Best Tabitha Thomas Podcasts (2025)

1
Humanity and Fire: A History of Relationships with Jordan Thomas 1:46:23

Play Pause

7d ago1:46:23

1:46:23

Episode 115: In this episode, Kate sits down with Jordan Thomas to talk about his new book When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World. It might not be the conversation you expect, opening by exploring fire’s centrality to what it is to be human and how relational and contextual fire is. Jordan guides us through the last ten thousand ye…

1
How Sound Connects Us to Our Environments and to One Another with Chris Berdik 1:05:40

15d ago1:05:40

1:05:40

Episode 114: In this conversation, Kate Kavanaugh sits down with author Chris Berdik to discuss his new book 'Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World and How We Can Take It Back'. They dive into the often-overlooked significance of sound in both our personal lives and the natural world. Chris shares insights into the biology of hearing, the impacts o…

1
Trees in the Foreground: Climbing, Climate, and the Power of Perspective with Marguerite Holloway 1:14:34

22d ago1:14:34

1:14:34

Episode 113: In this episode, Kate sits down with author Marguerite Holloway to explore her new book ‘Take to the Trees: A Story of Hope, Science, and Self-Discovery in America’s Imperiled Forests’. Marguerite takes us on a deeply personal journey as she learns to climb trees at a women’s tree climbing workshop—an experience that shifts her perspec…

1
Forever Chemicals: A History of Contamination and the Power of Community in the Fight against PFAS with Mariah Blake 1:36:02

29d ago1:36:02

1:36:02

Episode 112: In this episode, Kate is joined by journalist Mariah Blake to discuss her new book, ‘They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals.’ Together, they trace the buried history of PFAS and forever chemicals—synthetic chemicals first developed in the 1930’s—that would go on to saturate everything from firefighting …

1
Distilling Transformation and Presence with Tabitha Rose 3:10:10

1M ago3:10:10

3:10:10

Episode 111: In this episode, Kate sits down with Tabitha Rose from Skin Fancy to go deep. At once, it’s an exploration of building a bioregional supply chain for a skincare company and looking to the plants and ingredients that are attuned to an ecosystem to create an incredible skincare line. It’s also an episode about Tabitha and she invites us …

1
On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why It Matters with Bonnie Tsui 1:14:03

1M ago1:14:03

1:14:03

Episode 110. In this conversation, Kate sits down with author Bonnie Tsui to talk about her new book On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why It Matters. This episode explores themes of strength, resilience, and the interplay between the physical and the philosophical. Kate and Bonnie have a wide ranging discussion that spans the metaphor and bio…

1
We Can Pick Up and Carry Heavy Loads: Exploring Movement in Context with Kate Kavanaugh 1:30:10

2M ago1:30:10

1:30:10

Episode 109. In this episode, I (Kate Kavanaugh) reflect on my personal journey with movement from a practical and philosophical standpoint all while weaving it into some of the bigger themes that we’ve been exploring on the podcast around how we move resources to our bodies and how that itself changes our movement. I start out with some historical…

1
Is This the Most Unseen and Exploitative Industry in the United States? And Could It Change? With Alice Driver 48:03

2M ago48:03

48:03

Episode 108. (note: recorded Fall of 2024) This conversation with Alice Driver about her book Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America’s Largest Meatpacking Company delves into the often unseen and harsh realities faced by workers in the meat industry. The discussion highlights the dangerous working conditions, the is…

1
Vision Without Execution is Hallucination with Matt Skoglund 1:55:02

2M ago1:55:02

1:55:02

Episode 107. In this conversation, Kate sits down with Matt Skoglund of North Bridger Bison to have a wide-ranging conversation about agriculture, community, the meaning of work, and what it means to teach about death. Together, they reflect on the complexities of efficiency in food systems, the yearning for simplicity in a complicated world, and t…

1
Storytelling, Paradox, and How to Bridge Divides (even with our Stone Age brains) with Kurt Gray 1:03:32

2M ago1:03:32

1:03:32

Episode 106: In this conversation, Kate Kavanaugh and Kurt Gray--whose book, ‘Outraged!: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics’ is out today--explore the themes of human nature, exploring the idea of humans as prey animals and how this evolutionary bent shapes our understanding of threats in modern society. It’s an episode about how we view harm…

