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ReWild Yourself

Welcome to the ReWild Yourself Podcast! I’m Daniel Vitalis, and I’ll be your guide through the world of human ecology and lifestyle design. We’ll explore the strategies that our ancient human bodies and minds need to thrive in a modern world — awakening our instincts and freeing ourselves from the degenerative effects of human domestication.
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Dec 13, 2017

North America’s Forgotten Fruit — the Pawpaw — is an excellent reminder that adventures in wild food are still available to us! Andrew Moore is here to share his journey seeking out the largest edible fruit native to the United States. In Andrew’s book Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit, he explores the past, present, and future of this unique fruit, traveling from the Ozarks to Monticello; canoeing the lower Mississippi in search of wild fruit; drinking pawpaw beer in Durham, North Carolina; tracking down lost cultivars in Appalachian hollers; and helping out during harvest season in a Maryland orchard. Along the way, he gathers pawpaw lore and knowledge not only from the plant breeders and horticulturists working to bring pawpaws into the mainstream (including Neal Peterson, known in pawpaw circles as the fruit’s own “Johnny Pawpawseed”), but also regular folks who remember eating them in the woods as kids, but haven’t had one in over fifty years.

Andrew’s hunt for the wild pawpaw led him on quite the adventure, and in this episode, he gives us the lowdown on the pawpaw, its history and its modern-day revival. We take a look at pawpaw culture and discuss how it’s being cultivated and used today. Andrew certainly inspired me to hunt down the wild pawpaw, and I hope you’ll consider pursuing a wild food adventure of your own in the new year! Enjoy, and I’ll see you next week for the final episode of our podcast season!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction
  • Introducing Andrew Moore
  • How Andy became acquainted with the pawpaw
  • What is a pawpaw?
  • The history
  • The pawpaw revival
  • Uncovering the mystery of the pawpaw
  • The varying personalities in pawpaw culture
  • Historical cultivation and use of pawpaw
  • Growing pawpaw
  • Origins of the name
  • Hunting the wild pawpaw
  • Where to find Andrew
Dec 7, 2017

Brian Fagan — one of the world’s leading archaeological writers — is back on the show! Brian was born in England and studied archaeology at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was Keeper of Prehistory at the Livingstone Museum (Zambia) and, during six years in Zambia and one in East Africa, was deeply involved in fieldwork on multidisciplinary African history and in monuments conservation. He was Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, from 1967 to 2004, when he became Emeritus. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading archaeological and historical writers and is a widely respected popular lecturer about the past.

In this episode, Brian talks to us about his latest book Fishing: How the Sea Fed Civilization and shares the fascinating insights he uncovered on the history of fishing. In his research, he found that fishing (for sustenance, not sport) rivaled agriculture in its importance to civilization. We discuss the historical timeline of fishing, early fishing equipment and how fishing became a commodity. Brian also shares his thoughts on the future of wild fisheries and the ocean ecosystem. Enjoy!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction
  • Introducing Brian Fagan
  • Brian’s prolific writing career
  • A history of fishing
  • Defining fishing - recreational vs subsistence
  • Establishing our timeline
  • Early fishing equipment
  • Fish as a commodity
  • The loss of large-scale fisheries
  • Future of wild fisheries
  • The future of the ocean
  • Will recreational fishing and hunting be a realistic practice in the future?
  • Brian’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Nov 30, 2017

Arthur Haines is back on ReWild Yourself Podcast! Arthur is a good friend and our most esteemed frequent guest on the show. Arthur is a forager, ancestral skills mentor, author, public speaker, and botanical researcher. His work merges the material knowledge of present-day people with the ecological knowledge of ancestral people. Arthur’s mission is to help people develop deep awareness of and connection to nature, promote individual health and foster self-reliance. He is a fellow Mainer, and he hunts and gathers from our abundant local landscape to feed himself and his family. 

In this episode, Arthur and I share — from the heart — our thoughts on a prominent and relatively recent phenomenon in our modern-day culture: the loss of respect for real-world experience/age-based wisdom and the valuing of modern cultural norms over biological norms. We’re often asked if eating wild food is a privilege, and we share our views on this and the true meaning of privilege. With a shared mission of promoting an egalitarian society that actively participates in ecology, practices ecoculture, fosters personal sovereignty and emboldens thoughtful interaction with fellow Homo sapiens, it is our hope that you listen to our viewpoints with an open mind and keep this conversation going in the ReWilding community!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction
  • Introducing Arthur Haines
  • Arthur’s background
  • The issues with social media
  • Is wild food a privilege?
  • Real world experience vs. facts
  • The loss of elders and respect for age-based wisdom
  • Biological norms vs present-day cultural norms
  • Privilege and opportunity
  • Personal sovereignty
  • Closing thoughts
  • Context and intent
  • Our hunting and gathering updates
Nov 23, 2017

Tristan Gooley returns to ReWild Yourself Podcast to guide us through the lost art of reading nature’s signs. Tristan is an author and natural navigator. He teaches people to re-awaken their senses and tune into their ancestral ability to navigate across a landscape using the signs that nature provides. Tristan has led expeditions in five continents, climbed mountains in Europe, Africa and Asia, sailed small boats across oceans and piloted small aircraft to Africa and the Arctic. He has walked with and studied the methods of the Tuareg, Bedouin and Dayak in some of the remotest regions on Earth. He is the only living person to have both flown solo and sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society. 

