Tree Speech – Details, episodes & analysis

This June, to celebrate Pride, we are excited to discuss the queerness of trees and nature, and how queer ecology contains the solutions to reversing climate change and living in harmony with our natural environments. We have an inspiring interview with walking artist and pedestrian dignity advocate, artist and author Jonathon Stalls, and we’ll examine the history of the first gay liberationist environmentalist group and how trees were the reason the group was formed.

This week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, and in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes, and Denver on the traditional territory of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Peoples. 

Tree Speech is co-written, edited, and produced by Jonathan Zautner and we thank Alight Theatre Guild for their support. 

Jonathon Stalls (he/his🏳️‍🌈) is a Multidisciplinary Walking Artist, who, in 2010, spent 242 days walking across the U.S. and continues to move alongside a wide variety of people and landscapes for days, weeks, or months at a time.

His first book, WALK - Slow Down, Wake Up & Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour (North Atlantic Books) was released in August of 2022 and is available nearly everywhere books (+ audiobooks) are sold.

​He also started/co-created Walk2Connect (now a program of America Walks) in 2012, the Pedestrian Dignity project in 2016, and attended the Living School for Action and Contemplation from 2015-2017. He resides in Denver, CO with his husband, Ben.

Jonathon Stall's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intrinsicpaths

Intrinsic Paths website: https://www.intrinsicpaths.com/

To learn more about our podcast and episodes, please visit ⁠treespeechpodcast.com⁠ and consider supporting us through our ⁠Patreon⁠ - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude to patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. 

Welcome back, Tree Speechers! We’re thrilled to begin Season 5 with a new conversation in a clearing, as we continue to find new understandings to the tangled relationships we have with the natural world in which we inhabit. 

We open this season interviewing filmmakers Mina T. Son and Sara Newens who made the eye-opening and thoughtful documentary, RACIST TREES. This intimate film captures an inside look at the frustrations of residents of the historically Black Lawrence Crossley Tract neighborhood, who are cut off from the glitz and glamour of Palm Springs, CA due to the planting of 60-foot tamarisk trees that overshadow their community and are viewed as a symbol of segregation. 

Racist Trees is streaming for free on Pbs.org and the PBS app through April 20th, 2024, and will be available on PBS Passport after that date. We highly recommend that you check it out and would love to hear from you. Email us at treespeechpodcast@gmail.com with your thoughts.

We are so thankful to our guest Sara Newens and Mina T. Son for joining us today.

Sara Newens is an award-winning filmmaker and editor based in LA who has received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on Pretty Baby: Brook Shields and Allen v. Farrow and served as editor and writer for the documentary, On the Record. 

Mina T. Son is a Korean-American filmmaker based in LA whose films have screened at film festivals and museums, including the National Gallery of Art, Margaret Mead, Traverse City and Cinequest. With Sara, she has directed Top Spin, streamed on Netflix, and Racist Trees through their company, Wild Pair Films, and is in post-production on a longitudinal documentary about Japan’s 2011 tsunami. 

This week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, and in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes, as well as in         San Francisco on the lands of the Ohlone, Ramaytush, and Muwekma tribes, and Maryland on the Piscataway people. Tree Speech is co-written, edited, and produced by Jonathan Zautner and we thank Alight Theatre Guild for their support. 

To learn more about our podcast and episodes, please visit treespeechpodcast.com and consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude to patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. 

In today’s episode we will examine the origins of the concept of family trees and speak with the award-winning singer, songwriter and educator, Neshama Carlebach, about her artistry, inspirations, and the journey of understanding that she has taken as a direct result of her own family tree as the daughter of the renowned and musical Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.

Neshama Carlebach is an award-winning singer, songwriter and educator who has performed and taught in cities around the world. She is a winner and four-time nominee in the Independent Music Awards for her most current release, Believe, and winner of the Global Music Awards Silver Award for Outstanding Performance by a female vocalist for the album. Neshama began performing from a young age, having come from a musical Jewish orthodox family. She shifted from performing her father’s music to writing her own, and now has her own presence in the Jewish and musical world, having sold over one million records, making her one of today’s best-selling Jewish artists in the world. For more information: https://neshamacarlebach.com/

To learn more about Tree Speech, please visit treespeechpodcast.com. We’re thrilled to be able to offer interviews, creative insights, and stories about the natural world we live in, and the trees who guide our way. Please consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude including an invitation to Tree House, our new virtual community for patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word to tree loving folks, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. Visit us also on instagram @ treespeechpodcast.

