Wild with Sarah Wilson

Douglas Rushkoff, cyberpunk OG, discusses the mindset of tech billionaires and their obsession with luxury bunkers. He offers solutions rooted in returning to humanity, including bringing back the Sabbath and embracing de-growth economics. The podcast explores the lack of empathy among billionaires and the need for them to reconnect with humanity and address environmental issues. It also delves into the fear and uncertainty driving billionaire preppers.

Dr Michael E Mann, climate scientist and El Niño expert, discusses the role of Russian interference in the Australian carbon pricing fight and the imminent El Niño event. They also explore the tactics used in the new climate war, including conspiracy theories, and emphasize the importance of remaining hopeful and vigilant in the battle against climate change denialism.

Margaret Atwood, bestselling author of dystopian fiction, discusses her new project Practical Utopia and the importance of finding solutions to global problems. They explore the impact of economic conditions on women, the fascination of uncertainty, creating sustainable solutions, challenging societal expectations, and the issues with Twitter. They also discuss alternative platforms and express admiration for each other.

Helen Lewis (internet famous for her GQ interview with Jordan Peterson, pop culture expert) is a British journalist, BBC broadcaster and currently a staff writer for Atlantic magazine. Her work covers the rise of TikTok tics in teenagers, Harry-and-Meghan, Andrew Tate, the absurdities of US and UK politics…you know, all the chunky bits of life in 2023. She also wrote the best bestseller Difficult Women, A History of Feminism in 11 Fights and just released the BBC podcast series The New Gurus. However, Helen is probably best known for her 2018 GQ interview with Jordan Peterson, the controversial Canadian psychologist and messiah of the manosphere (the video version has been viewed 60 million times).My conversation with Helen was fast and intense and we cover the IDW, Andrew Tate (she declined an invitation to debate him), tactics for arguing with Galaxy Brains and why we don’t use pronouns in our bios. This episode is extra-long because Helen’s riff is that good.**BONUS ** Join Helen and I over at my Substack, (this is precious) as we talk through our tips for remaining sane amid the noise – a productivity tip, a writing tip, two podcasts, two Substack follows, the book to read and the journalist to follow. Available only on Substack, Friday 3rd March.Subscribe to Helen’s Substack The Bluestocking – it's a good place to follow her writing and projectsThe New Gurus series can be downloaded here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebecca Giblin, Melbourne Law School professor, discusses how Big Tech billionaires are choking creatives and customers in various industries. They explore examples from music, live events, and the content industry, highlighting the consequences of corporate concentration. The podcast also covers the impact of targeted ads, the need for systemic change, and the power of collective action for positive change.

Nick Riggle (Ex-pro skater, philosophy professor at the University of California, YOLO expert) has become known for dissecting contemporary phenomena in a distinctly Socratic manner.In this chat, we delve into the philosophical significance of awesomeness (and its antonym, suckiness), the existential imperative of YOLO (!) and the aetiology of the high five. Nick’s theses on these cliched expressions ultimately lead to a wonderfully wild answer to the quandary of what makes life worth living in such a fraught era. To flesh it all out we draw on sporting analogies, the poetry of Mary Oliver and each other’s really rather near-death experiences. We mention philosopher Kieran Setiya, here you can listen to Kieran’s Wild episode featuring his take on how to love living a hard life.You can read more about Nick via his website and follow him on TwitterNicks books can be purchased via the below links:On Being Awesome This Beauty: A Philosophy of Being Alive If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Simon Longstaff (Philosopher, Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre) is one of Australia’s most ethical thinkers. He mindfully stokes the national debate on cancel culture, corporate conduct, mask-wearing and psychedelic drugs (via his role as chair of Mind Medicine Australia). Simon guides contemporary moral thinking as the ethics commissioner for Cricket Australia, the executive director of The Ethics Centre, which advises corporates on how to make better decisions, and as a fellow of CPA Australia, the World Economic Forum and…oh, the list goes on. Simon also co-founded the contentious Festival of Dangerous Ideas!In this wonderful conversation we discuss his harrowing childhood experience with an ethical decision made by his mother and how it shaped his moral journey, how to counter “Free Speech at All Costs” evangelists and whether it’s ethical to quit Twitter... and much more!If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the mostSimon mentions 10 videos to help you navigate ethical quandaries…you’ll find them hereYou can join The Ethics Centre community hereLearn more about the Festival of Dangerous IdeasSimon also recommends Ethi-Call. You can call for free ethical advice here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yael Stone (Star of Orange is the New Black, Founder of Hi Neighbour, Climate Activist) and I have been IG friends, supporting each other’s climate work, for some years. In 2021 Yael Stone gave up her Green Card to combat climate change and committed to offsetting future overseas gigs by donating 50% of earnings to climate charities. Now she runs Hi Neighbour, a community platform that assists in the “just transition” for fossil fuel workers into low-carbon jobs.I have admired Yael's wildness from afar but decided it was time to meet IRL. For this conversation we sit in her garage in the small town of Bulli and discuss how much we love “wokism” intricacies, the complexities of the Geoffrey Rush case and how getting arrested as “a middle-class white lady” does no one any good. Be warned, this episode gets raw.Follow Yael on Instagram. This is best.And it’s worth watching Yael’s explainer for donating to climate charities hereHere’s a link to her awesome Hi Neighbour platform, with materials for rolling out her concept in your neighbourhood.You might also like to listen to the Saul Griffith episode I mention – about how to electrify your home.If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the time of year when we all need some inspiring, expansive perspectives and I reckon this chat with Tim, which I recorded a little while back, might be a great listen as you go about your summer road trips and making 2023 commitments.Tim trained with the Vedic tradition and has taught meditation to elite athletes, jail inmates, billionaires and kids for more than 20 years. The guy’s been part of my spiritual journey for 12 years and has guided me with my career, love life and various calamities. We meet for coffee and peanut butter toast most weeks…this episode we bring a recorder and discuss: trusting in the logic of the universe (the wild idea for the week) and how (and why) we should render ourselves choiceless (it's the ultimate freedom!). We also talk about the spiritual brilliance that is the movie Groundhog Day… which he likes to watch again. And Again. And again. Ha!The movie we mention, Groundhog DayYou can learn to meditate (and more!) with Tim hereFor more wonderful insights follow Tim on Instagram  If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This interview got a lot of (shocked!) feedback, so I figured I’d run it again as we start thinking about heading back to work. Again. And contemplating “what it’s all about”.British writer Oliver Burkeman has investigated pretty much every productivity hack, mindfulness trick, list-making system and happiness boost we've ever been fed. He concludes, almost none work. Ha!I followed Oliver's column in The Guardian, which he wrote from his home in Brooklyn, New York, for about 10 years and he is definitely my favourite anti-self-help self-help writer! It's been a few years since his last book, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking, and just as I found myself asking where Oliver Burkeman was at since quitting his popular column last year, I noticed he had a new book out that makes the startling point - we have a very short time on this planet, about Four Thousand Weeks (also the title of the book).  This is the wild idea we discuss in this episode. Oliver asks, given life is short, what are you going to do about it? Oliver’s books that we spoke about:The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive ThinkingFour Thousand Weeks The Pomodoro timer app here  If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationsGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.