Seeds And Their People

About Seeds And Their People

A radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.

Publisher

Seeds And Their People

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Jan 2020

Latest episode

30 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

6 of 41 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   30 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   EP. 41: the Siling Labuyo Pepper Portal from Philly to the Philippines

   Nicky Uy, Omar Buenaventura, Maria Dumlao, and Bitter Kalli discuss their deep connections to the Philippines through Filipino foods, seeds, and stories, fostering community in Philadelphia.

2. 

   30 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT

   EP. 40: Lana Mustafa's Roots of Resilience in Palestine and the Diaspora

   Lana Mustafa, Palestinian-American farmer, discusses her work in urban agriculture, food access, and preserving culturally significant crops through seed sovereignty and land justice in an interview with Owen Taylor and Chris Bolden-Newsome.

3. 

   9 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT

   EP. 39: Mountain Farmers from Burma in Thailand and Philadelphia

   Since 2017, Truelove Seeds has been working closely with a large Karen farming community from the jungles of the Karen state in the mountains of Burma (Myanmar), who are now based in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through their previous work with Novick Urban Farm, and continuing now with many locations including community gardens and farms throughout Philly, they grow their traditional foods for their community and offer seeds in our catalog. In 2022, we published a 2019 interview with Naw Doh, Htee Da Win, and Hser Ku as our 7th episode of this podcast (see link below). In late 2025, our friend Mu Nae came to harvest Chin Baung leaves, Sunn Hemp flowers, Siling Labuyo Peppers, Tomatos, Pumpkin shoots, and Green Carpetweed rosettes at our farm with her mother Naw Gay Lay, and sister Saiyar Moo. We were able to meet Mu Nae's daughter Blut Htoo (a nursing student serving as their driver and interpreter that day) and it seemed clear that it was time for another episode! The stories in this episode, recorded on October 22, 2025, are beautiful, painful, and powerful, and span from growing up and giving birth on the run in the jungle from the Japanese and Burmese armies, to escaping to Thailand refugee camps, to resettling in Philadelphia - and the foods and medicines that got them here. We are immensely grateful to these three generations of brilliant, strong, kind women for sharing their time, stories, and delicious foods with us. SEED STORIES: Chin Baung / Besidoh Luffa Winter Melon Jamaican Pumpkin (this is the variety they harvested shoots from this year at our farm) Sunn Hemp flowers Tumeric root Betel leaves Siling Labuyo Peppers Hyacinth Beans Sesame Yuca / Cassava Bamboo Rice And shout out to fire, ashes, water, salt, and MSG! LINKS: Karen Community Association of Philadelphia (KCAP) KCAP Facebook and Instagram Donate to KCAP Novick Urban Farm seeds offered at Truelove Seeds: Pea Eggplant, Rat-Tail Radish, Green Pumpkin Eggplant, Dark Pea Eggplant, Lavender Frog Egg Check out the Chin Baung/Besidoh poster featuring Naw Gay Lay, by Shira Walinsky and Eh Nay Htoo, sponsored by Philadelphia Museum of Art's Community Spotlight initiative Photos from the day of this interview! @seedkeeping on Instagram Article featuring Naw Gay Lay and KCAP: Julia Binswanger, 10.7.2025. ‘A lot of things to do’: This organization tends to some of Philly’s most overlooked refugees. Billy Penn at WHYY. Article featuring Naw Gay Lay: Hitomi Yoshida, 10.20.2016. Refugee elders support each other after a long, difficult journey. WHYY Speak Easy. Seeds and Their People, 5.5.2022. Episode 7: Karen Farmers from Burma. Article by Truelove Seeds featuring Naw Doh, Htee Da Win, Hser Ku on Karen food: Owen Taylor, 2.10.2020. Memories of Myanmar. Mother Earth Gardener. THIS EPISODE SUPPORTED BY: YOU! Please become a Patron for $1 or more a month at Patreon.com/trueloveseeds Scribe Video Center and WPEB, West Philly Community Radio ABOUT: Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden. trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio FIND OWEN HERE: Truelove Seeds Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter FIND CHRIS HERE: Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden

Inside a recent episode

EP. 41: the Siling Labuyo Pepper Portal from Philly to the Philippines

Published 30 Jun 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And so we explored and did a lot of a study around the monsoon exchange, which refers to sort of the climactic weather patterns that happened for hundreds, if not thousands of years in the area of the Indian Ocean right now in the Erythian Sea, in which you would have winds that would blow so perfectly and so consistently that they could be timed almost down to the day by sailors. And that in one part of the season, you know, I believe that in autumn, the winds were blowing favorable to carry one from the east coast of Africa to the subcontinent of Asia. And then, of course, you know, later on, the winds would reverse, carrying people back to Africa. […]

Who has been a guest on Seeds And Their People

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Nicky Uy
• Omar Buenaventura
• Maria Dumlao
• Bitter Kalli

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

114 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

67 ratings

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