Afleveringen
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âIâd like to propose a toast to the garden, to this beautiful planet, and to the gardener. You know, some people have gardens, some people don't. But, they need to have a garden because Grandfather used to say, âWe are all a garden in the world." So, I give thanks to the garden and the gardener.â âCarlo Montesanti
And so, we have gathered to the final course in this banquet, Dolce. Dessert. Here at this table, we reflect on inheritance. Returning once more to conversations with Carlo Montesanti, Jessie Jowers, and Arianna Gelpke, this episode lingers on to ask if we can remember landscapes, and if we can do so over a shared meal. What does it mean to grow (food, family, and tradition), in a world that has increasingly been shaped by speed, extraction, automation and touristic ideals? Amidst these changes, what remnants will we be able to conserve?
In "Dolce," we continue our walk at Slow Life Family Farm, moving between memory, archaeology and rituals made at the dinner table and reflect on the legacy of slow foodâthat it is not a cuisine and, maybe even, not exclusive to the romantic imagings of Italian provincial life. Perhaps, it is about the way we attend to Earth and care for its continuity, asking not what we can take from it, but what we can give in return. We also join Arianna at Corzano e Paterno to discuss the process of "reading the grapes" and the factors that influence wine-making.
This episode contemplates sweetness as something more than a flavour, as a longing for ways of living that keep us in relation to one another and the land which feeds us.Fat of The Land is a series that asks us what we mean when we look for connection between people and the land. Following a desire for real relation, for deliciousness, and for slowness, each episode traces what happens when we follow this desire.
This episode is brought to you by generous sponsorships from Ritƫ and Terra Elaÿa.
Music and sound design in this episode is brought to you from the For The Wild Studio.
Thank you to Carlo and Jessie of Slow Life Family Farm and Arianna of Fattoria Corzano and Paterno for joining us in conversation.
Biographies
Carlo Montesanti: Born in Siracusa, Carlo is an esteemed English-speaking guide in Eastern Sicily, known for his work with BBC nature documentaries and Netflixâs Chefâs Table series.
Jessie Jowers: With a passion for the traditional uses of plants, Jessie brings a wealth of knowledge about local crafts, foods, and medicines to our farmâs daily life.
Arianna Gelpke: Arianna Gelpke is a representative of Fattoria Corzano and Paterno, working in the family farm, and wine, cheese and oil production. She is passionate for nature and working with the land in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture and high-quality artisan produce. Since Wendelin Gelpke purchased Corzano in 1971 and the subsequent addition of Paterno in 1974, the two-hundred-hectare farm has developed along three different lines: wine and oil production, artisanal sheep's cheese production, and âAgriturismo.â
Partners
Ritƫ
Fat of The Land is a series about what it means to be in relationship with land, food, and the people who tend both across generations. Ritƫ was made with the same kind of care; six ancient plants, ground and blended into a morning cup that honors the land it comes from, delivered in a compostable bag that returns to the earth.
Ritu built a custom landing page for us and would like to offer For The Wild listeners 25% their first month with a discount code FORTHEWILD25.
To order yourself some Ritu, head to:
drinkritu.com/forthewild
Terra ElaĂża
Thanks also to ElaĂża for the support of this series. Terra ElaĂża is a sanctuary where ancient ways meet the needs of our time. We emerge at this time of crossroads, standing as a space for the transformation, renewal, and re-enchantment of the human spirit. Located in the heart of southern Italy, we provide a place to come into a deeper relationship with life: to slow down, listen, and restore embodied wisdom.Head to terraelaya.com to learn more upcoming ElaĂża experiences or to host an event.
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âMother Earth is really asking us to touch the soil⊠itâs not just enough to pray. We need to put our hands in the soil.â âCarlo Montesanti
Contorni. The side dishes, or the surroundings. In this fourth episode of our series Fat of The Land, we turn towards the question of taste: how it is cultivated and remembered. Through conversations with Carlo Montesanti and Arianna Gelpke, the episode traces the shifting contours of Italian food culture amid tourism, commercialisation, supermarket convenience, and the global appetite for an imagined âItalian cuisine.â What happens to taste when food becomes spectacle, an export or a brand? And, what tastes are lost? Can they ever be reclaimed?
Moving across Sicily and Tuscany, this episode reflects on taste as not just as a matter of preference but as a way of reading the earth. Contorni provokes us to consider taste in all of its forms: sensorial, cultural, economic and ecological. What desires for taste reveal about hunger itself: hunger for nourishment, nostalgia, identity, and connection to a place past⊠or of the now.
Fat of The Land is a series that asks us what we mean when we look for connection between people and the land. Following a desire for real relation, for deliciousness, and for slowness, each episode traces what happens when we follow this desire.
This episode is brought to you by generous sponsorships from Ritƫ and Terra Elaÿa.
Music and sound design in this episode is brought to you from the For The Wild Studio.
Thank you to Jessie of Slow Life Family Farm and Arianna of Fattoria Corzano e Paterno for joining us in conversation.
