PODCAST · society
The Big Chew Podcast
by Maria Theresa Stadtmueller
Can we change our futures by changing our story? Yup. Big Chew host Maria Theresa Stadtmueller and her guests take apart our culture's stories and look for ones without the stupid. Stories tell us what matters.The story that still runs our culture was created back when people thought the Earth was flat—by religions Westerners are leaving. That story says a god made us superior to all other creatures and our real home is "up there" in the sky—not here on Earth. When that old origin story combined with the Cartesian one of dualism, that Nature and the universe was a machine—well, now we're talking stupid. And that's what we're living now. On the Big Chew, host Maria Theresa Stadtmueller and her guests take apart our culture's stories and look for ones without the stupid. What if Earth actually shows us how to live? What does science tell us? What does spirit tell us? Grab a bite, and let's masticate!
Episodes
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A Progressive Views The Environmental Costs of U.S. Immigration: Ethicist Dr. Philip Cafaro
Martin Luther King, Jr. called it "the modern plague" and challenged us to heal it, especially since we knew how. That "plague" is overpopulation—but in Dr. King's time, U.S. population was driven by a high birth rate. Today, the major driver of U.S. population growth is mass immigration—up to…
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Where Do Babies Come From? Laura Carroll on Reproduction Myths
Babies come from stories. From beliefs. Some of those stories are beautiful: I want to love and care for someone; I have a lot to share with a growing human. But a whole lot of baby-making beliefs aren't true for everyone, and many aren't true, period. Here are a few of the harmful and expired: I...
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Population: An Epic Problem and A Solution Waiting to Happen
There are too many humans on Earth, it's screwing everything up, and we have to change. There. I said it. Environmentalists used to say this frequently and passionately, and then they stopped:talking about population took on racial overtones ("too many of those brown people!"), or fears of...
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Missionary Re-Position: Wendy Marsman on Faith, Atheism, and Women
Wendy Marsman was raised in a strict Evangelical community in rural Canada. She fulfilled her dream of being a missionary by moving to the Brazilian Amazon for eight years with her then-husband and children. What followed was an unraveling of what she believed, and a painful realization that, as…
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Humans and Water, with Big River Guide, Fluvial Geologist, and Writer Becca Lawton
Water: It's not just a "resource." It's not a "thing" that happens. Our bodies are mostly water. Maybe our souls are, too. Becca Lawton would know. She's a veteran river guide on the great rivers of the American West who became a fluvial geologist. She's also a beautiful writer whose…
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The Rewards of Green Activism: Beyond "Lifestyle" to "Lifeway" with Stephanie Kaza
Maybe life feels so nuts—environmentally, politically, economically, culturally—you're hitting the streets. Or hitting your head against the wall. WTF? What to do? First, calm down and listen to this episode. My guest, Stephanie Kaza, has been there. She cut her teeth as a biologist back when U.S...
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The Myth of Progress: Tom Wessels on Earth and the Economy
Progress! Economic growth! Affluence! Forget about it—at least while basic laws of science are in effect. I talk with Tom Wessels, ecologist, professor, and one of New England's clearest environmental voices. We focus on Tom's gem of a book, The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future. In…
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Change of Life: How Lynn Margulis Revolutionized Evolution
Biologist Lynn Margulis gave us a new way to look at life—and perhaps, a new way to live it. She showed life doesn't evolve just through random DNA mistakes and competition. Instead, interdependence is the key. Cells are the baseline—not "selfish" genes. Loops and new relationships replace linear...
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A "First World" Woman Finds Her True Self in the Amazon
Donna Mulvenna left a busy professional life in Australia to live in the Amazon rainforest of French Guiana. She thought it would be a temporary adventure with her partner, an Olympic canoe racer. After many local frustrations, a serious illness, and some profound spiritual experiences in the...
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Living the One-Straw Revolution, with Larry Korn
Natural Farming" is as much a life philosophy as a way of farming. Larry Korn has dedicated his life to teaching Natural Farming, which he learned from his mentor, the late, great Masanobu Fukuoka, author of One-Straw Revolution. This "no-method method"arose from a spiritual revelation Fukuoka…
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Life, Death, Forensics—and Why the West Freaks Over Death, with Jennifer Kissinger
We weren't supposed to die, says the Book of Genesis and many Christian sources that have been marinating this culture for two millennia. No wonder the West sees death as a catastrophe. My guest, Jennifer Kissinger, sees it as part of life—and it was a daily part of her life during her years as a...
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Sam Guarnaccia: Music for Our Universe
Music can bring us into new, profound kinds of awareness. Composer and classical guitarist Sam Guarnaccia is doing his part. We talk about his new musical work that calls on orchestra, chorus, and soloists to celebrate the evolving universe we all share. I've heard Sam's Emergent Universe...
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Thea Alvin, Who Dances with Stone
We live on a rocky planet. Thea Alvin knows that language. She creates fantastic structures of stone all over the world. Thea lives here in Vermont and has had some powerful interactions with Icelandic caves, ancient English burial mounds, and Chinese mountaintops. She teaches all over (we talk...
