The Rewilding Podcast w/ Peter Michael Bauer

Eli Loomis is an instructor and Executive Director at Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS) in Utah. At 53 years old, BOSS is the oldest survival school in the country. It is notorious for its long, minimalist desert treks, including a 28-day field course. In this conversation, Eli and I talk about the history of BOSS, the psychology of survival and “The Won’t to Live,” the lack and need for Rites of Passage, context specific training, running non-profit wilderness schools, the transformative experience, and personal and psychological growth that can happen in survival courses, and so much more.LinksBoulder Outdoor Survival SchoolBOSS InstagramBullet Ant TestAmerican Guy Try’s Bullet Ant TestJohn Leach “The Won’t to Live”John Leach's Survival PsychologyRabbit Proof FenceMartin Prechtel - Long Life, Honey in the HeartKhalil GibranBarkley MarathonsThis episode is in Memorial of my friend Alex Leavens, my first ancestral skills teacher. Support the show

Today I’m chatting with John Zerzan, long time anarchist author, speaker and host of Anarchy Radio out of Eugene, Oregon.  John's writing has been instrumental in crafting the rewilding narrative. In this conversation, we jump right into some of the themes and history of primal anarchy, and work our way around various topics. Notes• John's Website• When We Are Human• Oak Journal• Future PrimitiveSupport the show

This episode is the first half of a conversation between myself and Natasha Tucker from Primal Anarchy Podcast. The second half will be released by them and a link posted here will connect you to it. The last time Natasha and I conversed this much was in my living room after the Rewilding Conference in January of 2020. It was great to catch up and chat about the things we are working on and thinking about at the moment. Take a listen and check out their site:Primal Anarchy PodcastNatasha TuckerSupport the show

In this episode I chat with Lise Silva Gomes, an artist who works with fiber, knots, paint and more, who has spent a great deal of time thinking and teaching about community grounded art practice. A huge aspect of rewilding is the practice of ancestral skills–learning to use your hands to create the technologies that we need to live, from the elements of nature that grow and dwell near us. I came to Lise’s work when searching out ethics, etiquette, and boundaries around communities of artists and creatives. Lise is an innovator in this field and has created some amazing resources around this topic that I’m excited to share with you.Notes• Lise’s Instagram• Lise’s Linktree• Craft & Practice: Meditations on Creativity & Ethics ZineSupport the show

“The earth’s biodiversity depends [very directly] on its human diversity.” - Stephen CorryIn this episode I chat with Stephen Corry, the former director of Survival International, a global organization that supports indigenous peoples in their struggles against colonialism. We talk about why the organization is important, and how it relates directly to rewilding. Stephen discusses the central myths of civilization and the prejudices that it generates in order to justify its destruction of tribal people. In the end our conversation lands on the problematic aspects of conservation, and the challenges that members of Survival International have faced in this work. Please support the podcast by donating to my patreon. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on apple podcasts and other podcast directories. Thanks for listening. Links:Survival Internationalhttps://www.survivalinternational.org/Stephen's Book:Tribal Peoples for Tomorrow’s WorldStephen's Twitter:@StephenCorrySvl• New report details indigenous struggle for land rights• Savaging Primitives: Why Jared Diamond’s “The World Until Yesterday” is Completely Wrong• Why Steven Pinker, Like Jared Diamond, Is Wrong• The Fierce Anthropologist• Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States by James C. Scott• Who was Ötzi?• Sahlins resigns from NAS as Chagnon enters• The Great Dance; a Hunter’s Story• The Big Conservation Lie• WWF Funds Guards Who Have Tortured And Killed People• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples• Ishmael by Daniel Quinn• Willamette; The Valley of an 8,000 Year Old CulturePhoto Credit: Gleilson Miranda / Governo do AcreSupport the show

