Mission

Carpathia is a podcast founded by Leilani Münter in partnership with the Oceanic Preservation Society. The mission of the Carpathia is to raise awareness about many challenges facing humanity, while highlighting the people and organizations working on solutions that can save the world.

10% of all proceeds from the podcast go to the Oceanic Preservation Society to support their mission to inspire, empower, and connect a global community using high-impact films and visual storytelling to expose the most critical issues facing our planet.

Our Host and Founder 

Leilani Münter is a biology graduate, environmental activist, and former professional race car driver. She believes it is essential for humanity to adapt and evolve to living in a way that is more sustainable and does not destroy the world around us. Leilani is an advocate for renewable energy, solar power, electric cars, plant-based foods, and animal rights. Since 2008, Leilani has been actively fighting for these causes in Washington, DC, and beyond. She has been a guest at The White House on multiple occasions and has had the honor of speaking at the United Nations in both New York City and Geneva, Switzerland.

Discovery's Planet Green named Leilani the #1 eco athlete in the world, ELLE Magazine awarded her their Genius Award, and in 2022 she became the first recipient of BBC’s “Evergreen Award,” the lifetime achievement award of the BBC Green Sports Awards.

Leilani serves on the board of the Oceanic Preservation Society, the filmmaking team behind the Academy Award-winning documentary film The Cove. Leilani was featured in their Emmy-nominated 2015 documentary film Racing Extinction. She also sits on the board of Empowered By Light, a solar non-profit that donates solar energy projects to empower vulnerable communities to adopt renewable energy while protecting unique ecosystems. Leilani is an ambassador for Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project and a patron of UK-based charity Population Matters, alongside Sir David Attenborough and Dr. Jane Goodall.

From 2007 to 2019, Leilani adopted more than 1500 acres of rainforest to offset the carbon footprint of her racing career. Her race cars carried messages about renewable energy from the wind, water, and sun; clean energy legislation; documentary films about cetacean captivity (The Cove, Blackfish); and veganism. In 2018, Leilani gave away over 30,000 vegan cheeseburgers to race fans at NASCAR tracks like Daytona and Talladega as part of her Vegan Strong campaign. Leilani retired from racing in 2019 after 9 top-five, 21 top-ten, and 37 top-fifteen finishes in 61 starts, including an 8th place finish at Daytona.

Leilani lives in South Carolina in a solar-powered home next to a forest with her husband Craig, an engineer from New Zealand. They have been on an environmental journey together since 2004. They went vegan in 2011, bought their first electric car in 2013 and solar-powered their home in 2014. They enjoy scuba diving, chasing total solar eclipses, birding, gardening, and cooking vegan meals. They are child-free by choice, but are the proud parents of three rescue kitties: Ric O’Barry, Kathy, and Timbo.