Our brains produce new brain cells throughout our entire lives through a process called neurogenesis, and in this podcast, Dr. Brant Cortright is going to share what this means for our brain health and how we can enhance the way our brains operate. Dr. Cortright is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychology at California Institute of Integral Studies, specializing in cutting-edge brain health and neuroscience-informed depth therapy.

When we increase the rate of neurogenesis, we see things like improved cognitive function, better memory, less stress, more energy and increased immune health. When we decrease the rate of neurogenesis, however, we see the opposite: poor cognition and memory, increased stress and anxiety and decreased immune health. In this interview, Dr. Cortright discusses the diet and lifestyle components — which mirror the ReWilding diet and lifestyle — that are crucial for your neural development. He shares some interesting information on sleep, and we also get into the effects of substances like caffeine, cannabis and mushrooms on brain health. Tune in for a fascinating discussion — rich with actionable information — that can help improve the functioning of your human animal!

How much of your movement are you outsourcing? Biomechanist and best-selling author Katy Bowman is back on ReWild Yourself podcast to share how we can transition to a more movement-rich lifestyle by outsourcing less of our daily needs and operations.

Katy is passionate about Nutritious Movement, "a whole-body movement program that utilizes Movement Micronutrients, Movement Macronutrients, and habitat (lifestyle) changes to nourish all trillion of your body’s parts.” In this interview, we cover some of the valuable material in Katy’s new book Movement Matters where she dissects our cultural sedentism and the issues with our convenience-fueled society. We discuss simple ways to enter the world of foraging, how to stack your life to make the most of your time and energy, the luxury of exercise, movement ecology and more.

What is the mind? How does the mind differ from the brain? These are some of the questions Dr. Daniel Siegel explores in his second appearance on the ReWild Yourself podcast. Dr. Siegel is a noted neuropsychiatrist and New York Times best-selling author, and he has just released a new book that delves into consciousness, subjective experience and the self-organizational properties of the mind. In this episode, we go deeper into some of the topics we covered in our first conversation. We discuss how Dr. Siegel navigates the worlds of science and spirituality in his work, how brain activity differs from the mind, our perception of time and his hopes for his work in mindsight and personal transformation

Over the past year, I have fully immersed myself in the hunting side of the modern hunter gatherer lifestyle. From trout and deep sea fishing to hunting wild turkey, black bear and coyote, my experiences harvesting wild animals to put meat on my table have been profound and life-changing, and I’d like to share my story with you. As a conscientious omnivore, I’m always striving to develop a closer relationship with the food I consume. Through hunting and gathering bio-regionally, I’m able to participate with my local ecology and develop an intimate relationship with the place I call home. In this solo episode, I detail the reasons why I hunt and share a bit about how I got started and how you can too.

Deep gratitude to my mentors, to the wild creatures who have become part of my body and to you for your support of my journey to deepen my connection to my local ecology and ancestral heritage.

Are you eating what you think you are? As a modern hunter gatherer, I am quite conscious and meticulous about the foods I consume. I base my diet on a Four Kingdoms approach (eating from the animal, plant, fungal and bacterial kingdoms), and I strive to source the majority of my food bio-regionally. I still shop at Whole Foods and occasionally dine at farm to table-style restaurants, of course, and I was shocked to learn of the rampant food fraud that extends to seemingly reputable grocers and eateries.

Award-winning food journalist and travel writer Larry Olmsted wrote a comprehensive exposé on fraud in the unregulated food industry, and he is here to reveal some of the industry’s most adulterated foods. He teaches us how we can be more vigilant consumers as we navigate grocery store aisles, food labels and restaurant menus.

Julie Angel is a filmmaker, author and photographer who documents the current ‘age of athletisiscm’ with a focus on Parkour, MovNat, buildering and much more. What’s buildering, you might be asking? I thought it was a typo at first, too, but Julie explains this small, but passionate, subculture as we get into the fascinating world of urban movement mavericks. 

In this interview, Julie takes us back to the early beginnings of Parkour. In researching her Parkour-themed PhD thesis, she spent time on the streets getting to know the Yamakasi — the original group of Parkour practitioners — and got an up-close and personal look into the lives of these interesting characters who shaped the modern Parkour movement. To me, Parkour represents human wildness  breaking free in domesticated landscapes — the human animal in movement across urban habitat. City dwellers, take note, this can be a unique way for you to utilize your environment for your natural movement practice! At the heart of Parkour, is a message of looking past the limitations of our environment, our innate, primal drive for sovereignty and embracing our intrinsic wildness.

What a treat it was to talk with primatologist and biological anthropologist Craig Stanford. If you’re a regular listener of ReWild Yourself podcast, you probably know how deeply fascinated I am with the great apes. I think they give us a window into understanding ourselves biologically, into understanding our wildness and even help us to glimpse into our origins.

Craig — author of sixteen books and over one hundred scholarly and popular articles — has studied chimpanzees extensively, studying their hunting behavior in Tanzania in collaboration with Dr. Jane Goodall, studying chimps and mountain gorillas in Uganda and more. He takes us on a journey to the meeting place of primatology and anthropology. He breaks down the social behaviors of some of the great apes, focusing on chimps and bonobos, and shares some of his controversial findings on the popularized "peaceful bonobo" research. This interview provides context to many of the themes we discuss on this podcast and was my favorite of the season. If you’re interested in ReWilding, I think you’ll find our conversation fascinating.

