Wild with Sarah Wilson

On today’s ep we pull apart the corruption, lies, the removal and defunding of crucial bodies that hold governments to account, the stacking of boards with fossil fuel executives and the dead crook behaviour that has defined the current Government. Mike Seccombe is the national correspondent for The Saturday Paper and has covered this descent into what some political commentators have described as...

This is where things get a bit fun! And, actually, this episode explains WHY i decided to do this election series. So. The policy and ideas gridlock is real. And there’s a reason for it. But there’s also a solution and policy think tank The Grattan Institute has mapped it out with research. It’s to vote in a number of climate-focused MPs who do not belong to either of the major parties. As it happ...

In this episode, we lay out where things are at as we head into the election campaign proper. Consider it a primer (if you’re just starting to get engaged in all this election guff). I’m joined by cofounder of @TheDailyAus Zara Seidler and Walkley Award-winning journalist, comedian and activist Jan Fran to chat through the frustration and fatigue (why we’re feeling it), as well as what is actually...

Yep, a one-stop pod that shows how we can make our vote count toward a more caring, humane, vibrant Australia on May 21. To kick off, I explain why I think this election is the most important in recent history, why things feel so fractured and dismal (you’re not imagining it; the country has swerved well off track!), but most importantly how we can strategically shake things up election day and la...

Frankly, if the world needs anything right now it's better, more authentic, and discerning communication .  In so many ways we seem to have lost track of how and WHY we get into such polarised positions.   Sara Nass is a world expert (and the unofficial organiser of) the global authentic relating movement. I invite her to share tips on how we can be more artful at relating . How do we&nb...

It's time to give a shit. To fire up. To say yes — and mean it. Whether you're endlessly scrolling Netflix for the perfect movie or looking for a date online or wanting to make a “difference", it's time to commit. Global democracy expert Pete Davis says we've been hoodwinked into thinking we need to keep our options open. But our creative urges, our sense of humanity, our political system nee...

Economic anthropologist Jason Hickel is possibly the leading voice in the degrowth movement that's bubbling about the place. Heard of it? Degrowth pivots around the wild idea that constant growth - and GDP - is the wrong goal. Instead, human, and planetary wellbeing should be our marker of progress. You know, if we want to survive. I drill Jason on the implications: the necessary end of capitalism...

The 'world's most influential philosopher' loves to whack us around the head with our own morality. Aussie-born Peter Singer, the guy who brought us vegetarianism (and is also dubbed the most “dangerous” man on the planet) has spoken out on euthanasia, abortion, bestiality, cancel culture and mandatory vaccinations. But this episode he gets us wrestling with the ‘effective altruism' move...

Author, Johann Hari reckons our ability to focus didn't just disappear — it was stolen! This is a crisis and it's not your fault. Johann explains why you touch your phone 2167 times a day, why the average office worker can only focus on a task for three minutes, and why our kids' attention is shot. But it's one thing to lose the joy of reading a long book, it's another to distract an entire societ...

Political reporter for The Guardian and sexual assault survivor Amy Remeikis joins me for International Women's Day to give an insider's view on the vile situation for women in politics - and beyond - in this country. The national conversation has erupted over the past 12 months and accusations from inside Parliament House itself continue to unfold. Amy reveals why the usual political de...

Leading international political scientist Brian Klass answers the Big Questions we're all asking: Why does it seem everyone in charge is a narcissistic psychopath? Does power corrupt or is it just that dodgy people are really really good at weaselling their way into power? And how does our PM get away with brazenly lying? It's a great time in history to get Brian in; he interviewed 500 leaders aro...

Meet the 82-year-old radical Catholic nun who's the most prominent campaigner against the death penalty in the US. Sister Helen Prejean wrote ‘Dead Man Walking', which became the movie (Susan Sarandon played Helen). In this episode you'll hear about the horrifying close calls, when prisoners have been spared moments before their execution and other statistics that have us confront our humanity. Bu...

This is the third in a series of bonus episodes of Wild for the holiday period, as inspired by my New York Times bestselling book ‘first, we make the beast beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety'. I explore how I turn my anxiety into a superpower, something I practice daily. In this episode I'm joined by Brooke McAlary from Slowyourhome.com and we explore ways I listen to my anxiety and use it to ch...

