Local Futures Podcast

Here's the first episode of Planet Local Voices – an interview series by Local Futures.
 
In this wide-ranging episode, economist, author and whistleblower John Perkins calls us to meet the defining challenge of our time – shifting from a "death economy" to a "life economy". He shares his own personal story of how he came to question the neoliberal worldview he'd been trained in, and discusses topics like empire and democracy, international relations, “free trade” treaties, redefining growth, embracing the local, and learning from indigenous cultures.
John spent many years working to advance the interests of American corporations in Global South countries, at a time when neoliberal policies were being rolled out. Upon realizing the destructive ramifications of the work he was doing, he became an important whistleblower. His best-known book is 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man' (2004), which describes his role in a clandestine process of economic colonization at the behest of corporations, banks, and the United States government. The book spent more than 70 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
The music for this series is 'Pines and Violet', by Sky Toes. 
Local Futures is an international non-profit organization, dedicated to renewing ecological and social well-being by strengthening communities and local economies. 
To watch the video of this episode, visit:https://www.localfutures.org/programs/planet-local-voices/
To learn more and to follow the series, visit and subscribe at www.localfutures.org
 

In this episode, Helena Norberg-Hodge talks to Alnoor Ladha. Raised in Canada, Alnoor comes from a Sufi lineage, and today lives in community in Costa Rica. He is an important and incisive activist whose work brings together political organizing, systems thinking, structural change and narrative transformation. His conviction that the spiritual and political are fundamentally inseparable underpins his writings, which have been published in Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Truthout, Huffington Post and more. Alnoor was on the board of Greenpeace International, and has directed organizations such as The Rules and Culture Hack Labs, and is the co-author of Post Capitalist Philanthropy: The healing of wealth in the time of collapse.
Helena and Alnoor have a deep friendship and a long-standing collaboration. In this episode, they explore politics and spiritualism together, and delve into their own philosophies of change, sketching a holistic political vision that goes beyond the left-right divide. They analyse the outrageous and deeply abstract ideologies of today’s global elite, and contrast those with lessons from intact indigenous cultures. They name value shifts and structural changes that are integral to healing the world.
It is all too rare to find two individuals so deep in the action of systemic change. An informed and courageous optimism pervades their conversation.
Intro music by  Gillicuddy (CC BY-NC 3.0)

In this episode, Helena Norberg-Hodge talks to Iain McGilchrist. Iain is a one-of-a-kind thinker, an Oxford literary scholar as well as a doctor in psychiatry and neuroscience. His interdisciplinary achievements reflect his conviction about the importance of holistic thinking – a topic he has explored in-depth in his two ground-breaking works, 'The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World', and, more recently, 'The Matter with Things'.
In this conversation, Iain and Helena employ a big-picture lens to critique artificial intelligence, corporate globalization, and the profit-orientation of science and academia. They ask some hard questions about how things might change – through collapse, through movement-building, through grassroots action, or through a combination of these? And they also articulate insights into who we are as human beings, what constitutes genuine intelligence, and what a fulfilling life really entails.

In this episode, Helena Norberg-Hodge speaks with Charles Eisenstein. Charles is a pioneering storyteller of a new world – in his words, “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”. His writings and talks, renowned for their eloquence, deal with civilizational history and mythmaking, new economies, spirituality, pandemics, power, climate change, ecological living, and – at the deepest level – who we are as human beings. This conversation examines truth, metaphysics, learning from traditional cultures, activism and more, exploring various aspects of the civilizational transformation at hand in a post-covid world. Together, Helena and Charles decry the power structures that continue to dominate modern global society, and share stories of hope from the grassroots.
 
Please write to info@localfutures.org with any comments and ideas for future topics/guests.
Intro music by Gillicuddy (CC BY-NC 3.0).

