Humanity is a storied species - everything we do from forming partnerships, to buying stuff, to moving house, to getting a new job… arises from the stories we tell ourselves and each other about ourselves and each other. If we’re going to shift to a new way of being, the route will be led by the stories we can build of how it will look and feel, how we’ll be more alive, more connected, have a deeper sense of being, belonging, becoming… So - how do we tell stories of transformation in ways that e...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Season 19Ep. 3
We know by now that the old system is crumbling, that the old paradigms are no longer fit for purpose and we need to take part in the birth of something new: this is what this podcast is for. But what are the tools and how can we begin actually to build something relevant and useful within the strictures of a system that is still trying to cling onto legitimacy and power? Michael Haupt was a key figure in the widespread introduction of mobile telephones to South Africa ahead of the first all-rac...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Season 19Ep. 2
How does our increasing destruction of the earth's biosphere also impact our health? What diseases are we seeing in almost pandemic proportions and how much younger are the people in whom we're seeing them? Above all, what can we do to step away from the system that's extracting everything from us - our health, our futures and our potential to be good ancestors? Our guest this week is Jenny Goodman who is a doctor - and also an author. Her first book, Staying Alive in Toxic TimesL A seasonal gui...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 48 min•Season 19Ep. 1
If the current electoral/governance system is not fit for purpose (and who could possibly imagine it was?) how can we lay the foundations for new ways of organising democracy, new ways of voting, new ideas of what governance is for and how it could work in the twenty-first century. How, in short, do we create space for future generations to be able to decide their own futures in ways that are not constrained by material or political strictures they've inherited from us? In this fourth election s...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 19Ep. 9
The question of how we reshape democracy, walking the fine line between stagnation and populist rage - is the defining problem of our time - with a coherent strategy, we can shape anything. In its absence, we’re going to end up spinning in pointless circles, arguing about trivia while the world burns. We set this podcast up months ago, thinking we’d talk about the example Scotland sets for the UK and the rest of the world as a way *maybe) to shape democracy. And then Nicola Sturgeon stepped down...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Season 18Ep. 15
What are we being offered by the incoming Labour Government? What's good in their Manifesto (spoiler alert, not very much)? What's not good? What could be improved upon and how do we go about pushing them to a place where they actually do something useful that isn't simply a repeat of the same-old, same-old we've had for the past decade and a half? Our third Election Special Guest is Dr Jeremy Gilbert, professor of culture and political theory at the University of East London. He's the author of...
Jun 23, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 18Ep. 13
Today we're blowing open a route towards energy security, reduced carbon footprint and saving money - all in the way we make, distribute and use power. If each of us could minimise our own power use, we'd be a step on the way to reducing our overall carbon footprint: more, we'd be changing the ways we think of ourselves as separate from the web of life. This week's guest is long time friend of the podcast Howard Johns. Howard is an activist, author, and serial entrepreneur in the field of energy...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 18Ep. 14
Our guest this week is Richard Smyth, author, crossword designer, cartoonist - and father of two young children Richard writes features, reviews and comment pieces for publications including The Guardian , The Times LiterarySupplement , The New Statesman, and New Scientist. His crosswords – both cryptic and quiz – appear regularly in New Scientist , History Today , and BBC Wildlife . He's part of the team that sets questions for BBC Mastermind , and he's a cartoonist: Private Eye , New Humanist ...
Jun 12, 2024•59 min•Season 18Ep. 12
in this second election special, we talk to Natalie Bennett (or Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle if we're going to be forma - but she said we didn't need to be) - one of two Green Party members in the House of Lords. Natalie is author of the Book 'Change Everything: How we can rethink, repair and rebuild society' - one of the essential books of our time that outlines in detail how we can create the total systemic change we need. Natalie will be back in the autumn to discuss this in more detail, ...
Jun 10, 2024•38 min•Season 18Ep. 11
Our guest this week is Dr Deborah Benham, Biomimicry Educator, Transition Town Co-Lead Link and Deep Nature Connection facilitator - which puts her in a place to really unpick what it will take for us to depart the crumbling remains of late-stage capitalism and build a world based on connection, coherence and community. From her early days as a Marine Biologist, through her PhD on sea otters (I am not remotely envious of someone who gets to study sea otters for 3 years!), to her time in a commun...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 18Ep. 10
Buy Manda's book here Our first Election Special with friend of the podcast, Neal Lawson. Neal is Director of the progressive campaign group, Compass and co-host of the Compass podcast ,called It's Bloody Complicated. Neal is a long-time progressive campaigner and a tireless advocate for Proportional Representation as a vehicle for radical progressive change in the way we do politics. In this swift half hour, we look at the circumstances of this utterly unexpected election and Neal explains the ...
