Podcast appearances and mentions of sam sycamore

My next live fireside chat with Q&A will be on Monday, June 26th. Join us to talk about careers, job searches, job interviews, offer negotiation, professional growth, and more! I want to thank the folks who gave me feedback about how to keep improving this newsletter. I've already incorporated some of it and made changes. One excellent piece of feedback from Michelle was to be more inclusive with my career advice and not always talk about tech jobs, for example. Many folks work hourly 9-5 jobs (i.e., not on salary) and blue-collar jobs. They also want to leverage their skills to land better-paying jobs, get promoted, etc.I spent many years of my life working in jobs like that before I ended up in tech. The good news is some strategies will help you get ahead in any job in any industry (e.g., IT, retail, restaurant, construction, manufacturing, health care, etc.). During my previous non-tech career, I found ways to get promoted and land better jobs. I also sat on the other side of the table as a supervisor and leader, so I know who performed well and got ahead vs. those who did not (and occasionally got fired). Here is an overview of my twisting career path and various jobs. It doesn't include every job, believe it or not. * As a child, I had a paper route, operated a lemonade stand, mowed lawns, sold magazines door to door, and did farm work. * During high school, I worked at a grocery store (e.g., stocking shelves and bagging groceries), mowed lawns and other yard work, and did some farm work on the side. * I joined the military to help pay for my college education, went through Army Basic Training in Fort Knox, and ended up in the National Guard for many years, first as a tank gunner and then as an ambulance medic. * I also worked at fast-food restaurants, was an engraver at a trophy shop, worked in receiving and stocking at Kmart, held a temporary job at a road construction company, and became a night security guard.* While I was finishing up college, I ended up working almost full-time as a police dispatcher. When I worked in a job long enough, I often received promotions. Looking back, some lessons I took away helped me with the rest of my career. I hope some of this advice will be useful for you, too. Be good at what you doI know this advice sounds obvious. But I've encountered many folks who expect raises and promotions when they're still not very good at their jobs. Some people think that time on the job is all that matters, which is not true. Other people think they should get raises simply because they need the money. Sorry, business doesn't work that way, either. * “Hey, I've been working here for a year. Isn't it time for a promotion?”* “My rent went up, so I need a raise.”If you demand more money when you're not that good at your job yet, don't be surprised if your employer replaces you with someone else. You must be competent and provide solid value if you want a raise. You want your employer to worry about losing you. You must perform better than your current position if you want a promotion. I've mentioned this before. No employer wants to promote someone and hope they'll be able to handle the new responsibilities. It doesn't end well if it doesn't work out. That's how folks get demoted or fired. I once worked for a company that provided awards, medals, trophies, plaques, etc. I started as a trophy assembler. Exciting, huh? But I was fast, competent, and showed up for work on time. Plus, I didn't break trophies and damage expensive materials like some folks did (e.g., when they drank too many “complimentary beers” from the fridge). One day, my boss asked if I was willing to learn how to run a computerized engraving machine. I said, “Yes,” and demonstrated that I was a fast learner. That resulted in a promotion and raise. Keep learning and growing If you're ok with a job just being a job, then you may not worry too much about your professional development. Maybe your job just pays the bills, and you focus your energy and passion on something outside of work (e.g., writing books, making art, playing in a band). However, if you are ambitious and want to move up, you must always seek opportunities to acquire new skills, knowledge, and experience. Some employers will have programs to support this growth and invest in you. For example, one of my employers was a university, and I could take courses at a discounted rate. Take advantage of perks like this! If your employer doesn't provide learning and training programs, invest in yourself. Set a career goal, make a plan (see below), and find ways to educate yourself. I had a guest on my podcast a few years ago who did just that. Sam Sycamore was a landscape carpenter worried about his future financial security and physical health. So, he taught himself web development every night after work. He eventually landed some gigs and changed his career forever. He's now a developer relations engineer, making much more money than before, and he's much happier. Be reliable Reliability is one of those things you think should go without saying. Of course, you should be a reliable and dependable employee. We instilled this in our children as they entered the working world. It was funny to see them being appreciated by their managers and kept on board even as the companies let other employees go. It was true during my previous jobs, as well. I often got promoted simply because I was one of the few who always showed up for their shifts. I also lasted longer in many of my jobs than those who kept quitting every few months. For example, I was “promoted” to squad leader during Army basic training, mostly because I wasn't a screw-up. * I listened and paid attention. * I executed orders. * They could trust me to get work done without a lot of oversight. Later, during my service in the National Guard, they promoted me to platoon sergeant for similar reasons. * I showed up for duty, and I showed up on time. * I didn't show up drunk or high (or fail drug tests). * I worked hard and got things done without trying to get out of tasks, sneak off to take a nap, or disappear before a job was done. This strategy seems obvious, but you'd be surprised by the number of employees who fail at the following. If you want to get ahead at work, your boss should be able to count on you to:* Show up for the shifts you're scheduled to work. * Show up to work on time. * Do the work you're supposed to do. * Complete your work on time with quality. * Tell people if you'll miss work (e.g., sick) or show up late. Don't be a painWe've all worked with people who were a thorn in the manager's side. I've worked in a variety of industries for all kinds of employers. I've seen some pretty crazy stuff. For example: * We had a random drug test once, and some guys were freaking out and trying to leave. Apparently, they were at a party the night before and had snorted a lot of cocaine. Yeah, that didn't end well. * Another person I worked with would bring a tumbler of coffee to work daily, which was heavily laced with scotch (we all could smell it). * A couple of people I worked with would take an afternoon break to drink beers in the parking lot. They returned to work feeling pretty good and often accidentally broke lots of stuff (e.g., materials, tools). They eventually got fired. * One coworker loved to argue with the boss about every little thing in front of everyone else. Pro tip: Bosses hate that. If you're more trouble than you're worth (i.e., not providing enough value for the stress you create), you're certainly not going to receive promotions or raises. Sooner or later, you'll most likely end up losing your job. Note: I'm not saying you should kiss your manager's butt or endure mistreatment. It's ok to ask questions, push back on unreasonable requests, and expect fair treatment. But do so professionally. And it's usually a good idea to have challenging conversations with your boss in private, not in a team meeting or in front of other employees. Have a planWhere do you want to end up in your career? What are your life goals?What's next for you? Sometimes, career growth isn't very likely with your current employer. There may not be much internal mobility. Or, it may take a very long time to move up in the company. A friend of mine knew he would be stuck in a dead-end job if he stayed with his current employer. So, he looked for opportunities to get promoted by taking a job with a new company that had a position open for a supervisor. Another friend was in a similar situation but had bigger plans to open his own business one day. He saved money, networked with the right people, and created a business plan. He launched it many years ago and turned it into a very successful business, never returning to his old profession and low hourly pay. You must establish goals and create a plan if you care about getting ahead, making more money, and moving up the career ladder. When you know what you want, it's easier to make the right moves to set you up for success later. Connect and network When I was a security guard, I got to know the local police officers and dispatchers pretty well. We developed a friendly relationship since I always showed up for work, did a good job, and became a supervisor (being reliable and sticking around helped me get promoted). One dispatcher and a couple of the younger officers talked me into applying to become a dispatcher. It was a full-time role with much better pay and benefits. I'm an introvert, so I've often put my head down and focused on my work. But, building relationships will open the door to new opportunities. Networking outside your workplace is also a great way to learn about events, meetups, potential new employers, and job opportunities you might not otherwise discover. * Your local gym. One of my gyms was an excellent place for networking. Members were always connecting people with potential clients, customers, and employers. Friends like to help friends. * Local meetups. I've attended local meetups with ambitious professionals and business owners. It's great for referrals and introductions. * Local business events and parties. One year, one of my friends invited me to his office holiday party. Usually, I wouldn't want to attend something like that. But, I discovered it was a good way to expand my professional network. I've talked about the power of “weak ties” before. * Local town celebrations, volunteer work, and outdoor recreation events. Your network is your most valuable asset for advancing your career. You are limiting yourself if you only connect with people you see daily at work or in your personal life. Get out there and meet new people! * Trade associations and labor unions. I'm not as familiar with these, but some friends speak highly of them for getting the support you need to advance your career. If you have a plan for where you want to go, try to network with people already in the profession, industry, or business you're interested in pursuing. Build bridges now to open doors later. Yes, I'm mixing my metaphors.

