This episode was from a live panel I hosted recently here in my home city of Bath, UK.A conversation with a brilliant crew embedded with the lands and rivers who are working to steward, guardian, protect, connect and regenerate life between human communities and more than human ecologies.This was part of a community engagement day for West Country Bio-Regional project We Are Avon.We Are Avon is a movement of landworkers, organisations and communities collaborating for regional transformation of our land, river and food systems.This is a self organising bottom up collective of folks around the Avon River who are collaborating and experimenting to envision a bio-regional future - this is proper roll up your sleeves become the change movement - very much in the spirit of becoming crew.The panel was focussed specifically on exploring rivers, our relationships to them, the state they are in and why they are such a key connection in a bio-regional project.My guests were a quite brilliant crew:Amelia Crews - ocean and river activist, community energy organiser and climate and nature action dynamo.Eva Perrin - Aquatic Ecologist, PhD graduate in freshwater biogeochemistry, community activator for citizen science and river protection, co-founder of Conham Bathing Group and Rave on for the Avon.Hamish Evans - permaculturist, regenerative farmer and prefigurative activist - co-founder MiddleGround GrowersPaul Powlesland - river guardian, rights for nature campaigner and activist lawyer.Four amazing humans serving life, becoming the change, doing difficult yet joyful work.This is a dynamic conversation, full of insight, provocation and invitation to get stuck into whatever hood/river/forest you find yourself close to.It’s very much a conversation about entanglements, relationships and interdependence, the future we’re being called to shape is one of new relationships, of learning to relate in new ways to ourselves, to each other and to this more than human world we call home.And the ways we relate to the wild waters of this Earth is such a fundamental indicator of the health of the human and more than human crew on Spaceship Earth.What does it look like to see ourselves, not at the centre of a landscape of place, but decentered, in kinship, in relationship with all life that is there ?What does it look like to step into a way of being that sees us in a place of kinship, as part of a sacred web of life, not above it trying to create power and control over it, but within - in relationship with.So I hope this conversation inspires you to get out there and find your own way back into this great mysterious entanglement of life, becoming crew on Spaceship Earth.If you’re in the Avon hood, come and get involved in We Are Avon - links belowLINKSJoin the We Are Avon info and broadcast channel ( no chat)We Are Avon InstagramAmelia CrewsPaul Powlesland on TwitterEva PerrinMiddleGround GrowersRiver Roding TrustLawyers for NatureConham Bathing GroupThriving Avon CharterInto the Dark - Winter learning Journey from Becoming Crew Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

In deeply mysterious times I can think of no finer human to help us consider other ways of seeing, thinking and responding to the crises than Bayo Akomolafe who we welcome back for Episode 97.Bayo is a philosopher, writer, post-activist, professor of psychology and executive director of the Emergence Network.Bayo was guest in Episode 66 and this conversation was recorded live in a Becoming Crew online learning event in June this year .As we witness mythic scale events unfold almost weekly, this conversation feels more timely now than it did 5 months ago when it was recorded.Bayo’s words and thinking continue to ferment in such profound ways.Having sat on it for a few months, we’ve added some Spaceship Earth sonic love and I feel this is a really potent and helpful offering for this moment .Bayo is without doubt one of the most important thinkers, writers and speakers in these times of unravelling and one of the most humble, kind and funny humans with it.The rarest of combinations.He invites us to see and notice differently, to consider things which often feel invisible, beyond our individualised ways of seeing and yet perhaps, might be critical noticings for finding ways through our collective stuckness.But only if we’re prepared to venture into the cracks as Bayo might say.We invited Bayo to come to this conversation to help us explore and better understand the terrain of ‘whiteness’  - whiteness not as skin colour but perhaps as the invisible controlling logic of the systems, structures and deeply engrained ways we act out everyday enmeshed in the pervasiveness of capitalist modernity.We cover :- The terrain of whiteness- Desensitisation and grief- Moving towards cracks and openings- The limits of systems theory- Post-Activism- Cultivating different ways of responding to these times- How alternative solutions often continue to serve dominant systems and infrastructure- Learning to live well with loss and uncertaintyThis is a deep, rich, creative and vulnerable conversation about the trouble we are in as a species, brimming with provocation and insight to sit with in this moment.I’d suggest this is essential fertiliser for heading off the highway of modernity and making new moves.This was a live online session with our community and includes some beautiful questions towards the end which Bayo responds to.We play out with a new song from Natalie Fee called Winter. Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

Vanessa Andreotti, Dean of Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria and author of "Hospicing Modernity," dives into the themes of intergenerational responsibility and ecological justice. She discusses the urgency of acknowledging destructive systems for a thriving future and emphasizes the power of collective action. Topics include the importance of unlearning colonial narratives, the role of education in fostering emotional maturity, and the interconnectedness of waste management and healing. Andreotti advocates for authentic storytelling to engage younger generations in addressing complex societal issues.

