Live Free Ride Free with Rupert Isaacson

Filmmaker Craig Foster ( My Octopus Teacher ) and wildlife sculptor-naturalist George Bumann return to Live Free Ride Free for a sweeping, soul-deep conversation on rewilding the human spirit. With Rupert Isaacson, they dive into the healing force of biodiversity, the true meaning of conflict resolution, and why tracking—not just animals, but ourselves—is essential for becoming fully alive. From s...

Dr. Ben Conner, professor of practical theology and founder of the Center for Disability and Ministry, joins Rupert Isaacson for a radical rethinking of Christianity and environmentalism. From reinterpreting "dominion" in Genesis to empowering neurodivergent voices in ministry, Ben challenges assumptions about American evangelicalism, conservation, and the role of theology in planetary healing. To...

"The foundation of Western rationalism? A series of mystical dreams." Artist, philosopher, and occult scholar Dr. Justin Sledge joins Rupert Isaacson to illuminate a forgotten dimension of Western thought. With over 870,000 YouTube followers on his channel Esoterica , Dr. Sledge has built a global audience passionate about the academic study of magic, mysticism, and esotericism. In this fast-movin...

Artist, regenerative grazier, and rewilding facilitator Nick Viney joins Rupert Isaacson for an expansive conversation from the wilds of Dartmoor to the edges of imagination. With boots-on-the-ground wisdom from 20 years of land restoration, livestock management, and community-building, Nick makes a compelling case for restoring ecosystems through play, art, and radical listening. This episode is...

Farrier, ultra-runner, and Derby training guide Stevie Delahunt joins Rupert Isaacson for a surprising, funny, and soulful conversation that gallops through Patagonia, Mongolia, Oregon, and the inner landscapes of fear, boredom, and awe. They unpack the difference between trauma and triumph, how endurance sports can help rewire the brain, and what it means to truly listen to animals, land, and spi...

🚨 Support the Cornwall Rainforest Research Station: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-cornwall-rainforest-comm Robin and Merlin Hanbury-Tenison are currently raising funds to build the UK's first Atlantic rainforest research station through their Thousand Year Trust. This station will serve as a hub for groundbreaking studies into biodiversity, climate resilience, and the mental health benefits...

Trigger Warning : This episode contains discussion of suicide, childhood trauma, and emotional abuse. If these topics may be triggering, we suggest skipping this episode or proceeding with care. If you or someone you know is affected by such experiences or is contemplating suicide, please seek support from qualified professionals and local mental health resources. Emelie Cajsdotter—author, healer,...

George Bumann—sculptor, wildlife researcher, educator, and author—joins Rupert Isaacson for a profound conversation exploring how animals communicate, what it means to truly listen to the natural world, and how this understanding can transform our inner and outer lives. George, who lives just outside Yellowstone National Park, offers insights drawn from decades of tracking wolves, grizzlies, elk,...

In this episode of Live Free Ride Free, Rupert Isaacson dives deep into the intersection of holistic health, biohacking, and consciousness with Dr. Har Hari Khalsa, a Los Angeles-based chiropractor, yogi, and pioneer in integrative medicine. Together, they explore the power of vibration and frequency in healing—from chiropractic care to scalar waves—and how our relationship with nature, technology...

In this episode of Live Free Ride Free , Rupert Isaacson sits down with art historian, educator, and filmmaker Tom Parsons. With a career spanning decades, Tom shares his fascinating journey from studying art history to working with youth, fostering creativity, and inspiring a love for aesthetics and self-expression. He discusses the importance of art, personal growth, and the value of risk-taking...

Lainie Liberti, world traveler, author, and founder of Transformative Mentoring for Teens and Project World School, joins Rupert Isaacson in this inspiring episode of Live Free Ride Free. She shares her remarkable journey of leaving behind conventional life to travel the world with her son, Miro, and the profound lessons she has learned about education, partnership parenting, and teen mental healt...

Bestselling author J.D. Barker joins Rupert Isaacson for an in-depth discussion about his journey from ghostwriting and book doctoring to becoming a globally recognized thriller writer. With endorsements from Stephen King and collaborations with James Patterson, Barker shares his insights into writing gripping fiction, navigating the publishing world, and his experience as an autistic author. This...