Biographies
Carlo Montesanti, born in Siracusa, is an esteemed English-speaking guide in Eastern Sicily, known for his work with BBC nature documentaries and Netflixâs Chefâs Table series.Arianna Gelpke is a representative of her family's farm, Fattoria Corzano e Paterno. She is passionate for nature and working with the land in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture and high-quality artisan produce. Since Wendelin Gelpke purchased Corzano in 1971 and the subsequent addition of Paterno in 1974, the two-hundred-hectare farm has developed along three different lines: slow wine, olive oil, and artisanal cheese production, along with âAgriturismo.â
Partners
Ritƫ
Fat of The Land is a series about what it means to be in relationship with land, food, and the people who tend both across generations. Ritƫ was made with the same kind of care; six ancient plants, ground and blended into a morning cup that honors the land it comes from, delivered in a compostable bag that returns to the earth.
Ritu built a custom landing page for us and would like to offer For The Wild listeners 25% their first month with a discount code FORTHEWILD25.
To order yourself some Ritu, head to drinkritu.com/forthewild.
Terra ElaĂża
Thanks also to ElaĂża for the support of this series. Terra ElaĂża is a sanctuary where ancient ways meet the needs of our time. We emerge at this time of crossroads, standing as a space for the transformation, renewal, and re-enchantment of the human spirit. Located in the heart of southern Italy, we provide a place to come into a deeper relationship with life: to slow down, listen, and restore embodied wisdom.
Head to terraelaya.com to learn more about upcoming ElaĂża experiences or to host an event.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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âBefore I came here, I dreamt about this land.â âJessie Jowers, Slow Life Family Farm
The third course in our series, Secondi, brings us to the tensions of resistance and surrender. In this episode of Fat of The Land, Ayana speaks with Jessie Jowers of Slow Life Family Farm and Deborah Zapparrata of Cooking Sicily. Here, the episode asks us to consider what social and domestic roles do to us. Focusing on womenâs stories, histories, and layers of expectations around femininity, the body, and even the earth, that come from this, the conversation considers the complexities of lived and inherited wisdom; how they might be at odds, and where they may be reconciled. When women are told what we should desire, what we should have, what our expectations of life and family ought to be, are our experiences flattened?
Asking questions of the land, the trading of spices and recipes, of the myths about women (from making ricotta from their breastmilk to liberate their cities to goddesses worshipped on the Sicilian coastline), Ayana, Jessie and Deborah contemplate how these histories may have been inherited (or, at times, rejected) by contemporary women. This episode grounds us in matrilineal connections that span generations
Fat of The Land is a series that asks us what we mean when we look for connection between people and the land. Following a desire for real relation, for deliciousness, and for slowness, each episode traces what happens when we follow this desire.
This episode is brought to you by generous sponsorships from Ritƫ, Terra Elaÿa, and Heyday Books.
The featured music in this episode is âHigh Hillâ by Evelyn Frances and For The Wild Studio.
Thank you to Jessie of Slow Life Family Farm and Deborah of Cooking Sicily for joining us in conversation.
Bios
With a passion for the traditional uses of plants, Jessie Jowers brings a wealth of knowledge about local crafts, foods, and medicines to her farmâs daily life.
Deborah Zapparrata, nearly a decade ago, founded Cooking Sicily. It is a project born from a profound love for my island and its ancient roots. Alongside her family, her mother, three children, and her son-in-law, she has worked to preserve and share the true soul of our land. Cooking Siciliy explores Sicilian identity through its authentic flavors, rooted in a millennia-old history. Their cuisine is a unique Mediterranean tapestry, weaving together Greek, Arabic, Spanish, and French influences. Through local ingredients and ancestral heritage, Deborah invites the world to taste the living history of Sicily.
Evelyn Frances is an experimental, avante garde musician and songwriter from Upstate New York, currently based in Seattle. Her work weaves in her foundation as a classical flutist and jazz musician, while moving forward into electronic exploration of sound. Lyrically, she touches on themes of climate change and humanâs relationship to nature, political rage, and her own struggles with mental illness.
Partners
Heyday: Compassion in Crisis
Crisis looms large in daily life. From failing public health infrastructure to resource shortages, endless wars, and melting ice caps the crisis in education is inseparable from the crisis in loneliness, spurred on by the interests and fantasies of a small group of wealthy individuals, for whose sake whole swathes of our planet burn.
Confronted with this situation, Kate Rose Weiner and Kailea Rose Loften began collaborating on what would become Compassion in Crisis: Building Disaster-Resilient Communities, a book that presents a strategy for catastrophe guided by values of curiosity and communal care. Readers will learn how to prepare baby formula in an emergency, how to best use stinging nettle or chamomile flowers for first-aid, alongside tips for paying attention to the different responses of our nervous systems to stress.
You can purchase your copy of Compassion in Crisis here: https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/compassion-in-crisis/?utm_source=For+the+Wild&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=CINC&utm_id=FTW+promo
Ritƫ
Fat of The Land is a series about what it means to be in relationship with land, food, and the people who tend both across generations. Ritƫ was made with the same kind of care; six ancient plants, ground and blended into a morning cup that honors the land it comes from, delivered in a compostable bag that returns to the earth.
Ritu has built a custom landing page for us and would like to offer For The Wild listeners 25% their first month with a discount code FORTHEWILD25.
