The Defender Podcast

The amazing story of one Wisconsin food that was banned, burned, disappeared from our plates – and the comeback that’s being helped along by solar farms.  Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Lily Hislop, Savanna Institute Resources for You:

Mon Oct 6, 2025

26:47

There is no question we are living through a stressful, often overhwelming time. So if you’re feeling hopeless, especially in the face of the climate crisis, no one could blame you. But there is no better place to find hope – than in other people….

Mon Sep 15, 2025

13:21

Yes, there are 150-million reasons to listen to the episode. Because Wisconsin has $150 million dollars in federal funding to help make our homes warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, healthier, more efficient. All the things. A look at two…

Mon Sep 8, 2025

26:13

How much would you pay to swim in a clean lake? How much to take a breath of fresh, clean air? To fish in a pristine stream? You may not ever think about that, but there is somebody who does — a lot. On this episode, meet the professor who’s…

Mon Aug 25, 2025

31:07

The Environmental Protection Agency is quickly getting out of the protection business. And no where is that more clear than its new plan to get rid of the Endangerment Finding, the landmark legal and science determination that climate change hurts…

Mon Aug 18, 2025

21:24

Livestock farmers in Wisconsin are getting excited about solar! MG&E’s Tyto solar project is home to about 13,000 solar panels, 30 acres of thriving plants, and a flock of happy sheep. Amy takes a behind-the-scenes look at the solar energy…

Mon Aug 11, 2025

27:01

In the long, never-ending struggle to protect our environment, it can be easy to feel helpless, powerless. Maybe nothing underscores that feeling more than trying to stop a big foreign oil interest from building a pipeline across your state. But there…

Mon Aug 4, 2025

12:52

If you are feeling afraid to click on news stories every time a decision gets handed down by the US Supreme Court, you’re not alone. But some recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions are bringing much-needed good news in the fight to protect our…

Mon Jul 28, 2025

30:07

Northern Wisconsin is home to Lake Superior, to beautiful streams and wetlands, to thousands of acres os mesic forests–and to a 72-year-old oil pipeline called Line 5. Now the foreign oil company, Enbridge, that owns and operates the line is…

Mon Jul 21, 2025

28:57