Accidental Gods

How can we use the leading edge of design thinking to create climate activism that really works? Dave Johnson is a lawyer, teacher, writer and design thinker who is bringing his breadth of understanding to bear on the climate and ecological emergency.   Dave Johnson began his career as a trial lawyer in the courtrooms of Miami. After a decade, he came to Stanford to study design, tech and environmental law. He has worked for several Silicon Valley companies, with an increasing focus on teaching, first at Stanford Law School and then the Hasso Plattner Institute for Design at Stanford (a/k/a the d.school). His most recent articles are Design for Legal Systems, to be published by the Singapore Academy of Law, Mar/Apr 2021, and  Designing Online Mediation: Does “Just Add Tech” Undermine Mediation’s Ownmost Aim?, published in 2019 by FGV Direito, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dave is currently working on a book entitled: Climate Activism by Design, bringing design principles to bear on citizen activists responding to corporate and governmental inaction on this immediate, existential crisis facing all of humanity. In this episode, we discuss the foundations of his book - how a trial lawyer shifted to design principles and thence to the design concepts behind climate activism: what it is and how to frame it such that we can find the best possible modes of action as the emergency becomes ever greater.  Dave's website and blog https://climate-activist.com/designing-a-greenprint-elements-for-a-personal-eco-philosophy/Battle for Seattle - wikihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Seattle_WTO_protestsFreya Mathews bookshttp://www.freyamathews.net/books

How can we improve our health, reduce the costs to the NHS by 50%, restore soil biodiversity, reduce flooding, reverse ecosystem decline and draw carbon down from the atmosphere into the earth's crust?  Regenerative Farming does all of these and more - and Patrick Holden of the Sustainable Food Trust is at the heart of a movement to spread the word around the world.  After studying biodynamic agriculture at Emerson College, he established a mixed community farm in Wales in 1973, producing at various times: wheat for flour production sold locally, carrots and milk from an 85 cow Ayrshire dairy herd, now made into a single farm cheddar style cheese.He was the founding chairman of British Organic Farmers in 1982, before joining the Soil Association, where he worked for nearly 20 years and during which time the organisation led the development of organic standards and the market for organic foods.His advocacy for a major global transition to more sustainable food systems now entails international travel and regular broadcasts and talks at public events.He is Patron of the UK Biodynamic Association and was awarded the CBE for services to organic farming in 2005.Patrick is passionate about the application of Nature’s principles of Harmony to food and farming, which is explored in the SFT’s latest initiative, The Harmony Project.In this episode, Patrick talks about the work of the Sustainable Food Trust in building a commons-based trust network which can co-create a global farm metric to assess farms around the world for their environmental impact in all ways.  With this, farms can really begin to assess their own impact, and political institutions across the world can begin to rewards farms and farmers for restoring our land to the extraordinary fertility and abundance that we used to take for granted.  Links Sustainable Food Trust https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/Patrick's Farm: https://holdenfarmdairy.co.uk/Patrick's Farm on social media:  https://www.instagram.com/hafodcheese/https://www.facebook.com/Holden-Farm-Dairy-100227754976198/https://twitter.com/hafodcheese

How can we shape our culture to be one where everyone thrives?  How can we write our new stories where everyone is heroic?  How can we connect to the world of spirit in ways that include everyone? With Tamsin Omond, climate activist, strategist, organiser and author of DO/Earth. Since dropping banners against Heathrow Airport's third runway from the roof of the Houses of Parliament, Tamsin has consistently shifted public conversation on the climate and ecological emergency.They have organised a number of high profile protests, co-founded a Suffragette inspired environmental campaign - Climate Rush, coordinated (the successful) Save England's Forests coalition, founded a CIC - The Momentum Project - that mobilises the community surrounding London City Airport, led global corporate campaigns as Head of Global Campaigns at Lush Cosmetics and been a founding member of Extinction Rebellion.In 2021 Tamsin stood for co-leadership of the Green Party of England and Wales. They are also active in queer uprising; a theatre maker and the author of two books - RUSH! The Making of a Climate Activist and Do Earth: Healing Strategies for Humankind.In this episode, we explore the nature of activism and how it is evolving; how to create community from the ground up, based on Tamsin's experiences in East London, amongst others, and how we can shape a world where the transactional, zero-sum nature of our current system is no longer the driving force. Links: Tamsin's Website: https://www.tamsinomond.com/Tamsin's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/how_we_re_going_to_solve_climate_change_tamsin_omondThe Artist's Way: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Artists-Way-by-Julia-Cameron-author/9781788164290SEEDS: https://joinseeds.earth/

We live on stories. We thrive on visions of futures we want - or terrify ourselves with those we definitely don't.  But when it comes to our own near-term future, we don't have the stories that tell us how we got it right.  So we need to write them - Urgently!  One of the things that sets us apart from other species (as far as we know) is that we are forever building futures in our heads. Whenever we embark on something new: a relationship, a job, a project, a house move…it's fired and inspired by the stories we tell ourselves of how we'll feel, how others will engage with us, how our lives will be different - and often better.  The futures might not pan out as we think, but we got ourselves where we need to be by our ability to shape ideas of a different reality. And yet when we're confronted by the greatest, deepest emergency our species has ever known and while we have plenty of dystopic stories of how bad it could be (think HandMaid's tale, or The Road, or even Don't Look Up), and a few utopias set in other worlds or other times or other realities, what we don't have is a big - vast  - body of work showing how we could get to somewhere we'd all want to go: somewhere that future generations would look back and say of us, 'Yes, it was hard, but they did everything they could, they all pulled together, they created a vision of a flourishing world and we're building on the foundations they left us.'  We need urgently to craft these stories: heroic journeys (or possibly post-heroic journeys) of how the world could be in the near term if we get it right, whatever that means. We need accurate, believable road maps of how to get from here to there. 'Here be Dragons' and big scary lines on the map doesn't cut it any more: we have to imagine things better.  And it's hard. We need a whole lot of research of the things that are happening now in a whole range of fields from politics and economics to food and farming through business, work, the future of cities, education, technology, social media... and we need to explore how to stitch the ideas together into workable narratives that will draw people with them, even if they're bombarded by the 'business as usual' stories of our media.  We need to give our media new stories to tell, that they will believe and want to share. And finally, we need the insights from industry professionals in publishing, film, TV, theatre… to help us get our new stories in front of the most possible people. So this is Thrutopia Masterclass. It's an Ideas Generator, a Narrative Incubator and a Dissemination Guide.  It's a Think Tank and a community, a writing masterclass like nothing you've ever seen before.  Come and join us!  https://thrutopia.life. Or just share the link to this mini bonus podcast…https://thrutopia.life

In a world where governments are failing on all levels, can regenerative business be the change we need to see in the world?  Can the new wave of meaningful work create the sense of coherence and community and connectedness to the earth that we need to take us forward?  Nathalie Nahai is host of The Hive podcast, author of two books, international speaker and consultant with businesses big and small. Her clients have included Unilever, Google, Accenture and Harvard Business Review, among many others. Her most recent book,  'Business Unusual: Values, Uncertainty and  the Psychology of Brand Resilience', opens up worlds of business where profit is not the only motive, where psychological safety, meaning and solidarity are core business values and businesses are learning to walk their talk. In a world where government is failing so completely to address the many crises of our time, we spent an hour discussing whether business can fill that gap, and if so, how?  When it is such a huge part of our lives, when the entire neoliberal model seems to be predicated on a cycle of wage-slavery followed by meaningless consumption, can work bring us back to balance with ourselves, each other and the ecosystems of which we are an integral part? Links: Nathalie's website: https://www.nathalienahai.com/Business Unusual: https://wordery.com/business-unusual-nathalie-nahai-9781398602212/Values Map: https://thevaluesmap.com/B Corps UK: https://bcorporation.uk/B Corps EU: https://bcorporation.eu/B Corps Global (US) : https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us

What is the nature of being and belonging in the current world? How can we honour the rite of passage that is happening, and let go of the old ways, let them die to the past, live in the liminal space of unknowing, and step into a future that emerges from the best of who we are?   Isla McLeod is a celebrant, ritualist, walker-between-the-worlds and deep connector to spirit.  She says of herself: "I am a creator of ceremonies, ritual designer, transformational healer and companion at the thresholds. Inspired by nature, forged by my longing, devoted to remembering. Lover of moss, mushrooms, trees, wild swimming and moonlight.It is my deepest wish to inspire and support a remembrance of what is sacred in our lives and guide people back home to the natural world. To create and hold space for others to journey within and recognise their innate creativity, wisdom and the unique medicine they bring to life. Through offering a container for transformation, held with the deepest love and respect, I hope to help others access those forgotten treasures that are their gifts to share with the world." In this episode, we explore her journey through depression and addiction, to deep, grounded earth-connection - to a place where she holds rituals for others, ushering in new love and new life, or helping people to die with meaning and connection.  She unfolds the peaks and troughs of a journey that has seen her spent a year in a Buddhist retreat, two years in a yurt connecting with the cycles of the seasons and the lunar months, and now, working with and on the land, to help usher in the new emergent reality.    This is a deeply connected, connecting episode.  If you're exploring the ways you can connect with the Web of Life in a way that feels meaningful, Isla's journey is rich with experience and insight. Isla's Website: https://islamacleod.com/