To order yourself some Ritu, head to drinkritu.com/forthewild.
Terra ElaĂża
Thanks also to ElaĂża for the support of this series. Terra ElaĂża is a sanctuary where ancient ways meet the needs of our time. We emerge at this time of crossroads, standing as a space for the transformation, renewal, and re-enchantment of the human spirit. Located in the heart of southern Italy, we provide a place to come into a deeper relationship with life: to slow down, listen, and restore embodied wisdom.Head to terraelaya.com to learn more upcoming ElaĂża experiences or to host an event.
Support the show
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âHuman hunger â not just for food, but for everything â drives us to do beautiful things, crazy things, horrible things, but that is the most human thing I can point to. We're a very hungry species, and that hunger moves us.â âAyana Young, Host
Episode two of Fat of The Land grounds us further in Sicily with Jessie and Carlo of Slow Life Family Farm and Mila of Bimbi Naturali. Across the conversation, themes of hunger, desire, and the allure of independence continue to unfold.
This episode asks us to consider the root of our desires and how they may draw us toward the land rather than away from it. Through reflections on patience and the wisdom of living within natural cycles, the conversations invite us to imagine beyond a world of instant gratification. As Mila reminds us, ânature needs time.â What kind of fulfillment becomes possible when we learn to move at natureâs pace?
Let this episode nourish the desires and longings that draw us back into relationship with the land.Fat of The Land is a series that asks us what we mean when we look for connection between people and the land. Following a desire for real relation, for deliciousness, and for slowness, each episode traces what happens when we follow this desire.
Biographies
At Slow Life Family Farm, we carry on the legacy of a 2nd generation family of guides, deeply embedded in the history and nature of Sicily. Founded by Carlo, a renowned historical and nature guide, and Jessie, an expert in natural plant uses, our farm is a living testament to a life intertwined with the land. Our mission is to cultivate not just organic produce but to foster a community around the authentic Sicilian way of life, integrating age-old traditions with sustainable living.
Mila is an educator and director at the nature school, Bimbi Naturali, located in rural Sicily.
Thank you to our partners and sponsors for this series:Ritƫ
Fat of The Land is a series about what it means to be in relationship with land, food, and the people who tend both across generations. Ritƫ was made with the same kind of care; six ancient plants, ground and blended into a morning cup that honors the land it comes from, delivered in a compostable bag that returns to the earth.
Ritu built a custom landing page for us and would like to offer For The Wild listeners 25% their first month with a discount code FORTHEWILD25.
To order yourself some Ritu, head to: drinkritu.com/forthewild
Terra ElaĂża
Thanks also to Terra ElaĂża for the support of this series. Terra ElaĂża is a sanctuary where ancient ways meet the needs of our time. We emerge at this time of crossroads, standing as a space for the transformation, renewal, and re-enchantment of the human spirit. Located in the heart of southern Italy, we provide a place to come into a deeper relationship with life: to slow down, listen, and restore embodied wisdom.Head to terraelaya.com to learn more upcoming Terra ElaĂża experiences or to host an event.
Support the show
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âI really feel I was called here, and I really feel this land itself is calling for human touch.â â Jessie, Slow Life Family Farm
Embracing hunger, desire, and a calling for connection, weâre delighted to share the first episode of Fat of The Land with you.
Fat of The Land is a series that asks us what we mean when we look for connection between people and the land. Following a desire for real relation, for deliciousness, and for slowness, each episode traces what happens when we follow this desire. This opening episode, Aperitivo, grounds us in Sicily with Carlo and Jessie at Slow Life Family Farm. Together with Ayana, they dive deep into the history of Noto, Sicily, and how it has sustained human life across centuries. What does it mean to be independent as growers and gardeners while also recognizing our interconnectedness with both the land and each other across time?
Let this episode pique your appetite for more to come.
This episode is brought to you by generous sponsorships from Ritƫ and Terra Elaÿa.
Biographies
At Slow Life Family Farm, we carry on the legacy of a 2nd generation family of guides, deeply embedded in the history and nature of Sicily. Founded by Carlo, a renowned historical and nature guide, and Jessie, an expert in natural plant uses, our farm is a living testament to a life intertwined with the land. Our mission is to cultivate not just organic produce but to foster a community around the authentic Sicilian way of life, integrating age-old traditions with sustainable living.
Carlo: Born in Siracusa, Carlo is an esteemed English-speaking guide in Eastern Sicily, known for his work with BBC nature documentaries and Netflixâs Chefâs Table series.
Jessie: With a passion for the traditional uses of plants, Jessie brings a wealth of knowledge about local crafts, foods, and medicines to our farmâs daily life.
Thank you to our partners and sponsors for this series:
Ritƫ
Fat of The Land is a series about what it means to be in relationship with land, food, and the people who tend both across generations. Ritƫ was made with the same kind of care; six ancient plants, ground and blended into a morning cup that honors the land it comes from, delivered in a compostable bag that returns to the earth.
Ritu built a custom landing page for us and would like to offer For The Wild listeners 25% their first month with a discount code FORTHEWILD25.
