Episode 101: In this episode, I reflect on my journey over the past three years of podcasting, It’s about being a human in process. It’s about taking moments to let ourselves be fallow, to stop along the journey, lay out a blanket, and watch the clouds go by. I also discuss a concept I’ve been exploring for myself where “Ease = Effort + Flow” and how a little friction and push in life can give us the active ease we’ve been seeking. Ultimately, it’s about the interconnectedness of existence and what it might mean to embrace aliveness and fun. It’s short and sweet and I honestly have no idea what I’m doing in these solo episodes. 

Find Kate: 

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

Linked In

Substack

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REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

FIELD COMPANY CAST IRON

• USA made cast iron. Light, thin bottomed, and smooth - just like vintage cast iron. My go to for everything from small skillets to big dutch ovens. 
• fieldcompany.com/kate_kavanaugh

BAHÉ FOOTWEAR

• Barefoot, zero-drop, gorgeous running shoes, sandals, and hiking boots that are grounded. Meaning you can reap all the benefits of the electron flow from earth to your body while you’re getting in your steps. Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off.

100 episodes. Countless hours (over 220 hours). An immense amount of gratitude for you—dear listener. In this episode, I share 13 lessons from the last 100 episodes and my excitement for the next 100 episodes. Themes across the lessons include curiosity, adaptability, persistence, managing our dreams, enoughness, embracing our multifaceted nature, and how deeply shared this human experience is. It’s a vulnerable episode and while not prescriptive advice, I hope that openly sharing what this journey has taught me has some resonance with you in your journey. Thank you for listening. Looking forward to the next 100 episodes with you. 

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

FIELD COMPANY CAST IRON

• USA made cast iron. Light, thin bottomed, and smooth - just like vintage cast iron. My go to for everything from small skillets to big dutch ovens. 
• fieldcompany.com/kate_kavanaugh

BAHÉ FOOTWEAR

• Barefoot, zero-drop, gorgeous running shoes, sandals, and hiking boots that are grounded. Meaning you can reap all the benefits of the electron flow from earth to your body while you’re getting in your steps. Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off. 

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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

Caroline Nelson is living into the life she wants. A lot has happened since we last talked to Caroline a year and a half ago, she opened Little Creek Feed, her meat business got bigger, so did Cowgirl Camp, and somewhere in the midst of all that she became a mother. This is an episode in equal parts the gravity of pausing to ask yourself where you are in your life and how you can live into the life you want and the levity of Caroline and I laughing our way through a conversation that includes a lot of the “real real”. We talk about phone addictions, surrender, finding agency for your health, discipline and willpower. Caroline also candidly shares her journey into matrescence and what the last 6 or so months have been like with businesses and a baby. We also talk about the messiness of building community and the outsize impact it can have if we just surrender. All of that and a lot more can be found in this fun romp with Caroline. 

Find Caroline: 

Instagram: @bigskycaroline

TikTok: @bigskycaroline

Little Creek

First Episode with Caroline

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

FIELD COMPANY CAST IRON

• USA made cast iron. Light, thin bottomed, and smooth - just like vintage cast iron. My go to for everything from small skillets to big dutch ovens. 
• fieldcompany.com/kate_kavanaugh

BAHÉ FOOTWEAR

• Barefoot, zero-drop, gorgeous running shoes, sandals, and hiking boots that are grounded. Meaning you can reap all the benefits of the electron flow from earth to your body while you’re getting in your steps. Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off. 

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Connect with Kate:

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

As Winter Solstice nears, this conversation is about the transformative power of darkness, about going into our grief, and building community to hold us. In this conversation, Francis Weller joins Kate to explore the profound importance of community and connection in human life. They discuss the pervasive sense of isolation and individualism in modern society, the various forms of grief that arise from that disconnection, and the need for a return to communal practice and love. Francis reminds us that we have forgotten and numbed ourselves – amnesia and anesthesia – but highlighting the healing potential found in nature, the darkness, and one another. Inside is a call to reimagine our relationships with each other and the world around us, advocating for a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness. Francis’ work on grief is seminal and in this, he highlights grief’s alchemical nature. It’s also a conversation about the importance of rituals, the necessity of creating spaces of belonging, and the interconnectedness of grief and joy. 

Find Francis: 

The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller

Courses

Workshops

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

FIELD COMPANY CAST IRON

• USA made cast iron. Light, thin bottomed, and smooth - just like vintage cast iron. My go to for everything from small skillets to big dutch ovens. 
• fieldcompany.com/kate_kavanaugh

BAHÉ FOOTWEAR

• Barefoot, zero-drop, gorgeous running shoes, sandals, and hiking boots that are grounded. Meaning you can reap all the benefits of the electron flow from earth to your body while you’re getting in your steps. Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off. 

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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

In this episode I sit down with Vince Beiser, whose book Power Metal: The Race for the Resources that Will Shape The Future is an incredible follow up to his book Sand: the World in a Grain. When we last caught up with Vince we plumbed the depths of sand and how, while largely unseen, it is one of the major resources our world is built on. In this conversation, Vince and I explore more unseen resources our world is increasingly dependent on: the critical metals that are powering our energy transition. We talk about how everything has a cost, about how the electro digital age, while feeling post-material, is anything but. We touch a little on the materials used in this energy transition. We have a complex conversation around  reshoring mining and exploring if where we might mine next is here at home. And then we talk about recycling, repair, and real tangible solutions to what might happen next. 

Find Vince: 

Instagram: @vince.beiser

Substack

X: @vincebeiser

Power Metal:  The Race for the Resources that Will Shape The Future

Sand: the World in a Grain

Resources Mentioned: 

Washington Post on Data Centers

NYT Op-Ed on Reshoring Mining

Thea Riofrancos on Novara FM

Fight to Repair Newsletter

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

FIELD COMPANY CAST IRON

• USA made cast iron. Light, thin bottomed, and smooth - just like vintage cast iron. My go to for everything from small skillets to big dutch ovens. 
• fieldcompany.com/kate_kavanaugh

BAHÉ FOOTWEAR

• Barefoot, zero-drop, gorgeous running shoes, sandals, and hiking boots that are grounded. Meaning you can reap all the benefits of the electron flow from earth to your body while you’re getting in your steps. Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off. 

Support the Podcast:

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Connect with Kate:

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

This is a salty conversation and it’s also the kind of conversation that cracks you wide open. I sit down with Jill Winger - not to discuss her incredible work with Old-Fashioned on Purpose, her courses, her planner, or her book which are all amazing - but to talk about her life philosophies, our shared hot takes, and to lean into our complexity as humans. We explore the complexities of modern communication, the importance of intentional living, and the challenges of building community in a polarized society. We talk about being reflexive contrarians and sometimes needing to go to an extreme to bounce back to some nuance. We discuss the value of discomfort in personal growth as much as we talk about when and how to choose ease, the balance between generalism and specialization, and the necessity of real human connection in an increasingly digital world. We explore choosing when we need to choose discomfort (often!) but also when we need to choose ease. All around, about holding the tension between modern and old-fashioned ways of living, and just holding the tension between so many paradoxical qualities of ourselves and our lives. 

Find Jill: 

Instagram: @jill.winger

Website

Youtube

2025 Old Fashioned On Purpose Planner

Meal Craft

Old-Fashioned on Purpose: Cultivating a Slower, More Joyful Life

Resources Mentioned: 

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle 

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Molecule of More by Daniel Lieberman, MD and Michael E. Long

10x is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan

Hope for Cynics by Jamil Zaki

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

SUNDRIES FARM GARLIC

• Hand grown Sundries Farm Garlic is certified disease-free and grown in the volcanic soils of Idaho. With a range of soft and hard-neck varietals the unmatched flavor and big cloves are perfect for both your seed and culinary needs. Pre-order now for shipping in September. 
• sundriesfarm.com

BAHÉ FOOTWEAR

• Barefoot, zero-drop, gorgeous running shoes, sandals, and hiking boots that are grounded. Meaning you can reap all the benefits of the electron flow from earth to your body while you’re getting in your steps. Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off. 

Support the Podcast:

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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

WHOOEE. Brock Dolman, folks, in this episode is weaving together all sorts of things previously explored on the podcast in a new (old) and incredibly articulate way. This podcast is about water cycles, beavers, fire, sand, geology, the oceans, a living earth, and so much more. Brock is a conservation ecologist and a specialized generalist over at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. He’s also, in his own right, a linguist and an incredible waeaver of words. We explore the nouns and verbs of earth as energy flows, matter cycles, and life webs. This episode is a catch all - and at the heart of it, is a message about how to build lasting community. 

Find Brock Dolman:

Occidental Arts and Ecology Center

Water and Fire Video

The Universe is a Green Dragon: A Cosmic Creation Story by Brian Swimme

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine Benyus

Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities by Diana Leafe Christian

The End of Growth By Richard Heinberg

The Ghost Forest by Greg King 

Eager by Ben Goldfarb

Beaver Land by Leila Philip

Tree Crops by J. Russell Smith

Picture of subsidence san Joaquin valley of telephone pole 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken 

AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

SUNDRIES FARM GARLIC

• Hand grown Sundries Farm Garlic is certified disease-free and grown in the volcanic soils of Idaho. With a range of soft and hard-neck varietals the unmatched flavor and big cloves are perfect for both your seed and culinary needs. Pre-order now for shipping in September. 
• sundriesfarm.com

BAHÉ FOOTWEAR

• Barefoot, zero-drop, gorgeous running shoes, sandals, and hiking boots that are grounded. Meaning you can reap all the benefits of the electron flow from earth to your body while you’re getting in your steps. Use the code ‘Kate10’ for 10% off. 

Support the Podcast:

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Leave a one-time Tip

Connect with Kate:

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

In this episode, I sit down with Katy Bowman. First, a long on-ramp to the episode where I talk about where some of Katy’s work dovetails with explorations of how we move resources to our bodies (when we used to move our bodies to resources) that we’ve been exploring on the podcast. Katy and I then dive into the ecology of movement, movement diets, finding your movement why, and how you might consider stacking community into movement. 

Find Katy Bowman:

Instagram: @nutritiousmovement

Website

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

SUNDRIES FARM GARLIC

• Hand grown Sundries Farm Garlic is certified disease-free and grown in the volcanic soils of Idaho. With a range of soft and hard-neck varietals the unmatched flavor and big cloves are perfect for both your seed and culinary needs. Pre-order now for shipping in September. 
• sundriesfarm.com

Support the Podcast:

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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

In this episode of the podcast I sit down with John Perlin, whose book A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization explores the history of, well, of us. As you’ll hear in this episode the history of humans is inextricably intertwined, or made possible, with the history of trees and of wood. Wood is our materia prima, the foundational material of both our ecology on earth and the civilizations we have built. We explore the cycles of humanity and their relationship with wood throughout the last million years, touching on the Stone Age (which is really the wood age), Rome and Greece, the American revolution, the Industrial revolution, containerization and the green revolution, and the present. John’s book offers us a mirror to see our activities and how the stories we tell ourselves are ones we’ve been telling ourselves over and over again.

Find John Perlin:

A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization

Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy

Website

Sponsored By:

REDMOND REAL SALT

• Mine to Table Salt from Utah, Redmond Real Salt is packed full of 60+ Trace Minerals and is a staple in my kitchen. Find their salt, Re-Lyte Hydration Powder, and so much more here. Use code MINDBODYSOIL_15 for 15% off!
• redmond.life

SUNDRIES FARM GARLIC

• Hand grown Sundries Farm Garlic is certified disease-free and grown in the volcanic soils of Idaho. With a range of soft and hard-neck varietals the unmatched flavor and big cloves are perfect for both your seed and culinary needs. Pre-order now for shipping in September. 
• sundriesfarm.com

Support the Podcast:

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Connect with Kate:

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

In this episode, I sit down with anthropologist Alyshia Gálvez to talk about her book Eating NAFTA. The conversation is from two people who came to economic policy through unlikely means, but as Alyshia explains, economic policy in general, and NAFTA in particular - on its 30 year anniversary, has become a part of all of our bodies whether we’re aware of it or not. Alyshia’s work is incredible at connecting dots that aren’t often seen in economics - its about people, landscapes, and cultures and how they are affected by policy that favors corporations. We explore ideas of efficiency, and how the standard definition is anything but, of consumption, and the paradoxes that arise when looking at people, food, and policy. We look at corn as a material that drives our world through corn products and how landrace corn varietals have been lost to the people that first cultivated them. We also look at the health effects of policy, both here in the US, and in Mexico. Alyshia comes with a big message: if you, like us, feel like you’re a stranger to economic policy or that you can’t change it, perhaps you can and it matters now more than ever. 

Find Alyshia Gálvez:

Eating NAFTA: Trade, Food Policies and the Destruction of Mexico

Patient Citizens, Immigrant Mothers

X: @alyshiagalvez

Website 

Sponsored By:

SUNDRIES FARM GARLIC

• Hand grown Sundries Farm Garlic is certified disease-free and grown in the volcanic soils of Idaho. With a range of soft and hard-neck varietals the unmatched flavor and big cloves are perfect for both your seed and culinary needs. Pre-order now for shipping in September. 
• sundriesfarm.com

Support the Podcast:

Substack

Leave a one-time Tip

Connect with Kate:

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh