Forest of Thought Podcast

29/09/2023

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? Join us in the Forest of Thought!

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.

https://forestofthought.com/e25-on-language-landscapes-and-mending-the-world-sarah-thomas/



Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠
Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/forestofthought

In this episode I speak to writer and filmmaker Sarah Thomas. Her memoir, The Raven’s Nest, is a meditation on…Read and listenE25 On Language, landscapes and mending the world // SARAH THOMAS

23/08/2023

Tired of shallow narratives on artificial intelligence? Join us at Nav on September 4th with philosopher Jeremy Naydler for a deeper view on how intelligent machines are affecting our consciousness and relationship to the sacred. Info and tickets here! https://nav.confetti.events/cultivating

06/06/2023

How do we cultivate the human in an era of machines? In this episode I speak to gardener-philosopher Jeremy Naydler about how our consciousness and spirituality is altered as we become evermore enmeshed in advanced technologies. We also delve into the spiritual beliefs of ancient peoples and ask how their ways of thinking and being are different than ours. We give some special attention to the act of thinking; how is rationality and logic different than contemplation, and can thinking be a spiritual practice?
Jeremy rarely gives interviews, so I’m very pleased to be able to share this conversation with you!

https://forestofthought.com/e24-in-the-shadow-of-the-machine-jeremy-naydler/



Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/forestofthought⁠
Share and subscribe. Find all available platforms here: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/forestofthought

Become a Patron! How are our modern ways of thinking and being different from those of ancient peoples? When did…Read and listenE24 In the shadow of the machine // Jeremy Naydler

03/05/2023

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 – to imagine how 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‘.

Share and subscribe! Find all available platforms here 👉 ⁠https://anchor.fm/forestofthought⁠
Support us on Patreon ✨ ⁠www.patreon.com/forestofthought⁠



https://forestofthought.com/e23-from-what-is-to-what-if-rob-hopkins/

Become a Patron! Listen: It’s been said that it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end…Read and listenE23 From What is to What if? // ROB HOPKINS

10/04/2023

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 vocal 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. Come join us on this adventure in the Forest of Thought!

https://forestofthought.com/e22-the-power-of-voice-briony-greenhill/

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.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QaSwwGyrHntU4Sn9iJKpG?si=a3b826d0270940ae
All listening apps: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/forestofthought

**ra

How might the use of voice and song be an unexpectedly powerful way to access our deeper selves? In this…Read and listenE22 The power of voice // BRIONY GREENHILL

16/03/2023

You’re using the internet right now as you read this – but what kind of creature is the internet? How might the roots of it stretch much further back than we tend to think? And how is our deepening entanglement with algorithms shaping us and what we pay attention to?

Philosopher Justin E. H. Smith and I sat down under a pair of trees in the botanical garden in Paris to explore these questions and more. Listen on the website or your preferred listening app. Thank you for listening and sharing!✨

https://forestofthought.com/e21-justin-e-h-smith/

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.

In what ways might the roots of the internet actually stretch back much further than we think? Does the internet…Read and listenE21 The internet is not what you think it is // JUSTIN E. H. SMITH

10/03/2023

27/02/2023

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 défendre) 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.

https://forestofthought.com/e20-entangling-art-activism-ritual-isa-fremeaux/

Isa Fremeaux is an educator and action researcher, 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.



Available on Spotify, Apple podcasts and more – visit this link to view all listening platforms: https://anchor.fm/forestofthought

Become a Patron! I always prefer to do interviews in person. And last summer I had the pleasure of taking…Read and listenE20 Entangling art, activism & ritual // ISA FREMEAUX

27/02/2023

Season 3 has been launched! Recorded on the road last summer; five conversations with five fascinating folks. You can already listen to the first episode in which host Ingrid heads to Brittany to speak to Isa Fremeaux on activism, art and ritual:

https://forestofthought.com/e20-entangling-art-activism-ritual-isa-fremeaux/

12/08/2022

‘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.



https://forestofthought.com/e19-the-meaning-of-crisis-with-wandering-host-ingrid-m-rieser/

The time has come to bring the second season of the Forest of Thought to a close, and like at…Read and listenE19 The meaning of crisis // With wandering host Ingrid M. Rieser

04/03/2022

One of the things I learned when I visited in 2019 is that it’s a country which has suffered greatly due to its strategic location as a borderland between the empires of East and West. In fact, the word Ukraine actually means ‘borderlands’. Again and again the Ukrainian people have been exploited as pawns in political games for power, and have endured terrible atrocities the past century.

The visit to Ukraine also revealed to me how quickly the ideological stories that animate us can change, and what profound impacts that has on our societies. In this reflective episode from January 2021, I revisited Kyiv, Chernobyl and Odesa to explore how “the stories we tell” shape our lives, and how we can make sense of and navigate the complexity of the present.

/Ingrid



https://forestofthought.com/e10-the-stories-we-tell-with-wandering-host-ingrid-m-rieser/

Goodbye 2020, hello 2021! How do we start to make sense of one of the most turbulent, transformative and chaotic…Read and listenE10 The stories we tell // With wandering host Ingrid M. Rieser

18/01/2022

Might harmful norms around masculinity be at the root of both men’s violence against women and the destruction of nature? In this episode I talk to psychologist Vidar Vetterfalk and we look more closely at men’s relationships – to themselves, to nature, to women, to other humans in general – 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.

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



https://forestofthought.com/e17-vidar-vetterfalk/

Might harmful norms around masculinity be at the root of both men’s violence against women and the degradation of nature?…Read and listenE17 What do men long for? // VIDAR VETTERFALK

07/12/2021

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 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.

Listen on most podcast apps, including Spotify and Apple podcasts. Don't forget to share and subscribe!



https://forestofthought.com/e16-live-dougald-hine/

Does it still make sense to talk about climate change? This seems a strange question to ask, for someone who…Read and listenE16 LIVE: Does it still make sense to talk about climate change? // Dougald Hine

11/11/2021

to episode 4 of Forest of Thought where I spoke to Dougald Hine about what we really mean by the word “progress”. On November 22nd I’ll be speaking to him again, this time with the company of others at the public library in Uppsala, Sweden. Come join us if you are in the area! (Did I mention it’s free??). Find all info about the event here: https://fb.me/e/1TRLOlcvO

Our conversation from last year is available on most podcast platforms or directly on our website: https://forestofthought.com/e04-a-world-of-many-worlds-dougald-hine/

02/10/2021

What is trauma? When we experience suffering 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 author 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.

Listen on most podcast apps, including Spotify and Apple podcasts. Don't forget to share and subscribe!

https://forestofthought.com/e15-how-our-bodies-can-resolve-trauma-gunilla-hamne/

What is trauma? When we experience suffering or hardship we often feel this as a physical sensation in our bodies…Read and listenE15 How our bodies can resolve trauma // Gunilla Hamne

30/08/2021

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.

Listen on most podcast apps, including Spotify and Apple podcasts.

https://forestofthought.com/e14-covid-climate-and-emergency-politics-mike-hulme/

What can the covid pandemic teach us about handling the climate crisis? We’ve seen that governments have not hesitated to…Read and listenE14 Covid, climate and emergency politics // Mike Hulme

17/07/2021

Forest of Thought is on summer vacation in July. Back in August with some new wonderful guests!

17/06/2021

What is the true task of the architect? In this episode of Forest of Thought, I talked 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? And what does it take to create spaces more beautiful than we could have imagined?

Listen here: https://forestofthought.com/e13-the-architect-and-the-garden-peter-lynch/

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.se



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

What is the true task of the architect? In this episode of the Forest of Thought, we talk to Peter…Read and listenE13 The architect and the garden // Peter Lynch

18/05/2021

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 .
https://forestofthought.com/e12-on-fermentation-and-cultural-activism-eva-bakkeslett/

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

Become a Patron! Words like culture and aesthetics make us think of grand museums and concert halls. But what if…Read and listenE12 On Fermentation and Cultural Activism // Eva Bakkeslett

05/05/2021

🎙 Podcast alert: Transformations to Sustainability teams get featured in a number of thought-provoking podcasts on a broad range of topics relevant for understanding social transformations.

🎧 New Foundations: Climate Resilient Cities
🎧 Two IPs In A Pod: Vaccines
🎧 Forest of Thought: Imaginations of Control

Listen now: https://t2sresearch.org/2021/05/03/three-must-listen-podcasts-featuring-the-t2s-community/

30/04/2021

This is interesting in relation to Andy Stirling's perspective in the latest episode on how science needs to be seen in relation to power. AI researcher Kate Crawford notes how "data isn’t an inert substance—it always brings a context and a politics", and says AI is neither artificial nor intelligent. Interesting read!

Listen to the episode with Andy here: https://forestofthought.com/e11-imaginations-of-control-andy-stirling/

Kate Crawford, who holds positions at USC and Microsoft, says in a new book that even experts working on the technology misunderstand AI.

23/04/2021

So excited to be back with Season 2!!

Episode 11: Imaginations of Control
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 ESRC STEPS Centre, UK.

Listen on Spotify or your preferred listening platform, or on our website: https://forestofthought.com/e11-imaginations-of-control-andy-stirling/

Thanks for listening and sharing and have a great weekend!

After our break we’re now back with the first episode of season two of Forest of Thought! In this season…Read and listenE11 Imaginations of Control // Andy Stirling

30/03/2021

Sqeason 2 of Forest of Thought is gathering steam – first episode will be coming to you some time in April. In the meantime, have a listen to some episodes you might have missed!
In episode 5 we talked to human ecologist Per Johansson about what this thing we call ‘an idea’ really is. How do we understand the interplay between our material reality and our ideas? What is it to be seduced by an idea?

Listen on Spotify and most podcast platforms!
Or on our website: www.forestofthought.com

Also, we’d love to hear your suggestions for topics and guests for season 2. Hit us with a DM!

07/01/2021

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 a retrospective end to the first of season of the Forest of Thought.
https://forestofthought.com/e10-the-stories-we-tell-with-wandering-host-ingrid-m-rieser/

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

Goodbye 2020, hello 2021! How do we start to make sense of one of the most turbulent, transformative and chaotic…Read and listenE10 The stories we tell // With wandering host Ingrid M. Rieser

03/12/2020

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.

Listen on Spotify or your preferred listening platform, or on our website: https://forestofthought.com/e09-crystal-vance-guerra.../

The US has been through several extremely turbulent months, and we’ve been yearning for deeper and more genuine conversations on…Read and listenE09 Until we all are free // Crystal Vance Guerra & Victor Menotti

06/11/2020

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, writer and theatre director Pernilla Glaser to explore the transformative power of conversations, and discuss why we’re both obsessed with them.

Listen on Spotify or your preferred listening platform, or on our website: https://forestofthought.com/e08-the-conversational-arts-pernilla-glaser/

What are really good conversations made of? And how is a dialogue similar to a work of art? In this…Read and listenE08 The Conversational Arts // Pernilla Glaser

16/10/2020

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.

Listen on Spotify or your preferred listening platform, or on our website: https://forestofthought.com/e07-tree-teachings-per-ingvar-haukeland/

Thank you for listening and sharing! And happy weekend to you all :)

It’s always hard to talk about our connection to “nature” because the wording already implies that nature is something other…Read and listenE07 Tree Teachings // Per Ingvar Haukeland