For The Wild

Camille Defrenne shares about the role of mother trees in forest regeneration, how mycorrhizal networks are faring, and the ramifications of large scale reforestation and afforestation efforts when they are not implemented thoughtfully and locally.Support the show

Dr. Vandana Shiva shares how we are being set up to become accessories to the digital world and how we can reclaim our intellectual freedom and sovereignty from the hands of digital dictatorship despite Monsanto’s targeted erasure of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. This episode is a powerful reminder that we are meant to live beautiful lives as sovereign beings, not as digital appendages.Support the show

We talk with guest Harsha Walia on why it is imperative to rid the concept of legal/illegal personhood in movements for the climate and environment.Support the show

Dr. Ramsey shares how climate change impacts the nutritional quality of pollen and how human design and development has strengthened and spread spread parasitic mites to the disadvantage of bees globally. Support the show

In this powerful conversation with land defender Sii-am Hamilton, we discuss ways forward that recognize that Indigenous communities have been practicing creative resistance against colonialism & capitalism for hundreds of years and what it means for settlers to ally with Indigenous sovereignty, exploring youth leadership, the media’s role, the necessity of abolishing colonial government and more.Support the show

Corrina Gould reminds us that Ohlone territory still holds tremendous abundance and that the land can sustain us in a way that would provide for our wellbeing should we choose to really re-examine what it is we need to survive. But more than a conversation on the wealth of the land, we explore responsibility and reciprocity on stolen homelands by asking what it means to be in right relationship.Support the show

We seek counsel from Joanna Macy on finding emotional courage, building allyship, and practicing gratitude. Joanna begins by reminding us that “the whole late capitalism project would have us distrust our feelings and privatize them” instead of succumbing to denial, complacency, or isolation we can emerge from it, and move through it...Support the show

We explore the messy and difficult endeavor that is democracy, why voter suppression has become so rampant, the anti-democratic nature of debt, and more. Astra Taylor reminds us that “elections matter, but they are not synonymous with democracy”. Support the show

It’s been almost a year since the 2019 wildfires across Australia began. We recall harrowing images of burnt orange skies, vast swaths of scorched forest, and our beloved kin searching for shelter amidst one of the most intense wildfires. It’s estimated that nearly 30 million acres caught fire, over 20% of Australia’s forests were burnt, and around one billion animals perished...Support the show

Dr. Natasha Myers cultivates a body of thought and practice that prioritizes the intertwined relationship between plants and people, aptly referred to as the Planthroposcene. She leads us to a world where magic happens as we discuss finding non-human guides, the responsibility we have to make room for plants, anthropomorphism, restoration ecology, and reconfiguring our relationship to the future.Support the show

Dr. Caldicott, discusses the environmental and health impacts of the nuclear fuel cycle We explore the health ramifications of nuclear power reactors and the “industrial vandalism” that occurs at these sites and through the transportation and storage of their waste. We also explore nuclear proliferation and global politics. Support the show

Dr. Francis shares his journey including his vow of silence that lasted 17 years, and the profound impact that silence and slowing down can have.Support the show

Investigative reporter and producer Shannon Service, joins us to discuss the cycle of abuse within the Thai fishing trade alongside the larger systemic issues that drive such exploitation. Support the show

Rebecca Burgess, shares how regional and regenerative slow fashion is possible. We explore the rise of industrialized fashion and its global impact, we learn about the history and harm of synthetic dyes and plastic-based textiles, as well as the shortsightedness of “sustainable” fashion innovations. Rebecca shares how we can begin transitioning to a bioregional textile culture and more.Support the show

This week we’ll be hearing from Stephen Jenkinson whose wisdom on the cycle of life and elderhood offers so much that makes the ancient in us sit up and listen. Support the show

Familiar with the physical changes Earth is undergoing due to climate change, we less often think about the auditory changes happening all around us. Dr. Stafford has spent years listening to the sounds of climate change in the Arctic and learning how anthropogenic sounds, like ship propellers and oil and gas exploration, are changing marine mammals’ capacity to communicate...Support the show

