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Daniel Vitalis

Welcome to the ReWild Yourself Podcast! I’m Daniel Vitalis, and I’ll be your guide through the world of human zoology and lifestyle design. We’ll explore the strategies that ancient apes need to thrive in a modern world, awakening our instincts, and freeing our bodies –– and minds –– from the degenerative effects of human domestication.

ReWild Yourself

North America’s Forgotten Fruit — the Pawpaw — is an excellent reminder that adventures in wild food are still available to us! Andrew Moore is here to share his journey seeking out the largest edible fruit native to the United States. In Andrew’s book Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit, he explores the past, present, and future of this unique fruit, traveling from the Ozarks to Monticello; canoeing the lower Mississippi in search of wild fruit; drinking pawpaw beer in Durham, North Carolina; tracking down lost cultivars in Appalachian hollers; and helping out during harvest season in a Maryland orchard. Along the way, he gathers pawpaw lore and knowledge not only from the plant breeders and horticulturists working to bring pawpaws into the mainstream (including Neal Peterson, known in pawpaw circles as the fruit’s own “Johnny Pawpawseed”), but also regular folks who remember eating them in the woods as kids, but haven’t had one in over fifty years.
 
Andrew’s hunt for the wild pawpaw led him on quite the adventure, and in this episode, he gives us the lowdown on the pawpaw, its history and its modern-day revival. We take a look at pawpaw culture and discuss how it’s being cultivated and used today. Andrew certainly inspired me to hunt down the wild pawpaw, and I hope you’ll consider pursuing a wild food adventure of your own in the new year! Enjoy, and I’ll see you next week for the final episode of our podcast season!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction
 • Introducing Andrew Moore
 • How Andy became acquainted with the pawpaw
 • What is a pawpaw?
 • The history
 • The pawpaw revival
 • Uncovering the mystery of the pawpaw
 • The varying personalities in pawpaw culture
 • Historical cultivation and use of pawpaw
 • Growing pawpaw
 • Origins of the name
 • Hunting the wild pawpaw
 • Where to find Andrew

North America's Forgotten Fruit - Andrew Moore #177

Brian Fagan — one of the world’s leading archaeological writers — is back on the show! Brian was born in England and studied archaeology at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was Keeper of Prehistory at the Livingstone Museum (Zambia) and, during six years in Zambia and one in East Africa, was deeply involved in fieldwork on multidisciplinary African history and in monuments conservation. He was Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, from 1967 to 2004, when he became Emeritus. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading archaeological and historical writers and is a widely respected popular lecturer about the past.
 
In this episode, Brian talks to us about his latest book Fishing: How the Sea Fed Civilization and shares the fascinating insights he uncovered on the history of fishing. In his research, he found that fishing (for sustenance, not sport) rivaled agriculture in its importance to civilization. We discuss the historical timeline of fishing, early fishing equipment and how fishing became a commodity. Brian also shares his thoughts on the future of wild fisheries and the ocean ecosystem. Enjoy!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction
 • Introducing Brian Fagan
 • Brian’s prolific writing career
 • A history of fishing
 • Defining fishing - recreational vs subsistence
 • Establishing our timeline
 • Early fishing equipment
 • Fish as a commodity
 • The loss of large-scale fisheries
 • Future of wild fisheries
 • The future of the ocean
 • Will recreational fishing and hunting be a realistic practice in the future?
 • Brian’s prognosis for the future of the human species

How Old is Fishing? - Brian Fagan #176

Arthur Haines is back on ReWild Yourself Podcast! Arthur is a good friend and our most esteemed frequent guest on the show. Arthur is a forager, ancestral skills mentor, author, public speaker, and botanical researcher. His work merges the material knowledge of present-day people with the ecological knowledge of ancestral people. Arthur’s mission is to help people develop deep awareness of and connection to nature, promote individual health and foster self-reliance. He is a fellow Mainer, and he hunts and gathers from our abundant local landscape to feed himself and his family. 
 
