Forest of Thought

How do we find ways of connecting to that which is sacred to us?Can we learn to listen for that which brings us into attunement with our deepest selves and the living world? And how do we discern between true spiritual insight and wishful thinking?In this conversation, eco-philosopher Per Ingvar Haukeland takes us on a journey that begins with his deep experiences of sacred connection to the trees and forests of his childhood. As an adult he travelled far and wide in his search for practices and words that could make sense of his experiences, ultimately finding that the answers were waiting for him at home.Per Ingvar Haukeland is professor of Eco-Philosophy and Outdoor Life at the University of Southeast Norway. He has been active in the deep ecology movement, collaborating with the philosopher Arne Naess on two books Life’s philosophy (2003) and Deep Joy: Into deep ecology (2008). He co-founded the Alliance for Wild Ethics together with David Abram, Per Espen Stoknes and Stephen Harding.PREVIOUS EPISODES WITH PER INGVAR: Episode 7: Tree TeachingsBonus episode for members: Coming into relationship with placeLINKS:Per Ingvar HaukelandAlliance for Wild EthicsArne Naess - Norwegian philosopher who founded the deep ecology movementCarl Jung - SynchronicitiesSpinoza - Deus sive NaturaRussel Duvernoy - Ecological AttunementThich Nhat Hanh on interbeingGregory Bateson - Steps to an ecology of mindSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

How can myth and folklore help us find our way in the second half of life? What can we learn from the places we inhabit, and the stories that are rooted in the land?Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author, speaker and teacher. She’s a former neuroscientist and a psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore, and her work is focused on the mythic imagination and its relevance to the personal, cultural and environmental issues we face today.She is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, and in two of her recent books, Hagitude and Wise Women, she explores how folklore and myth help women reimagine the second half of life.Sharon’s lates book, Ripening: why women need fairytales now has recently been released!LINKS:Sharon Blackie’s websiteHagitude and Wise Women, books by SharonThe Soul’s Code by James HillmanCailleach, Irish hag deityPREVIOUS BLOOD MYSTERIES EPISODES:Pt 1: Embracing our cyclical nature with Jenny KoosPt 2: How we honor our nervous systems and cultivate pleasure as a pathway towards health with Kimberly Ann JohnsonPt 3: Birth as a rite of passage with Kristina TurnerPt 4: In between worlds – on creating cultures of care after birth with Opokua Britton CavacoSUBSCRIBE AND FOLLOW🎙️The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ (per episode) or Substack (per month/year).⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

The arrival of a new baby entails an opening between the worlds. It’s a liminal in–between space, where life is vulnerable until the baby has fully arrived and the window is safely closed. All over the world, people have developed traditions, rituals and practices to care for the new baby and parents during this special time, but many of those practices are being eroded and forgotten.The conversation you’re about to hear is not just about the time after birth, but after any challenging transition in life, where we need to be held by those around us. And why is it that we find that so difficult in our culture?Opokua Britton Cavaco is a doula, nurse and author. She has written books about birth and postpartum culture, and hosts the popular Swedish podcast Okrystat with her sister Asabea. Opokua’s websiteOpokuas book on postpartum culture, co-authored by Maria Borda (in Swedish)Previous episodes in the Blood Mysteries series: Pt 1: Embracing our cyclical nature with Jenny KoosPt 2: How we honor our nervous systems and cultivate pleasure as a pathway towards health with Kimberly Ann JohnsonPt 3: Birth as a rite of passage with Kristina TurnerSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What does it mean to say that a river is alive? And if a river is alive, could it have legal rights that protect it from abuse and exploitation? What kinds of practices could affirm our interconnectedness with the rest of the living world? Do our Western ideals of enlightenment need to be complemented by ideas of enlivenment?In this live podcast, writer Robert Macfarlane presents his book “Is a River Alive?” and is joined by ecologist Pella Thiel and podcast host Ingrid M. Rieser. This special episode is a collaboration between the Forest of Thought, the KTH Environmental Humanities Laboratory and the On the Rights of Nature podcast.Robert Macfarlane is internationally renowned for his writing on nature, people and place. His books include Underland, Landmarks, The Old Ways, The Wild Places and Mountains of the Mind . His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, won prizes around the world, and been widely adapted for film, music, theatre, radio and dance. He has also written operas, plays and films and collaborated closely with artists including Olafur Eliasson and Stanley Donwood. He is a Professor of Literature and the Environmental Humanities at the Faculty of English in Cambridge and is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.Pella Thiel is a maverick ecologist, farmer, author and educator. She has co-founded Swedish hubs of international networks, including the Transition Sweden, End Ecocide Sweden and Save the Rainforest Sweden. Her current mission is to support the establishment of an Embassy of the Baltic Sea. She and Henrik Hallgren have written the book “Naturlagen: Om naturens rättigheter och människans möjligheter” (2022, Volante).A big thank you to Robert Macfarlane’s Swedish publisher Ocean Books for making this event possible.LINKS:Video version of this talkRobert Macfarlane’s booksPella Thiel’s websiteOn the Rights of Nature Podcast with Pella ThielKTH Environmental Humanities LaboratoryOcean Books currently releasing “Is a River Alive?” in SwedishSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Birth can be difficult to talk about, because it's so complex and paradoxical. It can be beautiful and traumatic, often at the same time; it’s intensely personal and highly political; it’s something extraordinary that is also entirely ordinary. You give birth to a baby and you also birth yourself as a mother.Another paradox is how birth has become much safer because of the advancements of modern medicine, and yet that very medicalisation has created new risks. Women who give birth in hospitals are more likely to have complications; the amount of women who have births without any interventions is rapidly declining.Is it possible to build a culture of birth that takes the best parts of modern medicine and combines them with a deep respect for the wisdom of women’s bodies? Instead of seeing birth as a medical event, how do we honor it as a rite of passage?In this episode, Ingrid shares some of her personal journey of pregnancy and birth, in conversation with author and birth activist Kristina Turner. They discuss how the view of birth has changed in the past centuries, and what ingredients are needed for a healthier birth culture to take root.Kristina Turner is a writer, birth activist, and women’s circle facilitator with over 25 years experience. She is the author of Natural Birth – A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding and Revolution i BB-fabriken (Revolution in the Birth Factory). Across her work, Kristina returns to one central thread: the sovereignty of the woman’s body — its intelligence, rhythms, rites of passage, and its ability to transform consciousness. Kristina lives between Sweden and the UK and works internationally as a writer, birth educator, and Compassionate Inquiry practitioner supporting women healing from traumatic births.LINKS:Kristina’s SubstackKristina’s book Natural Birth – A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and BreastfeedingKristina’s book (in Swedish) written with Maria Bengtsson Revolution i BB-fabrikenMeta-study finding that births in hospitals gave more complications as compared to home births (in low-risk pregnancies)Meta-study showing that risks for babies are not higher in home-births (for low-risk pregnancies) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What healing could be made possible if we began to work in ways that honoured our nervous systems? How could pleasure be a pathway to health? How can we have more true intimacy and eroticism in our lives?Kimberly Ann Johnson is a Sexological Bodyworker, Somatic Experiencing practitioner, yoga teacher, postpartum advocate, and single mom. Working hands-on in integrative women’s health and trauma recovery for more than a decade, she helps women heal from birth injuries, gynecological surgeries, and sexual boundary violations. Kimberly is the author of the Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use It for Good, as well as the early mothering classic The Fourth Trimester, and is the host of the Sex Birth Trauma podcast.LINKS:Kimberly’s website.Kimberly’s Sex Birth Trauma PodcastTo read more about the sympathetic, parasympathetic and social nervous systems, you can download the first chapter of Kimberly’s book for free here.Somatic Experiencing (Peter Levine)Organic Intelligence by Steve HoskinsonThe Erotic Mind by Jack MorinThe Wheel of Consent by Betty MartinSUBSCRIBE AND FOLLOW🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ (per episode) or Substack (per month/year).⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