In this episode, Tristan explains how — once we learn to use nature as a compass — we can create a natural navigation map based in ecological knowledge. We also discuss Tristan’s latest work and the importance of purposeful nature engagement. Tristan gives us practical tips for re-awakening our senses to the natural world and simple techniques for getting started in natural navigation. Tune in, and be inspired to interact with your local landscape in a new and more intimate way!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: A recent trip to North Carolina and my Thanksgiving meal plan
    • Season 3 of ReWild Yourself Podcast ends soon!
  • Introducing Tristan Gooley
  • Engaging with nature on a cerebral or physical level
  • Simple techniques to dabbling in natural navigations
  • Creating a natural navigation map based in ecology
  • How people navigate around the world
  • What Tristan’s working on now
  • Going into nature with purpose
  • How to inspire people to re-awaken their senses
  • Getting someone started in navigation
  • The future of natural navigation 
  • Tristan’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Nov 15, 2017

In the final installment of our invasive species series, we hear from Tao Orion — author and permaculturist — for a new perspective on invasives that links restoration with thoughtful habitat design. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Tao has dedicated her life to the art and science of regenerative living. She has a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture and has studied under some of the world’s leading permaculture teachers. She co-owns Resilience Permaculture design with her husband. Tao offers an alternative conversation on invasives with her book, Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Perspective on Ecosystem Restoration. She believes that deep and long-lasting ecological restoration outcomes will come not just from eliminating invasive species, but through conscientious redesign of these production systems.

In this episode, Tao shares how we can look to permaculture to inspire solutions to non-native invasive species and ecosystem restoration. She explains the restoration movement and imparts fundamental ecological knowledge to give context to our on-going invasives conversation. We also discuss ways to have meaningful conversations about invasive species without the divisiveness that can often arise from this controversial topic. Tao leaves us with some excellent strategies to participate in species and land stewardship as foragers with the goal of moving towards regeneration in ecosystems. Enjoy, and let’s keep this conversation going!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show introduction
  • Introducing Tao Orion
  • What ignited Tao’s passion for permaculture
  • The invasive species argument
  • Monsanto’s role in invasive species
  • Glyphosate explained
  • The restoration movement
  • Tending the wild
  • Succession and agricultural disturbances
  • Discussing invasives without the divisiveness 
  • Shifting our relationship to land management
  • How do foragers participate in species and land stewardship
  • Tao’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Nov 1, 2017
“Rewilding holds out hope of a richer living planet that can once more fill our lives with wonder and enchantment.” -George Monbiot

Prolific author George Monbiot joins us to share his niche in the world of rewilding: rewilding the land. George is an investigative journalist who writes a weekly column for the Guardian and is the author of a number of bestselling books, including Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea, and Human Life where he passionately advocates the large-scale restoration of complex natural ecosystems. 

To begin our conversation, George takes us back in time to the riveting adventures that began his career in investigative journalism. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including how his work evolved to covering the large-scale ecological issues of our world, what rewilding means to George and his take on de-extinction. George also presents his argument in favor of fake meat as an option to feed the world’s population and why he does not feel that agriculture of any kind — including regenerative agriculture — is sustainable. While our opinions differed on some things, it was fascinating to hear George’s viewpoint on these controversial topics. Enjoy our conversation exploring George’s important work as an advocate for the rewilding of our earth’s ecosystems!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Learning to live with a hunting dog and bear fat
  • Introducing George Monbiot
  • George’s riveting backstory 
  • Why is 'the loss of wild humans' not making news headlines?
  • How George came to be working on these big picture ecological issues
  • What rewilding means to George
  • Bringing back lost megafauna
  • Rewilding becoming mainstream out of necessity
  • A case for fake meat and why (regenerative) agriculture isn’t sustainable
  • How do we feed the people of the world?
  • George’s upcoming book
  • George’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Oct 25, 2017

Toa Hunter Gatherer embodies the new generation of hunter-gatherers with a true connection to the natural world. From a very young age, Owen Boynton — Toa Hunter Gatherer — has been passionate about wild country, learning the habitats of the animals with a sense to always want to stay connected. Born in Te Urewera, the ancestral home of the Tuhoe people also known as “children of the mist," Toa's hunter-gatherer bloodline remains strong. Kaitiakitanga — guardianship for the natural world — guides Toa’s compass in life and work. Toa’s inspiring TV series “Toa Hunter Gatherer” focuses on sharing the traditional knowledge and techniques that have been lost since using modern ways to source kai, or traditional Maori food.

In this episode, Toa shares from the heart on what it means to him to be a “full circle” hunter-gatherer. We get to experience hunting in New Zealand through Toa’s lens as we discuss the animals he hunts and the history of their introduced invasive species. We get to hear his perspective on conscientious hunting and gathering, from hunting terminology to “real trophy hunting” to showing reverence for elders. Toa affirms that — no matter what our ancestry is — we can all find connection to our place on this earth through participating in ecology and being devoted guardians of the natural world. Hunt - Gather - Provide!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Canoeing the cranberry bog, a delicious wild food meal & bear fat
    • Q&A: Soaking wild rice
  • Introducing Toa Hunter Gatherer
  • The meaning behind “Toa Hunter Gatherer"
  • Toa’s background and the Maori culture
  • How hunting works in New Zealand
  • What animals Toa hunts in New Zealand
  • Introduced invasive species
  • Being mindful about hunting terminology
  • Hunt, gather, provide — the full circle of the hunter-gatherer
  • A typical episode of Toa Hunter Gatherer
  • Hunting with elders
  • A generational shift in hunting
  • The real trophy hunting — providing for family and community
  • Finding connection to your place on this earth
  • Toa’s prognosis for the future of the human species
  • Bowhunting
Oct 20, 2017

Doniga Markegard is a rancher with a background in ecology and permaculture, and she’s here to share how regenerative agriculture can help to restore the biodiversity of prairie grasslands while simultaneously producing grass-fed, nutrient dense meat. 

In her youth, Doniga was mentored by some of the leading wildlife trackers, naturalists and Native spiritual elders. She spent years alone and with a small group of passionate youth in the Western Washington Wilderness learning the ways of the ancestors, immersing in nature, bird language, survival skills and wildlife tracking. Fast forward to today, she now stewards 10,000 acres of land in California where she — along with her husband and four children — owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed LLC raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and dairy. Doniga is passionate about large-scale restoration of Western Rangelands through cattle grazing, and she and her family have developed grazing and conservation management plans that encourage a resilient and diverse landscape.