To order yourself some Ritu, head to: drinkritu.com/forthewild
Terra ElaĂża
Thanks also to Terra ElaĂża for the support of this series. Terra ElaĂża is a sanctuary where ancient ways meet the needs of our time. We emerge at this time of crossroads, standing as a space for the transformation, renewal, and re-enchantment of the human spirit. Located in the heart of southern Italy, we provide a place to come into a deeper relationship with life: to slow down, listen, and restore embodied wisdom.Head to terraelaya.com to learn more upcoming Terra ElaĂża experiences or to host an event.
Support the show
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We are so excited to share Fat of The Land, a new five-part series unfolding over the next five weeks.
This series began with a kind of romantic impulse. I traveled to Italy with a longing to be among people whose relationships to land and food have been tended over generations, particularly within the traditions of Slow Food.
As a settler of North America, I carry big questions around land and lineage and memory and loss... I imagine meeting grandmothers making ravioli, sitting with elders, absorbing something simple and intact about belonging, but what I encountered was far more complex and far more meaningful. The experience didn't feed me in the ways I expected. Instead, it unsettled me and expanded my understanding of tradition, of connection and of what it means to belong to a place I'm deeply grateful for that disorientation and for all that it revealed across this series. We'll move through conversations shaped by land, food, inheritance and the tensions and contradictions that live within them.
Fat of The Land is made possible with the generous support of our sponsors.We're especially grateful to Ritƫ, whose delicious grounding ceremonial drink feels deeply aligned with the spirit of this series, nourishment that invites presence, connection and reflection.
We're also thankful to ElaĂża, a retreat center in Italy that holds space for deep rest, learning and relationship with place.
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this unfolding. Here we go, spring is here.
- Ayana
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"The more I learn, the less I know. Sometimes learning more means accepting that we donât really know." â Rachel Meade
In the third episode of In The Company of Humpbacks, Rachel Meade joins Ayana to rethink what we mean by study, communication, and the goals of biology and conservation. What might change if we were more honest about our uncertainties and willing to admit what we donât know? Could that openness lead to stronger relationships and better science?Rachel guides us into the vast, largely unseen world of whale sound, beyond what we usually define as âsong,â and into forms of communication that may lie outside human understanding. How do we show respect for something that resists being fully known?
About this series: With delightful insight from Dr. Fred Sharpe, Rachel Meade, and Joseph Olson, In the Company of Humpbacks contains a wealth of knowledge and beauty. Weâre so excited to bring you along with us on this magical journey through the more than human world.
Sounds and images collected under NOAA/NMFS Research Permit 26663.
Learn more and support this work at thrums.org. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our partners: Five Fingers Lighthouse, and the American Cetacean Society.
Behind-the-Scenes Extras
By joining us on Patreon, you can get early access to episodes, reflection prompts, a bonus episode, and behind the scenes content. Patreon membership also gives you access to our zines, archives of extended episodes, and more. Join us at patreon.com/forthewild.
BiographiesRachel Meade has long held a passion for marine mammal research. She has extensive hands-on experience in rehabilitation, response, and field-based research. She has worked across a range of species, including harbor and ice seals, sea otters, bottlenose dolphins, California sea lions, and humpback whales. Since joining Dr. Fred Sharpeâs research team in 2023, Rachel has developed a specific interest in cetacean bioacoustics, completing multiple remote field seasons in Southeast Alaska and presenting her work at the Society for Marine Mammalogyâs 2024 conference in Perth, Australia. Her background includes marine vessel operations, scientific diving, veterinary assistance, and acoustic and data analysis using Python, R, and Raven Pro. Rachel holds a BS in Marine and Coastal Science from Western Washington University and is seeking opportunities to continue her research and academic studies through a masterâs program in marine mammal science.
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In the second episode of In the Company of Humpbacks, take a walk with Dr. Fred Sharpe and Ayana as we get to know him and his research team more intimately. Together, they reflect on grounding scientific work in awareness and relationality, offering insight into the deeper purpose behind conservation. The episode explores how our pursuit of knowledge shapes and is shaped by our relationships with the more-than-human world, while also embracing the sensory, emotional pull of curiosity about nature.
With delightful insight from Dr. Fred Sharpe, Rachel Meade, and Joe Olson, this series contains a wealth of knowledge and beauty. Weâre so excited to bring you along with us on this magical journey through the more-than-human world.
Learn more and support this work at thrums.org. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our partners: Five Fingers Lighthouse and Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society.
*Sounds and images collected under NOAA/NMFS Research Permit 26663.
Behind-the-Scenes Extras
By joining us on Patreon, you can get early access to episodes, reflection prompts, a bonus episode, and behind the scenes content. Patreon membership also gives you access to our zines, archives of extended episodes, and more. Join us at patreon.com/forthewild.Biographies
Dr. Fred Sharpe has been studying the foraging ecology of humpback whales in SE Alaska since 1987. He received his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University and is currently collaborating with the Cetacean Institute on the study of the humpbackâs aerial sounds. Fredâs interest in conservation biology has led him to follow the whales south to their Hawaiian wintering to document their historical ecology and legacy impacts from commercial whaling. He has been awarded the Fairfield Award for Innovative Marine Mammal Research and the Society for Marine Mammologyâs Award for Excellence in Scientific Communication. Fred volunteers with NOAA as a large whale entanglement responder. He is a naturalist in the classical tradition and enjoys botanizing and preserving native oaks grasslands. During his botany undergraduate days (University of Washington) he co-authored and illustrated Wild Plants of the San Juan Islands. After graduation, he continued his work in the archipelago and co-authored and illustrated Birding in the San Juan Islands.
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âLearning whale language is about being in right relationship.â
In the first episode of For The Wildâs In the Company of Humpbacks, we hear from Joe Olson and Dr. Fred Sharpe about their approaches to analyzing whale sound. When we desire to understand whales, what more than human impulse are we activating? Immersing the listener in a world of exploration and investigation, this episode leaves us with the spirit of questioning and a hope for deeper relationality in our pursuit of understanding.
With delightful insight from Dr. Fred Sharpe, Rachel Meade, and Joe Olson, this series contains a wealth of knowledge and beauty. Weâre so excited to bring you along with us on this magical journey through the more-than-human world.
Learn more and support this work at thrums.org. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our partners: Alaska Whale Foundation, Five Fingers Lighthouse, and the Puget Sound Chapter.
*Sounds and images collected under NOAA/NMFS Research Permit 26663.
Behind-the-Scenes Extras
By joining us on Patreon, you can get early access to episodes, reflection prompts, a bonus episode, and behind the scenes content. Patreon membership also gives you access to our zines, archives of extended episodes, and more. Join us at patreon.com/forthewild.Biographies
Dr. Fred Sharpe has been studying the foraging ecology of humpback whales in SE Alaska since 1987. He received his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University and is currently collaborating with the Cetacean Institute on the study of the humpbackâs aerial sounds. Fredâs interest in conservation biology has led him to follow the whales south to their Hawaiian wintering to document their historical ecology and legacy impacts from commercial whaling. He has been awarded the Fairfield Award for Innovative Marine Mammal Research and the Society for Marine Mammologyâs Award for Excellence in Scientific Communication. Fred volunteers with NOAA as a large whale entanglement responder. He is a naturalist in the classical tradition and enjoys botanizing and preserving native oaks grasslands. During his botany undergraduate days (University of Washington) he co-authored and illustrated Wild Plants of the San Juan Islands. After graduation, he continued his work in the archipelago and co-authored and illustrated Birding in the San Juan Islands.
Joe Olson's love of cetaceans began when he was three years old and his grandfather routinely took him to visit Namu the killer whale at the Seattle Marine Aquarium. His concern for the general wellbeing of cetaceans started in fourth grade while writing a report about blue whales being on the verge of extinction. After receiving a degree in Physics and working as a Research Engineer and Research Physicist for several years, Joe started the hydrophone design and manufacturing company named Cetacean Research Technology in 1994. In 1999, Joe founded the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society (ACS) and is currently serving as the chapter president. Since selling Cetacean Research Technology at the end of 2022, Joe has been delighted to direct much more of his energy toward ecosystem protection and restoration issues with ACS and toward interesting cetacean research projects with colleagues and former hydrophone customers. When not volunteering on such projects or attending astrobiology colloquia at the University of Washington, Joe provides underwater and bioacoustics consultation through his company, Cetacean Communication, and he also works part time for the environmental consulting company, Landau Associ
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Hey, friends. Ayana, here.
We are so excited to announce our brand new audio documentary series in the company of humpbacks. Three episodes. One goal to take you into the quiet the thrums and the wild rhythms of Southeast Alaska.
How it started. Fred Sharpe, old friend, longtime explorer of these waters, and we're always running into each other at his field station in Chichagof Island. Now, every time I see him, he brings a smile and usually a little giggle because of his very Dr. Seuss like spirit, same place different years, and the conversations just keep getting longer. This summer, we ran into each other again, picking blueberries on a little boardwalk trail, and we just stayed there hours, talking about whales, politics, AI, the ocean, Alaska, life, everything just tangled together. A few months later, I'm at my neighbor's house picking cherries, hands full, not stopping very on brand for me. And Fred calls. He's got Joe Olson on speaker, and they say you've got to come to Five Fingers Lighthouse. Tiny island, remote cliff, storms, toddlers in tow, oldest lighthouse in Alaska, totally wild, and somehow I said yes.
That yes turned into walks, recordings and hours of listening to whale thrums, wind and the subtle rhythms of life all around us along the way. Rachel Meade, Joe Olson, Fred and I shared stories that are funny, strange, challenging and often pretty magical.
We couldn't have made the series without the generosity of the Alaska Whale Foundation, the American Cetacean Society, the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, Five Fingers Lighthouse and Barnacle Foods.Thanks to these organizations, we are able to listen deeper, wander further and bring these stories to you. This series is also the first in the new chapter for for the wild. We're now a studio, and we are loving this new way of relational storytelling, collaborating with constellations of people who want their stories heard. If you've got a story, a campaign, or a place that feels like it needs to be shared.
Connect with us at [email protected] now.
In the Company of Humpbacks drop soon, so step into the quiet, tune your ears to the thrums and come along with us.
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âConnection to the land and knowing the plants that surround you and knowing what food your ancestor ate and trying to go back there is probably one of the most important things that we can do as resistance today.â - Aya Gazawi Faour
In For The Wildâs series in collaboration with Olive Oddessey, we hear from their co-founder, Aya Gazawi Faour, who shares about plants indigenous to the Palestinian landscape and their deep ties to culture, resistance, and enduring lifeways.
In this concluding episode, Aya shares about both the symbols and material history of watermelon and prickly pear in Palestine, emphasizing the history of the plants as integral to their current uses. From reminders of resilience and patience to subtle efforts of resistance, plants can be helpful teachers on our paths towards liberation, and this episode leaves us with the sweet promise of freedom and liberation to come.Let this conversation be an invitation to look more closely at the lands and living beings of Palestine. If Ayaâs stories moved you, take the next step: learn from the farmers and stewards keeping these lifeways alive. Explore the work of Palestinian growers, deepen your understanding of their traditions, and support their harvests through Olive Odyssey. Every gesture of connection helps nourish a culture, a landscape, and a people rooted in resilience.
Olive Odyssey brings together farmers from across Palestine with a shared purpose: to tell the story of the Palestinian people through the food they produce. Their mission is simple yet powerful â each bottle reflects a deep connection to the land and a commitment to sustainable, community-centered practices. To learn more about the farmers, their methods, and to source olive oil and recipes, visit https://oliveodyssey.com.
Learn more about this episode by visiting https://www.forthewild.world
Plants Are Political is based on Olive Odysseyâs series by the same name.
Learn more at https://www.forthewild.world
Credits
Music for this episode was composed by Doe Paoro from her album âLiving Through Collapse.â For The Wild is created by Ayana Young, Erica, Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.Support the show
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âIf you don't forage for Zaâatar, how are you going to feel connected to the land? How are you going to understand what your ancestors have been doing for thousands of years here?â - Aya Gazawi Faour
In For The Wildâs series in collaboration with Olive Odyssey, we hear from Aya Gazawi Faour, their co-founder, who shares about plants indigenous to the Palestinian landscape and their deep ties to culture, resistance, and enduring lifeways.
In this episode, Aya shares about the herb Zaâatar and its role in Palestinian kitchens. Aya details the ban placed on foraging Zaâatar by Israel and its selective enforcement against Palestinians. Despite encroachments on their land and these restrictive practices, Aya emphasizes connection to the land down to the very flavor of Palestinian food and the scent of Palestinian kitchens. Colonizing forces try to separate people and the land, but as Aya speaks, it is clear that this separation is neither sustainable nor wholly possible.
Let this conversation be an invitation to look more closely at the lands and living beings of Palestine. If Ayaâs stories moved you, take the next step: learn from the farmers and stewards keeping these lifeways alive. Explore the work of Palestinian growers, deepen your understanding of their traditions, and support their harvests through Olive Odyssey. Every gesture of connection helps nourish a culture, a landscape, and a people rooted in resilience.
Olive Odyssey brings together farmers from across Palestine with a shared purpose: to tell the story of the Palestinian people through olive oil. Their mission is simple yet powerful â each bottle reflects a deep connection to the land and a commitment to sustainable, community-centered practices. To learn more about the farmers, their methods, and to source olive oil, zaâatar, recipes, and more, visit https://oliveodyssey.com.
Plants Are Political is based on Olive Odysseyâs series by the same name.
Credits
Music for this episode is âRosaâ and âAnimaâ composed by Doe Paoro from her album âLiving Through Collapse.â For The Wild is created by Ayana Young, Erica, Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.Learn more at https://www.forthewild.world
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âThe moment people are disconnected from their land and from the plants around them, it's easier to control them because they don't feel the spiritual connection to the land.â âAya Gazawi Faour, Olive Odyssey Co-Founder
In For The Wildâs new series in collaboration with Olive Odyssey, we hear from their co-founder, Aya Gazawi Faour, who shares about plants indigenous to the Palestinian landscape and their deep ties to culture, resistance, and enduring lifeways.
In this opening episode, Aya shares how olive trees shape Palestinian life through everyday routines and long-held traditions. Families structure their seasons around trips to the groves and the olive press, gathering to harvest, share meals, and pass down knowledge. Even in dense urban areas, many keep a single olive tree on a crowded balcony as a living reminder of home. Olives are rooted in memory, community, and resilience and remain deeply defining across the region. This powerful aspect of culture goes far beyond the material. It is a sacred connection to the land and its abundance, a means of making community both with neighbors and with the world, and a crucial reminder of resistance and resilience.
Let this conversation be an invitation to look more closely at the lands and living beings of Palestine. If Ayaâs stories moved you, take the next step: learn from the farmers and stewards keeping these lifeways alive. Explore the work of Palestinian growers, deepen your understanding of their traditions, and support their harvests through Olive Odyssey. Every gesture of connection helps nourish a culture, a landscape, and a people rooted in resilience.
Olive Odyssey brings together farmers from across Palestine with a shared purpose: to tell the story of the Palestinian people through olive oil. Their mission is simple yet powerful â each bottle reflects a deep connection to the land and a commitment to sustainable, community-centered practices. To learn more about the farmers, their methods, and to source olive oil and recipes, visit https://oliveodyssey.com.