Time for some tunes.Time for moving.As Autumn unfoldsI offer you another Earth Sessions mixFallingA gathering of tracks that have been looping heavily of late for me.A deep, cosmic, organic house vibe.I hope they move you in some way as things fall.If you enjoy this, check out the artists, producers and labels in this selection, they are all exceptional creators with stunning offerings to dig into.More conversations coming soon.Right I’m off to see Sasha and Digweed.Wishing you peace wherever you are.Track Listing on Site Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

What does one do when everything in our world feels so unhinged ?As the planet becomes swamped this week with flooding and hurricanes, climate protest as we know it, in the UK at least, carries an increasingly high chance of arrest and conviction.Politics even with a new administration feels as stuck, exhausted, divisive and non-participatory as ever.As the polycrisis intensifies, the systems of governance and ways of organising ourselves become more ossified and brittle, and we can see how woefully unfit for purpose they have become for a complex uncertain future.Now must be the time to accelerate constructive, people-powered participation, for more of us to begin to practice, rehearse, prototype and birth the new moves and the new systems that will put life at the centre.Because ask yourself - if we’re not doing it - is it going to happen from the top down - led by Govt, Media and Corporations ?Do you still trust that putting an X in a box during an election is going to do the job, to tackle all the things that keep you awake at night about the future and the rapidly unravelling and violent present ?My guest in this episode is active citizen - Clare Farrell.With a background in sustainability, fashion and more recently climate activism as one of the original Co-founders of Extinction Rebellion.As a designer her work has expanded beyond clothing and material products and into experience design and participation design, strategic communications and strategies for positive social change. Clare has been focussing her energies and creativity of late towards constructive forms of social and cultural transformation in the UK.Manifesting through work with The Humanity Project - a platform focussing on grassroots, participatory democracy via innovative local citizens assembliesandwith Hard Art Collective - with artist and activist Brian Eno - an artist led ‘feel tank’ exploring how we might weave new cultural contexts that put care and solidarity at the centre.We explore:* Grassroots Democracy and Intersectional Issues* The Power of Collective Imagination* The Role of Non Violent Protest and Civil Disobedience* Legal Systems and the Fight for Justice* The Importance of Disruption in Social Movements*  Imaginative Capacity and Hard Art* The Role of Artists in Cultural Change* Participatory Democracy and Cultural Networks* Designing Spaces for Interaction and Engagement in people led changeUltimately to build a connected, resilient society based on care, compassion, freedom and love is going to need big numbers of people actively participating in local assemblies and community organising in the places they live and through the networks and influence they hold.Citizens not consumers as my friend Jon Alexander puts it.Becoming Crew on Spaceship Earth as we like to say around here.Play Out SongSeeds - Olivia Fern feat Carrie Tree Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 93: Ode to the FuturesRecorded in the summer, this 6 minute immersive story is both a framing of the context we find ourselves inAnd…A sonic orientation towards the future - of this podcast, and the offerings and invitations of Becoming Crew.It’s an expression of the spirit of the ongoing inquiry of this work, the intentionality, manifested through the podcast and the action learning collective and practice community of Becoming Crew.I hope it speaks to you in some way, and that it might serve as a curious invitation to join us, to dive into the many podcast conversations past and future, to participate in one of our future gatherings and events online and onland.To collaborate or entangle with us in some way.If it brings something up for you, please comment, drop us a mail or DM we’d love to hear from you.May you find peace in these mysterious times.One for the headphones.______________________Words and voice Dan BurgessSound design Charlie Shread Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 92 is a conversation with three very smart, courageous and thoughtful humans from new regenerative venture with a massive ambition - Nature 2Gail Gallie, Jay Lipman and Patricia Zurita are co-founders who between them represent highly experienced operators and practitioners across worlds of campaigning and mobilisation, ethics driven finance and global conservation.Nature 2 is a collaboration that seeks to connect, build and scale systems to urgently drive finance into protecting and regenerating the natural world globally.At this moment in time there is a funding gap around nature, biodiversity and ecosystem protection and regeneration of approximately 830 billion dollars (gulp!)  - something they call the ‘nature financing gap.’Nature 2 are on a mission to close that gap. Seeking to catalyse the finance and investor communities to commit to directing 2% of managed assets towards nature based solutions.We explore:* Nature 2: A new mission - how this idea emerged, how it works and the roles within this collaborative venture* The role of finance in nature conservation* The importance and complexity of shifting destructive subsidies towards regenerative practices* Navigating capitalism and conservation* Balancing big company action with local farmers and land based communities* Mapping the most urgent places on Earth for nature conservation and regeneration* Philanthropy and capitalism and the entanglement of todays economic system design with climate and ecological breakdown* Stories and communication to engage funding and investor communitiesThis conversation was recorded in spring 2024. Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

