Conversations
This is where we share engaging conversations on the question “What does it mean to be radically human in today’s world?” As our ecological crisis intensifies, so too does the stress burden on the human animal. In turn, this presents a profound challenge to our humanity and generates a thousand questions about who we are and what we’re doing in the world.
Among the questions and talking points that we share with our guests:
What are some of the dehumanizing forces and processes in modern society?
What role does capitalism and commerce have to play in shaping our consciousness?
How is stress impacting the modern human experience?
What role might the humanities play in reconnecting with our radically human nature?
What are some humanizing life lessons and actions that people can take away?
George Tsakraklides is an author, blogger, poet, and scientist, having trained in molecular biology, chemistry, food science, and Earth sciences. He worked in data analytics and marketing sciences, and after experiencing the profit-driven and exploitative forces in human society, realized that his interest had always been in ecology and humanity’s broken relationship with nature, as well as with itself. He has written fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, always around the theme of civilizational collapse and humanity’s inevitable self-destruction. George emphasizes that: “We are not approaching a collapse. We are experiencing the symptoms of a collapse that has already happened long ago”
Dr. Pelizzon is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. He is a co-founder and Executive Committee Member of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, the current Director of its International Academic Hub, and an expert member of the UN Harmony with Nature program. Alex has been exploring the emerging discourse on the rights of nature, Wild Law, and Earth Jurisprudence since their inception. For more information, see:
Activism is Medicine roundtable conversation
RegenNarration: on the collapse & renewal of universities
Dr. David Kopacz works as a psychiatrist in Primary Care Mental Health Integration at the Seattle Division of Puget Sound VA and is an Assistant Professor at University of Washington. He also holds a teaching position as a Whole Health Education Champion through the national VA Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation. Artist, poet, painter, photographer, writer, lover of animals and nature, psychiatrist, holistic and integrative physician, healer, leader, creator, organizer, gatherer and collaborator, David brings a sense of humor, creativity and compassion to all with whom he works.
Best known for his global comedy hit “Cows With Guns” which went to #2 on Australia’s Country Charts and remained on Ireland’s Top 40 for six months, Dana Lyons is a singer, guitarist and recording artist who has toured the world for thirty years promoting environmental and social justice causes.
Dana has toured in 48 of the 50 American states, throughout Australia, and across Ireland, England, New Zealand, Canada, Kazahkstan, Patagonia and Siberia. Dana performs at festivals ranging from Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, to the Harley Davidson Festival in Sturgis, South Dakota. His policy of “I’ll play anywhere once” has landed Dana gigs on a tropical island in the Great Barrier Reef, an Irish Pub in Beijing and the Hanford Nuclear Waste Dump in his home state of Washington.
Dr. Jeniffer Rioux holds a PhD in Medical and Cultural Anthropology. Her research aims to understand Integrative Medicine as a social movement and holistic healers as communities of practice. She completed an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship though the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, focused on whole-systems and paradigm-consistent research designs. She has expertise in health justice, planetary health and the traditional world and indigenous medical sciences (TWIMS). She was previously on faculty at University of North Carolina, University of Arizona and University of New Mexico Schools of Medicine. She is Associate Professor, Integrative Medicine Programs, Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Rioux is a Doctor of Ayurvedic Medicine, Yoga Therapist and Botanical Medicine expert. She sees patients at the GW Center for Integrative Medicine.
For two decades Max Wilbert has worked to save our planet, projects in the Siberian Arctic, fossil fuel blockades in Canada and the United States, solidarity work with environmentalists in the Philippines, and front-line direct action at Thacker Pass. In addition to periods of confrontation, direct action, and travel, his work involves organizing, education, strategizing, writing, photography, video production, and podcasting. Max is also a co-author of Bright Green Lies:How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It
Jacque Salomon is the founder & Executive Director of Seeds to Inspire Foundation
Born in New York City, her journey led her to Phoenix, where she embarked on a transformative path to heal her mind, body, and spirit. Along this journey, Jacque reversed Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, and GERD, while shedding 164 pounds and reclaiming her vitality.
This profound personal transformation became the foundation for Seeds to Inspire Foundation, channeling her story into a mission to empower others. Since 2018, Jacque has been deeply engaged with the community — listening, learning, and fostering connections to better serve and uplift those she reaches. Her work is a testament to the power of resilience, education, and the shared pursuit of wellness for all.
Jacque Salomon, an internationally recognized speaker with engagements including Harvard Medical School’s Herbert Benson, MD Course in Mind Body Medicine, is a dedicated advocate for holistic health. As a health and wellness coach, she collaborates with Lifestyle Medicine clinicians to coach clients who are navigating chronic diseases. She partners with community leaders to advance health and wellness initiatives within communities.
Cari Taylor is an author and wellness practitioner whose work is deeply influenced by her upbringing on Noongar land in rural Western Australia and her years in Alice Springs, where she formed connections with the Warumungu culture. These experiences enrich her writing, which explores the interconnectedness of people, place, and living systems.
Cari’s published works include collections of meditations and poetry, offering readers pathways toward spiritual awareness and connection. Her writing blends wisdom from regenerative agriculture, comparative religion, holistic health, and Eastern medicine, making complex spiritual concepts accessible and practical.
With Advanced Diplomas in Wellness Counselling/Consulting and Metaphysical Counselling, Cari brings over a decade of professional experience and more than 30 years of meditation and yoga practice to her work. This unique combination of academic insight, hands-on experience, and spiritual depth lends her writing a rare authenticity and relevance.
Cari excels at translating intricate spiritual and philosophical ideas into practical blueprints for harmonious living. Through her books and writings, she empowers readers to reconnect with their essential nature, navigate life with grace, and honor the profound interconnectedness of all living systems. See Cari’s work on Substack
Dr. Peter Carter, Director of the Climate Emergency Institute, is a long-time peace and climate activist. The author of Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival, Peter is also published on global climate change science, climate change impacts, Arctic climate change, risk assessment and biodiversity. In addition to being is an IPCC expert reviewer, Peter has presented at many leading science and climate change conferences.
Peter Carter online resources:
https://www.climateemergencyinstitute.com
https://climateemergencyforum.org/meet-our-team.html
Peter Carter YouTube resources:
https://www.youtube.com/user/petercarter46/videos
Shaun Chamberlain is an activist and author who quit his job over twenty years ago to explore how we might change direction before we end up where we are headed.
He is one of the six custodians of Ireland's legendary free inn ‘The Happy Pig', was one of the first Extinction Rebellion arrestees, and has previously served as chair of the Ecological Land Co-operative, Chelsea Green Publishing‘s commissioning editor for the UK/Europe, and a director of the campaigning organisation Global Justice Now. He was also involved with the Transition Network since its inception, co-founding Transition Town Kingston and authoring the movement’s second book, The Transition Timeline, back in 2009.
We also discuss his late mentor's David Fleming‘s extraordinary, award-winning books Lean Logic and Surviving the Future, which Shaun brought to posthumous publication in 2017. Their popularity led on to his executive producing the 2020 film The Sequel: What Will Follow Our Troubled Civilisation?, and creating/convening the year-round online programme ‘Surviving the Future: Conversations for Our Time’, which has now been running for six years, with participants from every continent on Earth.
Amelia DuBose is a climate activist in Bend, OR and plays a prominent role in Fridays for Future and the Deschutes Youth Climate Coalition.