From menarche until menopause, women have a rhythmical companion, whose presence or absence tells us something about our bodies. The menstrual cycle is considered by many medical professionals to be the fifth vital sign, and just like our pulse or our blood pressure, it tells us something important about our health.And yet the general knowledge about the menstrual cycle, both in the medical community and society at large, is very poor. Many women struggle with pains, mood swings, and infertility without understanding the underlying cause of these.Why isn’t the cycle considered more important? Could the disregard for women’s bodies be tied to the disregard for nature? What new possibilities emerge if we lean into the cyclical nature of bodies?Even if you're not a woman – actually, especially then - you may find this episode illuminating.Jenny Koos is an author and Holistic Reproductive Health practitioner. She has championed fertility awareness and women’s empowerment through body literacy in countless debates, lectures, client sessions and social media for 15 years. Her first book on fertility awareness was published in 2022.LINKS:Vulverine - Jenny's websiteMenstrual cycle as fifth vital signJustisse College This is the first episode of the 🩸 Blood mysteries🩸 mini-series here on the podcast. Follow us in your podcast app or sign up for our Substack newsletter so you never miss an episode!SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

A favorite conversation from the archives, with particular relevance for upcoming episodes! When our societies are faced with challenges we often call on science to provide us with the best course of action; we strive to make evidence-based decisions. But what assumptions are hiding behind this recipe for decision-making? And how can taking control of a situation reduce our capacity for responding with care? We delve back into the Forest of Thought today with Andy Stirling, Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the STEPS Centre, UK.Andy Stirling is Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex. He co-directs the STEPS Centre, which looks at social, technological and environmental pathways to sustainability. Andy’s research focusses on understanding science and technology in relation to issues of power, uncertainty and diversity.LINKS:A video talk and blog post by Andy on modernity, the pandemic and the futilities of control: https://steps-centre.org/news/andy-stirling-on-covid-19-modernity-and-control-video/Andy’s 4-part blog series on responding to climate disruption with caring struggle rather than technocratic control: https://steps-centre.org/blog/is-the-naming-of-climate-change-a-dangerous-self-defeat/A lecture by Andy on uncertainty and power in science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDfQ3fIKygQSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What can we learn from plants? In Western thinking, plants have usually been seen as the most lowly beings, fixed in one place and without capacity for thinking. But many cultures have known – and modern science is confirming – that plants carry their own kind of vibrant intelligence. They communicate, interpret and elaborate – could it be that we humans are more plant-like than we tend to believe? In the 12th century, the mystic Hildegard of Bingen wrote about viriditas, a kind of capacity for self-renewal and vitality expressed most clearly in the vegetal realm. In today’s episode  I speak to philosopher Michael Marder about Hildegard’s ecological theology and what we might learn from plants. Michael Marder is Ikerbasque Research Professor of Philosophy at University of the Basque Country, and his work spans the fields of environmental philosophy and ecological thought, political theory, and phenomenology. LINKSMichael Marder website (free articles, book overviews)Green Mass: The Ecological Theology of St. Hildegard of Bingen Pyropolitics: Fire and the political Michael’s SubstackSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

If you’d prefer to watch the episode, it is available here on Youtube. In 1962 , a young man named Satish Kumar set out with his friend Prabakhar Menon on a pilgrimage for peace that would take him around the world, forever changing the course of his life.  Later on, Satish dedicated himself to the work of making peace with nature,  as the editor of the ecological magazine Resurgence, and in helping to found Schumacher College, a school for transformative learning. We first met when I did my master’s at that college more than a decade ago. In this conversation we talk about the power of walking and of pilgrimage, about the kind of education we are in need of today, and about whether working for peace means the same thing today as when Satish was young. Peace-pilgrim, life-long activist, and former monk, Satish Kumar has been inspiring global change for over 50 years. He undertook a pilgrimage for peace, walking for two years without money from India to America for the cause of nuclear disarmament. Now in his 80s, Satish has devoted his life to campaigning for ecological regeneration and social justice. He is a world-renown author and international speaker, founder of The Resurgence Trust and Editor Emeritus of Resurgence & Ecologist – a change-making magazine he edited for over 40 years. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:Satish Kumar’s autobiography No Destination – autobiography of a pilgrim.Satish's mentor Vinoba BhaveSatish’s peace pilgrimage – if you’d like to hear more details about his trip, I can recommend this episode of Follow your Blissters. Schumacher College – support the college here.Resurgence magazineSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

As we are faced with multiplying crises, we often rush into trying to fix the world through words and busy action. What if an adequate response is to simply listen? What new worlds can be made, what wounds can be healed, through listening deeply? In this episode, Keri Facer returns to the podcast to explore the subtle art of listening.Keri is Professor of Educational and Social Futures at the University of Bristol, and co-founder of the Society for Transformative conversations at the Swedish Agricultural university. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT: My previous conversation with KeriKeri’s paper “Beyond voice: Listening and silence in climate change education”Momo by Michael EndeLisbet LipariSand Talk by Tyson YunkaportaTim Ingold - the pause as the moment of thoughtWays of Council and Keri’s mentor Pip Bondy SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What could art making and aesthetics mean to us in these difficult times? Can we justify going off to paint or to spend time in nature when there is so much destruction going on in the world? Aesthetics is about opening up our senses to the world - but do we even want to stay sensitive when there is so much pain? How do we deal with that paradox? Today’s episode is with artist and educator Jan van Boeckel. Jan’s work brings together art, education and ecology. He has been Professor in Art & Sustainability at Hanze University in the Netherlands and is now a Senior Research Associate there. He is also an avid painter, and hosts wild painting courses throughout Europe. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUTJan’s websiteJan’s Wild painting coursesActive Facebook group on arts-based environmental education“Call of the mountain” – a film on Arne Næss and deep ecologyEveryone is an artist - Joseph BeuysEnabling constraintsJames Hillman: Our crisis is an aesthetic crisisGregory Bateson writes about “the pattern that connects” in Mind and NatureDavid Abram (who talks about Eros)Robert Jay Lifton and psychic numbingRenée Lertzman’s book Environmental MelancholiaBayo Akomolafe: the times are urgent, let’s slow down.F. Scott Fitzgerald : Superior intelligence is the ability to embrace two completely contrary ideas, and still retain the ability to functionBill Wahpepah of the American Indian MovementSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

