The Rewilding Podcast w/ Peter Michael Bauer

I first learned about animism in the book The Story of B by Daniel Quinn. While the term animism was initially invented by anthropologists as a way of classifying place-based, indigenous religions the world over, it has taken on a much deeper and expansive meaning in recent years. In many ways it transcends the notion of religion or spirituality to more of an ecological ethos encoded in stories, to shape a person's perception of the environment in terms of reciprocity. For this reason, animism is a prevalent way of perceiving and engaging with the world in the rewilding movement. Through animism, we can once more find belonging to people and place, and align ourselves with the cycles and systems of the ecologies where we dwell. Here to discuss the topic of animism with me today, is Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen. Rune is an historian of religion, Ph.d., educated from the Universities of Uppsala and Copenhagen. Rune has lived in many countries and done fieldwork in a number of contemporary (primarily Afro-descendant)  religions, but since childhood he has had Nordic religion as a strong field of interest. Today Rune is working on applying contemporary developments in anthropology to rethink the way we address Nordic religion both in terms of scholarship, but also as a reservoir of cultural knowledge for environmental activism and sustainability sensitization. Rune Hjarnø's ongoing work on developing the Nordic Animism perspective can be supported through this Patreon profile.NotesRune Rasmussenhttps://nordicanimism.com/https://www.youtube.com/user/Runehrhttps://www.patreon.com/nordicanimismMentionsThe Story of B by Daniel QuinnAn Animist Testament by Daniel QuinnAnimism by Graham Harvey The Handbook of Contemporary Animism Edited by Graham HarveyPerceptions of the Environment by Tim IngoldPanpsychism, the philosophy of Animism - Interview with Prof. Arne Johan Vetlesen.Saving the Indigenous Soul with Martin PrechtelTerry Jones’ The BarbariansThe Primitive Celts https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x72r71pThe Savage Goths https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42a2epThe Brainy Barbarians https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x72r71rThe End of the World https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42v7ipSand Talk by Tyson YonkaportaMaori SpiralBraiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-KimmererCover Photo by https://unsplash.com/@michael957Support the show

Rewilding means a return to living in reciprocity with the ecologies in which we dwell, and with each other. It is a movement that critiques and rejects social hierarchies and authoritarianism as the “natural” state of humanity. Through contemporary anthropology, paleoanthropology, and archaeology, the rewilding philosophy pieces together how humans created and thrived in egalitarian societies for tens of thousands of years-perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. In one sense, it is essentially a call to anarchy: stateless societies, with collective decision making.Hierarchy at the scale of what we call “the state” only becomes possible from the intensification and the control of food production, through the growing of annual grains. This sedentary, predictable surplus provides the material conditions for a small group of people to force a larger group of people to produce this food for them. These authoritarian societies take many different shapes, from less violent and coercive to the most extreme forms of control and domination, so abhorrent, we recognize them as so-called “crimes against humanity.” Through the rewilding lens, fascism can be seen as the ultimate pinnacle of the authoritarian, hierarchical state, of domestication to the fullest extent possible; using the most modern technologies for total and complete submission of people and of nature. Fascism is the furthest, most oppositional force from our innate wildness. This means that rewilding is inherently anti-fascist.When rewilding as a buzzword for “returning to a wild state” hit the mainstream mostly through diet and fitness culture (such as the so-called paleo lifestyle), it was watered down and perceived by a public that has been taught misconceptions of “wildness.” Projections of grunting cavemen and social darwinism’s notions of aggression and competition stand in for actual anthropology of living, thriving, egalitarian societies. This biased and incomplete picture of wildness has cast an oppressive shadow over the term rewilding, allowing in individuals who promote hate and inequality as the natural state of humans. As we have seen in the past, fascism is often a reactionary attempt by the people to maintain order during a decline or societal collapse. As we enter a time of economic uncertainty, climate crises, and more, fascism is a growing, ever present threat. To keep rewilding on course, to educate people on the collaborative, mutual aid relationships that define human wildness, rewilders must actively work against fascism today, and the fascist creep, into our ideologies and movements.To talk with me today about this growing threat, is Alexander Reid Ross. Alexander is a scholar with a diverse background. He earned his PhD in the Earth, Environment, Society program at Portland State University. He is the editor of the book Grabbing Back: Essays Against the Global Land Grab, and authored a book on the transnational far right called Against the Fascist Creep. He is a researcher whose focus is on exposing the far right and fascist movements that exist today.Notes@areidross on twitterAgainst the Fascist Creep by Alexander Reid RossPalingenetic ultranationalismHierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior by Christopher BoehmThe Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout Support the show

