Discarded

Latest Episodes:

How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis | Introducing Last Day Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

To listen to the rest of this episode, search for Last Day wherever you listen to podcasts.

When Nadia Bowers's sister Sasha died of fentanyl overdose in 2015, Nadia was seven months pregnant with her first child and had gotten married just six weeks earlier. Suddenly she had to ask herself: how do I go on after the worst thing that's ever happened to me? In this episode, Nadia tells Stephanie how writing her new memoir, Dear Dealer, helped her process her rage, grief, and the anxiety of new motherhood while navigating this crippling loss.

Pick up a copy of ⁠Dear Dealer⁠, available wherever books are sold or listen to the audiobook, narrated by Nadia.

Order Steph’s book Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis at ⁠https://bit.ly/LastDayBook⁠, and the audiobook at ⁠https://bit.ly/3RW4WtF⁠, or wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

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Bonus: What’s Next For Sharon? Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

Rise St. James members Sharon and Shamell Lavigne talk with host Gloria Riviera about the work that comes after Discarded.

This series is presented in partnership with Only One, the action platform for the planet. Only One is on a mission to restore ocean health and tackle the climate crisis in this generation — with your help. Visit only.one to learn more and get involved.

CREDITS

Discarded is a Lemonada original, presented by Only One. Gloria Riviera is our host. Our producers are Alie Kilts, Alexa Lim, and Gloria Riviera. Tess Novotny is our associate producer. Chrystal Genesis is our supervising producer. Jackie Danziger is our vice president of narrative content. Natasha Jacobs and Ivan Kuraev are our engineers. Music is by Hannis Brown. Naomi Barr is our fact checker. Executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer.

To learn more and take action, go to only.one/discarded.

Follow Gloria on Twitter at @griviera. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

There’s more Discarded with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like Gloria’s conversation with Jane Patton over delicious Cafe du Monde beignets in New Orleans. Subscribe now in Apple Podcasts.

Join My Lemonada today for free and chat with your favorite hosts, other listeners, and our staff. You'll also get exclusive audio and video content and invites to live and virtual events before anyone else. Go to bit.ly/mylemonada to join a community who wants to make life suck less, together.

Go to lemonadamedia.com for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series.

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/Discarded shortly after the air date. Follow Discarded wherever you get your podcasts or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Introducing The Carbon Copy: The Great Electrician Shortage Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

We're sharing an episode from a podcast we enjoy called The Carbon Copy. In this episode, you’ll learn about the great electrician shortage. To decarbonize the economy, we need to electrify everything. That means installing millions of heat pumps, EV chargers, electric water heaters and rooftop solar panels.

But there’s one big problem: finding enough electricians to make it happen. Electricians across the country are flooded with work — and just as demand is skyrocketing, many in the field are nearing retirement age.

This week, in a special collaboration with Grist, reporter Emily Pontecorvo discusses where to find all the electricians we need to electrify everything and how we can train enough new entrants to the field to meet our climate goal. Read Emily’s feature article.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Fighting Back Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic pellets fill the docks and bays of the Mississippi River. There are people who paddle out every morning to collect them, removing what they can as pellets continue to flood the water. But the problem starts much closer to home. Look around your house. See all the plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic everything? We are all at fault – and, like Sharon Lavigne, we all have the power to make a change. In this episode, we’ll talk to politicians, scientists, and journalists who teach us how.

SHOW NOTES

Nurdle Patrol

Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act

Attorney General Bonta Demands Manufacturers of Plastic Bags Substantiate Recyclability Claims

CREDITS

Discarded is a Lemonada Media original, presented by Only One. Gloria Riviera is our host. Our producers are Alie Kilts, Alexa Lim, and Gloria Riviera. Tess Novotny is our associate producer. Chrystal Genesis is our supervising producer. Jackie Danziger is our vice president of narrative content. Mix and sound design by Natasha Jacobs with additional mixing by Ivan Kuraev. Music is by Hannis Brown. Naomi Barr is our fact checker. Executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer.

