Accidental Gods

In this deep, thoughtful conversation, two of the men at the heart of the Climate Majority Project discuss their own journeys into eco-spirituality - what they believe it to be and why it's a core, foundational bedrock of their lives.  If you follow anything else that Faith and I do together, you'll know that we believe heart-felt connection to the All That Is forms the bedrock of human existence...

We're told so often that people 'don't want the nanny state to intervene' in what we eat or drink or smoke - and often the people saying this are those who employ literal nannies to raise their children.  But is it true?  What would we learn if someone courageous, with vision, depth and care were to find ways to ask ordinary people what they really feel?  #TheFoodConversation is huge -  in scope a...

Our guest this week is Douglas Rushkoff, a man whose insights and intellect have earned him a place among the world's ten most influential intellectuals by MIT. As the host of the acclaimed Team Human podcast and author of numerous groundbreaking books, including "Survival of the Richest," Rushkoff's work delves into the intricate dance between technology, narrative, money, power, and human connec...

This week's guest is one of those people whose breadth and depth is an inspiration.  As you are about to hear, Jenny Grettve is an author, a philosopher, a systems thinker who takes her ideas and brings them alive in the world. She's the founder and director of When! When!, a design studio that tests and actively implements ideas and projects on systemic transformation with the goal of slowing dow...

Today we venture into the heart of Hull, where the seeds of change are being sown by the hands of ordinary people. Gully Bujak, our guest this week, is a force of nature who, since her awakening to the climate crisis in 2018, has channeled her energy into the creation of Cooperation Hull, a beacon of participatory democracy and local empowerment. Drawing inspiration from the groundbreaking work of...

This week's guest is one of those who understands the nuts and bolts - the iniquities - of the current system - and has ideas of how we can shape something better from the hot mess of corruption and greed in which we're mired.  Grace Blakeley is a staff writer at Tribune Magazine and author of several books, including 'Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedo...

"Consciousness creates Matter Language creates Reality Ritual creates Relationship" - Oscar Mira-Quesada quoted by Nina Simons in podcast #218 Part of our moving towards a healed and healthy culture for humanity is rewilding our relationships with ourselves, each other and the earth. A key part of this is building rituals that have meaning for us in the context of these relationships. Connecting t...

In this nourishing episode of Accidental Gods, we delve into the fertile world of seed sovereignty with Katie Hastings and Sinead Fortune of the Gaia Foundation's Seed Sovereignty Programme. Katie, hailing from the lush landscapes of Wales, and Sinead, rooted in the rugged beauty of rural Aberdeenshire, share their passion for reviving ancient grains and fostering communities of growth. Embark on...

“Respect is earned. Honesty is appreciated. Trust is gained. Loyalty is returned.” — Oscar Auliq Ice - quoted on Savimbo website In this pivotal episode, we journey with Drea Burbank from the depths of a fundamentalist Mormon cult to the rainforests of the Colombian Amazon. Drea's life story, chronicled in her book "Shaman Gurl" (linked in the show notes), is a testament to human resilience and th...

In this week's episode of Accidental Gods, we dive into the visionary world of economic transformation with Emily Harris of Dark Matter Labs. Emily, a chartered accountant with an MA in regenerative economics, is not your average number cruncher. She's at the forefront of reimagining our financial systems, exploring the intersection of technology, governance, and the natural world.  Join us as Emi...

In this week's episode we delve into the intricate world of dung beetles and their critical role in regenerative farming with the passionate and knowledgeable Claire Whittle, the Regenerative Vet. Claire's journey from a conventional large animal practitioner to a fervent advocate for farming in harmony with nature is not only inspiring but also a testament to the profound impact one species can h...

This week, I spoke with James Plunkett, a man who has spent his career at the intersection of policy and social change. From the halls of Number Ten to the charity sector's front lines, James's unique perspective has birthed a book that critically examines what's wrong with our society and offers tangible fixes. Together, we dissect our societal challenges, from outdated institutions to the techno...

