This week we’ve got some special news, and a mail run. That is, I reply to some of the text messages coming from you through the new link in our episode show notes. And I’m coming to you from the extraordinary Churchtown Dairy in New York, after attending an event last night at their amazing barn venue, with guest-of-honour, the globally renowned author and previous podcast guest, Judith Schwartz . This episode has chapter markers and a transcript , if you’d like to navigate the conversation tha...
Aug 30, 2024•13 min•Season 8Ep. 219
Aldo Leopold has profoundly influenced the modern conservation and regeneration movement. He affected nearly every national conservation initiative in the US during the 1930s and 40s, and this year marks the 75th anniversary of his classic book A Sand County Almanac. Hard to believe now that it was rejected many times before being finally accepted just one week before his death. Since then, the book has been translated into at least fifteen languages and sold well over two million copies. Today,...
Aug 21, 2024•40 min•Season 8Ep. 218
Cole Mannix was featured in the New York Times a couple of months ago as part of a series called ‘Making It Work’, about ‘small-business owners striving to endure hard times’. The title read: Montana Has More Cows Than People. Why Are Locals Eating Beef From Brazil? The by-line followed: ‘Cole Mannix, [co-founder] of Old Salt Co-op , is trying to change local appetites and upend an industry controlled by multibillion-dollar meatpackers.’ And it seems local appetites are ready for it too – with b...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 8Ep. 217
Allan Savory is a legend of regenerative agriculture - the ongoing force behind holistic management, a movement that has featured in so many stories on the podcast. Indeed, as we’ve travelled across the US / Turtle Island, we continue to hear such stories (including in last week's episode ). Longer-term listeners might remember my conversation with Allan on the podcast back in 2020 . It still stands as amongst the most listened to, and my personal favourites. So as we neared Denver, Colorado, I ...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 8Ep. 216
In episode 164 with Nicole Masters and Meagan Lannan (the infamous ‘armoured butts’ episode) we talked about the new ‘train the trainers’ program in agroecological systems thinking they’d created, called CREATE . This time, we visit them at home, as they gather for the first reunion of the program. Fifteen highly accomplished alumni from incredible and varied places gathered at Meagan’s beautiful regenerative ranch. And as the few days together wrapped up, I spoke with six of these people from a...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 8Ep. 215
A number of you have said last week’s episode was one of the best, with legendary Bioneers founders Nina Simons and Kenny Ausubel. So in honour of that, and in case you missed it, or haven’t heard through to the end, this week’s release is an excerpt of the last 20 minutes or so of a very rare public conversation with the two of them together. We pick it up where the conversation shifted gear, when I asked about the repeated uncanny happenings that have blessed their lives – including the magic ...
Jul 23, 2024•25 min•Season 8Ep. 214
This treasured and unique conversation is with the legendary founders of Bioneers , Nina Simons and Kenny Ausubel . Bioneers is a cultural phenomenon - an innovative nonprofit organization that has been highlighting breakthrough solutions for restoring people and planet - for 34 years. What started as a somewhat reluctant conference in 1990 has become all sorts of other notable projects, including Bioneers Learning, and Bioneers radio and podcast. And there’s yet more to come. Nina and Kenny als...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 214
Andrew Stone and I continued on for another 15 minutes off-record, but with the recorder still on. The conversation was so fascinating that I asked him if he was ok with it going out to you. So here’s a bonus 15 minutes with Andrew, where we went on to talk about his visit to Wendell Berry and their conversation on technology, some more uncanny connections, being part of the DMT studies in the ‘90s when psychedelics research restarted (and the story behind The Spirit Molecule on Netflix), and fi...
Jul 11, 2024•16 min•Season 8Ep. 213
Andrew Stone has been dubbed the ‘solar mystic farmer’, as a pioneering solar passive designer/builder, former software developer of some of the commonplace apps today working alongside luminaries like Steve Jobs, regenerative farmer with treasured links to Wendell Berry and his family, key presence in the psychedelics resurgence, and a generally fascinating guy. That was as much illustrated by the fact that when we met to record this episode, he was dressed to the nines as Robert Oppenheimer. Y...
Jul 09, 2024•51 min•Season 8Ep. 213
How does a local radio show run with and for children become a global phenomenon - with plenty of adult listeners too? All the more in an age of media disruption and decline, with the ongoing struggle of not only mainstream media models, but public and alternative ones too. In just six years, The Children’s Hour is approaching a listenership of one million people, heard on demand as a weekly podcast and on more than 160 stations in 6 countries. That stratospheric growth started with a pivot – wh...
