For The Wild

How can a relationship with one animal open the door to the depths of humanity? In this episode, returning guest Kurt Russo shares how he came to see the world through Tokitae, a Southern Resident Orca held captive in the Miami Seaquarium for decades. As he mourns Tokitae’s recent death, Kurt reflects on the ways nature gives us signs of the greater mysteries of life. This conversation is equally rooted in the material realities of protecting the Salish Sea, the Snake River, and the more-than-human kin that call those places home, and the spiritual questions that cruelty and disregard for the more-than-human provoke. How has humanity gotten to such a point? Kurt shares guided wisdom about the realities of commodification, ecocide, and the capacity of the human soul for intentional cruelty. How we fight against such darkness matters not just for humanity, but for all with whom we share this precious earth. Kurt Russo is currently the Executive Director of the Indigenous-led nonprofit, Se’Si’Le, that is dedicated to the application of ancestral knowledge to reimagine our relationship to the nature of nature. He worked for the Lummi Nation from 1978-2020 in the area of sacred sites and treaty rights. He also served as Executive Director of the Native American Lands Conservancy in California from 1998-2016 and was Senior Advisor to the Kumeyaay-Digueno Land Conservancy of southern California. He was the co-founder and Executive Director of the Florence R. Kluckhohn Center for the Study of Values from 1987-2002. He has a BS and MS in Forestry and a PhD in History. He has worked abroad with Indigenous communities in their efforts to preserve their ancestral lands and knowledge in Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.For an extended version of this episode, join us at patreon.com/forthewildMusic by Francesca Heart and Julius Smack. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references, and action points.Support the show

Erin Manning discusses neurodiversity and challenging neurotypicality; integrating choreographers with neurodiversity; critiquing academia as a colonial institution; limitations of university legibility; para institutionality and Three Ecologies project; navigating anxiety, depression, and practice; exploring different economies and access.

Corrina Gould, a land rematriation advocate, discusses settler responsibility and reciprocity. Topics include reclaiming ancestral land in the Bay Area, relearning history for land restoration, settler responsibility and the Shoumi land tax, indigenous land trusts, preserving sacred shell mounds, and indigenous sovereignty and liberation.

Fariha Róisín, an expert on living in a body that has experienced trauma, shares timeless wisdom on healing and compassion. They discuss the contradictions of wellness, decoding illness as a conversation with our bodies, complex understandings of faith, love and spirituality in poetry, accepting queerness as a Muslim woman, and reflections on jealousy and self-reflection.

Perdita Finn, an expert in ancestry and magic, invites listeners into a world of mystery and faith. Topics include ancestral connections, the natural presence of magic in everyday moments, the wisdom of animals, the healing connection between humans and animals, the power of believing in magic and interconnected relationships, an eco-cidal culture, reflections on loneliness and ancient spirits, embracing the multitudes beyond gender and species, and the power of ancestral lineage.

Jacqueline Suskin, an author who uses her book A Year in Practice as a guide for finding inspiration throughout the seasons, discusses the connection between our individual spirits and the rhythms of the planet. She shares the power of poetry and connection with a timber baron, reflects on the complexities of community organizing, explores navigating urgency and confusion through art, and shares a poignant poem on the destruction caused by human hands.

Obi Kaufmann, an award-winning author focused on California's ecology, delves into the intersections of art and science. He shares compelling insights on the urgency of conservation, the transformative power of creativity, and the necessity of recognizing our deep connection to nature. Through discussions on rewilding, ecological wisdom, and the importance of imagination in preserving old growth forests, Obi paints a hopeful vision for California's future that intertwines human experience with the natural world.

Jason Baldes, an advocate for Buffalo restoration and land rematriation, discusses the ecological impact of Buffalo eradication, the connection between buffalo and healing from addiction and trauma, and the importance of learning and supporting the tribal buffalo initiative and land rematriation.

Continuing the conversation series, “The Edges in the Middle,” presented in collaboration with UC Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute, For The Wild is delighted to share this conversation between Báyò Akómoláfé, Madhulika Banerjee, and Minna Salami. Speaking on the theme, “Democracy and Its Exquisite Others,” Báyò, Madhulika, and Minna delve into an exploration of what it means to truly participate in democracy, as an embodied, collective action. In this thoughtful and informed episode, they investigate the idea of “Eurocracy'' and unpack what the eurocentric definition of democracy has meant for the world as a whole. Envisioning other ways of creating democracy,  Báyò, Madhulika, and Minna describe festival democracy, democracies of contestations and dancing, and democracies of the more-than-human.“The Edges in the Middle” is a series of conversations between Báyò Akómoláfé and thought companions like john a. powell, V, Naomi Klein, and more. These limited episodes have been adapted from Báyò’s work as the Global Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley's Othering & Belonging Institute. In this role, Báyò has been holding a series of public conversations on issues of justice and belonging for the Institute's Democracy & Belonging Forum, which connects and resources civic leaders in Europe and the US who are committed to bridging across difference to strengthen democracy and advance belonging in both regions and around the world. Báyò's conversations encourage us to rethink justice, hope, and belonging by sitting amidst the noise, not trying to cover it up with pleasant rhythms. To learn more about the Democracy & Belonging Forum, visit democracyandbelongingforum.org.   Music by Sitka Sun  generously provided by The Long Road Society Record Label and by Maree Siou. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references, and action points.Support the show

“We’re not trying to be right. We’re trying to see if we can see clearly.” In this agile and authentic episode, returning guest Stephen Jenkinson offers a lucid view of the world. How might our understanding of the world change if we approached life with a willingness to see things as they are rather than a need to only affirm that which we desire? Ayana and Stephen journey together to consider what had brought us to this modern time – prompting vital questions about the value of tradition, the importance of strangerhood, the possibility of reckoning, and the meaning of ancestry. Stephen asks questions that disrupt and unsettle the status quo, and perhaps these questions will lead us to the lessons we so deeply need. STEPHEN JENKINSON, MTS, MSW is an author, culture activist, ceremonialist and farmer. He teaches internationally and is the creator and principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School, founded in 2010. With Master’s degrees from Harvard University (Theology) and the University of Toronto (Social Work), he has worked extensively with dying people and their families, is a former programme director in a major Canadian hospital and former assistant professor in a prominent Canadian medical school. He is the author of several books including 'Reckoning', 'A Generation's Worth', 'Come of Age', 'Money & the Soul's Desires' and the award-winning 'Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul'. Stephen is the subject of the National Film Board of Canada documentary 'Griefwalker', and 'Lost Nation Road', a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the wheelhouse of a mystery train. Nights of Grief and Mystery world tours, with singer/ songwriter Gregory Hoskins, are odes to wonder, love letters for the willingness to know endings. Music by Nights of Grief and Mystery. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references, and action points.Support the show