In this episode, Arthur and I share — from the heart — our thoughts on a prominent and relatively recent phenomenon in our modern-day culture: the loss of respect for real-world experience/age-based wisdom and the valuing of modern cultural norms over biological norms. We’re often asked if eating wild food is a privilege, and we share our views on this and the true meaning of privilege. With a shared mission of promoting an egalitarian society that actively participates in ecology, practices ecoculture, fosters personal sovereignty and emboldens thoughtful interaction with fellow Homo sapiens, it is our hope that you listen to our viewpoints with an open mind and keep this conversation going in the ReWilding community!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction
 • Introducing Arthur Haines
 • Arthur’s background
 • The issues with social media
 • Is wild food a privilege?
 • Real world experience vs. facts
 • The loss of elders and respect for age-based wisdom
 • Biological norms vs present-day cultural norms
 • Privilege and opportunity
 • Personal sovereignty
 • Closing thoughts
 • Context and intent
 • Our hunting and gathering updates

Is Wild Food A Privilege? - Arthur Haines #175

Tristan Gooley returns to ReWild Yourself Podcast to guide us through the lost art of reading nature’s signs. Tristan is an author and natural navigator. He teaches people to re-awaken their senses and tune into their ancestral ability to navigate across a landscape using the signs that nature provides. Tristan has led expeditions in five continents, climbed mountains in Europe, Africa and Asia, sailed small boats across oceans and piloted small aircraft to Africa and the Arctic. He has walked with and studied the methods of the Tuareg, Bedouin and Dayak in some of the remotest regions on Earth. He is the only living person to have both flown solo and sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society. 
 
In this episode, Tristan explains how — once we learn to use nature as a compass — we can create a natural navigation map based in ecological knowledge. We also discuss Tristan’s latest work and the importance of purposeful nature engagement. Tristan gives us practical tips for re-awakening our senses to the natural world and simple techniques for getting started in natural navigation. Tune in, and be inspired to interact with your local landscape in a new and more intimate way!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction:

 • 
 • Hunt + gather updates: A recent trip to North Carolina and my Thanksgiving meal plan
 • Season 3 of ReWild Yourself Podcast ends soon!
 • 
 • Introducing Tristan Gooley
 • Engaging with nature on a cerebral or physical level
 • Simple techniques to dabbling in natural navigations
 • Creating a natural navigation map based in ecology
 • How people navigate around the world
 • What Tristan’s working on now
 • Going into nature with purpose
 • How to inspire people to re-awaken their senses
 • Getting someone started in navigation
 • The future of natural navigation 
 • Tristan’s prognosis for the future of the human species

Nature as Your Compass - Tristan Gooley #174

In the final installment of our invasive species series, we hear from Tao Orion — author and permaculturist — for a new perspective on invasives that links restoration with thoughtful habitat design. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Tao has dedicated her life to the art and science of regenerative living. She has a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture and has studied under some of the world’s leading permaculture teachers. She co-owns Resilience Permaculture design with her husband. Tao offers an alternative conversation on invasives with her book, Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Perspective on Ecosystem Restoration. She believes that deep and long-lasting ecological restoration outcomes will come not just from eliminating invasive species, but through conscientious redesign of these production systems.
 
In this episode, Tao shares how we can look to permaculture to inspire solutions to non-native invasive species and ecosystem restoration. She explains the restoration movement and imparts fundamental ecological knowledge to give context to our on-going invasives conversation. We also discuss ways to have meaningful conversations about invasive species without the divisiveness that can often arise from this controversial topic. Tao leaves us with some excellent strategies to participate in species and land stewardship as foragers with the goal of moving towards regeneration in ecosystems. Enjoy, and let’s keep this conversation going!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show introduction
 • Introducing Tao Orion
 • What ignited Tao’s passion for permaculture
 • The invasive species argument
 • Monsanto’s role in invasive species
 • Glyphosate explained
 • The restoration movement
 • Tending the wild
 • Succession and agricultural disturbances
 • Discussing invasives without the divisiveness 
 • Shifting our relationship to land management
 • How do foragers participate in species and land stewardship
 • Tao’s prognosis for the future of the human species

Beyond The War On Invasives - Tao Orion #173

“Rewilding holds out hope of a richer living planet that can once more fill our lives with wonder and enchantment.” -George Monbiot 
Prolific author George Monbiot joins us to share his niche in the world of rewilding: rewilding the land. George is an investigative journalist who writes a weekly column for the Guardian and is the author of a number of bestselling books, including Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea, and Human Life where he passionately advocates the large-scale restoration of complex natural ecosystems. 
 
To begin our conversation, George takes us back in time to the riveting adventures that began his career in investigative journalism. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including how his work evolved to covering the large-scale ecological issues of our world, what rewilding means to George and his take on de-extinction. George also presents his argument in favor of fake meat as an option to feed the world’s population and why he does not feel that agriculture of any kind — including regenerative agriculture — is sustainable. While our opinions differed on some things, it was fascinating to hear George’s viewpoint on these controversial topics. Enjoy our conversation exploring George’s important work as an advocate for the rewilding of our earth’s ecosystems!
 
EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
 
 • Show Introduction: 
 • Hunt + gather updates: Learning to live with a hunting dog and bear fat
 • 
 • Introducing George Monbiot
 • George’s riveting backstory 
 • Why is 'the loss of wild humans' not making news headlines?
 • How George came to be working on these big picture ecological issues
 • What rewilding means to George
 • Bringing back lost megafauna
 • Rewilding becoming mainstream out of necessity
 • A case for fake meat and why (regenerative) agriculture isn’t sustainable
 • How do we feed the people of the world?
 • George’s upcoming book
 • George’s prognosis for the future of the human species

ReWilding Land, People & Wildlife - George Monbiot #171

Toa Hunter Gatherer embodies the new generation of hunter-gatherers with a true connection to the natural world. From a very young age, Owen Boynton — Toa Hunter Gatherer — has been passionate about wild country, learning the habitats of the animals with a sense to always want to stay connected. Born in Te Urewera, the ancestral home of the Tuhoe people also known as “children of the mist," Toa's hunter-gatherer bloodline remains strong. Kaitiakitanga — guardianship for the natural world — guides Toa’s compass in life and work. Toa’s inspiring TV series “Toa Hunter Gatherer” focuses on sharing the traditional knowledge and techniques that have been lost since using modern ways to source kai, or traditional Maori food.
 
In this episode, Toa shares from the heart on what it means to him to be a “full circle” hunter-gatherer. We get to experience hunting in New Zealand through Toa’s lens as we discuss the animals he hunts and the history of their introduced invasive species. We get to hear his perspective on conscientious hunting and gathering, from hunting terminology to “real trophy hunting” to showing reverence for elders. Toa affirms that — no matter what our ancestry is — we can all find connection to our place on this earth through participating in ecology and being devoted guardians of the natural world. Hunt - Gather - Provide!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction: 
 • Hunt + gather updates: Canoeing the cranberry bog, a delicious wild food meal & bear fat
 • Q&A: Soaking wild rice
 • 
 • Introducing Toa Hunter Gatherer
 • The meaning behind “Toa Hunter Gatherer"
 • Toa’s background and the Maori culture
 • How hunting works in New Zealand
 • What animals Toa hunts in New Zealand
 • Introduced invasive species
 • Being mindful about hunting terminology
 • Hunt, gather, provide — the full circle of the hunter-gatherer
 • A typical episode of Toa Hunter Gatherer
 • Hunting with elders
 • A generational shift in hunting
 • The real trophy hunting — providing for family and community
 • Finding connection to your place on this earth
 • Toa’s prognosis for the future of the human species
 • Bowhunting

Heart of a Māori Hunter - Toa Hunter Gather #170

Doniga Markegard is a rancher with a background in ecology and permaculture, and she’s here to share how regenerative agriculture can help to restore the biodiversity of prairie grasslands while simultaneously producing grass-fed, nutrient dense meat. 
 
In her youth, Doniga was mentored by some of the leading wildlife trackers, naturalists and Native spiritual elders. She spent years alone and with a small group of passionate youth in the Western Washington Wilderness learning the ways of the ancestors, immersing in nature, bird language, survival skills and wildlife tracking. Fast forward to today, she now stewards 10,000 acres of land in California where she — along with her husband and four children — owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed LLC raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and dairy. Doniga is passionate about large-scale restoration of Western Rangelands through cattle grazing, and she and her family have developed grazing and conservation management plans that encourage a resilient and diverse landscape.
 
Doniga believes that humans are an integral part of the complexity of life, and in this episode, we hear how her family stewards land based on the principles and patterns found in nature. She takes us back in time to her wild childhood and her time spent tracking wolves in Alaska and Idaho. We discuss living with apex predators and her unique perspective on ranching alongside wolves, as a rancher with an ecological background and passion for wildlife. We also hear about her family’s misleading feature in the controversial film Cowspiracy, which sheds a grim light on the credibility of this film’s message. Tune in for a refreshing take on sustainable, holistic agriculture and Doniga’s captivating evolution from wild child to conservationist and rangeland steward!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction
 • Introducing Doniga Markegard
 • What brought Doniga to her work in sustainable ranching
 • On grasslands
 • The life-centric focus of regenerative agriculture
 • Doniga reflects on her childhood and shares about her book, Dawn Again
 • Living with apex predators
 • The truth about “Cowspiracy”
 • Life on Doniga’s ranch
 • Transitioning back into the world after time spent in wilderness immersion programs
 • Doniga’s prognosis for the future of the human species

Regenerative Agriculture and the Truth About Cowspiracy - Doniga Markegard #169

It was an absolute pleasure to talk with Lori McCarthy — a third generation Newfoundlander — about the importance of preserving cultural food heritage for future generations. Lori has dedicated her life to preserving the cultural food of her homeland, Newfoundland and Labrador, through her company Cod Sounds and the Livyers Cultural Alliance. Her core values embrace locally sourced regional cuisine and this is reflected in her food experiences and through her cooking school.
 
