Mind, Body, and Soil

Episode 107. In this conversation, Kate sits down with Matt Skoglund of North Bridger Bison to have a wide-ranging conversation about agriculture, community, the meaning of work, and what it means to teach about death. Together, they reflect on the complexities of efficiency in food systems, the yearning for simplicity in a complicated world, and the values that guide their lives and work. Matt discusses the importance of pragmatism in environmental work, the need for tangible solutions on the ground and in policy, and the impact of commodity agriculture on communities and how to be more involved. They also explore the role of death in food systems, reflecting on their personal experiences with grief and gratitude. The conversation also touches on the cognitive dissonance surrounding food production and the need for businesses to be resilient and regenerative, ultimately advocating for a deeper connection to the land and the hands that tend it. 

Find Matt: 

North Bridger Bison

Instagram: @northbridgerbison

Resources Mentioned:

Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard

In Pusuit of the Unknown by Ian Stewart

Best of Regenerative Agriculture Focused Episodes:

Episode 27: Building Resilient Communities with Will Harris of White Oak Pastures

Episode 53: Leaving Our Children Shade with Katie Collins of Force of Nature

Episode 55: Cook Your Way to an Economy of Peace with Cate Havstad-Casad of Range Revolution

Episode 74: The Gravity of Risk and the Potential of Opportunity with Robby Sansom of Force of Nature

Episode 75: Building an Agriculture We Can Live in with Cole Mannix of Old Salt

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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

Affiliates:

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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Episode 106: In this conversation, Kate Kavanaugh and Kurt Gray--whose book, ‘Outraged!: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics’ is out today--explore the themes of human nature, exploring the idea of humans as prey animals and how this evolutionary bent shapes our understanding of threats in modern society. It’s an episode about how we view harm and threat in a modern social media era, how much divisiveness this has fostered, and how we might have conversations that bridge those divides. In it, they discuss the importance of storytelling in bridging divides and fostering empathy, as well as the vulnerability paradox that arises when trying to connect with others who hold differing views. They also explore Kurt’s CIV framework (Connect, Invite, Validate) as a method for fostering meaningful dialogue. It’s also a conversation about how much humans like going deep with one another–even if they think they don’t. Last, and certainly not least, they ponder paradox themselves, and why humans might be prone to more binary thinking from an evolutionary standpoint. 

Find Kurt: 

Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics 

The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels and Why It Matters

Outraged! Book Guides

Center for the Science of Moral Understanding

Instagram: @kurtjgray

X: @kurtjgray

Resources Mentioned:

John Sarrouf / What is Essential Guide for talking politics

Kurt and Ben Klutzy Interview for Discourse

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

Affiliates:

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

Episode 105: In this conversation, Kate sits down with author and entrepreneur Paul Hawken to explore the multifaceted role of carbon in life and talk about his new book, ‘Carbon: the Book of Life’. It’s an episode challenging the conventional narrative that reduces carbon to an errant molecule within the atmosphere and connects it back to the molecule that flows through 99% of all substances on earth. Paul and Kate discuss the importance of recognizing the complexity and interconnectedness of life–encouraging a shift from reductionist thinking to a more holistic understanding of our relationship with the environment, advocating for transformative actions rooted in compassion and connection while recognizing humanity’s role. They also discuss the power of language, the potential of possibility, and some of the incredible innovations we’re embarking on. This is an episode for the curious!

Find Paul: 

Carbon: the Book of Life by Paul Hawken

Regeneration by Paul Hawken

Drawdown by Paul Hawken

Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken

Instagram: @paulhawken

Website

Resources Mentioned:

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal

The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist 

Related Episodes:

Episode 67 with Dan Egan on Phosphorous 

Episode 87 with Ferris Jabr on Earth’s Interconnections

Episode 76 with Melanie Challenger on the Human Animal

Episode 58 with Fred Provenza on Embracing the Unknown and Awe

Episode 72 with Ben Goldfarb on Circular Economies

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

Episode 104. In this episode, Kate sits down with author Will Bardenwerper to talk about baseball. Now, before you think this doesn’t tie in to some of the major themes we’ve been exploring on the podcast—think again. Will’s new book ‘Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America’ is a love letter to small towns, communities, and coming together to build friendship and camaraderie across generations, political ideologies, and classes in “third places” like small town baseball stadiums. Will lays out what is happening to minor league baseball and the small towns that have housed teams for decades as private equity firms gobble them up, what happens when AI takes over scouting, and when concessions are just a click away on an iPhone. Kate and Will tug at themes around community, efficiency, and loneliness. This story of consolidation and small town triumph will be familiar to listeners who have found similar themes across agriculture, manufacturing, and so much more. 

Find Will: 

Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America by Will Bardenwerper

Instagram: @willbardenwerper

X: @wbardenwerper

Website

Resources Mentioned:

Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam

Front Porch Republic 

Related Episodes:

Episode 75: Building an Agriculture We Can Live In with Cole Mannix

Episode 88: Weaving a New Vision for American Manufacturing and Small Town Resilience with Steven Kurutz

Episode 96: The Complexity of Simplicity with Jill Winger

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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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

Episode 103. In this episode of the podcast, Kate sits down with author Chloe Dalton to discuss her memoir Raising Hare. Chloe is a political speechwriter and advisor who during the pandemic finds herself caring for a hare in the English countryside. In rich and textured detail, Chloe shares her transformative relationship with the hare. The episode touches on themes around domestication, freedom, intimacy, and wonder and what it might mean to be of place throughout the candid conversation. Chloe and Kate explore the intimate relationships between humans and the human animal. Chloe brings a stunning sense of wonder and awe, tugging at how nature welcomes us however, and whenever, we come to it. 

Find Chloe (and the hare): 

Raising Hare, a Memoir by Chloe Dalton

Instagram: @chloedaltonuk

Website

Related Episodes:

Episode 76: How to Be Animal with Melanie Challenger

Episode 56: Becoming Edible with Andreas Weber

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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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh

Episode 102. In this episode, Kate sits down with Mary-Frances O’Connor to talk about her new book The Grieving Body (a follow up to the Grieving Brain). This is an episode for anyone to deepen their understanding and literacy of grief—grievers, grief supporters, caregivers. In the episode, they talk about attachment and what it is to form an “us” and the some of the science behind love and bonding before diving into the deep emotional and physiological impacts of grief and understanding and normalizing the grieving process.  At the heart of the episode is a discussion about the role of community in grief and loneliness and how we might support those around us that are grieving. 

Find Mary-Frances: 

The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing

The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn From Love and Loss 

Instagram: @doctormfoconnor

Website

Other Episodes on Grief:

Embracing the Darkness with Francis Weller

Bringing Death Home with Heidi Boucher 

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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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

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.

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. 

Support the Podcast:

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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. 

Support the Podcast:

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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. 

Support the Podcast:

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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh