Unshod with D. Firth Griffith

Taylor Keen returns for the fourth installment of the God is Red series to explore indigenous mythology, storytelling, and our cosmic origins carried in ancient rock art and cave paintings.Episode website HERE.

What happens when we strip away heart from agriculture? When cherishing, healing, and loving the land are replaced by metrics, units, and profit margins? Join me in this in-person yarn with my friend, Mansal Denton, as we explore this living and sacred harvest.Learn more about Mansal HERE.Visit Episode website HERE.Buy Daniel's Books HERE.

This yarn with my friend Taylor Keen explores the intersection / divergence of indigenous wisdom and modern agriculture, emphasizing the sacredness of food and the importance of traditional practices. We discuss the historical context of agriculture, the impact of corporate practices on indigenous methods, and the need for a deeper understanding and spirituality of the relationship between humans and Earth. Episode website HERE.

This yarn with my friend Taylor Keen explores the intersection / divergence of indigenous wisdom and modern agriculture, emphasizing the sacredness of food and the importance of traditional practices. We discuss the historical context of agriculture, the impact of corporate practices on indigenous methods, and the need for a deeper understanding and spirituality of the relationship between humans and Earth. Taylor highlights the significance of rituals in agriculture and the memory embedded in seeds, advocating for a return to indigenous practices to foster a more sustainable future and more. Taylor also touches BIGFOOT and figures like Bigfoot and the historical context of agricultural practices in America, emphasizing the need for a return to more harmonious and collaborative ways of living with the land.Episode website HERE.

What if our approach to regenerating the planet is fundamentally flawed by the Settler-Colonial Worldview? What if it is not our approach as much as it is our heart--our relationship to the Land as the Land? In this profound conversation with my friend, Taylor Keen—a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Harvard graduate, and founder of Sacred Seed—we explore the stark contrast between indigenous wisdom and the modern environmental movements of Regenerative Agriculture, Sustainable Development, and so much more.Taylor takes us deep into the origins of Turtle Island, the indigenous name for Earth (Not America) found in creation stories dating back over 15,000 years. This isn't just mythology, as Taylor speaks—it's a cosmological understanding that connects human existence to both stars and soil. Through Taylor's storytelling, we discover how indigenous peoples maintain sustainable relationships with the land for thousands of generations, while our modern "green" movements often perpetuate the same mindsets that created our environmental crisis over and over and over again, masking its problems as solutions, or salvation.The conversation challenges the very heart of our relationship with Earth. Taylor explains how indigenous traditions place plants first, animals second, and humans third—a radical departure from the dominion-based thinking that characterizes even well-intentioned environmental efforts. When he speaks about traditional agricultural knowledge, like planting by moon cycles or having only women of childbearing age plant seeds, we glimpse ourselves undeveloped by the millennia of careful colonization and observe our once-spiritual spiritual connection.Most provocatively, I think, Taylor questions whether our rush to "save" the planet portrays the same arrogance that damaged it. Drawing on teachings from Vine Deloria Jr. and John Trudell, he suggests a different trace forward—one where we stop giving power to colonial and linear minds and instead become true kin with the land. "God is the land," Taylor insists, suggesting that treating Earth with the same reverence we give to religious texts might be our only path to survival.Whether you're concerned about climate change, passionate about regenerative agriculture, or simply trying to understand your place in the natural world, this conversation will challenge your thinking and open new possibilities for healing our broken relationship with Mother Earth.Episode Webpage: HERE.