Ahead of season 3 of Wild, here's another bonus episode for the holiday period, a time we tend to reserve for getting our lives in order for the year ahead. These bonus eps are inspired by my New York Times bestselling book ‘first, we make the beast beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety'. In this episode I'm joined by Brooke McAlary from Slowyourhome.com and we explore some simple techniques t...

Before we launch season 3 of Wild, here's a few bonus episodes for over the holiday period. They're inspired by my New York Times bestselling book ‘first, we make the beast beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety' and the first one is a rundown of the best techniques and tricks to reduce anxiety while travelling, with a quick meditation, perfect to do on planes or on the bus or in a hotel room. I'm j...

Wild is returning for season 3 February 2022, until then: Follow Wild with Sarah Wilson: https://podfollow.com/1548626341 Find out more about Sarah Wilson: www.sarahwilson.com Get your copy of Sarah Wilson's book This One Wild and Precious Life: A hopeful path forward in a fractured world here https://amzn.to/3vs3tf2 Connect on Instagram: www.instagram.com/_sarahwilson_ Sign up to my Substack News...

Emily Atkin is America's foremost climate journalist and founder of the Heated newsletter, awarded Best Environmental Journalism of 2020.. I remember first coming across Emily on Twitter when she posted about fossil fuel media campaigns. Her Tweet targeted Twitter. The then Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren subsequently retweeted Emily's tweet, tagging Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey …wh...

Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times -bestselling author. He holds three Guinness records for various ludicrous long bike treks across the planet and he's also a bone fide explorer who has discovered things about ancient civilizations and, most notably, about cultures where people live the longest, called the Blue Zones. Dan and I met when I wrote a blog post about his B...

Have you heard Abbie Chatfield let rip? You must. The 26-year-old is a reality TV star and vibrator saleswoman with an irreverent podcast (400,000 downloads a month) who will put her boobs, STI treatment plans and beliefs on the public line to make an often controversial and important point, invariably in support of female sexual rights and voice. Oh, and getting vaccinated. As a Gen X feminist, I...

Today we travel to the UK to chat with one of my favourite representatives of humanity. Fearne Cotton is British radio and TV royalty. She began her career age 15 as host of  The Disney Club  after winning some local competition…and then spent the next 25 years broadcasting to the nation, everything from Top of the Pops, BBC radio1 and 2, the Golden Globes, BAFTAS and a bunch of R...

Ok this is a little bonus we've thrown into the series. Going forward I'll do some random episodes where I go hunt down someone I mention in my books or travels broadly, someone you've got super curious about, to see where things wound up for them. A Where Are They Now with my nomadic encounters as dictated by your intrigue!  Many of you who have read This One Wild and Precious Life will reca...

David Whyte is the guy who got me into poetry; Steven Spielberg has said the same of the Irish poet and philosopher who leads hiking/poetry tours around the world and works with Sam Harris on his meditation app. David trained as a marine biologist and was a naturalist guide in the Galapagos, the Amazon and Himalayas, before becoming a professional poet because, as I heard him explain once, the lan...

Saul Griffith is a mad inventor, an official “genius” (as per the prestigious Macarthur Fellowship, um, wait for it, for his prodigy of service in the world community) and he has a fix for the climate crisis! Electrify everything! US President Joe Biden vibed with it so much he made the Australian his climate advisor.  I first came across Saul on one of my eternal searches fo...

British writer Oliver Burkeman has investigated pretty much every productivity hack, mindfulness trick, list-making system and happiness boost we've ever been fed. He concludes, almost none work. Ha! I followed Oliver's column in The Guardian , which he wrote from his home in Brooklyn, New York, for about 10 years and he is definitely my favourite anti-self-help self-help writer! It's been a few y...

Ahead of COP26 , the most important climate conference of our times, I called out to listeners to ask me whatever is on their mind, or in the hearts, about the climate crisis we are living through. My new producer Cassie (lives in Melbourne, interests include rock trivia, the beach and tea) chose some of your questions and played them to me cold. Me (interests include climate trivia!), well, I did...