Most of us are familiar with the environmental impacts of our physical technology, like the e-waste generated from cell phones or the minerals required to run our laptops, but have you ever wondered about the connections between digital media and resource extraction? This week we are joined by guest Antonio López to explore how ICT (Information and Communications Technology), and digital media and information, have not only transformed Earth but are also contributing to our collective carbon footprint. Dr. Antonio López is a leading international expert bridging ecojustice with media literacy. He is a founding theorist and architect of ecomedia literacy. He received professional training at the Center for Investigative Reporting in San Francisco, earned his BA in Peace and Conflict Studies at UC Berkeley and MA in Media Studies at the New School for Social Research. He earned a Ph.D. in Sustainability Education from Prescott College. He has written numerous academic articles, essays and four books: Mediacology: A Multicultural Approach to Media Literacy in the 21st Century, The Media Ecosystem: What Ecology Can Teach Us About Responsible Media Practice, Greening Media Education: Bridging Media Literacy with Green Cultural Citizenship, and Ecomedia Literacy: Integrating Ecology into Media Education. He is currently Chair and Associate Professor of Communications and Media Studies at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Music by Justin Crawmer, Sam Sycamore, and Marty O'Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references, and action points.

Sam Sycamore joins the podcast to tell his story of transitioning into programming after listening to the podcast episode we recorded with Danny Thompson. Danny told his story about how he went from gas station attendant to programmer in a very short timeframe. Sam has now made a similar journey from landscape construction to programming and what inspired him to make the switch. Panel Aimee Knight AJ O'Neal Charles Max Wood Dan Shappir Steve Edwards Guest Sam Sycamore Guest JavaScript Error and Performance Monitoring | Sentry Dev Influencers Accelerator Links How I Learned to Code and Started Freelancing Full-Time in 8 Months Everything You Need to Know to Succeed as a Freelancer My Freelancing Workflow, from Cold Leads to Paid Invoices JSJ 442: Breaking Into Tech with Danny Thompson | Devchat.tv Sycamore Design Blog Twitter: Sam Sycamore ( @tanoaksam ) GitHub: Sam Sycamore ( samuelsycamore ) Picks Aimee- GitHub | ossu/computer-science AJ- Cloud Turbo Encabulator - YouTube AJ- webinstall.dev AJ- Brave Search Charles- The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry Charles- Atlas Shrugged  Dan- Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable – Aimee Knight - YouTube Dan- Four Yorkshiremen- Monty Python - YouTube Sam- The Futur - YouTube Sam- leonnoel.com Steve- Cakebrew Steve- New mystery AWS product 'Infinidash' goes viral — despite being entirely fictional Contact Aimee: Aimee Knight – Software Architect, and International Keynote Speaker GitHub: Aimee Knight ( AimeeKnight ) Twitter: Aimee Knight ( @Aimee_Knight ) LinkedIn: Aimee K. aimeemarieknight | Instagram Aimee Knight | Facebook Contact AJ: AJ ONeal CoolAJ86 on GIT Beyond Code Bootcamp Beyond Code Bootcamp | GitHub Follow Beyond Code Bootcamp | Facebook Twitter: Beyond Code Bootcamp ( @_beyondcode ) Contact Charles: Devchat.tv DevChat.tv | Facebook Twitter: DevChat.tv ( @devchattv ) Contact Dan: GitHub: Dan Shappir ( DanShappir ) LinkedIn: Dan Shappir Twitter: Dan Shappir ( @DanShappir ) Contact Steve: Twitter: Steve Edwards ( @wonder95 ) GitHub: Steve Edwards ( wonder95 ) LinkedIn: Steve Edwards

Sam Sycamore joins the podcast to tell his story of transitioning into programming after listening to the podcast episode we recorded with Danny Thompson. Danny told his story about how he went from gas station attendant to programmer in a very short timeframe. Sam has now made a similar journey from landscape construction to programming and what inspired him to make the switch. Panel Aimee Knight AJ O'Neal Charles Max Wood Dan Shappir Steve Edwards Guest Sam Sycamore Guest JavaScript Error and Performance Monitoring | Sentry Dev Influencers Accelerator Links How I Learned to Code and Started Freelancing Full-Time in 8 Months Everything You Need to Know to Succeed as a Freelancer My Freelancing Workflow, from Cold Leads to Paid Invoices JSJ 442: Breaking Into Tech with Danny Thompson | Devchat.tv Sycamore Design Blog Twitter: Sam Sycamore ( @tanoaksam ) GitHub: Sam Sycamore ( samuelsycamore ) Picks Aimee- GitHub | ossu/computer-science AJ- Cloud Turbo Encabulator - YouTube AJ- webinstall.dev AJ- Brave Search Charles- The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry Charles- Atlas Shrugged  Dan- Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable – Aimee Knight - YouTube Dan- Four Yorkshiremen- Monty Python - YouTube Sam- The Futur - YouTube Sam- leonnoel.com Steve- Cakebrew Steve- New mystery AWS product 'Infinidash' goes viral — despite being entirely fictional Contact Aimee: Aimee Knight – Software Architect, and International Keynote Speaker GitHub: Aimee Knight ( AimeeKnight ) Twitter: Aimee Knight ( @Aimee_Knight ) LinkedIn: Aimee K. aimeemarieknight | Instagram Aimee Knight | Facebook Contact AJ: AJ ONeal CoolAJ86 on GIT Beyond Code Bootcamp Beyond Code Bootcamp | GitHub Follow Beyond Code Bootcamp | Facebook Twitter: Beyond Code Bootcamp ( @_beyondcode ) Contact Charles: Devchat.tv DevChat.tv | Facebook Twitter: DevChat.tv ( @devchattv ) Contact Dan: GitHub: Dan Shappir ( DanShappir ) LinkedIn: Dan Shappir Twitter: Dan Shappir ( @DanShappir ) Contact Steve: Twitter: Steve Edwards ( @wonder95 ) GitHub: Steve Edwards ( wonder95 ) LinkedIn: Steve Edwards

