Explore every episode of the podcast Lifeworlds
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24. Guardians of the Earth: The Rise of Ecocide Law - with Pella Thiel | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:55:30 | |
Could the destruction of nature become considered as serious a crime as that of genocide? How does the structure of law shape a civilisation’s norms, behaviors and overarching story? Today we’ll be discussing international Ecocide law, a massively growing movement that wants to embed the notion of ‘ecocide’ crime at the highest levels of law - at the International Criminal Court in The Hague - and create a powerful deterrent for the further damage to ecosystems and people globally. Our guest is Pella Thiel, a maverick ecologist, farmer, author and who has co-founded the Swedish hubs of international networks like Transition Sweden, End Ecocide Sweden and is an associate of the Centre for Environment and Development Studies at Uppsala University. Pella was awarded the Swedish Martin Luther King Award in 2023 and the Environmental Hero of the year 2019. We discuss:
Episode Website Link Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Photo credit: Law Statue Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 23. Wild Avatars: Nature in Virtual Reality - with Marshmallow Laser Feast | 07 Aug 2024 | 01:08:52 | |
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to breathe yourself into your own body? To flow with the out-breath of trees into your own fractaling lungs, to dance ribbonlike into an ancient ceiba’s vasculature, to stitch an ecosystem together as a mycelium highways sparkling with energy? In this episode we explore the transformational potential of virtual reality through the work of Marshmallow Laser Feast, an artist collective that has emerged as a leading VR creators in the last decade. They exhibited internationally from London to New York, Melbourne to Seoul, their work included in major exhibitions at institutions including the Barbican Centre, Saatchi Gallery, Sundance Film Festival, and SXSW. 'In The Eyes Of The Animal' was nominated for the Design of the Year by Design Museum Beazley Awards and won the Wired Innovation Award (2016). Most recently, the team at MLF won the Tribeca Film Festival Storyscapes Award for Innovation in Storytelling and Best VR Film at VR Arles Festival for ‘TreeHugger, Wawona’. Ersin Han Ersin is the director of MLF and describes to us how they use dazzlingly aesthetic real-time VR experiences to explore the invisible perspectives of nature’s lifeworlds – and how they are constantly pushing the bounds of what technology makes possible in expanding our ecological sensitivities. I enquire into:
Episode Website Link. Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Photo credit: MLF exhibition at AMCI in Australia (photo from their website) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Meditation | The Cosmos in Your Food | 07 Nov 2023 | 00:12:36 | |
A guided meditation to bring you into a state of communion and intimacy with the Earth through the daily, sacred act of eating. Many ancient traditions have their ways of giving thanks to our connection with food and the planet’s bounteous harvest. Here, I have been inspired by the Zen Buddhist lineage of Plum Village, and the tenderness and beauty of bringing in all of life through every bite. I recommend you do it as you are about to enjoy a special meal… (Audio: New Earth - Beautiful Koshi Wind Chimes Healing Spring Meditation 432hz; Image: grapevinedesigns.in) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17. Tales of the Arctic Deep – with Sylvia Earle, Johan Rockström and Taylor Griffith | 12 Oct 2023 | 01:55:16 | |
A special three part episode recorded onboard a Climate and Oceans expedition in the Norwegian Arctic. We’ll hear about the dark mysteries of the deepest realms of the ocean from “Her Deepness” herself, Dr. Sylvia Earle (possibly the most admired and loved oceanographer of the last century). Followed by the latest Planetary Boundaries Earth science from Johan Rockstrom, and the role of ocean storytelling and immersive art installations from Taylor Griffith. Together, their voices weave a tale of the predicament and possibility of the Arctic and high seas; how to sense the lifeworlds of all the creatures who glow and sparkle and live in the dark within the greatest unexplored part of Earth's biosphere; we learn about ocean exploration in the 21st century, the dangers of deep sea mining, and the role of discovery and art in bringing us into the pulsing heart of the planet’s watery body. I love this episode so much, and I hope you will too. Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 16. Climate Grief, Eco-anxiety, and Loving a World in Turmoil – with Britt Wray | 13 Sep 2023 | 01:10:34 | |
A necessary and beautiful episode on the emotional terrain of climate grief, loss, sadness, anxiety, and all the ways we can cope either maladaptively or adaptively to this challenging moment in time. This is an intimate conversation that makes the case for allowing ourselves to ‘feel it all’. Because from the depth of feeling comes the power of action, hope, resilience and community. If we ignore the reality of this mental health crisis, we are turning our backs on the potential that can emerge on the other side of initiation. We discuss different frameworks for processing climate anxiety - practical resources, approaches and philosophical underpinnings of a phenomenon that is sweeping the world, especially among youth populations. Dr Britt Wray is one of the world’s most esteemed and loved researchers on this topic, having published the viral newsletter and book Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis. She is Director Special Initiative of the Chair on Climate Change & Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences of Stanford Medicine, advancing research and approaches in the field with communities facing the reality of ecological and social breakdown. Show Links:
Music: Electric Ethnicity Photo: Midsummer Eve Celebration Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Myth | Remembrance & Initiation of the Soul | 11 Jul 2023 | 00:34:56 | |
An essential part of living into different lifeworlds resides in the mythic realm – the currents of poetry, mysticism and story that stream in the archetypal world below the world. Today I bring you a myth, from Darren Silver, rite of passage and vision quest guide; it is a myth that has laid dormant for many years and is finally here to be told. On the surface it’s a story of twins, of a brother and a sister, and of their initiation. There is magical surrealism here, and mythic beings, ancient and enduring laws of reciprocity, of the ways of the forest, of how to barter in ancient exchanges of the soul. There are riddles and agreements and creatures that speak and weave wisdom through grit and pain and love. The enduring message that this myth leaves me with is that initiation does not come bundled in cozy sound baths and sipping cacao on a beach — initiation is painful and tears us to our bones, and yet it is a sublime liberation, because through initiation, we manifest our gifts into the world. And as Darren says, for our gift to manifest, we have to wager our own skin. So sit back and listen to this one closely. Be present, receptive, and dignify the messages that are coming through as medicine for you, because something will strike you close. Allow yourself to be carried away by the myth. And so we begin. Credit: Photo of Stag (Flickr) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 15. Re-Weaving Landscapes: Wildlife Crossings & Designing for Nature as the Client | 26 Jun 2023 | 01:10:41 | |
The roads on which we drive are unlikely to strike us as an exciting source of design innovation or interspecies dialogue. And yet, some of the most fascinating experiments and living laboratories are taking place around the world in how humans can build structures of hope and creativity for other species to flourish, despite having their habitats sliced in half by concrete veins. Earth is a fluid organism and needs connected landscapes like a canvas upon which to paint its life. Roads, on the other hand, are the single most destructive element in the process of habitat fragmentation (not to mention the millions of deaths due to collisions and the massive economic cost of these accidents). Over the coming 30 years, an additional 25 million km of roads will be built across the planet’s surface. So today in the show, we speak to pioneers in the world of wildlife crossings and design competition leaders who have spurred the process of globally rethinking and redesigning human structures to grapple with the concept of “wilderness” and the radical interconnectedness of nature and culture. Jeremy Guth is a trustee of the Woodcock Foundation, and an ARC founding sponsor. Nina-Marie is the Graduate Director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University where she leads the Ecological Design Lab, and has created a series of courses at the Harvard Graduate School of Design called Wild Ways.