Gina Rae La Cerva, prompts us to think about how wild foods are a common heritage that connects us to time and place, reminding us that eating is an act of survival, love, and connectivity. We trace how colonization eradicated many wild foods, the status of wild foods in the global market, and how “feasting wild” is an opportunity for foragers to lead the way in ecological restoration ...Support the show

This week, the U.S. Department of the Interior formally opened up Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, an unprecedented decision that threatens Gwich’in lifeways and sacred lands, while exacerbating both climate and extinction crises. In recognition of this, we are choosing to re-air our critically relevant conversation with Faith Gemmill and Princess Lucaj, originally aired in September of 2016. The fight to protect these life giving ground has been going on for decades and will continue to do so as the first leases to drill for oil and gas could be sold by the end of this year. As the decision to open up 1.57 million acres of the refuge’s coastal plain was only formalized this week, protectors of place are rallying to stop this move, and so we are asking you to remain vigilant for calls to action over the coming months.Faith Gemmill is a Pit River/ Wintu and Neets’aii Gwich’in Athabascan earth defender from Arctic Village, Alaska. She is a part of REDOIL (Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands) and has worked on behalf of the Gwich’in Nation for over a decade as a representative, public spokesperson and Gwich’in Steering Committee staff to address the potential human health and cultural impacts of proposed oil development in the birthplace and nursery of the Porcupine Caribou Herd in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Princess Daazhraii Johnson/Princess Lucaj is Neets’aii Gwich’in and her family is from Arctic Village, Alaska. Johnson is the former Executive Director for the Gwich’in Steering Committee and is a founding member of the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition. She also has experience working on climate adaptation for tribes through her on-going work with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center. Johnson received a B.A. in International Relations from The George Washington University and a Masters in Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage with a focus on Environmental and Science Education. She has been a member of the SAG-AFTRA Native American Committee since 2007 and also serves on the Board of Dancing with the Spirit, a program that promotes spiritual wellness through music. In 2015 Johnson was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is based in Alaska and is currently creative producing an animated series for the WGBH that will premiere on PBS in 2019.. Music by Willie Dunn, Teahawk (ft. Redhawk Woman), Beau, and Kate Wolf. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references and action points.Support the show

Anayvette shares the inspiration and impact of the Radical Monarchs, who exemplify the difference between service and justice, the importance of bringing youth into social justice movements at an early age and what we can learn about sustainability, self-care, and avoiding burn out culture by creating with young ones in mind.Support the show

Jahawi Bertolli takes us underwater to learn about Kenya’s coastal ecosystems and biodiversity, including a tremendous seafaring culture and folklore as well as changing seascapes due to warming waters, overexploitation, and pollution. Jahawi shares how the importance of community-based conservation, traditional ecological knowledge in East Africa, and how storytelling can be a conduit...Support the show

Through eras of colonization and acculturation, we’ve seen the consolidation of seeds into a handful of corporations and the production of a soulless industrial food landscape. Rowen White shares her thoughts on Indigenous food sovereignty, seed restoration as rematriation, and what it means to bring seed relatives home. Support the show

In this heartening encore episode of For The Wild, initially recorded in November of 2015, we speak to all-around inspiration, legendary artist, educator and political activist, Buffy Sainte-Marie. Buffy shares with us her story and how we can authentically grow our creativity in contemporary times. Almost 50 years after the release of her album It’s My Way!, Buffy remains an indomitable artist...Support the show

Lama Rod Owens supports us in navigating the changing of worlds we are experiencing. In recognizing these moments of great turning - our work is to tend to our grief and massage our trauma, as tumultuous as it may be. Rather than running away from the unknown or the uncomfortable, Lama Rod reminds us that it is through experiencing hardship that we develop an emotional buoyancy and resilience....Support the show

