The RegenNarration

A line of turbulence marks the edge of a burn scar, and the plane starts to buck. That jolt becomes a metaphor for the entire conversation: when we strip biology, we disrupt wind, heat, and water. Restore it, and everything changes. We link Perth to the wet season Kimberley and a bright winter’s day in Beijing to ask a practical question with planetary stakes: how do we turn knowledge into actual regeneration? Filmmaker and restoration catalyst John D. Liu joins Kachana Station’s Chris Henggeler to map a path from storytelling to soil building. John lays out a simple physics of living systems—grow organic matter, raise canopy height, and infiltrate every drop to repair the lower hydrological cycle and cool the land. Chris brings the Kimberley into focus: lightning seasons, split-second fire calls, and the creation of microclimates through tight management. Together they propose Kachana as a living laboratory and virtual university—open to researchers, engineers, and restoration communities. We update you on the donkey controversy and opportunity still alive, and hear the call for evidence-based policy that aligns regulation with how soft systems self-regulate. We explore the remarkable rise (and unexpected beginning) of Ecosystem Restoration Communities, why peer-to-peer learning scales faster than conferences, and how true wealth should be tied to functional ecosystems and healthy watersheds. From canopy height to hydrological function, from policy design to ethical investment, from daily fieldwork to music and shared meals, this is a blueprint for turning concern into coordinated action. Note: the Australian Story episode on Kachana has now eclipsed 1.5m views. And this episode celebrates the International Year of Rangelands & Pastoralists. Chapter markers & transcript. Recorded 12 February 2026. Join us at Grounded Festival (10% discount for paid subscribers). Join the wait list for the Murray River Confluence. Music: Working the Fields, by Falconer (from Artlist). Regeneration, by Amelia Barden. And John on guitar. Send a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

We’re off to Parliament House in Canberra today. But don’t let that put you off. Hot off the press, the Regenerative Food & Farming Alliance (RFFA) has just launched there. The Alliance has been brought together with many a guest on this podcast over the years. Though one woman behind it all – and so much else – is someone I have been looking forward to having on the podcast since we met a few years ago. Rebecca Gorman is a highly respected former journalist turned farmer, philanthropist and company director, and she has been a key figure in convening the new Alliance. We speak about the launch, the Alliance of course, the appetite for it, Rebecca's fascinating back story bringing her to this moment, even some initial reticence to this path, some varied influences, what she's seen work over the decades, how the Alliance will work, what's next, how we can back it in, the extraordinary hidden costs of the current systems, and full circle to how it feels for Rebecca to find herself here in the light of some early heartbreaks in life, and how that has spurred her connections with First Nations peoples. And she sings for us at the end, in honour of some other passions in life. Chapter markers & transcript. Recorded 11 February 2026. Title image sourced here. Please support the Strathbogie Disaster Relief Fund, hosted by the Australian Communities Foundation. Join us at the next Grounded Festival in April (10% discount on offer for paid subscribers on Patreon or Substack). Join the wait list for the Murray River Confluence journey. See more photos on the episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below. Music: Working the Fields, by Falconer (from Artlist). Regeneration, by Amelia Barden. Send a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome to the 10th year of the podcast! And thank you. As an entirely listener supported show, it only happens thanks to listeners like you. To start off the year, another form of thanks, and tribute, to a guest from 2023 who was so wonderful, as much for his brilliance as his grace. I’m talking of the late Manchán Magan, acclaimed Irish travel writer, documentary maker, radio producer, theatre performer, builder of the first straw-bale house in Ireland, regenerator of the 10 acre block it stands on, and best-selling author. Manchán died in October last year at an age not too senior to mine, just a couple of months after a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Beautifully, I’ve learned he and long-term partner Aisling married a few weeks before he died. Aisling described how they fell in love too, as she later posthumously accepted the Best Irish-Published Book of the Year award for Manchán's latest work ‘Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun)’. You