Herbal Radio

Latest Episodes:

Daring to be FairWild | Featuring Sarah Vito Sep 13, 2025

Show notes

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by the environmental steward and change-maker on a mission to make FairWild a household name in the herbal industry, Sarah Vito.

Join Sarah and Tommy as they explore:

What it means to uphold the FairWild certification
The seven key principles of wildharvesting
Upholding biodiversity and uplifting humans with the FairWild Standard
How plants have evolved alongside humans
Unique challenges wild harvesters face in the herbal industry

As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism.

📺 Consider yourself more of a visual learner? 📺

Check out the video interview on YouTube!

🌾 Sarah Vito is FairWild's North American Business Development Representative, working specifically with US-based brands and wild harvesters. Her work has been instrumental in certifying the first wild-harvested ingredients out of North America. A long-time sustainability advocate, Sarah began her career at Greenpeace USA in Washington, DC, after graduating from Gonzaga University, where she worked in the fundraising department while completing her Master's in Organizational Management from the George Washington University. Apart from sustainability, Sarah has over 15 years of experience working in manufacturing, including dietary supplements, food, and personal care. Her work experience spans sourcing, production management, sales, and finance. Previously, she served on the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) Board of Trustees. Currently, she is an active participant in the Sustainable Herbs Initiative and a co-lead for One Step Closer's Peer Women's Circles. Additionally, she holds certifications in Permaculture Design, Ecovillage Design, and Herbalism. Sarah also dedicates her time to teaching yoga at her local YMCA, writing poetry, tending her native and medicinal micro-forest in Salem, OR, and enjoying hiking and camping trips with her husband and two children. A native of Rhode Island, she and her family frequently return to her childhood home to enjoy New England's woods and shoreline.

🌿 Want to get your hands on FairWild ingredients? 🌿

Peruse certified FairWild ingredients!

🍂 Looking to get your business FairWild Certified? 🍂

Check out the FairWild for Business page!

📓 Can't get enough of FairWild education? 📓

Dive into the FairWild Knowledge Hub!

📝 Learn more about our work with FairWild on the Mountain Rose Herbs Blog!

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Mountain Rose Herbs is a purveyor of the highest quality organically grown herbs and spices, teas, essential oils, & botanical goods. You can find our organic botanical offerings on MountainRoseHerbs.com.

🌿 Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. 🌿

Co-Creating with Nature, with Pam Montgomery | Tea Talks with Jiling Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

This week on Tea Talks with Jiling, we are joined by Pam Montgomery. Pam is an herbalist, author, international teacher, Earth elder and new-paradigm thinker who has passionately embraced her role as a spokesperson for the green beings and has been investigating plants and their intelligent spiritual nature for more than three decades. She is the author of Co-Creating with Nature: Healing the Wound of Separation and the highly acclaimed Plant Spirit Healing: A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness. She teaches internationally and virtually on plant initiations, spiritual ecology and co-creative partnership with Nature. She is the founder of the Organization of Nature Evolutionaries (ONE) and was a founding board member of United Plant Savers.

🌿 Learn about plant initiations, plant communications, and how we can become co-creative partners with plants.

🪻Visit Pam Montgomery at WakeUpToNature.com and NatureEvolutionaries.com and on Facebook and Instagram @pam.montgomery.589

🪷Jiling Lin is a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac) and herbalist in Ventura, CA. A clinician and teacher, Jiling is also a passionate traveler, artist, and adventurer. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com— and get her free Nourishing Life (養生) template and Five Phases (五行) outline. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com and join her newsletter for seasonal beauty.

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🌿 Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. 🌿

Geekin' Out About Herbs | Featuring Colleen Bingham Aug 29, 2025

Show notes

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by certified herbalist, educator, and nerd for all things herbs, Colleen Bingham. Tag along with us as we explore Colleen's herbalism journey, which began with the one and only Rosemary Gladstar, the river of experiences Colleen has floated through since then, and her views on our uncharted future with AI. As the founder of Herb Nerd, Colleen shares her scientific approach to herbalism, explaining how her methods offer insight into not only the medicinal properties of the plant itself, but also provide a deep understanding of how an herb interacts with the human body.

