The Big Chew Podcast

Martin Luther King, Jr. called it "the modern plague" and challenged us to heal it, especially since we knew how. That "plague" is overpopulation—but in Dr. King's time, U.S. population was driven by a high birth rate. Today, the major driver of U.S. population growth is mass immigration—up to 1.5 million people come to live in the U.S. every year, and have for years, through legal and illegal means. What does that have to do with the environment? Well, the last thing this planet needs is more overconsuming Americans, says environmental ethicist, author, progressive activist, and philosophy professor Dr. Philip Cafaro. Mass immigration is also the last thing needed by the poor people already living in America: it forces lower wages and more competition for low-skilled jobs. Yes, immigrants themselves can often build better lives here. And hey! Wealthy Americans and corporations get cheap labor and new markets. Phil Cafaro's excellent book, How Many Is Too Many?: The Progressive Argument for Reducing Immigration Into the United States, lays out sane, humane arguments you've probably never heard before. Too often, US immigration is talked about in a binary, polarizing way: you're a liberal for open borders, or you're a conservative who wants a wall. It takes on racial tones—you're either for poor people from other countries building a better life in the U.S., or you fear a changing demographic and retreat into nationalism. But what if… -You care about the serious environmental impacts? -You realize the connection between a "perpetual growth economy," which screws the planet, and the drive for more immigrants to work more cheaply and buy more stuff? -You understand how mass immigration drives economic inequality in the US? -You want to help the world's poor in a way that helps them build better lives in their own countries, cultures, and communities? -You realize the world has changed since Emma Lazarus wrote that poem? -You yourself are the descendent of immigrants and don't want to be selfish? And what if you wonder why the hell environmentalists don't talk about the impacts of immigration anymore, when it used to be a major issue? This conversation, and Phil's book, outline not only the problems, but suggestions for building better immigration policies: Open to refugees, home to Dreamers, but at a scale our biosystems can handle. Any "developed" country could benefit from his work. www.thebigchewpodcast.com

Babies come from stories. From beliefs. Some of those stories are beautiful: I want to love and care for someone; I have a lot to share with a growing human. But a whole lot of baby-making beliefs aren't true for everyone, and many aren't true, period. Here are a few of the harmful and expired: I won't feel fulfilled without a child; It's nobody's business if I want to make a lot of kids; I'm not a real woman/man if I don't become a mother/father; People who don't have kids are selfish. With a population at 7.6 billion, and with a planet in serious overshoot, we need to look at these beliefs. Author Laura Carroll has done just that. She's researched where these beliefs come from and talked with thousands of people about their lives with and without kids. She's looked at the devastating impacts—on individual families, cultures, and on the wider world— of assuming everyone should reproduce. She's spoken on these issues on major radio and television outlets and is has authored several books about the outmoded pressures to have children and about the option of living child-free. (See links below). In this conversation, Laura and I talk primarily about the ideas from her book, The Baby Matrix: Why Freeing Our Minds From Outmoded Thinking About Parenthood and Reproduction Will Create a Better World. Laura also edited the second edition of deep ecologist Dave Forman's Man Swarm: How Overpopulation is Killing the Wild World. I recommend both of them. This conversation isn't anti-kid. Laura and I are typical of people who have warm relationships with kids who aren't our own. But whether someone really desires parenthood or not, we need to bring the breeding thing down some major notches if anyone's kids are going to have a chance. Laura and I talk about: -What "pronatalism" is; examples of how we're soaking in it -Studies that show how having fewer children is essential for stopping extreme climate change* -How religions and businesses promote childbearing and why -The 7 assumptions that promote childbearing, why they're not true, and the healthier ones that could replace them We also mention Bill McKibben's Maybe One: The Case for Smaller Families NOTE: I swear in this. It's hard not to when you're talking about powerful stories that aren't true. Hey— I'm even worse in person. And I don't care anymore. And Laura's much nicer than I am. Laura Carrol's other books are Families of Two: Interviews With Happily Married Couples Without Children by Choice (international update on the way!), and Finding Fulfillment From the Inside Out. * Please note that the US is different from many Western countries in that it has the largest carbon footprint and is growing rapidly. You can learn more in the previous Big Chew episode with Joe Bish from the Population Media Center, or in the following episode with philosophy professor and environmental ethicist Philip Cafaro. Among other things, in the prior Chew Joe Bish and I talk about countries whose population is declining and who consider that a positive thing. Subscribe, and you won't miss the next Big Chew. www.thebigchew.com

