Accidental Gods

Accidental Gods
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Jun 19, 2024 • 1h 6min

Taking back the Power: Weaning ourselves off fossil fuels and onto the good stuff with Howard Johns of OneZero

Today we're blowing open a route towards energy security, reduced carbon footprint and saving money - all in the way we make, distribute and use power.  If each of us could minimise our own power use, we'd be a step on the way to reducing our overall carbon footprint: more, we'd be changing the ways we think of ourselves as separate from the web of life. This week's guest is long time friend of the podcast Howard Johns. Howard is an activist, author, and serial entrepreneur in the field of energy generation - of how we power our lives, keep the lights on and keep ourselves warm.  Howard is now CEO of OneZero energy, a team of energy experts and digital nerds with a shared passion for getting homes off fossil fuels.  One of the biggest climate actions anyone can take is to retrofit their home with four components: Solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and insulation The combination of these makes homes more comfortable, but more importantly, it saves significant amounts of money and massively reduces the carbon footprint - weaning us off fossil fuels.  Howard himself has founded and led an award winning solar business, a pioneering community-owned energy company, and written a guide book to help others to do the same. He's given a TED Talk, occupied a coal mine and campaigned on energy and climate issues from inside parliament and atop treehouses, and until recently ran a large fleet of solar projects across the EU and UK.One Zero https://www.onezero.energy/Howard's website: https://www.howardjohns.net/Howard's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/energy-revolution-your-guide-to-repowering-the-energy-system-howard-johns/706009AG Episode 89https://accidentalgods.life/power-to-the-people/Indenture Hemp Insulation https://www.indinature.co/Homely Heat Pump Controllers https://www.homelyenergy.com/Any Human Power (Manda's book) https://linktr.ee/anyhumanpower
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Jun 12, 2024 • 59min

The Jay, The Beech and The Limpetshell with author Richard Smyth

Our guest this week is Richard Smyth, author, crossword designer, cartoonist - and father of two young children Richard writes features, reviews and comment pieces for publications including The Guardian, The Times LiterarySupplement, The New Statesman, and New Scientist. His crosswords – both cryptic and quiz – appear regularly in New Scientist, History Today, and BBC Wildlife. He's part of the team that sets questions for BBC Mastermind, and he's a cartoonist: Private Eye, New Humanist and Claims magazines have all featured his work. He's the author of five non-fiction books of which the latest is The Jay, the Beech and the Limpetshell which is one of those captivating works that is both memoir and eulogy of a dying world. It brings together Richard's passionate love of the natural world with his care for his two young children. It's a captivating read that shuttles back and forth along the time lines, weaving Twitter comments from 'Average Dad' with items from the memoirs of old Victorian naturalists who tasted bird's eggs and considerations of how we help the generations that come after us to fall in love with a world that is going to be so, so different from when we were young - however old you are now, whatever your memories. So this is one or our more reflective, peaceful, contemplative podcasts, a paean to the worlds of our youth and a hope for the future.  Enjoy!Richard's Website Richards books at Hive 
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Jun 10, 2024 • 38min

Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Politics - Election Special 2 with Baroness Natalie Bennett of the Green Party

in this second election special, we talk to Natalie Bennett (or Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle if we're going to be forma - but she said we didn't need to be) - one of two Green Party members in the House of Lords.  Natalie is author of the Book 'Change Everything: How we can rethink, repair and rebuild society' - one of the essential books of our time that outlines in detail how we can create the total systemic change we need. Natalie will be back in the autumn to discuss this in more detail, but in the meantime, we had a broad, deep conversation on the UK election - where it's going, where it could go and how each of us can help move a progressive, radical, thoughtful, compassionate, useful, climate-and-meta-crisis-aware agenda so that an incoming government will listen to us.  As she says, 'The Tories are Toast', but there's still a lot we can do to elect as many Green MPs as possible. Natalie Bennett website: https://www.nataliebennett.org/Natalie's Book: https://unbound.com/books/change-everythingNatalie on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GreenNatalieBennett/Natalie on Twitter https://x.com/natalieben
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22 snips
Jun 5, 2024 • 1h 24min

Answers to the Questions of life: Biomimicry, Complexity and Peacebuilding with Dr Deborah Benham

Dr. Deborah Benham, a Biomimicry Educator and Deep Nature Connection facilitator, discusses building a world based on connection and community. Topics include regenerative practices, assigning monetary value to nature, indigenous sustainable practices, redesigning culture with biomimicry, and connecting with nature for sustainable living.
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Jun 4, 2024 • 37min