Sam Sycamore joins the podcast to tell his story of transitioning into programming after listening to the podcast episode we recorded with Danny Thompson. Danny told his story about how he went from gas station attendant to programmer in a very short timeframe. Sam has now made a similar journey from landscape construction to programming and what inspired him to make the switch. Panel Aimee KnightAJ O'NealCharles Max WoodDan ShappirSteve Edwards Guest Sam Sycamore Guest JavaScript Error and Performance Monitoring | SentryDev Influencers Accelerator Links How I Learned to Code and Started Freelancing Full-Time in 8 MonthsEverything You Need to Know to Succeed as a FreelancerMy Freelancing Workflow, from Cold Leads to Paid InvoicesJSJ 442: Breaking Into Tech with Danny Thompson | Devchat.tvSycamore Design BlogTwitter: Sam Sycamore ( @tanoaksam )GitHub: Sam Sycamore ( samuelsycamore ) Picks Aimee- GitHub | ossu/computer-scienceAJ- Cloud Turbo Encabulator - YouTubeAJ- webinstall.devAJ- Brave SearchCharles- The Ruthless Elimination of HurryCharles- Atlas Shrugged Dan- Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable – Aimee Knight - YouTubeDan- Four Yorkshiremen- Monty Python - YouTubeSam- The Futur - YouTubeSam- leonnoel.comSteve- CakebrewSteve- New mystery AWS product 'Infinidash' goes viral — despite being entirely fictional Contact Aimee: Aimee Knight – Software Architect, and International Keynote SpeakerGitHub: Aimee Knight ( AimeeKnight )Twitter: Aimee Knight ( @Aimee_Knight )LinkedIn: Aimee K.aimeemarieknight | InstagramAimee Knight | Facebook Contact AJ: AJ ONealCoolAJ86 on GITBeyond Code BootcampBeyond Code Bootcamp | GitHubFollow Beyond Code Bootcamp | FacebookTwitter: Beyond Code Bootcamp ( @_beyondcode ) Contact Charles: Devchat.tvDevChat.tv | FacebookTwitter: DevChat.tv ( @devchattv ) Contact Dan: GitHub: Dan Shappir ( DanShappir )LinkedIn: Dan ShappirTwitter: Dan Shappir ( @DanShappir ) Contact Steve: Twitter: Steve Edwards ( @wonder95 )GitHub: Steve Edwards ( wonder95 )LinkedIn: Steve Edwards Special Guest: Sam Sycamore .

Sam Sycamore joins the podcast to tell his story of transitioning into programming after listening to the podcast episode we recorded with Danny Thompson. Danny told his story about how he went from gas station attendant to programmer in a very short timeframe. Sam has now made a similar journey from landscape construction to programming and what inspired him to make the switch. Panel Aimee KnightAJ O'NealCharles Max WoodDan ShappirSteve Edwards Guest Sam Sycamore Guest JavaScript Error and Performance Monitoring | SentryDev Influencers Accelerator Links How I Learned to Code and Started Freelancing Full-Time in 8 MonthsEverything You Need to Know to Succeed as a FreelancerMy Freelancing Workflow, from Cold Leads to Paid InvoicesJSJ 442: Breaking Into Tech with Danny Thompson | Devchat.tvSycamore Design BlogTwitter: Sam Sycamore ( @tanoaksam )GitHub: Sam Sycamore ( samuelsycamore ) Picks Aimee- GitHub | ossu/computer-scienceAJ- Cloud Turbo Encabulator - YouTubeAJ- webinstall.devAJ- Brave SearchCharles- The Ruthless Elimination of HurryCharles- Atlas Shrugged Dan- Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable – Aimee Knight - YouTubeDan- Four Yorkshiremen- Monty Python - YouTubeSam- The Futur - YouTubeSam- leonnoel.comSteve- CakebrewSteve- New mystery AWS product 'Infinidash' goes viral — despite being entirely fictional Contact Aimee: Aimee Knight – Software Architect, and International Keynote SpeakerGitHub: Aimee Knight ( AimeeKnight )Twitter: Aimee Knight ( @Aimee_Knight )LinkedIn: Aimee K.aimeemarieknight | InstagramAimee Knight | Facebook Contact AJ: AJ ONealCoolAJ86 on GITBeyond Code BootcampBeyond Code Bootcamp | GitHubFollow Beyond Code Bootcamp | FacebookTwitter: Beyond Code Bootcamp ( @_beyondcode ) Contact Charles: Devchat.tvDevChat.tv | FacebookTwitter: DevChat.tv ( @devchattv ) Contact Dan: GitHub: Dan Shappir ( DanShappir )LinkedIn: Dan ShappirTwitter: Dan Shappir ( @DanShappir ) Contact Steve: Twitter: Steve Edwards ( @wonder95 )GitHub: Steve Edwards ( wonder95 )LinkedIn: Steve Edwards Special Guest: Sam Sycamore .

Sam Sycamore joins the podcast to tell his story of transitioning into programming after listening to the podcast episode we recorded with Danny Thompson. Danny told his story about how he went from gas station attendant to programmer in a very short timeframe. Sam has now made a similar journey from landscape construction to programming and what inspired him to make the switch. Panel Aimee Knight AJ O'Neal Charles Max Wood Dan Shappir Steve Edwards Guest Sam Sycamore Guest JavaScript Error and Performance Monitoring | Sentry Dev Influencers Accelerator Links How I Learned to Code and Started Freelancing Full-Time in 8 Months Everything You Need to Know to Succeed as a Freelancer My Freelancing Workflow, from Cold Leads to Paid Invoices JSJ 442: Breaking Into Tech with Danny Thompson | Devchat.tv Sycamore Design Blog Twitter: Sam Sycamore ( @tanoaksam ) GitHub: Sam Sycamore ( samuelsycamore ) Picks Aimee- GitHub | ossu/computer-science AJ- Cloud Turbo Encabulator - YouTube AJ- webinstall.dev AJ- Brave Search Charles- The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry Charles- Atlas Shrugged  Dan- Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable – Aimee Knight - YouTube Dan- Four Yorkshiremen- Monty Python - YouTube Sam- The Futur - YouTube Sam- leonnoel.com Steve- Cakebrew Steve- New mystery AWS product 'Infinidash' goes viral — despite being entirely fictional Contact Aimee: Aimee Knight – Software Architect, and International Keynote Speaker GitHub: Aimee Knight ( AimeeKnight ) Twitter: Aimee Knight ( @Aimee_Knight ) LinkedIn: Aimee K. aimeemarieknight | Instagram Aimee Knight | Facebook Contact AJ: AJ ONeal CoolAJ86 on GIT Beyond Code Bootcamp Beyond Code Bootcamp | GitHub Follow Beyond Code Bootcamp | Facebook Twitter: Beyond Code Bootcamp ( @_beyondcode ) Contact Charles: Devchat.tv DevChat.tv | Facebook Twitter: DevChat.tv ( @devchattv ) Contact Dan: GitHub: Dan Shappir ( DanShappir ) LinkedIn: Dan Shappir Twitter: Dan Shappir ( @DanShappir ) Contact Steve: Twitter: Steve Edwards ( @wonder95 ) GitHub: Steve Edwards ( wonder95 ) LinkedIn: Steve Edwards

