Hot & Bothered: a climate podcast
Hot & Bothered: a climate podcast
Meredith Mazzotta, Connie Lin, Tabitha Schwartz
We are three women from three different cities who are working to shift the climate change narrative from doom-and-gloom to solutions and inspiration. Each week, we’ll highlight local sustainability changemakers making a positive impact in our communities. We hope these stories of individual and collective actions inspire you to plant seeds of change in your own community.
Season 2 Wrap Up
Thank you for joining us for Season 2 of Hot & Bothered.
Aug 3, 2025
6 min
Giulio Salerno on Reoystering the Bay
We’re closing out the season and our water and environmental justice series with Giulio Salerno, Deputy Director of the Wild Oyster Project in the SF Bay Area. Learn about how we’ve changed the bay itself over the years, and what and why the Wild Oyster Project is doing to bring oysters back.  Follow Wild Oysters and find out how to get involved at https://wildoysters.org. Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions. Resources: https://thewatershedproject.org/ https://www.rowanjacobsen.com/books/the-living-shore Music by QubeSounds.
Jul 22, 2025
34 min
Connie’s Dinacon Field Report
What’s with the delay you ask?! Oh, you didn’t notice? Well let me tell you about my two week adventure in Bali for an experimental conference, the fourth Digital Naturalism Conference. There’s boat people, missing tardigrades, and dinosaurs, oh my! Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions. Resources:  https://www.dinacon.org/, https://2025.dinacon.org/ https://www.seacommunities.com/ https://www.scubadiving.com/pak-eka-named-june-25-sea-hero https://www.alieward.com/ologies/tardigradology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buugeng https://visitnorthbali.bulelengkab.go.id/informasi/detail?kode=34020313&slug=rumah-plastik-mandiri https://www.arkakinari.org/l https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/filastine-and-nova-arka-kinari-ship-stranded-pacific-ocean-pandemic/ Laut Loud - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHONUjU6RafM0ny32U9cR-pMUXB0uVekS  Music by QubeSounds.
Jul 22, 2025
9 min
Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe investigates how flooding is increasingly impacting DC’s lower-income districts
While flash flooding does make headlines in DC—like the dog daycare center in Northeast that flooded in August 2023 leaving 10 dogs dead—we don’t as often hear about how chronic flooding is increasingly problematic for certain District residents. This week, Hola Cultura Assistant Editor and investigative journalist Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe walks us through what he uncovered about the disproportionate impact flooding is having on poorer DC communities, stories of individuals being hardest hit, how climate change is exacerbating the problem, and the solutions that are bringing the most hope.   You can find Marcelo on LinkedIn and learn more about Hola Cultura here. You can also catch Marcelo hosting Hola Cultura’s podcast, “The Climate Divide,” which examines DC’s heat islands and related health disparities along racial, ethnic and class lines.   Resources: The Hidden Costs of Flooding in D.C.’s Poorest Wards | Pulitzer Center (by Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe) DC Flood Task Force Other Hola Cultura investigative reporting: Development is wiping out trees in less-affluent parts of Washington, DC, putting residents’ health at risk, grantee finds - The Fund for Investigative Journalism Investigative Series: D.C.’s Heat Islands / Serie: Islas De Calor En D.C. | Hola Cultura
Jul 1, 2025
26 min
Walt Ray on Expanding Atlanta’s Trail Network Through the Chattahoochee RiverLands
Getting our feet wet with our water and environmental justice series we are joined by Walt Ray who is the Chattahoochee Program Director for The Trust for Public Lands. He shares all about the process of creating a 100+ mile network of greenways, blueways, and parks along the river and connecting Metro Atlanta. Listen to learn about their collective impact methodology and how to launch a similar project in your community.     Follow Walt on LinkedIn. Find out more about the Chattahoochee RiverLands on their website.
Jun 24, 2025
47 min
Amber Hasselbring creates butterfly habitats in SF
In our closing biodiversity episode, we sit down with Amber Hasselbring to hear about the work that Nature in the City is doing to save butterflies and connect people with nature. Find Nature in the City on the web at natureinthecity.org and on Instagram at @natureinthecity. Follow them on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/nature-in-the-city-projects-sf. Become a Nature Keeper to support their work for local wild places. Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Resources: Biodiversity Factsheet from WHO Reimagining San Francisco Music by QubeSounds.
Jun 18, 2025
34 min
Jorge Bogantes Montero on the many benefits of boosting biodiversity of DC’s Anacostia River
Seeing a river otter trotting around the National Mall is cute, but predators like otters returning to the region is also an indicator of the Anacostia River’s improving health! This week, we are back in DC speaking with Jorge Bogantes Montero, Natural Resources Specialist at the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS). He explains to us how the various restoration, reforestation, and educational activities AWS leads are having an outsized impact. From planting wild rice in the marshes, to propagating freshwater mussels, to invasive plant management—listen in to hear all about the amazing progress being made to boost biodiversity along the Anacostia, ultimately improving the health of the watershed and surrounding communities. Oh! And if you’re local, you can join their discovery boat tours, trash pickups, mussel surveys, and paddling excursions (see events calendar link below). You can find Jorge on LinkedIn and learn more about the Anacostia Watershed Society here. Resources: -          Anacostia River Cameras Show Native Wildlife Returning | DCist (includes pics!) -          North American River Otter Spotted Near the Tidal Basin | DCist (includes pics!) -          Climate Change Is Hurting River Water Quality | Maryland Today   -          Anacostia Watershed Society - Events Calendar   Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Music by QubeSounds.
Jun 10, 2025
25 min
Alex Dileo on Advocating for Biodiversity in Your Own Yard and Community
Launching into our series about the importance of Biodiversity in our cities, we are joined by Alex Dileo, Founding Board Chair of the Intown Atlanta Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society. Alex brings her passion and patience learned from her own yard to grow a group of Atlantans who are interested in spreading native plant knowledge, appreciation, and protection. Listen to learn how to join or create a similar group in your own community.   Follow Alex on Instagram and on LinkedIn. Find out more about Georgia Native Plant Society on their website.
Jun 3, 2025
40 min
Liz Cahill finds old things new homes in SF
On our last episode on sustainable design, Liz Cahill shares with us the wonder of clothing swaps and takes us on a tour de force of BuyNothing groups in San Francisco. Follow Liz on LinkedIn or Instagram. Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Resources: Double Vision Thrift Buy Nothing No Rules San Francisco Free Clothing San Francisco Fancy Free SF Music by QubeSounds.
May 27, 2025
38 min
Liz Cahill on turning trash to wearable treasure in SF
On our San Francisco stop on sustainable design, we have our first of two episodes with Liz Cahill, co-founder of Decentered Arts! Join us as Liz takes on on her upcycling journey, from her frugal origins to becoming a trash fashion icon. If you just touch the trash, you too may find love and community. Follow Liz on LinkedIn or Instagram and the Piles Collective on Instagram. Find Hot & Bothered on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Resources: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyxsalazar/ https://www.instagram.com/pilesofsanfrancisco Music by QubeSounds.
May 21, 2025
36 min
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