Doniga believes that humans are an integral part of the complexity of life, and in this episode, we hear how her family stewards land based on the principles and patterns found in nature. She takes us back in time to her wild childhood and her time spent tracking wolves in Alaska and Idaho. We discuss living with apex predators and her unique perspective on ranching alongside wolves, as a rancher with an ecological background and passion for wildlife. We also hear about her family’s misleading feature in the controversial film Cowspiracy, which sheds a grim light on the credibility of this film’s message. Tune in for a refreshing take on sustainable, holistic agriculture and Doniga’s captivating evolution from wild child to conservationist and rangeland steward!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction
  • Introducing Doniga Markegard
  • What brought Doniga to her work in sustainable ranching
  • On grasslands
  • The life-centric focus of regenerative agriculture
  • Doniga reflects on her childhood and shares about her book, Dawn Again
  • Living with apex predators
  • The truth about “Cowspiracy”
  • Life on Doniga’s ranch
  • Transitioning back into the world after time spent in wilderness immersion programs
  • Doniga’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Oct 18, 2017

It was an absolute pleasure to talk with Lori McCarthy — a third generation Newfoundlander — about the importance of preserving cultural food heritage for future generations. Lori has dedicated her life to preserving the cultural food of her homeland, Newfoundland and Labrador, through her company Cod Sounds and the Livyers Cultural Alliance. Her core values embrace locally sourced regional cuisine and this is reflected in her food experiences and through her cooking school.

Newfoundland and Labrador have a rich and fascinating history — grounded in the cod fisheries that once sustained them. Lori gives us a firsthand look at the land she calls home and shares how deeply the collapse of the local cod fisheries affected the fisherman and surrounding communities. Today Newfoundland and Labrador are home to a thriving food and restaurant industry, and Lori is at the forefront of keeping the area’s traditional, local and wild food in the spotlight. Lori’s work is incredibly inspiring and serves as a model that we can all learn from. Lori encourages us to join together with people from our local community to celebrate our local ecology and our own unique cultural food heritage — and to work together to pass this treasured knowledge down to future generations!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: A successful bear hunt
    • A bear hunt Q&A
  • Introducing Lori McCarthy
  • Describing Newfoundland and Labrador
  • How Lori got started in her work
  • The rich food-based history of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Winters and the growing season
  • History of the cod fisheries
  • The cuisine of the local landscape + Lori’s journey into wild foods
  • Preserving cultural food heritage
  • A foraging year in Lori’s local ecosystem
  • Eat It Wild
  • Predictions for foraging in the future
  • Lori’s prognosis for the future human species
Oct 11, 2017

Ben Falk returns to ReWild Yourself Podcast to add his perspective to our invasive species conversation series! Ben lives in an intentional, resilient, forage-able ecosystem on his homestead in Vermont's Mad River Valley that he designed and continues to evolve. As someone who works closely with his local landscape, he is intimately enmeshed with both native and non-native invasive species and has valuable input on this complex issue.

Ben — an innovative permaculturist and intentional ecosystem designer — developed Whole Systems Design as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben’s integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds a master’s degree in land-use planning and design. He has conducted more than 300 site development consultations across the US and abroad, and has facilitated dozens of courses on property selection, permaculture design, and resilient systems. Ben is also the author of the award-winning book the Resilient Farm and Homestead.

In this episode, Ben and I grapple with some of the critical questions of the invasive species conversation: Who has the right to be considered native to a specific ecosystem when we are all native to this planet? Can we eat our way out of the invasive species problem? How do we define natural? Ben brings a balanced viewpoint to our invasive species series. He believes — as do I — that the conversation on invasives can be hugely advanced by active ecosystem participants (rewilders!). Tune in, and let's continue to be conscientious participants in the conservation of our ecology!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Striper and mackerel fishing, squirrel hunting, acorn gathering and pack basket making
  • Introducing Ben Falk
  • Ben’s permaculture intentional ecosystem
  • Food yield on Ben’s homestead 
  • The processing that goes into a permaculture ecosystem
  • Backstory to Ben’s viewpoints on invasive species
  • Invasive species and native local plant communities — who has the right to stay?
  • Thoughts on eating invasives
  • Creating forage-able landscapes
  • Tying a bow on the invasive species conversation
  • Defining what’s natural
  • Ben’s prognosis for the future of the landscape
Oct 4, 2017

Living in a society that promotes the idea of painful childbirth as the norm, it’s hard for many to imagine that childbirth does not only not have to be painful, but it can actually be orgasmic. Debra Pascali-Bonaro is here to shed light on the myths of childbirth and remind us that birth can be full of pleasure and delight.

Debra has trained thousands of doulas and birth professionals around the world in the practices of gentle birth support. She is the creator and director of Orgasmic Birth, a documentary that examines the intimate nature of birth, an everyday miracle. She sees the powerful role birth plays in women’s lives when they are permitted to experience it fully. Debra is a sought-after inspirational speaker, chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization, and co-author of the book Orgasmic Birth, Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth Experience. Her newest baby Pain To Power Childbirth is an online childbirth class that will provide you the keys to move from pain to pleasure in childbirth and beyond!

An orgasmic birth is not defined as literally having an orgasm during birth — though that’s certainly possible! — rather it describes an overall birth experience that is safe, satisfying, gentle, joyous and pleasure filled. In this episode, Debra shares how mothers can create a birth ambiance that sets them up for a nurturing birth in any setting. We discuss the industrialization of birth and what the typical cascade of medical interventions looks like. Debra also explains the importance of staying connected to your sexuality during birth and many more invaluable pieces of information in this fantastic conversation. It’s time for orgasmic birth to become the cultural norm! As Debra so lovingly puts it, let’s “dance our babies into the world!"

