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PODCAST

The Environmental Justice Lab

Since the dawn of human history, the fight for environmental justice has always been a fight. Water wars between the people of Israel and herdsmen of Gerar in the book of Genesis, Chapter 26. The resistance of Native Americans to the pillaging of their land and resources at the founding of the United States of America. The refusal to allow a hazardous landfill to be built in the Warren County, a predominantly Black community in North Carolina, giving birth to the modern-day environmental justice

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All Episodes

29:55

"Communities must be brought in and bought in" - The...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/10/06

“Fair treatment and meaningful involvement.”That’s how the EPA defines environmental justice. Sounds good on paper. But here’s the question that I'm asking in this episode: What does meaningful involvement actually mean when a community is still told what’s coming, not asked?In this seventh installment of our walk through the Principles of Environmental Justice, we take on Principle 7: “Environmental justice demands the right to participate as equal partners at every level of decision making,

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40:24

"No One Is Coming to Save Us": Drs. Wilson and Ali on...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/09/30

What does environmental justice look like when you stop waiting for permission?In this episode, I sit down with two titans of the movement — Dr. Sacoby Wilson (University of Maryland, founder of the Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health) and Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali (Executive Vice President of the National Wildlife Federation, founding member of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice). Together they trace the full EJ arc: from the communities who stood outside the EPA and

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58:05

A "Rude Awakening" at Hunters Point: Environmental...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/09/22

Hunters Point Naval Shipyard sits on 638 acres of San Francisco waterfront. It was listed as a Superfund site in 1989. And 37 years later, plutonium has been detected in the air and soil — and still, nothing has been cleaned up.This week on the Environmental Justice Lab, I am joined by award-winning broadcaster Sabrina Jacobs, host of A Rude Awakening on 94.1 KPFA in Berkeley, to unpack one of the most egregious environmental justice failures in the country — and why it keeps happening in a

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72:55

The Green Transition Has a Cost: Environmental...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/09/09

What is the true cost of the global transition to clean energy?As the world embraces electric vehicles, renewable energy, batteries, and new technologies, the demand for minerals such as cobalt and other critical resources continues to grow. But behind many of the technologies powering our so-called sustainable future is a story that too often remains invisible: the story of the Democratic Republic of Congo.In this episode, Dr. Lesley Joseph is joined by Sarah Backstrand, an environmental policy

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54:35

Data Centers, Environmental Racism, and the Fight for...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/07/28

In this episode, I get to talk with Kibri Everett - environmental scientist, GIS specialist, PhD candidate at UNC-Charlotte, and founder of Key Environmental Consulting - to pull back the curtain on the data center boom sweeping the nation.Kibri has been on the front lines of this issue long before it hit the headlines. She recently testified before the Charlotte City Council, helping to secure a unanimous vote for a 150-day moratorium on new data centers - a major grassroots win. In this

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64:41

From Cages to Community: The Fight for Renewable Rikers

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/07/14

What happens to a place built on punishment when a movement demands it be rebuilt for life?On this episode, Dr. Lesley Joseph sits down with two frontline fighters in the battle to close Rikers Island and transform it into something radically different: a hub of renewable energy and community sustainability.Manuel Figueroa — Member of Freedom Agenda, and a justice-impacted individual who lived through the system — brings the raw, on-the-ground truth of what it means to be caught between broken

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20:15

Not in My Neighborhood, Not Anywhere: Unpacking the...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/06/30

Environmental justice isn’t about making sure pollution is evenly distributed. It’s about making sure there is no pollution to distribute.In this episode of the Environmental Justice Lab, I break down the 6th principle of Environmental Justice. The principle demands the cessation of the production of all toxins, hazardous waste, and radioactive materials, and holds producers strictly accountable to the people for detoxification and containment at the point of production.Let's be crystal clear: the

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56:03

When Legislators Won’t Listen, Make Them: Introducing...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/06/16

The EPA has been gutted. Scientists are being sent home. NOAA is being dismantled. And in the middle of all this deregulation, our elected officials keep voting against what we actually want. So what do we do about it?On this episode of the Environmental Justice Lab, I sit down with Sadie Holzmeyer, National Organizing Director of the Digital Democracy Project — a nonpartisan nonprofit building a voter-driven system of government from the ground up.Sadie tells us how she went from a random Google

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17:32

SPECIAL EPISODE - Interview on 94.1 KPFA: Dr. Lesley...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/06/05

What happens to the earth when we wage war? Dr. Lesley Joseph - environmental engineer, scholar of environmental justice, and author of the forthcoming book War Crimes Against the Earth - joins Sabrina Jacobs, host of The Rude Awakening on 94.1 KPFA, to answer that question with chilling clarity.A Rude Awakening is an award-winning climate crisis and environmental justice radio show based in Berkeley, CA, and on this episode, Dr. Joseph breaks down how modern warfare has become a deliberate assault