Leila Darwish, community organizer and grassroots bioremediation expert, joins me on the podcast to give us an inside look into the promising possibilities of bioremediation to heal our earth’s most damaged landscapes. Bioremediation is the use of biological agents to remove or neutralize contaminants; allying with living systems to detoxify contaminated environments.

Leila has worked as a community organizer in Canada and the US on campaigns such as tar sands, fracking, nuclear energy, coal, climate justice, water protection, and more. Her energy and optimism in the face of these devastating environmental issues is inspiring. In this interview, Leila shares an overview of bioremediation and how it’s successfully being used to recover many toxic landscapes in North America, how she remains positive, governmental outlook on bioremediation and much more. Perhaps most importantly, she shares how we can get involved with bioremediation on an individual level; she certainly left me inspired to do so!

"The greatest damage done by neglect, trauma or emotional loss is not the immediate pain they inflict but the long-term distortions they induce in the way a developing child will continue to interpret the world and her situation in it. All too often these ill-conditioned implicit beliefs become self-fulfilling prophecies in our lives. We create meanings from our unconscious interpretation of early events, and then we forge our present experiences from the meaning we’ve created. Unwittingly, we write the story of our future from narratives based on the past."
― Dr. Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

Renowned speaker and bestselling author Dr. Gabor Maté joins me for a powerful conversation on addiction and takes us into the heart of where trauma originates. With years of both scientific research and direct interaction with patients challenged by hard-core drug addiction and mental illness in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Dr. Maté offers a unique and authentic perspective on the topics of addiction, mind-body wellness and ADD.

In this interview, Dr. Maté illuminates how our modern society perpetuates trauma by fostering a culture of disconnection and dissociation. From childhood trauma to trauma passed down to us from the generations that went before us, many of us carry unresolved trauma that often materializes in addiction. Addictive behavior goes beyond hard drug and alcohol addictions; our society is wrought with addictions to things like caffeine, less-than-optimal foods and dissociative behaviors, such as watching TV.

So how can we heal and become the most authentic version of ourselves? Dr. Maté sheds light on some of the traditional healing modalities he has found to be successful through years of wide-ranging experiences. With lots of golden nuggets on topics like death awareness, spiritual-bypassing and authenticity strewn throughout, there is something for everyone in this insightful conversation.

Stefano Tripney is a contextual movement coach and MovNat certified trainer who creatively bridges the inner workings of the mind and body with our collective external landscapes in order to explore, learn, experience, and play with the world and our place in it. Earlier this summer, Stefano and I spent a week together hiking through the forests of Maine, gathering wild foods, fishing and foraging wild water.

In between harvesting wild pine pollen and trout fishing, we sat down at the ReWilding headquarters to discuss Stefano's philosophies on being a more capable human. During this fun and wide-ranging conversation, we get into the correlation between movement and cognitive ability, how to stay motivated to train, moving through dynamic and texture-rich environments, unstructured play, forest bathing and much, much more.

"Don't confuse me with being anything else other than proud. Proud to be a hunter. It's time we stop apologizing for how we get our protein. This is who we are. Unless you’re a small time rancher, small time farmer, a hunter or fishermen... you really have no idea where your food comes from. Most people don’t even think about it. Well, we think about it. ” —Donnie Vincent

Donnie Vincent — explorer, biologist, conservationist, and sportsman — explores some of the world’s most remote lands, sharing stories of his expeditions through a variety of films that inspire conservation and a love and respect for wild places. Donnie is here to share some insights on hunting that, for many of you, may be surprising. He sets the record straight on the stereotype of the “typical” hunter, and sheds light on the passion for ecology and conservation that most hunters possess. We also get into some helpful tips for getting started in hunting and the practicality of procuring meat for yourself and family through this avenue. No matter what your views on hunting, I think you’ll enjoy and resonate with Donnie’s message.

This solo episode is a comprehensive breakdown of my experiences with barefooting. As a long-time barefooting proponent, I’ve traversed thousands of miles of various terrain with bare feet or minimalist footwear, and I’ve learned quite a bit about the often unknown and under-utilized capabilities of the human foot. I detail my experiences wearing minimalist footwear in challenges like the Tough Mudder and GoRuck, as well as during my recent backcountry hunter course. I break down my favorite minimalist footwear brands, unpack the myth of arch support and share some not often discussed benefits of barefooting that I’ve discovered over the years. Note: This podcast is best enjoyed while walking barefoot on a forest trail.

Radiant sense-visionary Nadine Artemis — creator of Living Libations — is back on ReWIld Yourself podcast! In this interview, Nadine gives us a complete breakdown of how to properly care for our skin with the Stop, Seal and Seed approach. She shares what dietary and self-care practices are proven to produce healthy, glowing skin, as well as what hygiene products and foods are less-than-optimal. You’ll learn why bacteria is your skin’s best friend, the popular skin care product that you most want to avoid, Nadine’s core skin care recommendations and so much more. Consider this an owner’s manual for your largest organ!