There are too many humans on Earth, it's screwing everything up, and we have to change. There. I said it. Environmentalists used to say this frequently and passionately, and then they stopped:talking about population took on racial overtones ("too many of those brown people!"), or fears of "control" and force, as became the case in China. Meanwhile, there are even more people on Earth, and many more expected, and it's screwing everything up. But don't take my word for it: The only choice...limited number, happy life...meaningful life. Too many...miserable life and always bullying one another, exploiting one another. That's what His Holiness the Dalai Lama says. Would he lie to you? Now here's the good news—we know what works, and it's good for everyone, especially women. But we can't wait. My guest, Joe Bish, is Director of Issue Advocacy for the Population Media Center based here in Vermont. The PMC works through the power of story. Throughout the world, they present locally sourced soap operas—yes, soap operas!— that help people make better decisions about their lives, their health, and how many kids they have. PMC's results are well-studied and powerful. Joe knows population. In this conversation, we talk about how population drives everything from climate change to political instability to extinction, who benefits from population growth (hint: neoliberal economists and pro-growth die hards), how and why PMC's methods work, and why we all need to return the population overshoot problem to center stage. "People" was composed by Jule Styne with original lyrics by Bob Merrill, and is used here via Fair Use of the Copyright Law Section 107.

Wendy Marsman was raised in a strict Evangelical community in rural Canada. She fulfilled her dream of being a missionary by moving to the Brazilian Amazon for eight years with her then-husband and children. What followed was an unraveling of what she believed, and a painful realization that, as a woman, she was a second-class citizen in Christianity. Wendy has faced some stark personal truths, and has surmounted major changes to found Women Beyond Belief, a podcast where other women (and men) finding their way out of religious beliefs can also find community. We talk about: How she feels about having promoted to indigenous people beliefs she no longer holds herself How her community used religion to hide abuse How women were treated in her Evangelical faith "Closeted" atheists and dark family secrets: life in the "mission field" of the Amazon The different paths she's seen people take out of Christian belief—and which one she took The loss that can come with leaving one's religious culture Where she derives her "morality" and "ethics" outside of religion--and how she feels more deeply moral than before Where she turned when faced with a serious disease Hey! You can subscribe to the Big Chew Podcast at www.thebigchewpodcast.com

Water: It's not just a "resource." It's not a "thing" that happens. Our bodies are mostly water. Maybe our souls are, too. Becca Lawton would know. She's a veteran river guide on the great rivers of the American West who became a fluvial geologist. She's also a beautiful writer whose prize-winning books and essays have helped her understand the connections between humans and wild water. If you live in the Western Hemisphere, you've heard a lot about water lately—mostly in the form of epic floods. No matter where you live, there's some kind of water issue going on (droughts, epic forest fires, you name it). We need to talk about it. Becca and I chat about: How, year after year, she saw people reclaim themselves on a river trip (give yourself at least three days) What river guiding taught her about humans Rivers as spiritual source How writing and stories can help us grok our place in Nature Her Fulbright research on why human brains don't recognize the risks of climate change Her wish in human-water relations Your new vocabulary word, "thalweg" Here's Becca's website, with info on her wonderful books. https://beccalawton.com/books-2/

Maybe life feels so nuts—environmentally, politically, economically, culturally—you're hitting the streets. Or hitting your head against the wall. WTF? What to do? First, calm down and listen to this episode. My guest, Stephanie Kaza, has been there. She cut her teeth as a biologist back when U.S rivers were on fire. She's spent decades in Zen Buddhist practice. She's professor emerita of environmental studies at the University of Vermont, where she guided their campus sustainability program. She's got perspective, tools, and an activist heart that seeks to connect the dots and connect people. She's written terrific books, including Mindfully Green. We chat about: The difference between choosing a green "lifestyle" and "lifeway" Epiphanies that can open our path Questions to ask if you want to get involved Acknowledging grief and other feelings emerging from our challenges The links between dualism and domination How practicing restraint builds our ethical strength The warrior mentality and the peacekeeper—and how to choose Music in this episode is "The Kami of Fujiyama" by TALES from Pictures from Asia, used via a Creative Commons license.