I was born into a world where many of the things that are most important to me, like art, beauty, relationships, embodied experience, love, and the sacred, are not really considered very important to our understanding of the cosmos. They are thought of as ‘extra fluff’ rather than being at the core of our existence and reality.One of the thinkers who has tried to create a science more attuned to these philosophical questions was mathematician turned philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. In the early 20th century, this really radical time when quantum and relativity theory had begun to undermine the old mechanistic view of physics, Whitehead developed his process philosophy, which focused on the co-creative processes of the world’s becoming, and where lived experience, creativity and a poetic God took centre stage. Matthew David Segall, PhD, is a transdisciplinary philosopher and Associate Professor at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. His scholarship challenges dualistic and mechanistic paradigms and bridges process philosophy with contemporary science and spirituality. LINKSMatthew David Segall’s website and SubstackCalifornia Institute of Integral StudiesCentre for Process StudiesSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Is it possible to look clear-eyed at the enormous challenges we’re facing today, and still do something practical and creative in the face of that? What happens when we engage with nature and people in an embodied way, rather than through their representations in statistics and media? And how do we stand up for what we believe in without falling into the dehumanising tribalism of us versus them?Ashley Fitzgerald holds a PhD in environmental sociology, is the creator of the Rizoma Field School and a host of the Doomer Optimism podcast. She also organises Doomer optimism events, bringing together constellations of writers, thinkers, farmers, and practitioners, from all sides of the political spectrum. We met on a hot day in downtown Chicago, among the tall skyscrapers facing the river.LINKS: * Doomer Optimism Podcast* Ashley’s Rizoma Field school* Perception gap studySHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.substack.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Why is there so much beauty in the natural world? What can we learn from jamming with the more-than-human? Join interspecies musician David Rothenberg and myself as we explore these questions and experience some bird-bug-clarinet collaboration, perched on a hillside outside of LA.David Rothenberg is a musician, composer and professor of philosophy and music, with a longtime interest in understanding other species by making music with them. In this conversation we follow his journey from being a young environmentalist collaborating with deep ecology founder Arne Næss to his current work as interspecies musician and philosopher, playing music with bugs, birds, whales, ponds and more.* David’s website* Documentary (free) Why Birds Sing:* Pond music* Arne Næss and deep ecologySHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What are the underlying patterns of thought that have led our civilization into its current crises? And how might we begin to tell a different story, one that would allow both humans and the more-than-human to thrive?In this episode, I speak to author Jeremy Lent. In his wide-ranging book The Patterning Instinct, Jeremy identifies the root metaphors that different cultures have used to construct meaning in their universe, also tracing the deep historical foundations of our modern worldview. In his latest book, The Web of Meaning, he integrates science with traditional wisdom to tell a new story, one that is both scientifically rigorous and intrinsically meaningful.Jeremy Lent is an author exploring the patterns of thought that have led to our crisis of sustainability. He is founder of the nonprofit Liology Institute, dedicated to fostering an integrated worldview that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on the earth.Special thank you to the Centre for Process Studies for helping to make this interview happen in conjunction with their Ecological Civilization conference. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT: * Jeremy’s website and books* Freya Matthews* Centre for Process StudiesSHARE AND SUBSCRIBE🎙️ The FoT Substack is now live! Become a free or paid subscriber and receive newsletters direct to your inbox.🎧 All episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠.💜 Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ or Substack.⁠🎵 Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Many cultures maintain that we are not born human but that we may become fully human through cultivation and care. Could it be that our destructive tendencies are not because of our human-ness, but rather due to a lack of it? If so: where and how can we cultivate our humanity? All species play their part in the living web – what role might we humans have to play in this unfolding drama? Mikael Kurkiala is a cultural anthropologist and author. He spent many years living and working with the Oglala Lakota people of South Dakota, and is currently a researcher at the Swedish Church Office. His most recent books are "When the Soul Goes into Exile: Modernity, Technology & the Sacred“ and “Where the Pendulum has its Base: On the Eternal in Humans”.This conversation was recorded with a lovely audience at the Uppsala Public Library in Sweden, December 2024. It's one of three public conversations we hosted 2023-2024 as part of a series of events exploring the concept of ‘life-force’. You’ll find all three episodes (26, 27 & 28) at forestofthought.com or on your podcast listening platform. Support us on Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠⁠Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms ⁠here⁠.Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠⁠stoneproduction.no⁠⁠.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Caroline Ross has spent decades being immersed in Daoism, art, crafting and foraging (and spent 10 years touring with her rock band). Today, her practice weaves these diverse threads together into a philosophy of life centred on embodied living, exploring the Way (in the Daoist sense of the word) and making art as if the Earth mattered. Caroline Ross is an artist, craftswoman, writer and T’ai Chi teacher. You’ll find her sharing her passion for foraging and crafting via @foundandground on IG, and she writes weekly on themes of embodied life, art and the Way as Uncivil Savant on Substack. This is one of three public conversations that were recorded 2023-2024 as part of a series of events exploring the concept of ‘life-force’. The final and last episode will arrive in a few weeks’ time! This episode was recorded at and produced in collaboration with CEMUS at Uppsala University, and supported by the Viriditas foundation. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:Caroline’s booksCaroline’s substack, The Uncivil SavantLink to Caroline’s text about the Spruce Tree CroneDougald Hine's Substack The Dark Mountain Project Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here.Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Forest of Thought episodes are back! And over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing three public conversations that were recorded 2023-2024 as part of a series of events exploring the concept of ‘life-force’. We begin with philosopher Jeremy Naydler, delving into the question of how we may cultivate the human in a time of intelligent machines: “Advanced technologies and artificial intelligence are rapidly growing more enmeshed in our lives. How does this affect the deeper realms of consciousness, spirituality and our relation to the living world? What are the unfolding human qualities that machines cannot acquire and how might we cultivate them?”Jeremy Naydler is a gardener and philosopher based in Oxford, England. He has written several books on the experience of the sacred in ancient cultures. In his newer work he focuses on the fraught relationship between humans and technology as it has developed from ancient times until today, and explores how we cultivate the human in an era of intelligent machines. We recorded this with a wonderful audience at ⁠NAV Sweden⁠, Stockholm, in September 2023 with support from the Viriditas foundation. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:Jeremy’s books on the sacred in ancient traditions (e.g. The Future of the Ancient World, The and Temple of the Cosmos).Jeremy’s books on technology in relation to the human (In the Shadow of the Machine and The Struggle for a Human Future).We would love your support! Find us on Patreon.Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here.Our wonderful theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I speak to writer and filmmaker Sarah Thomas. Her memoir, The Raven’s Nest, is a meditation on her time spent in Iceland, and explores how identity and language are interwoven with landscape and ecology. What does it mean to fall in love with a place, with its human and non-human inhabitants?  And how may we each do our little part in mending the world? Sarah Thomas is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and traveller with a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies. She is committed to work that explores, evokes and honours our entanglements with the living world. She has lived and journeyed from the Equator to the Arctic Circle finding stories in the everyday. Her films have been screened internationally. In 2020 she was nominated for the Arts Foundation Environmental Writing Award. She was longlisted for the inaugural Nan Shepherd Prize for nature writing and shortlisted for the 2021 Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize. Her ecological memoir, The Raven’s Nest (Atlantic Books 2022), is her debut. ICELANDIC WORDS FROM THE EPISODE:  Óvissuferð – a journey where you don’t know what will happen Kvöldvaka – an evening gathering, traditionally to mend or do crafts while listening to someone reading aloud. Bergmál – echo (literally: language of the mountains) Tölva – computer (literally: number oracle)LINKS:  Sarah’s website: ⁠https://sarahthomas.net⁠ The Raven’s Nest: ⁠https://sarahthomas.net/the-ravens-nest/⁠ Book by David Abram on language and ecology: Spell of the sensuous: ⁠https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/319/the-spell-of-the-sensuous-by-david-abram/⁠ Ursula LeGuin’s The carrier bag theory of fiction: ⁠https://otherfutures.nl/uploads/documents/le-guin-the-carrier-bag-theory-of-fiction.pdf⁠MORE INFO: All episodes and more at ⁠⁠forestofthought.com⁠⁠ Support us on Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠⁠ Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here: ⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/forestofthought⁠ Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠⁠stoneproduction.no⁠⁠.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

