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The Antidote To Not-Enoughness | Robin Wall Kimmerer

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Nov 13, 2024

Guest

Robin Wall Kimmerer

In a captivating discussion, Robin Wall Kimmerer, a mother, scientist, and renowned author, dives into the idea of abundance in nature and its implications for economics. She shares insights on the Saskatoon service berry as a model for mutual support and interconnectedness. Robin encourages a shift from competition to cooperation, highlighting gratitude practices as a way to combat feelings of not-enoughness. The conversation also delves into plant cognition and the importance of blending Indigenous wisdom with scientific knowledge, urging us to rethink our relationship with the natural world.

01:07:16

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insights

INSIGHT

Scarcity Mindset

Our culture and economy often promote a scarcity mindset, leading to unhappiness.
This mindset makes us believe we'll be happy after the next purchase or achievement.

insights

INSIGHT

Serviceberry's Generosity

The serviceberry's generosity, providing more berries than it needs, is a model for a natural economy.
It shares its abundance, benefiting the entire ecosystem.

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ADVICE

Reclaim Your Attention

Reclaim your attention from consumerism by connecting with nature.
Learn the names of plants and animals around you to appreciate abundance.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

The Generosity of Nature: Lessons from the Service Berry

05:27 • 3min

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Nature's Economics: Lessons from the Service Berry

08:46 • 20min

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Redefining Security Through Sharing

28:19 • 5min

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Rethinking Our Place in Nature

33:26 • 6min

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Exploring Gift Economies

39:09 • 21min

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Reframing Our Relationship with Nature: An Indigenous Perspective on Plants

01:00:26 • 6min

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Exploring Plant Consciousness and Indigenous Knowledge

01:05:59 • 9min

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Engagement and Growth: Reflections and Promotions

01:14:49 • 2min

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The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar is a thinly veiled autobiography that follows Esther Greenwood, a talented and ambitious college student, as she experiences a mental breakdown. The novel begins with Esther's unfulfilling summer internship as a guest editor for a women's magazine in New York City, where she grapples with identity and societal norms. Upon returning home, Esther's mental health deteriorates, leading to several suicide attempts and eventual hospitalization. The novel explores her treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy, and her gradual recovery under the care of a progressive psychiatrist. It also critiques the limited roles available to women in the 1950s and the brutal psychiatric treatments of the time.

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Lonesome Dove

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Lonesome Dove is a classic Western novel that follows the journey of two former Texas Rangers, Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call, as they embark on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The novel is renowned for its vivid descriptions of the American West, its exploration of themes such as friendship, loyalty, and the decline of the Old West, and its well-developed characters. It is the third book in the Lonesome Dove series and is widely regarded as McMurtry's magnum opus.

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The Service Berry

about abundance and gratitude in the natural world

Robin Wall Kimmerer

In "The Service Berry," Robin Wall Kimmerer uses the life cycle of the serviceberry plant as a metaphor for rethinking economic systems. The book explores the plant's generosity in providing abundance beyond its own needs, highlighting the concept of reciprocity in nature. Kimmerer contrasts this natural model with human-made economies characterized by overconsumption and hoarding. She advocates for a shift towards a gift economy, emphasizing the importance of sharing and building relationships for well-being and security. The book offers a blend of scientific knowledge and indigenous wisdom, urging readers to reconsider their relationship with the natural world and the economy.

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Gathering Moss

A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

Robin Wall Kimmerer

Gathering Moss is a series of linked personal essays that invite readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses. Robin Wall Kimmerer explains the biology of mosses clearly and artfully, while reflecting on what these organisms have to teach us. Drawing on her diverse experiences as a scientist, mother, teacher, and writer of Native American heritage, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in both scientific terms and the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. The book serves as a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world, appealing to a wide range of readers from bryologists to those interested in natural history and the environment.

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• Mentioned in 11 episodes

The Light Eaters

How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth

Zoë Schlanger

In 'The Light Eaters,' Zoë Schlanger delves into the world of plant intelligence, challenging our understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. The book takes readers on a global journey, highlighting the remarkable abilities of plants, such as their adaptive techniques, communicative abilities, and social behaviors. Schlanger works closely with scientists to uncover the latest epiphanies in botanical research, revealing how plants have formed a parallel system of intelligence that is distinct from human and animal intelligence. The book is a blend of science journalism, travelogue, and introspective journey, offering a fresh and transformative understanding of plants and their essential role in the ecosystem.

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

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Radical strategies for the scarcity mindset.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals.

Her new book, The Serviceberry, is about a plant whose behavior is a model not only for our individual lives, but potentially for rethinking the global economy.

In this episode we talk about:

Nature as a model for the economy
How to reclaim our stolen attention
Practices of gratitude
Counterintuitive advice on wealth and security
How to change your relationship to the living world
The science of biomimicry
Plants as persons, and the study of plant cognition
And the importance of recognizing both Western science and the indigenous worldview

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