Jun 04, 2024•37 min•Season 18Ep. 9
This week's guest, Jessica Bockler is one of those people who sparks every fire in my being - and i hope in yours, too. Jessica is an applied theatre practitioner and transpersonal psychologist who co-founded the Alef Trust a globally-conscious non-profit organisation offering online graduate education programmes , and open learning courses for people who want really to step into what Indy Johar so beautifully calls the emergent edge of Inter-Becoming. Jessica is integral to the Nurturing the Fi...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 18Ep. 8
Once in a while, a book comes along that changes how we see the world, that re-sets something fundamental in who we are and our capacity to engage with the Web of Life. Braided Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer was one of these: at once poetically beautiful, spiritually inspiring and deeply thought-provoking. And now Osprey Orielle Lake has written ' The Story is in our Bones: How Worldview and Climate Justice can Remake a World in Crisis '. This is a genuinely beautiful book on every level: ful...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 18Ep. 7
This week the tables are turned and Maddy Harland, editor of Permaculture Magazine interviews Manda about her new 'seismic' Mytho-Political thriller, Any Human Power , which will be available from 30th May. " From a bestselling storyteller who brings together myths and speculative futures with a radical compassion, comes the story of a family at the heart of a political crisis and the ensuing uprising of a disenfranchised generation. A family that harnesses the skills and stories needed for real...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Season 18Ep. 5
Join us on a deep dive into the transformative world of composting with Nicky Grady Scott, a master composter and educator whose expertise is revolutionizing our approach to waste and regenerative cycles. In this enlightening episode, Nicky shares his journey from a passionate 16-year-old working with compost to the establishment of community-led recycling projects that have evolved into thriving businesses. Discover the science and simplicity behind composting, the importance of soil health, an...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 18Ep. 4
Author Stephen Markley opens the doors to The Deluge, his ground-breaking, world-changing Climate/MetaCrisis thriller- 900 pages that absolutely squarely rips into the current system in all its deficiencies - and offers a route through to a future that might work. This week's guest is someone who has mapped out a possible future in a depth and detail that leaves me awestruck. Stephen Markley's first published novel Ohio, was described as a wild, angry, and devastating masterpiece of a book. Step...
May 01, 2024•49 min•Season 18Ep. 3
In this deep, thoughtful conversation, two of the men at the heart of the Climate Majority Project discuss their own journeys into eco-spirituality - what they believe it to be and why it's a core, foundational bedrock of their lives. If you follow anything else that Faith and I do together, you'll know that we believe heart-felt connection to the All That Is forms the bedrock of human existence and is the pathway to human flourishing, to our being good ancestors, to laying that foundation on wh...
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 18Ep. 2
We're told so often that people 'don't want the nanny state to intervene' in what we eat or drink or smoke - and often the people saying this are those who employ literal nannies to raise their children. But is it true? What would we learn if someone courageous, with vision, depth and care were to find ways to ask ordinary people what they really feel? #TheFoodConversation is huge - in scope and depth and duration - but more in terms of what it teaches us about how people actually feel, what the...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 18Ep. 1
Our guest this week is Douglas Rushkoff, a man whose insights and intellect have earned him a place among the world's ten most influential intellectuals by MIT. As the host of the acclaimed Team Human podcast and author of numerous groundbreaking books, including "Survival of the Richest," Rushkoff's work delves into the intricate dance between technology, narrative, money, power, and human connection. Douglas shares with us the palpable "ocean of tears" lurking beneath the surface of our collec...
Apr 10, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 17Ep. 14
This week's guest is one of those people whose breadth and depth is an inspiration. As you are about to hear, Jenny Grettve is an author, a philosopher, a systems thinker who takes her ideas and brings them alive in the world. She's the founder and director of When! When!, a design studio that tests and actively implements ideas and projects on systemic transformation with the goal of slowing down our speeding meta crisis. When!When! regards simplicity as a tool for innovation and create a beaut...
