Made for audiophiles and nature lovers alike, Future Ecologies is a podcast exploring our eco-social relationships through stories, science, music, and soundscapes.
Every episode is an invitation to see the world in a new light – set to original music & immersive soundscapes, and weaving together interviews with expert knowledge holders.
FE presents: Inherited
Inherited is a climate storytelling podcast by, for, and about young people. We're bringing you Season 3, Episode 1: "Mama's House", a personal story of family loss, structural resilience, and survival in an era of climate change.Find all of Season 3, including behind-the-scenes interviews with each of the 8 storytellers, wherever you get your podcasts, or at yr.media/inherited/–––September 15-17 will hold climate marches and demonstrations around the world (many starting RIGHT NOW). Join the fight to end fossil fuels, and find the action near you: fossilfueltreaty.good.do/global-march/map/
9/15/2023 • 33 minutes, 1 second
Earthkin's Trial by Fire
Adam catches up with Fern Yip (guest producer on FE2.3) about her recent close call with wildfire, with lots of practical advice for those living on forested lands.For photos and a transcript of this conversation, see futureecologies.net/listen/earthkins-trial-by-fireLearn more about Fern at earthkin.ca— — —Find Earthkin's September workshops in Vancouver: earthkin.ca/rewilddaysand a 10-weekend course September 2023 through June 2024 at Anderson Lake: earthkin.ca/waysofthewild— — —VANCOUVER: Spiders Song will return to Lobe Studio on Thursday, September 14th!Join us for this exploration of the music of evolution, presented in 4DSOUND spatial audio.2 showtimes: 6:30pm and 8:30pm, both including a Q&A with Mendel.Tickets available on a sliding scale: eventbrite.ca/e/lobe-artist-residency-series-spiders-song-by-future-ecologies-tickets-695016291437Get yours soon! Capacity is limited and both of the last shows sold out.— — —🌱 Ongoing support for this podcast comes from listeners just like you. To keep this show going, join our community at patreon.com/futureecologies 💖
8/31/2023 • 19 minutes, 47 seconds
[UPDATE] FE4.2 - Terminal
At the heart of the Salish Sea lies the Fraser River Estuary: home to over half of the population of the Province of British Columbia, thousands of endemic species, and one world-famous pod of orcas. But as the human population of the region has grown, wildlife populations — including salmonids, orcas, and over 100 species at risk — have been plummeting.As economic imperatives press up against ecological thresholds, a mega-project that has been in development for over a decade is poised to further alter the character of the estuary, with massive implications for the health of Salish Sea and its many residents.In this episode, we ask: can we find ways to hear each other through all the noise?This episode was originally published in March 2022. We've added a brief update about some recent developments in 2023. Read more about the news here– – –This episode features Janie Wray, Misty MacDuffee, Steven Slə́qsit Stark, Marko Dekovic, and Stephanie Kwetásel'wet WoodWith music by Ruby Singh (with Dawn Pemberton, Inuksuk MacKay, Russell Wallace, Shamik Bilgi, Tiffany Ayalik, and Tiffany Moses), Thumbug, and Sunfish Moon Light.This episode was produced by Mendel Skulski and Adam Huggins, with help from Megan Hockin Bennet and Lili Li.A full list of citations and a transcript can be found at our website: futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-2-terminal
5/11/2023 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 8 seconds
[UPDATE] FE1.9 - Swimming Upstream
Dams remain one of the ultimate demonstrations of human power over nature. Wild rivers can be tamed to deliver energy for industry, lakes for recreation, and water for agriculture. But severing the link between land and sea has come with grave ecological costs. The impact of dams on salmon populations has been especially obvious and painful.This is part one of a two-part series on dam removals. In this episode, we go to the Klamath river to examine the fierce conflict (and unlikely partnerships) in pursuit of the deconstruction of 4 major dams. Part 2 is here.This episode was originally published in November 2018. We've added a brief update about some recent developments in 2022. Read more about the news here– – –This episode features Ryan Hilperts, Erica Terrence, Bill Tripp, and Senator Jeff Merkley.Music for this episode was produced by Brian D. Tripp, Loam Zoku, Kieran Fearing, Sour Gout, the Western Family String Band, the Clan Stewart Pipe Band, and Sunfish Moonlight.A full list of citations and a transcript can be found at our website: futureecologies.net/listen/fe1-9-swimming-upstream
5/11/2023 • 48 minutes, 41 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: Emergence Magazine
