The Wisdom & Action Podcast

Hey there! In this episode we share an interview we did back in 2017 with Tim Winton, one of Australia’s most beloved and prolific writers. At the time, Tim was on a publicity tour for his collection of non-fiction essays, The Boy Behind the Curtain, which, among many things, explores class. In this chat with Dumbo Feather interviewer Myke Bartlett, Tim shares some of his insights on Australia’s changing socio-economic landscape, and how he has confronted snobbery to open himself up to many different kinds of perspectives and ways of living.

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This week on the podcast we have Dr Tim Dean – author of "How We Became Human, and Why We Need to Change," a book about how our evolved moral minds are out of step with the modern world. Tim has a Doctorate in philosophy from the University of New South Wales on the evolution of morality and has expertise in ethics, philosophy of biology and critical thinking. This chat with Berry spans some of the big ideas and questions around his most recent inquiry into human morality.If you’d like to spend three hours with Tim Dean exploring the philosophy of human morality, join him and the Small Giants Academy for the upcoming masterclass The Future of Morality. Find out more: smallgiants.com.au/the-art-of-arguing

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We have just launched issue 68 of Dumbo Feather magazine – themed “Treasured Spaces,” and one of the conversations we had for that was with author and TV presenter Holly Ringland. We came to know Holly through the ABC series, Back to Nature, in which she and actor Aaron Pedersen travel through vast, awe-inspiring Australian landscapes hearing the stories of the land. In this chat, Holly speaks with Dumbo Feather editor Nathan Scolaro about her experiences making the show, and the importance of treating our selves as treasured spaces. Holly’s first novel is The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, about a young girl with an abusive farther who is taught the language of Australian flowers by her grandmother to say the things that are too hard to speak. The book has become an international bestseller, and is currently being adapted into a television series produced by and starring Sigourney Weaver. Tune into the ABC’s stunning six-part series Back to Nature on ABC iView.For more stories and conversations like this one, get yourself a copy of our Treasured Spaces issue from your local bookshop or retailer, or over at our website dumbofeather.com

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Welcome to our third and final instalment of the Dumbo Feather music mini-series. Our guest is a very good friend, someone we’ve had in the mag before and worked a lot with over the years, Dr Catherine Crock. Catherine’s a paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, and 20 years ago, she founded a remarkable foundation and program called Hush – which brings musicians into hospital environments to compose music that will reduce anxiety and stress for patients and their family and friends.Catherine’s work has evolved to look at and transform the culture of healthcare to one that is centred around kindness and empathy. In this conversation, she talk with Dumbo Feather editor Nathan Scolaro about the Hush legacy, and shares some of her favourite pieces from an extraordinary 19 albums.You can learn more about Hush and shop for some of the albums over at hugh.org.au, and sign up for Gathering of Kindness at gatheringofkindness.org

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This episode we’re bringing back an old favourite, a conversation we recorded in 2018 with psychotherapist Esther Perel who has changed the way we think about love, connection and sex. Her books, Ted Talks and podcast “Where Should We Begin” have all become international sensations as she focuses on relational intelligence, and often brings us inside the therapy room to explore intimacy and eroticism and where those parts of ourselves become stuck. In this chat with Berry, Esther explores why modern relationships are more complex and nuanced than ever. It was recorded for our Love issue of Dumbo Feather magazine, which you can kind find over at our website, dumbofeather.com.

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This week's chat is led by our good friend Helena Norberg-Hodge, champion of all things localising. She is joined by none other than Johann Hari, the Swiss-British journalist behind the smash hit book Lost Connections, which uncovers the real causes behind depression and the unexpected solutions, some of which land right in Helena’s work – connecting with community.This episode is brought to you by our friends at Patagonia.

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Much-loved Dumbo Feather friend Hugh Mackay joins us on the podcast this week, sharing the insights, research and thinking behind his latest book "The Kindness Revolution." Hugh spoke with us as part of an interactive Small Giants Academy conversation event in July, hosted by our head of programming, Eleanor Gammell. Thanks to Australian Ethical for partnering with us on this episode.

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In May 2021, we ran our first four-week Storytelling for Change Course at Small Giants Academy. Each Wednesday, 15 participants would gather in the Zoom room to talk about how story shapes our individual lives and the cultures we are part of. We learned skills for finessing our stories and were joined by some of our much-loved Dumbo Feather storytellers, including Padraig O Tuama, Lydia Fairhall and Danielle Caruana.Across the course, participants were tasked with composing a story from their life, which they then shared in the final week. We were all blown away by each other’s heartfelt, creative, hilarious sharings, and felt the magic of being intertwined in one another’s stories.In this episode, three participants from the course have very generously recorded their stories for you all to hear. First up we have Lizi Hamer reading “The Car Ride” followed by Hermione Stewart reading “Love Survives” and finally Ben Duke with “The Blue Lagoon.”Ben Duke is a performer and choreographer and the artistic director of the U.K. based dance theatre company Lost Dog. You can check out more of his work over at lostdogdance.co.uk. And Lizi Hamer is an author and storyhunter and Regional Creative Director at Octagon. You can check out more of her work over at lizihamer.com

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Welcome to episode 2 of our music mini-series on the Dumbo Feather podcast, where we’re sharing readings, conversations and most importantly music to celebrate our latest issue of Dumbo Feather magazine. In this episode, we’re bringing you a reading by Melbourne-based recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey. Genevieve creates poetic, sensual worlds in a variety of contexts – from the stage to the garden to the radio.During the ups and downs of 2020, Genevieve created the album Bower. In the following reading she shares what that experience was like for her and others within the arts community here in Australia.Genevieve has generously shared some of the music from Bower to accompany her reading, which has been magnificently producer by sound engineer Jim Atkin. The order of music is as follows:Lou Bennett Baiyan Woka arr Erkki VeltheimErkki Veltheim Nocturne over blue ruinsJohann Jakob Froberger Lamentation faite sur la mort très douloureuse de Sa Majesté Impériale, Ferdinand IIIAndrea Keller I SurrenderMadeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey A Mutual Support for Precarious TimesBree van Reyk threaded in amongst the infinite threading

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Meet Jade Miles from Black Barn Farm! Black Barn is a regenerative, intentional orchard and nursery that operates on permaculture principles. They run farm tours and workshops, and promote homesteading within the rhythms of the seasons. Jade recently released a beautiful book called Futuresteading: Live Like Tomorrow Matter which is full of practical skills, recipes and rituals for connecting with your environment and community, and embracing a simpler, steadier way of being. Jade shares her story and passion for building localised food systems with our publisher Berry.

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