Matters of Consequence

In this episode of Matters of Consequence, host Michael Hanf speaks with Alexander Kornelsen, co-founder of Mission to Marsh, about peatlands, ecosystems that store more carbon than forests, regulate water and protect against floods and droughts. They talk about the tension between tradition and restoration, the cost of challenging the status quo and the practical work of rewetting land that most people don’t even notice. A conversation about responsibility, consequence and the quiet work of restoring what we’ve already lost.

In 2019, after 22 years in for-profit political media, David Myers left his role at CQ Roll Call to launch The Fulcrum, a nonprofit media platform focused on democracy reform. In 2025, he joined OpenSecrets, where he now leads media and communications, exposing the role of money in U.S. politics.In this conversation, we talk about the shift from ad-driven journalism to impact-driven work. We talk about the challenges of building transparency in a system where money often dictates narratives, the practical work of collecting and analyzing data, and the future of journalism in an era of declining local news and rising dark money.A conversation about responsibility, the cost of integrity, and the unresolved questions of building journalism that serves democracy.

In this episode of Matters of Consequence host Michael Hanf speaks with Mark Anderson about his three decades as a federal senior special agent.Mark’s story isn’t just about solving cases. It’s about the quiet impact of human interaction, the way a single conversation can shift someone’s life, the choices we make in those moments, and the questions that linger long after the interview is over.A conversation about integrity, the unresolved questions of leadership, and the slow work of changing a culture from within.

In this episode of Matters of Consequence, host Michael Hanf speaks with Victor Adetimilehin about creating and sustaining open mic spaces in Nigeria, from Ogbomoso to conflict-ridden Maiduguri. They talk about what it means to hold room for poetry and expression when no one else will, about the doubt that comes with wondering if these spaces change lives or just make hardship more bearable, and about the quiet work of keeping art alive in a country where survival often comes first. A conversation about responsibility, the cost of stewardship, and the unresolved questions that come with doing work that may never be rewarded but that changes everything for someone.

In this episode of Matters of Consequence, Michael Hanf speaks with Nolan Rollins about what leadership looks like after the cameras have left.When Nolan arrived in New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina, the public story was about rebuilding. But on the ground the reality was different. Entire neighbourhoods were still missing. Trust was thin. And the system was quietly revealing what it valued.He describes his role during those years as that of a translator. Someone moving between rooms with power brokers in the morning and devastated communities in the afternoon, trying to help each side understand the other.In the conversation we talk about what rebuilding actually felt like, why a strategic plan was less important than a tourniquet, and the personal cost of what Nolan calls tragic leadership.A reflective conversation about responsibility, translation, and the loneliness that can come with carrying both.

In this episode of Matters of Consequence, host Michael Hanf speaks with Joanna LaFleur about responsibility, care, and the weight of decisions that don’t fully resolve. Joanna spent more than a decade running dementia care communities, where the choices she made shaped people’s daily lives, their safety, and their dignity. She reflects on what it means to work in situations where there are no clear right answers, only options that feel less harmful than others. They talk about the realities of caring for people with dementia, the constant balancing between safety and autonomy, and the emotional impact of making decisions that stay with you long after the moment has passed. Joanna also shares what it took to step away from that work after years of burnout, and how she now supports families navigating care in their own homes. A conversation about responsibility, limits, and what it costs to keep showing up.

In this episode of Matters of Consequence, host Michael Hanf speaks with Jessica Hoeper about professional dangerousness and the uncomfortable realization that even well-intentioned professionals can cause harm.Jessica spent many years working in child protection in the United States, making decisions that shaped the lives of families and children. Early in her career she believed her role was to determine whether parents were doing things right or wrong. Over time that certainty began to shift.In the conversation Jessica reflects on moments where hindsight changed the way she understood her own decisions. Experiences later in her life, including becoming a parent herself, made her see situations she had judged very differently.They talk about the power professionals hold, the difficulty of questioning one’s own intentions, and why self-awareness and curiosity may be some of the most important tools for people working with others.A conversation about responsibility, hindsight, and learning to live with decisions that look different over time.

Adoption is often told as a story with a clear happy ending.A child finds a family. A life is made possible. The story is considered complete.But for the people living inside that story, the experience can be far more complicated.In this episode of Matters of Consequence, Michael Hanf speaks with writer, educator, and solo performance artist Liz DeBetta. Through writing, poetry, movement, and performance, Liz has spent years trying to understand what adoption does to identity, belonging, and the body.Her solo performance Un-M-Othered grew out of that process. Not as a message or solution, but as a way of making visible experiences that are often kept in silence.In this conversation, Liz reflects on growing up as an adoptee, the long search for language to describe internal experiences, and the difficult conversations that can begin once the story expands beyond the familiar narrative.