How are our modern ways of thinking and being different from those of ancient peoples? When did logic and rational thinking become ‘common sense’, instead of just one of the many ways we may contemplate life’s important questions? And how is our consciousness and presence in the world altered as we become evermore enmeshed in advanced technologies?Ingrid speaks to philosopher-gardener Jeremy Naydler. Jeremy has written several books on the experience of the sacred in ancient cultures. In his newer work he focuses on the fraught relationship between humans and technology as it has developed from ancient times until today, and explores how the acceleration of modern technologies forces us to examine how we cultivate the human in an era of machines. Jeremy Naydler, Ph.D., is a philosopher who specializes in the religious life of ancient cultures. He is a Fellow of the Temenos Academy and author of Temple of the Cosmos, Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts, The Future of the Ancient World, and Goethe on Science. He lives in Oxford, England.LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT: Jeremy’s books on the sacred in ancient traditions (e.g. The Future of the Ancient World, The and Temple of the Cosmos): https://www.innertraditions.com/author/jeremy-naydler Jeremy’s books on technology in relation to the human (In the Shadow of the Machine and The Struggle for a Human Future): https://www.templelodge.com/viewauthor.php?auth_id=109 Egyptian Book of the Dead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead Heidegger on “The question concerning technology”: https://monoskop.org/images/4/44/Heidegger_Martin_The_Question_Concerning_Technology_and_Other_Essays.pdf The Philokalia: https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Philokalia.pdfAll episodes and more at ⁠forestofthought.com⁠Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here: ⁠https://anchor.fm/forestofthought⁠Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at ⁠stoneproduction.no⁠.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been said that it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism and our modern way of life. Why is it so hard for us to cultivate our imagination and to imagine that things might be different? What becomes possible if communities harness the power of imagination in building a more beautiful world? In this episode I speak to Rob Hopkins, writer and co-founder of the Transition movement. I visit him in the Buttercup Field and we discuss what might be possible if we moved from ‘What is’ to ‘What if?’Rob Hopkins is the co-founder of Transition Network and of Transition Town Totnes, and author of several books including ‘The Transition Handbook‘ and most recently, ‘From What Is to What If: unleashing the power of imagination to create the future we want’. He is a Director of Totnes Community Development Society and of New Lion Brewery, and hosts the podcast ‘From What If to What Next‘.LINKS:  Rob’s website: https://www.robhopkins.net Rob’s podcast: https://www.robhopkins.net/podcast/ Transition Towns: https://transitionnetwork.org Joanna Macy & ‘The work that reconnects’ : https://www.joannamacy.net Jane McGonigal on the things that can change in 10 years: https://janemcgonigal.com Civic imagination office in Bologna: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2019-03-07/bologna-the-city-with-a-civic-imagination-office/ Antanas Mockus, ex-mayor of Bogota: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/opinion/the-art-of-changing-a-city.html New Lion Brewery in Totnes: https://www.newlionbrewery.co.ukAll episodes and more at forestofthought.comSupport us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. Find all available platforms here: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

How might the use of voice and song be an unexpectedly powerful way to access our deeper selves? In this episode I speak to Briony Greenhill, an incredible musician who uses collaborative improvisation as a way to connect and heal. Briony also generously shares her personal experiences and the philosophy of life that she has come to through her work. Briony Greenhill is an artist, teacher and changemaker, with a special focus on improvisation, described as "one of the world's leading proponents of Collaborative Vocal Improvisation (CVI)" by the Guardian, and as "Marvin Gaye crossed with a funky earth mother" by Mojo.  She finds her music and lyrics through improvising, often together with others. Her lyrics focus on themes of human depth, paradigm shift, the intimacy and bigger picture of our times. As a teacher she helps people bring out their full voices, develop their musicianship, express themselves, connect and heal.LINKS Briony’s website – find all info and music there: https://www.brionygreenhill.com/ Call off the Thought and Sing – conversations hosted by Briony (past convos available on Youtube): https://www.facebook.com/CallofftheThoughtandSing Pat MacCabe : https://www.patmccabe.net Kimberley Hare – The Edge https://www.heartofthriving.com/conversations/ Happy Thank you More Please: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls_SKFeJxEg Robert MacFarlane’s book Mountains of the Mind: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/13/guardianfirstbookaward2003.gurardianfirstbookawardDid you enjoy? Please consider supporting the podcast at patreon.com/forestofthought. Thank you for sharing and subscribing!Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