When the Earth Started to SingProduced by Emergence Magazine, this sonic journey written and narrated by David G. Haskell brings us to the beginning of sound and song on planet Earth.The experience is made entirely of tiny trembling waves in air, the fugitive, ephemeral energy that we call sound. Spoken words combined with terrestrial sounds invite our senses and imaginations to go outward into an experience of the living Earth and its history. How did the vast and varied chorus of modern sounds — from forest to oceans to human music — emerge from life’s community? When did the living Earth first start to sing? We invite you on a journey into deep time and deep sound that will open your ears and your imagination.Find many more stories exploring the intersection between ecology, culture and spirituality at emergencemagazine.org/David Haskell’s new book: Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory ExtinctionCover artwork by Daniel Liévano
5/10/2023 • 39 minutes, 50 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: Drilled
We're sharing an episode from our friends over at Drilled. Four years ago, the Drilled podcast asked a question that changed how people thought about climate stories: What if we stopped acting like the climate crisis was inevitable and instead treated it like it truly is...the crime of the century? Now, the original true crime podcast about climate change is back with a new season all about the opportunistic oil industry.The season is packed with high stakes court cases, intrepid journalists, and a whole lot of intrigue, set in the world's largest oil boom town.We're dropping you straight into the action with Episode 4. Get all the background, and follow the rest of the story at https://link.chtbl.com/futureecologiesdrilled
4/4/2023 • 40 minutes, 30 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: Life in the Soil
In this episode, Anja and Matthias go on an underground safari through the hidden jungle of the soil. We hear from Diana Wall about a tiny worm that is so tough it survives in Antarctica. Richard Bardgett introduces us to collembola, also known as springtails. Stefan Scheu and Maddy Thakur reveal which animals are considered the “wolves of the soil”, and Kate Scow delves into bacterial communities. How do all these organisms work together as a system?Find more episodes of Life in the Soil wherever you get your podcasts, or at rilliglab.org/podcast/For some incredible soil microfauna photography, see Andy Murray’s Chaos of DelightCatch up on our own treatment on soil carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture: on FE4.8 — Ground Truthing
11/16/2022 • 34 minutes, 18 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: Hot Farm
Our latest episode — on soil carbon and regenerative agriculture — could never have fit everything that needs to be said on the topic. So, we're leaning on a couple of other podcasts that we think you'll love. First up, we're running an episode from Hot Farm, from our friends at the Food and Environment Reporting Network. It's all about what farmers are doing (or could be doing) to take on the climate emergency. In this episode you'll hear about a novel grain that farmers are starting to grow, and that could be part of the solution. This is Hot Farm part 3: "Is Kernza the Grain of the Future?" Find more episodes of Hot Farm wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thefern.org/podcasts/hot-farm/ Catch up on our own treatment on soil carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture: on FE4.8 — Ground Truthing https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-8-ground-truthing
11/9/2022 • 29 minutes, 44 seconds
We Walk the Earth: podcasting through connection with Mendel Skulski
We Walk the Earth is a podcast that explores creativity, curiosity, and cultural evolution through personal conversations, and the occasional sonic journey.In this episode, Mendel and Sergio discuss podcasting, art, music, hope, and lots more besides. We hope you enjoy this peek behind the curtain into the making of Future Ecologies, and Mendel's unfiltered inner monologue.— — —Subscribe to We Walk The Earth wherever you find podcasts, or get in touch at wewalktheearth.orgCatch the upcoming Future Ecologies release right now on our Patreon: patreon.com/futureecologies
10/28/2022 • 1 hour, 37 minutes, 56 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: The Wind
Listening to The Disintegration Loops during wildfire season — a review of William Basinski’s seminal album as a meditation on looping thoughts, physical disintegration, and fire.– – –Subscribe to The Wind wherever you get your podcasts, and visit thewind.orgYou can find a transcript of this episode at https://the-wind.simplecast.com/episodes/the-disintegration-loops/transcript
7/12/2022 • 34 minutes, 14 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: Race Against Climate Change