Much of the narratives found in rewilding originate from the study of cultures outside of civilization, through the discipline of anthropology. In this episode I chat with two of my friends that dwell in the academic world, around the challenges of navigating the benefits and problems with the institution of anthropology and the practical applications of it outside of academia. We talk about the history of anthropology, contemporary ethics behind it, and the potential for continual cultural transformation. How do we take anthropology beyond the institutions, in order to *do* anthropology in the real world? How do we leverage the study of culture(s), in a just and careful way, to help us understand more about humanity and our place in the world? What are the best practices behind an embodied anthropology?Fern Thompsett grew up in Australia, and is now working on a PhD in cultural anthropology through Columbia University, on Lenape land in New York City. Her research looks at how people define, critique, and live outside of civilization. She is also a co-founder of the Brisbane Free University.Josh Sterlin is working on a PhD at McGill University as part of the Leadership for the Ecozoic program. He is researching how rewilding might help us rethink classic anthropological categories and thinking, and how that might help us change the way we live. He was previously trained in environmental anthropology, and is also a graduate of the Wilderness Awareness School's Anake program. When he's not doing that, he's canoeing across the Quebec wilds. You can get in contact at jsterlin.org.NotesFragments of an Anarchist Anthropology:https://libcom.org/library/fragments-anarchist-anthropologyThe Undercommons', by Stefano Harney and Fred Moten: https://www.minorcompositions.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/undercommons-web.pdfKlee Bennally's 'Accomplices not Allies': https://www.indigenousaction.org/accomplices-not-allies-abolishing-the-allSupport the show

Months ago I asked my facebook and instagram audience if they had questions that I could answer in a podcast. I finally delved into the well of inquiry, and only got to the first three questions:Zack Rouda asked: “Why bother?”Pat Craig asked: On the problem of the lack of access to land for most people. At least land that one could hunt/forage or garden on. How can people who do not have easy access to land practice rewilding in a meaningful way?Will Dutch asked: How do you see rewilding co existing with the modern city? Do you see the new global awareness of the climate crisis being a catalyst for new thinking of rewilding?If you have more questions around rewilding to ask me, hit me up on social media and I will add these questions to the queue. Hope you enjoy this one. Photo by Rachel OlsonSupport the show

Popular culture likes to tell us that modern men are still just cavemen that masquerade in suits. That they are really just big dumb brutes, bent on domination to get their way. Deep down, their urges for violence (and sexual violence in particular) are simply part of their biology. Where does this mythology come from and why? What does rewilding masculinity look like–and where do we even start? In this episode I interview Dr. Martha McCaughey, professor of sociology at Appalachian State University and author of the book "The Caveman Mystique" as we explore these concepts in depth.Dr. McCaughey's BooksThe Caveman MystiqueReal Knock OutsReferencesThe Feminine MystiqueThe Egalitarians: Human and ChimpanzeeWhy everything you know about wolf packs is wrongExploring Prehistory: How Archaeology Reveals Our PastSupport the show

In this episode I speak with Dr. David Lewis, historian, anthropology professor and member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. We talk about the importance of learning the history of your place, what it's like being a bridge for cultures, ideas for being an ally, among many other interesting things. Dr. David Lewis Website:https://ndnhistoryresearch.com/David’s Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/coyotez-Books for Further StudyNative ScienceDecolonizing MethodologyNative Americans and the EnvironmentWhat Kinship Is-And Is Not - Marshall SahlinsSupport the show

In this episode I chat with Woniya Thibeault, ancestral skills practitioner and teacher, and recent cast member of the History Channel's ALONE show. Woniya and I cover a large range of topics, from the challenges of reality TV to how starvation effects one's body to practical things people can do in this strange time of a global pandemic to wiping your butt with nature's alternatives to toilet paper. It was a wide ranging conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.Links:Woniya’s WebsiteWoniya's PatreonWoniya YouTubeWoniya FacebookWoniya InstagramHistory’s ALONE Showhttps://www.history.com/shows/aloneSupport the show