Episode Website Link: https://www.lifeworld.earth/episodes-blog/reweavinglandscapes Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 14. Musicians of the Planet: On Making Interspecies Songs – with David Rothenberg | 06 Jun 2023 | 01:01:38 | |
A clarinet plugged into an underwater hydrophone, playing with liquid humpback whale songs below the surface. A huddled group of musicians under a night-time forest in Berlin, singing with nightingales. A 17-year swarm of cicadas alighting upon a sole jazz musician. These are the scenographies that David Rothenberg provokes with his interspecies music compilations, asking us, why should we only play music with other humans and not improvise along with the original musicians of the planet herself? For human music and song emerged from a world that sings, hums, beats, chirps, and human translations of these sounds have captured our imaginations from our tribal origins through to the first recordings of humpback whales that spurred anti-whaling conventions in the 70s and electronic synthesizers. Today’s episode brings us into this creative engagement with the planet, exploring how we are transformed when we open up to a world of music, beauty and art created by nature every day. So my friends, listen wider, expand your sense of music, and have David Rothenberg, interspecies musician, writer, and philosopher, show us how to become not just passive listeners but active participants in the symphony. Episode Website Link Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Songs: Nightingale sounds are from David, and the Monkey Chant is from Kecak from Bali (Bridge Records) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 13. The Sounds of Life: Bioacoustics, A.I. and Ethics – with Karen Bakker | 23 May 2023 | 01:01:48 | |
The world around us is constantly vibrating with sounds we cannot hear. This magical soundscape evades our senses, tempts us by its elusive presence and beckons us to look deeper. Our ability to listen in is rapidly evolving. Over the last decades, scientists have begun installing digital listening devices in nearly every ecosystem. This process of deciphering what nature is saying is called “bioacoustics” and “ecoacoustics”. Massive advances in both hardware and artificial intelligence are permitting us to go where no artificial ear has gone before. Recent breakthroughs unveil that many more species are speaking in ways we didn’t know were possible, with far richer behaviors than were previously known. Karen Bakker - Canadian scientist, author, Professor at UBC and Rhodes Scholar - tells us how bioacoustics is poised to alter humanity’s relationship with our planet by expanding our sense of sound. We can develop mobile protected areas for animal climate refugees. Simply by singing, a whale can turn aside a container ship. Acoustic enrichment can help corals regenerate. Acknowledging these forms of communication requires us to confront our entrenched ideas of sentience and intelligence. This seeks to understand non-human communication on its own terms and brings up new ethical and moral dilemmas. Who grants us consent to listen in to the conversation of bats? And as we inhabit such different lifeworlds, might we have enough shared concepts that would enable any kind of translation? Episode Website Link
Photo: Karen’s Book Music: Electric Ethnicity Coral sounds Tim Lamont Bat sound Tomáš Bartonička Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Meditation | Deep Time | 03 May 2023 | 00:21:19 | |
This is a meditation I wrote and recorded to plunge us through epochs of cosmic time, through the tremendous evolutionary processes that preceded us, became us, and are us. It grants us invaluable context on the great tales of life whose memories are held in our bones. This is our origin and lineage. I hope you find yourself nourished and moved by the experience.
This script is inspired by and takes language from the deep time practices of Joanna Macy and the Deep Time Walk of Stephan Harding and colleagues, along with some of the evolutionary notions explored in Otherlands by John Halliday – to them I am deeply grateful. My script here. Please credit if used or shared. Music attribution: Take Off and Shoot a Zero. Stunt Island Album. Written, produced, and performed by Chris Zabriskie. Published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP). © 2011 Chris Zabriskie. Art made with… You guessed it. Midjourney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 12. The Art of Tracking & Wild Bison - with Toni Romani | 25 Apr 2023 | 00:51:52 | |
This episode weaves live narrative, interview and descriptions on Romanian bison, wild forest adventures, and the lost ancient art and science of tracking. Tracking is an ancient sensorial and survival strategy that our nomadic ancestors cultivated as state of profound observation. It led to the development of many innate abilities of the human mind and indeed, tracking is so ingrained in our very cells that it is synonymous with being human. There is a movement today to revitalise tracking into a new modern profession, into a science that can help to monitor the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss and nature conservation. More on this in the show… Here I bring you into my own story of tracking animals and wild bison in the mountains of Romania with We Wilder, a social enterprise and cooperative founded by WWF Romania and local community members. We were engaging in a 4 day experience led by Toni Romani, a certified Cyber Tracker facilitator, and organised as part of building a local circular economy and connecting more people to the practicalities and experience of rewilding. Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 11. The Inner Lives and Cultural Worlds of Animals – with Carl Safina | 04 Apr 2023 | 01:00:25 | |
Carl Safina is an ecologist, author, conservationist, and animal translator whose body of work probes how free-living animals experience life. His books Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel and Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace have won numerous awards. Audubon named Carl Safina among its “100 Notable Conservationists of the 20th Century.” Carl uncovers the rich truth that many species and animals have entire cultures, traditions, familial stories, and individual quests, that all are part of this symbiotic tapestry of tales that we call “nature”. He travels alongside the sweeping wingspans of albatrosses, the elephants of East Africa, the wolves of Yellowstone, the Orcas of the Pacific Northwest, sperm whales, seals, turtles, deciphering the role of matriarchs and elders, describing how individual personalities affect all kinds of behaviors, and how these creatures too experience mourning, loss, and grief. Here we speak about all these interlocking animal worlds and lives, their highly evolved and complex cultural systems, how the world is awash in waves of communication, the imperfect evolutionary work in progress known as human empathy, and how knowledge of their existence should drastically influence strategies of conservation and regeneration. We end on a profound note speaking to the role of beauty across species and minds. (Tip: Listen to the end of this episode, the closing is particularly special...) “Culture is Life itself adjusting and responding and expressing to the corner of this galaxy in which it finds itself” - Carl Safina
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Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Photo Credit: Whales, Clark Miller Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 22. Zen Buddhism and the Soul of Lifeworlding - with Brother Spirit and Sister True Dedication / Plum Village | 04 Jun 2024 | 01:25:33 | |