1
Carbon: A Flow and Symphony of Life with Paul Hawken 1:32:42

3M ago1:32:42

1:32:42

Episode 105: In this conversation, Kate sits down with author and entrepreneur Paul Hawken to explore the multifaceted role of carbon in life and talk about his new book, ‘Carbon: the Book of Life’. It’s an episode challenging the conventional narrative that reduces carbon to an errant molecule within the atmosphere and connects it back to the mole…

1
A Pitch for Building Community with Will Bardenwerper 1:06:34

3M ago1:06:34

1:06:34

Episode 104. In this episode, Kate sits down with author Will Bardenwerper to talk about baseball. Now, before you think this doesn’t tie in to some of the major themes we’ve been exploring on the podcast—think again. Will’s new book ‘Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America’ is a love letter to small towns, communities,…

1
As Constant as a March Hare with Chloe Dalton 1:16:52

3M ago1:16:52

1:16:52

Episode 103. In this episode of the podcast, Kate sits down with author Chloe Dalton to discuss her memoir Raising Hare. Chloe is a political speechwriter and advisor who during the pandemic finds herself caring for a hare in the English countryside. In rich and textured detail, Chloe shares her transformative relationship with the hare. The episod…

1
The Grieving Body with Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor 1:18:19

4M ago1:18:19

1:18:19

Episode 102. In this episode, Kate sits down with Mary-Frances O’Connor to talk about her new book The Grieving Body (a follow up to the Grieving Brain). This is an episode for anyone to deepen their understanding and literacy of grief—grievers, grief supporters, caregivers. In the episode, they talk about attachment and what it is to form an “us” …

1
No More Re-Introductions, Only Humans in Process with Kate Kavanaugh 1:02:43

5M ago1:02:43

1:02:43

Episode 101: In this episode, I reflect on my journey over the past three years of podcasting, It’s about being a human in process. It’s about taking moments to let ourselves be fallow, to stop along the journey, lay out a blanket, and watch the clouds go by. I also discuss a concept I’ve been exploring for myself where “Ease = Effort + Flow” and h…

1
100 Episodes, 13 Lessons, and a Lot of Gratitude 1:11:55

5M ago1:11:55

1:11:55

By Kate Kavanaugh

1
Living Into the Life You Want with Caroline Nelson 2:18:51

5M ago2:18:51

2:18:51

Caroline Nelson is living into the life she wants. A lot has happened since we last talked to Caroline a year and a half ago, she opened Little Creek Feed, her meat business got bigger, so did Cowgirl Camp, and somewhere in the midst of all that she became a mother. This is an episode in equal parts the gravity of pausing to ask yourself where you …

1
Embracing the Darkness as Fertile Ground: An Exploration of Grief and Community with Francis Weller 1:51:23

6M ago1:51:23

1:51:23

As Winter Solstice nears, this conversation is about the transformative power of darkness, about going into our grief, and building community to hold us. In this conversation, Francis Weller joins Kate to explore the profound importance of community and connection in human life. They discuss the pervasive sense of isolation and individualism in mod…

1
Power Metal: Recycling, Repair, and Re-Imagining Energy and Beyond with Vince Beiser 1:35:47

7M ago1:35:47

1:35:47

In this episode I sit down with Vince Beiser, whose book Power Metal: The Race for the Resources that Will Shape The Future is an incredible follow up to his book Sand: the World in a Grain. When we last caught up with Vince we plumbed the depths of sand and how, while largely unseen, it is one of the major resources our world is built on. In this …

1
The Complexity of Simplicity with Jill Winger 2:03:02

8M ago2:03:02

2:03:02

This is a salty conversation and it’s also the kind of conversation that cracks you wide open. I sit down with Jill Winger - not to discuss her incredible work with Old-Fashioned on Purpose, her courses, her planner, or her book which are all amazing - but to talk about her life philosophies, our shared hot takes, and to lean into our complexity as…

