The Passing Through Podcast

This week I'm passing through Lake Balaton, Hungary.Join me for a brief sweaty ramble after the Global Eco-village Network Gathering, musings about being beset by a biblical swarm of midges, murmurating starlings, animacy, and whatever else I was talking about when I recorded this episode.In loving memory of the one and only, Mitch the Midge.

Not all heroes wear capes. In this episode, we go straight to the streets of central Gaza where I speak with Khalid Qadas: photographer, medical student, and humanitarian volunteer with the Gaza Soup Kitchen. Khalid is heroic and unwaveringly human — full of hope, heart, and determination to help — even in the face of incredible loss and genocide.Khalid moved from the United Arab Emirates to Gaza to study medicine only months before October 2023. Since then, he’s lost his home, his possessions, 45 kilos (that’s roughly 100lbs), and has witnessed countless tragedies. What struck me most about Khalid is his tenacity of spirit. Speaking to me from the streets of Gaza, I could hear his smile.In our conversation we talk about life in Gaza, the Gaza Soup Kitchen, how to feed people under a famine, not just the lack of food — but the lack of water, hygiene, medicine — and the urgent need for infant formula. We talk about the future, loss, and the difficulty of sitting with the pain.You’ll hear some background noise during our talk. I think it’s still totally listenable and adds a certain atmosphere to our conversation, so please bear with the audio and listen to Khalid’s story.You can find the Gaza Soup Kitchen on Instagram, or support them on their website. Both links are below:https://www.instagram.com/gazasoupkitchen/https://gazasoupkitchen.com

In times of genocide, when silence is complicity, some courageous people are stepping forward to take action, and empowering others to do the same. This week, I had the honor of speaking with Ahmed Bashbash, a Palestinian developer using his skills to build tools that help people around the world take a stand against atrocity.Ahmed is the creator of No Thanks, a free mobile app designed to support the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement: one of the most visible and effective non-violent civil resistance campaigns of the past two decades. The movement's goal is to pressure governments and corporations to end their complicity in Israel’s violations of international law by shifting public discourse, influencing corporate decisions, and isolating Israel diplomatically.The No Thanks app lets users scan barcodes while shopping or search a database to see whether a company or product supports Israel — economically, militarily, through surveillance technology, government contracts, or by operating in illegal settlements, like Coca-Cola does. While many people know about brands like McDonald’s, Starbucks, or Microsoft, I was stunned to learn that even major German supermarket chains like Aldi, Lidl, and Edeka are on the list.In our conversation, you’ll hear Ahmed’s story and the inspiration behind the app, the personal risks and threats he’s faced, the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, the ongoing failure of international law to protect human rights, and much more.Please download this app to make more informed purchasing decisions.You can find Ahmed on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/afb_1999/  or on Twitter at https://x.com/ahmedbashbashYou can find the No Thanks app on the Apple App Store here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/no-thanks-app/id6476206516You can also find it on the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bashsoftware.boycott&hl=en&pli=1Follow No Thanks on Twitter at https://x.com/NoThanksBoycott

This week Manda Scott is Passing Through!Manda is not only a bestselling author, podcaster and teacher, she’s a lovely and passionate human championing values like integrity, compassion, and generosity of spirit in a quest to envision the kinds of emergent futures we’d be proud to leave behind. In our talk we explore the power of story, the myth of separability and powerlessness, the importance of coming together and creating spaces where we can be vulnerable, healing ourselves and the more-than-human-world, dreams, how to build better futures and a bunch more.I absolutely loved this conversation and think you will too. You can find Manda on her incredible podcast, Accidental Gods wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find her on her website, https://mandascott.co.uk. You can read one of her many books or attend one of her shamanic courses or gatherings listed on https://dreamingawake.co.uk. LinksManda Scott's website https://mandascott.co.ukAccidental Gods website: https://accidentalgods.lifeThrutopia Masterclass: https://thrutopia.lifeNarrative Ark: https://narrativeark.net

This week, the lovely Lydia Schamschula is Passing Through!I had the privilege of meeting Lydia in April during my first experience with Holotropic breathwork.She organizes and facilitates events with the team at Holotropic Breathwork Berlin, and has spent over a decade deepening her practice. Her background includes other modalities such as Zen and Osho meditation, Qigong, and yoga, which all inform her grounded, embodied approach.Lydia brings a special blend of presence, care, and deep dedication to her work. She holds space with authenticity and openness, and is clearly committed to nurturing the inner healing wisdom; both in herself and in others.In our conversation, we explore breathwork, Stanislav Grof’s pioneering research into psychedelics and birth matrices, non-ordinary states of consciousness, transpersonal experiences, and the deep healing that can emerge when we come together to be seen, heard, and held.It was a real treat to sit with Lydia, and I hope you find as much insight and resonance in this conversation as I did.You can find more about Lydia and her upcoming events at holotropicberlin.com. If you’re curious about diving into this work yourself, there’s a special retreat blending Holotropic breathwork and Zen meditation starting October 18th, near Hanover, Germany.

