In the landscape of Australian politics, something remarkable is brewing from the ground up. The community independents movement has evolved from a rural experiment to a nationwide phenomenon, reinvigorating democracy in my home country. At its heart, this movement isn’t about profile candidates, big funding or big media, but communities deciding they deserve better representation, and doing something about it.

The results have been striking. Seven new community independents were elected in 2022, comprising a cross bench of 16 in total (with 3 new Greens elected then too). Incumbent independents increased their margins. Other so-called safe seats around the country became a contest too, as the major party vote continued to decline to around 33% each, now level with minor parties and independents.

Leading into the upcoming election on the 3rd of May, there are now 37 community independent candidates running, in every state and territory. These campaigns are engaging people of all persuasions in a way not seen for generations, if ever.

Just before the last election I spoke with Cathy McGowan, Australia’s first female independent MP back in 2013. She wrote a book in 2020 about her experience, and it rapidly catalysed a movement. Back then, she talked of the potential to transform politics in this country by 2030. So leading into this 2025 election, I was keen to know how she was seeing things, as the movement continues to rapidly grow, and so too do major party efforts to marginalise it.

Cathy was kind enough to join me for as frank and positive a conversation as ever, and with some surprising takes on things, even risking sounding like a heretic, she says at one stage. And we start with a brief exchange on what we’re seeing in the US right now.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 7 April 2025.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Music:

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

Indi sings for Cathy, with Sal Kimber.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen

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A couple of episodes ago, I launched a new series on the podcast, Vignettes from the Source, to feature some of the unforgettable moments my guests have shared over the years. Continuing the series today then, is a passage of 7 or 8 minutes from my conversation with award winning filmmaker and photographer, Nicol Ragland. Longer term listeners might remember, Nicol was behind the very first Farmer’s Footprint film, among many others. 

Well, four years since she was on the podcast, we met in person for the first time at her home in Oklahoma City last week. Approaching that visit, the family and I listened to the episode I recorded with Nicol those years ago, and I remembered what a brilliant conversationalist she is. I was reminded of her belief in ‘the adjacent possible’. And when I asked my final question of Nicol, ‘what elders have been important for her and how?’, her answer was really something. It had to be the next vignette.

If you’re inspired to listen to more, or revisit the rest of this conversation, tune into episode 80. 

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 16 March 2021.

Title slide: Nicol Ragland (supplied).

See more photos on the original episode web page linked above, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Music:

Intro music by Jeremiah Johnson.

Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

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Welcome to the fourth and final part of this special on-location recording with the 'land whisperer', Patrick MacManaway, in Burlington, Vermont.

ICYMI, the full episode was played more than most in its early days, but given it was a little over two and a half hours in length, I also wanted to offer it in distinct parts, for those of you who prefer to listen to it that way. There have been plenty of takers too, so I'm glad this suited a bunch of you.

We pick it up here where part 3 ended, at the Farmhouse that replaced McDonald's downtown. Then we head back to Patrick's garden, for some of the punchline, you might say - as he shares some of the most impactful stories from his work around the world. These include a look at the changing face of how academia is treating the work, and how the world at large is opening to it also. 

And we close with news of his next collaboration with Australian legend in regenerative agriculture, Terry McCosker. Before Patrick, himself, takes us out with a tune. 

Title image by Anthony James. For more behind the scenes, and to help keep the show on the road, become a supporting listener by one or more of the options below.

Thanks for listening.

Music:

The RegenNarration playlist (music chosen by my guests).

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

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You can also:

• Visit The RegenNarration shop.
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Thanks for your support!

Welcome to part 3 of this special on-location recording with the 'land whisperer', Patrick MacManaway, in Burlington, Vermont.

ICYMI, the full episode was played more than most in its early days, but given it was a little over two and a half hours in length, I also wanted to offer it in distinct parts, for those of you who prefer to listen to it that way. There have been plenty of takers too, so I'm glad this suited a bunch of you.

We pick it up here where part 2 ended, as we wound up at the public stone circle in Burlington, Vermont, to head to a woodland labyrinth that again Patrick was pivotal in creating.

En route, we hear some of the great story of what's happening on the land on which the labyrinth has been set up. And on arrival, we venture into the woods, exploring the relevance and power of the labyrinth over time, and how else we can restore our internal compass in the world. 

Then we head out for one more stop - a surprise venture to the farm-to-table enterprise that replaced McDonald's downtown.

The fourth and final part with Patrick, back in the garden at his place for a grand finale of sorts, will be out in a couple of days.

Title image by Anthony James. For more behind the scenes, and to help keep the show on the road, become a supporting listener by one or more of the options below.

Thanks for listening.

Music:

The RegenNarration playlist (music chosen by my guests).

Send us a text

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The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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We've forgotten the earth is alive, and it's killing us. That was one of the title prospects my podcast host served up for today's release. Another was 'reimagining our connection to land'. They're fair hints at part 2 of this special on-location recording with the 'land whisperer', Patrick MacManaway. 