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Hunting squirrels, butchering chickens, harvesting acorns and our upcoming course on eating acorns
    • Q&A: Daniel answers your questions on parasites & eating squirrels
  • Introducing Debra Pascali-Bonaro
  • Debra’s passion for birth 
  • Permission to fully experience birth
  • What is orgasmic birth?
  • Industrialized birth
  • What birth looks like around the globe
  • Dancing our babies into the world
  • The typical cascade of medical interventions
  • Staying connected to sexuality during birth
  • Explaining midwives, doulas and dude-las
  • Males delivering babies
  • Creating birth ambiance
Sep 27, 2017

As modern hunting and gathering as a movement and a way of life gains momentum, we need continue to discuss, define and evolve what it means to be a conscientious hunter-gatherer. Kevin Kossowan — documentary filmmaker and creator of the gorgeous and thoughtful series, From The Wild — joins us for a conversation on all things hunting and gathering. His series From The Wild is a Canadian-based documentary series following a group of food industry friends exploring the wild foods that surround them — putting them face to face with the adventures and uncharted culinary territories that wild foods offer.

From Ruffed Grouse to Shaggy Mane mushroom to Moose to Brook Trout, Kevin does not shy away from any of the wild food kingdoms, and in today’s episode, Kevin shares what he’s learned over years of procuring wild food from his local landscape and shares his thoughts on some of the leading ethical debates in the hunting and gathering world. Kevin is a fellow conscientious hunter-gatherer, and as such, it was interesting to hear his thoughts on assigning culinary value to different wild foods, processing the dispatch of another life and the radical range of differences in motivation and ethics in the hunting world. We also get into the topics of bow vs. rifle hunting and hunting in your local ecology vs. traveling to experience the wild foods of novel ecological landscapes. As we collectively forge this new path as hunters and gatherers with a deep connection to the land that provides for us and a passion for sustaining that land for future generations, Kevin offers his unique perspective from his adventures hunting and gathering the wild landscape of Alberta, Canada.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • SurThrival’s new product: Taboo Aphrodisia
    • Results from Daniel’s urine analysis test
    • Hunt + Gather updates: Making cider, wild ricing & hunting seasons
    • Q&A: Daniel’s morning static apnea practice
  • Introducing Kevin Kossowan
  • Kevin’s shares a bit about his background
  • Curating an intelligent and thoughtful show on hunting & gathering
  • Exposing chefs to wild foods
  • Being a generalist
  • Favorite species Kevin has worked with
  • Exploring the terroir of the landscape
  • Assigning culinary value to wild food
  • How Kevin approaches the dispatch of another life
  • Exploring the differing viewpoints and motivations in the hunting world
  • Bow vs rifle hunting
  • Thoughts on selecting weapons for the hunt
  • Hunting close to home vs destination hunts
  • Leaving a legacy for future generations
  • Kevin’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Sep 20, 2017

Tim Spector — a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and microbiome researcher — spent three days eating like a hunter-gatherer with the Hadza in Tanzania and dramatically changed the diversity of his gut microbiome. He wrote about his experience in a recent article for CNN, and we brought him on ReWild Yourself Podcast to share his story and explain the importance of gut diversity for robust health.

Tim is also the Founder and Director of the TwinsUK Registry at Kings College, London — the richest collection of genotypic and phenotypic information worldwide — and has recently been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He has published over 800 research articles and is ranked as being in the top 1% of the world’s most cited scientists by Thomson-Reuters. He held a prestigious European Research Council senior investigator award in epigenetics and is a NIHR Senior Investigator. His current work focuses on omics and the microbiome, and he directs the crowdfunded British Gut microbiome project. He is a prolific writer with several popular science books and a regular blog, focusing on genetics, epigenetics and most recently, microbiome and diet. 

In this interview, Tim brings us up to speed on our current scientific understanding of the microbiome, what his research has uncovered and how we can apply this knowledge to our own diet and lifestyle to achieve a healthy microbiome. Ultimately, Tim has found that the key to a diverse and healthy gut is to ReWild Yourself — eating a species-rich diet of foraged foods and interacting with the natural world (translation: exposure to plentiful and diverse microbes). Tune into our conversation for an in-depth outline of the trillions of bacteria that inhabit your human animal, and learn how you can cultivate a healthy, robust community of beneficial gut bacteria.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • SurThrival NEW product teaser + upcoming Rather Hunt Gather clothing
    • Hunt + Gather updates: Feral apples, wild cranberries, butternut, bear hunting, chicken of the woods mushroom and offshore fishing on the Bunny Clark
    • Q&A: Barefoot boot recommendations
  • Introducing Professor Tim Spector
  • Defining omics
  • Studying twins and epigenetics
  • What led Tim to his study of diet
  • Researching the healthiest diet
  • The largest endocrine organ in the body: the microbiome
  • Microbiome and metabolic individuality
  • What is our current understanding of the microbiome?
  • The effects of antibiotics on the microbiome
  • Recounting Tim’s time spent living and eating with the Hadza
  • Thoughts on the microbiome of the ReWilder
  • General guidelines for a healthy microbiome
  • Tim’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Sep 13, 2017

As the prevalence of ticks and tick-borne illness continues to grow, particularly in the northeastern United States, the modern hunter gatherer (and all who enjoy spending time in the natural world) must be acutely aware of the risk of tick exposure when out on the landscape and have a comprehensive tick strategy in place. Dr. Stephen Rich is here to take us on an intimate tour of the tick and how we can best mitigate our risk of tick-borne disease.

Dr. Stephen Rich is a Professor of Microbiology and Director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also the Director of Tick Report, a fantastic and accessible tick testing service for public individuals and agencies seeking more information about the risk of dangerous pathogens. 

