The Green Dream with Dana Thomas

Dale Vince is an eco-pioneer. Back in the mid-1990s, he launched Ecotricity, the world’s first green energy company, based in the United Kingdom. In 2011, Dale created the Electric Highway, Europe’s first EV charging network, which runs from Scotland to Wales. More recently, he founded Devil’s Kitchen, an organization that provides vegan school dinners. Dale is also the chairman and owner of Forest Green Rovers, a professional soccer team based in England, that has been recognized by FIFA and the United Nations as the “world’s greenest football club.” And, as I write in the December issue of British Vogue, Dale is the founder of Skydiamond, a tech start-up that grows diamonds from carbon captured from the air.  Also on this holiday episode, I’m going to tell you a bit about our music contributor Eric Brace, an American Roots musician, Grammy-nominated producer, and founder of Red Beet Records, based in Nashville, Tennessee. Eric’s first band, Last Train Home, put out “Holiday Limited,” a now-classic EP of festive tunes, available on SoundCloud, and I'll share a bit of that lovely music with you, as well.Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisDiscover the fashion brand Another Tomorrow

Today’s guest, Dan Barber, is known as the “philosopher chef.” He's the author of The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food and leads Blue Hill at Stone Barns, his family-run restaurant at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a multipurpose non-profit organic farm and education center set on a 1920’s Rockefeller estate outside of Tarrytown, New York. Another Barber project is Row 7 Seeds, a vegetable seed company that breeds new varieties for flavor. Chef Barber has given TED talks and written opinion pieces for the New York Times and The Guardian; has served on President Obama’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition; and received multiple James Beard awards, including Best Chef: New York City and America's Outstanding Chef. He’s even been previously named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. Also on today’s program, The Green Dream’s literary critic Hermione Hoby returns, with a review of An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us, a new book by the Pulitzer-prize winning Atlantic magazine writer Ed Yong. Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisLearn more about Chef Dan Barber and Blue Hill Stone BarnsExplore the work of Hermione HobyRead more about Ed YongDiscover the fashion brand Another Tomorrow

My guest today is Merlin Sheldrake, a British biologist and author of an award-winning science-driven memoir called Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds and Change Our Minds and Shape our Futures, which The New York Times describes as an “ebullient and ambitious exploration" of fungi, and the Wall Street Journal calls “a gorgeous book of literary nature writing in the tradition of Robert Macfarlane and John Fowles, ripe with insight and erudition.” I also welcome back to The Green Dream our regular contributor Hannah Elliott, luxury car writer for Bloomberg Pursuits. She’ll tell us about the new Rolls-Royce EV, the Spectre.Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisLearn more about Merlin SheldrakeDiscover the fashion brands Another Tomorrow

My guest today on The Green Dream is Natalie Chanin, founder of Alabama Chanin, a slow fashion brand in Florence, Alabama. This year, Alabama Chanin is celebrating its 21st year in business with a new book called Embroidery: Threads and Stories from Alabama Chanin and the School of Making, about sustainability, community, artisans and makers, published by Abrams. The book’s preface was written by Natalie’s friend, singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash, who, along with her husband John Leventhal, wrote the 2014 Grammy-award winning Best American Roots Song “A Feather’s Not a Bird,” about Natalie and Alabama Chanin. On this special episode, listeners will get to hear both Natalie’s story and that hit song.Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisWatch the documentary Stitch, from Alabama ChaninDiscover the fashion brands Another Tomorrow and Phlox

My guest today on the Green Dream is Lily Cole, British model-turned-environmentalist and author of Who Cares Wins: How to Protect the Planet You Love, an eye-opening book about climate change. Lily began modeling twenty years ago and has been named “Model of the Year” and one of the top 30 models of the 2000s. When Lily was 17, she modeled for a jewelry company that was later accused of exploiting local Bushmen with its diamond mining practices. Lily traveled to Botswana to understand the situation, and she was so moved by what she saw, she helped the Bushmen export their own jewelry and keep the profits. This was her first campaign to help the planet and humanity, and it put her on the path toward activism. Since then, she has woven together her modeling and climate awareness work. Following the publication of her book, Lily launched a podcast of her own, also called Who Cares Wins. On it, she discusses climate solutions with guests such as Chelsea Clinton, David Attenborough, and Elon Musk. I heard Lily speak at the TED Countdown Summit in Edinburgh last year, during a dinner she hosted at the botanical gardens for conference attendees, and was truly moved by her passion for climate reforms. I think you will be too.Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisLearn more about Lily Cole Explore the Who Cares Wins book and podcast Discover the fashion brands Another Tomorrow and Skydiamond

