The Mike Nowak Show Podcasts

Mike MacDonald is photographer and author of My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago: A Celebration of Chicagoland’s Startling Natural Wonders. He talks about how, by by picture, prose and poetry, he wants others to share his passion for Chicago's natural areas. Liz Lyon, manager of the Plant Chicago Farmer’s Market, Alex Poltorak, founder of The Urban Canopy, and Corey Chatman, project manager at the Experimental Station, discuss why running a successful farmers market can be so difficult.

"Artist and agitator" Mary Ellen Croteau , who creates works from unused and discarded plastic bags and bottle caps, talks about why she is driven to create art with those items.  FoodTank President and Founder Danielle Nierenberg, and Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow of Global Food and Agriculture at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. discuss the 2016 Food Tank Summit that happened on Wednesday, November 16. Kay McKeen from SCARCE, and Erlene Howard of Collective Resource, Inc., explain their similar missions to reclaim the value of manufactured items and food once they has been used.

Tom Shepherd from the Southeast Environmental Task Force talks about the opening of a new bike park at Big Marsh on Chicago's southeast side, and expresses hope for the currently fenced-in Lake Calumet. Investigative journalist Steve Horn of DeSmogBlog talks about his work covering the protest by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe water protectors in North Dakota. Lisa Moon, President & CEO at The Global FoodBanking Network and Shayna Harris, COO at Farmer’s Fridge, preview the Food Tank Summit in Chicago and its theme, Chicago, We Can Change the Food System.

Lisa Moon, President & CEO at The Global FoodBanking Network and Shayna Harris, COO at Farmer’s Fridge, preview the Food Tank Summit in Chicago and its theme, Chicago, We Can Change the Food System.

Kim Hankins, director of the the McHenry County College Sustainability Center and Caron Wenzel, owner of Blazing Star native seed company, promote the annual Green Living Expo. Bruce Patterson, the MacArthur Curator of Mammals in the Integrative Research Center at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History extols the virtues of bats during the National Park Service’s annual Bat Week. Earlier this year, President Obama designated bison as the National Mammal of the United States. To help celebrate National Bison Day on November 5, Mike and Peggy welcome Wade Spang, Prairie Supervisor, USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Duane Lammers, movie consultant on the 1991 Academy Award-winning film Dances with Wolves, and Keith Aune, bison program director with the Wildlife Conservation Society.  

Earlier this year, President Obama designated bison as the National Mammal of the United States. To help celebrate National Bison Day on November 5, Mike and Peggy welcome Wade Spang, Prairie Supervisor, USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Duane Lammers, movie consultant on the 1991 Academy Award-winning film Dances with Wolves, and Keith Aune, bison program director with the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Mike and Peggy recap their visit to The Talking Farm's 2016 Hullabaloo. Kelly Nichols, Illinois Feld Organizer for Moms Clean Air Force, talks about her work fighting against air pollution and the challenge of climate change. Commissioner Debra Shore of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) explains why a proposed Cook County ordinance to keep pharmaceuticals out of the water supply is so important. Karen Lewis, Project Manager for Chicago Wilderness, previews their upcoming Congress.

LaManda Joy is founder and executive director of the Peterson Garden Project. She talks about their 30 Days of Doing campaign with Breanne Heath, Program Manager of Gardens and Education, and Christina Bello, Program Manager of the Community Cooking School. Benjamin Cox, President and CEO of Friends of the Forest Preserves. reports on the progress of the Cook County Forest Preserve District over the past 18 years.

Pam Todd and Arthur Smith belong to an organization called Chicago Living Corridors. They're trying to win a 100 million dollar grant from the MacArthur Foundation to help private landowners play an important role in reversing the negative impacts of ecosystem loss and fragmentation, land and water pollution, and climate change.

Rob Greenfield is sometimes known as the dude making a difference. His latest campaign is called Trash Me, during which he wears all of the trash he creates for an entire month. Regina Hawkins and Marisa Manker from the Southside Occupational Academy (SOA) explain how they work to give vocational opportunities to high school students with disabilities. Dr. Anne Nagle, Beth Drucker from Go Green Wilmette and Nancy Wagner of the Active Transportation Alliance promote the Active by Design Summit, along with Mark Fenton, who is a keynote speaker.

On September 24, Mike attended the Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off at Siegel's Cottonwood Farm in Lockport, Illinois. He and Peggy Malecki talk about the event and interview two contestants--George Janowiak and Greg Sliwka, who grew his 1,468 pound beauty in a community garden! They are both members of the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association and they talk about their peculiar obsession. Ron Cowgill from Mighty House Home Improvement Radio explains how one Marshall Strawberry plant has increased to a patch that is threatening to take over his yard. TreeKeeper Karen Roothaan and Chris Mest from Tree Guardians tell the story of a south side park that had a grove of century-old trees clear cut and replaced with lawn. 

Dallas Goldtooth is and activist and the Keep It In The Ground campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network.a But he is also an entertainer and co-founder of the 1491s comedy group. He comes to the Que4 Radio studio, fresh from the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline being staged at the Sacred Stone Camp by the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes. In a wide-ranging conversation, he talks to Mike Nowak and Peggy Malecki about Indian tribe names, social justice, humor as political strategy, being hip and more.

Michelle Byrne Walsh is an editor for State-By-State Gardening Magazines. She is also a McHenry County Master Gardener who is one of the folks behind the 2016 McHenry County Farm Stroll and Market on Sunday, September 25. Suzanne Malec-McKenna, executive director of Chicago Wilderness, discusses that organization's One Home: A Campaign to Support Our Species, which will raise money to protect crucial species in this area. Dallas Goldtooth--Native American activist, comedian and Keep It In The Ground campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network--comes to the Que4 Radio studio from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in North Dakota to talk about life in the Sacred Stone Camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota.

Mike and Peggy Malecki head to Green Bay, Wisconsin to broadcast live from the 2016 Factory Farm Summit, presented by the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project (SRAP). During the program, they talk to activists from across the country who are finally making headway in the battle to stop the land, air, water and moral pollution created by factory farms worldwide.

Mike and Peggy talk weather and how it relates to climate change with iconic Chicago meteorologist Rick DiMaio.