Episode 93: Ode to the Futures

Recorded in the summer, this 6 minute immersive story is both a framing of the context we find ourselves in

And…

A sonic orientation towards the future - of this podcast, and the offerings and invitations of Becoming Crew.

It’s an expression of the spirit of the ongoing inquiry of this work, the intentionality, manifested through the podcast and the action learning collective and practice community of Becoming Crew.

I hope it speaks to you in some way, and that it might serve as a curious invitation to join us, to dive into the many podcast conversations past and future, to participate in one of our future gatherings and events online and onland.

To collaborate or entangle with us in some way.

If it brings something up for you, please comment, drop us a mail or DM we’d love to hear from you.

May you find peace in these mysterious times.

One for the headphones.

______________________

Words and voice Dan Burgess

Sound design Charlie Shread

Episode 92 is a conversation with three very smart, courageous and thoughtful humans from new regenerative venture with a massive ambition - Nature 2

Gail Gallie, Jay Lipman and Patricia Zurita are co-founders who between them represent highly experienced operators and practitioners across worlds of campaigning and mobilisation, ethics driven finance and global conservation.

Nature 2 is a collaboration that seeks to connect, build and scale systems to urgently drive finance into protecting and regenerating the natural world globally.

At this moment in time there is a funding gap around nature, biodiversity and ecosystem protection and regeneration of approximately 830 billion dollars (gulp!)  - something they call the ‘nature financing gap.’

Nature 2 are on a mission to close that gap. Seeking to catalyse the finance and investor communities to commit to directing 2% of managed assets towards nature based solutions.

We explore:

* Nature 2: A new mission - how this idea emerged, how it works and the roles within this collaborative venture

* The role of finance in nature conservation

* The importance and complexity of shifting destructive subsidies towards regenerative practices

* Navigating capitalism and conservation

* Balancing big company action with local farmers and land based communities

* Mapping the most urgent places on Earth for nature conservation and regeneration

* Philanthropy and capitalism and the entanglement of todays economic system design with climate and ecological breakdown

* Stories and communication to engage funding and investor communities

This conversation was recorded in spring 2024.

My guest on this episode David Johnstone is in my view a beautiful example of a human taking responsibility and using their gifts, experience and influence to cultivate the courage and creativity to face into the uncomfortable questions we are being confronted with

* To speak up to the messy contradictions of this moment

* To raise awareness of the massive changes coming down the line

* To  experiment with weirder moves

To keep self examining not just the impacts of business as usual but to imagine and participate in business unusual, where we commit to the messy process of healing, reconnecting, reimagining and liberating. 

He is founder, CEO and Executive Creative Director of global design studio, Accept and Proceed , host of the brilliant podcast ~Endless Vital Activity, convener of strange solstice gatherings We don’t know what this is yet on Hackney Marshes.

David is a humble, curious, insightful, creative human, a radical experimenter with a big heart and infections imagination.

This was a wide ranging conversation exploring his work in brand design, his journey working with global corporations, awakening to the impacts of commercial creativity,  of taking responsibility for the impacts we are making through these creative human entities we call ‘brands.’

This has led to the Design for the Future mission of Accept and Proceed which he unpacks alongside an exploration of brand power, the ‘dark ages of the future’, ‘Together World’ strategy and the emergence of new relational entanglements between humans, enterprise and this living mysterious Spaceship Earth we call home.

We explore:

The nervous energy of these times

Panpsychism and Consciousness

David's journey into brand

The power and responsibility of brand

Designing for a ‘Together World’

Navigating the Three Horizons Framework

Embracing complexity and uncertainty

Understanding business and systemic cycles - death and endings

The significance of tuning into Earth’s patterns like sunrises

Imagining brand futures

LINKS

Accept and Proceed

David Johnston Instagram

Accept and Proceed Instagram

Endless Vital Activity Podcast

In this episode I’m in conversation with Jasmine Isa Qureshi - a multimedia journalist, marine biologist, queer ecologist, award winning spoken word / published poet and storyteller.

She writes and studies across ecology, conservation, trans / queer / muslim identity, politics and sociology.

Her work seeks to understand the systems by which we and nature have grown intertwined and apart, explore the intersections of identities, origins as queer, global majority folk, and provide alternative systems for our futures, by sparking discussions, thoughts and creating resources to make these as accessible as possible.

She is currently working on her first book.

We explore:

* Personal identity and its connection to the natural world

* Anthropocentrism and the Human vs nature binary

* Queer Ecology and Queerness - perspectives and misconceptions

* Colonialism and identity and the dismantling of colonial structures to envision inclusive and liberating systems.

* Intersectionality and Global majority futurism

* The necessity of community, interdependence, and the power of unlearning and renewal to craft liberating, inclusive futures free from systemic oppression.

Links

Jasmine Qureshi website

Jasmine Qureshi Instagram

In this episode I’m in conversation with Lily Cole.

Lily is a model, activist, social entrepreneur, writer, actor and mother who has campaigned and acted persistently on multiple social, environmental and climate justice issues throughout her working life.

She is committed to exploring new possibilities and ways of being which put care and life at the centre.

I connected with Lily last year when we were both invited to attend a climate activism retreat at Plum Village, the Zen Buddhist Monastery in France founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

The Plum Village force is strong in this episode.

This conversation is grounded in this moment, it’s a dive into the deeper parts of change, the inner and outer dimensions of our values and actions and how they influence and shape the systems we seek to change.

We explore:

* Mindfulness, practicing deep listening and cultivating empathy for addressing the complex, contradicting and overwhelming issues of living in these times.

* The interconnectedness of all beings, ancient wisdoms and other ways of knowing, and the potential of shifting perspectives to create more caring and sustainable cultures.

* How we can integrate these practices and insights into our lives and communities as part of a collective journey towards regenerative and peaceful change.

Links

Lily Cole

Who Cares Wins Podcast

Plum Village

Play out Track

Will Flisk with Sif Augustdottir - Satie and the Crow

Recorded in 2021 I’m posting this Episode with Dr Wallace J Nichols today to honour his sudden passing this week.

The most humble human who gave so much to widening our collective understanding of the human entanglement and interdependence with the waters of this Earth.

His book Blue Mind is a must read and rightly influenced so many to see beyond water just as a resource to be protected but a sacred flow of life itself, so entangled with human life and health and our emotional regulation and wellbeing.

I spent a little bit of time with ‘J’ in California in 2018 and hosted him on the podcast in 2021 as we were emerging from the pandemic and he was coming to terms with the loss of his family home from wild fires.

He spoke a lot then about the need for water connection and blue mind in these times of increasing rage, stress, violence and divisiveness.

We had planned to record another conversation exploring loss, trauma, losing what we love and healing with the Earth but we never managed it.

He had those very rare qualities of deep intelligence and wisdom, empathy for all life, the capacity to invite curiosity and inquiry from people with humility and without the need to shout loudly or divide. He always spoke so beautifully of his family too - we send them love for these most challenging times of loss.

He would always hand out blue marbles, and say -

‘if we zoom out from our planet Earth a million miles - all you can see is a little blue marble floating in space - a planet made of water. Keep that marble in your pocket to remember this miracle’

He would encourage you to go and find your water, a river, stream, lake, pond or the ocean if you’re lucky. Be near it, on it, in it - cultivate your blue mind.

Water is medicine - he said.

In these time more than ever.

_______________________________________

Dr Wallace. J Nichols is a renowned marine-biologist, wild water advocate and author of the bestselling book - Blue Mind: How Water Makes You Happier, More Connected and Better at What You Do.

His experiences as a field research scientist, government consultant, teacher, mentor, public speaker, parent, founder and director of businesses and nonprofit organisations, all support his quest to build a stronger and more diverse global blue movement.

In this Episode I’m in conversation with the brilliant Immy Kaur and Kavita Purohit from Civic Square in Birmingham UK.

Civic Square’s mission is demonstrating neighbourhood-scale civic infrastructure for social, ecological, economic, and climate transition.

I’m a huge fan of their work, they are pioneers in the UK when it comes to demonstrating what communities can achieve when it comes to responding to some of the gnarliest, complex systemic issues we face as a species.

They use practical, decentralised approaches, translating complex systems change thinking into participative inquiry and co-design projects working with  place based communities alongside diverse practitioners, knowledge and wisdom holders and regenerative innovators.

When the times we are in can feel so overwhelming and mainstream political approaches exhausted, look to Civic Square and their ecology of collaborators for how we might create very different ways of imagining and realising better futures which put people and places at the centre around cultures of care, connection and solidarity.

We explore

* Systemic Issues and community approaches to finding solutions

* The importance of neighbourhoods and Public Goods

* Health Justice and ecological Health in neighbourhoods

* Demonstrating radical imagination

* The role of Doughnut Economics in neighbourhoods

* Community engagement and co-ceation approaches

* Different ways of knowing, re-pairing and re-imagining

Links

Civic Square

Civic Square Medium

Neighbourhood Doughnut

Stories for Life

Earth Sessions are DJ mixes that I put out from time to time.

This unravelling world makes me despair today.

So I went down to the Spaceship shed and recorded this mix.

Ruff and ready.

When there are no words, there is music.

House Music

And Love.

Respect to the artists and producers who have created these tracks that are alive for me right now.

Full listing on site.

In this episode I’m in conversation with Sarah Corbett, award winning campaigner, activist and founder of the Craftivist Collective.

Craftivism, where craft meets activism, offers a unique, intimate, transformative approach to addressing the gnarly issues of our time, emphasising the importance of gentle, emotionally intelligent, creative and persuasive protest in fostering meaningful dialogue, connection and change.

From crafting hearts to connect across climate movements to sewing personalised handkerchiefs sent to corporate leaders and so much more - Sarah and the Craftivist Collective invite people to embrace activism rooted in gentleness, compassion, humility and self-care.

We Explore

* Navigating the digital activism world: challenges and personal reflections

* Blending craft and activism for change

* The potential of gentle protest: crafting a kinder activism

* The power of hands in crafting, connecting and healing

* The transformative impact of craft on mental health

* Craftivism in action: from gentle protest to wider solidarity and systemic change

Links

Craftivist Collective

Craftivist Instagram

In this episode I’m in conversation with Adah Parris - keynote speaker, futurist,  visionary artist, and activist who inspires transformative change through her practice.

Adah is working with many inquires - including ‘Cyborg Shamanism’ and the provocation ‘What kind of ancestor do you want to be ?’

And we dig into this and much more in this conversation.

This is also a conversation which explores the essence of diversity - of wider intelligences, of sensing the world differently and of co-creating different futures. 

A conversation between two late diagnosed neurodiverse people, we explore what happens when we challenge normativity, drawing on other forms of creative intelligence, what do we find along the path when we're walking on the edges of normal?

We Explore

* Personal and collective responsibility towards climate change and the actions necessary for a more regenerative future.

* Emotional and mental health in the face of conflict and crisis.

* Experiences of ADHD and Autism, challenging ‘normativity’ and the impact and potential of diversity in shaping our future

* Creating change through remembering our rootedness to the Earth

* Cyborg shamanism’ - blending technology, storytelling and spirituality for better understanding relationships, interconnectedness and planetary consciousness.

Links

Becoming Crew Live Gatherings

Tickets for Live Gathering with Bayo Akomolafe

Adah Parris

Adah Parris Instagram

Earth Echoes