This  week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et, and Pawtucket people, in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects exploring social consciousness, personal heritage, and the impact one individual can have on their own community. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner, a NYC-based artist who believes in the power of story-telling and community to change lives. As a founder of Alight Theater Guild, he is committed to nurturing authentic and creative voices in order to utilize art to promote wellness, joy, and care for our earth and one another. More information at https://jonathanzautner.com/

In this episode, we discuss our first-ever immersive installation: A Conversation in a Clearing, which brings the Tree Speech podcast to life, allowing audiences to engage with trees and reflect on their relationship with nature and the environment.

Combining audio narrative storytelling with a physical representation of a peaceful, winter clearing in the woods, the installation allows visitors to actively relax and settle into a peaceful place where their minds and hearts may feel at ease. This enchanted space allows the imagination to be free.

The Western Avenue Studios and Lofts have an event on the first Saturday of every month called “open studios,” when the public can come see all the incredible art happening in Lowell, Massachusetts. You can visit A Conversation in a Clearing during open studios, the exhibit will be running at the Storage Closet Gallery at 160 Western Ave, Floor 2, in Lowell, MA from November 5 through January 7, coinciding with Open Studios on 12/3, 12/10, and 1/7 from 12-5 pm and by appointment by emailing treespeechpodcast@gmail.com. 

We were also joined by artist Antoinette Indge, who curates and manages the gallery. To find out more about her and her work, check out: https://www.smallglories.com and Small Glories on instagram. 

Please consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude including the audio track from our installation, A Conversation in a Clearing for patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word to tree loving folks, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. Visit us also on instagram @ treespeechpodcast.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massachusett, and Pawtucket people.

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild.

On this Veteran's Day we revisit Boston’s Liberty Tree, including its origin story and how that story evolved over time depending on who was telling it. We have wonderfully spirited conversations with distinguished actor, singer, dancer, and educator, Mark Linehan and historian Maddie Webster, a Boston University PhD student in the American & New England Studies Program. Then, we seek to uncover what liberty and liberation means in the present day with activist and Applied theatre practitioner Catherine Hanna Schrock, the Co-founder and Director of Imagine Brave Spaces, a San Diego-based theater company who shares a spoken word piece she wrote about her company which also serves as a call to action in making liberation a reality for all.

Mark Linehan is a Boston-based actor with extensive stage and dance experience. A native of Massachusetts, he has performed in theaters across New England as a professional singer, dancer and actor. Mark's specialty is musical theater, and he has also worked in children's theater, drama and film.

Maddie Webster is a PhD candidate in the American & New England Studies Program, where she studies urban history and historic preservation with a focus on Boston. Her dissertation explores Black Bostonians’ historic preservation efforts from the late nineteenth century onward, a story that comes into clearer focus by reframing what activities constitute preservation work. As a public historian, Maddie wants to collaborate with and bolster Boston’s citizen historians. Her partnership with the Initiative on Cities stems from this same impulse to engage with the modern city—and its challenges and opportunities—with the lessons of history close at hand.

Catherine Hanna Schrock is an Applied Theater Practitioner, which unites her roles as an educator, theatre artist, and community organizer. She designs creative programming that equips diverse communities to engage in complex dialogues toward social and community development.

Special thank you to Mark, Maddie and Catherine for their time and inspiration.

For more info:

Boston Historical Tours: https://www.bostonhistoricaltours.org/#/

Imagine Brave Spaces: https://imaginebravespaces.com

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massachusett, and Pawtucket people.

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. Please consider supporting the show through our Patreon. The mission of the guild is to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. For more information about our work and programs, please visit www.alighttheater.org.

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

Gather round the campfire for a very special, supernatural episode. We have spooky, mysterious tree tales from around the world to get you into the Halloween spirit! Listen now, if you dare!

Special thanks to actor, educator, actor Peril - I mean, Cheryl Mullings, and dialect coach Charles Linshaw for joining our episode today. Learn more about Cheryl at https://cherylmullings.workbooklive.com/ and Charles at: https://www.charleslinshaw.com.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, as well as in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes. Special Halloween logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. To learn more about Tree Speech, please visit treespeechpodcast.com. We’re thrilled to be able to offer interviews, creative insights, and stories about the natural world we live in, and the trees who guide our way. Please consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude including an invitation to Tree House, our new virtual community for patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word to tree loving folks, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. Visit us also on instagram @ treespeechpodcast.

While we often speak of trees that tower over our heads, in this episode, we will examine what lies beneath to understand soil and how human interaction can affect the way we live on and with our land. We will also speak with Kesiah Bascom, who founded a mission-driven food scrap collection and composting program in the Merrimack Valley Region of Massachusetts.

Kesiah was the founder/owner of OffBeet Compost and has spent the past 7 years working in the sustainable agriculture and food justice realm. Raised in a household with a large garden, she has grown up valuing food and its unifying nature. Prior to starting OffBeet Compost, she was the Community Program Manager at Mill City Grows, a food access organization in Lowell, MA and she also worked at The Food Project as Assistant Grower which deeply influenced her path. Kesiah has found HOME in the Merrimack Valley Region, where she has resided for the past 6 years. She is currently in pursuit of a Masters in Public Policy at Tufts University and is a steering committee member for the Institute for Local Self Reliances Community Composting Coalition.

