Pull up a chair — because this conversation is going to shape and change our future for the better.
Welcome to the very first episode of Table & Compass, a Big Blend Radio podcast with Wanderers Compass. Hosts Lisa D. Smith, Joelle Machia, and Ryan Slough gather around the table with a remarkable guest for an inaugural conversation that covers everything from water conservation in the Caribbean to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, children's books about gardening, and why the differences between us are really just cosmetic.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE:
Our guest is Carlisle Richardson — former Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations, former UN Economic Affairs Officer, key negotiator of the landmark Sustainable Development Goals, and contributor to the preparations for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Now based in Melbourne, Australia, Carlisle serves as a Lecturer in International Relations and as an independent consultant on multilateral engagement and SDG implementation. He is also a board member of the United Nations Association of Australia, Victoria Division — and an author of three books that weave sustainability, community, and Caribbean culture into stories for readers of all ages.
In this episode we explore:
- Why the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals matter to every community, not just governments — and why there are actually 169 targets behind those 17 goals where the real work happens.
- How a hotel development in St. Kitts nearly destroyed the water source for 50% of the island's population — and what happened when the water department stepped in.
- What Ryan witnessed in St. Martin, Turkey, Greece, and across Europe about water conservation and how travelers can be part of the solution.
- Joelle's work with UN groups tackling water access in African and island nations — and why digging a single well can change everything for a community.
- Carlisle's childhood in St. Kitts and Anguilla, planting a tree on Earth Day at age nine without knowing why, and how those early moments shaped a career dedicated to sustainability.
- The story of world traveler and author Henry Biernacki, whose foundation — The Steppes of Henry Foundation — funds girls in Africa not just for school fees but for food, shoes, and uniforms, because you can't go to school if your basic needs aren't met.
- Why Carlisle's morning commute in New York City — and three days of saying "Good morning" to a neighbor raking leaves — became a lesson in what community really means.
- How 193 UN member states are actually working together on the SDGs every day — and why more than 150 of them are genuinely plugged in, even when the headlines suggest otherwise.
- The UNESCO World Heritage Sites that stopped each of our hosts in their tracks — from Brimstone Hill Fortress in St. Kitts and the nature reserve in Praslin, Seychelles, to Göreme National Park in Cappadocia, Bruges in Belgium, and Tucson, Arizona — the first UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in the United States, with a food culture going back 4,000 years.
- Why Carlisle wrote Rose Grows Veggies — the first book in his Sustainability Series for children ages 6–8 — during Melbourne's pandemic lockdown, and how a backyard garden connected his children to his own Caribbean childhood.
- And why, as Carlisle says, "the differences between us are really just cosmetic."
About Our Guest
Carlisle Richardson grew up in St. Kitts and Nevis and earned degrees in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and being posted to the Permanent Mission of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations. He later joined the UN's Division for Sustainable Development, playing a key role in the negotiations for the Sustainable Development Goals and the preparations for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. He organized the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States and is now based in Melbourne, Australia, where he lectures in International Relations and consults on SDG implementation.
Carlisle's Books
📚 The Soft Underbelly — Carlisle's debut crime thriller, set on a Caribbean island and woven through with themes of community, cuisine, and connection.
📚 Rose Grows Veggies — The first book in Carlisle's Sustainability Series for children ages 6–8. When Rose moves from the countryside to the city, her parents encourage her to plant vegetables — and what grows is not just a garden but a whole new community of friends.
📚 Island Journeys: The Impact of the Island Way of Life at Home and Abroad — Carlisle's first book, published in 2015 through Simon & Schuster. A globe-crossing exploration of the beauty, resilience, and innovative spirit that unites island communities and their diasporas around the world.
Resources & Links
➡️ Wanderers Compass: https://www.wandererscompass.com/
➡️ The Steppes of Henry Foundation — Henry Biernacki's foundation supporting girls' education in Africa: https://theglobalhenry.org/
➡️ Learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
New episodes of Table & Compass air every first Monday here: https://table-and-compass.podbean.com/