Progress! Economic growth! Affluence! Forget about it—at least while basic laws of science are in effect. I talk with Tom Wessels, ecologist, professor, and one of New England's clearest environmental voices. We focus on Tom's gem of a book, The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future. In it he explains how any economy focusing on economic growth (which differs from economic development) conflicts with basic scientific laws. And that never ends well. Here's the deal: Life on Earth isn't linear. It's much more interesting, dynamic, and creative. Most aspects of our lives—the biotic world we live in, our weather, bodies, communities, economies, our political structures—are complex systems. They can't be understood through the linear, reductionist thinking that has held sway for several hundred years. Damn you, Descartes! Tom Wessels has a knack for explaining simply and clearly where our daily lives meet scientific laws. Once we can see systems, relationships, and emergence as how the planet rolls, we might be able to build living economies that thrive within living ecosystems. We talk about how, on a finite planet, "economic growth" is a dangerous fantasy (particularly addictive to politicians), how to improve our relations with natural systems, and: How complex systems work—and how they can thrive How linear systems work Where these ideas have been the past several hundred years How positive feedback loops can bite us in not-so-positive places How corporate mergers and free trade defy the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics—BAD! How a return to "ancient values" can bring us back to what matters ...And we're greeted by the sight of a doe and her tiny fawn enjoying a romp in the field outside the window. Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University New England where he founded the master's degree program in Conservation Biology. Tom has conducted ecology and sustainability workshops through out the United States for over three decades and is the author of six books, including Reading the Forested Landscape, The Myth of Progress, with his latest being Granite, Fire, and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia. Want more on complexity and systems thinking? The late, great Donella Meadows wrote Thinking in Systems. And while we're talking books, my comrades at the Dark Mountain Project in the UK have just published Walking On Lava, Selected Works for Uncivilised Times. I'm really honored to have my work included. Essays, stories, and art from Dark Mountain's first ten years take a slant look at our critical age. Included is the original Dark Mountain Manifesto, which says it all...

Biologist Lynn Margulis gave us a new way to look at life—and perhaps, a new way to live it. She showed life doesn't evolve just through random DNA mistakes and competition. Instead, interdependence is the key. Cells are the baseline—not "selfish" genes. Loops and new relationships replace linear branches of life. Nothing is an individual: everything is a community. Every living thing is conscious of its surroundings. Evolution geographer James MacAllister was Lynn Margulis's graduate student, friend, swimming buddy, and assistant for 10 years, until her sudden death in 2011. He created animations of many of her discoveries, was her teaching assistant, and continues to digitize and represent her research. I met Jim at his home in Amherst, Massachusetts, where we talked about: -Old-school evolution thinking based on random DNA mistakes and competition (aka the Modern Synthesis or neo-Darwinism. Richard Dawkins, a neo-Darwinist, who often sparred with Lynn Margulis, once called her "Attila the Hen.") -Lynn's radically different work on how life evolves (aka symbiosis, biological relativity, systems biology) -How the Modern Synthesis doesn't do justice to the microbiome -How DNA is like a bundt pan -How Lynn and James Lovelock collaborated on Gaia Theory -How this view of evolution could change our outlook on how to live Keep an eye out for this new film, Symbiotic Earth: How Lynn Margulis Rocked the Boat and Started a Scientific Revolution. You can watch the trailer at http://hummingbirdfilms.com/symbioticearth/ Jim MacAllister's Environmental Evolution newsletter http://www.envevo.org/environmentalevolution.org/Home.html Music in this episode is "Always Be" by the Colin L. Orchestra, from Live at WNYU, used via a Creative Commons license.

Donna Mulvenna left a busy professional life in Australia to live in the Amazon rainforest of French Guiana. She thought it would be a temporary adventure with her partner, an Olympic canoe racer. After many local frustrations, a serious illness, and some profound spiritual experiences in the forest, she's a changed person in how she views Nature, humans, and what's really necessary for a beautiful life. Donna and I spoke while she and her partner, Franck, were visiting relatives in his native France. She's now back in the Amazon. We talked about: How she now views her anxiety and discontent with urban life in Australia Her stages of adjustment to a wilder, way-more-than-human world How native jungle medicine quickly brought her back from a serious disease Her "awakening" experience while on a river expedition The many ethnic groups of French Guiana and how they get along Challenges with companies and countries exploiting the Amazon The animals she hangs out with in her tree house office where she wrote Wild Roots Donna's books are available at www.DonnaMulvenna.com Music in this episode is "Home, Home at Last" by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album, Warmbody. By the way, if you like this podcast, won't you leave a review on iTunes? Just search for "the Big Chew Podcast" on iTunes and look for "reviews." Thanks!

