Welcome to Chrysalis
Chrysalis is a podcast about transformation in the face of global ecological crisis. Through in-depth conversations with a remarkable group of environmental thinkers, I explore their paths through life and the transformations they’ve experienced along the way. My guests are great writers, artists, activists, scientists, and spiritual leaders whose stories can help guide us into new ways of relating to the rest of life on Earth.
I had Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Forrest Gander on the show, and he remarked that addressing the environmental crisis will require “a chorus of not just scientists and biologists but a chorus of artists and priests and poets,” and that’s how he described what I’m doing with the podcast: “that’s what you’ve been doing is putting together this other chorus of responses to our crisis. And I think it’s going to take the voices of a lot of people from a lot of different trajectories to effect any kind of change.”
I completely agree.
On the Chrysalis podcast, I assemble an ecological chorus with the intention to broaden and diversify the voices that dominate our collective environmental conversation.
Please help us grow by subscribing to the newsletter and by subscribing and reviewing the show on your favorite podcast platform. The podcast is available for free on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
You can help sustain and grow this ecological chorus by making a donation here. Your support will help fund our team of producers, researchers, editors, designers, and other creative folks who make the show possible.
About John Fiege
In addition to working on Chrysalis, I tell stories through film and photography about our relationships with one another and the rest of life on Earth. My documentary films have been about immigrant poultry workers, the BP oil spill, the Keystone XL pipeline, Hurricane Harvey, and environmental justice on the Gulf Coast. They have played at SXSW, MoMA, Hot Docs, Cannes, and many other festivals and venues around the world, receiving distribution on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, Sundance Now, and other platforms. I have received numerous fellowships, grants, and residencies, including from The Redford Center, Doc Society, CrossCurrents Foundation, University at Buffalo’s Humanities Institute, Austin Film Society, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Carleton College, Princess Grace Foundation, The University of Texas, University Film and Video Association, Kodak, and Smithsonian Institution. I hold graduate degrees in both geography and filmmaking and am currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Study at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, and an affiliate of the Department of Environment and Sustainability.
I spend as much time as possible in the woods, hiking and camping with my family. I love to walk barefoot through streams, listen quietly to the wind through the leaves and the birds in the trees, and contemplate existence under a starry night sky.
Photo by Anita GrabowskiTo learn more about me and my journey to creating this podcast and newsletter, please read my post, “A Quest for Ecological Wisdom and Compassion.”
