Best Shane Simonsen Podcasts (2024)

1
Keys to successful regenerative farm transition, with Andre Antunes 1:11:45

1h ago1:11:45

1:11:45

I have to admit, there is an unsung hero behind many of my favorite interviews of the past couple years. Connections and recommendations to some of the people who I’ve learned the most from in some recent discussions with people like Phyllis Van Ambraugh, Ben Taylor Davies, Ian Robertson, Ed Brown, and others have all come from a good friend of min…

1
Richard Paul Watson 1:04:24

2h ago1:04:24

1:04:24

Richard Paul Watson talks to Shane about his efforts growing and breeding a wide range of vegetable crops in windy New Zealand, and his successes in building a network of seed growers to create a collective seed sales organisation, the Sentinels Group. Check out more of Richard's work at https://www.sentinelsgroup.co.nz…

1
The practice of managing holistically, and lobbying for regenerative agriculture in Europe, with Meghan Sapp 1:23:43

13h ago1:23:43

1:23:43

As I continue to make connections and find people in my local area who are working on regenerative projects and supporting progress in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, I’ve been amazed at the talented, courageous, and inspiring people that I’ve come into contact with. I’ve already interviewed a few in recent episodes such as Sara Garcia, and Aline …

1
Farming for both local and regional change, with Anne Van Leeuwen: part 2 49:19

18d ago49:19

49:19

Today we’ll be continuing with the second part of my discussion with Anne Van Leeuwen from Bodemzicht in the Netherlands. In case you missed the first part, I recommend going back for some context where Anne spoke about how she and her partner Ricardo got started in Farming and the evolution of their farm at the original location. In this second ha…

1
William DeMille talks to Joseph and Holly 59:37

10d ago59:37

59:37

Farmer and educator William DeMille talks to Joseph and Holly about permaculture, biodynamics, silvopasture, holistic management and georgics and how they apply to his farm in northern Nevada. Check out more of Williams work below https://www.thegeorgicrevolution.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Worry-Free-Eating-William-John-DeMille/dp/B0BW2Y4GLZ https…

1
We Are Fighting a War to Keep Our Hearts Alive 2:01:02

14d ago2:01:02

2:01:02

Is it time to give up? Was it already time to give up in 2020, or 2012, or perhaps even 1999? We usually justify our answers to these questions purely in terms of their rational foundations. But our reasoning is embodied, and variation in the details of our embodiment produce very different relationships to hope, despair, and the place one finds be…

1
Vivimancer pt. 2: Brain Waves 3:14

14d ago3:14

3:14

In 2015, Thorstein Grunwald began a mythic undertaking. He sought extreme states of consciousness for the purpose of making scientific discoveries about the earth's carbon cycle that would allow for interventions in runaway climate change. Science already had a very long legacy of progress through the spontaneous visionary experiences of its practi…

1
Farming for both local and regional change, with Anne Van Leeuwen 56:10

15d ago56:10

56:10

Today’s conversation is the first of a two part conversation with Anne Va Leeuwen from Bodemzicht in the Netherlands that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a few years. Anne and her husband Ricardo and I met for the first time at the first Climate Farmers conference in Germany 3 years ago. By then they were already building a reputation in the…

1
Soil health and drought mitigation panel from REVOLVE magazine 1:04:14

22d ago1:04:14

1:04:14

A couple weeks ago I was invited to speak on a panel discussion about soil health for the release of a new issue of REVOLVE magazine. Established in 2010, REVOLVE inspires climate action by keeping you informed about the circular economy, ecosystem restoration, the energy transition, sustainable mobility and water resources. Their latest episode fo…

1
Austin Vaughn 42:04

1M ago42:04

42:04

Shane chats to Austin Vaughn about his experiments developing landrace carrots and a range of other crops in his difficult Texas clay. Check out more of Austin's work at the Going to Seed discourse forum https://goingtoseed.discourse.group

1
Simplifying gardening and food forests, with David the Good 1:19:25

29d ago1:19:25

1:19:25

Continuing on the theme of last week’s episode in which I spoke with Jessica Robertson about community food forests, we’re going to go deeper into the practical knowledge and skills that anyone can develop to create their own plant nursery, propagate their favorite varieties, and get their own garden or food forest established quickly and cheaply. …

1
How to design and build a community food forest, with Jessica Robertson 1:01:22

1M ago1:01:22

1:01:22

With the growth in popularity around permaculture and food forests, even people without access to their own land are looking into opportunities to come together and create beautiful edible landscapes that everyone can access on public land. Enter community orchards or food forests. These are increasingly being grown on abandoned lots, local parks, …