In what ways might the roots of the internet actually stretch back much further than we think? Does the internet enhance or distort our humanness? How is our deepening entanglement with algorithms shaping how we think and what we pay attention to?Justin E. H. Smith is a professor at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the Université Paris Cité, and is a writer of both non-fiction, fiction and poetry. His latest book is The Internet is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning, in which he traces the deep history of the internet and asks where these technologies may be taking us next. His previous books include Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason and Divine Machines: Leibniz and the Sciences of Life. He posts regularly on Substack at Justin E. H. Smith’s Hinternet.LINKS: Justin’s book The Internet is Not What You Think It Is: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691212326/the-internet-is-not-what-you-think-it-is Justin’s Substack: https://justinehsmith.substack.com Justin’s book on Gottfried Leibniz: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691141787/divine-machines David Abram on technology and animism: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/magic-and-the-machine/ James William’s Stand out of our light (Ted Talk based on book of same name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaIO2UIvJ4g Yves Citton on the Ecology of attention: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Ecology+of+Attention-p-9781509503735Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

How do we manifest the world we would like to see? How are art and activism connected to things like magic and ritual? How does being rooted in a place help us defend it? In this episode I visit Isa Fremeaux at the ZAD (zone à defendre) in Brittany, France, where an unlikely alliance of local residents and activists succeeded in stopping the building of a planned airport. Isa shares her experiences of working at the intersection of art and activism, and we explore what it means to create the worlds we want to inhabit.Isa Fremeaux is a writer, activist and educator, formerly senior lecturer in Media and Cultural studies at Birckbeck College, London. Together with her partner Jay Jordan she has, among other things, created Pathways to Utopia, a film/book project exploring utopian communities in Europe, and the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, a place for experiments at the intersection of art and activism. Their book “We Are ‘Nature’ Defending Itself – Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones” explores these ideas further and takes us along on part of the journey of the ZAD.LINKS: Isa and Jay’s book: We are ‘Nature’ Defending Itself  – Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones: https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745345871/we-are-nature-defending-itself/ Pathways to Utopia: https://lessentiersdelutopie.wordpress.com/trailer/ Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination: https://labo.zone/ Links to the six points: https://zad.nadir.org/IMG/pdf/6pointszad-a3-2.pdf The invisible committee: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/author/comite-invisibleSupport us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/forestofthoughtFind all episodes on our website: www.forestofthought.comShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 . Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729. Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthought.Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

