Recombination Nation

Stewart Waine is a passionate berry breeder from England who is doing incredible work with bramble berries, strawberries and gooseberries, extending his expertise as a chef into the garden to produce all the flavours that are so hard to buy in the shops. Check out Stewart's inspiring posts on Twitter . Sign up to Recombination Nation on Substack for free weekly articles. Read Shane's book, Taming...

James Shapiro has spent a life time studying the evolvability of life and its capacity to change itself and the mechanisms by which it changes on multiple different levels with countless mechanisms. For an in depth read on his theories check out Evolution: A View from the 21st Century Or explore his website The Third Way- Evolution in the Era of Genomics and Epigenomics , Sign up to Recombination...

Andrew Cutler started out researching LLMs and the analysis of the fundamental elements of human personality but has since branched out into explorations of the evolutionary origin of modern human consciousness (hinted at in countless oral histories shared by multiple cultures today). Check out more of his work at Vectors of Mind on Substack. Sign up to Recombination Nation on Substack for free we...

Jacob Wolki is an innovator and advocate for regenerative farming, running a direct to consumer mixed livestock farm in rural Australia. We talk about the impact of animal genetics on the viability of such operations, and the impact of new technology on the perpetual challenge of marketing and sales. Check out Wolki Farms website Follow Jacob on twitter or Facebook . Sign up to Recombination Natio...

Ashley Fitzgerald took the path less travelled, through a PhD on subsistence agriculture in the USA, to a stint of idyllic rural life in Uruguay, then back into the bubbling cauldron of American suburbia. We discuss the lessons learnt from this life of creative and hopeful responses to the challenges of our time, Follow Ashley on twitter Subscribe to Doomer Optimism on substack Or catch their own...

Stefan Schmitz is the executive director of Crop Trust, an international non-profit working to preserve crop genetic diversity and support food security across the globe. The organisation was a key contributor to the Svalbard seed vault along with countless similar organisations in less dramatic locations. We discussed the potential for amateur crop breeders to collaborate with large institutions....

Emily Robison turned her lifelong passion for textile arts into a journey across the planet learning about diverse spinning and weaving traditions from Micronesia to the remote corners of the Mediterranean. We talk in depth about her experience exploring the dying craft of sea silk (spun from the holdfast threads of clams) and her efforts to adapt these techniques to new species in North America....

Tom Wagner is a legendary tomato and potato breeder who is eager to pass on his knowledge and material to other folks keen to carry on the tradition. If you have some crop breeding experience and would like to take your practice to the next level, Tom is looking for serious collaborators to pass the torch onto. He is also interested in creating podcasts or video documentaries to capture his expert...

Damon Zumbroegel left behind a successful career in architecture in the USA to find the living roots of civilisation in rural Burma and the mountains of Nepal. We discuss how he inspired the locals to revive an exhausted piece of land on the banks of the mighty Irrawaddy river, the design principles behind monasteries and high end hotels, and the diverging fates of Nepal (which westernised) and Bu...

In my second solo episode I explore the potential for floating aquatic plants to produce staple carbohydrates, fat and protein in a way that could create a new kind of integrated agricultural package. I also had fun imagining the impact these crops could have in a warm and watery corner of the world in the not too distant future. What novel domestications should I explore in future episodes? If yo...

Tanja Eskildsen fell in love with plants in chilly Denmark but unleashed their potential through low-input experimental farming on the sunny island of Majorca. We retrace her path learning to trial, select and breed crops for her challenging soil and extreme climate. Check out Tanja's Substack . And lots of gorgeous photos on Instagram . Sign up to Recombination Nation on Substack for free weekly...

Peter Watts is a notorious science fiction author with a fascination of the outer edges of biology, fractured minds and a taste for the dark and confronting. We dive into the lessons the living world and our own nature can teach us when contemplating the destiny of this civilisation, our species and the fate of the planet. Check out Peter's insightful blog and backlist (including many complete nov...

