Wealthy nations, which have profited from exploitation and extraction, face a crucial moment to confront their histories. This recognition is vital for real change and challenges our assumptions about environment, race, religion, and wealth.

We must also consider the ethical implications of pressuring poorer nations, which have contributed the least to environmental issues, to transition to sustainability. Is it unjust to impose such burdens without adequate support, risking further inequality? A just transition from extractive practices to an inclusive ethos requires embracing responsibility for past actions and paving the way forward.

In this episode, Tate Chamberlin explores the nature of justice in the face of change with esteemed guests Ignacio Packer, executive director of Caux Initiatives of Change, Douglas Drummond, CEO of Weaving Waters Collective, and Boise State University president, Marlene Tromp. When all around is evolving, how does equitable accountability define a just path forward?

A Just Transition

How does ecological data analysis inform financial policies that challenge the status quo to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, thereby addressing the climate crisis and saving the world as we know it? It’s a mix of positioning, ingenuity, investment, and good old-fashioned act-now-and-think-later responsiveness. Simple. For a more detailed accounting, check out the latest episode of the I Am Interchange podcast: Vibrant Data. 

In this episode, Tate Chamberlin is joined by esteemed ecologist and data analyst Eric Berlow, venture capitalist and 2050 founder Marie Ekeland, and We Are Human managing partner and Katapult Ocean partner and chair Sindre Østgård. Together, they discuss the critical role of data analysis, fiscal policy, and entrepreneurial innovation in shaping the global response to the climate crisis. As deadlines for achieving these vital goals loom large and remain largely unmet, how do we bridge the gap in both knowledge and action to save a planet on the brink?

Vibrant Data

Each year at the G20 Summit, the “Group of 20” heads of state and international governments meet to address issues impacting global economies, politics, and environmental health. This year’s Summit in Rio de Janeiro hosted the XPRIZE Rainforest award ceremony, the culmination of a five-year competition that fueled teams helmed by the best and brightest minds from diverse backgrounds to innovate solutions to imminent concerns endangering the future of rainforest ecosystems and, by extension, the health of the very planet. Tune in to hear a conversation with Tate Chamberlin and XPRIZE Executive Vice President of Biodiversity & Conservation Peter Houlihan describe the advances inspired by the competition, and the profound hope he’s found exploring the planet’s deepest hearts of darkness.

XPRIZE Rainforest

Without the Amazon, the world as we know it ends. With no hyperbole, it is the churning epicenter of weather systems worldwide. It creates rain. It regulates temperature and humidity. It stores carbon dioxide. It regulates trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean and all the moisture they move. It releases around 20 billion tons of water into the atmosphere every single day. It supports ecosystems not found anywhere else on the planet. And we know next to nothing about most of what lives there. The XPRIZE Rainforest competition’s 2024 winner, Team Limelight, aims to change that, to show all of us that the planet’s greatest buried treasure is worth fighting for. And that the time to fight is now.

In this second installment of a two-part special Rio G20 series, host Tate Chamberlin interviews Team Limelight Rainforest’s Dr. Thomas Walla, Professor of Biology at Colorado Mesa University, and Outreach Robotics Cofounder Guillaume Charon, two among the many creative minds intent on tackling the world’s most pressing concerns in XPRIZE competitions around the globe. Here, they break through the Amazon’s canopy to shed light on the world’s most misunderstood treasure and all the sway it holds over the future of literally everything.

Limelight Rainforest

In this episode, Tate Chamberlin hosts Charli Cooksey, Founder and CEO of WEPOWER. For Charli, her calling to uplift marginalized communities and reshape policy often faces systemic barriers. When passion alone isn’t enough, how do we keep moving forward amid oppressive forces? Charli stands at a crossroads, balancing the need for rest with her commitment to activism. This journey is transformative yet painful, reminding us that our dreams, even if deferred, hold power. Charli’s story is still unfolding—rich with potential and heartache—showing us we can create, shape our world, and keep dreaming.

WEPOWER

In this podcast, host Tate Chamberlin is joined by internationally acclaimed musician Teneia Sanders and Rabbi Joshua Lesser in discussion about queer community, pride, and the perspective necessary to walk, hand in hand, through an increasingly hostile political landscape with tenacity and grace. Join us, in full color.

In Full Color

Imagine a city alive with stories—every corner whispering tales of dreams, struggles, and aspirations. It’s a place where communities don’t just live, but co-create their surroundings, weaving narratives into the very fabric of their environment. This is the essence of World Building—where storytelling becomes a force for transformation, turning visions into tangible realities. Today, we step into that world. Host, Tate Chamberlin, is joined by an incredible lineup of guests: visionary designer and storyteller Alex McDowell, urban innovator Meegan Elliot, systems thinker Mark Beam, artist and storyteller Ash Eliza Smith, and community builder Jenn Stein. Together, we’ll explore how world-building shapes not only our imagination but also the spaces we inhabit—and how, through collaboration and imagination, we can craft a future worth imagining.