1
Basins of Relations: Water, Fire, Beavers, and Beyond with Brock Dolman 2:18:12

9M ago2:18:12

2:18:12

WHOOEE. Brock Dolman, folks, in this episode is weaving together all sorts of things previously explored on the podcast in a new (old) and incredibly articulate way. This podcast is about water cycles, beavers, fire, sand, geology, the oceans, a living earth, and so much more. Brock is a conservation ecologist and a specialized generalist over at t…

1
An Ecology of Movement with Katy Bowman 1:43:41

9M ago1:43:41

1:43:41

In this episode, I sit down with Katy Bowman. First, a long on-ramp to the episode where I talk about where some of Katy’s work dovetails with explorations of how we move resources to our bodies (when we used to move our bodies to resources) that we’ve been exploring on the podcast. Katy and I then dive into the ecology of movement, movement diets,…

1
The Wood Age: Humans and the Forests That Made Them Human with John Perlin 2:07:21

9M ago2:07:21

2:07:21

In this episode of the podcast I sit down with John Perlin, whose book A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization explores the history of, well, of us. As you’ll hear in this episode the history of humans is inextricably intertwined, or made possible, with the history of trees and of wood. Wood is our materia prima, the foundat…

1
NAFTA is in All of Our Bodies: Corn, Policy, and Health with Alyshia Gálvez 1:40:18

10M ago1:40:18

1:40:18

In this episode, I sit down with anthropologist Alyshia Gálvez to talk about her book Eating NAFTA. The conversation is from two people who came to economic policy through unlikely means, but as Alyshia explains, economic policy in general, and NAFTA in particular - on its 30 year anniversary, has become a part of all of our bodies whether we’re aw…

1
Embedded in Earth’s Story: Geology, Rocks, and Time with Marcia Bjornerud 1:37:02

10M ago1:37:02

1:37:02

In this week’s episode, I sit down with geologist Marcia Bjornerud to talk about her new book Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks and to explore how we can gain a sense of feeling embedded in the time and space of Earth, as earthlings. We explore the mentorship rocks have to offer us and putting the story of Earth as a dynamic …

1
Sh*t, Shipping, and Blood: Upending Taboos and Exploring the Ignored with Rose George 1:23:43

10M ago1:23:43

1:23:43

Rose George is the author of four fantastic books (Nine Pints, Ninety Percent of Everything, the Big Necessity, and a Life Removed) that share a common theme: much of her work is about seeing the unseen. It’s about those things that are ubiquitous and unnoticed, or more likely, obfuscated from us. In this episode, we focus on human waste, the shipp…

1
A Celebration of Hands, Creativity, and Business with Mariele Ivy 2:09:05

10M ago2:09:05

2:09:05

Mariele Ivy is an artist. Known for her work in making jewelry and in lapidary, she is also a ceramicist, a maker of talismans and sacraments. In this episode, Kate sits down with Mariele Ivy from Young In the Mountains to talk about what it means to be an artist and to work with things of the earth. We talk about Mariele’s dedication to her supply…

1
Weaving a New Vision for American Manufacturing and Rural Resilience with Steven Kurutz 1:18:05

11M ago1:18:05

1:18:05

Steven Kurutz grew up in a town of 1500 people in the mountains of Pennsylvania. It was a formative rural experience. He set pins at a local bowling alley. He frequented the town library. It’s where he learned to love books, writing, and the characters of small town America - including the towns themselves. He puts all of that to practice in his ne…

1
Complexity, Cooperation, and Beauty - A New Story for Earth with Ferris Jabr 1:43:32

11M ago1:43:32

1:43:32

In this episode, Kate sits down with author Ferris Jabr, whose book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life comes out on June 25th. Ferris’ love of other animals and plants started at an early age and that fascination has grown into an incredible career as a journalist, exploring the perspective of ecosystems, animals, and the earth itself. Beg…

1
the Cold Chain: How Refrigeration Changed... well... Everything with Nicola Twilley 1:32:33

12M ago1:32:33

1:32:33

In this episode, Kate sits down with author and co-host of the Gastropod Podcast, Nicola Twilley, to talk about her new book Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. Nicola has written an absolute page-turner exploring the massive and far-reaching impacts of refrigeration on just about every aspect of our lives, not…

