Guests

When one thinks of beer, the images of scantily clad women or football games typically come to mind. But in the last few years, beer has undergone an artisanal revolution in the United States. Who are these craft beer pioneers providing new flavors and images to the beer category? Jessica’s guest is one such brewer, Jim Koch, the founder of Boston Beer, the maker of Samuel Adams. We’ll learn how Jim turned his family’s beer recipe into a leading luxury beer company, From Scratch.

When earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters happen, who comes to the rescue? There’s government relief, NGOs, and fifteen guys from New York City!

Nick Lobel-Weiss is the cofounder of NYC Medics, an organization that provides medical services to emergency victims around the world. Nick speaks with Jessica Harris about how his organization is providing urgent healthcare, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Parents want what’s best for their child, but they might not be too picky about the diapers or bottles they buy; but when it comes to transportation, all strollers are not created equal. With a price near $1000, the Bugaboo is considered the Rolls Royce of strollers. The Bugaboo’s versatile design makes it a favorite among parents. Jessica speaks with the co-founder of Bugaboo, Max Barenbrug.

After the Bugaboo was a sensation among parents in Holland, it made its debut on the TV show Sex and the City, in the United States. Max describes how he turned his final project in graduate school into the world’s “uber stroller” from scratch.

Marie Moody, the founder of Stella and Chewy’s, fed her dog (Chewy) raw meat when he was sick. After Chewy recovered, Marie was inspired to provide organic, raw, frozen pet food to other dogs and cats. S&C simulates how these pets would have eaten in the wild and offers a nutritious alternative to existing processed pet foods. Marie tells Jessica Harris how she got her innovative pet food company off the ground, from scratch.

Jessica speaks with Dorothy Hamilton, founder of the French Culinary Institute (FCI), one of the country’s leading centers for culinary education. FCI, now part of the International Culinary Center, offers total immersion courses to people looking to become professional chefs or just master chefs of their own kitchen. Dorothy explains how she became one of the pioneers of culinary education, from scratch.

Jessica speaks with Jordan Kassalow, co-founder of the Scojo Foundation, an organization that sells low-cost eyeglasses in developing countries such as India, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Jordan is an optometrist who also co-founded Scojo Vision, a company that sells high end reading glasses to stores like Barneys, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. The company donates 5% of its sales to the Scojo Foundation. We’ll learn how Jordan is pioneering affordable eye care in the developing world, and changing the livelihood of thousands of individuals, from scratch.

The benefits of  breast-feeding are legion (helping with baby’s immune and cognitive development, facilitating parental/child bonding, etc.), but its challenges are also numerous– especially for new moms unfamiliar with the process.  After going through some of the frustrations of breastfeeding firsthand, Felina Rakowski-Gallagher decided to open a breast feeding boutique on the upper west side of Manhattan. Her store is cleverly named “The Upper Breast Side.”  Her slogan: “You bring your breasts, we’ve got the rest.”

Jessica Harris speaks with the ex- New York City cop turned breast feeding boutique owner about how Felina’s store grew from a business run out of her apartment to a premier destination for everything pertaining to breast-feeding in New York, from scratch.

Entrepreneur, conservation philanthropist, and documentary filmmaker are some of the titles that Doug Tompkins has held over his career. Doug’s love of mountaineering led him to start North Face, the outdoor apparel company. He then cofounded the international clothing company, Esprit, which he later sold. Doug has spent the last few decades focusing his energies on sustainable farming, land conservation and biodiversity preservation in Chile and Argentina. With the purchase of more than 2 million acres of land in South America, Doug has pioneered one of the largest private conservation efforts in the world.

Doug speaks to Jessica Harris about his journey from selling dresses out of a van to conserving South America’s natural environment, from scratch.

Doug died in December, 2015. He will be remembered for his love of nature and pioneering spirit.

One of the most difficult issues for a new parent is going back to work after your baby is born. If you can’t spend time with your child, you at least want to find the best care possible. What are some of the high quality childcare options?

Jessica’s guest is Linda Mason, the co-founder of Bright Horizons Family Solutions, the nation’s leading provider of worksite childcare services. Linda started the company with her husband Roger Brown in 1986, and Bright Horizons has over 600 centers catering to children from infancy to six years old. Linda shares the challenges she faced —professional and maternal— while launching Bright Horizons, from scratch.

When we see a skyscraper or a museum, we might marvel at its shape, its height, or the materials used; but what was the process behind the building’s initial design? Who are some of the architects influencing our landscape? Jessica speaks with one such pioneer, Richard Meier.

Richard’s emphasis on clean design and natural light has made him one of the world’s leading modern architects. His projects include The Getty Center in Los Angeles, Perry Street apartments in New York City, and the Jubillee Church in Rome, among others.

Richard explains how he built some of the world’s most respected buildings, as well as his own career, from scratch.