The health of humans and the planet are interconnected. Across industries, the forward march of progress has led to practices that, despite being proven as harmful, continue to proliferate. Fortunately, individuals and companies around the world have been innovating solutions that prioritize human and planetary health over profit. Join host Melissa Bloom, Founder of The Sisters Bloom, for inspirational conversations with the people reforming their industries with eco-conscious values and proving that, even in our modern world, it’s possible—and necessary—to live in alignment with Nature.
25. From the Source: Ethical and Sustainable Seafood with Max Peeler of Peeler's Wild Alaska Seafood
In this episode of Return to Nature, Melissa interviews Max Peeler, the founder of Peeler’s Wild Alaskan Seafood, a family-owned and operated business providing five-star, sustainably caught wild Alaska seafood to Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota. He grew up in Petersburg, Alaska, a small commercial fishing community of 3200 people in the southeastern part of the state. From the age of 7, he joined his family out on the Sierra Gale crabbing for Dungeness and seining for salmon.
In college Max studied the challenges facing Alaska’s wild seafood industry like fish farming and seafood fraud. He realized there needed to be greater accessibility to wild seafood and education to help bridge the gap between the fisherman and consumers.
After 20 years of commercial fishing in Petersburg, Alaska, Max started Peeler’s to support the long-term sustainability of wild fisheries, commercial fisherman and their families, and to bring the highest quality product to customers. He wants to help everyday Americans understand where their seafood comes from in order to maintain the long-term health of our wild fisheries for future generations.
Max Shares:
What is was like growing up in Petersburg, Alaska in a fishing community
How salmon seining works
Why he transitioned into the distribution side of the fishing industry
Where commercial fish goes
How the international fish markets affect the US market
The positive changes that have already been happening in commercial fishing
How regulations differ from Alaska to other parts of the US and other countries
What ethical fishing entails
What bottom trawling is, why it’s unethical, and where that seafood ends up
The fluctuations in supply how that affects demand from year to year
How he created the business model for Peeler’s and the education component missing from other models
How fish is handled for commercial distribution versus smaller scale
How farmed fish are raised and why farmed fishing started in the first place
You can connect with Max via Peeler’s:
Website: www.peelersseafood.com (https://www.peelersseafood.com/)
Instagram: @peelerswildalaskaseafood (https://www.instagram.com/peelerswildalaskaseafood/)
Facebook: @peelerswildalaskaseafood (https://www.facebook.com/people/Peelers-Wild-Alaska-Seafood/61554224407118/)
Intro/Outro music by Ken Belcher (www.kenbelcher.com)
9 Sept 2026
Restoring Natural Burial Methods with Melissa Meadow of The Modern Mortician
In this episode of Return to Nature, Melissa interviews Melissa Meadow, a formerly dual-licensed funeral professional who has spent over two decades witnessing, participating in, and ultimately challenging the traditional funeral industry. Known online as The Modern Mortician, she now dedicates her time to public death care education, end-of-life doula services, and behind-the-scenes support for progressive funeral providers.
Through her social media presence, podcast, and consulting work, Melissa is transforming how people approach death, ensuring that everyone has access to accurate, unbiased information about their end-of-life options.
For those looking to understand, navigate, or challenge the traditional funeral industry, Melissa Meadow isn’t just a resource—she’s a revolution.
DISCLAIMER: This episode contains sensitive and detailed information about the inner workings of the funeral industry and process of death care. Please listen at your own discretion.
Melissa Shares:
How she started working in death care and the funeral industry
The schooling required to be a funeral director or embalmer and what they don’t teach you in school
The history and evolution of burial and the misconception about Egyptian burials
How and why death was taken out of the home
How embalming works
Selling people on the idea of “the memory picture”
How flame cremation works
The lack of studies and information on the environmental impacts of traditional funeral care
What water cremation is and how it works
How human composting works
The trending natural burial ideas that don’t actually work
How pets can be a great way to teach children and their parents about death care
The reason why natural burial can seem inaccessible and how it’s possible to do it even at a traditional cemetery
How to find a green burial cemetery, natural burial cemetery, or conservation burial cemetery near you
What a conservation burial cemetery is and the benefits of burying a loved one there
The logistics of burial at sea
The show Six Feet Under as a close representation of what it’s like to work in the funeral industry
What it was like to leave the traditional funeral industry and begin advocating for natural burial
Exposing the profit model of the funeral industry
How wills factor into choosing a burial type for yourself or your loved one
Titan casket (https://titancasket.com/) as a more affordable alternative to funeral home options, with eco-friendly options
Cemetery maintenance and what constitutes a truly a natural burial
You can connect with Melissa via The Modern Mortician
Website: www.themodernmortician.com (https://www.themodernmortician.com/)
Instagram: the_modern_mortician (https://www.instagram.com/the_modern_mortician)
Facebook: themodernmortician (https://www.facebook.com/TheModernMortician/)
Intro/Outro music by Ken Belcher (www.kenbelcher.com)
18 May 2026
The Truth About our Skies with Ariana Victor of Just Look Up
In this episode of Return to Nature, Melissa interviews Ariana Victor, an investigative filmmaker and truth-seeker devoted to exposing the hidden forces impacting public health, the environment, and human freedom. With a background in documentary storytelling, she interweaves her love of research and compelling narratives to topics often ignored or censored. Her current film Just Look Up dives into the urgent and controversial issue of geoengineering, uncovering its impact on our bodies, ecosystems, and skies. Ariana's mission is to spark awakening through courageous storytelling that doesn't just inform, but ignites conversation, challenges narratives, and inspires people to reclaim their power and think for themselves.
Ariana Shares:
How the book Whitewash by Carey Gillam ignited her passion for covering the glyphosate legal battles in Washington and the information she learned about the corruption of the organizations meant to protect us
The vision that led her to move to Sedona, Arizona and begin a five year journey to investigate geoengineering
Cutting through the misinformation to understand the truths of this subject
The origin of the term “conspiracy theory”
Why it’s so hard to pinpoint who is behind geoengineering
The definition of geoengineering
How cloud seeding works
How stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) works
The official government documents proving this technology exists and is being utilized
How weather modification began as military technology and the environmental modification treaty that incentivized the transition from wartime technology to a public service
The fourth Industrial Revolution we are currently living through
What the HAARP research facility in Alaska was used for and its capabilities
The importance of getting in touch with your own truth amidst all the noise
The encouraging number of people and states who are actively fighting for legislation around geoengineering projects
How awareness is key for a subject like this to be accepted as more than just conspiracy theory
Learn more about the attorneys legally fighting geoengineeringa at https://thegeofight.com/
The importance of healing and balancing the body on an individual level as a form of fighting geoengineering
Other ways to support the people fighting geoengineering, even if it’s not your calling
How this is a bipartisan issue that has been politicized
You can connect with Ariana through Just Look Up:
Website: www.justlookupfilm.com (https://www.justlookupfilm.com/)
Instagram: @justlookupofficial (https://www.instagram.com/justlookupofficial/)
Instagram: @arianavictorfilm (https://www.instagram.com/arianavictorfilm/)
Intro/Outro Music by Ken Belcher (https://kenbelcher.com/)
Sound mix by Andrew Pals (https://a180msound.wixsite.com/a180msound)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
36
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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