1
Inescapable Reckoning: Fire, Consumption, and Writing with John Vaillant 1:34:11

12M ago1:34:11

1:34:11

In this episode of the Ground Work podcast, Kate sits down with author John Vaillant to begin to tease out some of the themes of his 4 incredible books, 3 works of non-fiction, and one work of fiction. At the recording, John had just been awarded as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World. John and Kate …

1
Choosing What to Carry Into the Future: Cate Havstad-Casad is Sowing Change with Regenerative Leather 2:15:59

12M ago2:15:59

2:15:59

Cate Havstad-Casad is leading the revolution in supply chains that nourish communities, ecosystems, and so much more with her regenerative leather company Range Revolution. In this episode, Cate breaks down what it means to re-build and repair the hide to leather supply chain from regenerative ranches, build a regenerative business, and implore cap…

1
A Planetary Pulse of Connection: Exploring the Ocean, Science, and Beyond with Helen Czerski 1:37:21

1y ago1:37:21

1:37:21

HELEN CZERSKI is a physicist with a background in bubbles and experimental explosives. Her books The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works and Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life are incredible explorations of looking at the processes of how things that we often don’t truly see in our daily lives are deeply affecting us. In this episode, we…

1
Dust: Salvage, Water, and Hope for the Modern World with Jay Owens 1:45:29

1y ago1:45:29

1:45:29

In this episode, Kate sits down with author Jay Owens to talk about her book Dust: The Modern World in a Trillion Particles. Together, they unravel the paradoxes and challenges posed by dust - a small particle that makes a big impact throughout history. Discover how dust connects the Sahara to the Amazon, influences snowmelt, and carries historical…

1
The Tapestry of American Manufacturing with Rachel Slade 2:28:19

1y ago2:28:19

2:28:19

In this episode, Kate sits down with author and journalist Rachel Slade to discuss her books Making It In America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the USA (and How It Got That Way) and Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastore, and the Sinking of El Faro. Rachel’s books are incredible explorations of humanity and she d…

1
We are Just Bodies Bodying: Exploring Skin, Touch, and Love with May Lindstrom 2:42:41

1y ago2:42:41

2:42:41

In this week’s episode Kate sits down with the lovely, the ineffable, the effervescent May Lindstrom. Together they explore themes of grace, slowness, and the intricate dance between our inner and outer worlds. May shares many of her incredible stories and laces throughout them a call to live a life full of compassion and love and a cherishing of t…

1
the Future is Not Inevitable: Re-Imagining Infrastructure with Deb Chachra 1:26:10

1y ago1:26:10

1:26:10

In this episode, materials scientist and engineering professor Deb Chachra shares about infrastructure. Her book ‘How Infrastructure Works: Inside the Systems that Shape Our World’ is a multi-layered dive into infrastructure. In this episode, Deb and Kate explore ideas of how we move resources to bodies and waste away from bodies. It is a brief exp…

1
Seeing the Unseen: How Sand Builds Our World with Vince Beiser 1:31:14

1y ago1:31:14

1:31:14

Sand. It’s everywhere and it’s foundational to the built and digital worlds, yet we rarely see or think about it. Vince Beiser’s the World in a Grain tells the story of sand as it makes its way into the materials that make up our world: concrete, glass, silicon chips, and beyond. In this episode of the podcast, we explore some of the broader implic…

1
Our Relationship to Our Resources: A Solo Episode with Kate Kavanaugh 1:08:44

1y ago1:08:44

1:08:44

Our relationship to resources shapes the world. Our food, our clothing, our devices, our building materials and the infrastructure that underpins moving them from place to place. On this podcast, we've explored a lot around food as a resource - its impact on land and human health and some of the inputs and externalities of our food system. Now, I'd…

1
How to Be Animal with Melanie Challenger 1:20:53

1y ago1:20:53

1:20:53

In this episode of the podcast, Kate sits down with author and poet Melanie Challenger to discuss her two books How to Be Animal and On Extinction. Melanie also hosted the beautiful podcast ‘Psychosphere’ exploring the minds of animals outside of the human animal. This episode explores our disconnection with nature and how it begins in childhood an…