My long-time friend Mike Adams aka the Health Ranger joins us on the show to discuss lifestyle tips for the future human in the modern world. Mike is an outspoken consumer health advocate, award-winning investigative journalist, internet activist and science lab director. Mike lives his life with purpose and integrity, and his passion shines through his prolific work.

Mike shares his latest research and findings on some of our modern toxicities like GMOs, glyphosate and radioactivity, and he offers his top lifestyle strategies to maintain resiliency and robust health in our post-industrial world. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, and we do venture into some areas of our current collective reality that are less than savory. Though we don’t go too far down those rabbit holes, these are subjects that, I feel, are vital to bring into our on-going discussion as we learn to navigate and adapt to our ever-changing wild, urban and virtual environments. This conversation is a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy!

Ben Falk joins us to discuss permaculture and the art of regenerating landscapes. Ben is an author and the founder of Whole Systems Design, LLC, a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. He shares about his experiences using permaculture to create edible landscapes and set ecosystems in motion. Ben, a former eco-warrior, has turned his passion for our earth into a beautiful dedication to healing the trauma of the land.

My good friend Luke Storey has spent the past 20 years developing and refining a robust way of life based on the principles of nature and spirituality, while embracing technology and modern convenience. Luke is back on the show for an in-depth conversation on vulnerability and authenticity in our edited modern world.

The health and personal development world tends to be filled with public figures projecting polished positivity and motivation, and while all of that has its place, true change is often inspired in others when you share vulnerabilities and shine light on your own shadows. Luke and I cover a lot of ground in this episode — from mentorship to podcasting to breatharianism to spirituality — but we continue to come back to this topic of authenticity and the rich fulfillment that comes from being true to your authentic self.

Tom Myers — the originator of the Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians — joins us on the show to teach us a bit about our anatomy and how the highly complex fascial network works in our bodies. According to Anatomy Trains, fascia is the biological fabric that holds us together; it’s the 3-D spider web of fibrous, gluey, and wet proteins that hold them all together in their proper placement.

I met with Tom up at the Anatomy Trains headquarters in Maine, and in this interview, Tom shares his incredible philosophies on a wide range of topics. Our conversation traverses human domestication, the potentials of integrating movement with virtual reality, how we can train the movement of the next generation, stress and much more. Enjoy!

"To deny that humans are predators is comparable to rejecting that humans are communal organisms."

— Arthur Haines

In a recent podcast episode (Why I'm Not a Vegan - Daniel Vitalis #94), I shared my personal experience with veganism and discussed the core reasons why I think we need to reexamine the Vegan approach. After this show aired, I received an outpouring of feedback from you — thank you to all who listened and took the time to write me! As promised, I invited Arthur Haines — botanist, taxonomist, primitive skill practitioner and regular guest on ReWild Yourself podcast — to join me to discuss some of the refutations I received in response to the Why I’m Not A Vegan episode.

Arthur and I shed light on many popular meat-eating myths and get into some interesting conversation on sustainable eating, speciesism, omnivory, animal husbandry and looking at the big picture. We bring to the discussion our combined academic and experiential perspectives for a comprehensive look at an often polarizing topic. 

If you’ve been following my adventures this summer, you’ll know that I’ve been really into foraging wild protein, particularly fish, from my local landscape. I’ve grown to love the Tenkara fishing — a minimalist fly fishing method that originates in the mountains of Japan. Daniel Galhardo — founder of Tenkara USA, the first company to introduce Tenkara outside of Japan —joins us to share his passion for Tenkara and the world of trout fishing. 

"A rod, line and fly. Line connects to the tip. Easy casting of a fly to spots where the fish are, intuitive landing. That's tenkara in a nutshell," according to Tenkara USA. In this interview, Daniel guides you through the basics of getting started fishing Tenkara. We discuss barriers to entering the world of fishing, fishing ethics, the complex world of Western fly fishing vs the simplicity of Tenkara and so much more. Whether you’re an avid fisherman or completely new to fishing, I hope this interview inspires you to check out this intuitive and minimalist method of fishing! 

What is the best location for a ReWilder to live? I’m asked this question quite often, and in this episode, you’ll learn some important criteria to consider when thinking of where you want to live long-term. Joel Skousen — pioneer in the preparedness movement, author and publisher of the World Affairs Brief — joins us to discuss strategic relocation.

From potential environmental and governmental threats to ReWilding lifestyle requirements, there is much to factor in when strategically relocating. Do you want the freedom to homeschool or practice alternative medicine where you live? Do you want to have access to wild places to forage, fish or hunt? Joel shares grounded insights from his comprehensive work in analyzing some of the best (and worst) places to live in the US for your best chance for long-term, optimal living. He ventures into some conspiracy areas at times, but this interview is primarily focused on providing you with a practical perspective on selecting your ideal ReWilding location. In the introduction to the show, I add some of my own personal criteria for an ideal living situation. As you listen to this show, be thinking of what criteria you would add to Joel’s list to lead a life rich in the culture of the NeoAboriginal!