Jul 03, 2024•55 min•Season 8Ep. 212
Our final episode last year was titled Achieving Consensus and Commitment to do the ‘Impossible’ . It featured Jeff Goebel, and drew an enormous response from listeners, a number of whom have continued to work with Jeff since. So when I knew we were heading to the States, I reached out to Jeff. And soon after, he got in touch to say he was going to be hosting a workshop soon - would I like to come and be part of it? Would I what! It was one fascinating and enlightening experience. In so many way...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 8Ep. 211
The Navajo Diné Nation is the biggest First Nation in the US, crossing Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. There we connected with Diné elder James Skeet, and his brilliant wife Joyce - descendant of award-winning Mennonite farmers in Pennsylvania. Together, they founded Spirit Farm, and the educational non-profit Covenant Pathways . Spirit Farm is a demonstration and experiential farm focused on healing the high desert southwestern soil, and the communities living there. They do this by weaving insig...
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 210
Steve Mushin is an award-winning industrial designer and inventor, and an old mate from when we both were part of the team at CERES – the legendary community environment park in inner Melbourne. He’s also now the author of children’s book ‘ Ultrawild: An audacious plan to rewild every city on earth ’ (Allen & Unwin). Eight years in the making, it's an intricately illustrated book exploring visions for rapidly transforming cities to reverse climate change and species extinction. The book cont...
Jun 09, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 8Ep. 209
A couple of weeks ago, I received some big news. The California State Assembly unanimously passed what’s been dubbed the ‘Beaver Bill’ . Yes, California is bringing the beaver back. For those who might not be fully across how big this news is, the beaver is a keystone species that assists in restoring watershed and ecosystem functions in areas that need them most. And in an era of warming, fire and desertification, and with insurers leaving the state in droves, recognition of this is growing her...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 8Ep. 208
I had the pleasure of sitting down with David Bronner, the Cosmic Engagement Officer of the famed Dr Bronner’s , whose life story is as rich and foamy as the company's iconic soap. Since David became CEO of the top-selling brand of natural soaps, body care and food products in 1998, the company has grown from $4 million in revenue to well over $100 million, and all while continuing to change so much about the systems and stories we live by. In recent times, they’ve co-founded Regenerative Organi...
May 26, 2024•48 min•Season 8Ep. 207
For all the great regenerative work bubbling up everywhere right now, it seems fair to say that finance and investment in it is lagging a little. As my guest today puts it, we often hear about how farmers and land managers need to change, for example, but we hear less often about how finance and investment needs to change. It’s why a major report and project was launched online in Australia last year by Sustainable Table, ‘Regenerating Investment in Food and Farming’. I hosted a conversation at ...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 8Ep. 206
Richard Heinberg is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost advocates on the urgent need, and inviting prospects, of a transition away from fossil fuels. He’s the author of 14 books including some of the seminal works on our current energy and environmental crises. I remember reading The Party’s Over 20 years ago, and have followed Richard’s work right through to his most recent book (and excellent parallel podcast series), Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival – and what praise ...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 8Ep. 205
This special extra to episode 204 features the last handful of minutes with the legendary best-selling author Paul Hawken. This is where the episode culminated in Paul offering a world premiere reading of the rousing finale to his upcoming book, Carbon: The Book Of Life. The reading happened to be accompanied, too, by some notable sounds from around the garden and surrounding redwoods. Head here for a transcript, also available on Apple and some other apps. (Note the transcript is AI generated a...
May 09, 2024•9 min•Season 8Ep. 204
Paul Hawken is the legendary author behind myriad best-sellers, including most recently Regeneration: Ending the climate crisis in one generation , and before it, Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming . Both books were accompanied by comprehensive online portals that continue to engage people from all walks, all around the world. Paul’s next book is a more personal volume – perhaps his most personal. It’s called Carbon: The book of life. And ahead of its r...