Anjali shares how in order to truly support liberatory work and movements, we must unlearn. Beginning with how and where we should source or knowledge, we discuss the problem with passive consumption, the pervasiveness of miseducation, and the academic-industrial complex. Anjali shares how we can create community-based spaces that cultivate knowledge and honesty. Support the show

In conversation with Jackie Wang, we explore the pervasiveness of debt, our temporal and spatial understandings of prisons, and the technological dimensions of surveillance and incarceration. We discuss how we can resist the accession of predictive policing and what digital carceral infrastructure can reveal about the state’s growing surveillance apparatus.Support the show

Leah Penniman guides us through an adaptation of a Haitian prayer from her maternal lineage that honors the forces of nature and our ancestors. Leah’s gracious offering invites us to open ourselves to the elements of the Earth that shape our lives. Together we practice reverence and gratitude for the gifts that surround us and give us our strength, health and nourishment. Support the show

Mariame Kaba joins us for an expansive conversation on Transformative Justice, community accountability, criminalization of survivors, and freedom on the horizon. When we engage with these issues and shape our actions out of a commitment to removing violence at its core, we are working to transform our world...Support the show

Through their work, brontë reminds us that “Black wellness is the antithesis to state violence” (Mark Anthony Johnson) and during these times of great transformation and tension, we must prioritize Black wellness and communal care. Donations given to Lead to Life will fund their rapid response work. As inspiration for giving, we present brontë’s prophecy “The Well”.Support the show

With a historical analysis of slavery and plantation labor, this week’s episode prompts us, at this critical time, to consider what is stolen from those among us who cannot rest under white supremacy and capitalism. In this incredibly rich offering, we speak with Tricia on the myths of grind culture, rest as resistance, and reclaiming imaginative power through sleep. Support the show

brontë, a dear friend of For The Wild, poetically guides us through an expansive exploration of critical ecology, radical imagination, and decomposition as rebellion. brontë encourages us to examine our relationship to place and space, the unmaking of literacy, the decomposition of violence and the prioritization of Black wellness.Support the show

Craig shares the history of his homeland of Guåhan, a place often rendered invisible as an unincorporated territory. We ask Craig about the ongoing militarization of the Pacific and what militarism and tourism have in common when it comes to desecration of place, culture and being. Following this trajectory, we explore deep-sea mining and the impacts of production of lithium-ion batteries. Support the show

This week we’re reissuing this magical conversation with Starhawk, one of the most respected voices in modern Earth-based spirituality, that originally aired in 2017. A veteran of progressive movements, from anti-war to anti-nukes, Starhawk is deeply committed to applying the techniques and creative power of spirituality to political activism. Support the show

Marcia Bjornerud discusses the notion of “timefulness” and healing our relationship with time including events of the geologic past, and recognizing change as constant, and the brilliant complexity of Earth’s systems.Support the show

If we want to create a world where we thrive, we are going to have to get involved with our communities and come together. This is often easier said than done in a hyper-individualistic society. We need voices that can guide us through conflict and unease as we forge connection to create our vision. We discuss with Wildfire Project how we must be willing to work through these things together.Support the show

Lauren discusses the necessity defense in context to the climate crisis, as well as “critical energy infrastructure” felonies, how the oil and gas industry subverts democracy, digital surveillance and the importance of community solidarity in grassroots activism. She reminds us that cohesive and creative grassroots activism can and will overcome profit-driven corruption.Support the show

Andrew Harvey believes that we have before us the possibility of using crisis to empower ourselves, and each other. Embracing an uncertain future, he urges us to support leaders who are inspired, courageous and effective to rise up, to renew the energy of people who are burnt out and apathetic in institutions, and for us as individuals to rediscover an inner compass that renews and inspires Support the show

On this week’s episode, we explore the importance of place and placemaking with guest Teju Adisa-Farrar. We discuss how gentrification originates through the calculated and supremacist devaluation of place, its environmental impacts, and urbanization and urban futures in response to climate and economic migration and changes.Support the show

