Wild with Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson
  • 4.8 (51)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED FORTNIGHTLY
Wild with Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson chats wild ideas for a fired up life. The multi-New York Times bestselling author, activist, minimalist and former news journalist who founded the global phenomenon ‘I Quit Sugar’ travelled the world for 10 years (living out of one bag) to explore the freshest ways to live fully…and to save this one wild and precious life we have together. She riffs with philosophers, creatives, poets, scientists (and at least one nun!) on the Big Questions that haunt us. What goes through the mind of a prisoner on death row? How does Sia invent her art? Will we die from climate change and can our rage save us? Is being Australian a mental health crisis? Join Sarah as she wrestles a path to the answers… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3 DEC

    VANESSA ANDREOTTI: And now we have hospice modernity…(and a goodbye from Wild)

    Dr Vanessa Andreotti (Indigenous Knowledge advocate; author) is a Brazilian academic who has developed a radical thesis for how to move through the multi-crises we face. In her book Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism she draws on Indigenous wisdoms and entanglement theory to steer humanity through the destruction, grief and uncertainty as democracy, the growth model, “the West” crumbles around us.  Dr Andreotti is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, Canada where she is also one of the designers of the Facing Human Wrongs: Climate Complexity and Relational Accountability course. She has written 100-plus papers on climate education, global justice and race. In this chat – the last in the current Wild series – she talks through how modernity is the most “adolescent” civilisation in history, how Indigenous cultures have the knowledge to assist us, how the West won’t act until “the water is up to their bum” and the value of “black belt aunties”. Get your copy of Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism. Find out more about Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures -- If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most! Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 6m

  2. 26 NOV

    MARTHA BECK: Only the most nourishing chat I’ve had about anxiety ever

    Dr. Martha Beck (author; “best-known life coach in America”) is about to release a book on anxiety. The international best-selling author – who holds three Harvard degrees in social science and was described by Oprah as “one of the smartest women I know” – specialises in helping people find meaning and integrity in their lives. In this episode, Sarah and Martha reconnect after 15 years to discuss their takes on the role of anxiety in our lives, and how it can be used to create purpose and direction (tune in to hear about the time Martha “bent a spoon with her mind” for Sarah!). They also share tangible techniques for using creativity to switch out of anxious spirals. Martha’s book, Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose comes out in early 2025. SHOW NOTES Here’s the newspaper column I wrote about my first meeting with Martha in 2010. I refer to previous podcasts with Dr Jill Bolte Taylor and Iain McGilchrist, and another on the role of creativity with Ian Leslie. You can read more about Martha's work here and connect on IG here. Preorder a copy of her upcoming book Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life's Purpose -- If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most! Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 12m

  3. 19 NOV

    INDY JOHAR: The starkest collapse prognosis I’ve heard

    Indy Johar (founder of Dark Matter Labs, systems designer) re-imagines and redesigns systems for a changed world. The architect and Professor of Planetary Civics at Melbourne’s RMIT and the University of Sheffield has worked with and advised organisations worldwide. Including the Scottish Government, the Mayor of London and WikiHouse, solving complex, entangled problems. Using complexity, emergence and entanglement theories he is a rare expert in this space to provide the (only) path to fixing the world, which is to say fixing our relationship with the world. This conversation goes to a level I’ve not been to before publicly. On his modelling, we don’t have any choice but to start building the world that comes next, for the current one has no viable pathway. He gives a vision for this this. And he gives a timeframe, too.  For this episode, I’m providing a forum where you can talk through how you feel about the ideas and your feelings with others. Indy has offered to chime in too: Join the chat on Substack HERE. SHOW NOTES If you are new to this collapse topic you might want to catch up via this conversation with Luke Kemp, the one with Meg Wheatley and this one with Corey Bradshaw. There are some previous guests and topics that are referenced in this chat: Nate Hagens on the future of fossil fuelsKate Raworth on Doughnut EconomicsWe talk about zero-sum theory. I talked about this with Liv Boeree, former world poker champion.We also cover the Blue Zones concept. I interviewed the man behind this, Dan Buettner, here. Indy also references the work of Iain McGilchrist, a guest a few weeks back. You can learn more about Indy's work via DarkMatterLabs Connect with Indy on socials @DarkMatter_Labs and @indy_johar  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 18m

  4. 12 NOV

    LYNDSEY STONEBRIDGE: How would Hannah Arendt explain Trump?

    Lyndsey Stonebridge (Humans rights academic, Hannah Arendt biographer) was worried about the banality of evil she was observing in the world and so dug down into the work of controversial philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt for insights. Her new book, We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience is a guide on how to live--and think--through a moment like the one we’re in now in the wake of the US election. It draws on Arendt’s ideas about totalitarianism, loneliness, the dulling of the mind, capitalism, as well as the imperative to love the world. Lyndsey is a Professor of Humanities and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and writes and broadcasts about a range of topical subjects: refugees, feminism and the moral mind. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.  SHOW NOTES I mention the Wild episode with BBC Washington correspondent Nick Bryant  Get your copy of Lyndsey's new book, We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience Read more about Lyndsey's work here and follow her on IG here -- If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most! Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 1m

  5. 5 NOV

    LUKE KEMP: Will our global civilisation go the way of the Roman Empire?

