EarthRising Podcast

Jamie Laurie is emcee for the alternative hip-hop band Flobots, and is a climate and racial justice activist. In this episode of EarthRising, we focus on the path of activism in society, and links between racial and climate justice.

Jamie shares his experience of being mentored by the late civil rights activist and theologian Dr. Vincent Harding, who was a speech writer to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also reflects on the role spirituality has played in his own path in developing as a musician and activist. And, we discuss his core approach of using art as the main tool or technology to engage people in cultivating awareness around modern day social issues.

This is a thought-provoking episode on current issues we've been collectively facing during this turbulent year, and the conversation ends with an offering from Jamie you won't want to miss!

Episode Links:

flobots.com

Blurring the Lines Between Audience and Performer | Flobots | TEDxMileHigh

Wonderbound and Flobots: Voices of the Dead

Conservation Optimism is a global community dedicated to sharing stories and resources to empower people from all backgrounds to make a positive impact for wildlife and nature. In this episode, I am speaking with Conservation Optimism CEO Cheli Creswell Cinclair and Program Coordinator Julia Migné. We discuss how Conservation Optimism organically evolved, and how language is a key element to creating constructive narrative frameworks for people to operate from to maintain an optimistic outlook in conservation. We also contemplate learning from the full range of conservation efforts being made around the world. 

Conservation Optimism’s mission is to bring together different sectors in society to work towards conservation solutions—including not only conservation organizations and scientists, but also people active in the arts, business and civil society. This is an inspiring conversation worth tuning in for!

Episode Links:

conservationoptimism.org

View images of the Louis Masai Murals at ZSL London Zoo

What is humanity’s place in the cosmos, and how do artists, poets, and spiritual figures throughout the ages help to shed light on this subject? Their insights may help us to access our own intuition and understand our deeper connection to Earth. 

Poet, writer, and ecopsychologist Betty Roszak has spent her life contemplating these topics, and she is one of the original thinkers who coined the term ecopsychology in the late 1960s. In this episode, she shares her insights and approach to a deeper understanding of our planet, and offers a heartfelt recitation of one of her poems.

Episode Links:

The Two Worlds of Magic by Betty Roszak

The Spirit of the Goddess by Betty Roszak; Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth/Healing the Mind by Theodore Roszak (Editor), Allen D. Kanner, Mary E. Gomes, Lester R. Brown (Foreword), James Hillman (Foreword)

For Want of The Golden City by Betty Roszak

In 2015, a groundbreaking study titled The Nature of Americans was conducted to explore how Americans relate to nature. Almost 12,000 adults and children participated. In this episode Dave Case, one of the primary researchers of this study, reviews the major findings surrounding how Americans are connecting to nature as well as obstacles that prevent them from doing so. Included in the study’s findings are the relevance of art and spirituality for participants as they form a relationship with the natural world. 

We also consider what everyday climate activism can look like, and Dave shares a meaningful story from his time with his fellow colleague and researcher Dr. Stephen R. Kellert and a passage by conservationist Rachel Carson to end our interview.

Link to full report: https://natureofamericans.org

Welcome to EarthRising! This podcast has been created to provide a vehicle for greater connection to our Earth through exploring the realms of the arts, spirituality, and conservation. 

EarthRising will be an inner journey of the heart and an outer journey to connect with nature in her myriad forms, for those of us who want to feel a deeper sense of connection to the natural world on an individual and collective level. Show guests will include artists, authors, spiritual teachers, and guardians of the natural world. We will learn how these inspired categories of people are taking actions to connect with and benefit our planet.

By speaking to these categories of thinkers and activists, the intention is to learn:

• how to listen to the Earth
• how to be in relationship with her
• how to recognize the interdependence at play of our place in the larger ecosystem
• how to rouse our motivation to preserve what’s left and rise to the occasion of the extraordinary times we find ourselves in

It is an honor to embark on this journey as your host and guide, as we seek out new learning and inspiration by exploring the ideas and actions of our guests as episodes unfold. 

I welcome and encourage your constructive feedback and ideas as you listen; either by email at [email protected], in the podcast reviews, or on social. 

A podcast about connecting to our planet through the arts, spirituality, and conservation. Coming September 2020.