Natural Farming" is as much a life philosophy as a way of farming. Larry Korn has dedicated his life to teaching Natural Farming, which he learned from his mentor, the late, great Masanobu Fukuoka, author of One-Straw Revolution. This "no-method method"arose from a spiritual revelation Fukuoka had about healing the rift between humans and the natural world. Larry likens Natural Farming to indigenous agriculture, emphasizing relationship and humility instead of intellect and control. The reward is abundant food and an authentic life. Larry Korn helped translate One-Straw Revolution and Fukuoka's other books into English. He also traveled with Fukuoka-san in the US, and Larry's own book, One-Straw Revolutionary, shares what he learned living and working on Fukuoka's farm in Japan. We talk about: -Why Fukuoka, who trained as a plant scientist, railed against science -What Fukuoka learned in a spiritual revelation about Nature -Why Natural Farming looks counterintuitive; the indigenous idea -How this path differs from permaculture, which Larry also studied with its co-founder Bill Mollison -How Larry has brought this philosophy into his daily life -How Fukuoka's work dispels the idea that only hunter-gatherers, not farmers, could live in harmony with Nature -Why Fukuoka's high yields with "no-work" methods challenge the need for technology We ended our rich conversation once the neighbor cranked up the lawn mower—you'll just hear a few seconds of weed whacker at the end, but it's worth it. FREE BOOKS! From June 1 to June 15, 2017, you can get free downloads of up to 20 ebooks on Nature and the environment (including mine, Songs That Are to Come: An Ex-Catholic, A Sacred Earth, and the Nuns Who Reunited Them). There's nonfiction, fiction, and childrens' books from scientists, poets, and activists--don't miss it! http://wildpolitics.co/20authors Music in this episode is "A Walk With a Turtle" by Beeside, from the album, Lullabies of Love and Hate, used through a Creative Commons license.

We weren't supposed to die, says the Book of Genesis and many Christian sources that have been marinating this culture for two millennia. No wonder the West sees death as a catastrophe. My guest, Jennifer Kissinger, sees it as part of life—and it was a daily part of her life during her years as a deputy coroner/medicolegal death investigator. She'd like people to consider their mortality, plan for it, and accept it. Which doesn't mean you don't grieve at a loved one's death; it just means we see our mortality as part of our biology. Jennifer and I talk about: -Forensics! Everybody loves forensics (at least I do, and hey—it's my show) -Her training at the Body Farm, where she spent "as much time as possible" -What Christianity says about death and why that's a problem (beyond the fact that it's just not true) -What happens at a crime or death scene, what a coroner does (besides keep a few body bags in the back seat of her car) -How another, famously happy culture deals with death -The Terror Management Theory -How dealing with death every day has shaped Jennifer's view of life Music in this episode is "Light up the Night" by Ketsa, from the album May Starlight Find You, used via a Creative Commons license. Theme for the Big Chew Podcast is "She Say Go" by the Birdinumnums, also used via a Creative Commons license.

Music can bring us into new, profound kinds of awareness. Composer and classical guitarist Sam Guarnaccia is doing his part. We talk about his new musical work that calls on orchestra, chorus, and soloists to celebrate the evolving universe we all share. I've heard Sam's Emergent Universe Oratorio—it's lush and evocative and includes praise for life forms and forces you don't often hear about in concert halls, like cell membranes, tree roots, and gravity. There are selections from Sam's Emergent Universe Oratorio in this episode. He and I talk about stuff like: -The role music plays in heightening our awareness -How this new Universe Story differs from indigenous stories -Sam's religious background and how he's oriented now -What "emergence" is and why it rocks -Humanity's fatal flaw -Slime molds and why I want Sam to put them back in the oratorio. Some of the people we mention in this episode are Buddhist and systems scholar and writer Joanna Macy; cultural historian Thomas Berry and mathematical cosmologist Brian Swimme, who wrote The Universe Story and other related works; Mary Evelyn Tucker, a religious scholar at Yale University who worked with Thomas Berry (She and Brian Swimme produced the film Journey of the Universe); and Ursula Goodenough, cell biologist, writer, and professor of biology at Washington University. Here's information on the June 2017 premiere of the oratorio in Cleveland, and Sam Guarnaccia's other works. Awakening "We are beings In whom the universe Shivers in wonder at itself — The space where earth dreams." Brian Thomas Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker Gravity's Law How surely gravity's law, Strong as an ocean current, Takes hold of even the smallest thing And pulls it toward the heart of the world. Each thing — Each stone, blossom, child — Is held in place. Only we, in our arrogance, Push out beyond what we each belong to For some empty freedom. If we surrendered To earth's intelligence We could rise up rooted, like trees. Instead we entangle ourselves In knots of our own making. And struggle, lonely and confused. So, like children, we begin again To learn from the things, Because they are in God's heart; They have never left him. This is what the things can teach us: To fall, patiently to trust our heaviness. Even a bird has to do that Before it can fly. Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows

