The RegenNarration

Rachel Ward is a famed actress, film-maker and now farmer. Jade Miles is the CEO of Sustainable Table, author of Futuresteading, and steward of the incredible Black Barn Farm. We shared this conversation with a live audience after a screening of Rachel’s brilliant documentary, Rachel’s Farm. It was a curtain raiser to the Regenerative Agriculture Conference in Margaret River WA, and the penultimate event of Rachel’s film tour of 30 or so locations around the country. That lent a certain perspective to this conversation – a kind of overview of the movement, and the country. And that met Jade’s vantage point, also touring the country and researching the world with a different lens, as CEO of Sustainable Table. You might recall their launch event which became episode 161 earlier this year, Regenerating Investment in Food & Farming. Unsurprisingly, talking with these two women at this time resulted in a very personal, hard-hitting, and inspired take on where things are at, what’s coming down the line, and the stories helping to make it happen.You’ll hear the 3 of us in conversation for the first 15 minutes or so, then we interweave into our chat a handful of questions from the audience - who are also among the regenerative pioneers in this country. Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).This conversation was recorded on 5 September 2023.Title slide: Jade Miles and Rachel Ward on stage (pic: Olivia Cheng).Music:Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, off the soundtrack for the film Regenerating Australia.Find more:To screen the film, gain access to resources etc., head to the Rachel’s Farm website.You can hear Rachel and Anthony in conversation just before the film’s premiere and tour, with Rachel’s co-star Mick Green, in episode 168.You’ll find Jade at Black Barn Farm, Sustainable Table, and on episode 128 of this podcast: Operating at Human Speed. Stay tuned for more on her next book soon. This conversation took place after a screening of Rachel’s Farm,Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

It’s all go here now for the upcoming RE:CONNECTION Festival. But there are other reasons for this excerpt today. So many of my conversations these days, including after the Voice Referendum here in Australia, for example, come back to this part of episode 170 with Tim Hollo, author of ‘Living Democracy: An ecological manifesto for the end of the world as we know it’. And particularly the part where he said: “And I asked Amanda if there was a secret ingredient that sits behind it [the incredible success stories she’s worked on]. And what she told me has just echoed in my head forever since. And she just said simply, ‘don’t ask people to pick a side’.” We go on to talk here about the late great Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for economics. I had never heard of her till just prior to this episode. But she’s a big part of Tim’s book, and I later learned a big influence on previous guest Charles Massy, and an upcoming guest Charles introduced me to, former investment banker Justyn Walsh.A number of people said to me at the time that this episode completely changed the way they think and feel about what’s possible. Perhaps this excerpt can help us through this particular moment, and guide us back, or further, to the work that we know actually does bring people together and, quite often, results in outcomes that are genuinely extraordinary - but on the other hand, could very well become the norm. To hear the conversation in full, head to episode 170, ‘Changing What’s Possible’.Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully provides greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).This conversation was recorded on Little Black Mountain in Canberra on 17 April 2023.Title slide: overlooking the nation’s capital Canberra, on another walk up a hill (pic: Anthony James).For behind the scenes footage and other benefits, including helping to keep the podcast going, please consider becoming a subscriber via the Patreon page.Music: Now to the Future, by FourPlay String Quartet (featuring Tim Hollo). Find more:Join us at the RE:CONNECTION Festival in the norther rivers of NSW on 11 November 2023 (become a subscriber to get a discount – you’ll find the code in recent poSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome to part two of Coming to a Head in the Kimberley, featuring one of the great stories of regeneration, and one of the most spectacular regions in the world, at a time when both are acutely on the line. Join us back at Kachana Station in the East Kimberley, with award-winning regenerative pastoralist Chris Henggeler. We pick up the conversation from part one here, on the latest with the donkey situation. Since we last visited Kachana, the state department that ordered the donkeys at Kachana be shot as pests, and the Henggeler family that has geared their behavior towards regeneration, have been in mediation at the State Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal’s adjudication on that appeal is due before year’s end. It will carry with it the fate of the donkeys at Kachana, and with that the fate of a potential game-changer in regeneration at scale across the region – at a time when it’s desperately needed.We talk here about the latest developments, research, language, history and other complexities on the matter - including the donkeys the Henggelers do shoot at Kachana. And we end up comparing notes on Chris’s related personal efforts with some paradigm changing health practices. This thoughtful dialogue plunges into the intricate ties between biodiversity and domestication, sparking intriguing debates on managing both wild and domestic animals. We ponder over the immense significance of local wisdom and nature-informed decision-making in sculpting our future. It's an enlightening journey that challenges our understanding of relationships and responsibility, both towards ourselves and our planet.Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect).This episode was recorded at Kachana Station on 23 August 2023.Title slide: Kachana Station (pic: Anthony James).See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a subscriber via the Patreon page. Music:Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, off the soundtrack for the film Regenerating Australia.Find more:You can hear part one of this conversation (with photos and links), at Coming to a Head in the Kimberley: On regenerating consciousness, community and Country.Resilient Earth, composed by Sheila Silver, featuring a piece called Shooting Ruminants, inspired by experiencesSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Chris Henggeler and his family manage Kachana Station in the East Kimberley, only accessible by foot or air. They took responsibility for this desertified and abandoned country, and have achieved some incredible regeneration, culminating last year in a State Soil Health Champion award. Yet with still vast lands desertifying around them, and so much opportunity to build on models like Kachana, we recorded an episode out there two years ago titled Wanted Land Doctors. Now the second most popular episode on this podcast, it was a powerful invitation for the next generations to join the fray, and how the rest of us can help them do it. But there is trouble afoot.The regeneration at Kachana Station has incorporated and relied on not just cattle, but wild donkeys. The bond these animals share with this Station family is clear. But just before we recorded that episode two years ago, the state department ordered the family to gun them down as pests. The Henggelers appealed the order. And the State Tribunal process adjudicating on that appeal is coming to a head in a few weeks. In parallel, you could say, the Kimberley itself is coming to a head. Forecast to suffer unliveable heat in the coming decades, with ‘climate refugees’ already heading south, and worsening floods like this year's at Fitzroy Crossing.So this week, Chris and I draw some of the broader patterns together. And we hear the latest on how they're being turned around at Kachana, and beyond. That leads us to a deep dive on some of the best stories, thinking and intuitive wisdom we’re coming across, that are helping more heads and hearts come together across divides, to make more of the good stuff happen.Next week, part 2 of this episode will feature a full and telling update on the donkey situation.Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect).Recorded on 23 August 2023.Title slide: Chris Henggeler & friends (pic: Anthony James).See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a subscriber via the Patreon page.Music:Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, off the soundtrack for the film Regenerating Australia.Find more:Kachana Station.You can hear the previous chat with Chris in ep.100, Wanted Land Doctors (with more photos and links on that web page).Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Heidi Mippy is a Noongar and Thiin-Mah Warriyangka woman, and a pioneer in Aboriginal education support and community development. For over 25 years, Heidi’s been leading and sharing in many brilliant success stories, with renowned integrity, smarts and spirit. Here, Heidi joins Anthony in the lead up to Australia’s national referendum on an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament this weekend, with no predetermined agenda, clear cut positions, or knowledge of what each other was thinking, going in. We hope this very personal and raw conversation adds something to your deliberations too, as the referendum approaches, and beyond.In an atmosphere charged with emotions and complexities, Heidi and Anthony unravel layers of history, government initiatives, and community expectations. From the polarising conversations within the community to the anxieties that cloud the day after the referendum. We also examine the potential of the referendum, and the Uluru Statement as a whole, and the challenges that loom ahead either way. But this isn't just about the referendum. It's about the power of community, the potency of 'what ifs', and how to harness that together to finally address our most urgent of needs, and realise our greatest of opportunities.Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).Recorded online on 9 October 2023. And produced with human intelligence.Title slide: Heidi Mippy (sourced here).Music:Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, off the soundtrack for the film Regenerating Australia.Find more:Heidi Mippy on LinkedIn.Voice to Parliament referendum 2023.Australian government fact sheet on the Voice.You can hear the previous time Heidi was on the podcast in ep.143, Visited by the Rainbow Serpert. (There are photos on that web page too)Biodiversity Conference 2023.The best-selling book Heidi wrote a chapter for, Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome back to Fitzroy Crossing. Jimmy Dillon Andrews is a highly respected Bunuba elder and founder of Bungoolee Tours, nationally renowned for the cultural experiences it guides people through. These include journeys deep beneath the limestone of the Napier Range into Tunnel Creek, and through the heart of the