In this episode, why faith communities went into Midwestern homes to test the air and what they discovered.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Rev. Brian Sauder, President & CEO of Faith in Place
Resources for You:
Air Aware: The People-Powered Search for Healthy Air
Under the Lens: The Truth About Natural Gas
...but not in a good way. On this episode, a look at the fossil fuel boom caused by AI and the cry for help from state regulators who say they're powerless to stop it.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Ciaran Gallagher, Energy and Air Manager, Clean Wisconsin
Resources for You:
Do AI Data Centers Hurt Your Health? (The Defender episode 81)
The Truth About AI Data Centers and Water (The Defender episode 74)
Clean Wisconsin Action Network
The DNR just revealed a long list of violations at Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline construction site. In this episode, a deep dive into what Enbridge is doing to Wisconsin's Northwoods, and whether the DNR can or will do anything about it.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Evan Feinauer
Resources for You:
Take Action: Tell the DNR to hold Enbridge accountable for violations at Line 5
Join Clean Wisconsin's Action Network
If you think growing hazelnuts is just for Europe or the West Coast, think again. Turns out, we've got a wild, native variety right here in Wisconsin, and people are getting excited pretty excited about it.
In this episode Amy heads out to Sheboygan County to find out why farmers and environmental advocates are so hyped about Wisconsin's hazelnuts.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Aaron Kolste, Wisconsin Hazelnut Farmer
Resources for You:
Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative
Halelnuts Could Help Reshape Wisconsin's Agriculture (video)
Our neighbor to the south—Iowa—has a cancer problem. In this episode, we look at a new study that paints an alarming picture of rural America... and cancer rates.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Kerri Johannsen, Senior Director of Policy and Programs with the Iowa Environmental Council
Resources for You:
Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa's Cancer Crisis
Nitrates and Health Impacts in Wisconsin
Neonicotinoid Pesticides and Health Impacts in Wisconsin
PFAS and Health Impacts in Wisconsin
Common Pesticides Used in Wisconsin and Potential Health Harms
We all know Wisconsin's weather is full of extremes and wild swings, like snow one day, sandals the next, and then back to snow. But 2026 has been wild even for us. In this episode, Amy talks with Wisconsin's state climatologist about what just happened this year, and what's next.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Steve Vavrus, Wisconsin State Climatologist
Resources for You:
Wisconsin Center for Climatic Research
One Year Later: What the Milwaukee Flood Took and What it Left Behind
The largest reported oil and gas pipeline spill in state history is unfolding in Wisconsin's Northwoods. A couple of weeks ago, Canadian oil giant Enbridge spilled more than a million gallons of liquid natural gas after it accidentally broke its own pipeline in Iron County. And right now, we have way more questions than answers.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Evan Feinauer, Clean Wisconsin attorney
Resources for You:
Pipeline Spill Video, Courtesy David Joe Bates (Facebook Post)
Clean Wisconsin: Stop the Line 5 Pipeline
Wisconsin must be doing something right, because the first bee ever listed as a federally endangered species is starting to reappear--right here.
In this episode, a walk deep into the Wisconsin woods to find out what it will take to bring our bees back and meet the dedicated experts and volunteers who are working hard to save our pollinators.
In this episode, Amy heads to Columbia County to separate fact from fiction about wind energy… and learn a thing or two about cows.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Jerry Cigelske, 2nd generation Wisconsin farmer
Overwhelmed by the environmental problems we face? In this episode, how to use your knowledge and power - to find your happy place.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Sasha Stone, Green Life Trading Company, Zero Waste Madison
Resources for You:
The Defender Episode 35: Microplastics in Our Bodies - How Much do They Hurt Us?
Find out more about Zero Waste Madison
Under the Lens: Microplastics and Our Bodies
It has never been easy to be a farmer. But these days, in the face of rising costs, tariffs, and consolidation, keeping a small farm in business seems next to impossible. But there is a way to survive, and it might just be the key to protecting our health, cleaning up our water, and saving our soil.
In this episode, Amy talks with Chaz Self from Grassway Organics about the future of farming, and where we all fit in. Plus, pizza!