Today’s episode brings us into the heart and philosophy of Zen Buddhism, as practiced by the Plum Village monastic community that was founded in 1982 by the Vietnamese peace activist, monk, poet, and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Today it has grown into Europe’s largest Buddhist monastery, with over 200 resident monks and nuns, and known as one of the most actively engaged Buddhist communities offering insight on the modern world, and on the climate and ecological crises. We’ve spoken on the show about fragmented consciousness, a mind that sees parts and not the whole. Meditation and other Buddhist practices are one of the core ways of how we can heal minds and views. And so we will hear from two Plum Village monks: Sister True Dedication and Brother Spirit. Before entering the monastery, Sister True Dedication studied History & Political Thought at Cambridge University and worked as a journalist for BBC News. In the early years of her monastic training, she assisted Thich Nhat Hanh in their engaged Buddhist actions for human rights, religious freedom, applied ethics, and ecology. Brother Spirit began his monastic training in Plum Village in 2008, and before ordaining he studied mathematics at Cambridge and worked professionally as a composer, and as such has since composed many of the community’s beloved chants. They both helped to found the international Wake Up Movement, a community of young meditators finding new ways to combine mindfulness and engaged Buddhism. We talk about:
Episode Website Link Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Photo credit: Plum Village website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Season 1 | Your Host's Reflections & Resolutions! | 11 Jan 2023 | 00:26:51 | |
My 2023 Reflections and Resolutions from Season One! I created this podcast to explore how people can learn to inhabit the world from multiple perspectives, with the ultimate goal of being able to feel the Earth’s body as our own body. In this episode, I start the year and tie the bow on the closing of Season One, by looking back over our twenty or so conversations and harvesting the rich learnings and patterns that emerged across the show. There are three consistent topics I unearthed:
It’s just me today with you in this episode, so lie back and I hope this harvest brings you inspiration and breadcrumbs to follow into the new year… Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd The Rising by Tryad CCPL Photo Source: Imgur Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Poem | Being Human | 09 Dec 2022 | 00:05:28 | |
Ever since I watched Naima Penniman (from the duet Climbing Poetree) recount her poem in this bewitching video, I’ve returned time and time again to these words, to the simplicity, playfulness, and sheer beauty of her message. For me this poem is medicine. It reminds me of all the silly and wondrous things we human get caught inside of, and then we can wonder, how do other beings on Earth live their experiences of doubt, fear, joys, sorrows… What can we learn from them? Does it really have to be all so complicated after all? Read full poem here: https://www.lifeworld.earth/episodes-blog/poembeinghuman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Nature as Mentor - with Jon Young | 29 Nov 2022 | 01:02:32 | |
Jon Young brings us into the ancient practice of nature connection mentoring. He describes how mentoring is a virtually extinct craft, and yet occupies critical importance in building the sensory awareness and neurology of young children. We delve into his rich tales of living among the San bushmen of Southern Africa, the role of wildlife tracking and bird language, insights on building ropes with the universe, and a turkey called Pete. For over 40 years, Jon young has been a deep nature connection mentor, wildlife tracker, peacemaker, author, workshop leader, and storyteller. A pioneer in the Western field of nature-based education, he co-founded the Wilderness Awareness School in Washington and the 8 Shields Institute in California. Jon has authored the seminal books What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World (2013), and Coyote's Guide to Connecting to Nature (2007). In 2016, he received the Champion of Environmental Education Award for his life’s work and for fostering the growth of the nature connection movement on a global level. Show Links
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Nature as Mentor - with Darren Silver | 29 Nov 2022 | 00:48:12 | |
You may not yet know what a “vision quest” or a rite of passage is. But these traditions are as ancient as our bones. No matter whom your ancestors were, I would wager that if you travel the family branchings back far enough, you would discover that they too engaged in these ritual processes that tethered them into deeper connection with the earth’s forces. Darren Silver is a rite of passage guide, nature-connected coach, ceremonialist, and educator. For two decades he has been working with ritual, wilderness living skills and guiding transformational experiences into land. A gifted storyteller and apprentice to the old myths, Darren weaves the power of the natural world, vision, and community in devotion to the remembrance of all that we are. We ask: Why does human culture need rites of passage and initiatory ceremonies? What is the role of myth in society? How does the Earth communicate to us, and how can we respond? What is the role of courage in all this? How can we test our limits? Show Links:
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10. Nature as Mentor: Wilderness Rites and Tracking | 29 Nov 2022 | 00:41:49 | |
With Darren Silver & Jon Young. You’ve heard from many voices in previous episodes on how they’ve learned to listen deeply to the world around them. Today, as a fitting closure, we’re going to get into the HOW of all of this, so that you can embark on your own journey. Our two guests are wildlife trackers, wilderness guides, animal language experts and nature connection mentors. What they’ll share is that lifeworlding starts in the body, with core skills that were central to human cultures across time. These are ways of being that our modern world has rendered practically extinct, or rather exotic and primitive. There was a time when the land spoke vividly to each one of us - a snapped twig on a trail, an odor on the breeze, every utterance from a bird’s beak would be harboring a message, guiding you through the savannah or a steep canyon, the stakes here being your survival, your family’s meal for the week, your escape from the jaws of a toothed predator. Imagine the heightened electric body of yours that pulsed through that land. This is a world I long to come home to, again and again. These are the very things that keep me alive. Something visceral and untranslatable happens out there. When I peel away distractions, life becomes crystal clear. There is a sheer simplicity and poetic resonance to everything. Our first guest Darren Silver explains what quests like these entail, and why our culture so desperately needs them. For two decades he’s been working with teenagers and adults in initiatory practice, rituals and wilderness skills. After Darren, you’ll hear from Jon Yong, a renowned elder, a master storyteller, and a pioneer in nature-based education, wildlife tracking and bird language. Jon’s books, How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World and Coyote's Guide to Connecting to Nature, sit proudly on my bookshelf, tattered and dog-eared, having guided me on many an adventure. He’ll bring us delightful tales from his time with the San bushmen of Southern Africa, his love for bird language, and his friendship with a turkey named Pete. Show Links:
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Urban Ecologies - with John Thackara | 15 Nov 2022 | 00:55:44 | |
John Thackara is a writer, curator and professor who develops design agendas for ecological restoration, urban-rural reconnection, and multi-species design. He curated the celebrated Doors of Perception conference for 20 years, first in Amsterdam and later across India; he was commissioner of the UK social innovation biennial Dott 07, and the French design biennial City Eco Lab; and in 2019, he curated the Urban-Rural expo in Shanghai. His last book was How To Thrive In the Next Economy: Designing Tomorrow’s World Today. Here we discuss...