can find that story here. Manchán and I signed off our podcast chat looking forward to meeting, given the various threads emerging at the time, including tracing more of my roots back to Ireland, and the connections between those roots and Aboriginal cultures and Country here - so a little slice of me cut away with the news too. But what a blessing to have had that yarn. Thanks Manchán for your fleeting but unforgettable presence in my life. And of course, for being so much more for so many more people all over the place. That, no doubt, will continue on. Right now, in fact. For here are the last 25 minutes or so of my conversation with Manchán from a couple of years ago. So much to love in just this small window. To listen to the full episode with Manchán, and find further links, head to episode 173. Recorded with thanks to the Derby Aboriginal Media Corporation, at 6DBY deadly Derby radio in the West Kimberley, on the heels of the Aboriginal Irish festival in Fremantle WA. Title image source. Chapters and transcripts. Music: The Blackbird (Irish Song Dance), by Ennis, Morrison and Muller (from Artlist). Thanks again for listening, and for supporting The RegenNarration. Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Just one final highlight from last year, before we kick off the new series. Well, it was actually from 2024, but an excerpt of it was played last year, when the latest book from 5x New York Times best-selling author and friend, Paul Hawken, was released - Carbon: The Book of Life. That 2024 episode and 2025 excerpt featured Paul doing a world premiere reading of the final passage of the book, in his sun-drenched garden in northern California. Today, the last minute of that reading, for your pure listening pleasure. If you’re inspired to listen to more, or to revisit the rest of our conversation, you’ll find it at episode 204. Title image: Paul in the garden (pic: Olivia Cheng) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Next up, the new series for 2026 ... Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Ok, just a couple more bite size highlights from last year. Well, this one was actually from a few years ago, but an excerpt of it was played last year - titled A Laugh, a Cry and a Touchstone Moment, featuring Tyson Yunkaporta. And indeed, this passage in particular might still be the most moving and funny of the entire podcast. Certainly, the opening gambit has continued to come up in conversation ever since. Tyson belongs to the Apalech Clan from Western Cape York in far north Queensland, with community/cultural ties all over Australia. He is the author multiple books, including Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. He’s also a poet and artist carving traditional tools and weapons, processes that were central to writing the book. If you’d like to hear or revisit our conversation in full, head to episode 70 – ‘Sand Talk: Indigenous thinking, saving the world & living creation’ (there are a bunch of links in those show notes too, and a very special photo from this conversation on that episode website). Title image: Tyson Yunkaporta (supplied) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode concludes with this incredibly special and personal group of episodes, from the heart of Mayan culture, Guatemala, Central America. This was actually the first series recorded in 2025, but took a lot more time to produce given the episodes released in both Spanish and English. And it was so worth it. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Salta Montes, by Migra (from Artlist) (eps 285-8) 0.21 - Patrik Mucía (ep 285 and in Spanish), at IMAP, by Lago de Atitlán 0.59 - Don Ceferino de Paz González (ep 286 and in Spanish), Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Alta Verapaz 1.24 - Cándido Reyes (ep 287 and in Spanish), La Nueva Libertad 1.40 - Aníbal de Paz (ep 288 and in Spanish), Lago Petén Itzá 2.06 - Regeneration, by Amelia Barden (theme music) 3.25 - Out-take with my translator in Baltimore, Dana Scott Title image: view of the nearby volcano from the tour at IMAP (pic: Olivia Cheng) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode continues, with some pinnacle moments from the huge week in Western Australia on our return home. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Oral McGuire (ep 279), Noongar leader, with possibly the quote of the Regenerative Food Systems conference, Perth Stadium WA 0.28 - My day's summary at that conference (ep 280), with Barefoot, by Mark Grundhoefer (from Artlist) 1.40 - Heidi Mippy (ep 281), Bridgetown WA (at the 2nd running of the Grounded Festival, and the 1st in WA, bringing home a huge week of events) 2.10 - Ian Haggerty (ep 282), also at Grounded Festival 2.33 - Rowdy, by The Lonely Ramblers (from Artlist) (ep 282) 2.42 - Matthew Evans (ep 283), heralding the final session of Grounded Title image: AJ, Heidi, Di & Ian Haggerty at Grounded (pic: Alan Benson) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode continues, with the final series recorded in the US, perhaps our most moving visit of all, at Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet Nation, with Long Time Charging Woman, Kim Paul, and colleague Andrew Berger. With an additional episode featuring a couple of filmmakers behind the documentary filmed on Blackfeet Nation, Bring Them Home. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Kim Paul (ep 276), Blackfeet Nation, Montana, with Flight of the Inner Bird, by Yehezkel Raz feat. Sivan Talmor (from Artlist) 0.51 - Andrew Berger (ep 277) 1.36 - Daniel Glick (ep 278), recorded in Denver, Colorado, alongside ... 1.59 - Melissa Grumhaus (ep 278) Title image: Andrew, Kim & AJ at Chief Mountain (pic: Olivia Cheng) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode continues, with a couple of West Australians spread across the state, one very famous, one should be. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Stuart McAlpine (ep 272), award-winning farmer from the WA wheatbelt, with his own track Country Cousin (ahead of a major regenerative food systems conference) 1.28 - Tim Winton (ep 275), regarded as the preeminent Australian writer of his time, in Fremantle for the launch of his new book Ningaloo: Australia's Wild Wonder Title image: Stuart on the farm (supplied) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode continues, with two of the most extraordinary ancient places and cultures we visited. And last stop with a legend and friend in California. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Dana Scott (ep 264 and 265), Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, with Chauen, by Angel Salazar (from Artlist). 1.38 - Xavier Michael Young (ep 268), Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, Wyoming 2.23 - Jason Baldes (ep 269), Initiative Director 2.59 - Paul Hawken (ep 270), California Title image: Buffalo kin at the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative (pic: Anthony James) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode continues, with the trinity of episodes (and bonus extra) from the Osage Nation in current day Oklahoma. It was an exceptional opportunity to speak with the Chief, featuring a powerful exchange capped by some funny anecdotes (one of each is in this clip). And Jann's breathtaking music accompanies the lot here, played on the Grand Piano of her ancestors relating back to the time depicted in the blockbuster movie Killers of the Flower Moon. All thanks to local filmmaker and friend, Nicol Ragland. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Nicol Ragland (ep 261), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (introducing the series) 0.46 - Piano piece played by Dr Jann Hayman (from ep 263) 1.32 - Chief Standing Bear (ep 262) 2.26 - Dr Jann Hayman (ep 263), Secretary of Natural Resources for the Osage Nation 3.50 - Dawn Wormington (ep 263 bonus) (with a funny tale from the filming of Killers of the Flower Moon) Title image: Chief Standing Bear (supplied) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode continues, with two of the guests with the greatest soundscapes of the year. I just love the sound and spirit of African American elder, Lorenzo Washington, captured in this clip. And the clip from Christopher, with one of the great urban restoration stories, became somewhat of a catch phrase for our American journey - like stepping through a portal. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Lorenzo Washington (ep 259), Nashville, Tennessee, with Jefferson St tribute by Nashville’s Queen of the Blues, Marion James. 1.15 - Christopher Brown (ep 260), East Austin, Texas Title image: Lorenzo outside the Jefferson Street Sound Museum (aka his house!) (pic: Olivia Cheng) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome back to our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode. These were a few of the best community-generated stories of the year, strongly among the listener favourites. I love this particular mini-highlight reel - the way the music plays off what these folk have to say, culminating in Jenny treating us to an impromptu rendition of an old Irish hymn. Unforgettable. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing: 0m - Cathy McGowan (ep 254), with Sal Kimber doing a famous cover 0.33 - Dr Blake Scott (ep 256), for The MARSH (Marsh Appreciation and Restoration Society for Happiness) Project, Charleston, South Carolina 1.07 - Galaxy Groove, by Yarin Primak (from Artlist) (ep 256) 1.16 - Joel Caldwell, alongside Blake Scott (ep 256) 1.48 - Jenny Finn (ep 257), Floyd, Virginia 2.13 - Jenny sings an old Irish hymn Title image: Joel Caldwell and Dr Blake Scott on the clean up beat (pic: Anthony James) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode continues, with these snippets from ep 252, the most popular episode of the year. 0m - Patrick MacManaway, in Burlington, Vermont 0.41 - Hours, by Patrick Sebag (from Artlist). 