All Revolution Is Based on Land, with Leah Penniman
On A People’s Climate: What the soil can teach us in the fight for climate justice.
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All Revolution Is Based On Land with Leah Penniman | A People’s Climate
Solving the climate crisis isn’t about reinventing the wheel or the latest tech scheme — it can be as simple as growing food and building community.
Host Shilpi Chhotray chats with Leah Penniman, farmer, educator, and co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, about the intersection of land, food justice, and racial equity. Leah shares how Afro-Indigenous farming practices offer solutions to the climate crisis— but also serve as a tool for personal and community healing.
From the legacy of Black farmers in the U.S. to the ongoing exploitation of agricultural workers, this conversation reveals how land is not only the foundation of sustenance but the basis of revolution, independence, and justice.
Key Topics Covered:
- Farming as a spiritual and ecological practice that reconnects humans to the earth.
- Pitfalls of Industrial agriculture, from soil degradation, pesticide contamination, and contributions to the climate crisis
- Afro-Indigenous farming practices that sequester carbon, restore soil, and increase resilience to extreme weather.
- Land justice and reparations: Historical land theft, racialized wealth disparities, and efforts to build Black land commons.
- The Trump Administration's impact on Black Farmers and the agri-food industry.
- How modern food systems continue to exploit the most vulnerable, including undocumented farmworkers and incarcerated individuals, whose labor produces the food we eat
Resources
- Soul Fire Farm
- Farming While Black by Lean Penniman
- Black Earth Wisdom by Leah Penniman
- AP investigation “Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands”
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Solving the climate crisis isn’t about reinventing the wheel or the latest tech scheme — it can be as simple as growing food and building community.
Host Shilpi Chhotray chats with Leah Penniman, farmer, educator, and co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, about the intersection of land, food justice, and racial equity. Leah shares how Afro-Indigenous farming practices offer solutions to the climate crisis— but also serve as a tool for personal and community healing.
From the legacy of Black farmers in the U.S. to the ongoing exploitation of agricultural workers, this conversation reveals how land is not only the foundation of sustenance but the basis of revolution, independence, and justice.
Key Topics Covered:
- Farming as a spiritual and ecological practice that reconnects humans to the earth.
- Pitfalls of Industrial agriculture, from soil degradation, pesticide contamination, and contributions to the climate crisis
- Afro-Indigenous farming practices that sequester carbon, restore soil, and increase resilience to extreme weather.
- Land justice and reparations: Historical land theft, racialized wealth disparities, and efforts to build Black land commons.
- The Trump Administration’s impact on Black Farmers and the agri-food industry.
- How modern food systems continue to exploit the most vulnerable, including undocumented farmworkers and incarcerated individuals, whose labor produces the food we eat
Resources
- Soul Fire Farm
- Farming While Black by Lean Penniman
- Black Earth Wisdom by Leah Penniman
AP investigation “Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands”
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The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
(Solar) Power to the People with Elizabeth Yeampierre | A People’s Climate
In this episode of A People’s Climate, host Shilpi Chhotray sits down with Elizabeth Yeampierre, veteran organizer and executive director of UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community-based organization, to explore how frontline communities are taking climate action into their own hands.
In a capitalist world that prioritizes bigger, faster, and more, Elizabeth’s work takes a different path. Small, hyper-local solutions like a community-owned solar grid have huge impacts. Residents of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, where UPROSE focuses its work, are seeing lower energy costs, good green jobs, and local ownership. All while creating a blueprint for other communities to follow.
Elizabeth also takes us beyond the buzzwords of “green economy" and “clean energy” to show what a Just Transition really looks like. Mainstream environmental efforts often focus on the end goal: shifting to renewable energy. But they fail to ask “at what cost and to whom?” Elizabeth’s work ensures community members aren’t left behind.
This episode is a masterclass in how grassroots power can transition us to a just future.
Key Topics
- A Just Transition: Shifting to renewable energy while protecting workers and communities historically harmed by pollution
- The community-led renewable energy Grid Project
- Resisting extractive economies and reclaiming industrial spaces without displacement or gentrification.
- The importance of building an intergenerational movement
- How Trump-era policies have dismantled climate protections and undermined renewable energy incentives
- How disaster capitalism exploits crises and how community-led responses offer real solutions
Resources
A new solar project in Brooklyn could offer a model for climate justice
US Spending On Climate Damage Nears $1 Trillion Per Year
The Shock Doctrine (Naomi Klein)
Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com
* Check out BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/THENATION
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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