Dumbo Feather Podcast

In this podcast, five poets share a piece on extinction and their feelings associated with our changing planet. We hear from Bruce Pascoe, Danusha Lameris, Mark Tredennick, Peter Brown and Fleassy Malay. If you want to hear more, check out the incredible Extinction Elegies project, put on by Red Room Company. Thanks to Cheshire Audio and YAGA for editing this episode of the Dumbo Feather podcast.

Our first episode for 2020 is about empathy, and it’s a panel discussion recorded live at the M Pavillion in Melbourne late last year. The event was to celebrate A Mile In My Shoes, an interactive art project that invited participants to quite literally put someone else’s shoes on and hear a recording of their story. Dumbo Feather editor Nathan Scolaro was joined by Dharma teacher Catherine Ingram and psychotherapist Sarah Pant to explore their experiences of the project, and also their thoughts on why empathy is fundamental to our survival as humans, and how we can help foster it in one another as we go about our days. Show notes: This podcast was edited by Lizzie Marton – the music is by Dennis Liu. Big thanks to MPavilion, the Arts Centre Melbourne and the Empathy Museum which produced A Mile in My Shoes for making this event happen. Read more of Catherine Ingram's story in issue 61 of Dumbo Feather.

Warren Roberts is a proud Thunghutti and Bundjalung man who founded YARN Australia, a social enterprise focussed on creating relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. In this chat with his friend and filmmaker Anton Rivette, he shares the work YARN has been doing since 2007, and the potential for healing social wounds by coming together in facilitated storytelling circles. Show notes This podcast was edited by Lizzie Marton - the music is by Dennis Liu. Learn more about YARN Australia by going to yarnaustralia.com. Thanks to our friends at G Adventures for sponsoring this podcast.

For our 40th podcast we’re sharing a catch-up between two old friends, Clare Bowditch and Dumbo Feather publisher Berry Liberman. As part of her national tour to promote her debut book, your own kind of girl, Clare visited Byron Bay and made space for this talk. Only two friends catching up could pack this much love, honesty, tears and laughter into half an hour. In the process of writing her book, Clare has confronted the pain and suffering of her 20s, burdened by a deep sense that she didn’t deserve to be happy and coming to terms with the loss of a loved one. A book recommended to her by a family friend explained her mental suffering in a way she could process and provided a coping mechanism. Her recovery and the moments of respite granted her the permission to be courageous. And she hasn’t stopped. Enjoying her second bite at life. The podcast is bookended with two beautiful songs performed by Clare. This edited conversation was produced by Lizzie Marton and the music you hear is by Dennis Liu. Read Clare's conversation with Dumbo Feather - https://www.dumbofeather.com/conversations/clare-bowditch-is-big-hearted/ Find out more about Clare and her book your own kind of girl - https://clarebowditch.com This podcast is sponsored by our friends at G Adventures - https://www.gadventures.com.au

This month on the podcast we're sharing a conversation that happened at Dumbo Feather HQ, between journalist and author, David Leser, and interviewer, Michaela Kalowski. In this intriguing interview David speaks about the backlash he received to writing Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing, his account of the #MeToo movement. He discusses the historical roots of misogyny and the evolution of patriarchy, a system that he believes does so much harm to both women and men. And reflects on his own upbringing and the need for parents to allow their sons to embrace their feminine sides. Show notes This edited conversation was produced by Lizzie Marton and the music you hear is by Dennis Liu. Get your copy of Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing - https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/current-affairs-politics/Women-Men-and-the-Whole-Damn-Thing-David-Leser-9781760877729 This podcast is sponsored by our friends at ecostore (www.ecostore.com.au) and G Adventures (www.gadventures.com.au)

This month on the podcast we had the pleasure of sitting down with farmer and winemaker Matt Purbrick. You may already know Matt from Grown and Gathered, where he and his wife Lentil celebrate the joys of seasonal planting and bringing people around a table to enjoy the harvest. As a fifth-generation winemaker, viticulture is in his blood and he’s been busy making, bottling and drinking delicious, organic, sustainable wines with Lentil and his dad Alister. We loved listening to Matt talking about his relationship with the land and the seasons, his belief that community and connection is everything, his fears around our changing climate and his fascination with ancestral wisdom. Show notes This edited conversation was produced by Lizzie Marton and the music you hear is by Dennis Liu. Find out more about Matt’s work at Grown and Gathered - https://www.grownandgathered.com.au Minimum Wines - https://www.minimumwines.com Read more about sustainable farming methods in Issue 58 of Dumbo Feather - https://www.dumbofeather.com/articles/dumbo-feather-issue-58-healing-land/ This podcast is sponsored by our friends at ecostore (http://www.ecostore.com.au) and G Adventures (https://www.gadventures.com.au)

Nathan talks to actor-turned-award winning documentary maker Damon Gameau at the Byron Writers Festival. Actor-turned-award winning documentary maker, Damon is the man behind the 2014 expose That Sugar Film, and more recently has released 2040.  2040 is an extraordinary piece of storytelling that shows us what the future might look like if humanity embraced the environmental solutions that are currently available to us. Things like regenerative farming, electric cars, new economic models, and empowering girls and women. He shares some of the incredible impacts his documentary is already having on individuals, organisations and even our systems at large and why it's important to provide a hopeful narrative when it comes to the climate crisis.

Former palliative care specialist and now writer and farmer, Stephen Jenksinson, has a lot to say about grief, death and belonging. In this lecture, Stephen shares with us his ideas on ageing and elderhood in today's world.

This month our editor Nathan Scolaro, speaks with someone he feels very fortunate to speak with: Irish theologian, poet and mediator, Pádraig Ó Tuama on the topics of courage, storytelling, language, religion and more.

David Holmgren speaks with permaculture design expert and Dumbo Feather friend, Dan Palmer

This month on the podcast we’re hearing from TV presenter Osher Günsberg. Most well-known for telling other people’s stories—through his hosting gigs on The Bachelor and Australian Idol—Osher is now sharing his own life experiences, detailing what it’s like to live with mental illness in his raw and real book, Back After the Break. In this episode, recorded live for an event with our friends from The School of Life, Osher chats with Sian Prior on the theme of vulnerability—exploring social anxiety, why the first thing he does in the morning is write a gratitude list, and the importance of being his whole self in front of his family. If you or anyone you know needs support, or wants to learn more about anxiety and depression, please contact any of the following: Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36. Lifeline on 13 11 14. MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978. Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. Show notes: This edited conversation was produced by our digital editor Lizzie and the music you hear is by Dennis Liu. Stay tuned for our next conversation—or hear it first by subscribing to the Dumbo Feather podcast on your favourite pod channel. For more conversations with extraordinary people, subscribe to Dumbo Feather at dumbofeather.com. We deliver worldwide. Read more about Osher’s book, Back After the Break, here: https://www.harpercollins.com/9781460710241/back-after-the-break/ Find our more about Sian and her book, Shy: A Memoir here: https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/shy For more from The School of Life, visit their website here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/ Read more and purchase a digital copy of Issue 57 of Dumbo Feather, Healing Ourselves, here: https://www.dumbofeather.com/product/issue-57/

Our conversation this month is with someone who has been hugely influential to us — Parker Palmer, a writer who works at the intersection of activism, social change and spirituality. Three decades ago, Parker helped establish the Centre for Courage and Renewal, which runs programs for people to come together in community and learn to lead from within. Here, Parker and Dumbo Feather editor Nathan talk about everything from eldership in the modern age to the importance of showing up in the world as your true self. Their conversation—centred around Parker’s new book, On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old—is a timely one, recorded just weeks before Parker’s 80th birthday. Show notes: Parker’s latest book is On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old can be found here: https://onthebrinkofeverything.com/ You can read our first interview with Parker in issue 44 of Dumbo Feather magazine, or see more of his work on our website. This podcast was produced by Lizzie Marton and the music you hear is by Dennis Liu. For more conversations with extraordinary people, subscribe at Dumbofeather.com. We deliver worldwide.

For over thirty years, childbirth educator, birth attendant and counsellor Rhea Dempsey has been helping women to feel more empowered and better prepared when navigating childbirth. This month on the podcast, she chats with Dumbo Feather friend and host of the All Being Well podcast, Kayla Robertson about everything from why our attitudes towards birth have changed so dramatically since the ‘80s to how we can help create better birthing options for mothers and babies. We hope you find their conversation as fascinating as we did. Show notes: Enter the 2018 Dumbo Feather Reader Survey here: https://dumbofeather.typeform.com/to/InJ1AF Read more about Rhea on her site: http://www.birthingwisdom.com.au/about-rhea-dempsey/ Rhea’s conversation with our publisher and editor-in-chief, Berry Liberman can be found here: https://www.dumbofeather.com/conversations/rhea-dempsey/ You can listen to Kayla’s podcast—All Being Well—and find out more about her here: https://www.allbeingwell.com.au/ This edited conversation was produced by our digital editor Lizzie and the music you hear is by Dennis Liu. For more conversations with extraordinary people, subscribe to Dumbo Feather at dumbofeather.com. We deliver worldwide.

This month on the podcast we’re a sharing a piece of spoken word storytelling by New Zealand-born writer and occupational therapist, Kirsten Taylor. Throughout this episode, Kirsten explores the changing relationship she’s had with her body from a young person to now. Our editor Nathan Scolaro first heard this story told live at The Weekly Service, a secular gathering in Melbourne where people share stories, contemplate ideas and engage in conversation—he was captivated by Kirsten’s story from the moment she began, hanging on every word. We published the piece in the healing issue of Dumbo Feather and because it works as beautifully on the ear as it does on the eye, we invited Kirsten to Dumbo Feather HQ to re-tell it for our podcast listeners. Show notes: To find out more about the Weekly Service head to their site here: http://theweeklyservice.org/ To enter Dumbo Feather’s $1000 travel pack competition thanks to our friends from Patagonia and Bellroy, head to dumbofeather.com/win The music you hear is by Dennis Liu. This podcast was produced by Lizzie Marton. For more conversations with extraordinary people, subscribe to Dumbo Feather at dumbofeather.com. We deliver worldwide.

In front of a live audience, for an event by our friends at The School of Life, Nigella Lawson and Hugh Mackay chat about everything from why cooking for others is one of the most significant ways we can show people we take them seriously, to the role of food and self-care, to why the first thing Nigella bought when she moved into her new home was a table. It’s a beautiful ode to the role of food in our lives—how it can bring us all closer together, and ultimately help us to find belonging. Show notes: Thank you very much Nigella, Hugh and our friends at the School of Life for allowing us to record this conversation. Nigella’s book, At My Table can be found here: https://www.nigella.com/books/at-my-table Hugh’s book, Australia Reimagined can be found here: https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781743534823/ This edited conversation was produced by our digital editor Lizzie Marton. The music you hear is by Dennis Liu. Stay tuned for our next conversation—or hear it first by subscribing to the Dumbo Feather podcast on your favourite pod channel. For more conversations with extraordinary people, subscribe to Dumbo Feather at dumbofeather.com. We deliver worldwide.