Breaking the Doom-Loop of UK Politics with Neal Lawson of Compass

Buy Manda's book hereOur first Election Special with friend of the podcast, Neal Lawson.Neal is Director of the progressive campaign group, Compass and co-host of the Compass podcast ,called It's Bloody Complicated. Neal is a long-time progressive campaigner and a tireless advocate for Proportional Representation as a vehicle for radical progressive change in the way we do politics.  In this swift half hour, we look at the circumstances of this utterly unexpected election and Neal explains the practical steps we can take between now and polling day  with the aim of brining about what he calls a progressive 'Pitch Invasion' that will fundamentally upgrade and update the way we arrange our governance structures... Neal Lawson on Twitter https://x.com/neal_compassCompass https://www.compassonline.org.uk/Neal in Episode #150 https://accidentalgods.life/charting-a-progressive-route-through-the-political-maelstrom/https://accidentalgods.life/charting-a-progressive-route-through-the-political-maelstrom/
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May 29, 2024 • 1h 7min

Wild shamanic theatre and becoming embodied: with Jessica Buckler of the ALEF Trust

Jessica Buckler, a transpersonal psychologist, explores the intersection of shamanic practices and modern science in social prescribing. She discusses embodying nature in a shamanic journey, navigating governance challenges, and the importance of embodied practices for community connection and conscious living.
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14 snips
May 22, 2024 • 1h 5min

The Story is in our Bones: Rewilding Ourselves with author and activist Osprey Orielle Lake

Author and activist Osprey Orielle Lake discusses her book 'The Story is in our Bones', delving into Indigenous wisdom, climate justice, and the urgent need for systemic change. She shares childhood encounters with Indigenous ceremonies, explores time through stars, and emphasizes the importance of a just transition for environmental justice. A powerful episode on rewilding ourselves and reshaping our worldviews for a sustainable future.
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May 15, 2024 • 1h 31min

Any Human Power - Manda Scott talks about her new Thrutopian Mytho-Political thriller

In this captivating discussion, Maddy Harland, editor of Permaculture Magazine, interviews Manda Scott, a bestselling author renowned for weaving myth and political themes. They dive into Manda's new novel, which explores generational struggles for change amid societal crises. The conversation touches on the importance of embracing mortality, navigating political dynamics like Brexit, and the need for intergenerational collaboration. Manda reveals how fiction can inspire real-world activism and dreams of creating a better future through storytelling.
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May 8, 2024 • 1h 12min

No such thing as Waste, No such place as 'Away'! - Composting our way out of the meta-crisis with Nicky Grady Scott

Join Nicky Grady Scott, a master composter, as he dives into the world of composting, soil health, and creating a sustainable future. Learn about turning waste into soil, the importance of regenerative cycles, and practical composting tips for everyone. Discover how composting can contribute to sustainability, food security, and job creation. Get inspired to transform your food scraps into a force for regenerative change!
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May 1, 2024 • 49min

Writing the Deluge: Dark nights, Apocalypse and Hope with author Stephen Markley

Author Stephen Markley opens the doors to The Deluge, his ground-breaking, world-changing Climate/MetaCrisis thriller- 900 pages that absolutely squarely rips into the current system in all its deficiencies - and offers a route through to a future that might work. This week's guest is someone who has mapped out a possible future in a depth and detail that leaves me awestruck. Stephen Markley's first published novel Ohio, was described as a wild, angry, and devastating masterpiece of a book. Stephen King called it this generation's Grapes of Wrath and there is no doubt that it's a beautifully written, lyrical, devastating debut. But it turns out Ohio was the book he wrote in the midst of writing the novel we're going to talk about today. The Deluge is nine hundred pages of astonishing depth and breadth that takes as its topic the meta-crisis. It's an excoriating evisceration of neoliberalism and the thousands of small acts of mendacity or cowardice or sheer self-absorption that have got us to the edge of the cliff. It's an examination of just how close we are, and a portrayal of how utterly catastrophic will be the impacts if we step over. It's a deeply political book, but at heart it's also incredibly humane, with a cast of characters that spreads across contemporary American life in ways that I have rarely, if ever, encountered. I read the book and connected with Stephen because Rupert Read, who was with us last week, called me up and said 'This is a glorious Thrutopian novel, you have to read it.' And there were times when I completely did not believe him. But he's right. it's big. It requires huge dedication. But it's well, well worth the investment in terms of the doors it opens - and the many ways it shows us how we might fail before we finally succeed. Stephen's website https://www.stephenmarkley.com/The Deluge https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-deluge-stephen-markley/7544942?ean=9781982123109

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