{"podcast":{"title":"The Environmental Justice Lab","slug":"the-environmental-justice-lab-5584826","podcast_index_feed_id":5584826,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5583745/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/1d81314aaba067e726d816b9da4a5403.jpg","author":"Lesley Joseph","episode_count":107,"summary":"Since the dawn of human history, the fight for environmental justice has always been a fight. Water wars between the people of Israel and herdsmen of Gerar in the book of Genesis, Chapter 26. The resistance of Native Americans to the pillaging of their land and resources at the founding of the United States of America. The refusal to allow a hazardous landfill to be built in the Warren County, a predominantly Black community in North Carolina, giving birth to the modern-day environmental justice movement. The struggle for clean water in places like Flint, MI and Newark, NJ and Jackson, MS. The struggle is real and the fight is on-going. And I'm here for it. My name is Dr. Lesley Joseph, a professor, an environmental engineer, and a fighter for environmental justice in our present day. Every other Tuesday, on this podcast, I explore issues related to environmental justice and the ways in which communities of color are impacted. Each episode will discuss a important environmental justice issue or situation and what we can do to fight for change. Let's learn, grow, and fight for a better world together! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environm…","last_synced_at":"2026-06-30T22:17:33.969907+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab-5584826"},"episode":{"title":"Fighting for a Level Playing Field: EJ in the South with Chandra Taylor-Sawyer of the SELC","slug":"fighting-for-a-level-playing-field-ej-in-the-south-with-chandra-taylor-sawyer-of-the-selc","published_at":"2025-11-25T20:05:49+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab-5584826/fighting-for-a-level-playing-field-ej-in-the-south-with-chandra-taylor-sawyer-of-the-selc","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab-5584826","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/fighting-for-a-level-playing-field-ej-in-the-south-with-chandra-taylor-sawyer-of-the-selc--68711577","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68711577/episode_19_interview_with_chandra.mp3","summary":"What does it take to confront generations of environmental racism and win? In this episode, Senior Attorney Chandra Taylor-Sawyer of the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) pulls back the curtain on what it really means to fight for environmental justice in the U.S. South. From zoning decisions that quietly turn Black neighborhoods into dumping grounds, to federal rollbacks that threaten the very civil rights tools that communities rely on, Chandra explains how injustice is built and how organized communities can dismantle it. She shares her journey from North Carolina to national leadership, the creation of SELC’s Environmental Justice Initiative, and the urgent battles unfolding right now to protect civil rights regulations, defend bedrock environmental laws, and challenge discriminatory permitting practices. Chandra also highlights SELC’s groundbreaking storytelling project, “Plantations to Pollution,” which traces how historic disinvestment shapes present-day environmental harms and how communities are rising to demand a different future. This episode is both a warning and a rallying cry. Even as federal protections are dismantled and civil rights enforcement is weakened, communities still have powerful tools - public comments, citizen lawsuits, organizing, data collection, and collective pressure - to fight for the healthy, thriving environments that they deserve. If you care about justice anywhere, but particulatly in the South, this conversation will inspire you, ground you in the realities of the struggle, and remind you that change happens when communities refuse to be silent. Resources: Southern Environmental Law Center Website: https://www.selc.org/ Plantations to Pollution Project: https://plantationstopollution.selc.org/ Become a supporter of this pod…","meta_description":"What does it take to confront generations of environmental racism and win? In this episode, Senior Attorney Chandra Taylor-Sawyer of the Southern Environm…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3927,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-environmental-justice-lab-5584826/episodes/fighting-for-a-level-playing-field-ej-in-the-south-with-chandra-taylor-sawyer-of-the-selc/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab-5584826/fighting-for-a-level-playing-field-ej-in-the-south-with-chandra-taylor-sawyer-of-the-selc.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}