The Mike Nowak Show Podcasts

Mike connects via Skype with a team of designers and growers in Dublin, Ireland to talk about their award-winning display, commemorating the Chicago-Ireland connection, at the 10th Annual Bloom Festival.

Mike connects via Skype with a team of designers and growers in Dublin, Ireland to talk about their award-winning display, commemorating the Chicago-Ireland connection, at the 10th Annual Bloom Festival.

Holly and Joey Baird, who have created the Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener, stop by to talk about their burgeoning horticulture empire north of the border and how to grow great tomatoes, among othe things. Mike talks live to a team of horticulturists in Dublin, Ireland, including Matt Barrett and Peggy Stewart from the Chicago Park District and grower Pat Fitzgerald of Ireland. Together they created an award-winning display called the Chicago Bridge the Gap Garden, which celebrates the connections between the Emerald Isle and Chicago. Michael and Amelia Howard join Mike in studio to promote a building fund for Eden Place Garden Center in Chicago's Fuller Park Neighborhood.

Michael and Amelia Howard talk about the hurdles they faced in creating Eden Place Nature Center, and how they transformed their neighborhood from an abused, forgotten part of the city into a model for urban environmentalism.

  Holly and Joey Baird, who have created the Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener, stop by to talk about their burgeoning horticulture empire north of the border and how to grow great tomatoes, among othe things. Mike talks live to a team of horticulturists in Dublin, Ireland, including Matt Barrett and Peggy Stewart from the Chicago Park District and grower Pat Fitzgerald of Ireland. Together they created an award-winning display called the Chicago Bridge the Gap Garden, which celebrates the connections between the Emerald Isle and Chicago. Michael and Amelia Howard join Mike in studio to promote a building fund for Eden Place Garden Center in Chicago's Fuller Park Neighborhood.

Podcast Episode

Steve Neumann from Logic Lawn Care in Evanston drops by to help Mike explain why using natural lawn care methods is a healthier way of keeping your lawn green. Robert Nevel from KAM Isaiah Israel in Hyde Park promotes the congregation's free Farm and Food Forest School, which is being taught this summer. Rich and Susan Eyre of Rich's Foxwillow Pines in Woodstock preview this week's Hosta Sale and remembrance of the wonderful Margaret Eyre, who died earlier this year at the age of 97. Ian Monroe from ETHO Capital and Tom Nowak from Quantum Financial Planning LLC discuss the possibilities of investing fossil fuel free and sustainable funds.

Podcast Episode

For the two weeks leading up to May 15, thousands of people around the globe participated in actions that were part of an effort called Break Free from Fossil Fuels. On May 15, the final day of the effort, more than a thousand people gathered in Whiting, indiana as part of Break Free-Midwest. Mike talks to two of them--Thomas Frank, who later that day would be one of 41 people arrested for peacefully protesting at the BP Whiting plant, and Ashley Williams, activist and part of The Mike Nowak Show team. Then, Dan Kosta from Vern Goers Greenhouse in Hinsdale, Illinois talks to Mike about how the cool local spring has been affecting garden plants, and encourages Mike's listeners to give growing bonsai a try.

For the two weeks leading up to May 15, thousands of people around the globe participated in actions that were part of an effort called Break Free from Fossil Fuels. On May 15, the final day of the effort, more than a thousand people gathered in Whiting, indiana as part of Break Free-Midwest. Mike talks to two of them--Thomas Frank, who later that day would be one of 41 people arrested for peacefully protesting at the BP Whiting plant, and Ashley Williams, activist and part of The Mike Nowak Show team. Then, Dan Kosta from Vern Goers Greenhouse in Hinsdale, Illinois talks to Mike about how the cool local spring has been affecting garden plants, and encourages Mike's listeners to give growing bonsai a try.

Karen Hudson is a regional associate with the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project and a co-founder of Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW). Jessica Chipkin is with Crate Free Illinois. They join Mike to discuss how Illinois law and the Department of Agriculture are a one-two punch against average citizens who want to prevent Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in their neighborhoods. Mike plays a recording from a recent Illinois appellate court hearing during which a lawyer for the Department of Ag makes a stunning admission that the agency has NEVER said no to a CAFO in the state. Chipkin tells people how they can download The Illinois Guide to Factory Free Meat, Dairy and Eggs, which enables them to know if their food was raised humanely.

Karen Hudson is a regional associate with the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project and a co-founder of Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW). Jessica Chipkin is with Crate Free Illinois. They join Mike to discuss how Illinois law and the Department of Agriculture are a one-two punch against average citizens who want to prevent Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in their neighborhoods. Mike plays a recording from a recent Illinois appellate court hearing during which a lawyer for the Department of Ag makes a stunning admission that the agency has NEVER said no to a CAFO in the state. Chipkin tells people how they can download The Illinois Guide to Factory Free Meat, Dairy and Eggs, which enables them to know if their food was raised humanely.

Sonja Parks is a veteran actor based in Minneapolis and Texas, who plays 14 different characters in a play for young people called Seedfolks, about creating a community garden in Cleveland. The production is by the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis and is running at the Chicago Children's Theatre at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts through May 22, 2016.

Sonja Parks is a veteran actor based in Minneapolis and Texas, who plays 14 different characters in a play for young people called Seedfolks, about creating a community garden in Cleveland. The production is by the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis and is running at the Chicago Children's Theatre at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts through May 22, 2016.

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott and Jeff Gillman are two of the four members of The Garden Professors, a blog and Facebook page created in the interest of bringing science to gardening. With Mike, they answer questions from listeners and tackle several tough gardening issues.