As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism.

More of a visual learner?

🌿📺 Check out the video interview here! 📺🌿

🌷Colleen Bingham is a lifelong nature-loving nerd and the founder of Herb Nerd, a digital education hub for herbal medicine making and natural product development. She started her herbal journey in 2010 thanks to the writings of Rosemary Gladstar and an introductory herbal program with Jane Bothwell at the Dandelion Herbal Center, later deepening her knowledge at the California School of Herbal Studies, where she became core faculty and taught for a decade.

Colleen is a Certified Herbalist, natural product formulator, and educator with 13+ years of experience in the wellness space. She's taught hundreds of students how to make herbal remedies from scratch, combining traditional wisdom with scientific insight. At herbnerd.com, her deep love of solubility, extraction, and phytochemistry culminate in niche courses that deepen her students' understanding of why and how plants heal.

Herbal skincare was her gateway into this work. In 2013, she launched Poppy Botanicals, a cult-favorite brand and creative incubator for plant-based beauty before "green beauty" became mainstream. She's also worked behind the scenes as a copywriter, formulator, education strategist, and DSHEA compliance/claims substantiation expert for national brands like Traditional Medicinals, Urban Moonshine, Dr. Morse's, and Herbal Academy.

Her students know her for making herbalism accessible, fun, and crystal clear, blending her BFA in theatre with her Virgo moon sensibilities to keep classes engaging and practical. Whether you're curious about making your own face cream or building a home apothecary, she's here to help you nerd out on nature!

Hone in your Herb Nerd skills!

🤓🌿 Herb Nerd Classes & Downloads 🌿🤓

Check out Colleen's blog!

📝 Herb Nerd Blog 📝

Peruse Colleen's YouTube channel!

📀 @HerbNerdSchool 📀

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🌿Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world.🌿

The Importance of Trust in the Herbal Industry | Featuring Mark Blumenthal Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by a leader in the herbal industry whose dedication to providing accessible and reliable education thrives in just about every corner of the herb world, Mark Blumenthal. Join Tommy and Mark as they dissect the importance of having trust in an herbal product—not only for the herb itself, but more importantly, trust in the company who makes it. Through the Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) by the American Botanical Council (ABC), Mark and his team of experts spend countless hours researching and unmasking deceptive herbal products prevalent in the vast sea that is the herbalism industry today. Mark's work highlights a science-based approach to herbalism while simultaneously recognizing the rich folklore and cultural traditions behind it.

📺 PREFER VISUAL LEARNING? Check out this episode on Youtube!

As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism.

Learn more about Mark and the American Botanical Council below! ⬇️

🌿 Mark Blumenthal is the Founder and Executive Director of the American Botanical Council (ABC)—a leading, independent, research and educational nonprofit organization dedicated to disseminating accurate, reliable, and responsible information on herbs and medicinal plants, teas, essential oils, phytomedicines, beneficial plants, and edible and medicinal fungi. Blumenthal is Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of HerbalGram, ABC's international peer-reviewed quarterly journal. He is also the founder and director of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP), a nonprofit international consortium committed to extensively researching and exposing adulteration and fraud in botanical ingredients sold in the global market. In 2010 he received the American Society of Pharmacognosy's Varro E. Tyler Award and in 2018 he was named Outstanding International Ethnopharmacologist by the Indian Society for Ethnopharmacology, and WholeFoods Magazine named Blumenthal Person of the Year in 2023. He has appeared on more than 400 radio and television shows and has written more than 500 articles, reviews, and book chapters and forewords for many publications. He was awarded Natural Health Magazine's Hall of Fame Award for "…opening America's eye to the healing powers of herbs." For more than 50 years, he has been a leader in the global botanical and natural products community, promoting science-based herbal education and respect for scientific and clinical research, ethnobotanical traditions, sustainable and regenerative practices, and authenticity and transparency in the manufacture and marketing of herbs and phytomedicines.

📗 Read The Undisclosed Presence of Excipients and Diluents in Botanical Extracts

🌿 Check out HerbalGram issues!

