Stephanie Marie Seferian's Blog, page 4

Roots

We humans are evolutionarily primed to live in concert with the natural world, but these days Americans spend over 92% of time either indoors or inside a vehicle. The result? Stress, inflammation and — for some of us — a pervasive sense of malaise.

American culture is designed to keep us indoors because capitalist engines make money when we are distracted, and yet cutting-edge science supports the reality that life on this planet is radically interconnected. On today’s show author Lyanda Lynn Ha...

What Advertisers Know

A product needs to fit into someone’s life seamlessly in order for it to be bought, and it’s the job of the advertiser to show exactly how the item in question will fit into a life. On today’s show: 5 crucial insights advertisers know about us (that we perhaps don’t know about ourselves).

 

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[1:00] Examining our clutter problem through metaphor (bathtub, baby!)

[9:00] Selling isn’t about emotion; it’s about seduction

[13:00] We humans are animals, and animals are evolutionarily ...

If Trees Could Talk

One football field’s-worth of forest is lost every single second of every single day. Loss of forests means loss of species and loss of stored carbon; it also means an increased risk of pandemics.

On today’s show: Explaining the ways in which deforestation is linked to the pandemic prevalence, with tangible action steps for conscious consumers.

 

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[5:00] It’s not *just* about timber; it’s about livestock, soy, and palm oil too

[12:30] Exactly what happens when we raze forests an...

Extracurriculars Are Extra

Parenthood is awash with immense pressure to do right by our kids. We are told that children need certain (expensive) experiences to ‘get ahead’, and many of us observe our parenting peers invest in countless extracurriculars. But children need downtime, and recent research suggests that children should experience twice as much unstructured time as structured enrichment.

On today’s show podcaster Kathryn Garland and I discuss how to find the structured, extracurricular sweet spot for your family...

Feeding Littles Lunches

Welcome to Back To School Week 2024!

In many homes, back to school season means back to packing lunchboxes. It’s a stress-inducing chore, sure, as many parents find it difficult to think up new, creative lunch ideas that are actually healthy (and will actually get eaten!).

On today’s show registered dietician nutritionist Megan McNamee offers up her tried and true lunchbox formula; she also suggests simple lunch ideas that will make prepping lunches a breeze.

Stay tuned for Thursday’s Back To Sc...

Big Cleaning

Scientists have found unsettling details about the potential health risks of common household cleaning products. And yet Big Cleaning capitalizes on fear of germs, bacteria, and disease to sell us home cleansers with traditional chemical compounds on the regular.

It behooves us to ask ourselves whether the ways things have always been done align with our own values. On today’s show Zac Kieffer argues it’s high-time we redefine what it means to clean.

 

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[3:00] Three reasons why ...

Decluttering For Self-Care

If you’re like me, you’re likely dealing with constant, low-grade clutter situations, and that’s because once a purchase is made, the item is ours to maintain, manage, and store. Sadly, consumerism never talks about the negative wellness effects of buying (I’m looking at you, cortisol!).

If clutter keeps piling up in your home despite your best efforts, my guest today argues that it’s time to dig deeper. Not deeper into the piles, of course. Deeper into yourSELF.

On today’s show professional org...

Glimmers

In our hyper-capitalist society, it’s often implied that the only things worth savoring are the really fancy, really shiny, really new, and really exotic. Let’s push back against that narrative by finding the glimmers, also known as those simple moments of pleasure that pop up during our days.

We minimalists already know that it’s in the small things that beauty lies. On today’s show: Research-backed ways to spot the glimmers and reap the most joy possible from every instance.

 

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Climate Solutions

We talk an awful lot about “climate science” and “what climate scientists predict” on this podcast. Today, I’m talking to one of them.

What exactly are the next 100 years likely going to look like for humans? What needs to happen for the US to mobilize for real? On today’s show: A conversation with Michael Barnard about climate solutions, with an emphasis on that pesky air conditioning problem.

 

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[9:00] When it comes to cooling the planet, here’s why my guest is “cautiously opt...

How To Not Eat Microplastics

When it comes to environmental concerns, there’s certainly plenty to worry about at the moment. Whether you and your family is eating microplastics on the regular may not be your list of top concerns.

But it’s an important topic to cover. While the health effects of microplastics on humans are not fully understood, common sense measures that reduce our exposures to both the plastic itself and also the endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are on and in such particles are certainly prudent. On toda...