1
Taming the apocalypse by partnering with new species, with Shane Simonsen 1:13:01

2M ago1:13:01

1:13:01

So much of what inspires me and that I hope to highlight on this show comes from an ever growing awareness of the incredible superpowers that humans have that emerge from our relationship with the natural world around us. Our senses coupled with adaptability, the skill of collaboration and the inventiveness of our creativity have allowed humans to …

1
Finding the potential in "invasive" species, with Tao Orion 1:19:59

2M ago1:19:59

1:19:59

I’m really lucky that I have been collaborating with book publishers since the early days of this podcast. It gives me access to all of the books from the authors that I interview and the full catalogs of most of the publishers too. As a result I have a pretty good overview of the new literature that comes out on the topics that I focus on in this …

1
Taylor Chance 47:11

2M ago47:11

47:11

Taylor Chance talks to Shane about his many crop breeding projects, including Chinese yams (Dioscorea polystachya), ancestral cucurbits and interspecies goji berry hybrids.

1
Why we need inscets and how you can help rebug the planet, with Vicki Hird 53:31

2M ago53:31

53:31

world of insects. Though there are only a handful of bugs and invertebrates that humans consider edible, productive, or beautiful, they are an essential element in any healthy ecosystem. All too often the ones that we don’t derive beauty from or direct use from are considered an annoyance at best or actively destroyed and eradicated in all too many…

1
Natural beekeeping for better honey, healthy colonies, and vibrant ecosystems, with Uli Beckman 1:39:57

2M ago1:39:57

1:39:57

I’ve had the pleasure over the last few months to interview quite a few people that I admire, who’ve told me about their fascination with beekeeping. Over and over again I’ve heard about the incredible insights into overall ecological health and the amazing reflections of ecosystem function that can be observed through managing bee hives. I got a w…

1
Reflections on over two decades of resilient farmstead living, with Ben Falk 1:04:01

3M ago1:04:01

1:04:01

Despite the popularity of permaculture, homesteading, regen ag, and all these other buzz terms we hear, many of the people promoting these ideas, including myself, are quite new and inexperienced. It’s still rare to find people who can offer insight and wisdom from decades or a whole lifetime of living with regenerative systems. Sure, you can still…

1
Financial management tips for a healthy farm, with Julia Shanks 53:53

3M ago53:53

53:53

Though I’ve highlighted this before on this show, it bears repeating. So many of the stress factors on farms are caused by money. Either not being able to generate enough, being in debt, not having control over the expenses and cash flows, or another one that I see time and again, not paying yourself a salary and just hoping for a profit at the end…

1
Sub-Self, Meet Meta-Self: Notes on The Emerging World Mind 2:31:22

3M ago2:31:22

2:31:22

You've heard a million times that the history of life on earth is one of systems tending toward ever-increasing complexity, but in this episode, we argue evolutionary history is best conceptualized as one of ever-expanding boundaries of selfhood. In so doing, we apply a unique lens to questions with concrete strategic implications which have vexed …

1
Reversing the Spanish trajectory towards desertification, with Sara Garcia 1:09:11

3M ago1:09:11

1:09:11

In the process of researching the area that I now call home, and working to understand the context and history of the land, I’ve uncovered some fascinating information. The Iberian peninsula made up mostly of Spain with Portugal along the Atlanitc coast and Andorra in the Pyrenees mountains has been dramatically transformed through thousands of yea…

1
Padraic Flood 43:30

3M ago43:30

43:30

Shane Simonsen talks to Padraic Flood about his work to domesticate the lost tuberous pea crop of Europe, Aardaker, also known as Lathyrus tuberosus.

1
The potential of small scale regeneration, from three distinct perspectives 1:18:09

3M ago1:18:09

1:18:09

I’ve spent a lot of time through the interviews of this podcast speaking with people around the world who are advancing incredible and ambitious projects that aim to regenerate large land bases like farms, estates, or even whole regions. Last week’s conversation with Weruschca Kirkegaard from United Designers is a perfect example of these kinds of …

1
Large scale regeneration and the potential of cooperative design, with Weruschca Kirkegaard 56:53

4M ago56:53

56:53

Todays episode is going to build on a couple concepts that I’ve been exploring from different perspectives. The first is that of the power of community, and the second is different scales of regeneration. In this episode I’m joined by my good friend and mentor Weruschca Kirkegaard based in the Netherlands, Weruschca the is co-founder of United Desi…

1
The essential skills and knowledge to become a regenerative water worker, with Zach Weiss and Nick Steiner 1:30:51

4M ago1:30:51

1:30:51

For those of you following along from the last three episodes of this season so far, I’ve been sharing the intimate details of my own journey along with my good friend Nick Steiner as we’ve gone around to visit a number of out client’s projects in the south of Portugal and both gather essential data to inform our process and actually put that proce…

1
Nature based solutions for the worst drought on record, with Aline Van Moerbeke 1:07:18

4M ago1:07:18

1:07:18

I’ve talked a lot about drought and water management on this podcast. It’s becoming a bigger and bigger part of my work and specialization, both in the work I do with private clients and through the network of farmers that I work with through Climate Farmers. At the moment, these topics are hitting home for another reason. Catalunya, the region whe…

1
Episode 16- Darren Abbey 48:53

4M ago48:53

48:53

Shane talks to Dr. Darren Abbey about breeding blue beans, white tomatoes, storage tomatillos and so much more. Read more about Darren's work - https://the-biologist-is-in.blogspot.com/ Find him on Twitter (@thebiologistisn), Mastodon (@thebiologistisn@redwombat.social), Bluesky (@thebiologistisn), Threads: (@thebiologistisn), Instagram (@thebiolog…

1
Installing water retention and fire mitigation features on the ground 1:08:03

4M ago1:08:03

1:08:03

Continuing on the journey we started in the last episode, Nick and I went to the next project where we got to install the types of water retention features that we had designed for the previous clients. Together we talk about the joys and the challenges of site where we were creating these earthworks. Over the previous summer the whole landscape ha…

1
Reading the landscape and gathering essential data for a water restoration design 46:21

5M ago46:21

46:21

Welcome to the first episode of season 8 of the Regenerative Skills podcast. We're starting in a big way with a special episode in which me and my good friend and collaborator Nick Steiner will be taking you along with us on a client visit in the south of Portugal in the very first steps of a water retention landscape project. We'll be giving you a…

1
Episode 15- Holly Hansen 55:37

5M ago55:37

55:37

Joseph and Holly reminisce and discuss plans for the year ahead.

1
Yevgenii Berben-Zycki 19:15

5M ago19:15

19:15

This episode features traditional farmer Yevgenii Berben-Zycki, managing his farm with his family in the middle of an active war zone in Ukraine. He outlines his family's work selectively breeding hazelnuts over the last four generations, and how they are reconnecting with historic farming techniques.…

1
Raphael Maier 53:05

6M ago53:05

53:05

Shane and Joseph talk to Raphael Maier about breeding cold hardy passionfruit and other fascinating projects. Check out Raphael's book- https://www.amazon.com/Breeding-Hardy-Passion-Fruit-Developing/dp/B0C12P63RK And Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/imperatorplantae/?hl=en

1
Jesus of Nazareth and the Biology of Defeat 2:38:39

6M ago2:38:39

2:38:39

What does it say about a society if it venerates the image of someone being executed by the state for sedition? In this episode, we trace the improbable evolution of Jesus of Nazareth from fervent revolutionary to apolitical, transcendental being. We situate his trajectory in the cross-cultural tradition of prophetic liberation movements, from sout…

1
Regenerative farming on the edge of the desert, with Yanniek Schoonhoven 47:30

6M ago47:30

47:30

There are a few farms and organizations here in Spain that have been gaining international attention for their work and initiatives in the past few years. Partly through reaching out directly and partly through the Climate Farmers network I’ve been connecting with them to bring their inspiring stories and innovative knowledge to the farmers communi…

1
Making soil health approachable and practical, with Ian Robertson 1:02:53

6M ago1:02:53

1:02:53

By now I’m sure many of you have heard the few episodes on soil health that I’ve recorded with people like Harriet Mela, Matt Powers, James White, and others. I know that the subject of soil has become really popular with growers and it’s always talked about as being central to the success of regenerative agriculture and broader environmental healt…

1
Going to Seed- Bruce Pascoe 50:36

6M ago50:36

50:36

Shane Simonsen talks to Bruce Pascoe about revitalising Australian Indigenous foods (including kangaroo grass and vanilla lily among many other species). Check out Bruces work at the following links: Black Duck Foods https://www.blackduckfoods.com.au Trailer for the Dark Emu Story https://youtu.be/Z1Vq7rrTsY0?si=pw6AQBtWDwRA3o0W Full Documentary- T…

1
Adapting syntropic agroforestry to temperate climates, with Renke De Vries 1:26:08

6M ago1:26:08

1:26:08

Syntropic Agroforestry has exploded in popularity and interest in the last few years. I’ve explored this agroforestry design and management system a little in some previous episodes with my friend Jacob Evans, but there’s so much more to explore. First pioneered by renowned farmer Ernst Gostch in Brazil, his integrated approach of dense planting an…

1
Growing fresh produce through the coldest winters, with Catherine Sylvestre 56:27

6M ago56:27

56:27

I’ve been so happy to see how popular the concept of growing one’s own food has become in recent years. Especially since the pandemic, a lot of us have connected deeply with the need to build food resilience by cultivating our own gardens, and quite a few have even gone further and started to grow at a market scale. It’s a beautiful thing to be abl…