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Chaz Self, Grassway Organics
Resources for You:
Nitrates on Tap: The Cost of Nitrate Contamination in Wisconsin's Drinking Water
Grassway Organics Pizza on the Farm
The Wisconsin Public Health Association recently adopted a resolution saying unregulated hyperscale data centers are a threat to public health in our state. In this episode, hear from one of the co-authors of that resolution to find out the health and energy consequences of data centers.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Kayla Rinderknecht, Community Health Manager, Clean Wisconsin
Resources for You:
Petition: Stop Unchecked AI Data Center Development
What does it take to get plastic out of your life? Well, unless you can go back in time 100 years, it's pretty much impossible. But what about *some* plastic? Just a place to start?
In this episode, we're talking about plastic waste in the grocery store and how to try to take control of the plastics that wind up in your shopping cart.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Brendon Smith, Marketing and Communications Director, Willy St. Co-op
Resources for You:
Plastic-Free July: 31 days of ideas
Microplastics in Our Bodies: Exposure and Potential Health Harms
While federal money props up old coal power plants in Wisconsin, the EPA is busy relaxing rules meant to keep coal's toxic pollution out of our air and water.
In this episode, what our nation's new commitment to old coal means for Wisconsin's water and for the regulations that are supposed to protect us.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Clean Wisconsin Attorney Evan Feinauer
Resources for You:
Wisconsinites May Soon Pay Higher Bills to Keep Coal Plants Open in Indiana
Wisconsin foots the bill for coal's last hurrah
Trump order to keep Michigan coal plant open will mean higher bills for Wisconsinites
Speak out against the Red Oak Ridge gas plant proposal
It's happening in every corner of Wisconsin—Cassville, Menomonie, Superior, Madison, La Crosse County, Dane County, Westport, Manitowoc County, Door County. Communities all over the state are passing moratoriums and ordinances aimed at stopping what a year ago seemed unstoppable: the unchecked flood of AI data centers into our state.
In this episode, who is pushing this avalanche of local action, and will it be enough to stem the environmental harms already unfolding because of AI data centers?
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Blaine Halverson, Community Organizer, Great Lakes Neighbors United
Resources for You:
Petition: Stop Unchecked AI Data Center Development
Episode 74: The Truth About AI Data Centers and Our Water
Into Thin Air: How AI data center energy use harms our water resources
AI Data Centers will use more energy than all the homes in the state combined
Have we been sold a bill of goods about ethanol? In this episode, the toll ethanol is taking on our health right here in Wisconsin.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Sara Walling, Water & Agriculture Program Director, Clean Wisconsin
Resources for You:
New Report: Nitrate Contamination Driving Health Crisis in Wisconsin
Proposal to increase E-15 would cause substantial harms in Wisconsin
Common Pesticides Used in Wisconsin and Potential Health Harms
Health Brief: Nitrates in Wisconsin's Drinking Water
In this episode, what the rain and snow are telling about PFAS pollution in the Upper Midwest—plus some information about new PFAS laws in Minnesota that could be a blueprint for Wisconsin.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Alexander Frie, Research and Fellowship Coordinator, Minnesota Sea Grant
Resources for you:
Amara's Law regulating PFAS in Products (Minnesota)
Episode 62: What to Know about PFAS in Pesticides
PFAS Contamination in Public and Private Wells in Wisconsin (Health Research Brief)
A circuit court judge is deciding whether permits issued by the state allowing Enbridge to build its Line 5 pipeline reroute in Wisconsin's Northwoods are legal. But in the meantime, he is allowing work on the new Line 5 to continue -- except in a few key places.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Evan Feinauer, Clean Wisconsin Attorney
Resources for You:
Wisconsin: One one of the Most Important Places om Earth (Video)
Amy talks with a researcher who took a deep dive into the water impacts of AI data centers. What she found is something you're not hearing many tech companies talking about.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Hannah Richerson, Water Policy Manager, Clean Wisconsin
Resources for You:
New Analysis: Data Center Water Consumption Will Be Far Higher Than Tech Companies Claim Clear As Mud: Hidden Thirst Of Data Centers AI Data Centers In Wisconsin Will Use More Energy Than All Homes In State CombinedWisconsin was one of the first places where the farm-to-table movement really took root. But now that movement is changing, becoming more urgent in the face of the flooding, droughts, and changing weather patterns that are taking a toll on our food systems.
In this episode, Amy welcomes Madison's 2025 Chef of the Year Evan Danells of Cadre to talk about why these days chefs are adding protecting the planet to the menu.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guest: Chef Evan Danells, Cadre
Resources for You:
2026 Epicurean Evening Menu & Tickets
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