Associate Professor Ryan Huish is an experienced ethnobotanist with experience in both North America and the South Pacific, who also runs his own experimental low input farm in the mountains of Appalachia. We explore the lessons from historical and traditional cultures' relationships to plants and landscapes and how that has influenced his own efforts to develop a truly sustainable local agricultu...

Nathan Surendran is an Engineer who moved from the UK to New Zealand in response to the terrible creaking sound coming from the heart of the world's industrial systems. There he has worked consistently to help local government prepare for the unfolding shocks and stresses in our planetary supply chain, which New Zealand sits on the very end of. You can read Nathan's work at Energy and Resilience S...

In Shane's first solo episode, we explore the possible route to the domestication of the beaver and the potential benefits of developing a close relationship with this powerful ecosystem engineer. Check out more novel domestications in my ebook Taming the Apocalypse Audiobook available on Kobo Audiobook also available via a paid subscription to the Recombination Nation Substack

Todd Elliott is an experience market farmer who followed his passion for agricultural spiritual traditions deep into history, applied those lessons to his own surroundings, then wrote a book about his discoveries. Read Todd's blog: https://thecunningfarmer.substack.com Buy his book from the publisher: https://www.innertraditions.com/the-cunning-farmer Or Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cunning-Farm...

Dmitry Orlov was a prominent voice in the early 2000s peak oil movement in response to his book "The Five Stages of Collapse", comparing the recent collapse of the USSR with the likely prospects of the USA under similar circumstances. He has since moved from the USA back to Russia, where he continues to monitor history as it unfolds. This conversation was a rare opportunity to delve into the Russi...

Zach Elfers is a superstar in the agroforestry community, helping multiple innovative organisations develop both the crops and their uses. We talk about his work with hickory, honey locust and more, and their processing into value added products through collaborative groups. Read his substack: https://zachelfers.substack.com/profile/posts And his original blog: https://www.nomadseed.com Check out...

Soryu Forall is a meditation teacher and spiritual leader dedicated to bringing all beings to enlightenment. He teaches that ethical behavior is the beginning of the path, and that the first step in ethics is to prevent the destruction of life on Earth. Soryu is the Head Teacher and Founder of the Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth (MAPLE) where he guides that community to deve...

Nicholas is a passionate rare tree grower in the blessed lands of California where just about everything seems to grow. He has tapped into the growing diversity in avocado, and gathered up the remnants of legendary crop breeder Luther Burbank in his backyard. If you would like to get in touch with Nicholas reach out to me via my Substack. Sign up to Recombination Nation on Substack for free weekly...

Peter Ward is a palaeontologist and prolific author with books covering a vast range of the deep past and distant future of life on Earth (and beyond it). His book " Future Evolution: An Illuminated History of Life to Come" caught my attention and I was thrilled for the opportunity to drop an avalanche of speculative biology questions his way. You can find his books online and in major book stores...

Edmund Frost founded a collective of seed growers and breeders who sell their selection of seeds suitable for the humid southeast USA as Common Wealth Seed Growers. He lives in Louisa County, Virginia, a center for the intentional communities movement, and spent many years living at Twin Oaks Community. He is passionate about breeding cucurbits for disease resistance, along with many other crops....

Arnold Schroder, from the Fight Like an Animal podcast, is an ecological anarchist who bridges the world between biology and politics across the depths of time. Check out his archive of fascinating articles: https://www.againsttheinternet.com Grab his new book: https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Like-Animal-Revolutionary-Biology/dp/B0GZ1GKCVX/ Listen to his podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/09DTUqz...

Julia Dakin and Anna Mieritz are key members of the "Going to Seed" organisation, which brings adaptation crop breeding to numerous communities in the USA. In this two part interview I learn more about their own vegetable breeding projects, but also take the rare opportunity to learn more about how their organisation got started, how it grew, and plans for the future. A great episode for people ke...

Roger's Bacon is an evolutionary biologist who turned his tool set on the related problem of how cultures mutate, compete, hybridise and evolve. He writes fascinating deep dive articles at Secretorum on substack: https://www.secretorum.life And runs the Seeds of Science blog to give a wider audience to pioneering thinkers: https://www.theseedsofscience.pub Sign up to Recombination Nation on Substa...