Host Michelle Lewis interviews JJ Zink, producer and co-writer of the documentary From the Sound to the Sea, screening at the 2026 Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival (Nov. 5–7 in Manteo, North Carolina). Zink explains how the film began as a National Geographic: The Class project and evolved into a year-long production about Corolla’s wild horses and the surrounding community, emphasizing environmental storytelling that includes people, development pressures, and tourism-driven economies. He discusses enjoying both field producing and post-production editing, the challenges of making key narrative decisions on a tight timeline, and the importance of an collaborative crew. Zink hopes viewers see multiple perspectives meeting constructively, finds hope in people’s willingness to talk across differences, and says his “climate stick” would fund protections for habitat, nonprofits, parks, and those who safeguard wildlife. 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:48 Meet JJ Zink 01:41 Film Origins 03:36 People And Horses 05:09 Making The Film 07:31 Post Production Crunch 09:51 What Viewers Take Away 13:49 Guiding Filmmaker Values 16:03 Future Projects 18:13 Finding Hope 22:04 Crew Shoutout 24:38 Climate Stick Wish 28:46 Closing Thanks

Get your tickets at www.OBXEFF.com

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Michelle Lewis interviews filmmaker Josh Thompson about his documentary Kingdom Fungi, profiled for the Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival 2026. Thompson explains how a hobby for fungi foraging in England’s ancient woodlands led him to connect with mycologists and artists, expand from planned social media shorts into a self-funded feature, and document expeditions and partnerships including trips tied to Bhutan and Chile, the Fungi Foundation, and fungal conservation efforts. He shares what he hopes audiences take away—slowing down, noticing nature, sharing knowledge, and supporting protection and conservation—along with his love of filming, the need to outsource sound, and plans for a future sequel. He discusses upcoming premieres, credits his hope to family support, and says major climate change would require moving beyond fossil fuels, shifting government attitudes, and improving fungi’s protection status.

00:44 Why Kingdom Fungi

02:34 From Hobby to Film

03:21 Meet the Mycologists

05:27 Expeditions Take Off

06:42 Community and Mycelium

07:49 Funding and Future Plans

10:04 What Viewers Take Away

12:21 Filmmaking Craft Choices

15:43 Premieres and Outreach

17:51 Hope and Climate Stick

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On Finding Hope in the Climate Crisis, host Michelle welcomes back Thai filmmaker and conservationist Prin Uthaisengchai, a previous Best International Film winner, to discuss his new documentary sequel, Sanctuary of the Leatherbacks. Prin explains the film focuses on leatherback turtle habitat and nesting areas in Thailand and highlights the urgent need to address climate change and reduce ocean trash through collective action. Michelle shares her past work with sea turtle nests, including finding an albino sea turtle, and praises the community-focused approach in the film. Prin describes current projects: a short film about monsoon-driven trash impacting endangered species and an Environmental Educational Unit “moveable school” that has reached 20–22,000 students across 17 provinces. He discusses filming highlights like scuba surveys near nesting shores, his plans to study environmental science, and his hope drawn from leatherbacks returning to Thailand and motivated students; with a “climate stick,” he would remove marine debris from the ocean.

00:00 Welcome Back Prin

00:49 New Film Overview

01:56 Urgency And Impact

03:07 Host Turtle Patrol Story

05:57 Upcoming Projects

06:58 Mobile School Outreach

10:35 Favorite Filming Moments

11:55 School And Future Plans

13:50 What To Expect In Film

14:43 Where Hope Comes From

17:52 Climate Stick Wish

19:36 Final Thanks

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Host Michelle Lewis talks with filmmaker Rob Holmes, director of Mountain Biking Through Sacred Land, selected for the 2026 Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival. Holmes explains how his company GLP Films aims to make tourism a “force for good” by telling authentic, impact-driven stories that educate travelers and support local, especially Indigenous, communities. The film focuses on the Mapuche in southern-central Chile near the Argentina border and highlights their connection to nature, including the monkey puzzle tree and related traditions, food, and medicinal uses. Holmes describes the film’s core idea: combining adventure travel (extreme-terrain mountain biking) with respectful engagement on sacred lands so visitor spending benefits the community. They discuss tourism’s double-edged nature, the role of storytelling and education, and Holmes’ hope in conservation leaders and simple messages about clean air, water, and healthy food.