In this episode, Helena Norberg-Hodge talks to her friend and colleague of 40 years, Vandana Shiva. Vandana trained as a quantum physicist, but turned her attention to campaigning for the rights of small farmers, seed savers and local communities in her home country of India when she witnessed the imposition of industrial agriculture and its tragic impacts on health, biodiversity and livelihoods. Today, she is one of the most powerful voices challenging corporate rule.In their conversation, Helena and Vandana reminisce about friends who inspired them both, delving deep into the stories and personalities of the environmental and anti-globalization movements. They explore the structures of corporate globalization - from its roots in colonialism to the present day - as well as ecofeminism, movement building and deep ecological wisdom. Their conversation highlights the importance of focusing on economic structures, on scale and on the power of people to build a better world from the ground up.
 
Please write to info@localfutures.org with any comments and ideas for future topics/guests.
Intro music by Gillicuddy (CC BY-NC 3.0).

In this newly published episode of the Local Futures podcast, Helena Norberg-Hodge talks to the renowned Dr. Gabor Maté. The two dispel false ideas about human nature and analyze the ways macro-level economic structures are impacting our personal identities. A remarkable and far-reaching compassion for people from all walks of life imbues their conversation.
 
See our new - Localization Action Guide.
Please write to info@localfutures.org with any comments and ideas for future topics/guests.
Intro music by Gillicuddy (CC BY-NC 3.0).

Described by journalist George Monbiot as “one of the greatest thinkers of our age,” Jeremy Lent is the founder of the Liology Institute and the author of ‘The Patterning Instinct’ and, most recently, ‘The Web of Meaning’. His work investigates the underlying causes of our civilization’s existential crisis, and explores pathways toward a life-affirming future. In his own words, his work:
“has been a journey of many years, during which I dedicated myself full time to deep research in disciplines such as neuroscience, history, and anthropology, and to exploring the great traditions of Buddhism, Taoism, Neo-Confucianism, and Indigenous wisdom.”
In this conversation with Helena Norberg-Hodge, Jeremy unpacks many of the assumptions and world views that underpin modern society’s destructive trajectory. Together, they outline worldview transformations that contribute to a vision for a more sustainable and humane future – a future that both Helena and Jeremy truly believe to be within our grasp.
 
See our new - Localization Action Guide.
Please write to info@localfutures.org with any comments and ideas for future topics/guests.
Intro music by Gillicuddy (CC BY-NC 3.0).

Brazilian researcher and activist Dr. Camila Moreno has attended almost all the major climate conferences in the last decade. In this conversation with Helena Norberg-Hodge, she offers a rare glimpse into the internal workings of the multilateral negotiations. She explains how the narrow focus on carbon is turning climate itself into a tradable commodity for profit, and how the "decarbonization" agenda is linked to technocracy and increased surveillance.We are left with greater clarity, and a stark choice between a human future and a high-tech dystopia.This is key listening for climate/environmental activists.
See our new - Localization Action Guide.
Please write to info@localfutures.org with any comments and ideas for future topics/guests.
Intro music by Gillicuddy (CC BY-NC 3.0).

You would struggle to find three individuals more equipped to navigate the big picture of global economic mega-structures and civilizational transformation than Tyson, Alnoor and Helena. Between them, they share a wealth of diverse experiences, radical analysis and bold future-visioning, as well as a healthy dose of banter and laughter. Their far-reaching conversation analyses conspiracy theory, the global financial system and capitalist ideology, while outlining the power of localization and sacred activism to build a radically different future. This one is well worth a listen.
Please write to info@localfutures.org with any comments and ideas for future topics/guests.
Intro music by Gillicuddy (CC BY-NC 3.0).

Tyson Yunkaporta, author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World, joins Local Futures’ director Helena Norberg-Hodge to explore “right story” - cognitive frameworks that can help us navigate through the neo-colonial, techno-globalist age, and towards more interconnected, land-based futures. Touching on everything from marginal identities to electromagnetic pulses, from the local food movement to civilizational “apocalypse”, they outline the great necessity for all people to experience a “right of return”: to land, to community, to the local.
 
 
Related links:
- Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World