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Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Photo Credit: Jason Klassi via Getty Images Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Urban Ecologies - with Gavin Van Horn | 15 Nov 2022 | 00:46:41 | |
Where does the city begin? How do animals disrupt our associations of what cities are? What even is urban wilderness? Gavin Van Horn, Executive Editor of the Center for Humans and Nature, and author of the books The Way of Coyote: Shared Journeys in the Urban Wilds and Animal Encounters In The Chicago Wilderness, is here to disrupt long-held notions that cities are just concrete masses devoid of other life. Gavin shares his tales from the city of Chicago, stories of brave citizens who transformed their neighbourhoods and rewove a social fabric with pollinator pathways, migratory bird preserves, and a catalytic Greencorps program. We hear about the mutual gaze that is shared between us and other life, and how to dial in to the stories that animals are telling about us among all that urban noise. Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Photo Credit: Jason Klassi via Getty Images Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 9. Urban Ecologies: Where’s Nature in the City? | 15 Nov 2022 | 00:52:28 | |
With Gavin Van Horn & John Thackara. How can people living in urban settings engage with a teeming animal world – right on their doorsteps? Can we design cities from the perspective and the lifeworlds of other species? And by the way, where does the city even begin? How can animals disrupt our associations of what cities are?
Gavin Van Horn is the Executive Editor of the Center for Humans and Nature Press, and is the author of City Creatures: Animal Encounters in the Chicago Wilderness and The Way of Coyote. His story teaches a potent medicine for urban alienation, by honing our awareness to species like coyotes, robins, pollinators, and degraded urban forests. We talk about everyday intimacies, wild mutual gazes, the resplendence of pigeon feathers and examples of mutual healing when people repair urban lands and make nature whole.
John Thackara, writer, curator and professor, develops design agendas for ecological restoration, urban-rural reconnection, and multi-species environments. He curated the celebrated Doors of Perception conference for 20 years, and was commissioner of the UK Social Innovation Biennial and the Urban-Rural Expo in Shanghai. John’s expertise lies in the realm of futures design and next economies, and in our chat he shares compelling examples of urban rural reconnection, such as designers experimenting with microbial lives, the viral phenomenon of weed watching, celebrity farmers in china, and placefulness as a doorway into caring. Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Photo Credit: Jason Klassi via Getty Images Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Multi-species Entanglements - with Dr June Harrower | 01 Nov 2022 | 00:44:11 | |
Specializing in multi-species entanglements under climate change, Dr Juniper Harrower works at the intersection of ecology, art, activism and policy. She uses science methods and a multimedia art practice to investigate human influence on ecological systems, while seeking solutions that protect at-risk species and promote environmental justice. A founding member of the international arts collective The Algae Society Bioart Design Lab, she also founded the environmental arts production company SymbioArtlab. Harrower is the director of the art+science initiative at UC Santa Cruz where she also teaches art. In this episode we discuss the tensions that might exist between the fields of art and science, and how Juniper manages to blend both disciplines in her research. We explore the different ways that each field asks questions, and samples (spoiler: ecology involves a lot of counting), and then move into descriptions of her art exhibitions which reveal the language of leaves, Joshua Trees, mycorrhizal networks, deep plant evolution and settler culture. Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Multi-species Entanglements - with BeeWisdom | 01 Nov 2022 | 00:53:32 | |
How do bees bridge people with nature? What is it like to be seduced by the sounds and smells of the hive? To be touched by a bee? In this conversation with two master beekeepers, we delve into the beauty of working with bees and the broken belief systems and malpractices of the beekeeping industry (spoiler: this involves things like sugar feeding, ‘honey production pressure’, prevention of the swarm, and much more…). They also illuminate why we should rephrase the saying of ‘save the bees’ to a much wider and generative narrative of co-creation. Sandira Belia and Annelieke van der Sluijs are the co-founders of Bee Wisdom, a platform where beekeepers and bee-lovers can learn how to work synergistically with bees, design new forms for natural hives, engage in ethical practices, and join bee grids. They impart a magic and mystery around the inner lives of bees that is a delight to listen to! Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Poetry | A Sunset with Mary Oliver | 26 May 2024 | 00:15:02 | |
Woven together loosely by my narrative, this special episode traces through a selection of five dazzling poems from the Pulitzer-prize winning poet Mary Oliver; bringing us into giddy relationship with the natural world -- with geese and grasshoppers and miracles and scars and existential queries on what makes life worth living. Mary's sharp and gentle perception of nature, her ability to communicate its messages with such simple and profound language, is at once both balm and flame for the soul.
