The Back to Nature Podcast

In this episode we discuss Taoism - an ancient philosophy founded by the philosopher Lao Tzu over 2,500 years ago. We explore how modern society can learn from the core beliefs of Taoism and highlight the relevancy of this philosophy in all aspects of day-to-day life.

In this rich episode, we discuss the impacts of anthropogenic environmental change, the relationship between humanity and the natural world, life beyond capitalism, bottom-up and top-down approaches to tackling the environmental crisis, the role of governments and the potential of renewable technology. We get to the heart of the debate around how we go about changing people's consumption habits and discuss the meaning of sustainability. 

This week Back to Nature is joined by a special guest - Luc McCutcheon - who is an expert in the field of Artificial Intelligence. In this episode Luc answers the all important question: will AI bring the end of humanity or will it be our salvation? During this episode, we also address common misconceptions about AI, discuss recent advancements in the field and identify ways in which AI can help combat climate change. 

In this episode, we discuss the relationship between stress and modernity, touching on history, technology and overstimulation. We also cover the negative effects of stress on our health and well-being, and different strategies to manage it. We suggest that there is a correlation between stress and our disconnection with nature, arguing that the latter is a powerful antidote to the former. 

This week Shannon shares insight into a very personal experience of hers. After recovering from a manic episode, Shannon describes how nature helped her cope with the stress of hospitalisation and facilitated her recovery. We further discuss topics such as the flaws in the healthcare system, the treatment of mental health conditions and the additional coping strategies Shannon developed to help her through the experience.  

In this episode, we talk about how the design of modern shoes is responsible for long-term problems with our feet which emerge later in life, and the movement promoting more 'natural' shoes and barefoot running which has sprung up to counter this. Dive in to find out how you can free your feet, improve your balance and avoid developing bunions in old age. 

Modern lifestyles are resulting in population wide decreases in physical activity. In fact, in the UK 1 in 3 men and 1 in 2 women are not active enough for good health. In this episode we discuss the potential reasons for this decline in activity. To encourage physical activity we cover the benefits gained from regular exercise and how we can tailor our daily routines to fit in enough time for daily exercise.  

In this episode, we discuss a controversial and almost universally relatable subject - social media. Almost everyone engages with some form of social media; it hardly feels optional now. It is all-pervasive in society, and unfortunately, it is not harmless. We cover social media's negative effects: low self-esteem, poor social skills and inhibited connection with both ourselves and others. We also talk about how social media is designed to be addictive in the interests of maximising profits, which limits its potential benefits.

How can we use dreams to better understand our sub conscious and what value can this bring to us? 

Join us this week for an episode about the significance of dreams - how we can interpret them, what they tell us and why understanding them is so important. We focus on topics such as interpretation of normal dreams, the power of lucid dreaming and the insights we can gain by of keeping a dream diary. 

We spend one-third of our lives attempting to sleep or doing so. It's absolutely essential for our physical and mental wellbeing - yet in our overstimulated, overstuffed lives, we often neglect it. In this episode, we discuss why sleep is important and how to optimise it, covering topics such as the impact of blue light, napping, chronotypes, the sleep cycle and nighttime routines.