Richard Rothstein is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America and Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law, which he cowrote with his daughter Leah Rothstein. Richard joins Heath to discuss some of the historical background of how we became such a segregated country, how this racism affected everything from household wealth to health to school performance, and how to take action to repair the damage of this...

Sarah Mock is a seasoned agricultural reporter and author of two books: Farm (and Other F Words): The Rise and Fall of the Small Family Farm and Big Team Farms: Growing Farms Differently. She is also the host and producer of the new podcast from Ambrook Research: The Only Thing That Lasts. Sarah was raised on a farm in Wyoming and has had agriculture in her blood from an early age. But she’s also quick to dispel the myths around the American farm and farmers. Sarah joins Heath to separate...

Francisca Gajardo is a Chilean fashion designer who specializes in upcycling old clothing into new garments. She grew up in Northern Chile, near one of the largest clothing dumps in the world. She joins Heath to discuss what she's seen first-hand at the clothing dumps, how the second hand markets of Chile inspired her career in fashion design, and how she hopes to standardize upcycling so that major fashion brands can take back their old outfits and transform them into new designs in a cost...

Richard Frishman and B. Brian Foster, Ph.D. are the duo behind the incredible new book Ghosts of Segregation: American Racism, Hidden in Plain Sight. Rich is an award-winning photojournalist who spent several years traveling the country, photographing signs of American racism in our built environment. Brian is a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia with a focus on documenting and interpreting the culture, folklore, and placemaking practices of Black communities in the rural...

Vishaan Chakrabarti is a New York based architect, the founder and creative director of PAU, the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, and the author of the book A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America, and the upcoming book The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing for Place, Pluralism, and Planet, scheduled to be released later this year. He served as Director of the Manhattan Office for the New York Department of City Planning in the Bloomberg administration, spearheading...

Director Melinda Maerker and producer David Clayton Miller are the duo behind the new Hulu documentary We Live Here: The Midwest, which looks at how Midwestern LGBTQ+ families are faring after increased discrimination in the Heartland. Melinda and David join Heath to discuss some of the behind the scenes stories from the film, including the origins of the project, the challenges of finding families that were willing to speak on the record, working on a small film crew, and how the crew was...

Patric Richardson, also known as the Laundry Evangelist or The Laundry Guy, is back for his second appearance on the podcast. Patric joins Heath to discuss his new book House Love, which contains advice and ideas for sustainable cleaning methods. The book also helps timid homeowners and renters embrace using vintage items for decorating their homes. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...

Andrew Leland, a writer, journalist, audio producer, and podcast host. His new book The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight is a thoughtful and deep exploration of blindness, looking at both the personal and the societal implications of what it means to be without vision. In the book, Andrew visits a blind convention in Florida, a training facility in Colorado which includes kitchen facilities and a wood shop, and studies the disability justice movements. Andrew joins Heath to...

Brian Ruhlmann founded Craic Sauce as a side business in 2017. By 2020, he was able to focus full time on hot sauce. Brian's sauces are unique because he sources some of the best ingredients from local farms in Massachusetts and his sauces often involve more ingredients than in a conventional sauce, resulting in a ton of flavor. Brian joins Heath to discuss his unconventional approach to making hot sauces, his flavor inspirations, his journey as an entrepreneur, and how he has built community...

Rebecca Clarren is a journalist who has spent the last 20 years documenting stories of Indigenous Americans. Rebecca’s reporting collides with her personal history in her new book The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance, which explores how her Jewish immigrant ancestors were gifted land by the U.S. government that had previously belonged to and promised to Lakota people. Rebecca and Heath discuss the challenges with researching family history, understanding the layers...

Kim John Payne is an educational consultant and author of several books including Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of to Raise Calmer, Happier, More Secure Kids. For nearly three decades, Kim has served as a family counselor, consultant, and trainer for more than 200 public and independent schools. He believes that reducing the time commitments and physical stuff in a child’s life can lead to greater harmony, more creativity, and a more connected and empathetic child. Kim...

Larissa FastHorse is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and the first known Native American female playwright to have her work produced on Broadway. She wrote The Thanksgiving Play, a farcical look at four white people attempting to tell a culturally sensitive version of the Thanksgiving story to elementary students, which ran at the Hayes theater this past spring. Larissa joins Heath to discuss her journey to becoming a playwright, the challenges with white allyship, and what it takes to...

