211 Comments
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hannah moloney's avatar

Wonderful news Sarah :-). I'd love to hear more of the tangible ideas you mentioned. In all my research and life I've noticed these ideas are usually local, geographically relevant and located and relatively small in scale so relationality plays a central role. There are many many examples around the world (I collect them :-)). People that come to mind that write/speak/live towards this include Rebecca Solnit, David Suzuki and Zohran Mamdani. But there are also COUNTLESS lesser known folk doing the work on the ground who would also be amazing, just lesser known.

Sarah Wilson's avatar

I agree...localised action. To date I've struggled to find a voice who can really articulate the benefits, the joy etc of it. You know, who can make it sound sexy (so to speak).

Nicole's avatar

Local Futures - founder Helena Norberg-Hodge… “international non-profit organization dedicated to renewing ecological and social well-being by strengthening communities and local economies”

Formed in the late 70s after Helena had been working in Ladakh, India and saw the multiple impacts of capitalism encroaching on a thriving indigenous culture.

They have many projects, years of education and activism against the disempowering forces of the global economy.

Also an action guide for communities - https://actionguide.localfutures.org/

https://www.localfutures.org/about-local-futures/

Kei Ikeda's avatar

Yes, Nicole. I was thinking of Helena too. 💖

Sarah Wilson's avatar

wIll look at her work again. She and I have met a few times.

Kei Ikeda's avatar

Sarah, I can’t remember if you had Kate Raworth on your pod in Season 1? I think she walks her talk (I heard somewhere that she made sure every part of her car was reused/recycled when she decided to live car-free) and I wonder if doughnut economics is one of the ideas that are around today that we can adapt/adopt to build our future on?

Kei Ikeda's avatar

Oops, I was just going through your episodes and you did interview Kate. I probably heard about her car in that one. 🤦‍♀️ Sorry.

Would love to hear you in conversation with Nora Bateson.

Mitra's avatar

Two I know and love are Carol Perry - founder of Dharmananda community in northern nsw (I grew up on a different community across the ridge from her) she’s been interviewed on Radio National about her recent book “The whole of the Path” - and Helen Iles - writer of the book “Hiraeth” and researcher/film maker on intentional communities and “the longing for belonging”. Both are excellent at communicating the longing for reconnection to community, land and meaning and also the ridiculous struggle of actually doing it and dealing with the messiness of human experience

https://hiraethbook.org/

https://www.insightmeditationaustralia.org/carol-perry.html

hannah moloney's avatar

I hear you. One day I'm gonna be one of those people :-). But in the meantime, Rob Hopkins has done good stuff with the transition movement and his book 'from what is to what if'

Sarah Wilson's avatar

I realise I've actually looked him up before...I'll deep dive now

Daniel Simons's avatar

Third to Rob, Cyril Dion also could be great (Check out CUT cinema for the ecological transition: https://fromwhatiftowhatnext.libsyn.com/61-in-conversation-with-cyril-dion https://www.cut-collectif.fr/en/about-us/the-beginning-of-cut/ -- Daniel Christian Wahl, Britt Wray (Gen Dread),

Nancy's avatar

Second Rob Hopkins

Robyn Katz's avatar

Talk to Michael H Shuman. He’s a wonderful animated storyteller. https://www.themainstreetjournal.org/about-us

Sara's avatar

Sarah - as I read your "Wild is back!" message, I realized there's something you (seem?) to be really good at. Specifically asking for help (about your writing, or website, or podcast or...). You reach out and share what you need. Then, you ACCEPT it! This is curious to me, as it's not (in my experience) the way we generally act/interact, and when we do it's with a sense of defeat (I should be able to do this on my own), not empowerment. Could Wild explore a topic that explores what's possible when we expect we'll need each other every day - not just when there's a crisis, and then HOW to make this shift within our communities, etc. I see this as a critical "what next". Just some spaghetti noodles being thrown at the ceiling :) Sara

Sarah Wilson's avatar

That's interesting you pick up on that. I kind of fell into leaning on this community, then came to really FEEL the benefits of it...that go far beyond being tossed a few interesting ideas I might not have thought of. It's knowing there are others out there vested, engaged...hard to articulate how this translates online...but it does!