"Crisis" was a topic that came up many times in this season of the podcast, in discussions on everything from pandemics, to climate change, to spiritual transformation, and healing. In this episode, wandering host Ingrid Rieser offers a personal reflection on the true meaning of crisis.Find a transcript of this episode at www.forestofthought.com LINKS: Quotes on Egyptian mythology from Temple of the Cosmos by Jeremy Naydler: https://www.innertraditions.com/books/temple-of-the-cosmos Quote on crises from To Our Friends by The Invisible Committee: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/the-invisible-committe-to-our-friends.a4.pdfSupport us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Felix Marquardt used to enjoy a jet-setting lifestyle, advising CEOs and heads of state, and mingling at elite gatherings like the World Economic Forum in Davos. Now he is on a slow journey of recovery from substance abuse, and has recently published The New Nomads – a unique perspective on migration in our time. In this episode we talked about how patterns of addiction are playing out in all parts of our society, what sobering up might mean, and the unrecognised power of prayer.Felix is Austrian-American born but raised in Paris. He counts a dozen nationalities in his family, has lived in as many countries and held as many jobs. He’s run communications for large publications and companies, advised CEOs and heads of state, and founded a bunch of projects, the latest of which is called Black Elephant, an outgrowth of his The New Nomads book (Simon & Schuster, 2021).LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT: The New Nomads by Felix Marquardt: https://thenewnomads.org Black Elephant, Felix’ latest project including podcast: https://www.blcklphnt.com ‘Davos is dead and coronavirus killed it’, article in FT by Felix (June 2021): https://www.ft.com/content/3177eb28-6fb1-459a-83a1-837124b43e0e “The culture wars require a peace process and GenXers must initiate it”, op-ed by Felix and others in South Africa Sunday Times: https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times-daily/opinion-and-analysis/2021-12-02-the-culture-wars-require-a-peace-process-and-genxers-must-initiate-it/ Kevin Anderson is a climate change researcher: http://kevinanderson.info/blog/home-2/ Hospicing Modernity by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira (previously Andreotti): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675703/hospicing-modernity-by-vanessa-machado-de-oliveira/ Des empires sous la terre (Empires under earth – English translation forthcoming) by Mohamad Amer Meziane (Felix’ friend who writes about racial and ecological history of secularisation) https://religion.columbia.edu/content/mohamed-amer-meziane Also by Mohamad Amer Médiane: https://politicaltheology.com/is-there-a-secularocene/Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthought .Share and subscribe. We’re available on most podcast apps, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Might harmful norms around masculinity be at the root of both men’s violence against women and the degradation of nature? In this episode we look more closely at men’s relationships their – to themselves, to other humans (especially women), to nature, and we ask the question: what becomes possible when men connect to what they most deeply long for?Vidar Vetterfalk is psychologist and expert in masculinites and the climate crisis at MÄN (Men for Gender Equality), Sweden. He has been active in the feminist organisation MÄN since its inception in 1993, working with engaging boys and men for gender equality and ending men’s violence. Vidar grew up on a biodynamic farm and he is passionate about the interlinkages between gender equality, the environment, the climate crisis, and how to engage more men to care together with others.LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT MÄN (Men for Gender Equality) website: www.mfj.se/en Resource materials for working on men’s violence against women, and men’s relations to climate and the environment: https://mfj.se/en/resources Global online seminar series on “Climate Crisis, Men, Masculinities and Climate Justice”: https://mfj.se/articles/2021/08/ny-arbetsgrupp-foer-klimatraettvisa Publications related to Vidar’s work: https://mfj.se/articles/2021/08/maen-om-fn-s-klimatrapport Joana Macy’s “Work that reconnects”: https://workthatreconnects.orgSupport us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/forestofthoughtFind all episodes on our website: www.forestofthought.comShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 . Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729. Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthought. Our theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Does it still make sense to talk about climate change? This seems a strange question to ask, for someone who has spent much of his adult life talking to people about climate change, but it is the question writer Dougald Hine has found himself wondering about lately.When we talk about climate change, we are entering into a conversation that is framed by science, yet climate change also asks us questions that lead beyond that frame. In recent years, however, the language of science has become supercharged: from the placards that read ‘Unite Behind the Science’ to the political leaders who insist that they are ‘following the science’ in their response to the pandemic, there’s a new emphasis on the total authority of science that makes it harder to ask these frame-breaking questions. This is converging with a particular approach to climate change, one that points to a dystopian future in which the world has been remade as an object of total management. What does this mean for how we have meaningful conversations about what Dougald Hine refers to as ‘the trouble we’re in’?Dougald Hine is a writer and culture maker. Ten years ago, Dougald co-founded The Dark Mountain Project, which has grown into world-wide community of artists and writers. He and his partner Anna Björkman now run A School Called Home, a learning community for those drawn to the work of regrowing a living culture. He also podcasts together with futurist Ed Gillespie at The Great Humbling.This episode was recorded at a live event co-organized by the Forest of Thought Podcast and CEMUS (Centre for environment and development studies) at Uppsala University, on November 22nd, 2021 at the Uppsala Public Library, Sweden.For full show notes please go to: www.forestofthought.com/e16-live-dougald-hine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What is trauma? When we experience suffering or hardship we often feel this as a physical sensation in our bodies – we are “heartbroken” or have experienced something “gut-wrenching” or “bone-chilling”. The latest research is confirming that trauma and stress always have a bodily dimension – which is why therapies based on talking are not always enough. In this episode I’m joined by trauma consultant Gunilla Hamne, who helps us understand the nature of trauma and how body-based techniques can lead the way to healing.Gunilla is an international trauma consultant and co-founder of the Peaceful Heart Network. She has spent the past 15 years working to spread knowledge about simple body-based techniques that can heal trauma and relieve stress, especially the Trauma Tapping Technique that she helped to develop. She has worked all over the world with survivors of war and genocide, with victims of abuse and bullying, with refugees, care workers and first responders.Watch a video of how to do tapping at http://www.selfhelpfortrauma.org.LINKS: Gunilla’s homepage: https://peacefulheart.se Their book: https://peacefulheart.se/resolving-yesterday-book-pdf/ Their app that helps you do exercises to relieve stress: http://www.selfhelpfortrauma.org The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score Interview on how trauma lodges in the body with Van der Kolk: https://onbeing.org/programs/bessel-van-der-kolk-how-trauma-lodges-in-the-body/#transcript Waking the Tiger by Peter Levin: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/100541/waking-the-tiger-healing-trauma-by-peter-a-levine-phd-contribution-by-ann-frederick/Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What can the covid pandemic teach us about handling the climate crisis? We’ve seen that governments have not hesitated to take bold action when faced with this virus, by going into lockdowns and declaring states of emergency. Should we respond in a similar way to climate change? Or does emergency politics risk narrowing our field of view and undermine our democracies? Joining us in the Forest of Thought is Professor of Human Geography Mike Hulme.Mike Hulme is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Pembroke College. His work explores the idea of climate change using historical, cultural and scientific analyses, investigating the numerous ways in which climate change is deployed in public and political discourse. He has just released his latest book ‘Climate Change’, which is part of the Routledge Key Ideas in Geography book series.LINKS: Mike Hulme’s blog on re-socialisation after the pandemic: https://mikehulme.org/re-socialising-a-vaccinated-world-requires-political-struggle/ Mike’s latest book : https://www.routledge.com/Climate-Change/Hulme/p/book/9780367422035 Niels Gilman’s article on avocado politics: https://thebreakthrough.org/journal/no-12-winter-2020/avocado-politics ‘Emergency politics is dangerous’ article by Mike Hulme: https://issues.org/climate-emergency-politics-is-dangerous/ Forthcoming book by Taylor Dotson: ‘The Divide: How Fanatical Certitude is Destroying Democracy’. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What is the true task of the architect? In this episode we talk to Peter Lynch about what the role of architecture really is. Can we create spaces that are more hospitable to both humans and other living beings? How can we truly get to know places – and the mysteries hidden beneath them? What is architecture's hidden spiritual dimension, and what does it take to create spaces more beautiful than we could have imagined?Peter Lynch is an architect, and recently a guest professor at KTH School of Architecture in Stockholm. He has founded and directed architecture offices in New York, Detroit, Shenzhen, and Beijing, and has decades of experience of teaching architecture students in the United States and Sweden. Find him at https://buildingculture.seREADING LIST & LINKS: Peter Lynch’s website, with three lectures that touch on many of the topics of the episode: https://buildingculture.se/three-lectures-on-landscape/ A further description of Peter's Timescape Gardens project in Norrköping: https://buildingculture.se/timescape-garden/ Dancer Anna Asplind’s website: annaasplind.se Giorgio Agamben, The Coming Community (1990) Gilles Clément (gardener/landscape designer), essays on his website http://www.gillesclement.com/index.php Christophe Girot, "Four Trace Concepts in Landscape Architecture" in James Corner ed., Recovering Landscape (1999) Francois Jullien, Living Off Landscape (2014) Stanislaus Fung, "Movement and Stillness in Ming Writings on Gardens" in Michel Conan, ed., Landscape Design and the Experience of Motion (2003) Martin Buber, Between Man and Man (1947)Find more information and all episodes at: forestofthought.comSupport us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no.Keywords: philosophy, ideas, Peter Lynch, architecture, Giorgio Agamben, landscapes, singularity, landscape architecture, Japanese gardens This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Words like culture and aesthetics make us think of grand museums and concert halls. But what if there is a deeper meaning to these words that we’ve forgotten? Meanings that are more grounded, more sensual and somehow related to the song of earthworms at work in our soil? And how do you learn to speak the secret language of microbes? We explore all of this and more in this episode with artist and cultural activist Eva Bakkeslett.Eva Bakkeslett is an artist, filmmaker, curator and cultural activist exploring the potential for social change through gentle actions. Her practice often combines film, participatory events and workshops where she creates spaces and experiences that challenge our thinking and unravel newnarratives. Fermentation as a process and metaphor is central to her work and is often communicated in the form of socially engaged and inclusive projects.  She mediates relationships between humans, nature and culture as a living organism and explores ways ofreconnecting to our senses, to non-human life and ancient, deeply rooted knowledge. Eva believes that the abstract, elusive, poetic, aesthetic and imaginary power of art is vital to this reconnection.Eva shows, lectures and performs her work worldwide and her films have been screened in numerous film festivals and art events. As a curator, she has focused on the connection between art and ecology through Gentle Actions at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, in 2010, the Repair program at gallery ROM, Oslo in 2016-17 and in her most recent project The Conference of the Birds 2018-23. Eva has an MA in Art & Ecology from Dartington College of Art in England, and lives on Engeløya in North Norway. There she has created an Artist Residency program and a guest studio as a platform for aesthetic collaborations and enquiry, founded in ecological and interconnected thinking and working.LINKS! Eva’s website: http://www.evabakkeslett.com Worm works exhibition: https://www.evabakkeslett.com/projects/biodiversity-bacterial-cultures-extraterrestial-wormworks/ Eva’s home and residency on Engelöya: https://agencyofimagination.org Conference of the Birds: https://theconferenceofthebirds.netSupport us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. We’re available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Holtsteen at stoneproduction.no This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

