Welcome to Uptown Chats, New York City’s first community-based environmental justice podcast! Join Jaron Burke and Lonnie Portis every month as they explore issues in their community through the eyes of everyday people, and discuss how environmental justice is showing up in the news. It’s not just for experts, it’s for everyone!
You can find Uptown Chats on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or stream directly from Castos. New episodes will be posted on the second and last Mondays of every month. Check out our most recent episode below!
Episode 42: Introducing the US Energy Policy Right Direction Mini-Series
Last year we ran an Uptown Chats podcast mini-series focusing on how the the Biden administration – despite taking steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy – had also taken the U.S. energy policy in the Wrong Direction. Starting on April 14th, 2025, Jaron and Lonnie will be launching a new mini-series focusing on what the Right Direction should be for the U.S. energy policy. They’ll be joined by some incredible guests to take a look at technologies, like solar, wind, geothermal, and heat pumps that can help support environmental justice. They will also talk about what’s going on with these technologies here in the U.S. and how the ever-changing political landscape impacts our ability to bring them to our communities.
Episode 41: PFAS
What is PFAS, and why are we worried about it? PFAS is an acronym for a type of man-made chemicals that are widely used because of their ability to resist grease, oil, water, and stains – in products such as non-stick pans, microwave popcorn bags, raincoats, cosmetics, fire-fighting foam, carpets, food wrappers, etc. But they are also harmful to your health, and so resistance to breaking down that they are called “forever chemicals” because they can remain forever in the soil, in the water, and in your body. In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie learn about what New York and other states are doing to ban these chemicals with help from Kate Donovan, Director of Northeast Environmental Health at NRDC. WE ACT, as part of the JustGreen Partnership, has been successful in helping ban PFAS from apparel and food packaging – and we just had the state legislature pass a ban on PFAS and other toxic chemicals in menstrual products!
Episode 40: The New York State Beauty Justice Act
Are your personal care products safe to use? Jaron and Lonnie talk with WE ACT’s Toxics Policy Campaign Coordinator Elizabeth Reyes to learn about our Beauty Inside Out campaign and the New York State Beauty Justice Act, which would ban dangerous toxic chemicals from cosmetics and other personal care products in New York State. If you want to see if the personal care products you use are safe, you can download the Clearya Nontoxic Shopping Made Easy app/plug-in or EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database app. And you can also listen to our Don’t Be Toxic, Be Beautiful episode to learn more about our beauty justice work.
Episode 39: Affordable Energy with the NY HEAT Act
As millions of New Yorkers struggle to pay their energy bills during this cold winter, Jaron and Lonnie talk about the New York Home Energy Affordable Transition (NY HEAT) Act with Cameron Clark, our NY HEAT Act Campaign Coordinator. The NY HEAT Act is designed to make energy more affordable while helping advance New York’s transition to renewable energy, ensuring that New York State’s Public Service Law is aligned with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), a state law we helped pass in 2019 that set statewide greenhouse gas emissions-reduction goals. They also discuss how a bill becomes a law in New York State.
Episode 38: Congestion Pricing
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie take a look at congestion pricing, which has finally been implemented in New York City. They weigh the pros and cons for environmental justice communities with help from New York State Senator Liz Krueger. You can learn more about congestion pricing from our friends over at NRDC, along with dispelling many of the myths surrounding the program thanks to Eric Goldstein, long-time WE ACT Board Member and NRDC’s Senior Attorney, Environmental Health.
Episode 37: Looking Back, Thinking Forward: Building on the Success of 2024
We kick off the new year with Jaron and Lonnie reflecting on some of our major accomplishments of 2024 and some of the policies we’re advocating for in 2025.
Episode 36: A Special Holiday Conversation with WE ACT Board Chair Jeff Jones
In our last episode of the year, Jaron and Lonnie chat with WE ACT Board Chair and longtime activist Jeff Jones.
Episode 35: A Conversation with EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa Garcia
What do the regional offices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) do, and how do they advance environmental justice? In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie sit down with EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa Garcia to learn about the work she and her team have been doing in EPA Region 2, which includes New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight Indian Nations.
Episode 34: Community Land Trusts
How can people reclaim some control of what is being built in their community? Jaron and Lonnie talk with Annie Carforo about Community Land Trusts, which are nonprofit corporations that enable communities to develop and oversee community assets such as affordable housing, green spaces, civic buildings, and commercial spaces.
Episode 33: Waste Management
Jaron and Lonnie chat with Julio Lopez Torres, a member of WE ACT’s Climate Justice Working Group, about the history of waste management in New York City, how it impacts environmental justice communities, and opportunities to improve it. To learn more, read this New York Times article. And to learn how you can live a zero-waste lifestyle, download this three-step guide (PDF).
Episode 32: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Wrap-Up
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. In the conclusion of this Mini-Series, which looked at eight false solutions that our government is wasting money pursuing at the expense of the health and well-being of environmental justice communities, Jaron and Lonnie reflect on the important themes and lessons learned about how and why our energy policy is headed in the wrong direction.