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 17Ep. 16
Today we venture into the heart of Hull, where the seeds of change are being sown by the hands of ordinary people. Gully Bujak, our guest this week, is a force of nature who, since her awakening to the climate crisis in 2018, has channeled her energy into the creation of Cooperation Hull, a beacon of participatory democracy and local empowerment. Drawing inspiration from the groundbreaking work of Cooperation Jackson in Mississippi, Gully and her team have set their sights on the city of Hull, a...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 17Ep. 15
This week's guest is one of those who understands the nuts and bolts - the iniquities - of the current system - and has ideas of how we can shape something better from the hot mess of corruption and greed in which we're mired. Grace Blakeley is a staff writer at Tribune Magazine and author of several books, including 'Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom' in which she peels back the layers of our economic system, exposing the stark realities hidden ben...
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 17Ep. 18
"Consciousness creates Matter Language creates Reality Ritual creates Relationship" - Oscar Mira-Quesada quoted by Nina Simons in podcast #218 Part of our moving towards a healed and healthy culture for humanity is rewilding our relationships with ourselves, each other and the earth. A key part of this is building rituals that have meaning for us in the context of these relationships. Connecting to the cycles of the earth is a straightforward ritual that acknowledges, honours and respects the wo...
Mar 19, 2024•27 min•Season 17Ep. 17
In this nourishing episode of Accidental Gods, we delve into the fertile world of seed sovereignty with Katie Hastings and Sinead Fortune of the Gaia Foundation's Seed Sovereignty Programme. Katie, hailing from the lush landscapes of Wales, and Sinead, rooted in the rugged beauty of rural Aberdeenshire, share their passion for reviving ancient grains and fostering communities of growth. Embark on a journey through the tales of black oats, a crop once on the brink of oblivion, now experiencing a ...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 17Ep. 12
“Respect is earned. Honesty is appreciated. Trust is gained. Loyalty is returned.” — Oscar Auliq Ice - quoted on Savimbo website In this pivotal episode, we journey with Drea Burbank from the depths of a fundamentalist Mormon cult to the rainforests of the Colombian Amazon. Drea's life story, chronicled in her book "Shaman Gurl" (linked in the show notes), is a testament to human resilience and the quest for truth. From her escape over the mountains, through the fiery trials of being a firefight...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 17Ep. 13
In this week's episode of Accidental Gods, we dive into the visionary world of economic transformation with Emily Harris of Dark Matter Labs. Emily, a chartered accountant with an MA in regenerative economics, is not your average number cruncher. She's at the forefront of reimagining our financial systems, exploring the intersection of technology, governance, and the natural world. Join us as Emily unveils the bold concept of life-enabling economics (LEE) and the radical aspiration of establishi...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Season 17Ep. 11
In this week's episode we delve into the intricate world of dung beetles and their critical role in regenerative farming with the passionate and knowledgeable Claire Whittle, the Regenerative Vet. Claire's journey from a conventional large animal practitioner to a fervent advocate for farming in harmony with nature is not only inspiring but also a testament to the profound impact one species can have on the environment. With her vivid and captivating storytelling, Claire brings to life the bustl...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 17Ep. 10
This week, I spoke with James Plunkett, a man who has spent his career at the intersection of policy and social change. From the halls of Number Ten to the charity sector's front lines, James's unique perspective has birthed a book that critically examines what's wrong with our society and offers tangible fixes. Together, we dissect our societal challenges, from outdated institutions to the technology of gods, and discuss structured ways to mend a fractured system. James has spent his entire car...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 17Ep. 9
We don't have a democracy, we have a kleptocracy that elevates to positions of power those amongst us who are most comfortable with leaning into their inner Dark Triad of Psychopathy, Narcissism and basic low cunning. Then, when they get there, we're surprised that they go on to wreak havoc with all that we believe to be good and right and beautiful. Doing the same thing time after time is the very definition of insanity - clearly we need a new way of connecting, of communicating, of articulatin...
Feb 07, 2024•46 min•Season 17Ep. 8
How does each of us find our sovereignty, our sense of what it is to have agency and be alive in the world, and align this with the part in all of us that is anchored in compassion, connection and empathy? How, in short, do we encounter and encourage our own sovereign feminine? Dr Maggie Ostara is a long-time friend of the podcast - she was with us in episode 116 when we talked about finding our purpose in the world: What's mine to do, what's yours to do and what's ours to do together? I've put ...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 17Ep. 7