1
Making micro farms work through lean planning, with Ben Hartman 58:27

7M ago58:27

58:27

I’ve been observing an interesting trend in the regen ag space. The concept and awareness of regen ag has been growing exponentially with many people exploring ways to start their own farms and to participate in and support those who are already involved. At the same time the current economic situation and the complexity of regulations, paired with…

1
Going to Seed- Mark Shepard 57:13

7M ago57:13

57:13

Shane Simonsen and Joseph Lofthouse talk to Mark Shepard about restoration agriculture and breeding staple tree crops with mass selection. Check out Mark's work at the following links: restorationag.com www.forestag.com Mark is speaking at the Restoration Agriculture Conference very soon! https://events.acresusa.com/e/2023-eco-ag-conference-trade-s…

1
Low tech solutions for erosion and water management with Neil Bertrando and Jeff Adams 1:26:36

7M ago1:26:36

1:26:36

We live in a time when everyone seems to be looking for high tech solutions for every problem. Maybe it's due to all of the new tech that has come out in recent decades with lofty promises of new frontiers, or the fact that so many of us are removed from regular interaction with the natural world, but I genuinely believe that technology is more ove…

1
The Biological Singularity Is Near pt. 1 2:16:45

7M ago2:16:45

2:16:45

We are clearly reaching the end of this phase of human civilization. Does that mean that evolution's broad trend towards increasing complexity, scale, and self-awareness is also dying? Many futures are possible, and in this episode, we speculate about one that continues the evolution of ever-greater complexity. Exiting the fantasy of a “sustainable…

1
Working with wastewater and learnings from Biosphere 2, with Mark Nelson 1:22:39

7M ago1:22:39

1:22:39

I’ve been lucky in recent months to be able to speak to people who’ve been leaders and change makers in the regenerative space for a significant amount of time. Building on that knowledge and experience I got to speak with Dr Mark Nelson. Mark is Chairman of the Institute of Ecotechnics, head of Wastewater Gardens International and has worked for s…

1
Joseph Lofthouse talks to Evan Sofro 56:07

7M ago56:07

56:07

Joseph Lofthouse chats to nomadic farmer Evan Sofro about heritage grains, biophilia and land artistry. See more of Evan's work at- www.instagram.com/regenerative_earth_art/ Contact Evan at- evansofro@earthincorporated.net/

1
Reviving heritage foods through landrace farming, with Glenn Roberts 1:26:11

7M ago1:26:11

1:26:11

A few months back when I covered the topic of landrace gardening and crop breeding, I had no idea what a passionate and knowledgeable community around the world that I was tapping into. The seed savers and plant breeders who I’ve been in touch with, including quite a few who are part of the Discord community for this podcast, are working on everyth…

1
Shane Simonsen talks to Damien Beaumont about intergeneric berry hybrids 20:23

8M ago20:23

20:23

Going to Seed Podcast- Shane Simonsen talks to Damien Beaumont about raspberry-strawberry hybrids and other fascinating topics. Check out Damien's work at his blog - http://living-mudflower.blogspot.com Contact Shane with guest suggestions at shane.simonsen@icloud.com

1
John Kempf on the trends and future of regenerative agriculture 1:27:15

8M ago1:27:15

1:27:15

My guest today needs no introduction if you’ve been paying attention to the regen ag scene in the last decade, but just in case you’re new to this topic and community let me catch you up to speed John Kempf is an entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host and teacher. He is passionate about the potential of well managed agriculture ecosystems to reverse e…

1
Will Harris reflects on his career and his return to giving a damn 1:06:20

8M ago1:06:20

1:06:20

Despite the popularity of regenerative agriculture at the moment and the fact that there are many inspiring farmers involved in the movement, it’s still rare to find experienced farmers, especially in large scale operations that have been working to regenerate their ecosystems and communities for more than 20 years. For this reason I was thrilled t…

1
Joseph Lofthouse talks Tomatoes with William Clark Schlegel 52:21

8M ago52:21

52:21

Joseph Lofthouse Interviews William Schlegel about promiscuous tomato breeding and other projects. https://osseeds.org/ossi-breeders/wil...

1
Shane Simonsen talks about primitive permaculture with David Lauterwasser 1:05:32

8M ago1:05:32

1:05:32

Shane Simonsen talks to primitive permaculturalist David Lauterwasser. Find out about the diverse agricultural systems in tropical Thailand, and hear discussions about breeding jackfruit, tropical mustard greens and aquatic tomatoes. Read more of David's work at his substack- https://animistsramblings.substack.com Instagram- https://www.instagram.c…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Shane Simonsen Podcasts

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