📺 Tune in to HerbTV -- Mark's free video resource

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Join our community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Follow on TikTok Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com

Herbal Fertility, with Liane Moccia | Tea Talks with Jiling Aug 01, 2025

Show notes

This week on Tea Talks with Jiling, we are joined by Liane Moccia. Liane is a registered herbalist and author specializing in fertility and preconception planning. Liane is the author of The Herbal Fertility Handbook: Natural Strategies to Increase Your Chances of Getting Pregnant. She combines herbs, nutrition, and lifestyle changes with a clear plan to help optimize fertility. Liane's own infertility diagnosis led her to a career change to help others on similar journeys. She lives outside of Boston and works virtually with clients from all over the country.

Liane and Jiling discuss common misconceptions about herbs and other holistic strategies to support fertility, how herbs can support fertility treatments such as IVF and IUI, the importance of sperm health, the role of timing in using herbs and supplements for fertility support — and how can people know when to take what.

Visit Liane Moccia at

💻 Website: https://lianemoccia.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lianemoccia/

✏️ Substack: https://lianemoccia.substack.com/

🍼 Pre-order The Herbal Fertility Handbook: Natural Strategies to Increase Your Chances of Getting Pregnant: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/liane-moccia-rh-ahg/the-herbal-fertility-handbook/9781635868739/

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Saving the Ancient Puglian Olive Tree | Featuring Ryan Neil Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

"Mirai in Japanese means 'future'. It refers not to the immediate future, but to a distant dream, a romantic thought, the future yet to come, ever out of reach, unobtainable, and always evolving. It is the foreshadowing of the perpetual stewardship and unknown future that guides this very special relationship with the tree."

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by the botanical artist who is on a mission to weave ancient Japanese bonsai traditions with the native species of North America, Ryan Neil. Tune in with us as Ryan and Tommy dive into Ryan's journey through the world of bonsai, how trees offer a reflection into ourselves, and the commendable mission to save the at-risk ancient olive trees of Puglia, Italy.

As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism.

Learn more about Ryan and Bonsai Mirai below! ⬇️

Ryan Neil is an artist and entrepreneur who single-handedly carved a new space in the contemporary art canon—deemed American Bonsai. This style seeks to capture the essence of America's wild spaces, utilizing native species and calling on ancient, asymmetrical forms. Based outside Portland, Oregon—Neil is at the helm of two companies, Bonsai Mirai and Mirai Live, while constantly seeking to expand and perfect his creative endeavors. Neil's work is a culmination of awe, grit and transience—an enigmatic representation of humans, trees, and our interdependent spaces in a steady, primordial flux.

Mirai is a bonsai studio, garden and creative ecosystem based outside of Portland, Oregon. Founded in 2010 by artist and bonsai professional, Ryan Neil, to explore the dialogue between humans and the living tree after becoming the first western person to complete a 6-year apprenticeship under bonsai master, Masahiko Kimura, in Japan's Saitama prefecture. As a horticultural incubator and creative facility, Mirai's mission is to explore the boundaries and identity of bonsai in the western world through the context of the tree–where compositions reflect the vast array of native landscapes and cultures that are formed in their midst.

🪴Seeking some botanical bonsai inspiration?🪴

Peruse the Bonsai Mirai gallery!

🎙️Tune in to Ryan's very own podcast!🎙️

Asymmetry Podcast

🫒Learn how you can help save the Puglia ancient olive trees! 🫒

Ancient Olives – Bonsai Mirai Blog

📱Follow Bonsai Mirai on social media!📱

Instagram @bonsaimirai

Facebook @Bonsai Mirai

💿 Consider yourself more of a visual creature? 💿

Check out the video interview on our YouTube Channel!

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Weaving Ancestral Spirituality into Herbalism | Featuring Sabrina Peraza Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are thrilled to welcome Sabrina Peraza, a spiritually-connected mestiza folk herbalist whose practice weaves the rich traditions of herbalism with ancestral energetics. Join Tommy and Sabrina as they delve into her medicinal herb farm and apothecary, Flora Farm, where she embraces an all-encompassing approach to herbal medicine making. Together, they explore how Sabrina's unique perspective fosters deep elemental relationships with plants, drawing from her multicultural lineage and traditional healing practices to create meaningful connections and healing within her community.

