The RegenNarration

Today, an extremely special episode. After we left the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative in Wyoming, but before we reached Paul Hawken back in California, there was one more stop we had to make. Or so we thought. For having made it to the Old Salt Festival (podcast about back in Montana last year), we met a special guest speaker there, Miisami Sapai yi Aki / Long Time Charging Woman , Kim Paul,...

Tim Winton is regarded by many as the preeminent Australian writer of his generation. His awards could almost fill a book themselves now. And he’s come to Boorloo / Perth today to launch his first picture book in more than 20 years, and the first non-fiction picture book for children about Ningaloo reef, the world heritage treasure a thousand kilometres and some north of us here. It’s called Ninga...

This still feels like the funniest story told on the podcast over its eight and some years now. And right up there among the most moving too. I still laugh out loud when I think about the end of my yarn with Tyson Yunkaporta back in episode 70, when I asked him about his music story. And the emotions that surged in a touchstone moment just prior to that have been the subject of many a chat since....

We’re just days away now from what’s been loosely dubbed ‘Regen Week’ over here in WA, an unprecedented series of international events that have gravitated together between Perth, the wheatbelt and Bridgetown. I’ll look forward to sharing some of what happens with you all afterwards, especially for those who can’t get here. Right now, though, on the back of last week’s episode focused on the centr...

It’s fitting that my first Aussie guest back home would be this bloke. Stuart McAlpine is a multiple award winning wheatbelt farmer over here in WA, who’s just been named as a finalist in the prestigious national Bob Hawke LandCare Award. I’ve long looked forward to having him on the podcast, having met him as part of the group that organised the first major RegenWA  conference staged at Perth Sta...

After years of work led by traditional custodians, Murujuga on the north-west coast of Australia became a World Heritage listed site last month, with its ancient rock art recognised as a ‘masterpiece of human creative genius’. You might remember our visit there, in the heat of December 2021, when I spoke with Clinton Walker , Ngarluma/Yindjibarndi man, Traditional Custodian of Murujuga, and CEO an...

Back on Earth Day in April 2024, we started our journey of the Americas with friend of the podcast, legendary best-selling author, Paul Hawken . It was just ahead of the release of his latest book, Carbon: The Book of Life . So we recorded a podcast in his incredible garden about it (along with some other life story stuff).  Later we thought it could be good to record a pod just walking and talkin...

Welcome to the second and final part of this special episode from the Wind River Reservation with Jason Baldes , founder and ED of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative , and VP of the InterTribal Buffalo Council . The full episode was played more than most in its first week, but given it was a little over two hours in length, I also wanted to offer it in distinct parts, for those of you who pr...

Last week's episode featured a special on-location recording with Jason Baldes , founder and ED of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative , and VP of the InterTribal Buffalo Council . It has drawn some wonderful responses since (thank you!). And again, given the episode was a little over two hours, I thought to release it in two parts this week for those of you who prefer to tune in that wa...

Welcome back to the Wind River Reservation, home of the Eastern Shoshone and Arapaho Nations. And, the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative (WRTBI), a tribally led non-profit founded in 2023, here at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in current day Wyoming. We left off part 1 of this series last week, as we met the Initiative’s founder, Jason Baldes , and prepared to head out on the plains, to meet...

Welcome to the Wind River Reservation, home of the Eastern Shoshone and Arapaho Nations, and the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative (WRTBI). That’s a tribally led non-profit founded in 2023, here at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in current day Wyoming. The Initiative, and its founder Jason Baldes , had been coming increasingly to my attention as we travelled the US, and with such unique and ex...

Professor Fred Provenza is the legendary behavioural ecologist and author who revolutionised how we understand the nature of animal health and intelligence, and its connection to our human health and intelligence. But what really blew Fred away on his journey was what he talked about in this part of our conversation a few years ago, on the capacity of all beings to innately know and select the foo...

This part of my conversation with regenerative agriculture legend, David Marsh , has stayed close since we recorded it at his place back in March 2024. In fact, when I first thought about launching the new series Vignettes from the Source, this passage was front of mind. Welcome to the 5th Vignette in the series that features some of the unforgettable, transformative and often inexplicable moments...