Anthropology is at the core of rewilding. Understanding the various ways in which humans act and why, helps us draw a picture of what is possible for humanity. Rewilding pulls its inspiration from the millions of years that humans lived in relative harmony with our environments–without causing the sixth mass extinction and without creating large-scale inequality, and how these crises came about. To make cultural transformations, we have to understand where material determinism and intentional idealism come together.On this episode of the Rewilding Podcast, I’ve invited Daniel, the host of the What is Politics YouTube channel, to explain how this all works. What is Politics is a compelling series that delves into the natural histories and anthropology of politics, in the form of didactic storytelling. I came across Daniel’s long form videos on YouTube last year when I was complaining about how off the mark David Graeber’s book the Dawn of Everything is, (how much it omits, how much it ignores, how much it simply pretends doesn’t already exist on this subject) and someone sent me a link to the What is Politics critiques. People had been asking me to write a review, and I couldn’t get past the first 100 pages of what I considered a misdirection. The amount of time it would taken to review the book felt daunting, and I kept putting it off. I was super relieved to find and watch the What is Politics reviews, to see that someone had gone through the whole book with a fine-tooth comb and so much deeper than I ever could have. Now when people ask me what my thoughts are on the Dawn of Everything, I just send them to the What is Politics YouTube channel. It's a huge relief to be honest. For these reasons and more, I’m excited to have Daniel as a guest on the Rewilding Podcast, to talk about the material realities that give rise to, and/or provide the fuel for, certain human political and social organizations.NotesDaniel's What is Politics YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@WHATISPOLITICS69Hierarchy in the Forest by Christopher Boehmhttps://bookshop.org/a/24844/9780674006911Chris Knight WorksDawn Review: https://mronline.org/2021/12/20/the-dawn-of-everything-gets-human-history-wrong/Early Human Kinship Was Matrilineal: https://libcom.org/article/engels-was-right-early-human-kinship-was-matrilinealThe Science of Solidarity: http://www.chrisknight.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/The-Science-of-Solidarity1.pdfDid Communism Make Us Human: https://brooklynrail.org/2021/06/field-notes/Did-communism-make-us-humanThe Human Symbolic Revolution: http://radicalanthropologygroup.org/sites/default/files/pdf/pub_knight_power_watts_big.pdfThe Pseudoscience of 'The Secret'https://www.livescience.com/5303-pseudoscience-secret.htmlNo Time for Bullies: Baboons Retool Their Culturehttps://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/science/no-time-for-bullies-baboons-retool-their-culture.htmlThe Collapse of Complex Societies by Joseph TainterSupport the show

In this episode I’m chatting with Kara Moses. Kara is a biologist and educator teaching nature connection, rewilding, wild living skills and woodland management. She is a writer, a climate activist, chair of the Cambrian Wildwood project in west Wales, she created Radical Nature Connection at the Ulex Project in the pyrenees which brings nature connection practice into relationship with our struggles to challenge interlocking systems of oppression, such as racism, patriarchy, colonialism, and ableism and our efforts to build movements forging a life-affirming future. You can learn more about her work at her website rewildeverything.org and her social media handle RewildEverything.Kara and I discuss the different ways rewilding has been used and the ways it has been perceived, and the challenges of using the word. We follow Kara through her transformative journey from primatology to direct action climate activism to nature connection, how she came to rewilding and beyond. This is a fun and deep conversation from a fellow rewilder who has dealt with similar and very different challenges than myself, in terms of spreading rewilding.Notes: www.RewildEverything.orgTwitter: @Kara_L_MosesInsta: @RewildEverythingFacebook: @RewildEverything• www.CambrianWildwood.org• How lemurs fight climate change• Meet Kara Moses, the activist who helped shut down a Welsh coal mine• Feral by George Monbiot  • Wild Awake Ireland• ‘It’ll take away our livelihoods’: Welsh farmers on rewilding and carbon markets• Anthropogenic heathlands: disturbance ecologies and the social organisation of past super-resilient landscapes• Radical Nature Connection (RNC)• My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem• Queer Nature• Rewild Portland • Weaving Earth• We are the 99%• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-Kimmerer• The Old Way• Access to You is a Privilege• What Kinship is and What it is Not by Marshall SahlinsSupport the show

In this episode I chat with Tao Orion. Tao holds a degree in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture from UC Santa Cruz and a MSc degree in Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She is the author of Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration. Tao and I chat about invasive species, transforming people’s perceptions of them, learning to manage them without the  use of herbicides and how we might start rethinking land management especially as global food growing and distribution systems start to shrink and collapse.Show Notes:Tao’s WebsiteBeyond the War on Invasive SpeciesSilent Spring by Rachel CarsonTending the Wild by M. Kat AndersonThe New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's SalvationIn contrast to green image, Portland continues using weedkiller Roundup in parksWhat Will They Do with His Garden?Finisia MedranoSupport the show