ICYMI, the full episode was played more than most in its early days, but given it was a little over two and a half hours in length, I also wanted to offer it in distinct parts, for those of you who prefer to listen to it that way. I'm glad to see that, over the last couple of days, many of you were.

So we resume here where part 1 left off, arriving at the public stone circle that Patrick was pivotal in creating, by Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont's most populous city. It's formally called the Burlington Earth Clock. Though you'll hear far beyond the formal presentation here.

We pick it up with Patrick's own ancestral and other connections to this part of the world, going on to clarify the legend of the sanctioning of his father's work by the Pope. Then we delve into the millennia-long story of stone circles, engage with this one together, and hear about some of the changes that have happened since it was created. And we close with the extraordinary experience that shifted Patrick's focus to agriculture, before heading to our next stop. That'll be part 3, out in a couple of days.

Title image by Anthony James. For more behind the scenes, and to help keep the show on the road, become a supporting listener below.

Find more:

To hear about the transformative insight gained at Stonehenge by Lynne Kelly, co-author of Songlines, and my guest on the third most played episode on this podcast, tune into ep.92. 

Lynne's co-author and curator of the incredible Songlines exhibition, Aboriginal / Irish woman Margo Neale, was on next for ep.93.

Music:

The RegenNarration playlist (music chosen by my guests).

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

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• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

Or DONATE:

• Directly via the website (avoiding fees).
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You can also:

• Visit The RegenNarration shop.
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Thanks for your support!

Last week's episode featured a special on-location recording with the land whisperer, Patrick MacManaway. It has been played more than most in its first week, but given it was a little over two and a half hours in length, I also wanted to offer it in distinct parts, for those of you who prefer to listen to it that way. 

Perhaps 40 minutes or so fits into your usual listening window better, or maybe that length will just give you time to digest the conversation. If you've already listened to the whole thing (thank you!), maybe this will make it easier to revisit certain parts. As always, feel free to let me know.

This is Part 1 then, from my intro through to when we head to the stone circle. We start in Patrick's garden, before jumping in the car. Roadworks sent us in all kinds of directions, so we got some time to talk about how this Scot ended up in Vermont, how he came to be doing what he's doing, and what that is exactly. There are some profound ancestral connections, including the growing legend around his father's healing hands on the battle field. And others that led to us meeting on this day.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

Music:

Hours, by Patrick Sebag (from Artlist).

Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

The RegenNarration playlist (music chosen by my guests).

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
• The new Substack (for the same benefits as Patreon)
• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

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Welcome to a very special and unique episode. Previous guest on this podcast, Terry McCosker, co-founded RCS Australia 35 years ago. Fellow Australian legend and podcast guest, Charles Massy, is best-selling author of Call of the Reed Warbler. In that book he wrote, “When I look back over the rise of regenerative agriculture in Australia, I see at the forefront Terry and Pam McCosker and their RCS organisation. Today it remains a world leader in the field.” In light of that, I titled the first episode with Terry ‘Behind the Greatest Regenerative Agriculture Movement in Australia’.

Well, as I got to know Terry better over the years, I started to hear more and more about a bloke named Patrick MacManaway, who Terry had been working with since 2010. And Charles later shared with me his ‘missing chapter’ from Reed Warbler, the one deemed a little too ‘edgy’ to include at the time. Patrick features significantly in that chapter, along with some now famous stories of his father. 

So as the years went by, I became increasingly interested in learning about the man alongside the man behind the movement. All the more, knowing that Patrick’s extraordinary influence is far from limited to Australia. Born in Scotland to pioneering parents, when Patrick realised he shared his father’s gifts, he also shared his medical training, before his calling deepened and spread around the UK, onto North America, and beyond.

I caught up with Patrick at his home near Burlington, Vermont, to wander through life stories, gardens, projects, and new endeavour with Terry.

Title slide by Anthony James.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

Music:

Hours, by Patrick Sebag (from Artlist).

Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

Patrick MacManaway.

The RegenNarration playlist.

Find more:

Ep.136 - Terry & wife Pam.

Ep.92 - Songlines.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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The world isn't broken, it's trying to save you. That's where this one starts. But first, a couple of announcements. One, the launch of a new series on the podcast called Vignettes from the Source. And two, 5x New York Times best-selling author and great friend of the podcast, Paul Hawken, has his extraordinary new book, Carbon: The Book of Life, out now on pre-sale (with a few copies for paid subscribers). He’s also launching and chatting about the book at a few events in California next week. 

Leading off the new series then, is what I’ve found to be an unforgettable last part of my conversation with Paul about the book last year, when we were bathed in sunshine in his home garden back in California. Listening back to it though, it could just as well have been recorded today. You’ll see what I mean.

So today features the last half hour or so of our conversation. In the first part, we talk about the new book, some profoundly wise words on the nature of story, and Paul's unflinching belief in people. Then the conversation shifts a gear, when I ask Paul about his experience with MLK Jr in Alabama as a teen, where he says in the book he witnessed a form of spirituality that really impacted him. I had been moving to wind up our conversation, but this last 15 minutes or so is straight from the source. 

