reporting focuses on animal welfare, conservation, and the exploitation of animals, joins the podcast. In this episode, Natasha and Jared discuss in-depth Natasha's 2019 cover story for National Geographic: Suffering unseen: The dark truth behind wildlife tourism, which was one of the most widely read pieces of the year for Nat Geo. We discuss dark side of the captive wildlife tourism industry and how "selfie...

Chadwick Boseman, the actor, director and producer, most famous for playing King T'Challah in the 2018 film Black Panther, died tragically of colon cancer on Friday, August 28, 2020 at the age of 43. I knew Chad personally, and knew him to be a portrait of dignity, humility, grace, kindness, and passion. Chad wanted the best for everyone, and was a voice of empowerment for the young generation today. In this episode, I pay tribute to Chad and the legacy he left behind, while also reading...

Director of Artificial Intelligence for the Air Force and Director of Operations for the MIT AI Accelerator and author of the newly released book "T-Minus AI: Humanity’s Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power" Michael Kanaan joins the podcast to discuss what is at stake as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly advanced. Michael and Jared discuss Michael's excellent book and the themes it covers, such as the ways that AI already are influencing our...

Award-winning science journalist and forthcoming author of the book "Lady Anatomy" Rachel E. Gross joins the podcast to discuss the changing landscape of journalism, including the perverse incentives created by a primarily digital model, whether journalists should strive for “objectivity” or “moral clarity” in today’s hyper-partisan, “post-truth” environment, the ways that social media drives division and conspiracy thinking, forgotten heroes of reproductive health and the anatomy of the...

Ph.D. candidate in Educational Studies at the University of Michigan, former two-term president of the Rackham Student Government and activist-scholar Naomi Mae joins the podcast to discuss the recent Black Lives Matter protest movement, the history of racist ideas in the U.S. and how patently racist policies continue to undermine Black Americans, the unequal representation of Black Americans in leadership positions in the U.S. , racial disparities evident in the criminal justice system, and...

Expert in the ecology of infectious diseases and wildlife ecology, Dr. Johannes Foufopoulos joins the podcast to discuss fundamental topics related to infectious diseases, including what distinguishes a virus from a pathogen and parasite and the difference between virus and bacteria. We also discuss the link between COVID-19 and anthropocentric pressures on the planet and its species, including wildlife trade, deforestation, and land use change. We discuss the abhorrent practices in the...

In this second trailer, I explain why I named the show "All Things Connected" and why you will rarely hear me make statements beginning with "I think" or "I feel," and the importance of presenting data and evidence to support points in these conversations. If you would like to leave anonymous feedback on the show you can do so using this Google Form. The referenced talk by George Monbiot on Yellowstone National Park's wolves can be found here.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who almost single-handedly exposed the Flint Water Crisis, joins the podcast to discuss lessons from her excellent book "What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City", which was named one of the New York Time's 100 most notable books of the year in 2018. Dr. Mona is the Director of the Pediatric residency program at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan. In 2016 she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people...

Leadership/life coach and author Nicola Taggart joins the podcast to discuss the journal she published, "Calm the Chaos: A Daily Practice for a More Mindful Life" , the research-based practices behind it, and other topics related to mindfulness and gratitude. Nicola and Jared discuss the research underlying the importance of taking time for gratitude and self-reflection, the importance of daily rituals and maintaining structure in our days, the asymmetry between what feels good in the moment...

Founder of both Rescue in Style and Rescue Chicago, a registered 501C3 animal rescue organization, Christine Nendick joins to discuss the state of homeless dogs and cats in our country. Many people are not aware that we euthanize more than 733,000 dogs and cats every year in the U.S., most of them entirely healthy. While Christine and Jared largely discuss issues related to rescuing, including the causes of the vast number of homeless pets, some of the myths around rescue dogs and why...

CEO and Founder of Bucket Listers Andy Lederman joins to discuss the importance of optimism, whether an optimistic mindset is compatible with a focus on tackling the problems in the world, pivoting during a pandemic, how anyone and everyone can be a role model, shifting to a long-term focus in one's life and in business, why focusing on values as opposed to "milestones" is the best approach to achieve happiness, the upsides and downsides of screen time and social media, the one problem in...

CEO of the David Lynch Foundation for Australia, public speaker, and meditation teacher Mark Bunn, who has practiced transcendental meditation for 30 years joins the podcast. He discusses the types of meditation practices available, what distinguishes transcendental meditation from other practices, the four states of consciousness and how TM enables individuals to access higher states, the longitudinal research associated with TM and health benefits like optimal neurological functioning,...

CEO of the David Lynch Foundation for Australia, public speaker, and meditation teacher Mark Bunn, who has practiced transcendental meditation for 30 years joins the podcast. In this conversation, we discuss the various modalities of meditation practices available and how they are differentiated, what distinguishes transcendental meditation from other practices, the four states of consciousness and how TM enables individuals to access higher states, the longitudinal research associated with...

In this episode, Jared speaks with Bret Gornik and Jason Loebig of Live Better Co about the different facets that encompass well-being, how to decide whether your personal passion should also be your career, and practical advice to do that, how to form a daily gratitude and mindfulness practice, the distinction between goals and systems, holding one’s self accountable to achieving goals, how to avoid getting “tracked out,” what the world would look like if everyone knew they had freedom of...

In this episode, Jared speaks with LA-based writer of fiction and screenplays and the co-producer of the Cannes nominated short film “Panofsky’s Complaint.” They discuss the enduring importance of fiction writing, whether the stereotype of the “suffering artist” is valid, whether one must experience personal suffering to make great art, maintaining artistic creativity, dealing with public criticism and scrutiny, whether writing and creativity are innate gifts or a process to be learned, the...

In this episode, Jared speaks with CEO and Founder of Cooper Street Cookies and the Principal at the Surnow Company, Max Surnow, about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, the pitfalls of social media, lessons learned in business and in life from his late father, Jeffrey Surnow, the one problem in the world he would solve if he could, and other fascinating topics.

Introducing the show, who the show is for, and me, your host.