Modernity lets us be comfortable in isolation, and can make it difficult for us to turn towards nature and community. Many of us struggle with mental health challenges like anxiety and depression—and nature can help us heal. It can be helpful to see how our brains and internal worlds are a worthy part of the natural world.

Guest Jarod K. Anderson is the Ohio-based author of Something in the Woods Loves Me, which explores his lifelong struggle with depression through a lens of love and gratitude for the natural world. He is also the host of the The CryptoNaturalist podcast, a scripted show about real adoration for fictional wildlife, and the author of three best-selling collections of nature poetry, collectively known as The Haunted Forest Trilogy.

Jarod and Alice Irene have a beautiful conversation about wavering and restored mental health. They talk about everything from the perils of social media, to the big tent of “nerd” that holds space for many people, to the success of Pokemon in inspiring young naturalists. This conversation explores letting go of shame, finding worth, balancing courage with care—and going to wild places with no agenda.

Listen at reseed.ca.

Watershed moments call for big changes. One of these shifts has been underway for some time: the righteous, individualistic, and exclusive environmentalism of the past is being steadily reimagined with an environmental movement that is characterized by joy, creativity, and authenticity. People are welcomed for being themselves and are invited to join where they are at, whether or not sustainability is what draws them to practices like mending or activism. This environmentalism will also be intersectional.

Guest Leah Thomas is an award-winning L.A.-based environmentalist and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist. Leah is a passionate advocate for the often-overlooked intersection between social justice, environmentalism, and culture, and her work is shaped by eco-feminism. She coined the term “intersectional environmentalism” in an Instagram post that quickly went viral in May 2020 amidst the widespread Black Lives Matter protests and calls for racial justice. She was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 List and TIME100, spoke on prestigious stages like TED, appeared in features in outlets like The Washington Post, and writes for publications like Vogue.

This is the first episode of Reseed’s fourth season which explores how to be lionhearted—how to act with courage, from the heart. Conversations explore being ready for this tumultuous, many-headed moment with physical preparation, strong community ties, sacred spiritual practices, and emotional resilience.

Whether we like it or not, these are our times. We were made for these times. We need to be lionhearted.

Listen at reseed.ca.

What does wildness mean to us when it is defined not by a few people, but rewritten for all of us?

This episode of Reseed revisits the history of conservation to explore its dark corners, going beyond nipping off the buds and leaves to dig at its roots, unearthing information about those who are credited with founding Western conservation. A new conservation can be inclusive and accessible to all people while also protecting ecosystems and animals, like birds.

Guest J. Drew Lanham is an ornithologist, wildlife ecologist, poet, professor, author, and lover of birds. He is the author of Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts and The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, which received the Reed Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Southern Book Prize, and was a finalist for the John Burroughs Medal. He has published essays and poetry in publications including Orion and Audubon.

Poetry, birds, soil, conservation, and deep questions braid together in this thoughtful and lyrical conversation, which looks at how care for humans, nature, and animals are all connected and embedded into our humanity.

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This is part of a series of replays from the archives, in which we are sharing some of our most beloved episodes. Listen to all episodes at reseed.ca.