Craig Foster, renowned naturalist, filmmaker, and co-creator of the Academy Award-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher , joins Rupert Isaacson for a second captivating discussion. This episode dives deeper into the ancient human art of tracking, its profound connection to mental health, and how it can rewire the brain for resilience, belonging, and joy. Craig shares stories of his immersive trac...

Rebecca Didier is the managing editor of Trafalgar Square  Books, the premier publisher of equestrian and horse-related books in the United States. With over 23 years of experience, Rebecca has been instrumental in shaping the world of equestrian publishing, blending her love of literature, design, and horses. From her early days learning to ride in Vermont to becoming a key figure in the publishi...

Bridging Divides Through Art and Connection with Ari Honarvar Ari Honarvar is an award-winning writer, speaker, artist, and peacebuilder. As the founder of Rumi With A View , she uses art, music, and Persian mystical poetry to create healing spaces and build bridges between communities divided by conflict and trauma. Ari’s work has been featured in publications such as The Guardian , Teen Vogue ,...

Finding Balance: Technology, Racehorses, and Thrilling Stories with Victor Bahna Victor Bahna is a tech industry veteran, thoroughbred racing enthusiast, and the author of the gripping new thriller, Heliacal Star . Based in Seattle, Victor has seamlessly blended his passions for technology and racehorses into a life filled with discovery, balance, and storytelling. In his debut novel, Heliacal Sta...

If you've ever wondered how the classic animal scenes in movies get made, Terry Kuebler, has has a lifetime of experience behind the scenes in Hollywood. Starting as an animal trainer and horsewoman at home in California she entered the movie industry in the 1980s and helped create some very iconic movies- listen on to hear about that. But there's way more to Terry than simply animal training. Aft...

If you haven't watched the film My Octopus Teacher , then stop reading this right now and go to Netflix . (Trailer here on YouTube ) An extraordinary work, which chronicles the relationship between South African diver and director Craig Foster and, yes, a wild octopus, the film won an Oscar and rightly so. The link between man and nature shown in the movie - or rather the clear reminder that man i...

There are people out there in the world who make good things happen. The good things you see on your news feeds - not the doom scrolling. The good documentaries you might have watched, the projects fighting climate change, AIDS, human rights abuses and the like - its often easy to forget that there are actual individuals behind the scenes making these things happen, then helping them get out to th...

That the Carradine family is a Hollywood dynasty is common knowledge. Less known is that one of its scions - Kansas Carradine, daughter of legendary actor David Carradine (Kung Fu, Kill Bill et al) has become possibly one of the most self actualized people of her generation and is going around the world helping others to do the same. Kansas Carradine is an amazing talent: a professional trick ride...

Many of us dream about - or at the very least wonder about - the phenomen of becoming a YouTuber. Actually making a living out of content creation. Many of us also dream of being able to positively influence the lives of others this way and spread knowledge of healing and well being for the common good while, well being successful. Sukie Baxter, whose work on explaining the autonomic nervous syste...

Have you ever dreamed of being a filmmaker, a producer? A storyteller of the screen? We all have at some point -anyone who consumes screen entertainment hankers at some point to be the one making the content. Yet how to even get started? Even in these days of YouTubers and independent film making platforms where movies made on cell phones get sold to TV, we know its hard. How do you get the financ...

Have you ever heard of the Grand Tour? If you haven’t, you’ve certainly benefited from it – in the 18th and 19th centuries young artists, composers and  aristocrats from northern Europe, most especially England and Germany, used to tour the great cities of Renaissance Italy, adventuring in all sorts of dissolute ways but also learning the Classics along the way, not to mention witnessing the great...

To live free and ride free you don't have to be a celeb. You don't have to be changing the world in an obvious way. The non-obvious, the non celebrity pathway is just as powerful but oft overlooked. With that in mind I feel it's very important to balance the extraordinary ways in which we have seen guests on the podcast live self actualized lived with equally extraordinary tales of a more ordinary...

Have you ever gone looking for treasure. And found it? Like many who go looking for gold, the first clues came through offhand comments, snatches overheard conversations that somehow struck a resonance, a chord, in the gut. I had embarked upon a journey to the centre of the Old Masters tradition of dressage. At first, I didn't know that was what I was doing. My quest was to understand more about h...