What does it mean to truly live the relationship of the animate world around us? How must our path as Settler-Colonialist effect this relationship? In this episode with my friend Kelley Harrell, we discuss this and many surrounding topics! This conversation explores the profound challenges and opportunities of cultivating animistic awareness in these uncertain times.Kelly, an animist, death walker, and author, shares her journey of navigating America's settler culture while developing authentic spiritual practices with runes. She articulates the crucial difference between intellectually believing in animism and embodying that life-way through direct relationship with place. "Animism for me is the thing that I strive for," she reflects, "but I often feel that I'm so entrenched in American settler culture that I will never be able to really claim it."As climate "chaos" disrupts our seasonal patterns and ecological relationships, Kelly calls us to develop new ceremonies that honor both ancestral wisdom and present realities. The Land remembers what our ancestors did – and it remembers what settlers continue to do today. Holding both of these truths  becomes essential for authentic animistic practices today. Or just in being human: a good kin.The conversation turns toward the end to Kelly's work with Runes as living entities rather than static symbols. When approached from an animistic perspective, these ancient symbols offer a bridge between worlds.Perhaps most powerfully, in the end, we explore death – both literal human death and the countless transformations that comprise ecological cycles. We explore how our culture's fear of death manifests as our impatience with natural process. We see that it takes Earth 100 years to create an inch of soil, but we want it in 1.Kelly is an animist, author, deathwalker, and death doula held and tended by Tuscarora, Woccon, and Sissipihaw land. For the last 25 years, through Soul Intent Arts, she has helped others ethically build thriving spiritual paths. Her work is Nature-based, and centers soul tending through the Elder Futhark runes oracle, animism, ancestral tending, and deathwork. Kelly also host the podcast, What in the Wyrd, and also writes The Weekly Rune as a celebration of the Elder Futhark in season.Learn moe about Kelly HERE.

In this episode, I talk with my friend Kern Carter as he shares his insights on the intricate relationship between storytelling, culture, and identity, emphasizing the importance of patience and authenticity in the writing process. He reflects on the influence of artists like Kendrick Lamar and Toni Morrison, advocating for a diverse representation in literature while highlighting the essential role of writers in society.Learn more about Kern on his WEBSITE or SUBSTACK.Unshod Links:Sacred Field Harvesting Course HERE.Order my The Plain of Pillars new book HERE.

This conversation is a multi-layered yarn with my friend Angie Kelly, who reveals her transformative journey from a biologist working in Canada's oil fields to an author of Epic and rage-worthy Fantasy. She explores the delicate relationship between nature, grief, and storytelling while introducing her captivating novel, "The Source of Storms."Angie's Website HERE or Substack HERE or Instagram HERE.Pre-Order my latest NOVEL HERE.

In this conversation, Jake and Maren of Death in the Garden explore the challenges and realities of being an artist in today's fast-paced world. We discuss the necessity of patience in the creative process, the importance of storytelling in both fiction and nonfiction, and the need for imagination in a mechanized society. Together, the conversation also emphasizes he value of personal experience and the interplay between happiness and sorrow in understanding life and art. The conversation also touches on the struggle to find time for creativity amidst modern distractions and the importance of nurturing a relationship with the muse. And so much more.Death in the Garden Substack HERE or Youtube HERE.Film: What is the Human Animal?Pre-Order Daniel's latest kincentric mythology (novel) HERE.About Jake and Maren:Death in The Garden is a film project which aims to explore modern human culture and it’s unique relation to ecology. Jake and Maren focus on subjects such as agriculture, technology, psychology, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and history to explore complex issues like climate change and the modern crisis of meaning through a holistic lens. In addition to the films they are producing, they have an extensive catalog of essays on Substack as well as podcasts primarily collected during filming. Maren is currently working on her debut novel, the first book of the Fall of Men series: a trilogy set hundreds of years after the collapse of global civilization.

This episode is with Kay Baxter of The Kōanga Institute, Aotearoa's (New Zealand) largest heritage seed bank & food plant collection. Our conversation emphasizes the vital connection between heritage seeds, community, and individual health. By sharing personal stories and insights, Kay explores how reconnecting with the earth and understanding the history and cultural significance of seeds can lead to an actually holistic nourishment and a renewed sense of purpose in our lives.Learn more about Kay and Kōanga HERE.Learn more about Unshod HERE.