My guest for this episode is ​Samantha Zipporah. Samantha is devoted to breaking the spells of oppression in reproductive & sexual health through education, healing & liberation.  She has over 20 years of experience honing her craft as an educator, guide & caregiver tending to fertility, sex, & cycles spanning the full womb continuum. Sam’s work rises from an ancient lineage of midwives, witches, & wise women​. A fierce champion of critical thinking skills, her knowledge is integrative & inclusive of modern medicine & science​ as well as traditional & ancient healing practices. S​am provides vital education for everyone from professionals to preteens in her books, courses, & live classes. Her online community The Fruit of Knowledge features monthly live workshops & an abundance of resources & dialogue for womb wisdom keepers & seekers.In this conversation Samantha and I talk about rewilding contraception, and a few of the threads connected to that.NotesSamantha’s Websitehttps://www.samanthazipporah.com/Samantha’s Linktreehttps://linktr.ee/samanthazipporahSamantha’s Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/samanthazipporah/Other Mentions:Peter’s “How to Rewild Yourself” MemesSeeing Like a State by James C. ScottSand Talk by Tyson YonkaportaCaliban and the Witch by Silvia FedericiIUD Side Effects Facebook GroupIUD Awareness WebsitePlease Bleed: Plants and Practical MagicConscious Contraception SkillshareMiscarriage and Abortion Support CourseIncidence of Post-Vasectomy Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisSupport the show

Hannes Wingate is an artist, builder, designer, and outdoor survival-skills instructor. He was educated at Central St. Martins College of Art in London. He is known internationally for constructing giant, human sized nests from natural materials found within close range of the build site. He has traveled the world, spending time living with and learning traditional skills from the Sami, Maori, Basque and Native American cultures.In this conversation Hannes and I discuss his practice as an artist, looking at how he transforms people’s perspectives through his sculptural art, storytelling. We touch on some interweaving philosophies and practices like biomimicry, ancestral skills and how creativity lends itself to state resistance. In the second half, Hannes debriefs my experience at Boulder Outdoor Survival School.Notes: Hannes’ InstagramBurnside NestBoulder Outdoor Survival SchoolMaking by Tim IngoldEli Loomis InterviewSupport the show

In this episode I talk with my friend, Rachael Rice. Rachael is an artist, writer, death worker and certified weirdo who crafts scroll-stopping content for people who want to shape change. Her work centers collapse-informed learnings about grief, death, myth, magic and meaning-making in pale times. A neurodivergent queer witch navigating multiple health diagnoses and broadly coded as a white cis woman, Rachael is of Swedish, Scottish, Irish, French, German and English ancestry living and loving with her partner whose income supports her work on the lands of the Chinook in Portland, Oregon. She works in a dozen kinds of media, plays four instruments, speaks three languages, parents two children, and hollers at one cat, usually not all at once. In this conversation, Rachael and I discuss what it means to be “collapse aware,” what death work is and how it relates to societal collapse, and ways you can engage with it. Notes:Rachael’s WebsiteRachael’s InstagramMentions:Collapse Care w/ Carmen Spagnola“Curse of Knowledge”Death Doula/MidwifeLotka Volterra CycleDiminishing-ReturnsSupport the show

In this episode of the Rewild Podcast I talk with David Ian Howe about dogs and rewilding. David is a professional archaeologist trying to popularize the science of anthropology, most often through comedic videos. He is known for his interest and expertise in understanding ethnocynology–the study of the ancient relationship between humans and dogs. As rewilding is in part, a critique of domestication, the relationship between humans and dogs is an interesting area of exploration: at what point does mutualistic symbiosis become parasitic, or vice versa and is the human and dog relationship reflective of that? Listen in as David and I discuss this ancient relationship, among a few other topics. Notes:Links to David’s WorkDavid’s WebsiteDavid’s YoutubeDavid’s PatreonDavid’s InstagramDavid’s TikTokMentionsAshkelon dog cemeteryPrehistoric Dogs as Hunting Weapons: The Advent of Animal Biotechnology by Angela PerriCompanion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness by Donna HarrowayWolf In Dog's Clothing? Black Wolves May Be First 'Genetically Modified' PredatorsWolves in the Land of Salmon by Dave MoskowitzDomestication Gone WildNeotenyFoxy Behavior: how a Russian fox farm uncovered the basis of canine domesticationWolf Totem Jiang Rong Wolves and RavensBadgers & CoyotesDid Dog-Human Alliance Drive Out the Neanderthals?The dark side of oxytocin, much more than just a “love hormone”Riot DogThis Article Won’t Change Your MindAncient Anxiety and ADHDDonny DustConsuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian SocietySupport the show

On this episode of the Rewilding Podcast, I converse with Carmen Spagnola about the necessary self and community care that comes with the realization that we are living in a collapse. Carmen works at the intersection of somatics, trauma recovery, attachment, and mysticism. Her approach to collapse – navigating the converging emergencies of large scale cooperation dilemmas – weaves Wendell Berry sensibilities with Octavia Butler realities. Her book The Spirited Kitchen: Recipes and Rituals for the Wheel of the Year, comes out in the fall of 2022. Notes:Carmen’s Social MediaCarmen’s WebsiteThe Spirited Kitchen BookUtne Reader/Geez Magazine: Preparing for a Beautiful EndIshmael by Daniel QuinnPeak OilTruth and Reconciliation CommissionThe Oil DrumJohn Michael GreenSharon AstykCarolyn Baker: Love in a Time of Apocalypse & Conscious CollapsingThe Collapse of Civilization May Have Already BegunWilderness First ResponderPeter LevineStephen PorgesBelievers by Lisa WellsThe “Collapse” of Cooperative Hohokam Irrigation in the Lower Salt River ValleySupport the show