Learn more about Sabrina and Flora Farm below! ⬇️

Sabrina Peraza is a mestiza folk herbalist, farmer, ceremonialist, and founder of Flora Farm, a medicinal herb farm and herbal apothecary in Port Angeles, Washington. Flora Farm provides a CSA program, herbal and energetic medicine preparations, medicinal plants and seeds, as well as in-person and online community education opportunities around herbalism, farming, ceremony, and land stewardship. Sabrina centers the wisdom and healing traditions of her mixed-race ancestry to enculturate and enrich her farming, medicine-making, and ceremonial practices as a way of honoring her heritage while creating something meaningful to share with her community as a result of her efforts. She offers custom herbal medicine formulation and 1:1 intuitive healing sessions where she specializes in facilitating ancestral mediation and sharing bespoke rituals that create bridges to personal guides, nature spirits, and plants for personal, familial, and ecological healing.

Check out the upcoming and ongoing offerings at Flora Farm!

🪸 Seaweed Medicine Online Course 🪸

*Coming winter 2025

🌿 Flora Farm 2025 CSA Program 🌿

💫 Custom Herbal and Energetic Medicine Formulation 💫

🌸 1:1 Intuitive Healing Sessions 🌸

🌻 Visit the Flora Farm website and sign up for the Flora Farm Newsletter!🌻

Flora Farm Homepage

📱Follow along with Flora Farm on social media! 📱

Instagram ~ @florafarmandforage

Facebook ~ Flora Farm

💿 Consider yourself more of a visual creature? 💿

Check out the video interview on our YouTube Channel!

Back-To-Back Botanical Events, with AHPA & United Plant Savers | Featuring Alexis Durham & Susan Leopold Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

This episode is a proud partnership with American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) & United Plant Savers (UpS)

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by two dedicated and passionate advocates, educators, and leaders within the herbal industry, Alexis Durham and Susan Leopold. Tag along with Tommy and these two inspiring women for an episode exploring the six days of back-to-back educational botanical events coming to the Cincinnati area this September! Join us for the 17th Biennial International Herb Symposium, the AHPA Small Business Bootcamp—led in part by Tommy Nevar, our very own host of Herbal Radio—and the first-ever AHPA Botanical Congress: Back to Our Roots, to gain invaluable knowledge alongside the ever-growing plant people community.

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is pleased to invite customers of Mountain Rose Herbs to register for the 2025 AHPA Botanical Congress and Small Business Bootcamp at the discounted AHPA member rate. To redeem this special offer, please contact Alexis Durham at adurham@ahpa.org.

🪻Join the biennial global gathering of herbalists, healers, and plant lovers alike! 🪻

17th Biennial International Herb Symposium

September 12th – 14th | Cincinnati, OH

📓 Learn the ropes of the herbal and dietary supplement industry! 📓

AHPA Workshop: Small Business Bootcamp

September 15th, 2025 7:30am – 5pm EDT | Cincinnati, OH

🌲 Wrap up your week of non-stop herbal education with a brand new AHPA event! 🌲

AHPA Botanical Congress: Back to Our Roots

September 16th – 17th, 2025 | Cincinnati, OH

This episode discusses some Appalachian environmental and sustainability initiatives that could use your help:

🌱 United Plant Savers

🌱 Rural Action

🌱 Appalachian Sustainable Development

Learn more about Alexis and Susan below! ⬇️

🌻 Alexis Durham is the Director of Education for the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), where she develops and manages AHPA's educational programs in addition to planning and coordinating AHPA meetings and events. Her work ensures that members are well informed of issues impacting the industry and that members have forums to collaborate with each other and AHPA staff.

Alexis earned her B.Sc. in Herbal Sciences from Bastyr University and began teaching while serving as Education Coordinator for the American Botanical Council in Austin, TX. A desire to learn more from the plants themselves brought her to southern Oregon, where she worked for Horizon Herbs and taught for Herb Pharm's Herbaculture Internship Program. She coordinated the 23rd Annual Symposium for the American Herbalists Guild and served as Bastyr University's garden supervisor and adjunct faculty, as well as program coordinator for the Certificate in Holistic Landscape Design, teaching students to create healing landscapes with medicinal and edible plants.

