The Wisdom & Action Podcast

Hi friends, we’re taking a break from normal recording to bring you a beautiful bridge season. It’s a mix of some of our webinars and live conversations that we've had at the Small Giants Academy . Our second guest is the incredible Krista Tippett, Founder of the On Being project and host of its tender, wise and ever-evolving body of shows, public events, podcasts and conversations. In this conver...

Hi friends, we’re taking a break from normal recording to bring you a beautiful bridge season. It’s a mix of some of our webinars and live conversations that we've had at the Small Giants Academy . Our first guest, Pádraig Ó Tuama, is a poet and theologian, whose work centers around the themes of language, power conflict and religion. It’s a fantastic episode, and we’re so excited that we can shar...

In this episode we have Jacqueline Novogratz , entrepreneur, author and trailblazer who is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a nonprofit global venture capital fund whose goal is to use entrepreneurial approaches to address global poverty. Jacqueline shares her transformative journey from the world of banking to the forefront of reimagining finance's role for societal change, and reflects on the iron...

In today's episode, Rasmus Nørgaard shares his unique perspective on the connection between property development and systems thinking. You might wonder how these two converge, but as Rasmus’ journey unfolds, it becomes evident that the built environment plays a pivotal role in the larger systems we navigate. What sets Rasmus apart is not just his heart, it’s commitment to a triple bottom line and...

Join me in this eye-opening conversation with Dr. Riane Eisler, a distinguished social systems scientist and cultural historian. Riane’s personal journey– fleeing the Nazi regime as a child– deeply informs her dedication to understanding and addressing the roots of violence and oppression in human societies. Together, we explore Riane’s groundbreaking concepts such as partnership societies and dom...

In this episode, I speak with historian of religion Rune Rasmussen and we delve into the fascinating realm of Nordic animism and shamanism. We discuss the power of lore, the profound lessons embedded in mythology and how these stories can help us understand humanity. Rune’s insights shed light on why embracing animistic worldviews can offer profound pathways to understanding, healing and connectio...

Join me as we dive into the transformative world of biomimicry with renowned biologist and author, Janine Benyus. Drawing inspiration from nature's 3.8 billion years of evolution, biomimicry offers a profound new perspective on innovation, and Janine's groundbreaking work weaves solutions found in the natural world with human creativity, challenging us to rethink our approach to design and decisio...

Join us for this thought-provoking episode with Arielle Gamble, CEO of Groundswell , where she reflects on her transformative journey from art and human rights advocacy to leading a climate action platform. Arielle talks about her recent TED talk on legacies, navigating the intricate web of climate change, and her artistic approach to sense-making. We delve into the role of art, magic, and love in...

Join me as we delve into a transformative conversation with Isabella Tree, renowned author and rewilding innovator. Isabella shares her profound journey from inheriting a struggling farm in Sussex to pioneering a rewilding project that has sparked global attention. From the liberating decision to cease conventional farming practices to the introduction of free-roaming herbivores, Isabella's story...

We’re back with another amazing episode! Our guest this week is Anna Funder, an incredible Australian writer whose books Stasiland and All That I Am are prize winning international best sellers. Her most recent work, Wifedom , is an exploration of Eileen O'Shaughnessy, George Orwell's first wife who was almost successfully erased from history - until now. Anna shares her inspiration for the book,...

We are so thrilled to introduce you to the legendary Nora Bateson! Nora is a celebrated filmmaker, writer, and president of the International Bateson Institute in Sweden. Her interdisciplinary work combines biology, cognition, art, anthropology, and psychology where she delves into ecological patterns in living systems. Nora introduces us to the concept of “warm logic” and “double binds” and chall...

Welcome to the first episode of the Wisdom and Action podcast, brought to you by the Small Giants Academy. Join host Berry Liberman as she chats with Ben Goldsmith, a leading figure in green investment and the rewilding movement in the UK and Europe. The conversation navigates the complexities of valuing nature, rewilding, and the financial markets in the restoration process. As Berry and Ben expl...