When our societies are faced with challenges we often call on science to provide us with the best course of action; we strive to make evidence-based decisions. But what assumptions are hiding behind this recipe for decision-making? And how can taking control of a situation reduce our capacity for responding with care? We delve back into the Forest of Thought today with Andy Stirling, Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the STEPS Centre, UK.Andy Stirling is Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex. He co-directs the STEPS Centre, which looks at social, technological and environmental pathways to sustainability. Andy’s research focusses on understanding science and technology in relation to issues of power, uncertainty and diversity.LINKS: A video talk and blog post by Andy on modernity, the pandemic and the futilities of control: https://steps-centre.org/news/andy-stirling-on-covid-19-modernity-and-control-video/ Andy’s 4-part blog series on responding to climate disruption with caring struggle rather than technocratic control: https://steps-centre.org/blog/is-the-naming-of-climate-change-a-dangerous-self-defeat/ A lecture by Andy on uncertainty and power in science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDfQ3fIKygQSupport us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthought .Share and subscribe. We’re available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthought Our theme music is by Christian Steen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Goodbye 2020, hello 2021. How do we start to make sense of one of the most turbulent, transformative and chaotic years in recent history? We’re always telling – and listening to – stories in order to make sense of the world around us. In this episode we explore how those narratives take shape and evolve over time, with the help of a journey to Ukraine. We also ask how we become better navigators in our ever-changing and messy world of ideas.This is a reflective session with wandering host Ingrid Rieser, providing retrospective end to the first of season of the Forest of Thought.LINKS: Hollywood-version of Gareth Jones’ story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ahxhdTV8Y .  Full interview with Per Johansson: https://forestofthought.com/e05-an-ecology-of-ideas-per-johansson/ . Full interview with Keri Facer: https://forestofthought.com/e03-playing-with-time-keri-facer/ . Rainer Maria Rilke’s Book of Hours: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/297355/rilkes-book-of-hours-by-anita-barrows/ . Solar radiation management, geoengineering in Kiruna, Sweden: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pandemic-leads-geoengineering-experiment-to-move-from-u-s-to-sweden/ .Support us on Patreon!: patreon.com/forestofthought .Share and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Steen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

The US has been through several extremely turbulent months, and we’ve been yearning for deeper and more genuine conversations on these developments. What does this time of upheaval and polarization mean for the USA? How do questions of race and class connect? What are we learning about power and corruption – and what does it really mean to be free? In this special edition of the Forest of Thought we speak to historian and community organizer Crystal Vance Guerra, and policy analyst and activist Victor Menotti.Crystal Vance Guerra is a Mexican-American/Chicano historian, journalist, educator and community organiser from Chicago. She has lived and worked in Latin-America for several years, most recently on conservation in Honduras.Victor Menotti is Senior Fellow at the Oakland Institute and works with governments, businesses and civil society on a range of economic and environmental issues. He lives in Bratislava, Slovakia.Links from Crystal Vance Guerra: On Abolition: level.medium.com/so-youre-thinking-about-becoming-an-abolitionist-a436f8e31894 . Essential reading on mass incarceration: www.usprisonculture.com/blog/essential-pic-reading-list/ . Movement work and mutual aid in the US: https://truthout.org/series/movement-memos/ .Links from Victor Menotti: Four Ds Of Oil’s Just Transition: stanleycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CCAI-FourDsOfOilsJustTransition92820.pdf . Links to some of Victor’s papers: www.oaklandinstitute.org/about/people/victor-menotti .Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthought . Share and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtOur theme music is by Christian Steen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What are really good conversations made of? And how is a dialogue similar to a work of art? In this episode I speak to facilitator, theatre director and writer Pernilla Glaser to explore the transformative power conversations, and discuss why we’re both obsessed with them.Pernilla Glaser runs the company Boiler and works at RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden), developing methods and leading processes within the areas of art, learning and complexity. She is also a writer, and began her career as award-winning theatre director. Now she brings the creativity and playfulness of artistic practice into all kinds of learning processes. That can mean facilitating workshops that help people collaborate across disciplines, or coaching change processes within organisations, or working with other facilitators on how to develop their skills. Central to all her work is how we can have transformative conversations, with and without words.LINKS AND FURTHER READING Pernilla’s company: www.boiler.one . Conversations hosted by Boiler: https://vimeo.com/user111347854 . Translating Difference: Making community through play (2020) by Pernilla Glaser. Navigating Complexity (2020). Report for RISE by Pernilla Glaser and Lisa Carlgren: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1459999/FULLTEXT01.pdf .Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthoughtKeywords: Pernilla Glaser, conversations, dialogue collaboration, facilitation, coaching change, process facilitation, complexity, emergence, changing organisations This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

It’s always hard to talk about our connection to "nature" because the wording already implies that nature is something other than ourselves. In this episode we talk to eco-philosopher Per Ingvar Haukeland about what a deeper engagement with the world would mean, and how we bring the aliveness of life itself into everything we do. We also delve into the power of trees, the deep ecology movement, and Per Ingvar’s work with the legendary climber and philosopher Arne Næss.Per Ingvar Haukeland is an ecophilosopher and community activist, and a professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway. He studies how tradition and innovation can be brought together to revitalize the relationship between culture and the living land, and uses storytelling, eco-entrepreneurship, handicrafts and outdoor education as methods in his work.LINKS AND FURTHER READING: Life’s philosophy: reason and feeling in a deeper world (2002) written with Arne Næss. Deep Joy: Into deep ecology (2008) written with Arne Næss (English translation to be published this year). Alliance for Wild Ethics: https://wildethics.org/the-alliance/ . Per Ingvar’s research: www.usn.no/english/about/contact-us/employees/per-ingvar-haukeland . OpenAirPhilsophy – a collection of philosophers Arne Naess, Sigmund Kvaløy Setreng, and Peter Wessel Zapffe's works:  https://openairphilosophy.org The Spell of the Sensuous (1996) by David Abram. Animate Earth (2006) by Stephan Harding. What we think about when we try to not think about climate change (2015) by Per Espen Stoknes. In Norwegian: Himmeljorden: Om det av Gud i Naturen (2010) by Per Ingvar Haukeland.Keywords: Per Ingvar Haukeland, Arne Næss, deep ecology, ecosophy, ecophilosophy, wild ethics, reconnection, outdoor life, eco-pedagogy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