We're featuring another guest episode. This time, from Canada's National Observer: a new podcast called Race Against Climate ChangeEpisode 1 – How We EatSUMMARY:Everybody’s gotta eat, but who’s feeding us, and what else are we eating up along the way? In this episode we chew on the ways our food affects our climate, and what can be done about it. Professor and author Lenore Newman discusses food security and this summer’s heat dome with National Observer founder Linda Solomon Wood. Plus, the surge in regenerative farming in Canada, and a future of real beef with no real cows. Yes, you read that right.GUESTS:● Robyn Bunn, Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture● Fawn Jackson, climate lead for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association● Karen Ross, director of Farmers for Climate Solutions.● Lenore Newman, Director of the Food and Agriculture Institute and Canada Research Chair in Food Security and Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley● Isha Datar, Executive Director of New HarvestFind more episodes of Race Against Climate Change wherever you enjoy podcasts, or on their website: nationalobserver.com/podcast/race-against-climate-change (where transcripts are also available)– – –Support Future Ecologies Season 4 for as little as $1/month to get access to our rad discord server and other fun perks: patreon.com/futureecologiesBrowse our episode archive and explore our website: futureecologies.netSay hi to us on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, iNaturalist
11/24/2021 • 36 minutes, 31 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: MEDIA INDIGENA
We're featuring another podcast we think should be in your feed (if it isn't already): MEDIA INDIGENA.This episode, originally released on May 27 2021, features a conversation with Dr. Max Liboiron – Director of the Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research, and author of the new book Pollution is Colonialism.Don't miss Part Two of this important discussion. Find episode 259 of MEDIA INDIGENA wherever you listen to podcasts, or visit https://mediaindigena.libsyn.com/pollution-is-colonialism-part-two-ep-259For a copy of Dr. Liboiron's book: https://www.dukeupress.edu/pollution-is-colonialismFor more on the CLEAR Lab: https://civiclaboratory.nl/– – –Thanks to all our Patrons who are making Future Ecologies Season 4 possible.To join our community, hang out with us on discord, get stickers, patches, and bonus audio content, head to https://www.patreon.com/futureecologies
10/13/2021 • 48 minutes, 49 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: How to Save a Planet
We’ve got an amazing 4th Season headed your way! While we’ve got our heads down for the rest of the year, we’re going to feature some episodes from other podcasts we think you’ll love.First up is an episode from the kind folks at How to Save a Planet. Dedicated Future Ecologies listeners might notice that this episode connects nicely with some of the work we covered in our first season, specifically episodes six and nine. There’s fire, there’s dam removal, there’s land back, and much more.Find more episodes of H2SAP on Spotify or at how2saveaplanet.show– – –PS. Our amazing supporters on Patreon are not only making our Season 4 possible, they’re keeping it ad-free for everyone to enjoy. If you are in a position to help (even just $1/month), it goes a long way. We’re almost at 200 supporting listeners, so please join us at patreon.com/futureecologiesPPS. Listen on for a big announcement before the episode 📻(& send your campus and community radio stations to futureecologies.net/radio )
9/22/2021 • 46 minutes, 31 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: Back to Earth - Queer Currents
What is queer ecology? How do queer theory and artistic practice inform environmental activism and climate justice? How can we think decolonisation and queerness together?Victoria Sin welcomes guest host Serpentine Assistant Curator, Kostas Stasinopoulos to dive into transformation, queerness, the natural and unnatural, wild, decolonial and submerged perspectives. Together with guests Ama Josephine Budge, Macarena Gómez-Barris and Jack Halberstam they ask: “where does wildness live?” and they collectively explore questions of desire, pleasure, queer resistance and affinity within apocalyptic world making.––––––Future Ecologies presents this episode from the Serpentine Podcast series Back to Earth – a nine part podcast series that follows artists and an art organisation developing projects, interventions and campaigns at the crossroads of art and the climate emergency.Learn more about the Serpentine Galleries at https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/Subscribe to the Serpentine Podcast at https://playpodca.st/serpentine
10/8/2020 • 49 minutes, 13 seconds
Future Ecologies presents: Life in the Plastisphere
