Unconfined

Unconfined

Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

Episodes 33
Avg. Duration 45m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.9 (15)
Since Nov 2023
Latest Episode May 2026

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Publishing Details

Schedule
Monthly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
76%
Hosting
rss.libsyn.com

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About This Podcast

US consumers enjoy access to a veritable cornucopia of meat. We consume an annual average of more than 220 pounds of chicken, pork, and beef per person—one of the highest rates of carnivory in history. What makes it possible is a factory-like model of meat production that took root in Midwestern stockyards in the late 19th century and boomed after World War II. For decades, the transnational meatpacking giants that dominate US production have been exporting this model to countries across the globe. But it's not all about just widely available burgers, tacos, and nuggets. What are the model's downsides—the impacts on communities, workers, ecosystems, and public health? And are there better ways to farm animals? In Unconfined Podcast, veteran meat industry observers and CLF staffers Tom Philpott and Christine Grillo dig into those questions, interviewing the researchers, community organizers, journalists, and farmers documenting or experiencing the ills of our dominant mode of meat agriculture—and those who are exploring alternatives.

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Recent Episodes

S2E16 The Behemoths Lurking in the Grocery Aisles

May 28, 2026 53m

Episode 31 of Unconfined, in which, Managing Attorney of the Antimonopoly Counsel, Basel Musharbash makes the case that the companies that dominate our food and agriculture system have gotten too big…

S2E16 Fight the Power

Apr 29, 2026 56m

Episode 30 of Unconfined, in which journalist Ted Genoways recounts the unlikely story of how some of the world's most vulnerable people took on a giant meatpacking company in Greeley, Colorado.

S2E16 Disruption in Minnesota

Mar 31, 2026 39m

Episode 29 of Unconfined, in which poultry rancher Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin reflects on the intersection of the food system and federal immigration enforcement.

S2E15 The Corn Belt's Tragic Legacy

Feb 25, 2026 32m

Episode 28 of Unconfined, in which journalist Tom Philpott reflects on a story he wrote about cancer rates in Iowa.

S2E15 These Are Your Dietary Guidelines on MAHA

Jan 28, 2026 46m

Episode 27 of Unconfined, in which a CLF dietary maven and a CLF policy wonk deliver the goods on RFK Jr.'s new dietary guidelines

S2E14 Calling BS on poop gas

Dec 10, 2025 42m

In this episode of Unconfined, Brent Kim breaks down the pros (meh) and cons (many) of manure digesters and the expanding biogas industry, which has been billed as a climate solution, and to which…

S2E16 This Is Your Farm on Forever Chemicals

Nov 11, 2025 50m

In this episode of Unconfined, author Mariah Blake and former organic farmer Adam Nordell tell the dark tale of how the highly toxic, long-lived class of chemicals called PFAS made their way from…

S2E14 The Dish on MAHA and Food

Oct 07, 2025 41m

In this episode of Unconfined, reporter Helena Bottemiller Evich and Theodore Ross of the Food and Environment Reporting Network, co-hosts of Forked podcast, tease out the contradictions and…

S2E15 Soil Microbes Matter

Sep 23, 2025 30m

In this episode of Unconfined, Leo Horrigan tells us about his new book and all the ways we could use microbes to regenerate healthy soil, sink carbon, and grow more nutritious crops.

S2E14 Landing Young People

Aug 26, 2025 38m

In this episode of Unconfined, Michelle Hughes despairs over federal funding freezes for land- access programs and rebounds with an optimistic vision for the long-term future in which young farmers…

S2E12 Land's End

Jul 15, 2025 1h 6m

In this episode of Unconfined, author Michael Grunwald and host Tom Philpott grapple with the future of food in a warming world.

S2E13 Black to the Land

Jun 24, 2025 1h 2m

In this episode of Unconfined, author Brea Baker teases out the 20th century's great dispossession of Black farmers, and reports on a budding revival of African-American agrarianism.

S2E8 The Land Owns Us

May 27, 2025 38m

In this episode of Unconfined, James Skeet waxes philosophical on European-style, settler-oriented, colonialism-informed agriculture and re-imagines an agricultural practice that relies instead on…

S2E5 Monopoly Money: On the Iowa Hog Barons Behind Your Bacon

Apr 29, 2025 41m

In this episode of Unconfined, author Austin Frerick discusses the barons who dominate US food production, including an Iowa farm couple who spun enormous, manure-spewing hog operations into a vast…

S2E3 Confused by Nutrition Research? Blame Big Food

Mar 25, 2025 38m

In this episode of Unconfined, Marion Nestle reveals the food industry's recipe for cooking up academic nutrition research that serves its interests—not yours.

S2E2 Is Animal Agriculture Contributing to Bird Flu Spread?

Feb 20, 2025 24m

In this episode of Unconfined, two leading experts, Meghan Davis and Erin Sorrell, take us from farming communities to policy circles to explain how bird flu spreads, who is at risk, and what we can…

S2E1 What Trump II Means for Our Food

Jan 22, 2025 56m

In this episode of Unconfined, three experts help us sort through the new administration's agenda and try to figure out what it all might mean for food policy. Claire Kelloway, program manager for…

S1E13 A People's Scientist Meets a Tiny Fish

Dec 03, 2024 32m

In this episode of Unconfined, World Food Prize winner Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted explains how biodiversity, local resources, and saying "no" to pricy pesticides helped cut childhood hunger in…

S1E13 The Weird, Beautiful Oyster

Nov 12, 2024 40m

In this episode of Unconfined, Dave Love explains oyster farming, why it's impossible to industrialize it, and how oysters offer benefits ranging from amino acids to storm surge buffers.

S1E12 Abundant Salmon, Troubled Waters

Oct 08, 2024 38m

In this episode of Unconfined, veteran journalists Douglas Frantz and Catharine Collins expose what lies beneath those rosy salmon filets that grace our supermarket seafood cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Unconfined have?

Unconfined has published 33 episodes since November 2023, covering topics in Education, Science.

Is Unconfined still active?

Unconfined is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 45m.

How do I contact Unconfined for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Unconfined, including email and social media links.

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