How do we understand dreams in ways that make sense of 21st Century life?  How can we interpret them in ways that have meaning for us as individuals, in the complexity of our lives?  Rabbi Jill Hammer has explored the depths of dreams and dreaming with her new book - and here talks to us about what she learned, and some of the dreams that touched her most deeply.Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, is an author, scholar, ritualist, poet, midrashist, and dreamworker. She is the Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic seminary, and cofounder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, a program in earth-based, embodied, feminist Jewish spiritual leadership. Her own experience of dreams as a source of deep teaching, wisdom and connection to the All That Is (however we define it) led her to a lifetime of exploring dreams and how they can guide us in ways that bypass our conscious minds.   Dreams led her to rabbinical school and then from there into the many areas of her teaching and learning life.  The depth of this book makes it one of our generation's most useful dreaming handbooks - it won't tell you how to interpret your dreams: It will help you to find their depth and mine them for all they can teach you.North American listeners can PreOrder Jill's book here: https://ayinpress.org/undertorah/UK and Europe: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Undertorah-An-Earth-Based-Kabbalah-of-Dreams-by-Jill-Hammer/9781532362002Rabbi Jill Episode 12: https://accidentalgods.life/episode-12/

How can we find joy in life again? How can we create beautiful things to wear that allow us to be the best of ourselves - and build community while we do it?  Alice Holloway is co-founder of London Urban Textiles Commons, and she's committed to finding the answers.  Join us for an inspiring, sparky exploration of how our future can be different. Alice Holloway has a degree in jewellery making from Central St Martin's and a Masters in Design for the Cultural Commons from the London Metropolitan University.  She is founder of the Little Black Pants Club, co-founder of London Urban Textiles Commons and is committed to helping people find joy and beauty in the creation of all that we need: to building a future of community and connectivity where we no longer depend on mass production or on real people being devolved into numbers. Her projects include a mobile Sweat Shop which brings a bicycle into a community so that people can power the creation of their own sweat shirts - and see the whole process, from the effort it takes to power the machine, to the machine itself, and the crafting of a garment that fits.  In this inspiring, sparky conversation, we explore the ways we can bring morality, ethics, decency together with joy, beauty and the wonder of self-expression to create a world that leaves exploitation and the accumulation of capital behind.  LinksLondon Urban Textiles Commons Elinor Ostrom: Evonomics Introduction: https://evonomics.com/tragedy-of-the-commons-elinor-ostrom/Elinor Ostrom: 8 Principles: http://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/elinor-ostroms-8-principles-managing-commmonsElinor Ostrom: Governing the Commons: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-11-01/governing-the-commons-by-elinor-ostrom-review/David Bollier Podcast: Frontiers of Commoning https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/frontiers-of-commoning-with-david-bollier/id1501085005

How can we be the best possible stewards of the future for our children?  How can we meet their eco-anxiety and teach them resilience, adaptation and give them the skills of systemic thinking that will help them navigate the uncertainties to come?   Eva Bishop is mother of two young children, as well as being a long-term a climate activist and current communications director for the Beaver Trust.  She is dedicated to finding ways that we can all create emotional and practical resilience in the face of the climate emergency - but in particular, how parents and care-givers can help young people develop the skills they will need to navigate a world that is undergoing total transformation - while at the same time, helping to be part of the change we need to see. In this broad-ranging, deep, challenging conversation, we explore the ways we can all be part of the solution, touching on: emotional resilience strategies; growing food and exploring the whole food system; education: what it is for, how it functions, and what it needs to become.  Eva shares her 'Collective Human' strategies and 'MyActionMatters'.  If anyone feels moved to help with these, there is room for a team, to bring funding together to expand them. We are all part of the solution. We just need to find what we're best at.  Go for it. LinksEpisode 88 - Eva talking about the work of the Beaver TrustThe Beaver Trust Jo McAndrews You Tube: Eco-Anxiety: A Call to Action Restoring Shropshire Verges Project: https://middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk/guest-blogs/restoring-shropshires-verges-project-rsvp/Guardian article on city allotments

What is Power?  How do we use it: both power over each other, and the power that fuels the world?  How could we use it better? In this, our ninth season (and third year), we are aiming to look more deeply into the ways we might create a flourishing future that we would be proud to leave to the generations that follow us. With that in mind, our first guest of this new season is Richard Heinberg, author of the magesterial, 'Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival' which came out in September 2021.  Richard  is Senior Fellow-in-Residence of the Post Carbon Institute, and is regarded as one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. He is the author of fourteen books in all, including some of the seminal works on society’s current energy and environmental sustainability crisis:His books include: Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival (September 2021) power.postcarbon.orgOur Renewable Future: Laying the Path for One Hundred Percent Clean Energy, co-authored with David Fridley (Island Press, 2016) ourrenewablefuture.orgAlso mentioned in the podcast: Fermi Paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradoxPeter Turchin: https://peterturchin.com/The Evolution of Beauty by Richard Prum:  https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Evolution-of-Beauty-by-Richard-O-Prum/9780385537216