Native Hawaiian biochemist Dr. Cliff Kapono talks us through the embodied fusion of modern scientific inquiry and reverent indigeneity. Cliff is amongst the most versatile surfers on the planet. He shares some of his most vulnerable moments, brimming with frustration and self-doubt, and humbly reflects on the ways a surfing life has kept him here. In our meandering conversation, Cliff also covers the conflict of biotech, environmental activism, traditional Hawaiian lore & surf crafts, and re...
Sep 01, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Geoff Lawton is a permaculture systems designer who has spent more than thirty years implementing and teaching the holistic mindset and ethical design science of permaculture. He has educated more than 15,000 students and consulted on projects in 52 countries around the world. If you’re curious to learn more about permaculture design or philosophy, Geoff has generously provided Waterpeople listeners with free access to his Permaculture Greenroom , where you’ll find inspiring, free video content ...
Aug 25, 2020•48 min
In 2010, Easkey Britton was drawn to Iran and the possibility of surf in the Arabian Sea. She became the first woman in known history to surf Iran’s Baluchistan Coast and found not only surf, but a hospitable culture eager to grow a surfing community of its own. At home in Ireland, Easkey was the first woman to charge the premier big wave peaks of Aileens and Mullaghmore. She was crowned Irish National Champion five times over. Now a marine social scientist, Easkey holds a PhD in Environment and...
Aug 18, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Heath Joske is a waterman committed to regenerating his homelands. In one of the driest parts of one of the driest continents on Earth, Heath has committed to rehabilitating his large coastal acreage that was stripped bare by industrial agriculture. Between riding some of Australia’s most revered and underground waves and raising a young family, Heath is employing the principles of permaculture to bring balance back to his local, coastal ecology. ..... Welcome to our new series, Watershed Chats,...
Aug 11, 2020•39 min
Delve into one of surfing's new, ancient histories with surf explorer and author Nik Zanella's first-hand account of unravelling the ancient story of wave riding in dynastic China. Nik is the author of Children of the Tide and a former coach to the Chinese National Surf Team. ..... Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich More about Nik Sound Engineer: Shannon Sol Carroll Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll & Band of Frequencies Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com @Waterpeoplepodc...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Emi Koch is a surfer and the 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. More recently, she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship for her work that explores social-ecological wellbeing in artisanal, Tropical-Majority fishing villages amidst a changing climate. Emi’s non-profit, Beyond the Surface International , hosts a suite of projects that use surfing as tool for social justice, youth empowerment, and sustainable community development around the world. In this exploratory chat, ...
Jul 27, 2020•47 min
Live from the Waterpeople stage at The 2020 Byron Byron Surf Festival, 1993 World Champion Pauline Menczer, switch-foot wizard Raf Browne, Vanlife Diaries founder and musician Jonny Dustow, and writer Rosalie Bryant share personal tales of new beginnings. They explore how the ocean buoyed them through health crises, bizarre ego smashing, fleeting moments of superhuman strength, and unexpected loss. ..... Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound Engineer: Shannon Sol Carroll Music by...
Jul 20, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Dr. Wallace 'J' Nichols is a marine biologist and author of Blue Mind , an interdisciplinary reimagining of the story of water and the vast cognitive, social, physical and spiritual benefits of being in, around, and under healthy water systems. His integrative approach to research and activism, informed by decades scientific inquiry, begs the question: how can we create a healthier world if we aren't well in our own minds and bodies? ..... Welcome to our new series, Watershed Chats, conversation...
Jul 13, 2020•43 min
Legend of style, ease and ingenuity, Gerry Lopez , shares stories about growing up in Hawaii, the balance he found in the mountains, tube-riding mysticism, and one of the unsung sheros of surfing. Gerry pioneered deep tube riding at the Pipeline, acted in Hollywood films, and helped to build the early surf industry with his entrepreneurial curiosity. He is an icon of the art of surfing, a masterful boardbuilder, dedicated yogi, and teacher of the great metaphors of ocean life. ..... Listen with ...