While we work on Season 3, we're featuring an episode from one of our favourite podcasts: Plastisphere–––We want to know what you want to listen to! Take our 2020 Listener Survey and help shape the sound of Future Ecologies Season 3.–––Finally, we're releasing 2 albums: the official soundtracks of Season 2 and our Scales of Change series, featuring the instrumental compositions of Sunfish Moon Light (a.k.a. Adam Huggins), Loam Zoku, and Vincent van Haaff. We hope these help you pass the time before we kick off our next season. You can download both and name your price.From Mountaintop to Seafloor – The Music of Future Ecologies Season 2Scales of Change – The Official Soundtrack
8/19/2020 • 59 minutes, 29 seconds
Scales of Change - Chapter 7: A Form of Life
This is our final chapter, and our last genus of Dragon: Immobilis – the dragons of Limited Behaviour. This genus contains only two species: Immobilis signum, or the Dragon of Tokenism, and Immobilis jevonsii, or the Rebound Effect. They are among the most pernicious dragons, especially for people who already care deeply about the climate.As we unpack this small but important genus, we discover how they are tied to the global movement to divest from fossil fuels. Once again we find ourselves with the themes that have run throughout our entire series: the power and flexibility of language & narrative.Visit futureecologies.net/dragons to learn more about the Dragons of Inaction (including their names, descriptions, and phylogeny), and find all of our citations, guest speakers, and musicians.
7/9/2020 • 44 minutes, 22 seconds
Scales of Change - Chapter 6: Relatives of the Deep
In our sixth genus, we dive deep into the Dragons of Sunk Cost – the investments that work against our climate interests.Some of these may simply be financial, but they may also be emotional: our goals and aspirations, our patterns of behaviour, and our attachments to the places around us.In this episode, we focus our attention on Place Attachment, as we tag along with the ṮEṮÁĆES Climate Action Project: a W̱SÁNEĆ-led eco-cultural revitalization project.To learn more about the Dragons of Climate Inaction (+ musical credits, citations, and more) visit futureecologies.net/dragons
7/2/2020 • 55 minutes, 22 seconds
Scales of Change - Chapter 5: Force Majeure
Our fifth genus includes the Dragons of Perceived Risk: functional, temporal, financial, social, and physical. These dragons are at the root of all fears – steering our decisions in a continuous assessment of risk versus reward.When it comes to climate change, the risks are global, but distributed unequally. In this chapter, we explore what physical risk can mean to the people dedicated to the health of the planet, as we follow one woman’s journey to becoming a force of nature.To learn more about the Dragons of Climate Inaction (+ musical credits, citations, and more) visit futureecologies.net/dragons
6/25/2020 • 34 minutes, 56 seconds
Scales of Change - Chapter 4: Driving Decisions
The Dragons of Discredence are agents of mistrust – the species of this genus are responsible for climate deniers, contrarians, and conspiracy theorists. But it’s not only the fringe that suffers from the dragons of discredence. They can act in subtle ways on all of us: casting doubt on well-intentioned policy, and dissuading us from aligning our self-interest with the interests of our environment. To tip the scales, we have to prove that there’s plenty of honey to go around.Many of the Dragons of Inaction are insights for individuals – leading change from the bottom up. In this chapter, we discuss the other side of the equation: how governments and policy makers can design programs for climate change that people actually want.To learn more about the Dragons of Climate Inaction (+ musical credits, citations, and more) visit futureecologies.net/dragons
6/18/2020 • 32 minutes, 16 seconds
Scales of Change - Chapter 3: Writing on the Wall
Our third genus contains the Dragons of Social Comparison and Social Norms.Every aspect of who we are is mediated by these Dragons: we adjust to the norms of our communities – the people we interact with, and the people we consider to be our peers around the world. As with everything, these norms are subject to change. Their flexibility is based on our collective willingness to share, and to listen.When it comes to the climate crisis, community conversations – in whatever form they may take – are integral to our ability to adapt. To learn more about the Dragons of Climate Inaction (+ musical credits, citations, and more) visit futureecologies.net/dragons– – – – – Please note that this chapter does not contain direct reference to the ongoing protest movement against white supremacy and police brutality. However, we believe the lessons of this episode are as relevant to this cause as they are to issues of climate change.