Composting Resources:

Compost Resources

Composting At Home | US EPA

Composting 101 | NRDC

Composting In The City (Best Ideas for Urban Composters!)

Community Composter Coalition

To learn more about Tree Speech, please visit treespeechpodcast.com. We’re thrilled to be able to offer interviews, creative insights, and stories about the natural world we live in, and the trees who guide our way. Please consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude including an invitation to Tree House, our new virtual community for patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word to tree loving folks, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. Visit us also on instagram @ treespeechpodcast.

This  week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes, and in Virginia on the lands of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway Peoples.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support and we would like to acknowledge the support of King Philanthropies for Drawdown Lift.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner.

In this episode, we will examine the intersections of reproductive rights with climate solutions, and will be speaking with Kristen P. Patterson, the inaugural Director of Drawdown Lift, launched in early 2021 as a part of the nonprofit Project Drawdown.

We’ll also be speaking with Christina D. Eskridge, the Founder and Executive Director of Elevate Theatre Company, who worked to combine her expertise in performing arts with her public health background to facilitate and amplify healthcare topics through theater and storytelling.

Both our guests today - Kristen and Christina, are two inspiring leaders, who will tell us how they engage in justice work and lead by example, and we are so grateful that they joined us for this important episode.

To learn more about Tree Speech, please visit treespeechpodcast.com. We’re thrilled to be able to offer interviews, creative insights, and stories about the natural world we live in, and the trees who guide our way. Please consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude including an invitation to Tree House, our new virtual community for patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word to tree loving folks, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. Visit us also on instagram @ treespeechpodcast.

This  week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes, and in Virginia on the lands of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway Peoples.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support and we would like to acknowledge the support of King Philanthropies for Drawdown Lift.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner.

We are so excited to be entering into our fourth season with an exploration of this magical time of year, the Autumnal Equinox!

Much gratitude to our guest, Heather Porter of Animisma podcast for her moving thoughts and insights regarding this time of year, and the benefits of sacred rot. To find out more about her, please visit her website, thepathofintegrity.com.

Heather is a writer, storyteller, and advisor.  She's been called an empath, a sensitive compass of compassion, and a 'Rosetta Stone' for the soul and was led to her work through a lifetime of translating the intersections of the ecological, spiritual, and scientific for others. Rooted in her Celtic ancestry, those who lived closely to the land, waters, and seasons, she lives as an animist and her work contemplates the myriad aspects of a sovereign life, seeking to reveal the wonders of the natural and the etheric in service of connection, reverence, and deep, honorable communion.

Spirit, grace and a deep, unyielding love of the Earth are at the heart of all she does. She has undertaken depth studies in animistic, shamanic, Celtic, and Eastern spiritual practices and holds a Bachelor of Environmental Science with Honors and a Master of Environmental Law.

Her bloodlines are of the Norse-Gaels, the Picts, and the Insular Celts and she was raised in Sydney, Australia on the unceded ancestral lands of the Cammeraygal Clan of the Eora Nation. She currently resides in Denver, Colorado, on the traditional lands of the Ute and Arapaho Nations and the Oceti Ŝakowiŋ, the Seven Council Fires.

To learn more about Tree Speech, please visit treespeechpodcast.com. We’re thrilled to be able to offer interviews, creative insights, and stories about the natural world we live in, and the trees who guide our way. Please consider supporting us through our Patreon - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude including an invitation to Tree House, our new virtual community for patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word to tree loving folks, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. Visit us also on instagram @ treespeechpodcast.

This  week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes, and Colorado on the traditional lands of the Ute, and Arapaho Nations and the Oceti Ŝakowiŋ, the Seven Council Fires.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild.

Give us your hands, dear friends, as we lead you along the path of our own Midsummer Night’s Dream! We conclude this season with a celebration of Midsummer and the summer solstice. Listen as our host hikes her way through the day, all while sharing stories about summer rituals and traditions from around the world.

We have a newly-launched Patreon! We at Tree Speech strive to bring you insightful stories and information about trees and those who engage with them, including interviews with a wide range of people who care about them. As we keep growing, we would appreciate your support! We now have a Patreon, and every dollar helps us continue to produce this podcast. Every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude including an invitation to Tree House, our new virtual community for patrons of all levels.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please like us on social media, and rate and review us on apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. To learn more about the episode see our show notes and visit us at treespeechpodcast.com, and on instagram @ treespeechpodcast.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was written and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massachusett, and Pawtucket people, in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes..

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner.