Wild with Sarah Wilson

As many of us move into the holiday season and slower days, I wanted to reshare this conversation with Iain McGilchrist. It’s a spacious, illuminating exploration of how we’ve come to live as we do — and a reminder that meaning and beauty are still available to us, even when solutions feel out of reach.Dr Iain McGilchrist (neuroscientist, psychiatrist, polymath, author of The Master and His Emissary) devised a thesis that sets out how the two sides of our brains can affect the way we both interact and create the world. The left hemisphere is a narrow, extractive, problem-solving “machine” that divides and conquers things, fails to see our part in the world and to fathom beauty, awe and responsibility. Our civilisation, Iain says, has become ruled by a left-brain mentality, which is killing us and leaving us “wretched”; we need to put the right side back in charge!  Iain is an associate of Green Templeton College in Oxford and a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal Society of Arts. His 2009 book Master and his Emissary became a cult read and the recent follow-up, The Matter with Things took him 12 years to write (and is 600,000 words long!).In this chat, we cover why societies start out creative, happy and flourishing (right-brained!) but switch left and destructive as they expand; the secret to living a well and happy life and how to find meaning and beauty in a world we possibly can’t “fix” (in the left-brain sense of the word).  SHOW NOTESLearn more about Iain's work via his website and watch his videos here.Buy Master and his Emissary and The Matter with Things here.Listen to Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's Wild episode.--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations, subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As many of us head into the holiday season — travelling, slowing down, or looking for something good to listen to — I wanted to reshare this conversation with Martha Beck. It’s a thoughtful, generous discussion about anxiety as a guide rather than a problem, and one I have a feeling will land right now.Dr. Martha Beck (author; “best-known life coach in America”) is about to release a book on anxiety. The international best-selling author – who holds three Harvard degrees in social science and was described by Oprah as “one of the smartest women I know” – specialises in helping people find meaning and integrity in their lives.In this episode, Sarah and Martha reconnect after 15 years to discuss their takes on the role of anxiety in our lives, and how it can be used to create purpose and direction (tune in to hear about the time Martha “bent a spoon with her mind” for Sarah!). They also share tangible techniques for using creativity to switch out of anxious spirals. Martha’s book, Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose, is available now.SHOW NOTESOrder your copy of Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life's PurposeHere’s the newspaper column I wrote about my first meeting with Martha in 2010I refer to previous podcasts with Dr Jill Bolte Taylor and Iain McGilchrist, and another on the role of creativity with Ian LeslieYou can read more about Martha's work here and connect on IG here--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations, subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wild has been on hiatus while I finish my most recent book. We’ll be back with a fresh direction and new guests in the coming months, but in the meantime, I’m dropping in a small handful of interviews I’ve been doing on Substack that you might find interesting. They’re far more rustic and casual than my usual offerings. You can, of course, watch the video versions over on Substack.My guest today is Dr Sharon Blackie a psychologist, mythologist, and author whose work lives at the meeting point of story, psyche, and ecology. In this conversation, we explore the role of fairytales and myths in hard and disorienting times, and what these old stories can teach us about the deeply human act of hospitality, how we welcome others, and ourselves, in moments of fear, change, and uncertainty. You can also watch the chat here.We anchor the discussion around a beautiful essay of Sharon’s, The Meaning of Hospitality, which she has generously made available for free.A bit about Dr Sharon Blackie: An award-winning writer and teacher working at the intersection of psychology, mythology, and ecology. She’s the author of the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted, and her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Irish Times, and The Scotsman. She lives on a smallholding in the mountains of Wales, where she continues to explore how myth and story can guide us through modern life.PS: My new book, I Eat the Stars, will be out worldwide in May/June 2026. If you’re curious, you can read the serialised version over on Substack. Today’s chat touches on a few of the themes I explore in that work.--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations, subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Let’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wild has been on hiatus while I finish my most recent book. We’ll be back with a fresh direction and new guests in the coming months, but in the meantime, I’m dropping in a small handful of interviews I’ve been doing on Substack that you might find interesting. They’re far more rustic and casual than my usual offerings. You can, of course, watch the video versions over on Substack.My guest today is Rich from Ohh That’s RICH, who dissects the intersections of culture, politics, and privilege - and pretty much everything that’s unfolding in real time across the progressive landscape. A former MTV News political correspondent, he now writes the Substack Ohh That’s RICH, where his rapid-fire commentary has built a loyal, quietly fired-up following.In this chat, we dive into a concept he unpacked that has given him a whole new lens on our current moment: the “extinction burst.” It describes that temporary spike in behaviour right before it finally collapses…or, as Rich puts it, “the last frantic gasp of a system losing its grip.” Here’s the post we reference in the conversation, and you can watch our chat here.A bit about Ohh That’s RICH: Rich describes himself as a Liberal member of the silent majority. He covers culture, politics and power structures with sharpness, humour, and a kind of grounded clarity. You’ll also find him over on Instagram and TikTok.PS: My new book, I Eat the Stars, will be out worldwide in May/June 2026. If you’re curious, you can read the serialised version over on Substack. Today’s chat touches on a few of the themes I explore in that work.--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations, subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Let’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wild has been on hiatus while I finish my most recent book. We’ll be back with a fresh direction and new guests in the coming months, but in the meantime I’m dropping in a small handful of interviews I’ve been doing on Substack that you might find interesting. They’re far more rustic and casual than my usual offerings. You can, of course, watch the video versions over on Substack.My guest today is Grace Blakeley, who explores the intersections of capitalism, politics, and economics… and pretty much everything that’s happening right now — from tariffs to collapsing stock markets on her Substack, Grace Blakeley. She is the author of Stolen, The Corona Crash, and Vulture Capitalism, and edited Futures of Socialism.In this chat, we cover specifically her commentary about what the Left can do to respond to the rise of the oligarchs. You can read her original call-to-arms essay here.PS: My new book, I Eat the Stars, will be out worldwide in May/June 2026. If you’re curious, you can read the serialised version over on Substack. Today’s chat touches on a few of the themes I explore in that work.--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations, subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Let’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Vanessa Andreotti (Indigenous Knowledge advocate; author) is a Brazilian academic who has developed a radical thesis for how to move through the multi-crises we face. In her book Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism she draws on Indigenous wisdoms and entanglement theory to steer humanity through the destruction, grief and uncertainty as democracy, the growth model, “the West” crumbles around us. Dr Andreotti is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, Canada where she is also one of the designers of the Facing Human Wrongs: Climate Complexity and Relational Accountability course. She has written 100-plus papers on climate education, global justice and race. In this chat – the last in the current Wild series – she talks through how modernity is the most “adolescent” civilisation in history, how Indigenous cultures have the knowledge to assist us, how the West won’t act until “the water is up to their bum” and the value of “black belt aunties”.Get your copy of Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism. Find out more about Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Martha Beck (author; “best-known life coach in America”) is about to release a book on anxiety. The international best-selling author – who holds three Harvard degrees in social science and was described by Oprah as “one of the smartest women I know” – specialises in helping people find meaning and integrity in their lives. In this episode, Sarah and Martha reconnect after 15 years to discuss their takes on the role of anxiety in our lives, and how it can be used to create purpose and direction (tune in to hear about the time Martha “bent a spoon with her mind” for Sarah!). They also share tangible techniques for using creativity to switch out of anxious spirals. Martha’s book, Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose comes out in early 2025.SHOW NOTESHere’s the newspaper column I wrote about my first meeting with Martha in 2010.I refer to previous podcasts with Dr Jill Bolte Taylor and Iain McGilchrist, and another on the role of creativity with Ian Leslie. You can read more about Martha's work here and connect on IG here. Preorder a copy of her upcoming book Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life's Purpose--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Indy Johar (founder of Dark Matter Labs, systems designer) re-imagines and redesigns systems for a changed world. The architect and Professor of Planetary Civics at Melbourne’s RMIT and the University of Sheffield has worked with and advised organisations worldwide. Including the Scottish Government, the Mayor of London and WikiHouse, solving complex, entangled problems. Using complexity, emergence and entanglement theories he is a rare expert in this space to provide the (only) path to fixing the world, which is to say fixing our relationship with the world.This conversation goes to a level I’ve not been to before publicly. On his modelling, we don’t have any choice but to start building the world that comes next, for the current one has no viable pathway. He gives a vision for this this. And he gives a timeframe, too. For this episode, I’m providing a forum where you can talk through how you feel about the ideas and your feelings with others. Indy has offered to chime in too: Join the chat on Substack HERE.SHOW NOTESIf you are new to this collapse topic you might want to catch up via this conversation with Luke Kemp, the one with Meg Wheatley and this one with Corey Bradshaw.There are some previous guests and topics that are referenced in this chat:Nate Hagens on the future of fossil fuelsKate Raworth on Doughnut EconomicsWe talk about zero-sum theory. I talked about this with Liv Boeree, former world poker champion.We also cover the Blue Zones concept. I interviewed the man behind this, Dan Buettner, here. Indy also references the work of Iain McGilchrist, a guest a few weeks back.You can learn more about Indy's work via DarkMatterLabsConnect with Indy on socials @DarkMatter_Labs and @indy_johar  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lyndsey Stonebridge (Humans rights academic, Hannah Arendt biographer) was worried about the banality of evil she was observing in the world and so dug down into the work of controversial philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt for insights. Her new book, We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience is a guide on how to live--and think--through a moment like the one we’re in now in the wake of the US election. It draws on Arendt’s ideas about totalitarianism, loneliness, the dulling of the mind, capitalism, as well as the imperative to love the world. Lyndsey is a Professor of Humanities and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and writes and broadcasts about a range of topical subjects: refugees, feminism and the moral mind. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy. SHOW NOTESI mention the Wild episode with BBC Washington correspondent Nick Bryant Get your copy of Lyndsey's new book, We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience Read more about Lyndsey's work here and follow her on IG here --If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luke Kemp (historical collapse expert; associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk) has studied past civilisations and mapped out a picture of how long they tend to last before they collapse, what tends to tip them and what (if anything) can be done to stall their demise. Luke works alongside Lord Martin Rees and Yuval Noah Harari, is an honorary lecturer in environmental policy at the Australian National University and his collapse insights have been covered by the BBC, the New York Times and the New Yorker. His first book, 'Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse' will be published in June 2025. In this episode I get Luke to provide a bit of a 101 on how civilisations do indeed decline and perish and to update us on the latest theories on how and whether ours might make it through. The answer is surprising.SHOW NOTESHere’s Luke’s original report on complex civilisation’s lifespans.Keep up to date with Luke's work hereA few past Wild guests are referenced by Luke. You can catch the episode on Moloch with Liv Boeree here, the interview with Adam Mastroianni here and my chat with Nate Hagens hereThe first chapter of my book serialisation – about hope – is available to everyone hereAnd here are the two chapters that I reference at the end--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on InstagramIf you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of “Ask Me Anything” questions about the minutiae of writing about - and having to live through - collapse. I try to cover most of these kinds of questions as we work through the book Serialisation process, but a few get left behind. And so this week’s Wild episode covers these off.You are welcome to join the 55,000 subscribers who are following the book, chapter by chapter, week by week, here. You’ll be invited to upgrade (sorry to have to use such commercial language) to a paid subscription…this helps me to be able to dedicate most of my working week to writing said book. But don’t feel obligated. You can stay a free subscriber and read these first few chapters here and a preview of every other one!SHOW NOTESHere’s where you can start reading the first chapter of the Book SerialisationAnd here’s the link to subscribe to my Substack newsletterWant to ask me your own question…post it here--If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prof. Joel Pearson (Neuroscientist; AI and cognition scientist) returns to Wild, this time to discuss whether free will is an illusion. In our last chat (about intuition) the subject was raised and Joel promised to come back to discuss it further, particularly in the context of AI, algorithms, the rise of totalitarianism and our agency in systems collapse. Joel is the founder and Director of Future Minds Lab which applies neuroscience findings to art, AI, media, advertising and various philosophical quandaries. He’s also a National Health and Medical Research Council fellow and Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He developed the first scientific test to measure intuition and wrote The Intuition Toolkit. In this conversation, we also cover the science of manifesting!SHOW NOTESI mention the chapter on Blame and the very robust discussion the Substack community had around it. You can join this hereHere’s the previous episode where Joel talks about the scientific proof of intuitionGet Joel’s book The Intuition Toolkit: The New Science of Knowing What without Knowing WhyFollow Joel on his Future Minds Lab Substack I previously had willpower expert Roy Baumeister on Wild to talk about how the female orgasm shapes the world! --If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christiana Figueres (the woman behind the Paris Agreement) is possibly the best-known official in the global climate change movement. The former Costa Rican diplomat and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010-2016), managed to bring together 195 nations to sign the historical 2015 agreement that set the “1.5C” target/warning. She wrote The Future We Choose, cohosts the Outrage + Optimism podcast, has a moth, a wasp and an orchid named after her, and has won countless international awards for her work. In this episode, we challenge each other on whether hope and optimism are still useful given we’ve passed the 1.5C threshold in February, whether the Paris Agreement is still viable almost 10 years on and the viability of the green energy transition. We don’t agree on a number of points, but we come together on what keeps us in the “fight” …love. Listen to the end with this one.SHOW NOTESThe work of rare earth minerals expert Olivia Lazard and energy futurist Nate Hagens supports the energy points I make in this episode. This international team of researchers and this team working out of France show fossil fuels will become net-energy negative in the future. We are spending more energy to get less energy than before—our net energy is  “plummeting”.The world’s consumption of fossil fuels climbed to a record high last year according to the University of Exeter's Global Carbon Project and NASA. A Finnish Geological Survey finds that “global reserves are not large enough to supply enough metals to build the renewable non-fossil fuels industrial system”.According to a study on societal tipping points, a peak and fall in global oil production would bring down the entire financial and trade system like a house of cards.This chapter of my book outlines the argument in detail.And here are the first two chapters of my book, that outline my position on hope v truth.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this SPECIAL EPISODE British coach, author and broadcaster Elizabeth Oldfield and I sit down in her London intentional community home and interview EACH OTHER on…what is sacred (and how we access it), acedia ( the moral loneliness we feel in turbulent times), how we sit in the grief and despair of things, losing friends to the cause, how to be of service, how to be Fully Alive (the title of her book) and honour This One Wild and Precious Life (mine!).Elizabeth’s book has been endorsed by Krista Tippett; she’s written and broadcast for the BBC, The Times, and The Economist; was the Director of Theos, the UK’s leading religion and society think tank; and her podcast The Sacred has featured Nick Cave, Jonathan Haidt and an incredible array of spiritualists and existential thinkers. This was a joyous meeting of spirits!SHOW NOTESVisit Elizabeth's website and subscribe to her Substack Buy your copy of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times hereThis One Wild and Precious Life is available here --If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.