“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.” – Mary Oliver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 8. Multi-species Entanglements, or, How We Become Rapt in Other Lives | 01 Nov 2022 | 00:44:05 | |
With BeeWisdom & Dr June Harrower. Today on lifeworlds, we’re going to spend some time with the humming, buzzing, delectable nectar of the bees. Sandira Belia and Annelieke van der Sluijs are beekeepers and co-founders of Bee Wisdom, a platform where beekeepers and bee lovers can learn how to work synergistically with bees. They’re here to unveil the mysterious, inner lives of the bee world. These days, many conversations about bees focus on their collapse, which can obscure and take us further away from the magic and mysteries of the bees. Could we instead learn to ask each other, have you ever been seduced by a bee? By the sounds and smells of the hive? Have you ever been healed by a bee? And how do beekeeping practices change when you start to see the world from the perspective and lifeworlds of the bees? We then speak with Dr Juniper Harrower, a scientist who uses her multimedia art practice to investigate the human influence on ecological systems. Juniper is a founding member of the international arts collective The Algae Society Bioart Design Lab, founded the environmental arts production company SymbioArtlab and is the director of the art+science initiative at UC Santa Cruz. With Juniper we explore the theme of entanglement through making art and science with other species. She shows us how art and science can be complementary and yet drastically different helping answer research questions, and describes her current art exhibitions which reveal the secret language of leaves, Joshua Trees, mycorrhizal networks, deep plant evolution and settler culture. Whether it’s through art, beekeeping, scientific study, or whatever else inspires you, ask yourself, how am I entangled in a web of other lives? How can I deepen this relationship so that it becomes a true collaboration? And have some fun with it. Hopefully today’s guests can inspire that creativity. Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Bedtime Story | Extinction is Loneliness | 30 Oct 2022 | 00:09:20 | |
I wrote this piece in a 6am flurry of sunrise inspiration, the words pouncing through me, stirred by a combination of books I’d been reading on plant science and deep evolutionary history (thank you, Stephen Harrod Buhner and Thomas Halliday). All too often we read headlines about extinction or climate change, and it can be difficult to relate. Difficult for emotions to flow and process. I think we need to bring these notions intimately home, into the utterly personal, into the first-person experience of what it’s like to lose something forever. I wrote this piece from the perspective of life itself, relishing and feeling all the parts of its splendorous body. It brings me tears and yet such sheer gratitude that we live inside of this kind of world... That we are this. There are still so many possibilities. Please sit back and enjoy this rather different bedtime story. Find the written piece here. And pair with this song for something delicious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Ecocentric Law - with Abhayraj Naik | 18 Oct 2022 | 00:48:36 | |
Today I’m joined by Abhayraj Naik, a lawyer and activist-academic who teaches interdisciplinary courses on climate, environment, justice, law, policy, and research methods in universities across India. We discuss the trajectory of the Rights of Nature in India, and how this legal approach differentiates itself from other forms of environmental law. Abhayraj shares why the Rights of Nature can catalyse entirely new world views on the human relationship to nature, and the thrilling, often philosophical, new sets of questions they unleash (who gets to speak on behalf of nature? How might one cross examine nature?). We engage in a fun thought experiment on who should at the table when creating representation for natural beings, the skills required to implement such laws, the Rights of the River Ganga, and how the RON movement intersects with other religious or indigenous cultural traditions. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/lawabhayraj-naik Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Ecocentric Law — with Dr John Borrows & Lindsay Borrows | 18 Oct 2022 | 00:58:40 | |
The wonderful father-daughter duo of Dr John Borrows and Lindsay Borrows explore questions such as: Is law a noun or a verb? How can we read the archive of the law that is written upon the Earth? What exactly is indigenous law, and how can it serve to revitalise colonial law? John Borrows has transformed Canada’s understanding of how indigenous and non-indigenous law can co-exist and created the world's first dual Indigenous law program at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. His publications include Recovering Canada; The Resurgence of Indigenous Law and Drawing Out Law. He is the 2017 Killam Prize winner in Social Sciences and the 2019 Molson Prize Winner from the Canada Council for the Arts, the 2020 Governor General’s Innovation Award. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020. John is a members of the Chippewa First Nation in Ontario, Canada. Lindsay Keegitah Borrows is mixed-rooted Anishinaabe and a citizen of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation. She is a lawyer, writer and teacher, whose work aims to support Indigenous communities to revitalize their traditional laws for application in contemporary contexts. She has worked with many legal traditions including Anishinaabe, Haíɫzaqv, Mi’kmaq, nuučaan̓uł, St’át’imc, Denezhu, Tsilhqot’in and Māori. She has worked as a lawyer at the Indigenous Law Research Unit (University of Victoria Faculty of Law), and at West Coast Environmental Law. She is a new professor at Queen's University Faculty of Law. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/lawjonandlindsay Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 7. Ecocentric Law: The Rights of Nature and Natural Law | 18 Oct 2022 | 00:39:59 | |
With Dr John Borrows, Lindsay Borrows & Abhayraj Naik. This week we’re traveling from British Columbia to Bangalore, exploring two different legal systems that are revolutionizing the very foundations of our global system of law. In transforming how we advocate and litigate on behalf of nature, these approaches require legal professionals to develop a whole new series of skills and sensibilities which revolve around translating the lifeworlds of other beings. The wonderful daughter-father duo of Lindsay and John Borrows will talk about indigenous law systems in Canada. They are both lawyers and members of the Chippewas of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario. John created the world's first dual Indigenous law program at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, and Lindsay’s work supports Indigenous communities in revitalizing their traditional laws for contemporary contexts. What I found so astonishing about this conversation is how indigenous law is written in the land itself, as a verb, a living being. Nature is the professor. Their case laws brim with interspecies stories. We’ll then jump into the Rights of Nature with Abhayraj Naik. The Rights of Nature is a legal tool, now present in over 15 countries and 50 cities around the world, that confers the rights usually given to human beings over to other forms of life. Why does this matter? Put quite bluntly, under the current system of law in almost every country, nature is our slave. He’ll get into some fascinating components of the RON in India and the thrilling, often philosophical, new sets of questions they open up. Abhayraj is an activist-academic legal practitioner, co-founder of the Initiative for Climate Action, and holds degrees from the National Law School of India University and the Yale Law School. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/ecocentriclaw Show Links:
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Designs For Life - with Herb Hammond | 27 Sep 2022 | 00:43:00 | |
Herb’s career in British Columbia has centered on forestry, land based communities and natural systems. From his work as a conventional forester he went all the way to launching an embodied learning forestry school and The Silva Forest Foundation, which he ran with his wife for 30 years. They developed over 25 nature-based plans across Canada, and around the world, upending ways that large landscape management was done by communities. In our conversation, we speak about the role of intuition and heart based thinking in developing nature-directed communities, how you get everyone on board, and the differences in indigenous thinking when it comes to forests. We also touch on the absurdity of exporting wood pellets for ‘biofuels’, how decaying wood acts as a natural sponge cleaning precious water, why “sustainable” forestry is not so sustainable, and his experience of getting the skeptical to hug a tree. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/natureplansherbhammond Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Designs For Life - with Dr Tara Martin | 27 Sep 2022 | 00:54:26 | |
I had the delightful honor of meeting Tara Martin when I lived on Vancouver Island. We canoed out to a tiny Salish Sea sand island and shared a delicious sunset picnic among old growth forests. I love Tara because she is a rare breed of scientist that can seamlessly blend rigorous data science and ecological analysis with deep intuition and cultural insight. In this interview, we cover the basics of conservation decision science and “priority threat management” - a field she is pioneering - and how it can help policymakers prioritise complex conservation decisions. We discuss her lab’s work in the Frasier River Estuary and with First Nations across Canada. Listen to her vivid descriptions of lost eco-cultural landscapes, how she worked to save a preserved island and returned it back to indigenous stewards, how to have a seat at the table for the salmon, the role of art and beauty in conservation and the old-growth herbaceous elders that are hiding just out of sight. Tara is a Professor in Conservation Decision Science with the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She is also the Liber Ero Chair in Conservation at UBC and is a pioneer in the field of Conservation Decision Science. Tara was recently awarded The Nature Conservancy Professor in Practice Award and is a member of the IUCN Climate Change Specialist Group and co-leads the Climate Adaptation Theme. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/natureplanstaramartin Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 6. Designs For Life: Priority Threat Management and Nature-Based Plans | 27 Sep 2022 | 00:50:57 | |
With Dr Tara Martin & Herb Hammond. Today we are joined by Dr. Tara Martin and Herb Hammond, who have pioneered fascinating methods in developing large-scale maps and management plans for biodiverse, high-priority conservation landscapes. What really sets them apart is their ability to integrate both cutting edge Western science and indigenous worldviews, a synthesis called "two-eyed seeing."
