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.
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.
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!
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!