Madeleine Urion's avatar

& this is a beautiful definition of incarnation

VicW's avatar

I too, am inspired...challenged...not sure of the right language, but Sarah's asking for help has really moved me....not something I have skill in yet, but seeing it in action here, and realising it is essential to the new way, has been powerful.

Madeleine Urion's avatar

This, I think, is a beautiful definition of grace

Nicole's avatar

Douglass Rushkoff recently mused on this too.

Reciprocity, asking for help, being ‘in debt’ to our neighbours and each other can be a radical and empowering act against capitalism.

https://open.substack.com/pub/rushkoff/p/borrow-a-drill-save-the-world?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Sarah Wilson's avatar

The Benjamin Franklin effect, which I wrote about decades ago..I try to live by it!

Nicole's avatar

He talked about the well known act of taking baked goods to new neighbours. Not only as a welcome, but also as a first gesture in an ongoing exchange. At some point soon the new neighbour is going to have to knock on your door to return the plate and hopefully it continues from there.

Ashley's avatar

I have been loving the book Kinship Medicine: Cultivating Interdependence to Heal the Earth and Ourselves by Wendy Johnson and the evidence it revealing about the impact to our health of disconnection from the Earth and each other. I have also been inspired by Kay Gardner's work using IFS therapy for communal grief rituals, legacy burdens and the exploration of collective healing from the burdens of patriarchy. Also Francis Weller's work on communal grief rituals.

Sarah Wilson's avatar

Yes. Francis Weller - we reached out to him yesterday. Fingers crossed.

I'll take a look at Wendy and Kay's work. I feel female voices are important

Madeleine Urion's avatar

I hope you hear back. His book In the Absence of the Ordinary has been my precious companion these past months.

Sarah Wilson's avatar

I'm re-reading Edge of Sorrow right now. Each sentence is a balm.

Kei Ikeda's avatar

Yay! I hope Francis Weller will come on your podcast!

Ashley's avatar

Could also consider Ann Sinko. Love this presentation from her on grief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T9yNCPZIFQ

VicW's avatar

oooh, just the title of that book gives me shivers - gonna pop it on my library holds

Nicole's avatar

Regardless of the guests you manage to secure for the next season, this thread of suggestions is one to save for reading and research. As always, this community is wild and precious ❤️‍🩹

M Warner's avatar

My thoughts exactly… my research list has just expanded massively… this could take a while to get through… keep me busy for 2026… hopefully everything else in the world will pause whilst I dive down the rabbit holes exploring all these amazing names being suggested otherwise I’m never going to keep up… please could all the big blokes swinging their dicks and beating their chests just give it a rest for a year so I can look away from it all and enjoy some better content… be most grateful… thanks 🙂

Chris's avatar

Great news Sarah. I would love for you to explore and discuss the issue of over-tourism. I’ve just returned with a sad heart and soul from Indonesia where I witnessed the beautiful Hindu culture of Bali being decimated by mass tourism. Not to mention the ravages on the environment. Saddened so much that I returned early, conflicted in. It wanting to contribute to the issue, whilst realising their economy relies on it. Other areas in Indonesia, craving a tourist influx but not prepared for the impact it will result in.

And I know this is happening in many areas, Sth east Asia and areas of Europe, to mention a few.

Travel is no longer a luxury for many, but at what cost to cultures and communities does it come with?

I’m w in support of ‘end the trend’ and stay at home for a while. Would love to hear Wild’s take on this topic.

Thank you.

Christine B

Elisabeth Goodman Spain's avatar

This is exciting! Great to hear you are already reaching out to Francis Weller, and I echo Robin Wall Kimmerer. I wonder whether Camille Sapara Barton of Tending Grief might be one to hear? Also Robert Macfarlane as someone maybe outside your usual? I'm reading Is a River Alive and his writing is so beautiful and conjures up such possibilities for our relationship with nature. I imagine you've already hosted Manda Scott?

Sarah Wilson's avatar

These are great

Julie's avatar

Yes to Robert Macfarlane 🙏

susidoo's avatar

I second Manda Scott and Robert Macfarlane

Basil Camu's avatar

Fantastic, this is such amazing news! Your interview with Paul Hawken was one of my favorites of all time and helped me reframe some of my thinking

Sarah Wilson's avatar

Funnily, he just wrote to me (he's done a blurb for my book) and said that that podcast was his favourite that he's ever done!