In these interviews, they debunk the misguided idea that separating humans from nature is the best way to restore and manage ecosystems, and show instead how human touch is vital in tending to the land. Tara and Herb are bridge builders, between the hard data science and predictive modelling, between governments and policy, along with private investment, and most importantly, the lived realities on the ground.
Dr Tara Martin is a scientist, professor, and the founder of the Martin Conservation Decisions Lab at the University of British Columbia. We cover the basics of conservation decision science and “priority threat management” (a tool she’s pioneered) and discuss her lab’s work with First Nations across Canada, especially in the Fraser River Estuary, along with the role of art and beauty. Peppered throughout the interview are glorious descriptions of the eco-cultural landscapes that she’s worked tirelessly to protect.
Herb Hammond is one of the most respected elders in the space of nature-based planning. Herb started out as a conventional forester but soon became dispirited with the destructive practices of the industry, and went on to found The Silva Forest Foundation which he ran with his wife Susie for 30 years. Over the course of their career they’ve developed over 25 large scale nature-directed plans for Canada and around the world, upending ways that landscape management is conceived and implemented. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/naturebasedplans Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Meditation | Deep Ecology | 20 Sep 2022 | 00:24:52 | |
Without being awake in our bodies We can’t feel how our bodies belong to this earth Feel the touch of the world upon you. This one I will keep brief, and allow the practice to speak for itself. Find a quiet place where you will be undisturbed for half an hour. If you can be outdoors, that’s even better. And settle in, allow yourself to be guided and drift into deep connection with the forces of our home planet. Recorded in the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica -- thank you to all the birds and creatures who feature in this episode. I hope I have your consent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] The Indigenous View - with Joe Martin (Tutakwisnapšiƛ) | 13 Sep 2022 | 00:52:46 | |
This is a beautiful conversation with Joe Martin, who is also known by his traditional name Tutakwisnapšiƛ. We speak about his work as a master canoe and totem pole carver, and role as an elder in his community. Joe is a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation living in Tofino, Vancouver Island, and has carved over seventy canoes made from ancient trees. He has sparked a revitalization of this ancient art form in his own community and among neighboring nations in the Pacific Northwest. In our talk, Joe describes how indigenous totem poles serve as visual living texts of natural laws of the land. He shares outlines of the learnings that are handed down in his tradition, from the land to grandparents to children. We learn about the teachings of the wolf, why bears are related to women’s puberty rituals, and how animals show us to only take what we need, and not for our greed. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/indigenousviewjoemartin Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 21. The Science of Plant Intelligence & Neurobiology - with Paco Calvo | 02 Apr 2024 | 01:08:25 | |
Are plants conscious? Do they experience forms of cognition and intelligence that go beyond patterned and hard-wired evolutionary behaviors? Do intelligence and consciousness really require a brain and central nervous system? Or should we consider intelligence on Earth to be less brain-bound, perhaps not even residing in the individual self, but rather in an enmeshment within an ecosystem? A swarm intelligence, a networked mind, distributed, adaptive, like a murmuration of starlings in the setting sun. And how would we even begin to start answering these questions empirically? Today it is my explicit intention to change the way that you think about the kingdom of plants and the intelligence that resides within it. This is a controversial topic with scientists on all sides of the spectrum vehemently advocating for or against concepts. It was Darwin who first introduced to the Western world the concept of the "root brain" hypothesis, where the tips of plant roots act in some ways like a brain, a distributed intelligence network. They challenge our very notions of an individual. Plants exhibit qualities that are adaptive, flexible, and goal directed – all hallmarks of an intelligence that goes beyond hard wired impulsive responses. They make decisions, perform predictive modeling, share nutrients and recognize kin. Electrical and chemical signalling systems have been identified in plants very similar to those found in the nervous systems of animals, including neurotransmitters like dopamine and melatonin. Our guest today is Paco Calvo, a professor at the University of Murcia in Spain, where he leads the Minimal Intelligence Lab focusing on the study of minimal cognition in plants. He combines insights from biology, philosophy, and cognitive science to explore plant behavior, decision-making, and problem-solving, challenging conventional perspectives of his field. Paco has said that ‘to ‘know thyself’, one has to think well beyond oneself, or even one’s species. We are only one small part of a kaleidoscopic variety of ways of being alive. Episode Website Link Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] The Indigenous View - with Tyson Yunkaporta | 13 Sep 2022 | 00:57:37 | |
A delightful yarn with Tyson Yunkporta, Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and author of Sand Talk. Tyson is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland, Australia. On this episode we discuss:
Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/indigenousviewtysonyunkaporta Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 5. The Indigenous View: Protocols, Ceremony and Totem Poles | 13 Sep 2022 | 00:45:34 | |
With Tyson Yunkaporta & Joe Martin (Tutakwisnapšiƛ). Today we’re joined by two master indigenous scholars and artists, who will be laying down clues from their ancestral cultures on how to interpret and read the laws of the land. Our first conversation is what he likes to call a yarn, with Tyson Yunkporta, Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland, Australia. Tyson is the author of the book Sand Talk which was wildly successful, and I reckon part of its popularity is the way that Tyson is able to pack in such punchy wisdom along with his sharp-witted, trickster humor. We discuss how their lab collects data and knowledge through a very special indigenous sense-making protocol, and then applies it to issues like economic reform, broken landscapes, cyber safety and neuroscience. We delve into the importance of engaging with place, why a real ceremony is not all fun and games, and how the west can quit longing and start acting in rediscovering its own indigeneity.