Last week’s episode from the ancient Great House of Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, left something out. Before my guest Dana Scott and I headed back to the car, we went back towards the entrance and plaza, because I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about how Dana’s path has arrived at a transformational restorative justice approach to education, how that evolved from our time in...

This episode was made during one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. It happened in a place that’s been called the most important site in the world. Lynne Kelly said that, co-author of Songlines, and my guest in the extremely popular episode 92 . She said it in a call with filmmaker Anna Sofaer and I a little after this was recorded. Anna has made a series of extraordinary films abou...

In last week’s episode with Dr Jann Hayman, winding up our series from the Osage Nation, I mentioned we’d just been on a tour of their astounding Greenhouse. The woman who kindly gave us that tour, Dawn Wormington, had been recruited for the job by the Osage. And in this brief bonus to the Osage series, we hear from Dawn about the unexpected, unintended gift that keeps on giving, out of the filmin...

Dr. Jann Hayman is Secretary of Natural Resources for the Osage Nation . We’ve just come from a tour of their astounding greenhouse, after having had a powerful conversation with Chief Standing Bear. Jann’s graciously welcomed filmmaker Nicol Ragland and I for a chat at her office, amidst her busy end of the week. Both Chief and Nicol sing Jann’s praises loudly. Nicol calls her a powerhouse. And w...

As introduced last week, we’re about to have a very special meeting with Chief Standing Bear of the Osage Nation . The family and I made our way with friend and filmmaker Nicol Ragland to Osage HQ in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. How the Osage survived being marched to these lands by the US government in the 19th century, and ongoing brutality in the 20th, is a scene set in last week’s episode (if you’re no...

Welcome to the launch of a very special series from a very special visit to the Osage Nation . Some of you might recognise the Osage Nation from the recent Martin Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon (have a look at this awesome live performance at the Oscars). Or from the book that was based on, by David Grann. Or indeed, from the podcast series, In Trust . They’ve all done a heck of a job b...

Christopher Brown is a celebrated science-fiction writer and decorated lawyer (and once co-hosted a punk rock radio show). His newest book, however, is described as a ‘genre-defying work of nature writing, literary nonfiction, and memoir that explores what happens when nature and the city intersect … [challenging] our assumptions of nature itself.’ It’s called A Natural History of Empty Lots : Fie...

It was difficult trying to choose the opening quote for this week's episode. My guest Lorenzo Washington articulated a handful of beautiful passages. So I thought I'd put the 'short list', as it were, together here. Let's call it a preview of ep.259, The Jefferson Street Sound: Preserving Nashville's Soul with Lorenzo Washington . One of my favourites. Title slide: Lo...

Nashville's musical legacy extends far beyond the mainstream country narrative. Tucked away in North Nashville, the Jefferson Street Sound Museum stands as a testament to the rich cultural heritage of jazz, soul, and rhythm and blues that thrived from the 1940s to the 70s. Founded and curated by Lorenzo Washington, this museum isn't just a collection of artifacts – it's a living, br...

Today we continue the new series Vignettes from the Source, featuring some of the unforgettable, transformative and often inexplicable moments my guests have shared over the years.  This one is from almost five years ago, with regenerative agriculture legend, the founder of RCS Australia, Dr Terry McCosker. Terry and his family have become dear friends over those five years, but this conversation...

Springhouse Community School has been called ‘the most dynamic and promising experiment in education and community building’. It’s a K12 bilingual school, with adult programs, community networks, and even a print shop (that’s a glorious story in itself). It also works with a participatory budgeting and pricing model, and incorporates things like restorative justice and land regeneration practices....

Last week’s episode on-location with a ‘community juggernaut’ restoration project in South Carolina drew some wonderful responses – like ‘I felt like I was right there’, ‘Giving me goose bumps’, ‘The future retrospective documentary idea is brilliant’, and ‘This kicks ass’! So here’s a 5 minute bonus to lift your spirits a little more.  It starts as we were winding up, but with mic’s left running,...