The hosts meet for the first time beside a mill pond, discussing serendipity and zemblanity. They share insights from books like Ani.Mystic and Braiding Sweetgrass. Dougald talks about 'ki' in Japanese culture. Ed recommends English Pastoral and discusses a dark essay on dishonest land. The episode explores the importance of fresh perspectives and traditional wisdom.

Discussion on belief and self-delusion, inherited beliefs like 'Brickshit', empty thrones of culture, and finding magic in everyday life. Reflecting on the impact of religion, synchronicity, and interconnectedness in shaping our perspectives and actions.

The podcast discusses the dilemma of whether to talk about Ukraine amidst crises, citing the power of silence as protest. It touches on humility in navigating global issues and the challenge of expressing genuine political commitment online. The episode also dives into historical conflicts, disparities in global responses, and finding solace in nature.

Exploring themes from novels like 'Bewilderment' and Inuit mythology, reflecting on pandemic warnings and societal divides. Delving into the atmosphere in the UK with a mix of weariness and frustration. Speculating on remote work and the metaverse's impact on society, concluding with reflections on hindsight and gratitude to listeners.

The podcast covers various interesting topics such as reflections on their podcast schedule, discussions on COP26 and TEDx talks, the concept of 'the common-place', the etymology and implications of 'commons', and the perspectives on managing commons as a social relation or a resource pool.

In this episode, the hosts reflect on their summers and discuss responsible leadership. They share intimate experiences with the seasons and talk about surprising behavior of mute swans. They also discuss their dream of creating an online journal and the challenges of recording an audiobook. The concept of confession and childhood biases are explored, along with lessons learned from a last-minute holiday and reflections on the environmental impact of flying.

The podcast explores topics such as prayer, lockdown emergence, Build Back Better, totalitarianism, hope, cancel culture, culture wars, and the attention economy. The hosts reflect on their journey during the pandemic, discuss the power dynamics of the modern work system, and emphasize the importance of gratitude amidst COVID's impact.

The hosts discuss Martin Shaw's new book and the concept of re-emergence. They explore the difference between privilege, entitlement, and personal responsibility. The chapter challenges simplistic views on religion and emphasizes the influence of religious traditions. They delve into the power and meaning of kneeling as a form of communication and protest. The author reflects on the connection between ancient rituals and modern life. They also reflect on work, prayer, and humility with grateful awareness of abundance.

  Dougald references a long essay by David Cayley, ‘Gaia and the path of the Earth’ and Bruno Latour’s book, Facing Gaia, contradictions ‘must be endured and sustained, not resolved or overcome’ and Vanessa Andreotti on ‘layering’ Ed talks about his first paddle upstream from the Mill and introduces this week’s instruction:  ‘Small yourself up’?! via Jamaican buses and Antarctica. Dougald talks about the privilege of taking up space, whether that’s man-spreading on the tube or being quick to jump in and say whatever comes to your mind in a meeting. Ed refers to the Findhorn New Story Summit  and how the over eager crowd were encouraged to self-police their own contributions by asking themselves whether they would add more to the gathering than a moment of powerful collective shared silence. Dougald talks about the app ‘Is A Dude Talking?’ and how if you put this podcast through the Is A Dude Talking? app, the answer is 100% yes. Ed discusses how looking or feeling small is usually associated with humiliation, insignificance or stupidity but how the proverbial roots of ‘small’ often work the other way. Bringing in E.F.Schumacher’s ‘Small is Beautiful’. Dougald introduces something the Belgian philosopher Isabelle Stengers says, about making the case for slowing down and the 1905 San Francisco streetcar footage, used as a music video by Air for La Femme d’Argent and how Illich talks about “the speed-stunned imagination. Ed wonders whether the pandemic and the reclamation of road space for outdoor and al fresco hospitality and physically distanced mobility might actually help us tune back in to our speed-stunned imaginations and reconnect with Illich’s sense of human scale streetscape conviviality? Dougald goes back to Alan Lane from Slung Low Theatre and a post of his from the autumn, on whether it’s the job of arts organisations to be running food banks. Dougald quotes a line from the political theorist Jodi Dean – ‘Goldman Sachs doesn’t care if you raise chickens’ – and Chris Smaje’s book A Small Farm Future, and the artist Jeanne van Heeswijk - working at ground-level, at the human scale, in the communities where they find themselves. Dougald talks about an invitation from the composer Lola Perrin’s live-streamed reading marathon to coincide with the hearing where the UK government is seeking to jail the barrister Tim Crosland who deliberately broke the embargo on the announcement of Heathrow Airport Limited’s successful appeal to give the go-ahead for a third runway. And the readings he chose - a short passage from Tyson Yunkaporta’s Sand Talk where he’s writing about Aboriginal law and one of his favourite poems that’s ever been in Dark Mountain, Cate Chapman’s Protest Poem. When we think and talk big, it’s easy for that bigness to be a refuge from the fragility of being embodied creatures with fist-sized, fist-shaped hearts that beat for a while - John Berger’s Bento’s Sketchbook and ‘the disturbance of distances’ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.homewardbound.org

The hosts discuss their accidental journey into futurism and the concept of double vision. They touch on the mythic significance of a single eye and the tension between behavior change and system change.