We’ll then visit wisdom holder and elder Joe Martin, who will be speaking to us from British Columbia. Joe is a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and is a master canoe and totem pole carver, with over seventy canoes having been whittled and chiselled away by his hands. Just earlier this July, he and his community raised a new totem pole in ceremony at the ancient village of Opitsaht which depicts his family’s teachings of natural law. I’ve uploaded videos of the totem poles in the show notes, where you can see how each pole carries millennia old myths, stories and teachings about the human relationship with forces like the bear, wolf, raven, sun, moon and stars.
I hope that both of these conversations will entice you to uncover and excavate your own family lineage, all the brimming folk tales and myths and lifeworlds held by your people and the land where your blood and cosmologies sprouted from. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/indigenousview Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Money: In Service of Nature? - with Eric Smith | 30 Aug 2022 | 00:58:58 | |
Eric Smith has spent his career working at the intersection of economics and nature. Most recently he was the director of the venture capital vehicle Neglected Climate Opportunities (NCO) at the Grantham Environmental Trust, where he co-led over 40 direct investments in start-ups across all stages that can remove carbon and GHG at scale. He was previously with SJF Ventures and worked for BlackRock on climate finance, and currently is Founder/CEO of Edacious, a company working to differentiate food quality and connect the dots between soil and human health. Eric is also a dear friend and someone with whom I often converse on our shared focus of investing on behalf of nature. We were both in Mexico for a climate investing conference and caught up, beachside sand rolling in, on everything from:
Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/financeericsmith Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Money: In Service of Nature? - with Lorenzo de Rosensweig | 30 Aug 2022 | 00:55:43 | |
Lorenzo de Rosenzweig is what you might call an “OG” (original gangster) of the conservation finance world. An engineer and marine biologist by training, for 25 years he was president of a $170 million endowment conservation trust fund - the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature - and for over 17 years he was chairman of the Mesoamerican Reef Fund. During his tenure in both institutions he led resource mobilization efforts that raised close to $410 million. He’s a member of the board of the Conservation Finance Alliance Executive Committee, the World Environment Center, The Healthy Reefs Initiative, and several other global trust funds. Now “retired” he has started up a new enterprise, Terra Habitus A.C. — a regional environmental fund for Northern Mexico, focused on private lands conservation, borderlands cooperation, regenerative ranching, resource mobilization and environmental journalism. Lorenzo is also a nature photographer and a watercolor artist, and is working on his first fiction book, a collection of illustrated essays on human nature and biodiversity called “Impossible animals in improbable environments”. With this long list of accolades, and a long-time friendship and mentorship between us, who better to dig into the tricky questions surrounding finance’s relationship to the living world? Join us as we talk about deep time and becoming a good ancestor; how to activate our senses and capacities to see the world for what it is; how to reconcile nature’s timelines with financial timelines; and some vivid tales on one lucky whale that saved a pelagic ecosystem from destruction. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/financelorenzoderosenzweig Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 4. Money: In Service of Nature? | 30 Aug 2022 | 00:55:12 | |
With Lorenzo de Rosensweig & Eric Smith. This week we’re asking whether it’s possible to support the lifeworlds of nature with the very same tools that have caused them harm. We’ll be joined by Lorenzo de Rosenzweig, who has headed Latin America’s largest nature conservation trusts for over three decades. And Eric Smith, from the Grantham Neglected Climate Opportunities Fund and Edacious, will talk about venture capital investing in nature based solutions. I’m interested in this topic because I invest capital in projects that regenerate nature through my vehicle Ground Effect. In that work I constantly encounter philosophical and practical tensions – namely that complex natural systems and the trillions of processes that enable life to exist can never be fully translated and priced by markets. Numbers and metrics can’t tell us about the touch of rough bark or the flutter of a beetle’s wing against our skin. And because money is fungible, it can often efface all distinctions and trigger the further commodification and abstraction of a living ecology. And yet finance can be used beneficially on behalf of nature. We can look at the maturing industry of biodiversity markets which attempt to move beyond single metrics like carbon, or debt for nature swaps, blue bonds, true cost accounting, payments for ecosystem services, and even more radical ideas like DAOs where nature owns itself. I’ve uploaded resources on the Lifeworlds library for those who want to go deeper on these innovations. Perhaps then, the conversation of “finance for nature” is about finding the right balance of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, and acknowledging where the role of markets begins and ends in the wider spectrum of systems change. Show Links:
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Song | Mushroom Dance | 27 Aug 2022 | 00:24:52 | |
“An improvisation with the natural vibrations of a certain place and time – via plant bioelectricity, latent electromagnetic radiation, and even the earth’s resonant hum…” Tarun Nayar, musician and biologist, captures the song of a mushroom’s bioelectricity, using the movement of water inside fungi and plants as electrical resistance. Like human skin, a mushroom skin possesses electrical properties which can be transposed into sound. For more plant music, check out his page and full album. let’s protect wild places ✨ listen to plant ragas 🌱🎶 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] The Inner Lives of Fungi - with Sophie Strand | 16 Aug 2022 | 01:02:51 | |
Woodchucks and bald eagles. Fungal fermentation. Compost heaps. Animism. Deviant animal sex. Disability. Jesus and Dionysus. Fungi, microbes, and the divine feminine critique. It’s never a dull conversation with the brilliant and freewheeling articulate writer, poet and philosopher Sophie Strand. Kick back and enjoy the ride. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/fungisophiestrand Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] The Inner Lives of Fungi - with Giuliana Furci | 16 Aug 2022 | 00:57:14 | |
Introducing Giuliana Furci. The woman who has been chosen by the fungi. The mother who is in love with the mould that grows on lemons. The founder and CEO of the Fungi Foundation, a Harvard University Associate, Dame of the Order of the Star of Italy (!), and Co-Chair of the IUCN Fungal Conservation Committee. We travel through the day in the life of a fungi; how moving beyond plant and animal-centric language transforms our perception of the world; what it’s like to be on a bone-chilling fungal expedition in Patagonia; what the fungi can teach us about loneliness and rot; the perils around fungal IP, and why you should always go pee behind trees. #thefutureisfungi Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/fungigiulianafurci Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 3. The Inner Lives of Fungi - Expeditions, Advocacy and Poetics | 16 Aug 2022 | 00:45:11 | |
With Giuliana Furci & Sophie Strand. Oh, the fungi! Without them we’d have no plants, no trees, no chocolate, no beer, yogurt, baked bread – all the good things! Yet despite their burgeoning popularity, science has barely scratched the surface of mapping and understanding the hidden world of fungi. The more we learn, the more these ecosystem architects warp our minds of what we think is possible. They digest toxic radiochemical waste. Their mycelium networks with plant roots are the planet’s ecological stock exchanges. They stitch together ecosystems, sequester carbon, drive global nutrient cycles and underpin the world’s biodiversity. The entire way this kingdom of life sees and lives, its experienced lifeworld, is so entirely different to anything else on this planet.