Episode 31: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Cumulative Impacts
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. We helped pass landmark legislation in New York State, based on a similar law in New Jersey, to address the cumulative impacts of multiple sources of pollution on our communities. What do these laws mean for environmental justice communities, and what relation does this have to our fight to stop investing in false solutions? Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn for a discussion with Dr. Nicky Sheats, co-founder of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance and director of the Center for the Urban Environment at the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University, who was instrumental in the development of New Jersey’s Cumulative Impacts law. To learn more about cumulative impacts, you can watch our webinar here. You can also learn about Dismantling Injustice: A Model for Optimizing and Designing Environmental Legislation, our model state legislation that is referenced in this discussion. And if you want to get involved in the implementation of New York’s law, to ensure it is effective, join us on Oct. 16 for this webinar.
Episode 30: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Waste Incineration
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie look at the impacts of waste incineration on environmental justice communities with special guests Chris Tandazo, Statewide Environmental Justice Organizer at the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, and Jessica Roff, Plastics & Petrochemicals Program Manager, US & Canada at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.
Episode 29: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Biogas
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie talk with Willis Elkins, Executive Director of the Newtown Creek Alliance, a community-based organization located across the street from the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. He explains what biogas is, and why it’s a false solution.
Episode 28: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Nuclear Energy
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie speak with Victoria Leung, Staff Attorney at Riverkeeper, and Richard Webster, former Legal Director at Riverkeeper, about what happens when a nuclear power plant is decommissioned and how it impacts environmental justice communities.
Episode 27: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Greenwashing
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie take a step back to review what we have learned so far in our Wrong Direction mini-series, and call-out the greenwashing that is clearly driving these false solutions.
Episode 26: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: LNG
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. Join Jaron and Lonnie for the fourth episode of the Wrong Direction mini-series, with Roishetta Sibley Ozane, founder of the Vessel Project, talking about how LNG – Liquified Natural Gas – causes harm to our communities.
Episode 25: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Carbon Capture
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. Join Jaron and Lonnie for the third episode of the Wrong Direction mini-series, in which Dr. Ana Baptista, Associate Professor of Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management & Co-Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School, explains everything that’s wrong with carbon capture.
Episode 24: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series: Hydrogen
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. Join Jaron and Lonnie for the second episode of the Wrong Direction mini-series to learn from WE ACT’s Federal Research Manager Manuel Salgado and Cecil Corbin-Mark Environmental Justice Research Fellow Tali Natter about the various forms of hydrogen power and why the U.S. Department of Energy’s approach to this energy source is heading in the Wrong Direction.
Episode 23: Introducing the US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series
While the Biden administration has taken steps to advance an equitable transition to renewable energy, there are elements of the U.S. energy policy that are clearly headed in the Wrong Direction. Join Jaron and Lonnie for the first episode of the Wrong Direction mini-series to learn from WE ACT’s Federal Policy Director Anastasia Gordon about the energy options being embraced by the administration that are creating environmental justice challenges. Over the next three months, with the help of a few special guests, the Wrong Direction mini-series will explore the impacts of these misguided energy options on individuals in environmental justice communities.
Episode 22: Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Lonnie and Jaron are joined by Albert ‘AJ’ Yuan, WE ACT’s Federal Policy Legislative Coordinator, to highlight the role of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in building the environmental justice movement.
Episode 21: New York’s 2024 Federal, State, and City Primary Election
As New Yorkers prepare for the second of its three elections this year, Lonnie and Jaron are joined by Pamela Stewart-Martinez, WE ACT’s Director of Civic Engagement & Organizing, to discuss New York’s 2024 Federal, State, and City Primary Election on June 25. Early voting for the primary runs from June 15-23, with Election Day on June 25. Get more voter information at weact.org/vote.
Episode 20: Celebrating Parks on Earth Day
In celebration of Earth Day, Lonnie and Jaron are joined by Stephanie Caban from Riverside Park Conservancy to talk about why parks are so important for environmental justice.
Episode 19: Celebrating Cecil Corbin-Mark
In honor of the late Cecil Corbin-Mark, WE ACT’s first full-time employee (and former Deputy Director & Director of Policy Initiatives), Lonnie and Jaron are joined by WE ACT’s Co-Founder & Executive Director Peggy Shepard who talks about the formation of WE ACT and the legacy of Cecil’s work.
Episode 18: New York’s 2024 Presidential Primary
As New Yorkers prepare for the first of its three elections this year, Lonnie and Jaron are joined by Tyisha Smalls, WE ACT’s Community Organizing Coordinator, to chat about what to expect in New York’s 2024 Presidential Primary Election and highlight the role that women have played in protecting the right to vote. Early voting for the primary runs from March 23-30, with Election Day on April 2. Get more voter information, including 2024’s other two elections, at weact.org/vote.
Episode 17: Our Homes Under Our Control
The rent is too damn high – and so are our energy bills! Jaron and Lonnie talk to WE ACT’s Climate Justice Campaign Manager Annie Carforo about our new campaign, Our Homes Under Our Control, and the intersection of environmental justice and housing justice.