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39:49

The Youth Are Already Leading: Meet Green Silicon Valley

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/05/26

What happens when a group of high schoolers turns a $5,000 competition win into a global movement?In this episode, Dr. Joseph sits down with Abhi Tenneti and Ayush Garg — the high school founders of Green Silicon Valley — an organization run entirely by students, for students, bringing free STEM and environmental education to elementary and middle school classrooms around the world.We talk about how these young leaders scaled from a single middle school in Santa Clara to over 500 volunteers across

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59:37

Introducing "The Corridor": A Podcast Series about...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/05/04

In this episode of The Environmental Justice Lab, Dr. Lesley Joseph sits down with journalist and award-winning author, Jaha Avery, creator of the podcast series The Corridor, to dig into the truth about “Cancer Alley” - an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River where more than 150 petrochemical plants operate in the shadow of Black communities .But this story is about more than pollution. It’s about history. Jaha traces how the region’s past - from slavery and plantation economies to

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23:03

Self-determination IS the Foundation of Justice - The...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/04/21

What does it really mean to have power over your own life?In this episode, Dr. Lesley Joseph unpacks the fifth principle of environmental justice: a bold and uncompromising declaration that all people have the fundamental right to self-determination.This isn’t just about the environment. This is about power. From who controls political systems to who decides what industries enter a community, this episode exposes a critical truth - Without self-determination, there is no justice.Dr. Joseph breaks

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21:13

No More Sacrifice Zones - The 4th Principle of EJ

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/04/07

In this episode, Dr. Joseph breaks down the fourth principle of environmental justice - a principle rooted in resistance, survival, and the fundamental right to live free from toxic harm. It starts with nuclear testing, but it isn’t just about nuclear testing; it’s about who gets sacrificed in the name of progress.From the radioactive legacy of U.S. nuclear testing in Indigenous communities to today’s extractive industries, fossil fuel pollution, and the rapid expansion of data centers, this episode

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19:46

The Right to a Sustainble Planet - Exploring the 3rd...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/03/24

In this episode of The Environmental Justice Lab, Dr. Lesley Joseph breaks down the third principle of Environmental Justice, which demands the ethical, balanced, and responsible use of land and renewable resources in order to sustain life on this planet.Too often, powerful corporations and political leaders treat land, water, and air as commodities to be exploited. Communities are left out of decisions while industries extract resources, drain groundwater, pollute neighborhoods, and sacrifice

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22:20

"You're either at the table, or you're on the menu" -...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/03/10

Environmental justice isn’t just about protecting the planet. It’s also about who gets protected and who gets ignored.In this episode, Dr. Lesley Joseph discusses the 2nd principle of environmental justice, which demands that public policy be built on mutual respect and justice for all people, free from discrimination or bias. That sounds simple, but the reality is far more complicated. Too often, environmental laws are written in ways that leave out the communities that are most affected. Too

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15:23

The Earth is Sacred, Not Disposable - The First...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/02/17

In this episode, Dr. Joseph unpacks the first principle of environmental justice, which affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth, the ecological unity of all life, and the right of humans and non-humans alike to be free from ecological destruction. This episode challenges the dominant idea that the environment exists solely for extraction and profit. Instead, Dr. Joseph reframes environmental justice as a moral obligation—one rooted in interdependence, stewardship, and responsibility.Drawing on his

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18:30

"A Declaration, Not a Disclaimer" - The Preamble to...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/02/03

Environmental justice is not just about pollution. It's about freedom.In this episode, Dr. Joseph takes listeners deep into the Preamble to the Principles of Environmental Justice, first articulated at the 1991 First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. But this is not just a technical introduction. Dr. Joseph describes how the preamble is a bold declaration of resistance, connection, and liberation. This episode unpacks how environmental justice emerged as a global movement

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34:59

From the Streets to the World: The Foundations of...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2026/01/20

Environmental justice didn’t begin as a theory - it began as a movement.In this episode of The Environmental Justice Lab, Dr. Lesley Joseph traces the roots of environmental justice, unpacking how race, class, power, and policy collide to determine who gets clean air, safe water, and healthy communities - and who is forced to bear the burden of pollution and neglect.From the lived experiences of frontline communities to the emergence of environmental justice as a civil rights struggle, this episode

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65:27

Fighting for a Level Playing Field: EJ in the South...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2025/11/25

What does it take to confront generations of environmental racism and win?In this episode, Senior Attorney Chandra Taylor-Sawyer of the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) pulls back the curtain on what it really means to fight for environmental justice in the U.S. South. From zoning decisions that quietly turn Black neighborhoods into dumping grounds, to federal rollbacks that threaten the very civil rights tools that communities rely on, Chandra explains how injustice is built and how

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58:35

Grounds for Change: Fixing the Coffee Industry with...

The Environmental Justice Lab ·

2025/11/11

You probably do not know this, but your morning cup of coffee carries a dark story. It's a story riddled with deforestation, child labor, slavery, corporate denial, and environmental injustice. This week, Etelle Higonnet, founder of Coffee Watch, joins the Environmental Justice Lab to expose how the global coffee industry profits from environmental destruction and human suffering, and what must change. Etelle pulls back the curtain on the hidden costs of coffee production: forests cleared for

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