6/11/2020 • 38 minutes, 42 seconds
In Solidarity
So long as police exercise violence with impunity, we will never be safe.So long as a badge is a license to murder without accountability, it will be sought by those who desire tyranny.So long as the agents of enforcement are from outside the communities they patrol, they will never understand its needs.So long as our governments choose to fund aggression over nourishment, healthcare, & education, we will never have justice and we will never have peace.We reject fascism. We call for the disarming and defunding of police. We stand for sanctuary and respect for all beings – and in this moment, we stand for Black lives especially.Black lives matter.Trans lives matter.Indigenous lives matter.– – – –Donate to 40 community bail funds at once: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd Join and support Vancouver-area mutual aid organizations: https://mutualaid.shadowsmile.ca/Donate to Critical Resistance: http://criticalresistance.org/donate/ways-to-give/Join and support Black Visions Minnesota: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/Listen to Justice in America (episode 20) https://theappeal.org/justice-in-america-episode-20-mariame-kaba-and-prison-abolition/Listen to Intersectionality Matters! http://bit.ly/intersectionalitymattersListen to Pod for the Cause https://civilrights.org/podforthecause/A reading list on Policing, Rebellion, and the Criminalization of Blackness https://www.radicalhistoryreview.org/abusablepast/reading-towards-abolition-a-reading-list-on-policing-rebellion-and-the-criminalization-of-blackness/
6/3/2020 • 52 seconds
Scales of Change - Chapter 2: Technosalvation
Meet our second genus of Dragons – Ideologies. These are constellations of beliefs and values; filters for understanding the world.One species of Ideology has flourished in the modern era: the Dragon of Technosalvation – A belief that technology can fix all our problems, and by extension, the climate.To learn more about the Dragons of Climate Inaction (+ musical credits, citations, and more) visit futureecologies.net/dragons Support the show at patreon.com/futureecologies
5/28/2020 • 34 minutes, 22 seconds
Scales of Change - Chapter 1: Hope Punk
In this chapter we meet our first genus of dragons: Artusnoia – the dragons of Limited Cognition.Among them, the twin dragons of Perceived Behavioural Control, and Perceived Self Efficacy (A. impotens & A. parvoperitia, respectively) are perhaps the greatest challenge to meaningful climate action. Join us as we discover the subtle shifts that can make all the difference.To learn more about the Dragons of Climate Inaction (+ musical credits, citations, and more) visit futureecologies.net/dragons
5/21/2020 • 36 minutes, 50 seconds
Scales of Change - Introduction: A Theory of Change
Before we lace up our boots and head into the field, some introductions are in order.What are the Dragons of Climate Inaction? Where do they come from? And why, especially now, are they so important?To learn more about the Dragons of Climate Inaction (+ musical credits, citations, and more) visit futureecologies.net/dragons
5/14/2020 • 32 minutes, 37 seconds
[REISSUE] FE1.3 - The Loneliest Plants
Today is the 10th anniversary of the rediscovery of the Franciscan manzanita! To celebrate, we're re-releasing this episode from Season 1.What do you do when you find the last individual of a species previously thought to be extinct? The two rarest plants on earth both live in the Presidio of San Francisco, they’re both in the same genus, and there’s only one left of each. Is there a future for these species, and if so, what does it look like? And what can species on the brink tell us about ourselves and the future of our ecosystems?An update from Dan Glusenkamp:“Today the mother plant is thriving, hundreds of clones are growing in dozens of botanic gardens across California, and baby plants are being reintroduced to their ancestral home in the Presidio. What’s more, the project inspired even more ambitious work –for example, Newsome Administration recently budgeted funds to enable scientists to collect seeds from all California’s rare plants, so they can be placed in long term storage toward ending extinction.”Click here to learn more about the California Native Plant SocietyMusic for this episode was produced by PORTBOU and Sunfish Moon Light.– – –💖 Support Future Ecologies: join our community on Patreon at futureecologies.net/patrons