    Luke Kemp (historical collapse expert; associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk) has studied past civilisations and mapped out a picture of how long they tend to last before they collapse, what tends to tip them and what (if anything) can be done to stall their demise. Luke works alongside Lord Martin Rees and Yuval Noah Harari, is an honorary lecturer in environmental policy at the Australian National University and his collapse insights have been covered by the BBC, the New York Times and the New Yorker. His first book, 'Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse' will be published in June 2025. In this episode I get Luke to provide a bit of a 101 on how civilisations do indeed decline and perish and to update us on the latest theories on how and whether ours might make it through. The answer is surprising. SHOW NOTES Here’s Luke’s original report on complex civilisation’s lifespans. Keep up to date with Luke's work here A few past Wild guests are referenced by Luke. You can catch the episode on Moloch with Liv Boeree here, the interview with Adam Mastroianni here and my chat with Nate Hagens here The first chapter of my book serialisation – about hope – is available to everyone here And here are the two chapters that I reference at the end -- If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most! Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most! Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 14m

  6. 29 OCT

    AMA: A post on how I write a book about collapse on Substack

    Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of “Ask Me Anything” questions about the minutiae of writing about - and having to live through - collapse. I try to cover most of these kinds of questions as we work through the book Serialisation process, but a few get left behind. And so this week’s Wild episode covers these off. You are welcome to join the 55,000 subscribers who are following the book, chapter by chapter, week by week, here. You’ll be invited to upgrade (sorry to have to use such commercial language) to a paid subscription…this helps me to be able to dedicate most of my working week to writing said book. But don’t feel obligated. You can stay a free subscriber and read these first few chapters here and a preview of every other one! SHOW NOTES Here’s where you can start reading the first chapter of the Book Serialisation And here’s the link to subscribe to my Substack newsletter Want to ask me your own question…post it here -- If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most! Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min

  7. 22 OCT

    JOEL PEARSON: Do we have free will? Is anything our fault?

    Prof. Joel Pearson (Neuroscientist; AI and cognition scientist) returns to Wild, this time to discuss whether free will is an illusion. In our last chat (about intuition) the subject was raised and Joel promised to come back to discuss it further, particularly in the context of AI, algorithms, the rise of totalitarianism and our agency in systems collapse.  Joel is the founder and Director of Future Minds Lab which applies neuroscience findings to art, AI, media, advertising and various philosophical quandaries. He’s also a National Health and Medical Research Council fellow and Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He developed the first scientific test to measure intuition and wrote The Intuition Toolkit. In this conversation, we also cover the science of manifesting! SHOW NOTES I mention the chapter on Blame and the very robust discussion the Substack community had around it. You can join this here Here’s the previous episode where Joel talks about the scientific proof of intuition Get Joel’s book The Intuition Toolkit: The New Science of Knowing What without Knowing Why Follow Joel on his Future Minds Lab Substack I previously had willpower expert Roy Baumeister on Wild to talk about how the female orgasm shapes the world!  -- If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most! Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min

  8. 15 OCT

    CHRISTIANA FIGUERES: On “stubborn optimism”

    Christiana Figueres (the woman behind the Paris Agreement) is possibly the best-known official in the global climate change movement. The former Costa Rican diplomat and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010-2016), managed to bring together 195 nations to sign the historical 2015 agreement that set the “1.5C” target/warning. She wrote The Future We Choose, cohosts the Outrage + Optimism podcast, has a moth, a wasp and an orchid named after her, and has won countless international awards for her work.  In this episode, we challenge each other on whether hope and optimism are still useful given we’ve passed the 1.5C threshold in February, whether the Paris Agreement is still viable almost 10 years on and the viability of the green energy transition. We don’t agree on a number of points, but we come together on what keeps us in the “fight” …love. Listen to the end with this one. SHOW NOTES The work of rare earth minerals expert Olivia Lazard and energy futurist Nate Hagens supports the energy points I make in this episode.  This international team of researchers and this team working out of France show fossil fuels will become net-energy negative in the future. We are spending more energy to get less energy than before—our net energy is  “plummeting”. The world’s consumption of fossil fuels climbed to a record high last year according to the University of Exeter's Global Carbon Project and NASA. A Finnish Geological Survey finds that “global reserves are not large enough to supply enough metals to build the renewable non-fossil fuels industrial system”. According to a study on societal tipping points, a peak and fall in global oil production would bring down the entire financial and trade system like a house of cards. This chapter of my book outlines the argument in detail. And here are the first two chapters of my book, that outline my position on hope v truth.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 5m
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Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
51 Ratings

About

Sarah Wilson chats wild ideas for a fired up life. The multi-New York Times bestselling author, activist, minimalist and former news journalist who founded the global phenomenon ‘I Quit Sugar’ travelled the world for 10 years (living out of one bag) to explore the freshest ways to live fully…and to save this one wild and precious life we have together. She riffs with philosophers, creatives, poets, scientists (and at least one nun!) on the Big Questions that haunt us. What goes through the mind of a prisoner on death row? How does Sia invent her art? Will we die from climate change and can our rage save us? Is being Australian a mental health crisis? Join Sarah as she wrestles a path to the answers… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah Wilson
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    197
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 454e915e-a852-4328-8a8e-118240266466
  • Show Website
    Wild with Sarah Wilson

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