Welcome back, Tree Speechers! We’re thrilled to begin Season 5 with a new conversation in a clearing, as we continue to find new understandings to the tangled relationships we have with the natural world in which we inhabit.  We open this season interviewing filmmakers Mina T. Son and Sara Newens who made the eye-opening and thoughtful documentary, RACIST TREES. This intimate film captures an inside look at the frustrations of residents of the historically Black Lawrence Crossley Tract neighborhood, who are cut off from the glitz and glamour of Palm Springs, CA due to the planting of 60-foot tamarisk trees that overshadow their community and are viewed as a symbol of segregation.  Racist Trees is streaming for free on Pbs.org and the PBS app through April 20th, 2024, and will be available on PBS Passport after that date. We highly recommend that you check it out and would love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] with your thoughts. We are so thankful to our guest Sara Newens and Mina T. Son for joining us today. Sara Newens is an award-winning filmmaker and editor based in LA who has received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on Pretty Baby: Brook Shields and Allen v. Farrow and served as editor and writer for the documentary, On the Record.  Mina T. Son is a Korean-American filmmaker based in LA whose films have screened at film festivals and museums, including the National Gallery of Art, Margaret Mead, Traverse City and Cinequest. With Sara, she has directed Top Spin, streamed on Netflix, and Racist Trees through their company, Wild Pair Films, and is in post-production on a longitudinal documentary about Japan’s 2011 tsunami.  This week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, and in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes, as well as in         San Francisco on the lands of the Ohlone, Ramaytush, and Muwekma tribes, and Maryland on the Piscataway people. Tree Speech is co-written, edited, and produced by Jonathan Zautner and we thank Alight Theatre Guild for their support.  To learn more about our podcast and episodes, please visit treespeechpodcast.com and consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude to patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/treespeech/message