May 06, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Season 8Ep. 204
The community in the Australian federal seat of Curtin elected the 7th new independent MP to parliament 2 years ago now, and the first and only (to date) in WA. In those two years, that community independent, Kate Chaney, has continued to drive a level of engagement and outcomes that no one I speak to has any memory of happening before. Perhaps it happened back when the major political parties first got going, when they had some membership to speak of? Today, less than 0.5% of Australians are me...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 8Ep. 203
I’ve been promising some big news for a little while now. Well, earlier this week, on Earth Day, a special and unexpected launch took place. Head here for a transcript, also available on Apple and some other apps. (Note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read.) Recorded at San Francisco Airport on 22 April 2024. Title slide: In the redwoods just outside San Francisco, where a woman pass...
Apr 25, 2024•14 min•Season 8Ep. 202
Lamine Sonko is an acclaimed composer, artistic director, performer and multi-instrumentalist continuing his family line of Guéwels. That’s a role inherited by certain members of traditional communities in Senegal who are tasked with communicating ancient storytelling and ‘songlines’ through dance, rhythms and song. And earlier this year, that converged with his role in Melbourne-based afro-beat band, the Afrobiotics , when he was joined by his five bandmates back in Senegal on a landmark tour ....
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 201
Welcome to the bicentennial episode. And who better to mark the occasion than this legend of regenerative agriculture, David Marsh . To visit Allendale Farm is like stepping into an incredible rewilding of country – as a livestock farm! David’s been here for nearly 60 years, the first half of which he ran industrialised cropping and livestock farming, which continued to devastate the land, his bank account, his family’s health, and increasingly, his conscience. The second half, he ditched the cr...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Season 8Ep. 200
This podcast has been increasingly hearing about the extraordinary outcomes that can stem from deliberative democratic processes. I still hear from listeners about past episodes with people like Jeff Goebel and Amanda Cahill . So this week, we head to the nation’s capital to speak with someone I’ve been looking forward to meeting for years. Professor Nicole Curato is with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. She’s also a prominent journalist,...
Apr 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 8Ep. 199
Sam Vincent grew up on the farm where Charles Massy famously heard the call of the reed warbler for the first time in 150 years or so. But, like most millennials in his position, he wasn’t going to stay there. Until his old man now famously put his hand in a woodchipper. That’s when Sam left his inner-city life as a writer to help out, and unexpectedly found himself thinking differently about the farm, and his old man. Sam now runs Gollion Farm , with a suite of thriving enterprises, profound ne...
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 8Ep. 198
Late last year, I arrived at a quandary. I’d been hearing about how inaccessible land ownership is for younger folk, and how investment capital is still relatively slow to come on board the incredible broad scale potential of regenerative agriculture (notwithstanding often great intent). And I’d been hearing how even long-term legends in regen ag are still expected to be saddled with enormous debt and rates of return (to say nothing of squeezed prices), while they also regenerate the majority of...
Mar 25, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 8Ep. 197
Zach Bush MD has become an internationally recognised educator on the microbiome, as it relates to human health, soil health, food systems, water systems, and regenerative living as a whole. The touchstone insight of Zach’s initial transformation was that we don’t need to solve each of our many increasingly prevalent diseases – we need to regenerate the source of our health and vitality. And he’s been startled by our regenerative capacity since embarking on a film project called Farmer’s Footpri...
Mar 18, 2024•2 hr 20 min•Season 8Ep. 196
Dr Dominique Hes is deeply embedded in the regenerative movement. A renowned educator, author of Designing for Hope , advisor on the Federal Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group, Chair of Greenfleet, and featured presence in some of Damon Gameau’s wonderful films, Dominique started working in regenerative development 20 years ago, and ‘sustainability’ for ten years before that. Her focus is on real projects, on the ground, in place. And today, we visit one of them. In her place. Newport L...
Mar 10, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 8Ep. 195
Tim Fisher is the eldest son of the late Professor Frank Fisher. You’ve heard Frank’s name a bit on this podcast , legendary systems thinking educator in Australia – and good mate over the last dozen or so years of his life. Twice my good fortune was meeting Tim, and keeping in touch over the years. Tim is a wealth of experience, grace and salience in his own right. So, returning to Melbourne to see family for the first time in years, it seemed a good time to visit this extended family of sorts,...
Mar 03, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 8Ep. 194
Regenerating Life is a new feature-length documentary that takes a fresh look at solving the climate crisis - and everything else. Internationally acclaimed New York filmmaker John Feldman recently premiered it in the US (where recent podcast guest Judith Schwartz featured on the panel). He’s now about to accompany its premiere in Europe. The film shifts away from the narrative that burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of the climate crisis – seeing that as just one symptom, significant as ...
Feb 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 193
