Aug 4

Aug 4 Shucking the Status Quo

Shucking the Status Quo panel at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, June 2026 at the New Haven Museum. From left: Host Tagan Engel, Ocean Farmers Chief Sagamore Buddy Pocknett and Beth Simonds, and Shell Recycler Tim Macklin. Producer Tiffany Hopkins adjusting the mic.

This episode on how communities are restoring Long Island Sound one shell at a time was recorded live at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in June 2026. We hear from shellfish farmers Chief Sagamore Buddy Pocknett of the First Light Farm of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and Beth Simonds of Stonington Farms Shellfish & Tim Macklin of CORR (Collective Oyster Recycling & Restoration) for a conversation about how local aquaculture, indigenous stewardship and community shell recycling are working hand in hand to restore one of our most treasured waterways. Our host Tagan Engel co-produced and moderated the conversation.

Screenshot 2026-07-30 at 4.51.53 PM.jpeg

Videos on the work of these 3 extremely dedicated people:

Thank you to Tiffany Hopkins and the whole team at the festival for producing this event. The New Haven Museum for hosting us, and Robyn Doyon-Aitken Deputy Director of Storytelling and Talk Shows are CT Public for editing this show and being a fabulous supporter and partner.

The Table Underground airs on WPKN 89.5fm in Bridgeport and you can find more content on our website www.TheTableUnderground.com. Our theme song is by the Passion Hifi.

August 4, 2026

LATEST

Featured

PODCAST

Shucking the Status Quo

PODCAST

How communities are restoring Long Island Sound one shell at a time. Recorded live at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, we hear from shellfish farmers Chief Sagamore Buddy Pocknett of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and Beth Simonds of Stonington Farms Shellfish & Tim Macklin of CORR (Collective Oyster Recycling & Restoration) about how local aquaculture, indigenous stewardship and community shell recycling are working hand in hand to restore one of our most treasured waterways.

PODCAST

Chefs Roundtable

PODCAST

Chef's Emily Mingrone, Damon Sawyer, and Arturo Franco Camacho in a roundtable discussion on sourcing ingredients, the values and creativity that drive their kitchens, and the people that make it all possible. Recorded live at the 2026 International Festival of Arts and Ideas as part of the Sustainable Kitchens/Thriving Oceans event series.

PODCAST

Strategic Organizing w/ Jose Oliva of HEAL Food Alliance

Jose Oliva, Strategic Campaigns Director for HEAL Food Alliance digs in on grassroots organizing practices and strategies for building power for transformative change in our food and farm systems and beyond.

PODCAST, ARTICLE

Bryant Terry & Vegetable Kingdom (from the Archives)

PODCAST, ARTICLE

Chef, activist, artist and author Bryant Terry on his 5th book, Vegetable Kingdom - cooking for his kids - uplifting Black and Asian food traditions - and collective actions to transform our "messed up food system". A show from our archives, first aired in 2020.

PODCAST, ARTICLE

PODCAST

Oysters & Ocean Restoration w/ CORR Shell Recycling & Leetes Island Oysters

PODCAST

Tim Macklin & Todd Koehnke of CORR: Collective Oyster Recycling and Restoration and Kim Granbery a wild oyster farmer and owner of Leetes Island Oysters share about their work to return oysters to Long Island Sound. This farming and stewardship work helps to rebuild habitat, filter water, prevent erosion, and cultivate biodiversity as well as a love of oysters and our ocean and water ways.

PODCAST

INSTAGRAM

New Episode Alert! Airs 6pm tonight on @wpkn89.5 and on our website (link in bio) or by podcast anywhere, anytime. 🌿Jose Oliva, Strategic Campaigns Director for @healfoodalliance digs in on grassroots organizing practices and strategies for building power for transformative change in our food and farm systems and beyond. Protests in recent years have mobilized millions of people across the country and world, and brought attention to issues of great injustice. Despite these mass actions, real systemic change on issues from genocide to immigration, to food and farm worker abuses have remained out of reach. One reason for this lack of change is that when people are mobilized without a coordinated organizing strategy, and without the support of a broad coalition - we are not able to build the power we need to bring about transformative change. Our guest, Jose Oliva, has a long history of organizing and coalition building for workers’ rights and system change. Through HEAL, Jose works in an alliance of 52 groups that represent over 2 million people working in the food and farm sectors. He was the co-founder and former director of the Food Chain Workers Alliance, he led organizing with the Chicago Interfaith Workers’ Center, Casa Guatemala, and The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United among many others. Jose joins us for this timely conversation on the whys and hows of strategic organizing for social change in our food system and beyond. In this episode, Jose shares about non-violent direct action organizing, grassroots organizing practices and details about HEAL’s current campaigns to expose and limit corporate control of our food system and their city and state level Good Food Purchasing Policy work. If you are interested in learning more, check out all the fabulous publications and research on their website as well as their School of Political Education to build political power to transform our food and farm systems. ❤️✊🥦 @realchinoliva