Basil Camu's avatar

That's so cool! Encore?

VicW's avatar

ditto - listened to regularly in this house

Sarah Wilson's avatar

I'll tell him that!

viragkata's avatar

So exciting, Sarah! Emergence Magazine has a lot of contributors that are circling similar questions to Wild. I can see quite a bit of overlap between these two platforms and would be so keen to hear more about how artistic practices and spiritual ecology could contribute to community and psychological resilience, especially when it comes to finding meaning and beauty in a collapsing world

Sarah Wilson's avatar

they also do the podcast?

viragkata's avatar

Yes, exactly. I think the ideas they’re unpacking are in line with your question of ‘So, what’s next’?:)

Robyn Katz's avatar

Yes Llewelyn Vaughan Lee would be the person to interview.

Madeleine Urion's avatar

Maybe Philip Newell for a spiritual perspective? He’s in the Findhorn community.

Amanda Coleman White's avatar

That would be fantastic. He's such a treasure.

Tania Barney's avatar

Hi Sarah, Great news! I am the founder of Radical Positivity, a UK based not for profit. Our mission is to help bridge the gap between global problems (gender inequality, social disconnection, and the ongoing impact of patriarchy) and practical solutions in daily life – beginning with personal transformation. We're dedicated to restoring balance between the masculine and the feminine. Not by blaming or shaming, but by raising the feminine to match the masculine in strength; within ourselves and in the world. I am just about to run our first online programme 'Breaking Up with Patriarchy'. We've small and just starting out, but holding a big vision! I would love to be a Podcast guest, my email is hello@radicalpositivity.org

Sarah Wilson's avatar

could you link me to any coverage etc so I can learn about it? x

Tania Barney's avatar

Great - Best place to find out more about our work is on the website: https://radicalpositivity.org/ We made the decision to be META free as a conscious, values driven choice, current coverage is limited as we focus on organic growth, often word of mouth or through our own networks. Details of the ‘Breaking Up with Patriarchy’ programme are on the Eventbrite booking page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/breaking-up-with-patriarchy-tickets-1980738949518?aff=erelexpmlt

Happy to send speaker bio and more details in an email too if that’s helpful

Thank you x

Kristy H's avatar

I would love to hear this discussion.

Cynthea Semmens's avatar

I may have dropped a few tears of joy, and excitement into my coffee. Happy belated birthday Sarah, what a fabulous present for all of us, to have you continue your words! I’ll have a think whilst in the vineyard today. Vale Joanna, an interview with her would have been amazing xx

Sarah Wilson's avatar

wouldn't it!!

I'm just glad she did her own podcast series before she passed. her wisdom was recorded.

Go get out into the vines!

Carmen Stewart's avatar

Hi Sarah, Consider a podcast on the story that's emerging in the Northern Rivers of NSW re possible futures through and beyond the unravelling... We're on our way to engaging 550 people in workshops across the region, articulating: 1) what a regenerative, safe and adaptive future could be like in the lifetime of a child born today; 2) what people want to retain and what they are willing to let go of; and 3) the actions needed to help us turn away from business as usual. So far only the story/vision from Byron Shire is ready (https://ittakesatown.org.au/insightsbyron), but the other data is getting close. It's such an achievable vision... no rocket-science involved... so of course the question is "why aren't we doing it?" And this is what I'm beginning to explore with people in the Northern Rivers - a region so ready for transformation... a region where the term collapse is used without a blink of an eye.

Sarah Wilson's avatar

I'll be in Byron in May...I'd love to hear more when I'm there

Carmen Stewart's avatar

Hi Sarah - yes, please look me up when you come to Byron in May. My email address is carmen@ittakesatown.org.au. I'll also look out for details of your visit.

AmyGJewels's avatar

Hi Carmen, is there any way to learn more while visiting Byron next month?

Carmen Stewart's avatar

I'd love to share more about what's coming out of Imagine Northern Rivers. I don't know the dates of the proposed trip, but I live and work in the region and can definitely make time to connect. If 19 February works by any chance, there is the first discussion to unpack the Byron Shire findings with a group of hearts and heads that include Cate McQuillen (Dirt Girlworld - great story teller) and Helena Norbert-Hodge (as localisation is a key theme). Let me know dates in due course knowing that I'm pretty flexible to meet for a walk/chat/whatever.