Listen now | Pivoting from carpenter to successful web developer in less than a year! My guest for this episode is Sam Sycamore. Sam is a writer, web developer, tree hugger & avowed music junkie. He currently works as Head of Content Strategy & Marketing at Hashnode, a global tech blogging platform that enables bloggers to tap into a fast-growing & supportive community of readers, writers, and tech enthusiasts. Sam is the poster child of taking control of your life and investing in yourself. But, it wasn’t easy… This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at newsletter.invinciblecareer.com/subscribe

In this conversation, Dina and writer, teacher and The Good Life Revival podcast host, Sam Sycamore have a broad discussion to learn about how Sam has come to practice what he preaches and teaches as an off-grid radical ecologist in California living and learning as he goes. We delve into Sam's background including his education (and eventual unschooling), the use of psychedelics as a transformative component into the nature of reality, ecology and how it can inform our relationship to nature, foraging wild foods and the importance of context when interacting with the land, and also some of the ways you can study with Sam to increase your skills of observation, botanical vocabulary, and comprehension, wild food foraging and overall relationship with plants.

Luke McLaughlin doesn’t want to teach you wilderness survival skills. He wants to guide you through the process of remembering your ancestral human nature.Make no mistake — though he’ll tell you that the technology typically amounts to little more than “playing with bones and stones,” these rhythms and motions that our ancestors honed across countless millennia can show us what it really means to be a human animal — an integral participant in the ecological unfolding of a place.The beauty of this practice lies in its immediacy, and its universal applicability: whether your local jungle is composed primarily of plants or concrete, these primal living skills are accessible to all of us.For episode 71 of the Good Life Revival Podcast, I caught up with Luke to discuss his recent transition from rural woodland living to the mean city streets of Asheville, North Carolina.What does it mean to be a primitive skills instructor in the heart of the city? Though Luke’s work these days is primarily focused on the hard skills, he also brings to the table many years of experience in wilderness therapy, so he knows how potent wildcrafting can be as a tool for emotional and spiritual self-improvement.The main thread running through our conversation is the art of “inner tracking” — the mental and emotional skillset required to navigate through our own conscious experiences in a world that’s fundamentally misaligned with our animal nature.It’s always a pleasure to hear from Luke, and I really enjoyed our “cross-pollination” here, to borrow from his vocabulary.Stream and download episode 71 at the top of the page, or listen through iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play! Don’t forget to subscribe!NEW! To hear my final thoughts on our conversation, check out this bonus podcast episode exclusively for Patreon subscribers:71.5 - A Self That Touches All EdgesTo learn more about Holistic Survival School and Luke’s immersive Deep Remembering program, click here.Check out my photo tutorial on eating acorns right here.Score a free audiobook today when you sign up for Libro.fm using my referral link!All music was created by Sam Sycamore, and can be downloaded by subscribers at any level over on Patreon. If you’d prefer to offer a one-time financial contribution, you can do so through PayPal. This show is made possible by listeners like you.

The acorn is one of the most common and ubiquitous nuts you’re likely to encounter almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in autumn.Somehow, tragically, the vast majority of people on Earth today think of acorns as little more than “squirrel food,” despite the fact that they are easily rendered edible for humans after some basic processing.In fact, if we lived in anything approaching a sane, rational culture, acorns would be a staple in our daily diets around the world, as ordinary as white bread.Thankfully, there’s no massive cultural paradigm shift required in order to reclaim this delicious and highly nutritious ancestral food in your own life.All you need is time, patience, and some basic guidance through the process.That’s where this podcast comes in: for episode 70 of the #GoodLifeRevival Podcast, we’re going to review everything you need to know to begin gathering and eating acorns this season!Along the way I will answer questions like:Why would anyone want to eat acorns?What’s the difference between white oaks and red/black oaks?What is the best method for gathering, and how can you tell if an acorn is no good?How do you remove the tannins in order to make acorns edible?What’s the best way to prepare acorns to eat?And much more!Nothing brings me greater joy than teaching others how to make use of the common wild foods found all around us throughout the seasons.I truly believe that sharing the knowledge of how to eat acorns is one of the most valuable things that I can do with my time, and I hope that this audio tutorial will turn you into an evangelist for the cause, too.This episode serves as a great example of the kind of tutoring I offer on a one-on-one basis through my Wild Food Mentorship — there’s still time to apply before the October 31 deadline, but spots are filling up quickly! Be sure to submit an application here if you are interested.Stream and download episode 70 at the top of the page, or listen through iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play! Don’t forget to subscribe!Score a free audiobook today when you sign up for Libro.fm using my referral link!All music was created by Sam Sycamore, and can be downloaded by subscribers at any level over on Patreon. If you’d prefer to offer a one-time financial contribution, you can do so through PayPal. This show is made possible by listeners like you.

Whether the status quo is prepared to admit it or not, climate change is not some mysterious future event looming on the horizon — it is already happening, here, now.So: how will you choose to respond?In this episode of the Good Life Revival Podcast, I revisit last week’s topic of climate change grief, and whether we ought to let go of the hope of salvation in favor of taking direct action to brace ourselves for what we know we can reasonably expect from a severely disrupted global climate.One crucial part of the process of preparing ourselves, I believe, is to reckon with our emotional reactions to what is unfolding in front of us. To deny the pain that we all feel when we observe the open wounds on the land that we walk upon is to numb ourselves to reality — to continue, in vain, to build a wall between ourselves and the natural world which sustains us.Acknowledging and confronting the seemingly insurmountable pain of a dying planet should only imbue our work with that much more urgency.Drawing from the writings of Steven Martyn, Kat Anderson, Trebbe Johnson and Donna Haraway, I make the case here that what we need now more than ever are visionary new myths to guide us towards novel ways and means of co-creation with the land.We do ourselves no favors by merely hoping for a better world, or praying that our leaders will miraculously change course — recognizing that top-down solutions have failed to materialize, the time has come for us to begin self-organizing in the interests of preserving and regenerating whatever is within our reach.All the while, we must not be afraid to stare down the very real existential fear that looms in the background. You are justified in your fear, but it is no excuse for inaction. You don’t get to choose what problems you face in life, but you can always decide how to feel about them. I hope you’ll join me in this difficult but necessary work.Score a free audiobook today when you sign up for Libro.fm using my referral link.Bibliography:Anderson, M. Kat. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural ResourcesHaraway, Donna J. Staying With the Trouble: Making Kin in the ChthuluceneJohnson, Trebbe. Radical Joy For Hard Times: Finding Meaning and Making Beauty in Earth’s Broken PlacesMartyn, Steven Elliot. Sacred Gardening: Seeds for the Reemergence of Co-Creative AgricultureAll music was created by Sam Sycamore, and can be downloaded by subscribers at any level over on Patreon. If you’d prefer to offer a one-time financial contribution, you can do so through PayPal. This show is made possible by listeners like you.