Jul 07, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Freshly back from an expedition to Antarctica, Alice shares her experience of the frozen ocean and talks us through the complex conversation, but simple solutions, found in her new publication, Micro Plastics, Massive Problem . Alice’s field work has taken her to remote islands throughout the Pacific & Indian Oceans to study marine debris on beaches, and that consumed by birds, fish and humans. Alice Forrest is dive master, wildlife guide and marine biologist specializing in marine plastic p...
Jun 30, 2020•41 min
What are the links between social justice and environmentalism? Leah Thomas is at the leading edge of Intersectional Environmentalism, a term she coined as a way to advocate for the protection of people and the planet simultaneously. Leah, a writer and activist, is blooming the efforts of Environmental Justice advocates. After posting a simple, but powerful graphic and pledge on Instagram, Leah’s unifying ideas went viral amidst the rising tide of the Black Lives Matter movement. By focusing on ...
Jun 16, 2020•34 min
Deconstruct strategies from the successful Fight for the Bight campaign with one of the movement's central voices, Sean Doherty, one of surfing's most celebrated storytellers. The campaign was a win not only for Australian marine life, livelihoods and coastlines, but also for the power of community to peacefully resist corporate insanity. Sean is a journalist and author who has spent more than three decades shaping the way we perceive the happenings of surf culture, identity, and industry, with ...
May 24, 2020•29 min
Explore the cultivation of critical thinking, harnessing hope by localising climate change actionables, and the transformative power of the experiential with filmmaker Damon Gameau. Damon is an actor and filmmaker. He directed That Sugar Film , an exposé on the personal and political impacts of consuming refined sugars, which became the highest grossing Australian documentary of all time. More recently, Damon wrote and directed 2040 a feature documentary that explores what the future would look ...
May 19, 2020•42 min
Welcome to our new series, Watershed Chats, conversational deep dives with experts and those having a go at building and dreaming new ways into fruition for a healthy and habitable future on Planet Ocean. We’ll pick up with our usual Waterpeople storytelling on July 7th, and until then, we’ll be releasing bi-monthly episodes of Watershed Chats, presented by The Waterpeople Podcast in collaboration with Patagonia . Watershed moments are traditionally understood as a division or distinction betwee...
May 19, 2020•2 min
Helena Norberg-Hodge has experienced radical economic and cultural change before. In 1975, as a student of linguistics amongst the glacial melt of the Himalayas, Helena witnessed the rapid erosion of traditional culture that followed the introduction of Western ideas and ideals to the isolated territory of Ladakh, or "Little Tibet." As an economist, linguist and filmmaker, she has been promoting an economics of personal, social and ecological well-being for more than 30 years. Helena is a pionee...
Apr 14, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Sometimes loss never really leaves us. We can't stop those waves of emotion, longing or pain, but we can learn to ride them compassionately. Albe Falzon is one of surfing's great storytellers. His study of eastern spiritual traditions, and the wholistic commitment to a surfing life, have guided him through the inevitable tumult of human existence; through seasons of unthinkable loss, love, adventure, and solitude. Albe's celebratory films, including Morning of the Earth and Festivals of the Worl...
Dec 27, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Liz Clark has sailed and surfed 25,000 nautical miles across and around the Pacific. Mostly solo. She is a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. But before all of that, Liz started with a simple dream to explore by sea. That seemingly simple dream turned into more than a decade of rich and complex ocean life, and became a transformative rite of passage of her own making. Liz shares a story from being pushed to her limits during a 1300 mile solo crossing and the salty, rough conditions that...
Dec 08, 2019•55 min•Season 1Ep. 12
"I work to take back what I believe is mine, and that is a future in an ocean that has sharks.” At 14, Madison Stewart had a transformative experience with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef that set her on a path to marine science and conservation work. She is a dive master, filmmaker, 2017’s Australian Geographic Society Young Conservationist of the Year and author of The Australian Guide to Surfing with Sharks. Madison is a young filmmaker and entrepreneur who knows sharks as both gnarly and ma...
Nov 20, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 11
"One is too many and a thousand isn’t enough," says Jake Mackenzie, of his adventurous, but addictive tendencies. Jake is an all-around waterman, and an entrepreneur. Jake shares a story of the spiritual awakening that led him back to the sea, after descending into "a vampire lifestyle" of addiction, hallucination and off-the-rails experimentation. A single moment sent him packing for a slow-moving journey of detox and healing though Europe and, eventually, to the Mediterranean. He knew the medi...
