Future Ecologies

Latest Episodes:

FE4.10 - Geopoetics Feb 25, 2023

Show notes

“We need geopoetics because geopolitics necessitate other ways of being… Proposing alternate narratives to the hegemonic ones we are caught in is the work and play of geopoetics.”

– Erin Robinsong, Geopoetics in the Mess/Mesh

Enclosed is the last episode of our 4th season: a sympoietic stream of consciousness; on language, art making, and more-than-human interconnection.

Find a transcript, full credits, and citations here

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The feet are the link

Between earth and the body. Begin there.

The lungs are the link between body and air.

The hands, these uprooted feet, are the means

Of our shaping and grasping. Clasp them.

The eyes are the hands of the head;

its feet are the ears.

– Robert Bringhurst

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With the voices and words of Michael Datura, Astrida Neimanis, Cosmo Sheldrake, Rex Weyler, Robert Bringhurst, Jan Zwicky, David Abram, Megan Gnanasihamany, Stephen Collis, Eric Magrane, Hari Alluri, Nadia Chaney, Kaitlyn Purcell, Khari McClelland, Rita Wong, Jessica Bebenek, Vicki Kelly, Mark Fettes, Marjorie Wonham, and Cecily Nicholson

Music by Cosmo Sheldrake, Anne Bourne, Meredith Buck (as arranged by Vanessa Richards), Jonathan Kawchuk, the Time Zone Research Lab, Emily Millard, Khari McClelland, Ruby Singh, and Nathan Shubert, with field recordings by Julian Fisher.

FE4.9 - Mountain Legacies Dec 17, 2022

Show notes

From a distance, mountain landscapes may appear timeless and immutable. Take a closer look, however, and montane ecologies reveal themselves to be laboratories of radical transformation: rocks weather and fall; ecosystems burst into life for brief intervals; tree-lines shift; and wildfires rage. Even the very peaks themselves inch inexorably upwards or downwards with the flow of time.

Amidst all the constant, unyielding change that animates the Earth's high places, people have long sought a vantage from which to survey this shifting terrain. Who can resist the romance of a breathtaking, mountaintop view? Or then to imagine what generations past might have seen from the same spot?

In the mid 1990s, a small group of scientists in western Canada grew dissatisfied with mere imagining — they wanted to see that change for themselves. And in a forgotten corner of a national archive, they found some very heavy boxes that held a rare promise: an opportunity to look back in time at a landscape scale.

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For musical credits, select photos, citations, links, and more, click here.

Support the show and join our Patreon community

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Learn more about the Mountain Legacy Project: mountainlegacy.ca

Explore all the photos and data: explore.mountainlegacy.ca

More on land cover classification | Webinar | Deep Dive

Future Ecologies presents: Life in the Soil Nov 16, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Anja and Matthias go on an underground safari through the hidden jungle of the soil. We hear from Diana Wall about a tiny worm that is so tough it survives in Antarctica. Richard Bardgett introduces us to collembola, also known as springtails. Stefan Scheu and Maddy Thakur reveal which animals are considered the “wolves of the soil”, and Kate Scow delves into bacterial communities. How do all these organisms work together as a system?

Find more episodes of Life in the Soil wherever you get your podcasts, or at rilliglab.org/podcast/

For some incredible soil microfauna photography, see Andy Murray’s Chaos of Delight

Catch up on our own treatment on soil carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture: on FE4.8 — Ground Truthing

Future Ecologies presents: Hot Farm Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

Our latest episode — on soil carbon and regenerative agriculture — could never have fit everything that needs to be said on the topic. So, we're leaning on a couple of other podcasts that we think you'll love.

First up, we're running an episode from Hot Farm, from our friends at the Food and Environment Reporting Network. It's all about what farmers are doing (or could be doing) to take on the climate emergency.

In this episode you'll hear about a novel grain that farmers are starting to grow, and that could be part of the solution. This is Hot Farm part 3: "Is Kernza the Grain of the Future?"

Find more episodes of Hot Farm wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thefern.org/podcasts/hot-farm/

Catch up on our own treatment on soil carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture: on FE4.8 — Ground Truthing https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-8-ground-truthing

FE4.8 - Ground Truthing Oct 29, 2022

Show notes

Can we sequester our carbon and eat it too?

For the first time in 4 seasons, we're discussing natural climate solutions, and in particular, regenerative agriculture. Joining us is agrologist and fellow podcaster, Scott Gillespie (of Plants Dig Soil) to get into the nitty gritty of farming for soil carbon — its promise, possibility and feasibility.

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Support Future Ecologies (pay what you can >$1/month) @ futureecologies.net/patrons 🌱 — Get access to our delightful discord server, early episode releases, an exclusive podcast feed for bonus content, and more:

Find a full list of citations, and a transcript for this episode: futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-8-ground-truthing

We Walk the Earth: podcasting through connection with Mendel Skulski Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

We Walk the Earth is a podcast that explores creativity, curiosity, and cultural evolution through personal conversations, and the occasional sonic journey.

In this episode, Mendel and Sergio discuss podcasting, art, music, hope, and lots more besides. We hope you enjoy this peek behind the curtain into the making of Future Ecologies, and Mendel's unfiltered inner monologue.

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Subscribe to We Walk The Earth wherever you find podcasts, or get in touch at wewalktheearth.org

Catch the upcoming Future Ecologies release right now on our Patreon: patreon.com/futureecologies

FE4.7 - Phase Change Sep 10, 2022

Show notes

A story of memory, ghosting, and fire: how we can change the place we call home, and how it too can change around us.

Another version of this story, along with many other works of art, can be found in the pages of Fire Season II

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💖 Support Future Ecologies: join our community on Patreon at futureecologies.net/patrons

You'll get exclusive bonus content, access to one of the best discord servers out there, stickers, patches, early episode releases, and more!

Find credits, citations, transcript, photos, and more at futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-7-phase-change

FE4.6 - An Island Unto Itself Aug 13, 2022

Show notes

What does it mean to live on an island? Is it to be independent from, or inexorably dependent on the rest of the world? And when the ecosystem's physical limitations are so clearly circumscribed, do people behave more "environmentally"?

In this episode, we visit Adam's home island of Galiano, and find out just how big its ecological footprint really is.

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Explore the full One Island, One Earth report (and interactive map)

💖 Support Future Ecologies: join our community on Patreon at futureecologies.net/patrons

You'll get exclusive bonus content (like a blooper reel from this episode and extended interviews), access to one of the best discord servers out there, stickers, patches, early episode releases, and more!

Full credits, citations, transcript, and lots more at futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-6-an-island-unto-itself

Future Ecologies presents: The Wind Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

Listening to The Disintegration Loops during wildfire season — a review of William Basinski’s seminal album as a meditation on looping thoughts, physical disintegration, and fire.

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Subscribe to The Wind wherever you get your podcasts, and visit thewind.org

You can find a transcript of this episode at https://the-wind.simplecast.com/episodes/the-disintegration-loops/transcript

FE4.5 - Model Citizens: Bearly Legal (Part 2) Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

The North American Model is just one story of how wildlife conservation can be practiced. In part 2 of this mini-series we tell another: of restorative human–predator relationships and local self-determination.

We're bringing you a success story from the Great Bear Rainforest, and another articulation of how we can relate to wildlife — complete with its own set of guiding principles, naturally.

For musical credits, citations, and more, click here.

Click here for Part 1

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