In this episode, Sunny Simon, President of The Cleveland Vegan Society, joins us to talk about veganism and VegFest 2024, coming to Cleveland's Huntington Convention Center on Saturday, June 22. It's the largest Vegan festival in the Midwest, and it will be delicious, fun, and informative for vegans and non-vegans alike. The Cleveland Vegan Society created VegFest over 12 years ago to celebrate veganism and to encourage more plant-based eating. This year's festival features an impressive lineup of activities, speakers, cooking demos, a cruelty-free marketplace, a kids' activity area, yoga, and more.

Join us as Sunny shares about becoming a vegetarian and then a vegan thirty years ago and the environmental and humane reasons she advocates for the vegan lifestyle. She also clears up some misconceptions about vegans and offers tips for transitioning to a more plant-based diet. Everyone is welcome at VegFest, where over 13,000 people will gather to eat, have fun, and learn from speakers, including Sarina Farb, Christopher "Soul" Eubanks, Will Brooks, Dr. Keary O'Connor, and Gwenna Hunter. Cooking demos include chefs Chad Goodwin, Sonia Steele, and Anna Marie Harouvis. Whatever your dietary preferences, there will be something to satisfy everyone's tastes.

Guest :
Sunny Simon, President of the Cleveland Vegan Society and Cuyahoga County Council member

Resources:
Film - Peaceable Kingdom
The Cleveland Vegan Society
VegFest 2024
Top Vegan TV show
Bitchy Vegan Homo (vegan recipes)

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Can you build a house with mushrooms? You can if you are Chris Maurer, an architect, a mycologist, and a visionary. Chris is the Principal Architect at Redhouse Studio, an architecture firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. Chris and his partners are working to revolutionize how we house ourselves, not with bricks and mortar but with bio-bricks, a carbon-sequestering fusion of fungi mycelium and plant waste. This regenerative, humanitarian-focused "mycotecture" can grow buildings on and off our planet. Mycotecture refers to the use of mushrooms and other fungi for architectural purposes. In this episode, Chris introduces us to the possibilities of the fungi kingdom in creating sustainable building materials. Chris's work is far-reaching. His MycoHAB project in Namibia uses mycotecture to convert waste bush into food and housing. His Off-Planet NIAC project with NASA would convert space radiation into buildings on Mars. Back here in Cleveland, his BioCycler technology promises to recycle dilapidated buildings while remediating our lead problem and rebuilding our city. We are captivated by the power and possibilities of fungi, and you will be too.

Guest:
Chris Maurer, Principal Architect at Redhouse Studio Architecture

Resources:
Follow Redhouse Studio on Instagram and Facebook
More on the MycoHAB project in Namibia
More on growing buildings on Mars
More on the BioCycler using fungi to remediate waste and rebuild our city.
Watch the Fantastic Fungi documentary.

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Jim Ridge is the founder and executive director of Share the River, a non-profit that promotes Cleveland as a waterfront city and sharing everything that makes it a vibrant and engaging space for residents and visitors. In this episode, Jim talks about his upcoming Blazing Paddles Paddlefest on June 22, where hundreds of recreational paddlers and racers will paddle the commercial shipping section of the Cuyahoga River from Rivergate Park up to Cleveland-Cliffs Steelyard and back. Along the way, they will experience how the river has "risen like a phoenix" from its polluted past and is now attracting economic development, tourism, and community pride. Jim is one of our biggest river advocates, even being named Champion of the River by the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern (AOC) last year. He has much to share about how our past, present, and future are inextricably tied to our waterfront and its evolving health. Join us to hear his vision, plus some tips on sharing the river with freighters, about those YAKports, registering for Blazing Paddles, and more. You will surely find new ways to appreciate our tremendous natural resource for its recreational, commercial, and revitalizing potential.

Guest:
Jim Ridge, Share the River

Resources:
About Share the River
Follow Share the River - Instagram and Facebook
About the Cuyahoga River
Know Before You Go safety tips
Register for the Dave Vasarhelyi Memorial Recreational Paddle
Map of the lower Cuyahoga River (Federal Navigation Channel)
Cuyahoga River Water Trail
Cuyahoga River and Share the River News

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