My guest on this episode David Johnstone is in my view a beautiful example of a human taking responsibility and using their gifts, experience and influence to cultivate the courage and creativity to face into the uncomfortable questions we are being confronted with* To speak up to the messy contradictions of this moment* To raise awareness of the massive changes coming down the line* To  experiment with weirder movesTo keep self examining not just the impacts of business as usual but to imagine and participate in business unusual, where we commit to the messy process of healing, reconnecting, reimagining and liberating. He is founder, CEO and Executive Creative Director of global design studio, Accept and Proceed , host of the brilliant podcast ~Endless Vital Activity, convener of strange solstice gatherings We don’t know what this is yet on Hackney Marshes.David is a humble, curious, insightful, creative human, a radical experimenter with a big heart and infections imagination.This was a wide ranging conversation exploring his work in brand design, his journey working with global corporations, awakening to the impacts of commercial creativity,  of taking responsibility for the impacts we are making through these creative human entities we call ‘brands.’This has led to the Design for the Future mission of Accept and Proceed which he unpacks alongside an exploration of brand power, the ‘dark ages of the future’, ‘Together World’ strategy and the emergence of new relational entanglements between humans, enterprise and this living mysterious Spaceship Earth we call home.We explore:The nervous energy of these timesPanpsychism and ConsciousnessDavid's journey into brandThe power and responsibility of brandDesigning for a ‘Together World’Navigating the Three Horizons FrameworkEmbracing complexity and uncertaintyUnderstanding business and systemic cycles - death and endingsThe significance of tuning into Earth’s patterns like sunrisesImagining brand futuresLINKSAccept and ProceedDavid Johnston InstagramAccept and Proceed InstagramEndless Vital Activity Podcast Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I’m in conversation with Jasmine Isa Qureshi - a multimedia journalist, marine biologist, queer ecologist, award winning spoken word / published poet and storyteller.She writes and studies across ecology, conservation, trans / queer / muslim identity, politics and sociology.Her work seeks to understand the systems by which we and nature have grown intertwined and apart, explore the intersections of identities, origins as queer, global majority folk, and provide alternative systems for our futures, by sparking discussions, thoughts and creating resources to make these as accessible as possible.She is currently working on her first book.We explore:* Personal identity and its connection to the natural world* Anthropocentrism and the Human vs nature binary* Queer Ecology and Queerness - perspectives and misconceptions* Colonialism and identity and the dismantling of colonial structures to envision inclusive and liberating systems.* Intersectionality and Global majority futurism* The necessity of community, interdependence, and the power of unlearning and renewal to craft liberating, inclusive futures free from systemic oppression.LinksJasmine Qureshi websiteJasmine Qureshi Instagram Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I’m in conversation with Lily Cole.Lily is a model, activist, social entrepreneur, writer, actor and mother who has campaigned and acted persistently on multiple social, environmental and climate justice issues throughout her working life.She is committed to exploring new possibilities and ways of being which put care and life at the centre.I connected with Lily last year when we were both invited to attend a climate activism retreat at Plum Village, the Zen Buddhist Monastery in France founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat HanhThe Plum Village force is strong in this episode.This conversation is grounded in this moment, it’s a dive into the deeper parts of change, the inner and outer dimensions of our values and actions and how they influence and shape the systems we seek to change.We explore:* Mindfulness, practicing deep listening and cultivating empathy for addressing the complex, contradicting and overwhelming issues of living in these times.* The interconnectedness of all beings, ancient wisdoms and other ways of knowing, and the potential of shifting perspectives to create more caring and sustainable cultures.* How we can integrate these practices and insights into our lives and communities as part of a collective journey towards regenerative and peaceful change.LinksLily ColeWho Cares Wins PodcastPlum VillagePlay out TrackWill Flisk with Sif Augustdottir - Satie and the Crow Get full access to Becoming Crew at becomingcrew.substack.com/subscribe