This week, Lyla June gifts us with a poem that rides with the rushing current of Creation and beckons us to wade into the ever-moving stream of life. Allow Lyla’s poem to wash over you, to uplift your capacity to find strength, forgiveness and connection in times of adversity. May Lyla’s testament to the ancient power of water and geologic time invite deep healing and love into your life. Support the show

Today we are re-listening to our conversation with Jacqui Patterson, originally aired in 2017. We’re bringing this episode back from the archives because over the past couple of weeks, we have seen far too many narratives of disposability when it comes to the communities who are already impacted the most when it comes to environmental, social, and economic injustice…Support the show

Drawing from Antonia’s extensive breadth of knowledge, this episode explores the history of our national fossil fuel sector and discusses the rise of residential drilling, the Bakken oil fields North Dakota, the global glut of oil, environmental deregulation under the Trump administration, lessons from the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon spills, the “separation of oil and state,” and more.Support the show

Kailea offers a this experiential reading woven with simple movements to reawaken our inseparable connection to all of Creation, honoring mothers and caregivers who give of themselves so generously, and who are so deserving of moments of rest to cultivate wellness. Support the show

This conversation with Alnoor invites us into a guided conversation on neoliberal capitalism, the global economic system and how we can work ourselves out of it. We offer this episode during a time in which many of us have witnessed the tumultuous behavior of global markets, the true price of poverty in the face of a pandemic, exorbitant corporate bailouts, and fear of impending collapse. Support the show

We are witnessing the rapid expansion of a pandemic, the decline of the global economy, the incredible power of community, and the shameful behavior that is a symptom of a capital-driven society. Linda discusses what will be left in the wake of COVID-19 and how will we tend to the wounds and offers thoughts on what systems will endure, what must we dismantle and what we must grow.Support the show

Milla Prince transports us on an embodied journey away from anxiety, and back into deeper knowledge of our ancient and integral place within the Web of Life. Milla invites us to root ourselves through the very soil, minerals, water and air of our own bodies and to shed what is old and give ourselves to the stream of life pulsing through the body of nature.Support the show

Initially aired in January of 2020, this episode reminds us that the blatant neglect for people’s wellbeing amidst this global pandemic is not coincidence or negligence, it is the result of a global system that has historically centered profit over people. Rupa reminds us that “the health of the people should be our guiding light and principle.”Support the show

Estrella Santiago Pérez discusses Borinquén grassroots action and community sovereignty amidst climate crisis. Common understanding of Puerto Rico exists in a dichotomy, either defined by lush resort colonies or the aftermath of tropical storms. The reality is, of course, much more dynamic and the vulnerabilities faced by communities are political and colonial created conditions...Support the show

brontë velez transports us through revolutionary prayer. We hope brontë’s incantation ignites your creativity and fills up your inner well with joy, strength and peace. May we learn from the mushrooms what it means to carry death into new lifeSupport the show

We’re rereleasing this potent discussion with Reverend M. Kalani Souza, a gifted storyteller, singer, songwriter, musician, performer, poet, philosopher, priest, political satirist, and peacemaker. This episode originally aired in November of 2018 but we feel that these words on preparedness are more relevant now than ever. Support the show

The Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers are three of the largest salmon producing rivers that originate in so-called BC and flow into SE Alaska. In a climate of weakened environmental regulations, a gold rush continues to unfold, with new mining projects proposed every year. We speak with Jill about corporate mining and transboundary watersheds, following wild salmon in their path beyond borders.Support the show

We join Kenric in conversation to discuss the cultural genesis and impacts of machine learning and technological advancement, the implications of anthropocentrism in design. Kenric also covers topics such as relationality, more-than-human intelligence, the trappings of consumerism, personal agency, artificial intelligence, and interspecies connection. Support the show