In this interview, Stephen guides us through the most common tick species and where to find them, as well as the life stages of the tick and the various stages of tick bite prevention. Stephen gives us the lowdown on why we’re seeing a massive increase and what appears to be a northward migration of ticks in our environment. We also discuss the various tick-borne illnesses, with a special focus on Lyme disease, and what we can do to prevent contracting these illnesses if we are bitten by a tick. This information is so vital for all of us who enjoy a relationship with the natural world! Please enjoy this illuminating conversation with Dr. Stephen Rich, and share this podcast with friends and family that could benefit from a better understanding of ticks and tick-borne illness!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + Gather updates: Bear hunting and elderberry harvesting
    • Q&A: Prepping for natural disasters + opting out of airplane body scanners
    • Thoughts on ticks and tick-borne disease + Daniel’s personal tick strategies 
  • Introducing Dr. Stephen Rich
  • What piqued Stephen’s interest in zoonotic disease and ticks
  • Mice in the last glaciation
  • On Stephen’s service, Tick Report
  • The taxonomy of ticks and transmission of disease
  • Why the massive increase and northward migration in human-biting ticks?
  • The life stages of ticks
  • Where to find different species of ticks
  • What happens when a tick bites you
  • The stages of tick bite prevention
  • Getting perspective on Lyme disease
  • Lyme disease and co-infections by the numbers
  • Best practices for removing a tick
  • Stephen’s predictions for the future of ticks and tick-borne disease
Sep 7, 2017

Nadine Artemis is back on ReWild Yourself Podcast to discuss how to reveal and revive your natural radiance by embracing “renegade” beauty. Nadine is the creator of Living Libations, an exquisite line of serums, elixirs, and essentials oils for those seeking the purest of the pure botanical health and beauty products on the planet. She is the author of Holistic Dental Care: The Complete Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums and soon-to-be-released Renegade Beauty: Reveal and Revive Your Natural Radiance--Beauty Secrets, Solutions, and Preparations. An innovative aromacologist, Nadine develops immune-enhancing formulas and medicinal blends for health and wellness. Nadine’s fresh paradigm for beauty and her natural approach to health presents a revolutionary vision; it allows the life-force of flowers, dewdrops, plants, the sun, and water to be the ingredients of healthy living and lets everything unessential, contrived, and artificial fall away.

In this episode, Nadine guides us through the concepts of “renegade” beauty, beginning with the foundational piece of health, wellness and beauty: our microbiome. Most modern skincare and self-care products are laden with toxic ingredients that may offer a quick fix to an issue, but overlook the root cause, and often have detrimental effects to our bodies and our environment. Nadine encourages us to harness the power of our plant allies and the elemental forces of nature to simplify our self-care routines and allow our natural radiance to shine through. While we focus on many women-specific topics, there is something for everyone in this interview!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Renegade Beauty Book Giveaway
    • Hunt + Gather updates: elderberry harvesting, brook trout fishing, cooking with acorns and getting a dog
    • Q&A: Properly storing wild berry powders
  • Introducing Nadine Artemis
  • Nadine’s new book, Renegade Beauty
  • Beauty from within
  • The meaning of vitalism
  • From the milky way to the microbiome: allowing our micro biome to be our beautician
  • Harnessing the power of our plant allies
  • Wise interaction with the sun
  • Navigating the toxins in our modern world
  • Breast health 
  • On iodine deficiency 
  • Embracing the expansion of pregnancy
  • Renegade beauty realms and skin type hype
  • Moving towards a more beautiful world
Aug 30, 2017

Our bodies are a walking ecosystem that we share with trillions of microbes. While the majority of these microbes are native and beneficial, you might be surprised to learn that many of us are harboring parasites that can be the root cause of symptoms like chronic fatigue, brain fog, depression and more. Evan Brand is here to share the truth about parasites, how to test for them and how we can restore the ecology of our human animal. Evan is an Author, Podcast Host and a Louisville, Kentucky-based Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner and Nutritional Therapist. He is passionate about healing the chronic fatigue, obesity, and depression epidemics after solving his own IBS and depression issues. He uses at-home lab testing and customized supplement programs to find and fix the root cause of a wide range of health symptoms.

In this interview, Evan and I discuss how to take a conscientious approach to many of the obstacles to robust health we face in our modern times. Our conversation leads us down many pathways — from glyphosate exposure to parasites to caffeine and stress response to mitigating the effects of EMF. Get out your notebooks for this one, folks, as Evan shares countless resources with us for our own personal investigation!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Harvesting rosehips, making berry powder, apple cider season, upcoming bear season and acorn battered fried squirrel
    • Q&A: How much food does Daniel actually hunt and gather + what foods does he purchase?
  • Introducing Evan Brand
  • What Evan’s been up to lately
  • Hunting, Sandhill cranes and invasive species
  • On glyphosate
  • What led Evan to his work
  • The truth about parasites and why you should care
  • Likelihood of glyphosate exposure
  • The science behind the benefits of nature immersion
  • Caffeine, social media and anxiety
  • Strategies for mitigating the effects of EMF
  • Evan’s general prescription for his clients
  • Evan’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Aug 23, 2017

Today’s show explores terroir — the flavor of place. Discovering the wild flavors of your local bioregion is a smart and ecologically interactive way to intimately engage with your place and add context to the story of your food. Pascal Baudar — wild food researcher and a self-styled “culinary alchemist” — joins us to share his unique and inspiring niche in the wild food world: wildcrafted terroir.