Newfoundland and Labrador have a rich and fascinating history — grounded in the cod fisheries that once sustained them. Lori gives us a firsthand look at the land she calls home and shares how deeply the collapse of the local cod fisheries affected the fisherman and surrounding communities. Today Newfoundland and Labrador are home to a thriving food and restaurant industry, and Lori is at the forefront of keeping the area’s traditional, local and wild food in the spotlight. Lori’s work is incredibly inspiring and serves as a model that we can all learn from. Lori encourages us to join together with people from our local community to celebrate our local ecology and our own unique cultural food heritage — and to work together to pass this treasured knowledge down to future generations!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction: 
 • Hunt + gather updates: A successful bear hunt
 • A bear hunt Q&A
 • 
 • Introducing Lori McCarthy
 • Describing Newfoundland and Labrador
 • How Lori got started in her work
 • The rich food-based history of Newfoundland and Labrador
 • Winters and the growing season
 • History of the cod fisheries
 • The cuisine of the local landscape + Lori’s journey into wild foods
 • Preserving cultural food heritage
 • A foraging year in Lori’s local ecosystem
 • Eat It Wild
 • Predictions for foraging in the future
 • Lori’s prognosis for the future human species

Preserving Cultural Food Heritage - Lori McCarthy #168

Ben Falk returns to ReWild Yourself Podcast to add his perspective to our invasive species conversation series! Ben lives in an intentional, resilient, forage-able ecosystem on his homestead in Vermont's Mad River Valley that he designed and continues to evolve. As someone who works closely with his local landscape, he is intimately enmeshed with both native and non-native invasive species and has valuable input on this complex issue.
 
Ben — an innovative permaculturist and intentional ecosystem designer — developed Whole Systems Design as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben’s integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds a master’s degree in land-use planning and design. He has conducted more than 300 site development consultations across the US and abroad, and has facilitated dozens of courses on property selection, permaculture design, and resilient systems. Ben is also the author of the award-winning book the Resilient Farm and Homestead.
 
In this episode, Ben and I grapple with some of the critical questions of the invasive species conversation: Who has the right to be considered native to a specific ecosystem when we are all native to this planet? Can we eat our way out of the invasive species problem? How do we define natural? Ben brings a balanced viewpoint to our invasive species series. He believes — as do I — that the conversation on invasives can be hugely advanced by active ecosystem participants (rewilders!). Tune in, and let's continue to be conscientious participants in the conservation of our ecology!
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Show Introduction: 
 • Hunt + gather updates: Striper and mackerel fishing, squirrel hunting, acorn gathering and pack basket making
 • 
 • Introducing Ben Falk
 • Ben’s permaculture intentional ecosystem
 • Food yield on Ben’s homestead 
 • The processing that goes into a permaculture ecosystem
 • Backstory to Ben’s viewpoints on invasive species
 • Invasive species and native local plant communities — who has the right to stay?
 • Thoughts on eating invasives
 • Creating forage-able landscapes
 • Tying a bow on the invasive species conversation
 • Defining what’s natural
 • Ben’s prognosis for the future of the landscape

Native to When? - Ben Falk #166

"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. 
 EPISODE BREAKDOWN: • Daniel answers questions on tent living and the fifth element
 • A short passage from Arthur’s forthcoming book, 
A New Path • Gratitude to vegans for taking a stand against factory farming
 • A local and sustainable lifeway
 • Agriculture and the plight of 7 billion people
 • Anthropomorphizing animals and speciesism
 • Attempting to transcend our DNA
 • Are most vegetarians actually omnivores?
 • Seeking longevity vs long-term robust health
 • We’ve always been omnivores...
 • The meat & cancer myth
 • There are no multi-generational vegans
 • Veganism and children
 • Vitamins & minerals from plants vs. animals
 • Is animal husbandry destroying the planet?
 • Were there vegan tribes of hunter gatherers?
 • Cooking our food
 • Taboos of eating certain animals
 • Using our evolutionary history to guide our lifestyles
 • Concluding thoughts from Daniel and Arthur
 • Seeing the big picture

Why I’m a Conscientious Omnivore - Daniel Vitalis & Arthur Haines #100

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