Check out this great episode on Oysters & Ocean Restoration w/ @corr_shell_recycling and @leetes_island_oysters 🦪🌊 Tim Macklin & Todd Koehnke of CORR: Collective Oyster Recycling and Restoration and Kim Granbery a wild oyster farmer and owner of Leetes Island Oysters share about their work to return oysters to Long Island Sound. This farming and stewardship work helps to rebuild habitat, filter water, prevent erosion, and cultivate biodiversity as well as a love of oysters and our ocean and water ways. Listen anytime by podcast or on our website (link in bio) - originally aired on @wpkn89.5 community radio!

An amazing gathering about Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Foods w/ book editors @aubreystreitkrug of @thelandinstitute and Liz Carlisle @carlisle369 & contributors @leahpenniman of @soulfirefarm and Piyush Labhsetwar @labhset1 of @growfoodnorthampton 💛🌿🌳 Talking bout adapting agro forestry from Haiti to northern climates, migration of plants and people, the importance and positive impacts of deep roots and perennial crops, measuring care for and numbers of land stewards rather than yield, cool DIY soil science to see the benefits of growing perennial crops and so so much more! Every dish served included perennial foods such as kernza wheat flour and baki beans developed by @thelandinstitute dandelion greens and foraged mulberries and great dishes from @raquel_rivera_chef of @apinchofsaltcooking with perennial asparagus, berries, herbs, nuts and more. Fab hosting from Yale grad students I work with in the People Equity and the Environment Learning Community @environmentyale with a dozen co-hosts! And no event would be complete without @possiblefuturesbooks selling books and distributing gifted books to community members and students through funding from ROOTS - the Black student association through the School of the Environment. Loved that this event was half community members and half Yale students. Thanks @liberatedlandcooperative @root.life @hempmilkhoney @blackmyceliumnetwork @globallocalgourmet and so many others for joining!! Thanks to the Wyss foundation, Yale GPSS, Food SIG, EJAY SIG, @yalecbey and others for supporting!!

The Big CT Food event was 🔥🔥🔥!! 30 amazing local food business sampling and selling their products - connecting with and learning from industry experts, free coaching, workshops and cash prizes! $42k across 12 prizes - with @blackgirlkimchi and @amritabars taking the top prizes in the emerging and scaling business categories!! A great example of what can be accomplished when community groups, businesses, and universities collaborate! This event is about the specialness of uplifting local talent, and getting the different players and stakeholders in the room together so that ecosystem building magic can happen. Many thanks to partners @ctfoodlaunchpad @atticusmarket @chabasobakery @yalesom @yalecbey @cityseedhaven @resetco @inclusivegrowthnhv @mypeoplecommunity and gold sponsors @bozzutos @ct_decd for making this possible! AND thank you to the 30 amazing businesses who participated in this event, giving of your time and energy and creativity. We heard from so many of you that you benefited in numerous ways from the learning and connections at this event! So good!

Big CT Food Event April 18, 12-6pm! Get your free tickets and support local food businesses! @ctfoodlaunchpad

Stories of food, radical love & creative social justice.

Radio. Podcast. Writing. Recipes.

Aug 4 Shucking the Status Quo

Videos on the work of these 3 extremely dedicated people:

LATEST

INSTAGRAM

INSTAGRAM

HOME • HOW TO LISTEN • ABOUT • CONTACT • ARCHIVE

Stories of food, radical love & creative social justice.

Radio. Podcast. Writing. Recipes.

Aug 4 Shucking the Status Quo

Videos on the work of these 3 extremely dedicated people:

Jul 7 Chefs Roundtable