Based in southern California with access to many different ecosystems (mountain, desert, chaparral, and seashore) and 700+ different wildcrafted ingredients, Pascal is a brazen wild food experimenter who combines his knowledge of plants and his local landscape with the innovative techniques of a master food preserver and chef. Pascal was named one of the 25 most influential tastemakers in L.A. by Los Angeles magazine, and his locally sourced wild ingredients and unique preserves have made their way into the kitchens of such star chefs as Ludo Lefebvre, Josiah Citrin, Ari Taymor, Michael Voltaggio, Chris Jacobson and Niki Nakayama. He is the author of The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, an incredible book of culinary concepts and ideas featuring recipes and preservation techniques using a local terroir.

Pascal is here to change how we think about wild food. He invites us to experiment with the wild ingredients in our own local bioregion and shares some examples of how he creatively crafts wild cuisine from the landscape he calls home. You’ll hear the wide variety of uses for wild sage, how he makes his own salt and how he uses insects in his wild ferments. Pascal’s work is rooted in love of place, and I hope he inspires you to infuse more local wild terroir into your own wild food plate.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt +gather updates: Fishing, free diving and iguana hunting in the Florida Keys
    • Q&A: Methods of organizing/recording/searching for your hunting/fishing/foraging spots to go back to in the future
    • Teaser about upcoming show on ticks
  • Introducing Pascal Baudar
  • Pascal’s niche in the wild food world
  • What led Pascal to survivalism
  • Defining terroir
  • Pascal’s local bioregion and wild food unique to his area
  • How Pascal uses sage in his dishes
  • Reflecting on a career in commercial foraging
  • Insect cuisine
  • Relationship to stone
  • Adding context to your food
  • How to make your own salt
  • Wildcrafted fermentation
  • The work behind the wild food plate
  • Pascal’s educational journey
  • Making vinegar from fruit flies
  • Using acorns
  • Spiritual relationship to wild food
  • Pascal’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Aug 16, 2017

Water — our most vital resource — is a topic that is quite often on our minds. There are the global water issues such as the fact that 783 million people do not have access to fresh water, droughts throughout our planet are becoming more wide-spread and the biodiversity of our oceans is declining at an alarming rate. There are the issues closer to home, like (for us in the United States) the droughts in California and the recent water crisis in Michigan caused by contaminated municipal water, potentially exposing over 100,000 residents in the city of Flint, MI to high levels of lead in their drinking water. And then there are the more personal water issues, such as considerations over what’s the best, most healthful water for us to drink and how much water is ideal for one to consume in a day. 

Our relationship with water has profoundly impacted our history, and Brian Fagan — archaeologist,  Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and prolific author — is here to share key pieces of our shared history with water and how we can reflect on this history to help solve water crises of the future. Brian was born in England, was educated at Cambridge University (BA (Honors), MA, and PhD) and worked in Central Africa as an archaeologist and museum curator before coming to the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1967. He is the author of numerous articles and general books on archaeology, ancient climate change, and most recently histories of water, ancient seafaring, and the changing relationship between humans and animals. Brian is regarded as one of the world’s leading archaeological writers and lectures about the past, especially ancient climate change, all over the world. 

In this interview, Brian artfully weaves together the history of water and humankind. We discuss the timeline of water issues and cover some of the most prevalent water issues plaguing our planet at this time, as well as Brian’s predictions for what we can expect in the future. This interview is not a doomsday report, as Brian’s message is a wake-up call for our species that is filled with hope for our planet and Homo sapiens (the wise ones) and our ingenuity and adaptability. It is a call to regain the reverence for water that our ancestors possessed!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • The story of Lyrical and importance of easing people into wild foods
    • Hunt + Gather updates: Chokecherries, Tenkara trout fishing and freediving
    • What I've been reading and watching
    • Q&A on insects: Natural repellents and indigenous practices for insect management
  • Introducing Brian Fagan
  • What led Brian to his work today
  • The history of fishing
  • Future of wild fisheries
  • Defining archaeology
  • The effects of agriculture on our planet
  • When did water become an issue?
  • History of humans and water
  • The loss of reverence for water
  • The current state of water
  • Needless wasting of water
  • Possible solutions to modern water issues
  • Brian’s prognosis for the future of water
Aug 9, 2017

"How you live is how you die," Dr. Scott Eberle — a physician specializing in end-of-life care — tells us in today's interview. Having spent many years at the bedside of the dying, Scott has learned some important lessons from those participating in their final rite of passage, and he's here to impart a bit of that wisdom with us today, inspiring us to live and die more consciously.

Dr. Scott Eberle is a medical director of Hospice of Petaluma in Petaluma, California, as well as an experienced teacher and author, and a wilderness guide.  Together with Meredith Little of the School of Lost Borders, he co-created “The Practice of Living and Dying,” an innovative wilderness curriculum exploring the human experience of being a mortal animal.

In this interview, we explore the practice of living and dying and what it means to be a mortal animal. Consciously approaching life and death calls for us to "confront the difficult questions" and "have the difficult conversations" right now, and Scott shares how he has integrated these practices into his own life. We discuss Scott's experiences working in hospice, thoughts on death acceptance, the common regrets of the dying and much more. If you’re a mortal animal, you’ll want to hear this conversation!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + Gather updates: Transitioning to autumn, wild cherries & trout fishing
    • Reflecting on the Moon Dance
    • Q&A: Beard-scaping
  • Introducing Dr. Scott Eberle
  • What is hospice and how Scott came to work in this field
  • What it’s like to interact with people in their dying time
  • Denial of death
  • Lessons learned from the bedside of the dying
  • The top five regrets of the dying
  • What led Scott back to the natural world
  • Experiencing the AIDS epidemic
  • The practice of living and dying
  • Blending holistic wellness with our modern healthcare system
  • Being a mortal animal
  • Confronting the difficult questions and conversations now
  • Thoughts on the soul and life’s purpose
  • What Scott has come to hope for his own dying time
  • Scott’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Aug 2, 2017

What a pleasure it was to speak with lifelong forager and pioneer in sustainable commercial wild food and mushroom foraging, Connie Green. Connie founded one of the very first and largest wild food businesses in the U.S., Wine Forest, where she still resides as “head huntress,” overseeing a beautifully rich and diverse selection of wild foods furnished to top chefs, restaurants, retailers and consumers. Friends of the forest, Connie and her team believe that wild food harvesting goes hand in hand with a love and respect for the ecosystems where these delectable wild edibles grow.