Today we hear from two very distinct voices who speak on behalf of fungi. Giuliana Furci is the founder of the Fungi Foundation, the world’s first association that works on behalf of fungi, and Chile’s first female mycologist. Giuliana is a Harvard University Associate, Dame of the Order of the Star of Italy, and Co-Chair of the IUCN Fungal Conservation Committee. Sophie Strand is one of the most brilliant rising writers on everything ranging from ecology, myth, mycelium and animism. With Sophie we traverse the terrain of fungal fermentation, compost heaps, deviant animal sex (yes you read that correctly), living with disability, Jesus, and fungal gods. It’s a good one. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/the-inner-lives-of-fungi Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Photo Credit: Steven Axford Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Poem | Sometimes a Wild God | 10 Aug 2022 | 00:05:06 | |
Following the episodes on rewilding, I wanted to drive the message of wildness home with this spellbinding poem by Tom Hirons. It gives me chills every time I listen to it, remembering all the animals, all the chthonic forces, that we refuse to let in, the wild madness we long and thirst for, the shuddering pact we’ve made with this world before we were born. Read the poem on: https://www.lifeworld.earth/episodes/poemwildgod Photo credit: Francesco Sambo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Soulfire Sessions I: with Daniel Schmachtenberger | 19 Mar 2024 | 00:57:46 | |
Soulfire Sessions have come to Lifeworlds! These occasional special episodes will be our take on the good old concept of a fireside chat. Intimate, philosophical, challenging, sometimes zany, always insightful, these are discussions with visionaries who don’t often get the airtime to speak about their deeper ways of being and feeling – and what lights their souls on fire. In this first session I speak with my dear friend Daniel Schmachtenberger, a social philosopher and founding director of the Civilisation Research Institute. Daniel has a particular interest in the topics of catastrophic and existential risk, artificial intelligence, civilization and institutional decay and collapse as well as progress, collective action problems, social organization theories, and the relevant domains in philosophy and science. With the fire roaring, we delve into the psychological and metaphysical underpinnings of the metacrisis, traversing topics such as fragmented consciousness, Daoism, wholeness, feeling in service to thinking, dharma enquiries, conflict theory, and what it might mean to live a meaningful life. Links:
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Rewilding - with Kris Tompkins | 02 Aug 2022 | 01:04:00 | |
Kristine Tompkins is an American conservationist who is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, and former CEO of Patagonia. For nearly thirty years, along with her late husband Doug Tompkins, she has been protecting and restoring wild beauty and biodiversity by creating national parks, restoring wildlife, inspiring activism and economic vitality across 14.7 million acres of parklands in Chile and Argentina. Kris is Chair of National Geographic Society’s Last Wild Places campaign, the first conservationist to be awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the United Nations’ Global Patron for Protected Areas. Kris shares with us just what "wild" means to her, how she transitioned from being a high-rolling businesswoman to living in the Chilean bush, the role of beauty in her life and why macaws need to befriend robots. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/rewildingkristompkins Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| [Full Interview] Rewilding - with Derek Gow | 02 Aug 2022 | 00:55:47 | |
With his hilariously sharp-witted, no-nonsense approach and radiating descriptions of nature’s landscapes, Derek Gow is a force to contend with. He’s been one of the most vocal actors in the reintroduction of missing keystone species in England such as the beaver, the water vole and the white stork, butting heads with obnoxious lobbyists and government officials. He is currently rewilding his 300-acre farm on the Devon/Cornwall border where the Eurasian lynx, wild boar and harvest mice make home. Our conversation ranges from the obstacles that prevent society in re-introducing critical species, all the way to Elizabethan fat bishops and voles that Gorgonzola river banks for other species to thrive. What is the mindset that sees all of land as "mine"? When were wolves seen as Gods, and what would it have been like to be a medieval traveller coming across one of these creatures “sodden like a Michelin man on a country path”? What barbarities have we committed against other species, and why should you think twice when buying herds of prehistoric Heck cattle? Yep, this is a fun and brilliant one. (Listener tip: Derek packs more into a sentence that I could hope to do in a lifetime. Play at 1.5x at your own peril!) Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/rewildingderekgow Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 2. Rewilding – The Return of Exuberant Landscapes | 02 Aug 2022 | 00:49:54 | |
With Derek Gow & Kris Tompkins. The rewilding movement is currently sweeping across the world’s landscapes, restoring ecologies and species, re-naturalising rivers and forests. Our two guests are trailblazers in this space – first we hear from Kristine Tompkins, ex-CEO of Patagonia who, together with her late husband Doug Tompkins, have protected over 14 million acres of wildlands and national parks across Latin America, along with over 30 million acres of marine areas. Kristine is Chair of the National Geographic Society’s Last Wild Places campaign and was the first conservationist to be awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Then we speak with Derek Gow, who is infamous amongst insider rewilding circles for his leadership in the re-introduction of the beaver back into European landscapes. Through Derek, and his delightfully funny and informative book 'Bringing back the Beaver', I’ve become somewhat obsessed with beavers. He’s been one of the most vocal actors in the reintroduction of missing keystone species in England such as the beaver, the water vole and the white stork, butting heads with obnoxious lobbyists and government officials. He is currently rewilding his 300-acre farm on the Devon/Cornwall border where the Eurasian lynx, wild boar and harvest mice make home. This episode covers the basics of rewilding and goes into different models of restoring ecosystems into their rightful states, all the while discussing the mental impediments and frustrations that can occur in the attempt to rewild the most stubborn species of all — the human being. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/rewilding Show Links:
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Photo of flower: Maewenn Bourcelot @maochan.talamoni Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Practice | Sensing Place | 28 Jul 2022 | 00:11:33 | |
This is the first of the Lifeworlds ‘bonus’ episodes, designed to help us tune in somatically to the living world. We need to be grounding our connection to other lifeworlds into our very bodies for them to become lasting and real. Here we discover how to access these states through things like mindfulness, art, wilderness practices and poetry. Today's exercise is about understanding the ground we stand on. The place that we call home. After a brief introduction, I present a series of prompts for you to do in your own time, over several weeks and months. It involves mapping out ecosystems, following trails of water, making a calendar of minute shifts in nature's ebbs and flows, and tuning in to the humming frequencies of what's around you. Download the list and practice on: https://www.lifeworld.earth/episodes/practicesensingplace A useful tool for identifying species: https://www.inaturalist.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||