I dream of a quiet manwho explains nothing and defendsnothing, but only knowswhere the rarest wildflowersare blooming, and who goes,and finds that he is smilingnot by his own will."I Dream of a Quiet Man" by Wendell Berry, from Given.

Early on in my journey back to nature, I realized that I was going to have to get creative in order to overcome the unique obstacles in my path.Knowing that I would never work towards a six-figure salary or a thirty-year mortgage, I had to seek out ways of working with the land that did not involve ownership.…But what does it even mean to “own” a piece of land, anyway? In what sense do space and time and ecosystems “belong” to you?Rather than working harder to increase my income over years or decades in the interest of a future life, I opted to downgrade over a period of several years, whittling away my lifestyle and my material needs down to the bare necessities, in order to maximize my personal freedom from day to day — in the present moment.I consider it an ethical imperative to minimize my participation in the forces of exploitation and oppression which fuel our modern culture.Understanding that there is no such thing as “opting out” of civilization, I prefer to focus my time and energy on work that is largely *irrelevant* and *illegible* to the dominant culture.Why pursue this path? Why swim upstream and create problems for oneself that can easily be solved through conventional means?It’s not for everyone, and what works for me may not necessarily work for you. But I hope my approach to lifestyle design in the context of irrelevance and illegibility might help you to better frame how you view your own goals and desires in life.The Powers That Be will never offer you an exit, so it’s up to you to seek out novel strategies for engaging on your own terms.

This special extra episode of the podcast features a conversation with Sam Sycamore of the Good Life Revival Podcast. He hails originally from Kentucky, but has also traveled at different times across the U.S., farmed in Indiana, and now currently lives off-grid in Santa Cruz, California where he runs his podcast, is tending permaculture gardens, makes music and teaches an online foraging course. Sam reached out to me to see if I'd like to do a collaborative recording to share on both of our podcasts about our projects and lives- which have a lot in common! Of course, I was down! I was already traveling through the area where he lives to visit a friend, and we ended up meeting in a parking lot by the ocean in Santa Cruz to record this conversation in the back of my camper. Through his podcast, The Good Life Revival, Sam documents the growing back-to-the-land movement of the twenty-first century, interviewing folks around the world who are pursuing a lifestyle aligned with the rhythms of nature. He also has been integrating a social justice focus more recently in his podcast, a necessary intersection in discussions about land and nature. I really enjoyed one of his latest podcast episodes ‘Disrupting Racism with Deep Connection - Interview with Aaron Johnson, Porsha Beed, and Jennie Pearl of Holistic Resistance.'   In this conversation, you get to know each of us a little more than perhaps we've revealed on our individual podcasts alone through interviewing or featuring others. We weave our talk with honest questions of the other as they arise and through this natural cadence (occasionally interrupted by the threat of beach parking police) we visit topics of our shared interest. We discuss the pros and cons of so called ‘#vanlife,' a movement I am very much a part of but don't really tap into online for a few reasons. We both share our stories of questioning whether we should stay in our less than desirable home towns where our skills are needed but the culture is difficult, or whether to venture out into wider circles. We ventured towards the topics of death and the need for elders near the end of our conversation, and how keeping death in mind is necessary but not always easy— and when we keep death in mind we can make present choices today to live our fullest life, in service to the land and one another.     Links: Sam's website with his podcast, music, writings on plants and more: http://thegoodliferevival.com/ Sam also runs an online course on wild foraging in North America: https://mailchi.mp/855d385fc362/foraging Sam's Patreon page for the Good Life Revival Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/goodliferevival/overview Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute to our grassroots self-funding of this project.  Our Instagram page @goldenberries Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow Produced by: Sam Sycamore (this episode) and Opia Creative  

When all we’ve ever known is unhealthy, imbalanced examples of sexuality, how can we even begin to step into our power as self-actualized, sexually liberated individuals?For episode 57 of the Good Life Revival Podcast, I invited Ev’Yan Whitney of Portland, Oregon, to join me for a conversation about how we might start to heal as a culture from the toxic and repressive social norms we’ve inherited about sex and gender.Ev’Yan describes herself as a sexuality doula, which is to say that she offers holistic guidance for women as they navigate the difficult transitional process of owning and defining their sexuality, on their own terms. I shouldn’t have to tell you that this is very radical work, and Ev’Yan knows better than most just how dangerous it can be to stand up to the patriarchy and boldly proclaim your truth.Although Ev’Yan’s work is focused on individuals who identify as female, I asked her to come on the show specifically in the hopes of opening up this conversation about sexual liberation to men.I think our culture, and especially my generation, is ready to begin unpacking some of the more “toxic” elements of this rather nebulous thing we call “masculinity,” and I firmly believe that men like me really need to learn from women educators like Ev’Yan if we have any hope of defining a healthy, balanced sexuality for ourselves.Believe me when I say you’re not going to like what you find as you unpack the baggage you inherited from civilization regarding sex, but I hope that Ev’Yan’s example will inspire you to ask these hard questions of yourself anyway, and not shy away from the especially ugly, painful, or embarrassing answers that you might find tucked deep down in the darkest corners of your psyche.Ev’Yan has documented many of her stories and experiences with women over the years through her excellent podcast, The Sexually Liberated Woman. You can find out more about her and the services she offers through her website, EvYanWhitney.com.Stream and download episode 57 at the top of the page, or listen through iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.Don’t forget to subscribe through your podcast app, and leave a review & rating if you dig it!All music you hear on the podcast was created by me, Sam Sycamore. “Alameda”, the theme of this episode, was written and recorded specifically for this installment of the show. The tune at the end is called “Hummingbird Drinks Jewelweed Nectar”, and was recorded in September 2018. It will be featured on my forthcoming album Bliss, set for release later this year. Stream and download it for free over on Patreon.As always, if you get some value out of the work that I put into this podcast, and you’re able to translate that value into financial capital — as little as $1/month — I hope you will consider becoming a supporter over on Patreon! Your contributions allow me to devote quite a lot of my time and energy to this work. I would love to do even more, with your help.

“Sam Sycamore, how do you define the good life?” “Well Sam, I’m glad you finally asked me for a change.“For me, the good life is defined by interdependence. To feel needed by a group of likeminded people, and to rely on them to meet the basic needs that I can’t take care of for myself.“To feel needed by the land around me, whether garden or forest, or some combination thereof, to manifest beauty and abundance wherever I go, and to draw my physical and spiritual sustenance through a direct co-creative relationship with the land.“The good life is within reach, and I know, because I’ve felt it, I’ve tasted it, I’ve observed it, I’ve swapped stories with others who confirm my suspicions and validate my hypotheses.“I don’t worry about what the future may bring, at any scale along any timeline, whether it’s social or political unrest, global climate disruption, the complete and total collapse of civilization as we know it, or any of a million personal disasters that could arrive in my life in the next moment, either as a direct consequence of the choices I’ve made or else as a purely random occurrence in a universe that’s ultimately indifferent to my temporal physical manifestation as a human animal.“This moment is where the good life resides. As long as you position the good life in the future, it will remain there, forever out of reach.“So please, if you take nothing else from my story here today, I hope it’s this:“Make it now.”* * *In this, the final installment of the Good Life Revival Podcast for 2018, I reflect on my search to uncover the good life over the last decade, which has led me to exploring everything from postmodern French philosophy, to psychedelics, to Zen Buddhism, to plant ecology, to the skilled trades and seemingly everywhere in between.Along the way I share some of the insight I’ve gained in ten years of walking this path, and explain how my search for meaning and purpose in life has led me to an intimate, co-creative relationship with the natural world, and how I’ve learned to let go of my desire to be the master of my destiny and instead trust in my intuition to guide me where I need to go.As always, if you get some value out of the work that I put into this podcast, and you’re able to translate that value into some financial capital - as little as $1/month - I hope you will consider becoming a supporter over on Patreon! Your contributions allow me to devote quite a lot of my time and energy to this work. I would love to do even more, with your help.