We live on a rocky planet. Thea Alvin knows that language. She creates fantastic structures of stone all over the world. Thea lives here in Vermont and has had some powerful interactions with Icelandic caves, ancient English burial mounds, and Chinese mountaintops. She teaches all over (we talk about her Italian workshops, which feature fantastic food and the opportunity to get really dirty rebuilding ancient stone villages). Among the ideas we talk about: -The difference between stone and rock -How Thea creates a project--music and movement -Stones have "hearts," "faces," and a purpose -The Chinese philosophy of stone as a process, not just matter -How stone structures shape the people around them and vice versa -What she thinks people 500 years from now might think of her structures -Burial mounds and cathedrals: when god changed from around us in the Earth to above us -Powerful reactions from rock in Iceland, England, and Italy -What she does with a stone too "grumpy" to work in a wall Here's Thea's class at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont (June 2017) Thea's website: http://www.myearthwork.com Subscribe to the Big Chew Podcast at www.MeetYourMyth.com Music in this episode is "Worky, Worky" by Andy G. Cohen, from the album Through the Lens. Used via a Creative Commons license.

A flourishing garden in dumpsters; a beehive to show how communities work; children learning their "cosmic address" by growing carrots. Inspired by the Universe Story of evolution, Jane Riddiford and Rod Sugden of Global Generation are helping to shape London's busiest construction zone. Jane and Rod, staff and volunteers are catalyzing a community with opportunities to garden, eat, and learn together. Here, construction workers, local families, refugees, Muslim immigrant kids, and office workers connect with each other and with natural rhythms still pulsing under the concrete. Some ideas we talk about: -The Universe Story as a source of values -How modern people can develop a sense of being indigenous -How we can have creative, functional cities that allow people to be different -Living in three levels of history: cultural history, our contributions to the future, and our cosmic history -How a garden is a 3D metaphor for something coming from nothing -A Maori myth in London—The Three Baskets of Knowledge: I, We, and the Planet -What is ritual? -The work of GG alumni: young Muslims connecting the environment with their spirituality and enlisting nature as a model of diverse communities Music in this episode is "Bathed in Fine Dust," by Andy G. Cohen. Used through a Creative Commons license.

Can psychedelic drugs, and breathing techniques that achieve similar states, help heal our individual and collective emotional pain? Can they help us transform our society? I talk with Joe Moore and Kyle Buller of Psychedelics Today, a podcast that features professionals involved with psychedelics and breathwork as tools for mental health and spiritual growth. Joe and Kyle are also facilitators in Holotropic Breathwork, developed by the Czech-born psychiatrist and researcher Stanislav Grof. Here's what we talk about in this episode's delicious stuffing: -The Multidisciplinary Assoc. for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and their peer-reviewed research -How the War on Drugs delayed this research by decades -Kyle's "near death" experience and his path; Joe's path through philosophy, ayahuasca, and breathwork -Holotropic Breathwork, a non-substance alternative -Integration—a key to these therapeutic uses of psychedelics -The likeness of these journeys to mythic ones -The role of elders -Are we on the verge of a psychedelic revolution? -Inventing new "rites of passage" (beyond getting a driver's license and being able to buy booze.) Hope you enjoy it! As always, you're welcome to leave a message on this episode's page at The Big Chew Podcast. As someone who knows first-hand the sucking black vortex of PTSD, I encourage anyone who suffers from it to seek out professionals who can help. Some of the links below might be useful. But this isn't medical advice. Just sayin'. By the way, you might hear high-pitched voices in this recording. Those are children. Because our bandwidth here in northeastern Vermont sucks, I record over Skype in the librarian's office of our tiny local bibliothek. Shut up and read, kids. It's a library. But I mean that in a good way. Kyle Buller and Joe Moore's podcast, Psychedelics Today The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Holotropic Breathwork (sometimes also known as Grof Transpersonal Training) Holotropic Breathwork in Vermont Music in this episode is "I Call it Love" by Carbon Manual, from the album Kali Yuga is here, via a Creative Commons license

