Wickedly Smart Woefully Stupid Podcast

What Does Democracy Actually Feel Like From the Inside? Most conversations about democracy right now feel like arguments — volleys of talking points launched from entrenched positions, designed to win rather than illuminate. This episode is something different. This week, Wendy sits down with her partner, Mike Long, a lifelong student of history and human psychology, and, together with Harvey, the...

What if the way you love was shaped before you could even speak — and what if that same pattern is running our institutions, our politics, our planet? In this episode, Wendy and Harvey sit down with transformational relationship mentor Dr. Gary Salyer to explore the hidden architecture of attachment — the early patterns that wire us for connection, conflict, or shutdown long before we have words f...

What if nature had a seat at the table — not as a resource to be managed, but as a voice to be heard? In this episode, Wendy and Harvey dig into Alexandra Pimor's Nature on Board movement — a radical, quietly spreading idea that nature deserves representation in the very boardrooms and decision-making bodies shaping its future. From Ecuador writing the rights of Pachamama into its constitution, to...

The soil beneath your feet is a living system. So why do we treat it like dirt? In this episode, Wendy and Harvey sit down with sustainability pioneer and transdisciplinary systems thinker Erin Dayl — a woman who has spent 25 years at the intersection of clean energy, regenerative agriculture, social justice, and the kind of organizational thinking that actually moves things forward. From breaking...

What would Teddy Roosevelt think of today's world — and what would you do if you were president? Wendy and Harvey kick off with a powerful (if possibly misappropriated) Roosevelt quote about leaving the land better for future generations, then trace the arc from his bold conservation legacy to today's dismantling of public lands and the silencing of climate from mainstream discourse. Along the way...

This week, Harvey and Wendy interview author and peacebuilder Danielle Reiff about the keys to reuniting people and healing democracy. Danielle is developing a four step process to re-engaging people, re-connecting them, listening to them, and organizing our systems around what people really want and need. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get ac...

What do 8.4 billion people on one planet have in common? Hot beverages like coffee and tea. Since we're in the US, where coffee is more prevalent, we venture down the rabbit hole of the origins of coffee, the reasons for its popularity and the impact of this well-loved crop on the environment and the global economy. Join us! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other su...

Episode 2 of Wickedly Smart and Woefully Stupid explores the 30th anniversary of the movie Apollo 13 as a metaphor for where our planet is right now. In Harvey's imagination, we are a space craft in orbit with everyone watching to see if we make it back OK. We talk about all 8.4 billion of us being on a spaceship called Earth together and how we're flawed, amazing, and human all at the same time....

This isn't a podcast where two people have all the answers. It's a podcast where two people are genuinely trying to figure things out together, in real time, with plenty of laughter at our own contradictions. Harvey and Wendy come from different disciplines. He's a communicator and creative strategist; she's a forest scientist and organizational consultant. They share a fascination with complex sy...