We don't have a democracy, we have a kleptocracy that elevates to positions of power those amongst us who are most comfortable with leaning into their inner Dark Triad of Psychopathy, Narcissism and basic low cunning.  Then, when they get there, we're surprised that they go on to wreak havoc with all that we believe to be good and right and beautiful.  Doing the same thing time after time is the v...

How does each of us find our sovereignty, our sense of what it is to have agency and be alive in the world, and align this with the part in all of us that is anchored in compassion, connection and empathy?  How, in short, do we encounter and encourage our own sovereign feminine? Dr Maggie Ostara is a long-time friend of the podcast - she was with us in episode 116 when we talked about finding our...

"Consciousness creates matter, Language Creates Reality, Ritual creates relationship' - Oscar Miro-Quesada  quoted by Nina Simons in her book ’Nature, Culture and the Sacred’  One of the extraordinary privileges of hosting a podcast like this is that I get to talk to some of my heroes, to ask questions, to have a conversation about the things that really matter.  This week's guest is one of these....

Those of you who've followed the podcast for any length of time know that I feel our capacity to connect across long distances, to share ideas in real time, is one of the things that has shifted our culture from being complex to super-complex, or hyper-complex, or whatever adjective we want to create that intimates a massive increase in the complexity of our communications and our actions. One key...

Happy New Year.  It feels to me as if this year, the journey is going to be one of continual change and of challenge - that 2024 will be the year when it is impossible for anyone to pretend that the life we knew, the life we grew up believing would go on indefinitely - is going to continue. The old order is dying, but if we're to absolute collapse on a global scale (because clearly it's happening...

Welcome to the second part of our conversation - if you haven't listened to the first part, please do so - it's here [LINK] and  Simon has very kindly agreed to come back to join our Cutting Edge gathering on Sunday 19th March at 7pm UK time. He'll be with us for an hour during which you'll have a chance to ask him the questions that matter to you - all the things I don't think to ask - and then w...

Happy New Year.  My guest this week is a long term friend of the podcast. Dr Simon Michaux has been a physicist and geologist and then became an expert in the reality of the circular economy. He now works in the Geological Survey of Finland and is a regular advisor to the Finnish parliament. The day after we recorded this podcast, he was talking to the British consulate in Helsinki and in the last...

For this time around the dark nights of the winter solstice - at least in the northern hemisphere - we've been exploring more of an inner landscape - being reflexive with Nathalie and Della, and before that, exploring the living myths of our land and how we can ground them in our current reality with Angharad Wynne. And this week, we're heading inward and outward, travelling to Peru with Dr Simon...

Here is our winter solstice meditation - please create a space for yourself where you won't be disturbed and where you can feel your way into the dark, regenerative space of the longest night.  If you want to draw the curtains, switch off all the power and light a candle, this may help you to connect with the place of rest and renewal. This version is the shortest and comes with music in the backg...

This is the fourth year of our now-traditional Winter Solstice podcast get-together in which Nathalie Nahai, Della Duncan and I sit around our virtual dark-nights fire to reflect on the podcasting year just gone and explore what has changed for us since the last time the seeds of new beginnings were grounded in the heart of what has passed.  This is becoming one of the highlights of my podcasting...

This week, as we head down towards what, in the northern hemisphere at least, is the long nights, the dark nights, I wanted to explore our heritage, the way we celebrate the solstice in this land, the land of Britain. I'm aware that quite a lot of you listening are from the southern hemisphere where you're heading up to your long sun and your fires burn differently. I recorded a summer solstice me...

Our guest this week is host of one of my must-listen podcasts - one I've been following since the spring, when Dr Simon Michaux mailed me and said, you need to listen to Rachel - and he was right.  Rachel Donald is host of Planet: Critical one of the world's top-rated podcasts on the poly-crisis and systems change.  She interviews some really big players on the world stage with integrity and panac...

Our guest this week is Hugo Spowers, Company Architect of Riversimple, whose purpose is 'To pursue, systematically, the elimination of the environmental impact of personal transport.'  Modernity demands that we have personal transport and the thought of giving it up is one of the many sticking points when people try to imagine a way through to a regenerative future: nobody wants to be limited to t...