incredible Windjana Gorge, carved from a 35O million year old Devonian Reef. The spiritual significance of these places to the Bunuba people is immense, having tended all this for at least 46,000 years. They’re also central to the legend of famed Aboriginal warrior Jandamarra. Jimmy is a descendent of Jandamarra, describing him as a ‘man of magical power’. The story of Jandamarra is one of this Country’s most gripping and important ones, that still too few of us know about. So we’re fortunate to hear Jimmy share it here. Along with some other stories foundational to this Country, from footy, to of course the extraordinary flood this year. We go on to explore the keys to his enterprise success, and his visions for the future (along with the Voice referendum). And all with Jimmy’s unhurried, quietly spoken gravitas - as if whispering long-accrued secrets of Country. Join us, on a now dry patch of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River bed, by the old Fitzroy Crossing. Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).Recorded on the bed of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River at the old Fitzroy Crossing on 9 August 2023.Title slide: Jimmy Dillon Andrews during the conversation (pic: Olivia Cheng).See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a subscriber via the Patreon page.Music:Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, off the soundtrack for the film Regenerating Australia.Song performed live by Jimmy Dillon Andrews.Find more:Bungoolee Tours.For more photos of the Martuwarra and Fitzroy Crossing, see the episode web page of ep.176 with Natalie Davey. And tune into the conversation for more on the flood and brilliant regenerative efforts.Support the community here or here.You can hear the conversation with PeSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome to a very special episode, months in the making. Natalie Davey was last on the podcast nearly 2 years ago. It’s still the sixth most popular episode. Natalie is a community leader from Fitzroy Crossing, with Bunuba-Walmajarri, English and Scottish heritage. She’s a Traditional Custodian of the magnificent Martuwarra Fitzroy River. She’s also a broadcaster with the local Wangki radio, an artist, educator, and former ranger. She was the first Indigenous Chair, too, of highly respected not-for-profit Environs Kimberley – until her life was turned upside down by the worst flood event in West Australian recorded history at the start of this year. Many will be familiar with the extraordinary unprecedented rainfall. But what you might not be familiar with is that while the water has passed, the earth has shifted. Figuratively, and literally. Some things that weren’t washed away, like the enormous Fitzroy Crossing bridge, were buried.Coming into Fitzroy this time, we’d been wondering if there was a fuller story to tell. We found so much more than expected. Like what part our land management may have played in the damage. How community mobilised ahead of designated agencies in some crucial ways. The art and meaning that has flowed from disaster. How competing narratives confuse causes for solutions. And ultimately, how there are ways the community is responding successfully to not only the flood but, in related ways, to other issues like the youth crime waves that have been splashed across national media. Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers (also available on the embedded player on the episode web page), and a transcript of this conversation (please note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).Recorded by the Martuwarra Fitzroy River on 8 August 2023.Title slide: Natalie Davey & Anthony James (pic: Olivia Cheng). See more photos on the episode web page, and to see more from behind the scenes, become a subscriber via the Patreon page.Music:Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.Find more:You can hear Natalie from our visit 2 years ago in episode 112.Natalie on Insta and Twitter.Support the community here or Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

A very special episode from flood-ravaged Fitzroy Crossing, with Traditional Custodian of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River, Natalie Davey, has been weeks in the making and is almost finished. Stay tuned for that next week!Today is an excerpt of episode 156 featuring the last 25 minutes or so with globally renowned writer, educator and consultant, Daniel Christian Wahl, at a very sensitive time in his life. Our conversation was ostensibly winding up, but some deep personal reflections on life, language and place, learning, schooling and parenting, and the power of transformation, gathered their own momentum. We pick it up with Daniel’s deeply felt experience as a newcomer to his home in Mallorca (the Anne we’re talking about is mutual friend, Aboriginal elder Anne Poelina). We go on to compare notes about parenting, learning and schooling for regeneration, that went on to explore general processes of connection and transformation. And the power we scarcely realise we can access by working in these ways.Here’s part of the blurb from the full episode:Daniel Christian Wahl is the world-renowned author of Designing Regenerative Cultures, still being translated into various languages years after release. Daniel’s also called himself a consultant, educator, activist, speaker, blogger, weaver, catalyst - he’s also become a farmer of sorts, which you’ll hear more about today, along with some other very interesting and relevant parts of his life – like marine biology, martial arts, permaculture, his ongoing learning with elders, and how he looks to live it all, in what has become his home in Mallorca, Spain.To hear the conversation in full, tune into episode 156, where you'll also find a few links.Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers, and a transcript of this conversation (note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully provides greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).This conversation was recorded online with Daniel at home in Mallorca, on 15 March 2023.Title slide: Daniel Christian Wahl (source).For behind the scenes footage and other benefits, including helping to keep the podcast going, please consider becoming a subscriber via the Patreon page.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

What a week at the regenerative agriculture conference in Margaret River. Fair to say we’re still buzzing, and recovering. More on that later. Normal podcasting will resume next week, but this week has actually been lined up for a while – in anticipation of that recovery, and the release of a very special book. Carol Sanford’s new – and sadly last – book is out this week. It’s called No More Gold Stars: Regenerating Capacity to Think for Ourselves. You might remember her talking about it back at the start of the year in a profound 150th episode, that drew such a wave of response from so many of you.This is an excerpt of that episode featuring the last 20 minutes or so of our conversation. We pick it up at a particularly poignant and funny moment, where Carol is talking about one of her many great success stories in engaging with business globally in education and leadership. This led to my voicing a hint of doubt about the capacity of big business to change adequately, given the way the systems and structures are oriented. I was summarily admonished, in a way I enjoyed then, and recount still. Here’s part of the blurb from the full episode:Starting the year with Carol Sanford feels incredibly special. She’s been at the heart of what we might call the ‘regenerative paradigm’ for decades. Friends and colleagues have spoken about her with me for years, right up until the end of last year. And last month, a previous guest and author of Sand Talk, Tyson Yunkaporta, featured Carol on his podcast. That’s when I learned the sad news that she has only a few months to live. When I wrote to her expressing my care and respect, and to see if she’d possibly be up for a chat with another Aussie podcaster, she said sure, but ‘I am declining and so can’t wait long.’ Days later, we shared this conversation. To hear the conversation in full tune into episode 150, A Regenerative Life: Carol Sanford on living, dying & changing paradigms, where you'll also find a few links.Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers, and a transcript of this conversation (note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully provides greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).This conversation was recorded on 2 February 2023.Title slide: Carol Sanford (source: NHBSR 2019 Conference page).For behind the scenes footage and other benefits, including helping to keep the podcast going, please consider becoming a subscriber via the Patreon page.Find more:Carol’s new bSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

We’ve landed in Margaret River, ahead of its major regenerative agriculture conference, with a live Q&A screening of Rachel’s Farm raising the curtain tonight. Anthony will be hosting director Rachel Ward, in conversation with another previous guest on the podcast, Jade Miles. In the film, Rachel raises the rest of the picture of regeneration – regenerating supply chains. And this is where her daughter Matilda (featuring profoundly in the film also), and her partner Scott Gooding, have taken up the mantle. Though that came after some uninterested mocking of mother, and sharing some traumatic health troubles and startling nutrition-led recoveries.This is an excerpt of episode 169 featuring the last 25 minutes or so of our conversation, recorded at dusk on the family farm earlier this year – having recorded with Rachel for episode 168 earlier that day. We pick it up with Scott's healing journey. And follow that into the creation - and re-creation - of The Good Farm Shop.Here’s part of the blurb from the full episode:Join us in this heart-warming conversation with Matilda Brown, daughter of renowned actors Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward, and Scott Gooding, ‘celebrity chef’ and author of The Sustainable Diet. Together, they share their unexpected journey into the world of regenerative farming, their thoughts on food sovereignty, and how their combined passion for cooking, creativity, and healthy, sustainable living, led to the creation of the Good Farm Shop.To hear the conversation in full, head to episode 169 (see the link below).Head here for automatic cues to chapter markers, and a transcript of this conversation (note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully provides greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read).This conversation was recorded on 10 April 2023.Title slide: Matilda, Scott & Anthony (pic: Matilda Brown).For behind the scenes footage and other benefits, including helping to keep the podcast going, please consider becoming a subscriber via the Patreon page.Find more:Tune into the full episode 169, Feeding Change: Matilda Brown & Scott Gooding's Nutrition-Led Journey to The Good Farm Shop, where you'll also find some photos and a few links.Regenerative Agriculture Conference in Margaret RiverSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!