1
Building an Agriculture We Can Live In with Cole Mannix 1:42:43

1y ago1:42:43

1:42:43

In this episode, I (Kate Kavanaugh) sit down with Cole Mannix of Old Salt Co-Op to talk about vertically integrating the agriculture of the middle with systems that are built to serve ranchers and consumers alike. Cole talks about his innovative business (and funding) structure, the upcoming Old Salt Festival in Helmville, Montana in June (I went l…

1
The Gravity of Risk and the Potential of Opportunities: Regenerative Agriculture Businesses with Robby Sansom 2:06:56

1y ago2:06:56

2:06:56

Robby Sansom is one of the founders of Force of Nature Meats and has a mind for marrying the qualitative with the quantitative. In this episode, Robby and Kate explore what it means to build sustainable business models, try to make really massive numbers a little bit more tangible, and speak candidly about the meat industry. It’s an episode that ex…

1
Your Fertility is Your Health: Real Food for Fertility with Lily Nichols, RDN 1:36:30

1+ y ago1:36:30

1:36:30

Lily Nichols returns to the podcast to discuss what it means to optimize for fertility - and for vitality. This episode is for everyone: men, women, people trying to conceive and not! Lily’s new book “Real Food for Fertility,” centers on how whole foods can enhance fertility. The book is backed by extensive research with over 2,500 citations and co…

1
Circular Economies and Linear Infrastructure: the Complex Interplay of Roads, Beavers, and Ecosystems with Ben Goldfarb 1:39:31

1+ y ago1:39:31

1:39:31

In this episode, Kate sits down with author Ben Goldfarb to discuss the profound effects of beavers and humans on ecosystems, particularly through the construction of roads and habitats. Ben Goldfarb is the author of Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet and Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter…

1
Becoming a Bridge: Exploring Process, Transformation, and Story through Fermentation with Dr. Julia Skinner 1:56:45

1+ y ago1:56:45

1:56:45

In this episode, Kate sits down with Dr. Julia Skinner to discuss all manner of things, as it tends to be when two generalists sit down together. Julia’s work is multi-disciplinary, weaving together threads of her interests into a celebration of creative practice, fermentation, food history, the history of libraries, and beyond. The conversation ex…

1
Dream: The Art and Science of Slumber with Scott Carney 1:37:19

1+ y ago1:37:19

1:37:19

Scott Carney makes his second appearance on the podcast to talk about his new book Dream: the Art and Science of Slumber. It's a deliciously short book that reframes sleep. It's a little bit science and a little bit art and it manages to quote Jurassic Park once, so it's a big win. In this episode, Scott and I chase some rabbits around ideas relate…

1
The In Betweens, Goals as Process, and Type 2 Fun with Kate Kavanaugh 59:19

1+ y ago59:19

59:19

In this solo episode, Kate dives into those spaces that are neither here nor there, the "in betweens", exploring the idea that when we set goals now (point a) for a place in the future (point b), the real gift is the process that unfolds in between. With that in mind, Kate explores the tension between not wanting to fall into the hustle and product…

1
What Are the Stories We Tell, the Stories We Don’t Tell, and Why? The Cost of Free Land with Rebecca Clarren 1:18:41

1+ y ago1:18:41

1:18:41

In this episode Kate is joined by author Rebecca Clarren to explore her book Cost of Free Land; Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance. The Cost of Free Land explores an entwined history; one of Rebecca’s Jewish ancestors and their land in South Dakota and the Lakota that had been forced off that land by the US government. In the podcast, Rebecc…

1
the Phosphorus Paradox: Fertilizing Our Future or Fueling Our Folly? With Dan Egan 1:22:57

1+ y ago1:22:57

1:22:57

In this episode, Kate is joined by Dan Egan, author of the Devil’s Element: Phosphorous and a World Out of Balance. Why phosphorus? Phosphorus is vital for life on Earth and plays a pivotal role in fertilizers that sustain agriculture. However, it’s also a finite resource where its overuse in fertilizers has led to significant environmental concern…

1
We Are the Drivers of Our Species' Tomorrows with Cat Bohannon 1:31:57

1+ y ago1:31:57

1:31:57

This week, Kate sits down with author Cat Bohannan to talk about her book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. This conversation takes you on a captivating journey through the intricacies of human evolution viewed through the stories our bodies have to tell - and the female body in particular. In this podcast, they e…