To learn more and take action, go to only.one/discarded.

Follow Gloria on Twitter at @griviera. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.

There’s more Discarded with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like our conversation with California Attorney General Rob Bonta about holding plastic companies environmentally accountable. Subscribe now in Apple Podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addicted to Convenience Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

The invention of plastic changed the way we live — and now we’re hooked. We travel from Louisiana, where plastic is born, to New Jersey, where plastic goes to die… or live again. We explore greenwashing, wish-cycling, and our collective culpability as we try to understand how we became so reliant on plastic — despite knowing its harm to the earth and the communities closely impacted.

SHOW NOTES

Beyond Plastics

Ironbound Community Corporation

The Recycling Myth: Big Oil’s solution for plastic waste littered with failure

CREDITS

To learn more and take action, go to only.one/discarded.

Follow Gloria on Twitter at @griviera. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

There’s more Discarded with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like a longer cut of our conversation with JV Valladolid about environmental activism in Ironbound, New Jersey. Subscribe now in Apple Podcasts.

Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.

Go to lemonadamedia.com for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rise of St. James Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

St. James Parish is a place with tangled roots. The community shoulders the burdens of many who have come before them — and bears a deep responsibility to their ancestors to protect their hard-fought land. What started out as just a meeting of concerned citizens around a pot of gumbo turned into a quest to reclaim land, graves, and preserve a thriving community.

SHOW NOTES

Rise St. James

The Descendents Project

The Guardian: “Multibillion-dollar Louisiana plastics plant put on pause in a win for activists”

CREDITS

Discarded is a Lemonada Media original, presented by Only One. Gloria Riviera is our host. Our producers are Alie Kilts, Alexa Lim, and Gloria Riviera. Tess Novotny is our associate producer. Chrystal Genesis is our supervising producer. Jackie Danziger is our vice president of narrative content. Mix and sound design by Ivan Kuraev. Music is by Hannis Brown. Naomi Barr is our fact checker. Executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer.

To learn more and take action, go to only.one/discarded.

Follow Gloria on Twitter at @griviera. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

There’s more Discarded with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like an extended cut of Gloria’s conversation with the Lavigne women. Subscribe now in Apple Podcasts.

Go to lemonadamedia.com for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David vs. Goliath Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

The shadow of Goliath is looming over St. James Parish, Louisiana, and it’s called The Sunshine Project. This $9.4 billion proposed petrochemical plant would sprawl across 2,400 acres, pushing up against the community that has lived and died there for generations. Our David is lifelong resident Sharon Lavigne. After teaching special education at the local school for over 30 years, Sharon becomes an accidental activist trying to save her community and its history.

SHOW NOTES

Rise St. James

ProPublica: “I’ve Investigated Industrial Pollution for 35 Years. We’re Going Backwards”

The Descendants Project

CREDITS

Discarded is a Lemonada Media original, presented by Only One. Hosted by Gloria Riviera. The producers are Alie Kilts, Alexa Lim, and Gloria Riviera. Tess Novotny is the associate producer. Chrystal Genesis is the supervising producer. Jackie Danziger is the vice president of narrative content. Mix and Sound Design by Natasha Jacobs with additional mixing by Ivan Kuraev. Music is by Hannis Brown. Naomi Barr is the fact checker. Executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer. To learn more and take action, go to only.one/discarded.

Follow Gloria on Twitter at @griviera. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

There’s more Discarded with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like Gloria's conversation with Jane Patton over delicious Cafe du Monde beignets in New Orleans. Subscribe now in Apple Podcasts.

Go to lemonadamedia.com for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discarded (Official Trailer) Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Plastic is everywhere. It’s in our homes, grocery stores, oceans, soil and even our bodies. While the invention of plastic has advanced our world, it has seriously damaged our environment and our health. In this investigative four-part series, hosted by Emmy award-winning journalist Gloria Riviera, we look at how our plastic world came to be, and how one woman stood up to say enough in her own community. Available February 7, wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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