A wide-ranging conversation with astrophysicist Prof. Ulf Danielsson on how we understand this universe and why we keep confusing our maps with the territory. We also hear about a life-changing comet, a secret promise and why conscious machines are highly unlikely.Ulf Danielsson is professor of theoretical physics at Uppsala University, with a special research interest in dark energy and string theory. He has participated in countless radio and TV shows and written several popular science books on topics ranging from the history and philosophy of science to climate change.LINKS: Ulf’s website: ulfdanielsson.com/research/ . Ted Talk ‘Why the World is for Real’: https://youtu.be/9ciSyQ6Lzgk .SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: M. Johnson G. Lakoff Philosophy in the flesh (1991) A. Damasio Descartes Error (1994) T. Nagel The View from Nowhere (1986) (Ulf refers to Nagel’s paper, “What is it like to be a bat?”)Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/forestofthought.Share and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthought This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What is this this mysterious thing we call “an idea”? What is its nature and power? We posed these questions to human ecologist and historian of ideas Per Johansson, who had some unexpected and intriguing answers. Join us in our latest adventure into the Forest of Thought!Per has a PhD in human ecology, and a BA in the history of science and ideas. In 2007 he left his post as senior lecturer at Lund university and has since then been active as a speaker, analyst, writer, consultant, and maker of podcast shows. His podcast series with prize-winning radio and culture journalist Eric Schüldt have reached something of a cult status in Sweden: Människan och maskinen (for Swedish national radio), Kunskapens träd and Myter & Mysterier (independent). His main concern is to turn our Western mentality around and base our both personal and advanced forms of understanding on actual experiences and sensations, rather than on conceptual representations.LINKS: Per’s website: diakrino-perjohansson.blogspot.com  Människan och maskinen (Swedish): sverigesradio.se/manniskanochmaskinen  Kunskapens träd, Myter och mysterier (Swedish): myterochmysterier.se SUGGESTED READINGS FROM PER: Randall Collins, The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change. Alfred Gell, Art and Agency: An Anthropological Theory. Siegfried Zielinski, Deep Time of the Media: Toward an Archaeology of Hearing and Seeing by Technical Means. Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution. Per Johansson, The Lure of Origins: https://portal.research.lu.se/ws/files/4580518/912853.pdf .It's now possible to support us on Patreon! Visit patreon.com/forestofthoughtShare and subscribe. We're available on most podcast apps, including: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ue3XA6IQQLC05FQMINuy1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/podcast/forest-of…/id1508610729 Links to all platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthought This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

The big story of never-ending Progress has captured our imaginations for hundreds of years. But now we seem to be witnessing its unravelling. The search for other stories is no longer a fringe activity, but taking place in all parts of society. What do we want to keep from this story, and what do we leave behind? In this episode we explore the idea of Progress together with writer Dougald Hine.Ten years ago, Dougald co-founded The Dark Mountain Project, which has grown into world-wide community of artists and writers. He and his partner Anna Björkman now run A School Called Home, a learning community for those drawn to the work of regrowing a living culture. He also podcasts together with futurist Ed Gillespie at The Great Humbling. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:Dougald’s site: dougald.nu.A School Called Home: aschoolcalledhome.org.The Dark Mountain Project: dark-mountain.net.The Great Humbling: thegreathumbling.libsyn.com.Dougald’s interview with Vanessa Andreotti: dougald.nu/the-vital-compass-a-conversation-with-vanessa-andreotti/ .Walter Mignolo: The Darker Side of Western Modernity: www.dukeupress.edu/The-Darker-Side-of-Western-Modernity/ .A World of Many Worlds, ed. Marisol de la Cadena and Mario Blaser: www.dukeupress.edu/a-world-of-many-worlds .The Zapatista Movement: www.thoughtco.com/zapatistas-4707696.Masanobu Fukuoka’s One Straw Revolution: onestrawrevolution.net.Follow us and stay in touch!Facebook and Instagram handle: @forestofthought .Web: forestofthought.com.Email: [email protected] by Christian Steen at stoneproduction.no. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

“The Future." We say the words all the time, but what do we really mean? How do our stories about yesterday and today help shape tomorrow? Could a different idea of the future change the present? And how are we all entangled in the mysterious process of bringing the future into being?! Join us for a session of playing with time, with Professor Keri Facer.Keri Facer is Professor of Educational and Social Futures at the University of Bristol and Visiting Zennström professor of Climate Change Leadership at Uppsala University. She’s spent years working on the relationship between education and the future, at the moment she’s particularly interested learning practices that respond to disruptive change with care, fairness and hope.LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:Keri’s blog: https://kerifacer.wordpress.com .Keri’s quoted lecture on “Beyond Oil” [first 30 minutes] https://youtu.be/2ozRHiL77VI .A talk Keri gave on universities, climate change and futures: http://media.medfarm.uu.se/play/video/9204 .Philosopher Ruth Levitas’ book, Utopia as Method: https://tinyurl.com/yc8yzyow .Vanessa Andreotti and Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures (Researchers/Artists Collective): https://decolonialfutures.net .Sociologist Margaret Archer: https://tinyurl.com/ya8scck6 .Critical theorist Ernst Bloch: https://tinyurl.com/y7lucayf .East Coker poem by T.S. Eliot: https://allpoetry.com/Four-Quartets-2:-East-Coker .Follow us and stay in touch!Facebook and Instagram handle: @forestofthought .Web: forestofthought.com .Email: [email protected] .MUSIC by Christian Steen at stoneproduction.no . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

What is the corona crisis revealing to us – about our societies and about ourselves? Join us in conversation with activist and ecologist Pella Thiel as we discuss the deeper meaning of apocalypse, and how it is interwoven with hope and desire.Share and subscribe! Share your thoughts and stay in touch via FB, IG or at forestofthought.comLINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT:About Pella: pellathiel.se.Swedish Transition Network: omstallning.net.Charles Eisenstein’s essay on corona: charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/.Writer and thinker Dougald Hine has a new podcast with Ed Gillespie: thegreathumbling.libsyn.com.Eco-psychologist Joana Macy: https://www.activehope.info.MUSIC by Christian Steen at stoneproduction.no This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the new podcast, Forest of Thought! We hope to have conversations that explore the ideas we live by – re-examining the familiar and catching glimpses of the new. Read more at forestofthought.com.In today's episode we speak to economist Tim Parrique to explore what the mode of thinking called "economic rationality" really means, and how the logic of our economies might be changing as we move deeper into the corona crisis. What happens when we press "pause" on the game of the economy – a game that we forgot that we ourselves invented?SOURCES:Read Tim's thesis "The Political Economy of Degrowth" for free here: https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02499463/documentMUSIC by the talented Christian Steen at stoneproduction.no This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit forestofthought.substack.com/subscribe