Episode 16: New York City’s Environmental Justice Report
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie talk with WE ACT’s Co-Founder & Executive Director Peggy Shepard about the EJNYC Report, New York City’s first-ever Environmental Justice Report, which was released by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice.
Episode 15: City & State Budgeting in New York
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie explore how the budget gets decided at the city and state level in New York with the help from WE ACT’s State Legislative Manager Briana Carbajal and Uptown Chats very own Lonnie Portis, who is WE ACT’s New York City Policy and Advocacy Manager.
Episode 14: The War on Rats!
In the follow-up to our previous episode, Rats! Jaron and Lonnie talk about rat contraceptives and other rat prevention strategies with the help of New York City Councilmember Shaun Abreu.
Episode 13: Rats!
Switching to a bimonthly format, Jaron and Lonnie kick off the new year with their first listener-requested topic – Rats! We all know those furry creatures are a nuisance, but are they also an environmental justice issue? Listen to find out!
Episode 12: The WE ACT Story Holiday Special
In this special holiday episode, Jaron and Lonnie sit down with two people who were instrumental in helping create and shape WE ACT for Environmental Justice: Eric Goldstein, NRDC’s Senior Attorney and Director, New York City Environment, People & Communities Program and Vernice Miller-Travis, Executive Vice President at the Metropolitan Group and Co-Founder of WE ACT. Listen to these two long-serving WE ACT Board Members tell their stories of our formation and early years.
Episode 11: The Legacy of Lead (Pb)
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie speak with WE ACT’s Director of Policy Sonal Jessel, MPH and Matthew Chachere, Former Staff Attorney at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC), about the long, ongoing struggle against childhood lead poisoning in New York and why it’s such a critical environmental justice issue.
Episode 9: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
In this episode, which celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, Jaron and Lonnie speak with New York City Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa as well as WE ACT’s Environmental Justice Research Analyst Manny Salgado and Bilingual Community Organizer Marileidy Pimentel about their experience working in the environmental justice movement.
Episode 8: Air Pollution & Asthma
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie speak with WE ACT’s Community Organizer Coordinator Tyisha Smalls and South Bronx Unite’s Clean Air Project Organizer Leslie Vasquez about how air quality impacts communities in New York City.
Episode 7: Trains, Buses, and Environmental Justice
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie speak with WE ACT member Flora Huang and WE ACT’s Manager of Membership and Organizing Louis Bailey about how transportation and public transit impact environmental justice communities in New York City.
Episode 6: Extreme Heat – Too Hot to Handle
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie speak with WE ACT members Nan Faessler, Louis Kleinman, Liz McMillan, and Stuart Aaronson as well as WE ACT’s Resiliency Coordinator Caleb Smith about extreme heat, the deadliest impact of climate change.
Episode 5: Workforce Development – May the Workforce Be With You
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie speak with Charles Callaway, WE ACT’s Director of Workforce Development & Green Institute on the importance of jobs and job training in the environmental justice movement.
Episode 4: Energy Democracy – Power to the People
In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie speak with Stephan Roundtree Jr., Deputy Program Director, Northeast at Vote Solar, and Briana Carbajal, WE ACT’s State Legislative Manager about energy justice and energy democracy.
Episode 3: Women of Color in Environmental Justice
In celebration of Women’s History Month, Jaron and Lonnie speak with three generations of women working for environmental justice: WE ACT Co-Founder and Metropolitan Group Executive Vice President Vernice Miller-Travis, WE ACT’s Senior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy Dana Johnson, and Browngirl Green Founder Kristy Drutman.
Episode 2: Don’t Be Toxic, Be Beautiful
In this episode, hosts Jaron and Lonnie speak with TK Saccoh, Founder & Content Creator at the Darkest Hue, and Yuwa Vosper, WE ACT’s Policy & Regulatory Manager, about colorism, toxics in beauty products, and our Beauty Inside Out campaign (weact.org/beauty).
Episode 1: Get the Most Out of Compost
In our first full episode of WE ACT’s Uptown Chats podcast, hosts Jaron Burke and Lonnie Portis speak with Nando Rodriguez, Environmental Program Coordinator at the Brotherhood Sister Sol, and Annie Carforo, WE ACT’s Climate Justice Campaigns Coordinator, about urban composting.
Trailer 2: What is Environmental Justice
WE ACT for Environmental Justice’s Uptown Chats podcast hosts Jaron Burke and Lonnie Portis define environmental justice and explain how we are working to achieve it. You can find Uptown Chats on here on our YouTube channel, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or stream directly from Castos. New episodes will be posted on the last Monday of every month.
Trailer 1: Welcome to the Uptown Chats Podcast
Listen to WE ACT for Environmental Justice’s new Uptown Chats podcast! Join hosts Jaron Burke and Lonnie Portis every month as they explore issues in their community through the eyes of everyday people, and discuss how environmental justice is showing up in the news. It’s not just for experts, it’s for everyone! You can find Uptown Chats on here on our YouTube channel, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or stream directly from Castos. New episodes will be posted on the last Monday of every month.