Today I’m in conversation with an old friend, King of Vintage Couture Cameron Silver, the founder and owner of Decades, a top vintage couture boutique in West Hollywood, California. Born and raised in Beverly Hills, Cameron has great flair, and seems to know everyone who’s anyone. As he writes in Decades: A Century in Fashion, his gorgeous coffee table book published in 2012 by Bloomsbury, he embarked “on a career as a purveyor of only the finest pre-worn clothing.” In 1997, he opened Decades in a 1926 Art Deco building on Melrose Avenue. “I had no experience managing a business, and no real education in fashion, other than as a consumer,” Cameron wrote in his book. “But I knew that I wanted to introduce a new world of customers to vintage. Before purchasing any single piece, I would always ask myself, ‘Is it modern?’” If you go in his store, or take a look on his e-tailing site DecadesInc.com, you’ll see the answer is always yes. I’m thrilled to have him on the program today.Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisLearn more about Cameron Silver Hear more music by Eric Brace of Red Beet RecordsDiscover the work of our cover artists Studio Number OneExplore the fashion brands Another Tomorrow and Phlox

My guest today is Willow Defebaugh, the editor-in-chief of Atmos, a luxurious biannual magazine and engaging website dedicated to the intersection of climate and culture. Atmos features interviews of leading voices in the climate movement and beautiful photography and art portfolios that make the subject not only approachable, but understandable. As many of my guests say, radical change is necessary if we are going to slow down climate change, and we all know change is hard. But as a trans woman, Defebaugh understands keenly what it takes to embrace profound change, and she believes that as a society, as a community, we can absolutely do it.Today, we’ll talk about all of it: climate, culture, consumerism, and how nature was an inspiration and a guide for her transition. As she has said, “Trans-ness is the ultimate embodiment of nature, because nature is a force of transformation and evolution.”Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisLearn more about Willow Defebaugh Explore the fashion brand Another TomorrowMusic by Eric Brace of Red Beet RecordsCover art by Studio Number One

If you like cakes, baking or English reality TV, then chances are you've seen my guest today, Nancy Birtwhistle. Ever since she won The Great British Bake Off in 2014, she has been writing books on cooking, household hints, and how to live a greener life. Her book, Clean and Green: 101 Hints and Tips For a More Eco-Friendly Home, came out in 2021, and now she’s back with Green Living Made Easy, 101 Eco Tips, Hacks, and Recipes to Save Time and Money, which she calls a massive lifestyle manual. She's not wrong! In the book are all sorts of tips about how to green up your life — which is also the mission of The Green Dream podcast! Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisDiscover the world of Nancy Birtwhistle Explore the fashion brand Another TomorrowMusic by Eric Brace of Red Beet RecordsCover art by Studio Number One

Today’s guest is British designer Katharine Hamnett, fashion's original eco-warrior and pioneer of sustainable fashion. Decades ago, Hamnett made the decision to shift to more ethical and pro-environmental practices, such as using organic cotton and natural dyes. It was an "unbelievably difficult" process, she says, because her own employees opposed her decision, sometimes secretly replacing her sustainable materials for unsustainable ones. Nevertheless, she has persisted, and eventually, she met her pro-planet and humanitarian goals: her clothes are made as ethically and environmentally responsible as possible. Hamnett, fashion's “Bad Girl with Integrity,” has proved that sustainable fashion is not only possible; it can be profitable.Also with on this episode: Hannah Elliott, the luxury car writer for Bloomberg Pursuits, and a regular contributor to The Green Dream, tells us about Harley-Davidson's new electric motorcycle, the LiveWire One, which she calls "powerful and stylish."Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisDiscover the fashion brand Another TomorrowMore about Katharine Hamnett’s Sustainable FashionMusic by Eric Brace of Red Beet RecordsCover art by Studio Number One

My guest today is Amy Powney, creative director for the “It-girl” sustainable fashion brand Mother of Pearl in London. Amy is an environmental force in British fashion and speaks often publicly on the importance of sustainability in fashion, and she has transformed Mother of Pearl from a traditional fashion company to one that fully embraces green practices. In 2021, film director Becky Hutner made “Fashion Reimagined,” a film that follows Powney as she traces Mother of Pearl’s supply chain and discovers a host of environmental and humanitarian issues, including water pollution, deforestation and global warming. Vogue has called Powney: “One of the most clued up designers on the subject of sustainable fashion.” And the Sunday Times in London described her as “a voice for a new generation of designers.”Read the transcript of this episodeGet to know Dana Thomas and her book FashionopolisRead more about Fashion Reimagined, premiering at the Tribeca Film FestivalDiscover the fashion brand Another TomorrowMeet Barry Lopez and his books Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World and Arctic DreamsVisit literary critic Hermione HobyMusic by Eric Brace of Red Beet RecordsCover art by Studio Number OneLearn more about Dumfries House, Prince Charles’ wellness and sustainability center in Ayrshire, Scotland