We can't live without bacteria. Nor would we want to—bacteria help flavor and preserve some of our favorite foods. My guest, fermentation activist Sandor Ellix Katz, explains why we humans should rethink our relationship with these tiny creatures who actually run the place. Sandor Ellix Katz is the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of two great books, Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation. He's a really smart, fun guy on a mission—to reconnect people with their food. (Thanks to his books, my cellar shelves hold jars of homemade sauerkraut, pickled beets, pickled green tomatoes...) Sandor and I talk about the history and deliciousness of fermented food, and how safe home-fermenting is. We totally diss that modern Western notion that bacteria are our enemies and that 99.99% of them must be vanquished by sprays or wipes or soaps. "Bacteria are the matrix of all life," says Sandor. He explains some of their many skills—they can transform themselves, unlock the nutrients in our food, improve our health, our mood, and our menus. They also set a good example. They outnumber our cells by orders of magnitude--even in our "own" bodies. They teach us how that whole rugged American go-it-alone thing isn't doable or desirable. Sandor gives fermenting classes around the world (including Vermont this summer!). Check his website for his schedule. You can also buy his books there. www.wildfermentation.com Music in this episode is "Rose" by From Bacteria to Boys, live on the WFMU Scott McDowell Show, used by a Creative Commons license.

Whether we plunder the Earth or participate in it depends on deep notions of who we are. Jennifer Morgan of the Deep Time Journey Network says in Part Two of our conversation about the Universe Story, "What's going on every single second is so stunning that if we were truly present to it, we would fall down on our knees and kiss the ground." While she admits most of us aren't able to maintain that presence through our day-to-day lives, learning how our Earth creates and functions can help us live them. That kind of awareness invites us to live "mythical lives." Those quiet invitations are everywhere. As Jennifer explains, the Universe shows us how to handle crisis, in ways that mirror the lessons mythical heroes learn on their journeys: when you've come undone, cooperate—maybe with someone or something unexpected—and create something new. It happens on this planet all the time, despite dominant ideas that Nature works only through survival of the fittest, or that "red in tooth and claw" thing. "Life did not take over the globe by combat, but by networking," wrote the late, great biologist Lynn Margulis, who pioneered the concept of endosymbiosis and wrote about it with her son and collaborator, writer Dorion Sagan. Jennifer and I also talk about how to move past feelings of insignificance when considering a vast Universe, about ritual, the importance of Nature to children (and eating dirt), and about ideas of the divine. Jennifer's own religious background is fascinating: her anti-Christian grandmother was regularly welcomed into American Indian ceremonies; her Methodist organist mom turned churchgoers on to lava lamps. Her own path included converting to Catholicism (although some nuns tried to talk her out of it), Celtic spiritual ideas, and more… Music in this episode is "Ritual 13" by Jason Leonard, used via a Creative Commons license. Visit the website at www.meetyourmyth.com, and click on The Big Chew Podcast, to learn about endosymbiosis and why cooperation matters.

The Big Bang. Supernovae. Evolution. What do they have to do with real, everyday life? My guest, author Jennifer Morgan, has spent decades helping people appreciate how our universe works, how we got here, and why that matters. In this first of two conversations, we talk about how knowing this evolutionary story can guide us, as stories have always guided humans. (Even better: This one doesn't require "belief"; it has data!) Jennifer directs the Deep Time Journey Network, where people worldwide explore how this science-based "new story" can inspire creativity, awe, connection, and better ways to live. She worked with the late, great cultural historian Thomas Berry and many Princeton University scientists to author a beautifully illustrated trilogy of kids' books about the story of our universe. I hope you'll enjoy this chat with Jennifer--I know I did! Music on this episode is "Stars Are Out" by Podington Bear, from the album Daydream. Used via a Creative Commons license. Theme song for The Big Chew Podcast is "She Say Go" by the Birdinumnums.