Donate to The Permaculture Podcast Online: via PayPal Venmo: @permaculturepodcast My guest today is Sara Bir, chef, writer, and author of The Fruit Forager's Companion, from Chelsea Green Publishing. Using her book and those experiences as a place to start, we explore her interest in wild fruit and foods, including first falling in love with the paw paw, and about how shared experiences, in the forest or around the table, bring us together. You can find Sara on her website sausagetarian and her book at Chelsea Green. I also recommend following her on Instagram, if you're on there, as she posts some really great pictures about food. Just as with her website, you'll find her there as sausagetarian. While you're there also be sure to follow the show permaculturepodcast to see more of what goes on behind the scenes. I'm also giving away a copy of The Fruit Forager's Companion to a Patreon supporter, you'll find that in the feed there and available for entry from Tuesday, July 3rd through Thursday, July 12. -- Talking with Sara, as you hear from the stories I shared today, reminded me of all the different connections I have with food from particular flavors like the applesauce, crafted through culinary means, to those moments that matter with my children. Standing by the trail side with my son picking berries, or sitting in the grass with my daughter munching on violets. Or now, in this moment, of when I was a child and would sit at the edge of my parent's garden and pick strawberries. Food, whether foraged, gleaned, or purchased from farm or market, give us time with ourselves and others. Food is nourishment for our body, our spirit, and our community. Finding something to eat, whether simply untended or truly wild, weaves those threads with the wider world, as we taste the soil and season in what we gather. What are you foraging for? What are your favorite fruits? What are your favorite fruit memories? Let me know. Leave a comment in the show notes, call , emailThe Permaculture Podcast From here, the next regular interview is the second conversation with Victoria Redhed Miller to talk about the art of craft distilling. Until then, spend each day eating from and creating the world you want to live in by taking care of Earth, yourself, and each other. Summer Road Trip I'm planning a trip to Indiana and Kentucky to record in-person interviews with Sam Sycamore of The Good Life Revival Podcast and Jereme Zimmerman to discuss his new book Brew Beer Like a Yeti. If time allows and schedules align,  I have some other interviews along the way as well. To make that happen, however, I need to raise a few hundred dollars for fuel and lodging. You can help launch these in-person interviews by visiting paypal.me/permaculturepodcast or sending something in the mail. The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast If you do send something, please be sure to include your mailing address so I can send you a note from the road. Resources Sara Bir (sausagetarian.com) Sara on Instagram The Fruit Foragers Companion (Chelsea Green)

Donate to The Permaculture Podcast Online: via PayPal Venmo: @permaculturepodcast My guest today is Leslie Crawford, author of Spring the Rescue Pig, a children's book about the journey of a pig on his trip from industrial agriculture to a sanctuary, and Rory, the child who helps him along the way. Using that book and story as a starting place, Leslie and I talk about agriculture, food activism, parenting, and the lessons we as adults can learn from children. Find out more about Leslie at LeslieCrawford.net. Sprig The Rescue Pig, published by Stone Pier Press, is distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing. You can purchase the book at ChelseaGreen.com or look for it wherever you buy books. -- Visit our partner: Food Forest Card Game -- I really like Leslie's non-confrontational and non-judgemental tone to the story of Sprig, that shows us what is possible in expanding our relationships and connection to the natural world and other than human, in a beautiful way through Leslie's expressive language and the delightful illustrations by Sonya Stangl. If you are a parent of younger children, as I say somewhere in that 6 to 9 range, I recommend that you pick this up and start to share these stories and your values with your children. Gwen the Rescue Hen is now available for pre-order at stonepierpress.org. What do you think of the story of Sprig? Are there other books you would recommend for permaculture parents for children? Let me know. Leave a comment in the show notes, call , email show@thepermaculturepodcast.com, or drop something in the post: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast From here, the next episode is an interview with Sara Bir, author of The Fruit Forager's Companion, to talk about food, fruit, and foraging. Until then, spend time connecting with any children in your life, and share with them your love of Earth, care for one's self, and one another. The Possibility Handbook Update The Possibility Handbook is coming along. It's still rough, and has a ways to go, but, as I've said to some other folks, I've been working on it for so long that I need other eyes to take a look at it, so the manuscript is in the virtual hands of some volunteers who are reading and reviewing the document to provide insight, feedback, and ask questions so I can make improvements and bring it into the world in months to come. With how things are going I should have a revised, though still rough, version mailed to Ethan and the Possibility Alliance in July for them to read and provide their own insights. If this is your first time hearing about this project you can find out more by visiting thepermaculturepodcast.com/book where you'll also find links to my interviews with Ethan Hughes, all in one place. Summer Road Trip I'd like to travel to Indiana and Kentucky in July to record in-person interviews with Sam Sycamore of The Good Life Revival Podcast and Jereme Zimmerman, author of Make Mead Like a Viking, to discuss his new book Brew Beer Like a Yeti. If time allows I'm also looking at speaking with Karen Lanier to follow-up on our conversation about her work as a documentarian and her film about women farmers, and with Michael Beck of ThePOOSH and Permaculture Action Network to discuss their on the ground and community efforts. To make that trip happen, I need to raise a few hundred dollars for lodging and fuel along the way. You can help launch these in-person interviews by visiting paypal.me/permaculturepodcast or sending something in the mail. The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast If you do send something, please be sure to include your mailing address so I can send you a note from the road. Resources Sprig the Rescue Pig Gwen the Rescue Hen Leslie Crawford Stone Pier Press Chelsea Green

We changed our names, quit our jobs, and moved to a farm owned by friends, in a new town, in a new state.Then our dog died in a tragic accident. Then my (life) partner left me while we were in the middle of starting a farm business together.We had spend the past four years of our lives working toward this one goal of living self-sufficiently, closer to the land, and we had finally arrived.So why did she leave?That’s a question I will be asking myself for a long time to come.In this unusual episode of the Good Life Revival Podcast, I take some time to explain what has transpired in my tumultuous personal life in 2018.I share this, warts and all, because I want to make it clear that I’m no guru or master teacher with all the answers — I’m just a guy, someone just like you, trying his best to figure this stuff out as I go.I’m still searching for “the good life,” too, and I suspect I always will be.Stick around to the end of the episode where I share a song I wrote last week, called “The How’m I Gonna Keep My Head Above Water Blues.” If you dig it, you can download it (and all of my other original music) by becoming a supporter over on Patreon.