Nov 03, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Hayley Talbot is the first person to solo kayak the great Clarence River ( Boorimbah) from source to sea, a 400 kilometre voyage. She's a former competitive surfer and lawyer who found her home in fresh water. In 2017, Hayley Talbot found herself mired in the monotony of raising two young children. She’d yearned to know more about the source of the Clarence River, where she’d grown up and surfed around the river mouth. She wanted to know where it came from. Hayley spent two years preparing, havi...
Oct 19, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Culture shaper and former world Tour Surfer Derek Hynd has always felt like an outsider looking in. In Episode 8, he talks far field theory, seeing magic in the mundane, how style has been made irrelevant in modern competitive surfing and the impact of vanishing hipsters. He also boils down the gender performance gap to one singular element. It's a meandering conversation with many delightful twists and turns that'll make you want to revisit your surf history. Several months after recording this...
Oct 02, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Zara was kidnapped and imprisoned by the Iranian government for her activism. The ocean helped her find a path toward belonging after fleeing her homeland. Zara Noruzi was born an upper middle class girl with political subversion in her blood. She lived through the devastating war between Iraq and Iran. At university she wrote feminist articles and participated in student protests, begging for answers about why women were being denied basic human rights after the regime change. Zara detailed her...
Sep 15, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Peter Whish-Wilson walked away from a big shot banking career in NYC to honor a deep responsibility to protect wild spaces and species. He's now a surfing senator for the great, wild Australian state of Tasmania. What do we do when we've made life choices that make us miserable? Listen as Peter Whish-Wilson shares about the moments that changed his life and livelihood, inspired by the freedom and connection surfing revealed for him. Peter speaks candidly about internalising the stress of negotia...
Sep 01, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Freesurfer Leah Dawson peels back the layers and dares to ask: "What makes me feel most like myself?" and "How is my surfing an extension of that self?" There are many ways to be male, and many ways to be female. Though our culture is full of prescriptions for how to do it the “right” way. Leah Dawson thanks surfing for leading her along the path to honouring her femininity. Exploring retro-to-modern single fins, twin fins, finless boards, and shaping herself, Leah is among a small handful of su...
Aug 15, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Legendary waterman Mark Healey lost three friends to heavy water situations through the course of the early 2000s. He speaks candidly about the ways these experiences rewired his process of risk assessment, while maintaining his relationship with the water and his career as a professional risk taker: chasing big waves, free diving, spearfishing, shark tagging, bow hunting, and working as a Hollywood stuntman. Mark also shares about relying on instincts in heavy situations, the importance of bein...
Jul 31, 2019•48 min•Season 1Ep. 4
At the height of her competitive spearfishing career, Kimi Werner began battling with inner demons that turned the once-solace of the ocean into a cacophony of self-criticism. Kimi’s is a story about attaining dreams, losing love, wrestling with dissatisfaction and, ultimately, finding love again in the deep. Our conversation dives into reckoning with fear, flipping your instincts in heavy water situations, and the beauty of knowing where your food comes from. Kimi Werner is a former U.S. Nation...
Jul 19, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 2
On The Waterpeople Podcast, we're delving deep into the intricacies of how the world's most adept waterpeople make lives of great meaning through meaningful play. In this episode Lauren L. Hill and Dave Rastovich elucidate the the 'whys' of making the podcast, reveal about their highlights from Season One, and welcome you to their watery world. ... The Waterpeople Podcast is a gathering for our global ocean community to dive into the critical conversations of our culture through storytelling. We...
Jul 17, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Stories of triumph, challenge and the sea, brought to you live from Byron Bay Surf Festival. Listen as five brave waterfolk share their real and raw stories of overcoming or being overcome: finding surfing later in life, realising purpose after a life changing injury, living with cancer, searching for an unknown family member, wrestling with the death of a parent – and finding the dark humour. The ocean buoyed them amidst some of the most tumultuous experiences of their lives. With live musical ...
Jul 17, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 3