00:00 Welcome to the Show

00:36 Why This Film

03:51 Mapuche Culture and Sacred Land

05:14 Adventure Travel Meets Community

07:12 Tourism Balance and Impact

08:55 What Viewers Should Take Away

12:23 Connection Through Storytelling

14:56 Why He Makes Films

17:09 Education in a Noisy World

19:01 Finding Hope

19:57 The Climate Stick

22:19 Closing Thanks and Festival Info

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Host Michelle Lewis interviews filmmaker James Schroeder about his film The Tree Economy, featured at the 2026 Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival. Schroeder explains how living in Atlanta for nearly 30 years inspired the film as the city’s tree canopy is increasingly lost to development, including a beloved stretch of trees clear-cut for a self-storage facility. He discusses balancing tree protection with housing needs, unexpected ties to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, and news that Atlanta’s canopy is at its lowest recorded level after a delayed 2024 assessment. They compare development impacts in Atlanta and North Carolina’s Outer Banks, touch on joys and challenges of filmmaking, preview the walkable festival atmosphere in Manteo, and share sources of hope and priorities for putting public health before profit.

00:00 Meet The Tree Economy

00:44 Why James Made It

03:16 Surprises During Filming

04:25 What Viewers Should Take

06:34 Development and Tree Loss

10:33 Joy in the Process

12:14 Filmmaking Pet Peeves

13:39 Outer Banks Festival Guide

16:24 Finding Hope Today

20:11 Climate Stick and Farewell

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Host Michelle Lewis interviews Lis Cohen of the Talking Climate Collaborative, a new effort led by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and Bernadette Woods Placky to amplify climate communicators and connect people across disciplines—faith, health, nonprofits, and business—with practical communication support and accessible scientific information. Cohen describes early growth including a website, community-building, and a survey with American University suggesting climate communicators often work in isolation. They discuss tailoring climate messages to audience reading levels and linking climate impacts to local concerns like health and extreme heat, including examples of cooling spaces. Cohen shares her path from loving clouds and studying atmospheric science to becoming an interpretive park ranger at Yellowstone, where climate talk was limited. She finds hope in dedicated volunteers, cheaper renewables, local leadership, and more sophisticated climate communication, and says polluters should pay for the harm they cause.

00:00 Meet Lis Cohen

00:20 What Talking Climate Does

01:52 Building the Collaborative

03:49 Communicating for Real People

06:36 Extreme Heat on the Ground

09:08 Lis’s Climate Origin Story

12:55 Yellowstone Ranger Lessons

17:37 Finding Hope in the Work

21:34 The Climate Stick Question

23:27 Where to Find Talking Climate

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Michelle talks to Ashley Ward, director of Duke University’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub, to discuss why extreme heat has been overlooked and how it is changing, especially in the Southeast. Explore Ashley Ward’s work at Duke’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub and push local leaders and organizations to prioritize heat safety, affordability, and infrastructure resilience now.

03:07 How Ashley Got Into Heat

07:36 Why Heat Gets Ignored

28:11 Staying Cool Without AC

34:12 Finding Hope and Momentum

37:05 Infrastructure Under Heat Stress

40:25 More Heat Songs and Climate Stick

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Host Michelle Lewis interviews Amberly Dyer of the Rodanthe Waves and Salvo Civic Association about their fourth annual Earth Day event in Rodanthe, which began as a free, neighbor-connecting plant swap tied to litter pickup and has grown to include live music, community organizations, master gardeners, native plant giveaways from a regional grower, and a low-cost raffle—while avoiding vendors to keep it pressure-free. They discuss gardening successes and frustrations (herbs, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, cold-weather crops, companion planting, and pests), the value of simple, consistent community engagement beyond social media, and how gardens help build relationships and shared leadership for longevity. Amberly shares that people—especially young people—give her hope, and she would use a “climate stick” to push better solutions for the power and water impacts of large data/AI centers on marginalized communities. Website: rwscivicassociation.org.

00:00 Meet Amberly Dyer

01:40 Why an Earth Day Event

03:44 Plant Swap and Gardening

04:50 Cold Crops and Garden Hacks

06:56 Favorite Plants and Pest Battles

10:03 Community Engagement Advice

12:30 Gardens Build Community

16:45 Growing Earth Day Bigger

17:34 Native Plants and Local Partners

19:32 When Events Really Connect

21:07 Start Local Gatherings

25:20 Herbs And Gut Health

27:21 Heat Tolerant Varieties

29:23 Container Gardening Basics

33:26 Earth Day Every Day

35:16 Climate Stick Data Centers

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