In this episode, Connie takes us back in time through the landscape of foraging over the past few decades and shares how she got her start in the commercial foraging business. She illuminates the commercial side of the foraging world with a focus on what she considers to be the secret ingredient in bridging the ancestral practice of hunting and gathering with modern gourmet cooking: sustainability and ethical harvesting practices. 

We also explore some tactical “in the field” topics, such as Connie’s indispensable foraging equipment and her recommendations for how to get started foraging. Tune in and be inspired — or re-inspired — to participate in your local ecology by hunting and gathering from your landscape!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Got a question for Kim Anami about healthy human sexuality?
    • Hunt + gather updates: Freediving in Florida
    • Q&A: Back support on long car rides
  • Introducing Connie Green
  • How Connie came to this way of life
  • The landscape of foraging over the decades
  • On Euell Gibbons - the great grandfather of foraging
  • Wild food in restaurants
  • Crossroads between wild foods and agriculture
  • Eating invasives
  • The sustainability of hobbyist and commercial foragers
  • Level of processing for the commercial forager
  • Connie’s indispensable foraging equipment
  • Plant people, mushroom people, animal people
  • Getting started foraging
  • A message to aspiring foragers
  • Connie’s prognosis for the future of the human species
  • Where to find Connie’s work
Jul 26, 2017

Joe Roman — conservation biologist, author & editor ’n’ chef of EatTheInvaders.org — joins us for the second interview in our informal series on the topic of invasive species. Joe’s research focuses on endangered species conservation and marine ecology, and he is a researcher at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont and a Hrdy Visiting Fellow at Harvard University. His website EatTheInvaders.org is dedicated to fighting invasives one bite at a time and is an incredible resource for hunter gatherers who are interested in being apart of the culinary solution to the biological problem of invasives.

In this interview, Joe gives us the status report on global species extinction and shares some potential solutions to conserving our earth’s biodiversity through extirpation of invasive species. We discuss the impact individuals (and commercial operations) who hunt and gather can have on extirpating invasives from their non-native range, as well as the role government management plays in this issue. Joe gives us tactical advice for proper harvesting of invasives and for keeping our ecological impact on native biodiversity as low as possible when we’re out foraging. Peppered throughout our conversation are edible invasive species that you can learn more about and start harvesting right now! We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including a fascinating glimpse into the domestication of the ocean.

Joe’s outlook — based on years of dedicated research and time spent in the field harvesting & eating invasives — is realistic but also quite hopeful. Tune into this conversation to gain a better understanding of the current landscape of invasives!


EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show introduction:
    • Our native North American caffeine plant
    • Hunt + gather updates: lobstering and coastal foraging
    • Chewstick update
    • Q&A: Recommendations on chewstick species in different bioregions
    • Q&A: Thoughts on blood type diets
    • Q&A: Role of horses in ReWilding lifestyle
  • Introducing Joe Roman
  • Joe shares about his work
  • The status report on global species extinction and invasives
  • Conservation of charismatic species vs the less photogenic species
  • Defining invasives
  • A culinary solution to a biological problem
  • Conservation of biodiversity and managing invasives
  • Joe’s invasive species resource: EatTheInvaders.org
  • A forager’s ecological impact
  • Commercial harvest of invasives
  • The domestication of the ocean
  • Predictions on future species extinction
  • Are there invasive species we can eat into extinction or extirpation from their non-native range?
  • Thoughts on de-extinction
  • Joe’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Jul 19, 2017

How can you create conditions that are private, safe and unobserved for yourself during childbirth? This question is a core message behind the work of Dr. Sarah Buckley — author of the best selling book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering and mother of four home-born children. Dr. Buckley is a New-Zealand-trained GP/family physician with qualifications in GP-obstetrics and family planning and currently combines full-time motherhood with her work as a writer on pregnancy, birth, and parenting.

Women were biologically designed to give birth in the wild, and oftentimes, the conventional maternity care system does not effectively support the ancestral and biological needs of a woman during childbirth. Dr. Buckley spent seven years researching and synthesizing the scientific evidence on the hormonal physiology of childbearing. She found that the science confirms the innate wisdom of a laboring woman — following your intuition can allow your hormones to guide you on the pathway to a healthy, gentle birth.

In this episode, we unpack how women can tune into their innate birthing wisdom as Dr. Buckley guides us through the hormonal physiology from pregnancy all the way through to the first days spent with their newborn baby. We discuss preparing for labor, hormonal gaps, choosing a healthcare provider, breastfeeding, bed sharing and so much more. Enjoy!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show introduction:
    • Why Daniel's excited about Yaupon tea
    • Chewstick update
    • Hunt + gather updates: blueberries, mackerel fishing, clamming & upcoming Florida freediving trip
    • Q&A: Daniel's opinion on sustainably-harvested coffee
    • Q&A: Call to listeners for child-friendly resources with a "rewilding mindset"
  • Introducing Dr. Sarah Buckley
  • Sarah’s background
  • Modern medical research validating traditional birthing wisdom
  • Designed to give birth in the wild
  • Institutionalizing the birthing process
  • Pre-labor physiological preparations
  • Defining a hormonal gap
  • Setting yourself for the least amount of hormonal gap
  • Listening to your intuition when choosing a healthcare provider
  • What to do when hormonal gaps happen during birth
  • Is there an appropriate length of time to breastfeed?
  • Thoughts on bed sharing — a baby’s ancestral hardwiring
  • Sarah’s mission statement
  • What most excites Sarah in the field of birth care
  • Sarah’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Jul 12, 2017

Samuel Thayer — internationally recognized authority on edible wild plants — was one of our very first guests on ReWild Yourself Podcast (way back in Episode #2!), and I’m so honored to have him back on the show for Episode #152 to discuss a fundamental topic for the conscientious forager: Ecoculture.