Plants Are Political is based on Olive Odysseyâs series by the same name.Learn more at https://www.forthewild.world
Credits
Music for this episode was composed by Doe Paoro from her album âLiving Through Collapse.â For The Wild is created by Ayana Young, Erica, Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.Support the show
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ILLUMINATING WORLDVIEWS on The Art That Reclaims Us S1:4
In this resounding end to our Illuminating Worldviews series, Ayana speaks with artists Dr. Aubyn OâGrady and Jackie Olson about collective art and creative processes. Aubyn and Jackie share about their work on The Willow Basket Project at the Yukon School of Visual Arts and explore the ways that art can root us in place, support mining reclamation work, and even build bridges with unlikely allies.
Through this project, they invite dialogue between artists, miners, and community members, reimagining mined landscapes as spaces of regeneration and cultural reconnection. This episode serves as a homage to how creative work can support healing for the land and open new pathways of relationship and understanding.
As we conclude this series, we sit in deep gratitude for the land that made this series possible and for all of the guests, community members, and team members with Illuminating Worldviews who brought it to life. This episode, and the series as whole, stand as a testament to the importance of this vital collective work.
Learn more at https://forthewild.world.
Credits
This series was produced thanks to the generous support of the team at Illuminating Worldviews, held by the RIVER collective and Northern Council for Global Cooperation.â« The music from this episode is âAfter the Rainâ by Cole Pulice courtesy of Leaving Records, âSo Long Favoriteâ by Chaz Prymek, and âSpinning Sphereâ by Lior Holzman.
This episode was created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.
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ILLUMINATING WORLDVIEWS on AI and Courting the Otherwise S1:3
How might we face the end? Continuing our Illuminating Worldviews series, Vanessa Andreotti and Ayana delve into questions of what it means to live well during this fractured end of modernity. How can we best visualize the systems that have brought us to this point, and how might we bring ourselves out of them? Speaking to the complexity of birth and death in this moment, Vanessa sheds light on what she calls hospicing modernity â the act of bearing witness to a system that is unraveling.
Vanessa and Ayana then explore the tools that may accompany us on our way towards existing differently. From efforts of grounding, to AI, to relationality, they consider how we may grow to think and move into the beyond. We have been conditioned to forget our belonging to Earth, to one another, to death itself. What thread might pull us back together?
Learn more at https://forthewild.world.
Credits
This series was produced thanks to the generous support of the team at Illuminating Worldviews, held by the RIVER collective and Northern Council for Global Cooperation.The music from this episode is âAfter the Rainâ and âIn a Hidden Nook Between Worlds Iâ by Cole Pulice courtesy of Leaving Records and âI Believe in Being Readyâ by Rising Appalachia.
This episode was created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.
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Continuing our Illuminating Worldviews series, we hear from X̱ʌunei Lance Twitchell in conversation with GunĂĄ Jensen exploring the vital work of TlingĂt language revitalization. Together, they reflect on the deep emotional resonance of speaking in oneâs ancestral language, and how this practice opens an anti-colonial lens in which to see and feel the world. Set within the lands of the Yukon, this episode is a moving tribute to the power and significance of Indigenous language learning that honors the autonomy, expression, and sense of belonging it nurtures within the community.
This episode includes an excerpt from the premiere of the powerful short film The River That Untangles Oneâs Mind by Skaydu.Ă» Jules, GunĂĄ Jensen, and X̱âunei Lance Twitchell, produced by Douglas Joe/Creative Crow Media.
Learn more at https://forthewild.world.
Credits
This series was produced thanks to the generous support of the team at Illuminating Worldviews, held by the RIVER collective and Northern Council for Global Cooperation.The music from this episode is âAfter the Rainâ by Cole Pulice courtesy of Leaving Records, âApple with Honeyâ by Cory Feder, and âOroâ and â Voces que Venâ by Palo-Mah.
This episode was created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.
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Over the past months, For The Wild has journeyed to the Yukon in partnership with Illuminating Worldviews. Illuminating Worldviews is a space for examining the worldviews in which we find ourselves and to learn how they actively shape the material realities of our lives. This project, rooted and colored by the land of the Yukon invites questioning, examination, and future visioning centered in Indigenous ideology and the sentiment of journeying.
In this conversation, Ayana is joined by Dr. Lee Brown and Elder Mark Wedge to discuss emotional competency and how we can regulate ourselves amidst all that this world brings. What does it mean to have a colonized heart? Is it to separate ourselves from our emotions? Touching upon the role of feeling in our overall wellbeing, they highlight how emotional regulation and connection are essential to the work of decolonization. This episode is a resounding testament to the healing that comes from embodiment and fully felt experience.
Learn more at https://forthewild.world.Credits
This series was produced thanks to the generous support of the team at Illuminating Worldviews, held by the RIVER collective and Northern Council for Global Cooperation.
The music from this episode is âAfter the Rainâ by Cole Pulice courtesy of Leaving Records, âHyacinth and Apolloâ by Carlisle Evans Peck, and âMarakatĂ©â by Palo-Mah.This episode was created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.
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On July 19th, Joanna Macy, beloved teacher and past guest, passed away peacefully at home in Berkeley, California. In honor of her legacy, we are rebroadcasting her episode âThe World as Lover and Self,â originally released in 2015 when the show was titled Unlearn and Rewild.
In this deeply resonant conversation, Ayana speaks with Joanna on grief, change, and connection â themes that remain ever-relevant. Joanna offers wisdom on emotional courage, allyship, and gratitude, inviting us to see the world as our larger living body. Her words are a balm for those navigating despair, helping us move through paralysis toward collective transformation and action.
A renowned scholar and activist, Joanna Macy created Work That Reconnects, a transformative framework for facing ecological and social crises. Her legacy lives on through decades of writing, teaching, and deep spiritual and ecological insight.
We invite you to listen again as we honor her enduring guidance and presence.
Learn more at https://forthewild.world/listen/joanna-macy-on-the-world-as-lover-and-self-homage
Credits
Music by Anne Carol Mitchell, Roberta Flack, Pharoah Sanders, and Roy Harper
This episode was created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.Cover art: Vintage National Geographic
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We are rebroadcasting our extended conversation with Andrea Gibson as we honor their death on July 14th, 2025. The conversation, originally aired In September of 2023, was entitled âThe Blessings of the Wound.â
For so many of us who have been touched by Andreaâs work, their death is a deep wound, one that will stretch and expand our hearts in accordance with its depth. In the episode, Andrea contemplates the deeply rooted societal fears of disconnection and of death. Facing fear, confusion, and loss head on, Andrea reminds us that healing is a return to the self, a return to community.Through poem and spirituality, Andrea draws us to see the beauty in being alive in this particular life, in our particular bodies, at this particular time. Their presence and attention is life-giving. As Andrea shares their journey connecting to the eternal, genderless âWe,â they invite listeners to contemplate their identities beyond this life alone. As we let the need to know fall away, what miracles might reveal themselves to us?
While you listen to this episode, we invite you to consider their words in the poem âLove Letter from the Afterlife.â Andrea writes, â I know that to be human is to be farsighted. But feel me now, walking the chambers of your heart, pressing my palms to the soft walls of your living. Why did no one tell us that to die is to be reincarnated in those we love while they are still alive?â Learn more at https://forthewild.world/listen/andrea-gibson-on-the-blessings-of-the-wound-homage
As tribute to Andrea, we will be offering a free download of our zine, Grief, in our Friday, July 24th newsletter. The digital zine includes practice, ritual, and an extended reading of Andreaâs conversation with For The Wild. Sign up for the newsletter on our website.
Credits
Music by Katie Gray, John Carrol Kirby (Patience Records), and Kesia Negata.
This episode was created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and José Alejandro Rivera with special thanks to Victoria Pham for the July 22, 2025 versionCover art by William Baxter Closson, titled "Night Moths"
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Hey For The Wild community, itâs Ayana.
Itâs been a minute. Life has been movingâfast, deep, and full. Iâve grown, and with that growth, a clearer sense of what I want to share with you has come into focus.
After nearly a decade of digital episodes, I felt a longingâan ache to be in person, on the land, and heart to heart with our guests. Thatâs why you may have noticed weâve slowed down on weekly releases. Instead, weâve been on the road, spending sacred, unhurried time with people we loveâtending to conversations that are raw, intimate, funny, beautiful, edgy, and alive.
We were hoping to keep it under wraps a little longer, but weâre just too excited: the first season of our new walking series will be released soon, and it features the luminous Sophie Strand. This series is an in-person, land-based conversation that is intimate, weird, raw, beautiful exploration of land, grief, myth, pleasure, and more. These arenât studio-perfect interviews, theyâre alive.
But thereâs more. Weâre also creating an anthologyâa wild and tender book featuring Sophie and 20 other contributors like Tyson Yunkaporta, Sylvia Linsteadt, adrienne maree brown, Dori Midnight, and Stephen Jenkinson. Itâs an archive, an altar, a trail companionâa distillation of 10 years of For The Wild with essays, art, poetry, rituals, and deep questions. It asks us what it means to live in fragmentary times and still root deeply. We hope to print it later this year.
To bring these projects to life, we need your support.
Weâre looking for funding partners, sponsors, and publishersâand weâre dreaming of a book tour from the West Coast to the East, and across the pond to Europe.
If youâre an individual, foundation, or aligned company that wants to support the Sophie Strand series, reach out.
If youâre a publisher or lit world comrade, Iâd love to connect.
If youâd like to host a live gathering for the book tour, letâs talkâweâd love to share good food, real talk, and tender moments with your community.
Email us at [email protected]
Thank you for walking with usâwhether youâve been here since the beginning or just arrived. My heart is racing as I share this with you. It feels risky, but right. Vulnerable, but true. And Iâm so grateful.
In the meantime, you can spend some deep time with us through our Earthly Reads Series and Book Study or Bayo Akomolafe's We Will Dance with Mountains: Vunja! courseâboth on our website.
And of course, weâve got over 350 episodes waiting for you on your favorite platform.
Hereâs to what comes next. With love,
Ayana
â« The music featured in this update is âDas Nuvens (Live)â by Fabiano do Nascimento, courtesy of Leaving Records.Support the show
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