Big Thanks to Ethan Roland and the visionary team of Appleseed Permaculture who first put words to this framework, and mapped out these ideas for us all to drop into and explore.And an equally open-hearted shout-out to Sam Sycamore of the Good Life Revival Podcast - who first hipped us to these ideas - and shared them in a way both eloquent but inspiring us to ACT. Deep bows.

Agriculture is one of the primary drivers of of overpopulation, deforestation, erosion, pollution of soil, water, and air, habitat loss, biodiversity loss, and global climate disruption. We know this.How did we get here? And has it always been this way? Is agriculture to blame for the problems of modern civilization? Is modern civilization to blame for the ecological suicide course of modern agriculture? Is it possible, as many would have you believe, for us to use more agriculture to repair the health of our bodies and our ecosystems?To get to the bottom of these questions, we’ll have to take a deep hard look at the origins of agriculture, and how it relates to our modern food system and the relationship we’ve inherited with nature.In the latest episode of the Good Life Revival Podcast — no. 31 — we will unpack some of the inherent flaws of agriculture, and connect the dots through to our modern-day paradigm of chemical and genetic warfare being waged across hundreds of millions of acres of land around the world.We’ll also talk about the potential alternatives to our massive, globalized, monopolized, mono-cropped agriculture, and how we might be able to move forward at the individual and community level to rise above the status quo.(I’ve got some pretty exciting personal news to share on the “moving forward” front, by the way!)The picture is bleak today, my friends, and you should not expect me to sugar-coat it. With that said, if we have any hope of averting global ecological catastrophe, we need to understand why our brittle multinational systems are now on the brink of collapse.I hope that this podcast helps you to better understand the sheer magnitude of the problem at hand, and hopefully encourages you to think and work harder to derive solutions — whatever form they might take.

We humans are innately spiritual creatures: we are all driven to seek purpose beyond pure survival, and connection beyond the individual body.We want to be a part of something greater than our individual selves—to feel that we are working with others, whether human or more-than-human, towards a common goal that supersedes individual needs.I believe that the civilized cultural paradigm that currently dictates our collective worldview does not serve us, and thus it is in our best interest to plot a new course going forward with a set of cultural tools that are actually useful and relevant to our daily lives.Over the course of many countless millennia, our species externalized many of its instincts in the form of stories—mythology—because this allowed for more fluidity in our behaviors and thus the ability to more quickly adapt to changing conditions.Instincts change over the course of evolutionary time, millions of years; stories, on the other hand, can change just a little bit, often imperceptibly so, every single time they’re told – and the ways in which they’re told are invariably a reflection of the time, the place, and the people involved. Thus, culture is an extension of ecology.Recognizing that the dominant culture of No-Environment is detrimental to our continued survival, how can we create new cultural tools without engaging in cultural appropriation?How might we reclaim a land-based mythology for ourselves and our kin that allows us to thrive individually, and flourish collectively?How do we participate in the spiritual landscape of our ecosystems, and cultivate an intimate, co-creative relationship with the Earth?Explore these questions and more in the latest episode of The Good Life Revival Podcast, no. 29: ‘How to Develop Your Own Myths, Rituals, and Culture.’

In this episode of the Good Life Revival Podcast (#25), I explore the complicated and often frustrating question of whether humans should eat meat. Is it good for our health? Is it bad for the environment? Are some forms of agriculture more sustainable than others, and to what degree?This leads to deeper discussion about our connection with the natural cycle of life and death, engaging in reciprocal relationships with wild and domesticated animals, and what it means to revere the animals -- and plants! -- that we must kill, so that we may go on living.In this episode, we'll cover:My personal history as a stubborn childhood vegetarian-turned-chicken slaughtererWhy meat is not "murder", but more like compassion and reverenceWhy questions of the "ideal human diet" don't make much senseWhy we shouldn't give up on raising livestock just because of the horrors of factory farmingHow we can take ownership of our role as apex predators on the landscapeHow consuming animals can bring us closer to the universal life force that animates us all Related Links & Further Resources:How to Participate In Your Ecosystem: Restoration Through Use - The Good Life Revival Podcast #22The Great Forgetting: Totalitarian Agriculture & The Lies We've Inherited About Our Ancestors - The Good Life Revival Podcast #20Nature Deficit Disorder and Ecological Literacy - The Good Life Revival Podcast #65 Things I Learned Processing Chickens for Meat - The Good Life Revival blogEating Animals by Jonathan Safran FoerThe Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Our culture teaches us from a very early age that there are two kinds of places in the world: “people places” and “wild places.”The people places are the cities and towns where we live and operate. The wild places are the parks and forest preserves outside of town where we occasionally visit for recreation.In our cities we observe herds of people, trash in the streets, smoke and fumes emanating from exhaust pipes, smells of human and industrial waste, and geometric grids constructed of concrete, metal and glass that confuse and disorient us.It makes sense that we would want to keep all of that separate from the “wilderness,” right? To preserve those wild places in their “natural” state; to “take only pictures, and leave only footprints.”Unfortunately, this concept is built around two major conceptual flaws: that outdoor recreational spaces are “natural, pristine wilderness,” and that there is no connection between these “wild places” and the “people places” that surround them.There is no place on Earth that does not feel the impact of modern human exploitation. We have already “left our traces” everywhere.How, then, can we participate in our ecosystems in such a way that they are improved, rather than degraded, by our presence? How do we reestablish our fundamental connection with nature and live in a way that’s not just less-bad, but actually regenerative?It is possible, and in this episode of the Good Life Revival podcast, I’ll share with you my top five suggestions for making a positive impact on any landscape you come to work with.I hope that my thoughts on this subject will help spark your imagination about the ways that you can begin to create the world that we all want to live in, but most importantly, I hope you will come away from this episode with at least few ideas that you can put into action right away.

“What if our financial system looked more like an ecosystem?”This was one of the big-picture questions that eventually led Ethan Roland and Gregory Landua to propose that money isn’t the only form of capital driving the human economy.By viewing the financial system through the lens of permaculture, Roland and Landua eventually settled upon eight forms of capital that they observed flowing between individuals and communities, each with their own unique currencies:Social, financial, living, material, intellectual, experiential, cultural, and spiritual.Roland and Landua’s foundational framework was built for the domain of business, but it’s easy to see how these concepts can be applied more generally for making conscious lifestyle choices – and that’s what I’m all about! :)In this episode, we’ll cover:The eight forms of capital – what they are, how they connect, and how to generate and exchange them in your daily lifeWhat a visit from the family and a food forest installation can tell us about wealth and the pursuit of happinessWhy some forms of capital are more valuable than others, but also why balance is keyPlus, Brooke Sycamore shares a story based on the Chiricahua Apache tale of the coyote and the money tree, with musical accompaniment by yours truly.