AmyGJewels's avatar

Gosh I’d love to be there for that discussion but I’m not arriving until 25th February. Hopefully we can meet up during the week I’m there.

Nic Antoinette's avatar

Oh I'm so excited about this, Sarah! A few folks whose work has been deeply impactful for me and who I'd love to hear you in conversation with:

Margaret Killjoy - I so appreciate the way she writes about preparedness in a practical, non-overwhelming, non-individualistic, non-bunker-y, pro-social kind of way, and instead really shines a light on the necessity and possibilities of preparedness as a form of mutual aid, and of community level preparedness as a way to buffer (some of) the violence of the state. She's also a wonderful writer whose Substack is a always must-read in my inbox.

Carmen Spagnola - Her course, Collapse 101, is extremely thorough and (perhaps most importantly) trauma informed. The way she is able to balance the both/and of radical honesty about what's happening with the nervous system regulation of somatic practices feels like the embodied opposite of doom scrolling to me, and I am forever grateful for all that I have learned from her.

Sarah Wilson's avatar

looking into both xx

Racheal Rauch's avatar

Great news! I have missed WILD.

Question: To your point that the new world will depend on the ideas lying around developed by "by artists, expansive thinkers, Indigenous mob, and the collapse aware". This surprises me and also I find this somewhat hard to believe sadly. I wish this would be the case! But wouldn't the new world be shaped by those that have the power, money and influence to shape it? Which isn't really the aforementioned list. I would love to hear how this isn't the case?

The New Yorker have done a great podcast titled "A Stark Warning about the 2026 Election". You might have already listened to it. It's with a guy who predicted back in 2016 that Trump's win was the start of fascism in the US. He's now saying that all this is because the Trump circle want to remake America to how it was pre the founders. That it should be about white supremacy and hierarchy where it's God, then white men, then everyone else. I was like really?! That's what we're up against! So would love to hear some big world shaping ideas that are not this!

There's the 'Leaving MAGA' guy who might be able to speak to some of this. Because that's about walking away from embedded values and identity to something else.

But my ultimate recommend is Dr Zac Bush. He's a doctor but talks alot about spirit and energy and runs Farmers Footprint and is all about growing real food regeneratively. He talks like no one I've ever heard talk before. It's almost shocking and confronting and baffling but it's from his heart and soul. I first came across him when he did a course on gut health on Jeff Krasno's platform Commune and have followed him on socials and newsletters ever since.

All the best Sarah.

PS - my Physio asked me about your podcast the other day funnily enough. We've spoken about your work before and I recommended your last book to him which he loved. He said the podcast seemed to have 'dropped away' I said to keep an eye out in his feed as it's coming back!

Sarah Wilson's avatar

Thanks for sharing w your physio! I've not heard the New Yorker pod...will hunt down now.

To your question, I really do believe that those who hang on to the old system will go down with it. Their bunkers mentality, their reliance on materials and colonisation etc ...it all goes down. They won't cope with what's next. It's not their bag.

Racheal Rauch's avatar

In which case… good riddance!

Sarah Wilson's avatar

PS I Ref that podcast in yesterday's post! I failed to give a nod to you sending it to me. Apologies!

Racheal Rauch's avatar

I saw! And no worries. Glad you found it valuable.

Mary's avatar

This is great news! I found Wild back in the summer of 2024 - changed me. And there’s no going back!!! Will think on who in my local world might be of interest to you and followers. So looking forward to your pod return

Mary's avatar

One person who really impressed me lately at a "Feeding Ourselves" and community wealth building webinar was Sean McCabe. He works for an Irish co-operatively owned football club in Dublin called Bohemians. I found his focus on community wealth-building and the realities of climate change really strong (in fact I'd like to make a documentary about him and the club!). Not sure if he is for you. But here's an article about him https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-41658254.html. I could share the webinar with you privately if of interest.

Mary's avatar

The club’s Chief operating officer if also the manager of a band called Kneecap, who have been strong advocates against the oppression of Palestinians. And they hosted Greta Thunberg at the club post the last Flotilla.

Sarah Wilson's avatar

Thanks Mary. I love the Irish. I love what Kneecap has been doing. I'll take a look.

Ian's avatar

Wonderful news, Sar xx