Taylor Lorenz has been chronicling digital culture and social media for The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and her current role at The Washington Post. She has made her name as an expert and well-sourced documentarian of the latest trends and cultural relevance of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vine, and TikTok. Taylor joins Heath to discuss her new book Extremely Online: The Untold Store of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet, which chronicles the 20+...

Beth Hoffman is an author, journalist, and farmer. She spent much of her adult life in the San Francisco area as a journalist focused on writing about food and agriculture and a professor at the University of San Francisco. In her late 40s, Beth and her husband John decided to return to his family farm in Iowa to work as full time farmers. From that experience was born Beth’s book Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America. The book is part memoir, looking at her and...

Saira Rao is an author, filmmaker, and activist. Along with Regina Jackson, Saira founded the group Race 2 Dinner in 2019, which encourages white women to have radically honest conversations about race. The dinners were so popular that Saira and Regina distilled their essence into the book White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better and the film Deconstructing Karen. Saira is also the cofounder of Here 4 the Kids, a group working to end gun...

Jane Wong is a poet, author, and professor of creative writing and literature at Western Washington University. Her new memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City is a series of essays about her life experience. She joins Heath to discuss the strained relationship she's had with her father after he left the family because of a gambling addiction, the influence of her mother on her own sense of beauty, her process of writing, and how her love of ceramics informs her work as a writer. This is...

Sandra Goldmark is a theatrical set and costume designer, professor of sustainability at Barnard College, and the author of the book Fixation: How to Have Stuff Without Breaking the Planet. She joins Heath to discuss how owning things is part of being human, how her work as a theatrical designer informs her relationship to stuff, the parallels between the organic food movement and the reuse movement, and the economic and climate opportunities with reusing and repairing objects. This is a...

Jeff Jenkins is a travel blogger and influencer who founded Chubby Diaries after he noticed that there was a lack of content catering to plus size travelers. He has spent six years traveling the world now looking at ways to make travel more inclusive for all people. His new show Never Say Never premiered on Nat Geo and is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. On the show, Jeff pushes himself outside of his comfort zone, partaking in extreme activities around the globe and connecting with local...

Luke Russert is the son of legendary Tim Russert of NBC News. When his father passed away unexpectedly in 2008, Luke followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a Capitol Hill reporter for NBC News. But it took him 8 years to realize that he wasn't fulfilled in that line of work. He then spent 3 years as a world traveler, visiting six continents to grapple with the grief of losing his father and find his own path. He joins Heath to discuss the power of grief and how it manifests itself,...

Christian Cooper began birding when he was a young child and it's been a lifelong passion. Based in New York City, he frequents Central Park to watch for migrating species. After a viral incident in 2020, Christian was thrust into the spotlight, which he has turned into positive projects. His new show Extraordinary Birder recently premiered on Nat Geo Wild and his new book is Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World. Christian joins Heath to discuss how...

Mark Ellison has been a New York City based carpenter for more than 40 years, working on some of the most custom renovation projects for some of the wealthiest people on the planet. He joins Heath to discuss his new book Building: A Carpenter’s Notes on Life & the Art of Good Work, which describes his philosophy on building and life and recounts the strange projects he's worked on in his career. Mark is also a musician and he talks about how music affects his carpentry work and vice...

Ben Napier is the co-host of HGTV's Home Town and Home Town Takeover. He joins Heath to discuss the work that he and his wife Erin have done to make their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi a thriving city. He also talks about how he's taken the lessons learned in Laurel and translated them to Wetumpka, Alabama and Fort Morgan, Colorado. In addition to his work on HGTV, Ben once served as the president of Laurel's Main Street America chapter and ran for a city council seat. He, Erin, and...

Nick Offerman is an actor, woodworker, author, and touring humorist. On the 100th episode of the podcast, Nick joins Heath to discuss his approach to comedy in his live stage show, his scholarship of the works of Wendell Berry, and why he thinks nearly all of our problems can be solved with love. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heathracela.substack.com/subscribe

Matt Sexton is a landscape and drone photographer who began taking pictures of landmarks around his hometown of Cleveland during the pandemic. He has gained a fast following on social media for the optimistic portrait that he paints of the city as well as for how he looks to other world cities to make Cleveland a better place. Matt joins Heath to discuss his process for selecting photo subjects, how he makes creative decisions in the field, and the influence of places like Hong Kong on his...