Wild with Sarah Wilson

Chris van Tulleken (doctor, TV host) is a London infectious diseases specialist known for his popular BBC health TV programs that he hosts with his identical twin brother (including the kids series Operation Ouch; they’ve won two BAFTAs). In his recent book Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?, which has been a #1 Sunday Times bestseller for 9 weeks, he exposes how ultra-processed food (AKA junk food) is making us fat and sick, destroying the planet, eradicating traditional cultures, shrinking our faces and making us infertile.We talk about why Pringles are “crack in a cardboard tube”, why he thinks sugar and a lack of exercise are not the problem (!) and instead how the issue is the fact Big Food does NOTHING BUT refine their “profit-making product” to make us more perfectly addicted to it and to eat greater quantities. We also cover how to spot the worst food offenders and how the best fix for beating weight gain is to turn addiction into disgust.SHOW NOTESGet your copy of Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?Connect with Chris on Instagram or X/TwitterI Quit Sugar: Your Complete 8-Week Detox Program and Cookbook and I Quit Sugar for Life are available on my websiteIf you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A quick, breezy episode that talks about how to navigate decision-making regret, honing in on landing in one's post-repro years and not having had kids. Thank you Megan from my Substack community who sent in the question: Do you regret not having had kids?You have the option to WATCH these bonus episodes over on Substack where you can also join a conversation afterwards in the thread (and post a question for future AMAs. I also post extra content, extracts from my book etc here. When you become a paid subscriber, you get access to bonus intimate conversations with me, as well as access to my one-on-one online coffee (or wine) sessions. This is how I’m doing things from now on – real, raw, intimate… and provocative. SHOW NOTESYou can watch this in full over on my SubstackBecome a paid subscriber to join the thread conversation and submit an Ask Me Anything question for an upcoming ep.You can book a One-on-One virtual coffee chat with me hereI reference a previous AMA episode in which I talked about my thoughts on marriage.If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alain de Botton (School of Life founder; author) has written 15 books about the philosophy of living – such as The Art of Travel; Status Anxiety; Art as Therapy; and The Course of Love – but he has recently turned his focus to mental health and how philosophy can be used as a therapeutic aid. Alain argues that a mental breakdown can provide the opening a despairing soul seeks. Indeed, anxiety so often is its own fix.We sat down in WeAre8’s London office for this two-way conversation about the philosophical wisdoms we personally use to have a life of meaning in the face of despair. We also talk about the writing process (and why it’s a salve), the healing effects of figs and dark chocolate, how to love, plus a super fresh take on “adult boredom” (embrace your impatience, get to the point!).SHOW NOTESGet hold of The Therapeutic Journey here and the School of Life range of books hereFirst, We Make the Beast Beautiful is available in more than a dozen languages hereI also mention my Wild chat with AC Grayling on how to have a philosophy of your ownAnd my conversation with Pico Iyer as well as the episode with David WhyteWe recorded the episode at WeAre8 HQ in London – big thanks to the team for being such wonderful hosts!If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beau Miles, Patagonia and Outward Bound ambassador, author and YouTube star, discusses his adventures, from running across the Australian Alps to spending a night in a tree. They explore flipping your day-to-day life into a flirtation, getting out of ruts, and the value of being weird. Topics include embracing uniqueness, making changes, facing fear, adventure in adulthood, and embracing fun in adventure activities.

Sarah's meditation teacher and confidente, Tim Brown, reflects on life and the importance of choosing to trust in times of uncertainty. They discuss the exploration of internal realms, embracing discomfort for growth, and aligning with nature's intelligence. They also contemplate different potential scenarios for the future and emphasize finding stability within ourselves.

Julia Cameron, author of The Artists Way, discusses the power of morning pages for clearing the mind and practicing mindfulness, the role of artist dates and play in nurturing creativity, the technique of curiosity for dealing with anxiety, strategies for overcoming perfectionism, and accessing inner creativity during the pandemic.

Wild will be taking a pause for a few weeks over the summer period and we’ll be running a bunch of my favourite episodes that you might have missed along the way.I feel given everything going on in the world it's appropriate to share my interview with Aziz Abu Sarah, a palestinian arab peace broker who knows and and has lived, or lives, the conflict in Israel and Palestine. So much noise, so much horror and so hard to comprehend the pain and the complexity…But Aziz provides the most compassionate, humane throughline I’ve come across.SHOW NOTES Aziz’s dual narrative tour business is Mejdi Tours and he ran this tour with Impact SafariHe’s also written a book that shows how to travel as a force for peace  I ran a bunch of other interviews with peacebuilders while I was there, which you can find on my substack And here are the organisations employing the dual narrative approach that I promised to list:Combatants for Peace Bereaved Families Forum Interact International Hands of Peace Healing Across the Divides Creativity for PeaceTech for PeaceIf you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poet Bayo Akomalafe discusses the importance of embracing chaos, humility, and interconnectedness in navigating the climate crisis. The conversation explores the concept of slow politics, Yoruba mythology, and the gift of disability. The guest reads a reflective poem and highlights the need to challenge current thinking amidst challenging circumstances.

Wild will be taking a pause for a few weeks over the summer period and we’ll be running a bunch of my favourite episodes that you might have missed along the way. I know a bunch of you have watched the Netflix series Blue Zones and some of you know that I worked on the project briefly and became friends with the National Geographic explorer - Dan Buettner who coined the term, wrote the book and started in the series. We actually caught up for dinner in Paris recently - we try to find each other in the world when we can to talk not so much about longevity, but how to max a life, short or long. I hope you enjoy this one...OH and if listening on a road trip heading off on Christmas holidays or some such and ur in the passenger seat…please do take a minute to rate Wild, give it a review share it amongst your friends. It helps out a lot. SHOW NOTES Get Dan's latest book, The Blue Zone Challenge here Watch Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Brooks (New York Times columnist; best-selling author) is both one of America’s best-known conservative commentators and one of its most committed to pushing the case for deep moral discussion. David’s also a regular contributor to The Atlantic and NBC’s “Meet the Press”, has 30 honorary doctorates, is a teacher at Yale and is something of a regular guest on Oprah, the Sam Harris podcast and so on. He wrote the books The Road to Character, The Second Mountain and the recently published How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.In this nourishing conversation we discuss whether humanism – coming back to moral, generous interactions with others – is the fix for our polarising times. We discuss whether you can be “right” with the Middle East conflict, the best-ever dinner party conversation starters (the only kind I’m interested in doing), and whether civilizational collapse is preventable. He has ideas…SHOW NOTESDavid's book How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply See is available now, along with The Road to Character and The Second Mountain.If you would like to read more of David's work:How America Got MeanHow to Know A PersonThe Essential Skills For Being A HumanIf you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageFor more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.