We’ve been brewing something special here at The Small Giants Academy and can’t wait to show you. The Wisdom and Action Podcast… coming soon. Produced by Audiocraft Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legendary Hollywood screenwriting teacher Joan Scheckel shares her insights about the true value of meaningful storytelling. Joan has refined a creative process called The Technique – a deep storytelling discipline so deep and profound, you dare not do it if you're not 100 per cent committed to your craft. Joan has worked on hundreds of films: from Little Miss Sunshine to Whale Rider to Transparen...

This week’s conversation is between Berry and Canadian culture activist Stephen Jenkinson. His work is really hard to classify. You may have read his conversation with Pierz Newton-John in issue 54 of Dumbo Feather magazine. Stephen has worked extensively with people who are dying, and their families. He’s worked in medical care, agriculture, and he’s also a canoe builder and sculptor. Stephen’s t...

This is episode 2 of our mini-series with Nate Hagens, where he and Berry explore the role of energy in our lives and in our economies, and how our short-term thinking around energy in the past two centuries in particular is bringing and will continue to bring huge implications. They wrestle with our collective behaviours and thinking, and unpack some of the adaptive solutions and opportunities av...

Gabor Mate is a Hungarian-Canadian physician who specialises in addiction and childhood development. His most recent book, a must read, is The Myth of Normal, all about trauma, illness and healing in a toxic culture. We apologise for the rough audio in this chat, but hope you'll still be able to take in many of the gems it harbours. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing our new mini-series with Dumbo Feather favourite, Nate Hagens! You may remember our conversation with Nate from a couple of episodes back, where he gave us a big picture overview of the various interlocking crises of this moment, or what he calls "the human predicament."We are going deeper into this with a mini-series that unpacks a range of issues and asks the question, "What can our...

Dr Julia Kim is the Program Director of the Gross National Happiness Centre in Bhutan. Long time readers and listeners of Dumbo Feather will be familiar with the GNH framework, which many organisations, cities and communities around the world have implemented to shape a more sustainable and holistic vision of their success. Julia shares more on that and why Bhutan is such a rich place for leadersh...

It's the brilliant, joyful and wise Esther Perel! Esther is the foremost expert on human relationships and sexuality right now on the planet, and author of the New York Times bestseller Mating in Captivity, which shook the ground beneath us with the concept of erotic intelligence. She is a cultural force & global icon, creator of two outstanding podcasts series: Where Should We Begin, which takes...

In this episode, Kirsty chats with Frances Haugen, the woman who leaked internal documents that demonstrated a lack of empathy and care from Facebook executives about the impact that its products were having, particularly on young women and girls. Facebook has since changed its name to Meta, but its suite of products is the same: Facebook, instagram and WhatsApp are visited by billions of people g...

For the past couple of months, we’ve been exploring what the good society is all about, how we can create systems and communities that support people and planet to thrive. On this episode, we have a slightly different take on the topic. Dumbo Feather’s editor Kirsty de Garis is speaking with someone who had made her way into just about every kitchen in Australia with her gorgeous cookbooks – Hetty...

Hi friends! This is our third episode in our Good Society series, where we unpack the current systems we live, work and play within and ask how they can do better and be better for people and planet. This week, Berry talks with Oliver Burkeman, a long-time columnist for The Guardian, where he wrote a column about productivity that ultimately lead to his latest book, 4000 Weeks - Time Management fo...

We’ve got episode two of our Good Society Series, where we’re unpacking the current systems we live, work and play within, and ask how they can be better for people and planet. What does it mean for us to thrive within our planetary bounds? What structures are getting in the way of that? Throughout this series, we look at who we want to be as a society & how we can use our heads, hearts and hands...

We are excited to share the first in our 6-part series on the The Good Society, where we’re unpacking the current systems we live, work and play within, and ask how they can do better and be better for people and planet. What does it mean for us to thrive with another within our planetary bounds? What structures are currently getting in the way of that? What are the stories we need to be telling t...