After leaving your Christian faith with its god and demons, speaking in tongues, and life everlasting, where do you find fulfillment? In the conclusion of my two-part interview with Steve and Krissy Hilliker, we talk about mourning what they left behind; the excitement of learning who you are and what's important to you; the novelty of movie binging and exploring evolution; and where they find spirituality now; Music in this episode is "You Need Sleep" by the Colin L. Orchestra, Live from WFMU's Airborne Event; Podcast theme song is "She Say Go" by the Birdinumnums. Both used via Creative Commons. For show notes, go to www.meetyourmyth.com, and click on The Big Chew Podcast.

What happens when you and your young family are counting on your career path as an Evangelical Christian minister--and you realize you've become an atheist? Steve and Krissy Hilliker were deeply religious. They married young, had two kids right away, and believed that God had a plan for them. Every element of their lives tied into their faith--until Steve started losing his religion. Do you disrupt your whole family when your beliefs change? What if your wife still believes? And, as Krissy recalls her situation, how do you reconcile the intellectual honesty of your husband's religious questioning when you believe he's going to hell for it? How do you build lives together once the religion that guided you both doesn't work anymore? Steve and Krissy started the Voices of Deconversion Podcast to help others moving from religious belief to agnosticism and atheism. In this two-episode conversation, which is both insightful and funny, we talk about the comforts, drama, and pressures of religion; how this kind of transition affects a family; and where they find meaning now. Music in this episode is "You Need Sleep" by the Colin L. Orchestra, from Live on WFMU's Airborne Event, used via a Creative Commons license. The Big Chew theme song is "She Say Go" by the Birdinumnums, from the album She Say Go, used via a Creative Commons license.

Why are record numbers of Americans and Europeans exiting the religions they grew up with--especially Christians? Is Christianity toast? What might come next? James Nagle studies this "deconversion" at Fordham University. He considers himself a "deconvert" and describes his path--from a tattooed, skateboarding, Mass-missing kid to a seminarian training for the Catholic priesthood; to his years of teaching high school religious studies and then leaving his belief behind. Now a doctoral candidate at Fordham, Nagle researches why people leave religion (and explains that often it's for "religious" reasons). We talk about how the nonreligious "nones" seek meaning outside religion, why Christianity is declining, and what he thinks will happen after he dies. Music in interview: Ayla Nereo--Bonteko (Scott Nice Remix)from the album All the Wild Creatures. Used through Creative Commons.

Tradd Cotter is a researcher and mycologist who's doing amazing things with mushrooms. Mushrooms can fight disease-causing bacteria, can purify water, help disaster victims...and they're delicious! (Not always the same ones, btw.) Mushrooms are also being studied now for treating end-of-life depression and PTSD. And then there are shamanic reindeer and eating the yellow snow... Get more Big Chew episodes at www.meetyourmyth.com. You can also find out how to contact Tradd, where to buy Tradd's book, Growing Organic Mushrooms, and how to subscribe to future episodes.

Maria talks with herbalist Julie Mitchell about the modern revolution in herbal knowledge. We talk about how to get to know plants, and if they're sentient; what herbs can do for humans; the ecstatic approach of the poet Goethe to the study of plants; and who I would kill if I could go back in time.

Intuitive counselor Laura Lomas leads a wonderfully accessible meditation to reconnect us to our true selves and to the earth.

Maria talks (and cracks up!) with intuitive Laura Lomas, who helps people worldwide reconnect to their more authentic natures and to the Earth. Why are so many people bailing on religion? And what will take its place? How gigantic was Maria's head as a child? Show Notes: If you'd like to know more about Laura and her work, here's her website. http://divineintuitivehealing.com/ Books we mention in the podcast: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, written by Michael A. Singer, is a profound book. It's deceptively simple to read, in the way Shaker furniture is simple. http://untetheredsoul.com/ Byron Katie's Loving What Is teaches a deeply effective practice of asking about the people and situations that bug you, “Is it true?” A counselor in this method very quickly helped me shift my beliefs about a painful dispute with a neighbor–and I discovered something important about myself in a different area. Plus I like Byron Katie's eye make-up. No way I could wear that in Vermont. http://thework.com/sites/thework/downloads/Little%20Book.pdf