Alexis spent several years working at Herb Pharm, most recently as their Director of Botanical Affairs, where she was involved with herbal education, regulatory compliance, product development and community engagement. She is passionate about plants, herbalism, and conservation, and serves on the Board of Directors for United Plant Savers. Her happiest moments are spent in nature, listening to birds and caring for her garden.

🌿 Susan Leopold is an ethnobotanist and conservation biologist known for her work in the fields of plant conservation, sustainable agriculture, and ethnobotany. She is the Executive Director of the United Plant Savers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting native medicinal plants of the United States and Canada and their habitat. Leopold is an advocate for ethical wildcrafting practices, community-based conservation initiatives, and the preservation of traditional plant knowledge.

💿 Consider yourself more of a visual creature? 💿

Check out the video version of this interview on our YouTube Channel!

Art that Breathes, with Tony(a) Lemos | Tea Talks with Jiling Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

This week on Tea Talks with Jiling, we are joined by Tony(a) Lemos. Tonya is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work is deeply influenced by the world around her. A lifelong ecologist and plant person, her work as an artist and healer sits at the intersection of Art, Ecology and Herbalism. She is a well-known lecturer on current herbal medicine topics, Botanical Art, a published writer, community herbalist, ecological activist, and beloved mentor. She has spent these past few years developing a creative practice called "Art that Breathes" a process based methodology which deepens our connection to the healing plants through art.

Jiling and Tony(a) discuss her Art that Breathes process, plant-based art methods like cyanotypes, eco-printing, and chlorophyll printing— and her Surrealist Times Dinners community art!

🪻Visit Tony(a) Lemos at

🪷 Jiling Lin is a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac) and herbalist in Ventura, CA. A clinician and teacher, Jiling is also a passionate traveler, artist, and adventurer. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com— and get her free Nourishing Life (養生) template and Five Phases(五行) outline. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com and join her newsletter for seasonal beauty.

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Join our community! Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube

Follow on TikTok Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com

Breathe in the Wild, Exhale the Worry | Featuring Jesse Wolf Hardin Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we are joined by our long-time friend who weaves wisdom and passion into every aspect of his herbalism practice, Jesse "Wolf" Hardin. Join Tommy and Wolf as they explore the value of connecting back to the roots of our presence on Earth to disconnect from the chaos of our modern world.

As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism.

Learn more about Wolf and the upcoming Good Medicine Confluence below! ⬇

🐺Jesse Wolf Hardin is an impactful author covering all aspects of healing, as well as an ecosopher, ecological restorationist, personal counsel, graphic artist, musician, and historian on an impassioned mission –– a champion of diversity and what he coined "ReWilding," and of course an impassioned proponent of nature's medicines. Wolf co-founded with Kiva Rosethorn both the international Good Medicine Confluence gathering and Plant Healer Quarterly magazine and is the author of over 25 books on herbalism, nature connection and personal realization. For more information go to: PlantHealer.org

🏜️The Good Medicine Confluence is a unique annual educational event and celebration held in the forested mountains of the enchanted Southwest each Summer, with you being invited to join the next empowering gathering Aug. 17th - 20th at the wondrous Ghost Ranch in New Mexico: www.GoodMedicineConfluence.com

📚The Plant Healer Online Bookstore is the largest single source or herbal related books and ebooks, both titles by Jesse Wolf Hardin and Kiva Rosethorn as well as focused compilations by many dozens of other visionary herbalists: PlantHealerBookstore.com

📇Plant Healer Magazine is the most in-depth and artistic magazine available for herbal practitioners, artisans and healers of culture, see: PlantHealerMagazine.com

🌿Herbaria Monthly is a totally FREE full color zine, full of herbal information, inspiration and empowerment. You are invited to subscribe at no cost at: PlantHealer.org

💿 Consider yourself more of a visual creature? 💿

Check out the video interview on our YouTube Channel!

~~~

Join our community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube

Follow on TikTok Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com

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