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Green-Wood Cemetery, in the middle of Brooklyn, feels unexpectedly wild. The 478 acres are alive with big old trees, flowers, bees, fungus, birds, wild and feral animals. Yes, it’s also full of dead people — the “permanent residents” of Green-Wood, as they refer to them, comprise a Who’s Who of 19th century New York: famous actresses and Civil War generals, industrialists, businessmen, developers.

What can cities do to prepare themselves for natural disasters brought on by climate change? Jainey Bavishi, one of the key leaders in climate preparedness for the Obama administration, discusses the resiliency work she’s led for New York City after Hurricane Sandy.

The pandemic has created a tremendous amount of isolation and distance between people. While digital tools and ways of gathering have helped us stay somewhat connected, they lack the capacity to help us relax, have fun, build trust and rapport and get to know each other in our more full selves.  Organizations are struggling to find ways to gather that feel safe and meet this moment which is leading us to a new normal. It can be important to gather, at least occasionally, in person and what better way to do that than safely outdoors in the container of nature and the wild.  We are social animals. We crave belonging - to each other, to family, to tribe, to team, to community. So when we have moments of connectivity, especially after being in isolation for so long, it rings a bell deep within us.   Join Wild Talk host Jay Erickson and some of his colleagues at Modus, a digital agency, as they paddle on the Hudson River to Bannerman Island and visit a castle with an explosive history. They are meeting in person for the first time since the pandemic, lock downs and working from home. We can hear the excitement to be together in person and to be setting sail on a new chapter and adventure together.  “We've been missing dimension. Everything's been very flat not just because the screen is flat and people are flat -we all just got there like very one dimensional. A lot of the beauty and  the messiness and the connections that all happen that you don't realize they're happening. The ones you can feel but not see.” - Abi Stock  Transcript & photos: https://www.wildtalkpodcast.com/episodes/episode-09-rivers-castles-kayaks  

What are the unique challenges facing Black women physicians in America? Dr. Omolara Uwemedimo joins us to discuss the impact racism has on doctors and patients alike, medical career burnout and healing communities with more than just medicine.

Chloe Cockburn is a lawyer, an activist, and an organizer. She currently leads strategy on criminal justice reform for Open Philanthropy, a research and grant-making foundation that identifies giving opportunities, makes grants, and publishes its findings publicly. Prior to joining Open Philanthropy, Chloe oversaw state policy reform efforts at the ACLU’s Campaign to End Mass Incarceration, and before that she worked with the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Sandy movements, which led her to better appreciate her role as a connector between funders and activists.

What can the wild world teach us about how to push through in tough times? And how can we use those lessons to help ourselves, and our kids, look towards a future none of us can yet define? In this episode, we craft a new ritual for finding ways to keep going.

Can we help address the opioid epidemic just by changing the way we speak about it? Dr. Sandeep Kapoor shares how words can be powerful medicine in treating everything from alcoholism to gun violence.

This winter feels like a time of surrender. In the midst of the cold, dark season and the cultural winter we have been plunged into by the pandemic, how might we learn to slow down, repair and contemplate the lessons that winter can offer?

In the wake of #metoo and #blacklivesmatter, and as we confront the growing threat of violent extremism in the US… what comes next? How can societies and souls overcome our greatest failings? Humanitarian, activist and TV host Zainab Salbi shares hard-won insights about conflict and healing from her years of international human rights work, and her time hiking the wilds of upstate New York to heal from a devastating illness.

Magic is sometimes said to be the only honest profession - the magician promises to deceive you, and then they do. But we love these slights of hand and fantastic illusions, even when we know we’re being fooled, because there is a joy in having our minds set off balance. They shake up our expectations of the way the world works and think differently about what’s possible. In this episode, Emily Kagan-Trenchard pulls apart a magic trick to show us how it’s done.

What do forests, psychedelics, and breathing through one side of your nose all have in common? They’re good medicine, according to Dr. Julie Holland, for repairing our connection to ourselves, each other and to the wider world around us. Dr. Holland is a psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist who has spent a lot of time understanding what pulls our brains away from a shared reality, and what helps bring them back to reconnect. We talked with Julie in the woods behind her house about her latest book,  “Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection from Soul to Psychedelics”, and why things like singing or forest bathing might hold the keys to unlocking the “rest and repair” pathways of our brains.  More info here: https://www.wildtalkpodcast.com/episode-01-dr-julie-holland  

Introducing a new podcast: Wild Talk. Head outside with hosts Emily Kagan-Trenchard and Jay Erickson as they talk outdoors with fascinating thinkers, linking their work to the natural world, and helping us navigate a path through these uncertain times. Learn more at www.wildtalkpodcast.com