Architect Eric Cory Freed joins Jon Strassner in an episode dedicated to communication and the art of re-framing the conversation around climate so that people don't run away from it. Reading a room, understanding your audiance and delivering information and entertainment in a language your audiance can understand. Eric and Jon actually have fun talking about our planet.

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In the season's first episode, Jon Strassner talks with industrial designer Brian Graham. We talk about doing the best we can and learning how to operate in the messy middle, where our expectations of perfection are often left unmet.

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Designers and architects face a complex matrix of requirements to meet modern requirements for building performance, appearance and overall impact on people and the planet. On this episode, key team members from Rockfon and ROCKWOOL, part of ROCKWOOL Group, discuss strategies and trends to meet these needs.

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In this continued episode of Break Some Dishes, Jon ventures to Los Angeles to podcast from the floor of Greenbuild 2025. For a second day, a bunch of different guests stepped into Jon’s podcast booth during the conference to talk about everything from the gender gap in raising capital to bringing better storytelling to climate activism. Great sponsors and wonderful guests made this Greenbuild episode a very special one!

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In this episode of Break Some Dishes, Jon ventures to Los Angeles to podcast from the floor of Greenbuild 2025. Eight different guests slipped into Jon’s podcast booth during the conference to talk about everything from the gender gap in raising capital to bringing better story telling to climate activism. Great sponsors and wonderful guests made this Greenbuild episode a very special one!

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For the season finale of Break Some Dishes, Jon and Verda wrap up a challenging but rewarding season about women; women in design, in leadership, and in the climate movement. Why do women still hold far fewer leadership positions, even as they are earning more college degrees than men? What happens when we define the world through the rigid binaries of masculine versus feminine, and does that framing ultimately limit everyone? In this episode, Jon and Verda revisit some of the season’s most thought-provoking conversations to examine what true equity could look like in design and beyond.

Referenced Work:

Mismeasure of Woman: Why Women are not the Better Sex, the Inferior Sex, or the Opposite Sex by Carol Tavris

And for the last time, the book Jon and Verda have mentioned in almost every episode: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

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In the penultimate episode of season six, Jon and Verda have a conversation with Ayshka Najib, who shares her journey from being inspired by the Chipko movement in India to becoming a fervent champion for both climate justice and gender equality. The discussion covers the intersection of climate change and gender issues, the influence of grassroots movements, and recent advancements in global climate policies. Insights on the role of women in environmental activism, the complexities of greening the economy, and the power of individual and collective efforts in driving meaningful change all happen in this jam-packed interview.

This season of Break Some Dishes is presented by Humanscale.

References and Resources

Mineral scarcity and the green transition

Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

Instagram: @fossilfueltreaty

Just Transition – Women and Gender Constituency

Youth Climate Justice Fund (YCJF): Explore grant recipients, apply for funding & sign up for the newsletter

For Self Care: Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

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Live from the NeoCon show floor in Chicago, Verda and Jon sit down with Kathleen Egan and Paul Shahriari, co-founders of Ecomedes. If you’ve ever struggled to specify sustainable materials, this episode is a must-listen. Ecomedes is changing the game for the architecture and design industry by streamlining product data, certifications, and comparisons into one comprehensive and easy-to-use platform. We explore why the process has been so hard for both designers and manufacturers, challenge ideas about product data, and explore how Ecomedes is making the path to sustainable design more efficient and impactful.

This episode was produced in partnership with Ecomedes and recorded live in the NeoCon Podcast Lounge Powered by SURROUND. Thank you to our Lounge sponsor, Material Bank, and product partners: HÅG, Stylex, KI Wall, and Turf.

References & Resources

Ecomedes Platform: ecomedes.com

Summit at Neocon mentioned: metropolismag.com/viewpoints/insights-metropolis-leadership-summit-neocon/

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