In an era when all the double cheeseburgers you could ever hope to eat are available to you at a moment’s notice, why bother going to all the trouble of learning how to identify and gather wild foods?The main appeal of foraging, for me, lies in cultivating a more intimate relationship with wild nature in all its beauty, mystery, and abundance. It’s one thing to spend some free time hiking and camping in the woods, but something else entirely to come home with a bag full of wild food from that place – to be nourished physically, mentally, and spiritually by the natural world.Wild edible plants are almost always hardier, more vigorous, more flavorful, and more nutritious than their cultivated counterparts. Best of all, they require no work on our part, aside from harvesting and eating!People haven’t always domesticated plants and animals, but wild nature has always supplied us with food. Only in the last century or so have modern people really abandoned the old ways of foraging for wild plants, and it’s up to us as individuals to correct this misstep and learn for ourselves.We have the ability to take back this fundamental understanding of how to work with the natural world. It’s not hard, but it does require patience, diligence, and careful observation.Today on the podcast, we’ll cover:Why I decided to change the name from ‘Permaculture Lifestyle’ to ‘Good Life Revival’What to expect from this show going forwardWhy foraging is such an important part of my daily lifeWhy eating with the seasons is not just a trendy fad, but a moral imperativeThe seasonality of wild foods, and how to work with themMy seven ground rules for foraging safely, responsibly, and confidently

Does the permaculture movement have a political agenda?In this episode of the Permaculture Lifestyle podcast, I explore a wide range of opinions and perspectives on the question of whether practicing permaculture is an inherently political act.Is it a leftist extension of the environmental movement? Is it perhaps libertarian, anarchist, or anarcho-capitalist in nature? Is capitalism a valid tool in the toolkit of the social permaculture designer?One of the most appealing things about permaculture, for me, is that it appeals to a wide range of people from all across the political spectrum. But I do see ideologies butting heads from time to time within this space, and so I think it's really important that we confront these differences of opinion head-on and with an open mind.

One reason the idea of homesteading is so appealing to us is because we all instinctively know that we way we organize our work lives—and thus, our lifestyle as a whole—just doesn’t make sense.Why on earth would any of us want to give up the majority of the hours of the majority of the days of our lives to do something we don’t want to do, isolated from the people we care about? Who would agree to that?And yet that’s exactly what we do, because it’s what we’re told we have to do.Well, homesteading offers an alternative.In this installment of the podcast, I outline what I see as the 4 pillars of modern homesteading: working with the land, taking care of your own needs, and minimizing interactions with government and market forces – all while remaining where you live.Listen through the player at the top of the page, or subscribe to the show on iTunes.Dig the podcast? Please take a moment to leave an honest review/rating on iTunes – it will seriously make a big difference in helping me to reach more people, believe it or not.

What are the stories, traditions, rituals, beliefs, and rites of passage passed down to you by your family and your culture?

We can change our world, and we can start right away.In this special audioblog edition of the podcast, I share my thoughts on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as it relates to our dysfunctional modern culture -- and how we can respond as individuals in a meaningful, productive way.What is an "audioblog"? Well, you could say it's kind of like an audiobook, except that instead of a book, I'm reading my blog post Leaving the Modern World Behind to you. Get it?This was the very first post I wrote for the blog when I launched it on July 1, 2016. Seems like I only embarked on this journey just the other day, and yet so much has changed over these months!

Why do we practice permaculture? Because we feel a moral imperative to improve the world around us, and we recognize that change begins with the individual. In this live presentation from the Louisville Permaculture Guild, I explain how I came to permaculture as a terrified ecology student, and I offer my definition of “permaculture” from the perspective of ecological awareness. From there I share my views on the three core ethics of permaculture, and propose a fourth ethic that I believe is implied in the literature – and that we’d all do well to acknowledge. Finally, I discuss the importance of defining intentions for ourselves as individuals, and suggest a 4-step process of self-assessment for better aligning actions and values. This was my first time attending a meeting of the LPG and I’m really looking forward to more! Many thanks to Ray Ely for inviting me to come speak to the group, and to everyone who came and listened and had sweet things to say at the end. :) This was my also my very first speaking gig ever, and I hope it’s not the last! I really enjoyed the project from start to finish and I’m grateful to be able to share this work with my podcast listeners!

What does it mean to be illegible and irrelevant to the dominant culture of destruction and exploitation?It means reclaiming a greater sense of autonomy, a self-directed lifestyle, freedom from the rat race and the pursuit of financial capital. It means rejecting the distractions and false narratives that are manufactured to divide and conquer the non-elite classes of the world. It means rebuilding our divided communities and taking direct interpersonal action to achieve harmony through the common goals and values that we all share. We can design intentional systems and lifestyles for ourselves which generate yields that the system doesn’t understand. We can generate non-monetary forms of capital that can’t be taxed by a system that only knows how to rationalize financial value. If they can’t measure it, they can’t tax it. I think that making ourselves illegible is a very practical, pragmatic way of responding to the bizarre and dysfunctional zoo of civilization. If we don’t wish to participate in our own annihilation, then we need to put our money where our mouths are — which is to say, we need to generate and exchange value in ways that don’t involve money. That’s liberation permaculture: the fertile intersection of ecology, anthropology, rewilding and anarchist theory. (Please don’t let the A-word scare you off!) Sustainable land design and resilient communal networks will never be organized from above. It’s up to us to make the spaces we occupy into the world we wish to see — and we can start today. Enjoy the show? Do me a huge favor and spread the word by sharing via social media — I’d really love to connect with more likeminded people like you who are interested in having these kinds of conversations. And please get in touch with me if you have any feedback, or if there’s anything I can do to help you out in your journey.

As a culture, we've lost our fundamental connection to the natural world. This has led to a surge in dysfunctional behavior, like attention issues, depression, anxiety, and obesity, and in general I believe that this disconnect explains a lot of the suffering that we observe in the modern era. We all feel the detrimental effects of nature deficit disorder, but most of us just aren't aware that this is the source of our troubles, because we've been so deeply conditioned to accept the status quo of the human-dominated, human-constructed environment. With that in mind, I put together this episode of the podcast to arm you, dear listener, with the basic vocabulary to describe the symptoms, causes, and treatment of nature deficit disorder. The solution, I think, lies in cultivating ecological literacy at the individual level, which can only come about through immersion in the natural world -- daily observation and interaction. This topic offers a great entry point into a critique of how civilization relates to nature, and how our environment influences our behavior and our underlying worldview. It is our responsibility as self-aware individuals to assess our personal relationship with nature, and take decisive action where necessary to improve our overall health and wellbeing. I hope that this episode encourages you to keep pushing forward on the path that leads back to the natural world.

What is a culture, and how do cultures relate to their environments?

How does our culture relate to wild, unwanted, and invasive species? And what does that say about how we view the world at large?

Today on the show I explore the concept of intentional simplicity, and offer some guidance for putting this life philosophy into practice. Visit permaculturelifestyle.com for more on lifestyle design, health and wellness, producing your own food, and learning the skills and traditions of living in tune with the rhythms of the natural world.

Our increasingly globalized culture is in dire need of a basic moral compass that we can all agree upon. Permaculture offers one such solution.This podcast aims to apply the principles and ethics of permaculture to our everyday lives; to align our core values and our daily habits towards a more sustainable, ecologically conscious way of thinking and interacting.

In this introductory episode of the Good Life Revival podcast (fka Permaculture Lifestyle), I introduce myself and explain my reasons for starting this podcast. Then I offer a sketch of what a "permaculture lifestyle" might actually look like.