It’s Dispatch from the Heartland. Join us, won’t you?

World Building

Beneath the surface of our planet’s icy crown lie stories of ancient times, fragile ecosystems, and communities woven into the glaciers’ icy embrace. These frozen giants—part of the cryosphere, the world’s vast frozen regions—are more than just stunning landscapes; they are vital sentinels of our climate’s health and the future of life on Earth. Yet, they are melting away before our eyes, especially the tropical glaciers that are vanishing faster than anyone expected.

Today, Tate Chamberlin explores this icy world with Marcela Fernandez. We’ll uncover why glaciers and the cryosphere matter beyond their breathtaking beauty—why they are essential to life, culture, and the stability of our climate. And most importantly, what we can do—together—to ensure these vital ecosystems don’t disappear forever.

It’s a story that doesn’t roar, but whispers—calling us to listen, to act. We’re at the World Oceans Summit in Nice, France. Join us, won’t you?

Glacier Nation

A vacant lot, once overlooked and forgotten amid the rush of urban life, now pulses with vibrant life—flowers bloom where concrete once stood, vegetables sprout in neglected corners, and hope takes root in every crack. Yet, even these transformed spaces remain fragile—vulnerable to neglect, gentrification, or future development that could erase their resurgence. Similarly, rural farmland faces its own challenges—fragile soils, unpredictable weather, and the razor-thin margins that make farming a constant gamble. While innovative crops like perennial wheat show promise for creating more resilient and sustainable agriculture—reducing the need for replanting and conserving water—convincing farmers to take risks with such unproven techniques remains a significant hurdle. It’s a story of resilience—rooted in the earth and driven by community spirit—connecting urban renewal with rural perseverance in the shared pursuit of food security and sustainability.

Today, we’re sharing stories of communities confronting climate change, dismantling systemic barriers, and working tirelessly to ensure equitable access to healthy food—because food security is fundamental to a thriving society.  Tate Chamberlin is joined by Nancy Williams, Founder of No More Empty Pots, Rachel Stroer, President of the Land Institute, and Miranda Miller Klugesherz, Executive Director of the Kansas Food Action Network. Together, we’ll reflect on personal experiences, systemic issues, and the collective power driving meaningful change.

We’re at Arbor Day Farms in Nebraska—join us, won’t you?

Food Security

Washington, D.C. isn’t just a backdrop of monuments and marble. It’s a living, breathing city—home to more than 700,000 people who work, who raise kids, who build their lives here. Known for decades as Chocolate City, D.C. carries a proud history of Black culture and resilience. And yet, unlike every other city in the United States, its residents watch democracy without fully taking part in it.

They pay billions in federal taxes. They serve in the military. And still, they live under taxation without representation—the very injustice that fueled the Boston Tea Party and launched the American Revolution. More than two centuries later, the capital of the United States remains the only city where that founding demand is still denied.

And here’s the twist—this federal district is saturated with law enforcement. Dozens of agencies with arresting authority overlap in the same small space: the Metropolitan Police, Capitol Police, DEA, FBI, Secret Service, Park Police, Transit Police. And more recently, the National Guard and ICE. A city layered with power, yet stripped of the most basic power its people should hold—the right to representation in Congress.

This is Dispatch from the Heartland. In today’s episode, Ty Hobson Powell brings urgency and fire to the fight for DC statehood, making the case to Corbett Landes and Tammy Buckner that it’s time for the capital to finally become the 51st state. This isn’t just politics. It’s about identity, equality, and the unfinished promise of democracy in the United States.

We’re at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska—join us, won’t you?"

Taxation Without Representation- The Quest for DC Statehood

I Am Interchange is fostering curiosity, education, and empathy by exploring the controversial and the provocative.

THIS SEASON:  It seems, now more than ever, that we have found ourselves on the cusp of monumental worldwide change. Whether we consider the environment, politics, infrastructure, health, economics, or equities across a broad swath of social constructs, the consensus is clear and urgent: all is not as it should be. The United Nations (UN), a consortium of 193 Member States from around the globe, agrees. In 2015, the UN unanimously adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calling for urgent action in global partnership to secure “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” In alignment with the goals, HATCH — a curated network of innovators, artists, activists, and entrepreneurs working together to accelerate positive global change — focused its fall summit impact labs on topics related to their four impact pillars: EQUITY, EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENT, and EMPOWERMENT This series will explore those on the frontlines of transformational systems change, accelerating solutions for these human challenges.

New tracks tagged #tatechamberlin