It all culminates in a five-minute ‘world premiere’ reading of the last passage of the new book. If all you do is listen to that … 

Of course, if you’re inspired to listen to more, or to revisit the rest of this conversation, you’ll find it at episode 204. For now, I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Conversation recorded on 27 April 2024. Intro recorded today.

Title slide: Paul Hawken (pic: Olivia Cheng).

See more photos on the website of ep.204 linked above, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Music:

Synergy, by TURPAC; One Love, by Roy Young; Circle of Life, by Letra (all sourced on Artlist).

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

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Thanks for your support!

Welcome to a special 250th episode of the podcast! Are we on the cusp of a revolution in the nutritional content of our food? One that could change everything? Dan Kittredge thinks so. And he’s about to launch his next global effort to that end. 

When you get a chance to speak with the man who’s been called the global steward of nutrient density in food, the man who developed the very term ‘nutrient density’, you don’t necessarily expect it to go as big and broad as this conversation did. But then maybe should I have. 

Dan Kittredge is living one heck of a life, and as founder of the Bionutrient Food Association, goes as far as to say they're on the cusp of achieving their mission - that a revolution in the nutritional content of our food could happen within the next five years. It will be driven by farmers being rewarded for producing quality food, and set in tow enormous benefits for human and planetary health – from the physical to the meta-physical, and back again.

Indeed, this has been the nature of Dan’s journey, wandering from his roots with pioneering organic farming parents, across all sorts of intellectual and spiritual disciplines, experiencing the limitations of each, before arriving at an epiphany. 

Now he’s increasingly invited to engage with communities all around the world. And this month he launches a new program to spur the vision along. Those of us who won’t get to attend the program will get a chance to hear how it goes too, at the next major RegenWA Conference in Perth in September.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 14 February 2025.

Music:

Dan singing.

Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

Together Road, by Paper Planes (from Artlist).

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Find more:

My conversation with Fred Provenza.

And with Manchan Magan, igniting some of my ancestral root

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

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You can also:

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Thanks for your support!

‘School of Rock’ meets ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Damon Gameau, director of award-winning, chart-topping documentary films 2040, and That Sugar Film, takes eight kids on the ultimate school excursion: a road trip across Europe to challenge powerful leaders and find solutions to our greatest challenges. That’s how the bill reads for Damon’s new feature documentary film, Future Council. 

The group’s mission was to take the conversation from the streets, into the boardrooms of some of the world’s largest polluters and most influential companies. Astoundingly, it resulted in the children forming a ‘Future Council’ to advise and influence those companies. 

It also resulted in a transformative personal story for Damon. One of the most popular guests on this podcast, and a former award-winning actor, Damon had hit a self-described ‘swamp of sadness’. But as this film emerged, so did he. Some of this story isn’t quite ready for public consumption. But some of it, you’ll hear here. 

Along with some wonderful behind the scenes stuff, moments of revealing tension in the film, the challenge to even get it released, what else is going to happen as the film is released globally this year, and some amazing early reactions - including being invited to screen it at the UN.  

We talk soon after that took place, which also happened to coincide with the screening of the Kachana Station story on Australian Story late last year (now nearing 1m views). So we start with that. And we close with a rousing tune from Future Council’s soundtrack.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 4 November 2024.

Title slide: The Future Council with Damon Gameau.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Music:

We are the Kids, by Bunny Racket.

Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

Circle of Life, by Letra (from Artlist).

The RegenNarration playlist, music

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
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• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

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You can also:

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Thanks for your support!

Last month I had the honour of being a guest on the podcast of the legendary independent US media outlet Mongabay. It was a unique conversation, with US-born host Mike DiGirolamo based in Sydney, and me over here in the Americas, talking about some highlights from the seven months me and the family spent travelling across the USA last year, and relating it back to the seven years we’d travelled around Australia with the podcast before that. 

Mike produced a unique patch up too, interspersing our conversation with enlightening editorial additions, and some material from a past episode that was wonderful to hear again. Mongabay kindly invited me to release the episode on The RegenNarration too, so here it is, in full - a fascinating 'reverse' cross-continental exchange for the moment at hand.

You’ll hear some highlights from last year’s US journey, including more personal stories behind the journey, more detail on the hope we derived from listening to people on the ground in that election year, and the exchange I had with Allan Savory in Colorado. And all while Mike and I were inspiring thoughts in each other from our respective experiences as we went. 

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded mid-December 2024.

Title slide: Mike DiGirolamo.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Music:

Intro music by Jeremiah Johnson.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Find more:

Hear more on the Haggerty’s early engagement with First Nations & how this is playing out on the farm now.

Ep.102 with Bruno Dann on Nyul Nyul Country.

The new Substack.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you too value what you hear, please consider joining them.

BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on:

• Patreon (NB: if you're using an iPhone, you can avoid Apple's new 30% app store charge for new subscribers by subscribing on your laptop or PC).
• The new Substack (for the same benefits as Patreon)
• Or Buzzsprout (without additional benefits).

Or DONATE:

• Directly via the website (avoiding fees).
• Via PayPal.

You can also:

• Visit The RegenNarration shop.
• Share, rate and review the podcast.

Thanks for your support!