Sam has authored two award-winning books on foraging, Nature’s Garden and The Forager’s Harvest, and he’s soon-to-be-releasing a third volume in his Forager’s Harvest series, Incredible Wild Edibles. He has taught foraging and field identification for more than two decades. Besides lecturing and writing, Sam is an advocate for sustainable food systems who owns a diverse organic orchard in northern Wisconsin and harvests wild rice, acorns, hickory nuts, maple syrup, and other wild products.

For Sam, hunting and gathering is not just a passion he pursues on the side, it is life. That may sound unattainable in our modern world, but tune in, and you’ll see that Sam’s approach is practical, comprehensive and well within reach.

In today’s show, we delve into "the management of natural ecosystems to enhance their production of useful products," or as Sam calls it, Ecoculture. Think “agriculture” and “permaculture,” but rather than tending to crops, we foragers tend the wild. Nature is productive, resilient and, perhaps most importantly, it includes humans. Rooted in our ancestry, hunting and gathering is how we cultivate relationship with our ecology, gain sovereignty from the agriculturally-dominated food system and protect the biodiversity of our planet for future generations. Tune in as Sam guides us through the principles of Ecoculture, and learn how you can get started stewarding your local landscapes right now.


EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • SurThrival re-introduces Yaupon!
    • Hunt + gather updates: Clamming, shadbush, milkweed & blueberries
    • Q&A: Does blueberry raking harm the plant?
    • ReWild Yourself Podcast spotlight: Ask a Mortician - Caitlin Doughty #146
  • Introducing Sam Thayer
  • How Sam became an authority in the foraging world
  • Integrating wild food into your daily life
  • The divide between foragers and hunters
  • How the foraging demographic has changed over the years
  • Hunting and gathering as life vs a part of life
  • What is Ecoculture?
  • Replacing our agro-centric creation myth
  • Domestication of plants — who’s in control?
  • Nature is productive and resilient
  • Human impact on nature and “leave no trace” principles
  • Can 7 billion people forage?
  • The role of hunter gatherers in protecting biodiversity
  • How to get started in landscape stewardship
  • Sam’s hopes for the legacy of his work
  • Sam’s prognosis for the future of the human species
  • How to work with Sam
Jul 5, 2017

Stephen Jenkinson is back on ReWild Yourself Podcast to stretch our minds and hearts as he shares with us a bit of his elder wisdom on restoring real human culture. Stephen is a teacher, author, storyteller, spiritual activist, farmer and founder of the Orphan Wisdom School, a teaching house and learning house for the skills of deep living and making human culture.

In our last interview (Episode #34) — a humbling conversation for me — Stephen shared insight into dying wise in our death phobic society. In today’s conversation, we focus on living wisely and meaningfully in our modern culture of self-hatred, entitlement, unwillingness to live deeply and lost connection to what makes us human.

He leaves us with an empowering message on living a purposeful life, not just for ourselves, but for our collective culture and future generations. As Stephen so perfectly puts it, "Now is the time for work, not the time for getting paid.”

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • New SurThrival product coming soon!
    • Hunt + gather updates: Cattail pollen-bearing flowers, Milkweed flowers, Wild strawberries, Shadbush & Self-heal
    • CNN reports on the hunter-gatherer diet
    • Q&A: Milkweed harvesting tips
  • Introducing Stephen Jenkinson
  • The absence of village-mindededness
  • The story of Orphan Wisdom
  • Growth and the issue with "how-to" questions 
  • The measure of a sane society
  • Your generational spiritual project
  • What is real sorrow?
  • Real human culture
  • Stephen’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Jun 28, 2017

Can we eat our way out of our "invasive species" dilemma? Jackson Landers thinks that's part of the solution. The issue of invasives is becoming more prevalent as these species continue to spread, causing ecological destruction and the loss of native species and habitat all throughout our planet. As foragers and hunters, we have the opportunity to assist in the management of these non-native invasive species by targeting them when hunting and gathering. 

We’ve been discussing invasive species throughout this season of ReWild Yourself Podcast, and today’s interview will be the first in an informal series investigating the topic.

Our guest Jackson Landers is here to share his personal experience with eating invasives. Jackson is an author, science writer and adventurer based out of Charlottesville, Virginia, specializing in wildlife out of place. His most recent book, Eating Aliens, chronicles a year and a half spent hunting and fishing for invasive species and finding out whether we can eat our way out of some ecological disasters. In this episode, he recounts some of the interesting invasives he’s enjoying hunting and eating — from armadillo to lionfish. We discuss the true definition of invasive species, the effectiveness of hunting invasives as a form of eradication and how you can get involved with invasive species management. Enjoy this interview, and let’s keep this conversation going as we explore managing invasive species through hunting and gathering together this season!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Eating mackerel and milkweed season
    • Chewstick update
    • Q&A: Humanely killing fish
    • Q&A: Roadkill
    • On Invasive Species
  • Introducing Jackson Landers
  • How Jackson got into the world of hunting and fishing
  • Breaking the barrier to entry into the hunting world
  • Credible sources for hunting journals
  • What led Jackson to invasive species
  • Hunting the invasive armadillo
  • Defining invasives
  • Humans as an invasive species
  • What caused the great mass extinctions of years past?
  • How effective is hunting invasives as a form of eradication?
  • Palatability and easy to eat invasives
  • De-extinction explained
  • Jackson’s prognosis for the future of human species and conversation
  • How to get involved with Jackson
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