This week I'm passing through Warsaw, Poland!Join me for some thoughts about an elderly shamanic cat, dreams, the nature of ownership and control, the weird mystical magical madness of the human body, grief, Slot Art Festival, and an odd encounter with members of a religious cult!This episode is sponsored by Cat-A-Pult and The Milk Shrimp & Nuts Food Emporium.

This week David Holmgren is Passing Through!In this episode I was honored to sit down with one of the leading voices in ecological wisdom and regenerative culture — David Holmgren.David is best known as the co-originator of permaculture: a design philosophy that has blossomed into a global movement, offering practical possibilities for living in right relationship with the Earth. In 1978, he and Bill Mollison published Permaculture One, starting the global permaculture movement. Alongside Bill, David helped seed a vision that reimagines agriculture, community, and even economics — not as separate domains, but as interwoven threads in the complex web of existence which makes up the modern world.Over the past decades, David has deepened and expanded the permaculture lens, authoring works like Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability and RetroSuburbia, which invite us not only to survive the converging crises of our time — climate change, energy descent, social unraveling — but to thrive by reinhabiting our environment with creativity, care, and resilience.David’s a deep systems thinker, a grounded realist, and a cultural edge-dweller; someone who challenges dominant narratives while offering hopeful alternatives rooted in the patterns of nature.In our talk we cover what role permaculture plays in the polycrisis, nature as family, permaculture as a political act, the tension between small-scale local solutions and large-scale global problems, anarchy and antiauthoritarianism, the dark side of permaculture and more. To learn more about David you can check out his film Reading Landscape With David Holmgren at readinglandscape.org. You can also find him at holmgren.com.au for articles, videos, courses and other resources on permaculture. Enjoy the talk!

In this episode, we step into the wilderness with legendary landscape photographer Marc Adamus.His images have graced the pages of magazines like National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, and Popular Photography. But more than prestigious awards or publications, it’s Marc’s presence in wild places that sets him apart. Known for chasing light across storming glaciers, trekking alone in the heart of Alaska, Marc is a rare kind of artist: part adventurer, part storyteller, and a bridge bringing people into deeper contact with the incredible beauty of our planet.In this conversation, we’ll discuss Marc’s new book, his solo expeditions into extreme and uncertain terrain, story, and how the wilderness can teach us...if we’re willing to listen. We also explore topics like the pursuit of beauty, the mystical, more liminal aspect of photography which involves entering into dialogue with nature, feeling into the personality of place, as well as AI and what it could mean for art and photography.If you want to learn more about Marc or take one of his photo trips, visit him on his website www.marcadamus.com.

This week Robert Rient is Passing Through!Robert Rient, a powerful voice at the intersection of activism, spirituality, and environmental justice, joins Passing Through for his first interview in English!Robert is the founder of the Odra Person Foundation and the visionary behind the movement to recognize Poland’s Odra River as a legal person. He also established the Odra Tribe and organized the Great March for Odra.Robert is a member of the International Observatory for the Rights of Nature, Save the Rivers Coalition, and the Literary Union Association.Beyond his environmental and activist work, Robert is an author and freelance journalist covering the climate crisis and therapeutic methods of working with the body, emotions and spirit. He runs the Shamanism School, hosts intuitive and embodied healing ceremonies, Intuitive Story Dance ceremonies, as well as shamanic rituals and ceremonies. He’s the creator of the Peaceful Love podcast and a regular contributor to Sens magazine.In our conversation we discuss the rights of nature and spiritual activism, plant medicine, ritual, dialoguing with the more-than-human world, and the art of reconnecting with the Earth, spirit and ourselves. I hope you enjoy our conversation.Below are a list of Robert's books:"The First Contract. Fundamentals of the practice of shamanism," "Visions of Plants, or fifty medicinal plants and one fungus," "A glimpse Around the world - around yourself," "Witness: Inside Jehovah Witnesses Inside Catholic Poland Inside a Gay Life," "It was about love," and the novel "Jeremy's Spirits" nominated for the Nike Literary Award.

This week Michael Meade is Passing Through for one of my all-time favorite episodes!Michael Meade is a renowned storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology, anthropology, and psychology. For decades, Michael has paired hypnotic storytelling with sharp, soulful reflections on the crises of our time. He’s the creator and host of The Living Myth Podcast and founder of the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a nonprofit network of artists, activists, and community-builders encouraging greater understanding between diverse peoples.In our conversation we speak about Donald Trump; how a single person has the power to affect the lives of all the beings on our planet. We discuss community and initiation, myth and imagination, and explore topics like death, love, and the deep and important task of dealing with the other.I loved this conversation and hope you will, too. If you'd like to learn more about Michael and his work, please visit mosaicvoices.orgAnd definitely check out his podcast, The Living Myth