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TBC012: We Are All Starinese: The Universe Story Grows In King's Cross, London
A flourishing garden in dumpsters; a beehive to show how communities work; children learning their "cosmic address" by growing carrots. Inspired by the Universe Story of evolution, Jane Riddiford and Rod Sugden of Global Generation are helping to shape London's busiest construction zone. Jane and...
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Psychedelics, Healing, and Transformation
Can psychedelic drugs, and breathing techniques that achieve similar states, help heal our individual and collective emotional pain? Can they help us transform our society? I talk with Joe Moore and Kyle Buller of Psychedelics Today, a podcast that features professionals involved with…
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Sandor Katz--Living with Bacteria, Tastefully
We can't live without bacteria. Nor would we want to—bacteria help flavor and preserve some of our favorite foods. My guest, fermentation activist Sandor Ellix Katz, explains why we humans should rethink our relationship with these tiny creatures who actually run the place. Sandor Ellix Katz is…
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How A Creative Universe Invites Mythic Lives: Jennifer Morgan, Part Two
Whether we plunder the Earth or participate in it depends on deep notions of who we are. Jennifer Morgan of the Deep Time Journey Network says in Part Two of our conversation about the Universe Story, "What's going on every single second is so stunning that if we were truly present to it, we…
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Can Learning About the Universe Change Your Life? Jennifer Morgan
The Big Bang. Supernovae. Evolution. What do they have to do with real, everyday life? My guest, author Jennifer Morgan, has spent decades helping people appreciate how our universe works, how we got here, and why that matters. In this first of two conversations, we talk about how knowing this...
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From Evangelical to Atheist, Family-Style: Conclusion
After leaving your Christian faith with its god and demons, speaking in tongues, and life everlasting, where do you find fulfillment? In the conclusion of my two-part interview with Steve and Krissy Hilliker, we talk about mourning what they left behind; the excitement of learning who you are and...
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From Evangelical to Atheist, As a Family: Part 1
What happens when you and your young family are counting on your career path as an Evangelical Christian minister--and you realize you've become an atheist? Steve and Krissy Hilliker were deeply religious. They married young, had two kids right away, and believed that God had a plan for them.…
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Why Are Americans Leaving Religion? Interview with James Nagle
Why are record numbers of Americans and Europeans exiting the religions they grew up with--especially Christians? Is Christianity toast? What might come next? James Nagle studies this "deconversion" at Fordham University. He considers himself a "deconvert" and describes his path--from a tattooed,...
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Tradd Cotter: Our Future is Fungal
Tradd Cotter is a researcher and mycologist who's doing amazing things with mushrooms. Mushrooms can fight disease-causing bacteria, can purify water, help disaster victims...and they're delicious! (Not always the same ones, btw.) Mushrooms are also being studied now for treating end-of-life...
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Plant Life with Herbalist Julie Mitchell
Maria talks with herbalist Julie Mitchell about the modern revolution in herbal knowledge. We talk about how to get to know plants, and if they’re sentient; what herbs can do for humans; the ecstatic approach of the poet Goethe to the study of plants; and who I would kill if I could go back in time.
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Guided Meditation: Grounding Back Into the Earth
Intuitive counselor Laura Lomas leads a wonderfully accessible meditation to reconnect us to our true selves and to the earth.
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Laura Lomas, Intuitive: Is Our Spiritual Culture Shifting?
Maria talks (and cracks up!) with intuitive Laura Lomas, who helps people worldwide reconnect to their more authentic natures and to the Earth. Why are so many people bailing on religion? And what will take its place? How gigantic was Maria's head as a child? Show Notes: If you’d like to know…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Can we change our futures by changing our story? Yup. Big Chew host Maria Theresa Stadtmueller and her guests take apart our culture's stories and look for ones without the stupid. Stories tell us what matters.The story that still runs our culture was created back when people thought the Earth was flat—by religions Westerners are leaving. That story says a god made us superior to all other creatures and our real home is "up there" in the sky—not here on Earth. When that old origin story combined with the Cartesian one of dualism, that Nature and the universe was a machine—well, now we're talking stupid. And that's what we're living now. On the Big Chew, host Maria Theresa Stadtmueller and her guests take apart our culture's stories and look for ones without the stupid. What if Earth actually shows us how to live? What does science tell us? What does spirit tell us? Grab a bite, and let's masticate!
HOSTED BY
Maria Theresa Stadtmueller
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Big Chew Podcast have?
The Big Chew Podcast currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Big Chew Podcast about?
Can we change our futures by changing our story? Yup. Big Chew host Maria Theresa Stadtmueller and her guests take apart our culture's stories and look for ones without the stupid. Stories tell us what matters.The story that still runs our culture was created back when people thought the Earth was...
How often does The Big Chew Podcast release new episodes?
The Big Chew Podcast has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Big Chew Podcast?
You can listen to The Big Chew Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Big Chew Podcast?
The Big Chew Podcast is created and hosted by Maria Theresa Stadtmueller.
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