1.19 - Patrick MacManaway plays the penny whistle Title image: Patrick on-location in his home town of Burlington, Vermont, USA. To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome back to our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode. Today you're hearing Dan Kittredge, in excited revelation, then song, from Michigan. And a little from me celebrating episode 250, down the road in Maryland. Love it when guests take off with the closing tune. Dan Kittredge, exhibit A in 2025. (Should have got him to sing at the end of the year too, on the Grounded Festival episodes.) Title image: Dan Kittredge (supplied) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome back to our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing today: 0m - AJ on the legendary Mongabay Newscast podcast with Mike DiGirolamo (ep 248) 0.35 - Damon Gameau (ep 249), leading into We are the Kids, by Bunny Racket, drawn from a great moment in the film Future Council (also one of my personal favourite curatorial moments in the year's highlights package) Title image: The Future Council with Damon Gameau To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome back to our curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up episode. Here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing, from ep 247: 0m - Introducing the new year of episodes, from Antigua, Guatemala 0.18 - Matthew Evans, leading into the spectacular 'My Mother, The Mountain', by Claire Anne Taylor 2.31 - Sadie Chrestman. Title image: Matthew and Sadie (supplied) To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast! Chapter markers Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome to 2026, with a curtain-raiser series of bite size highlights drawn from the 2025 wrap up. 2025 started with a summer series featuring nine episodes I produced a few years ago for The RegenNarration spin-off podcast Clean State, focused on regenerative transitions in my home state of Western Australia. That series included previously unheard conversations and still has plenty of currency. Here's how I previewed it a year ago in ep 236. And here are the voices, places and tunes you're hearing today: 0m - Chantal Caruso (ep 237), with Eden is Lost, by Selfless Orchestra 0.39 - Dr Gary Kendrick (ep 238) 0.50 - Dr Vanessa Rauland (ep 239) 1.10 - Shannon Leigh (ep 240) 1.28 - Dale Tilbrook (ep 241) 1.43 - Stephen King (ep 242) 2.07 - Cindy Stevens (with husband Simon Wallwork) (ep 243) 2.36 - A little Station ID (ep 244), with A Forests Dream, by Cloudjumper (from Free Music Archive), for the ep with Jess Beckerling, now a WA MP 2.55 - Clinton Walker in language (ep 245), of Murujuga in WA (awarded World Heritage status last year) 3.26 - Clinton Walker in English (ep 245), with Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp. To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos), or wherever you get your podcasts. With thanks to our guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. Title image: Clinton Walker at Murujuga (from his website). Chapter markers. Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

What an incredible year. There was certainly dark stuff, but if you were ever in doubt there was plenty to revel in, welcome to the highlights from a unique and far-reaching year on the podcast. You’ll hear highlight selections from our guests throughout 2025, accompanied by some of the music they often played or sung themselves, and the sounds of Country as we travelled across multiple continents, countries and languages. This year featured a record 54 episodes, 4 with bilingual editions, and over a dozen bonus extras and vignettes. Most episodes were conversations, with 5 panels too, 1 documentary style production, 1 fan mail episode and this highlights reel. There were 67 guests, around half Aussie and half international, almost all of them on-location, just under a quarter First Nations, and from all walks of life. Once again listening to it all in one place today has been incredible. I hope you enjoy it too. And I hope you’ve enjoyed the podcast as a whole this year. As another year ends, huge thanks to all you generous subscribers and other supporting listeners, for making it possible. I’ll continue my shout outs, exclusives and other bonus bits next year, and as we enter the podcast’s 10th year, I’ll reach out with a few new things too. Thanks also for your wonderful correspondence this year. And to everyone who sheltered, fed and generally cared for us throughout the year, around Australia, Guatemala and the States, thank you. With enormous thanks also, to all the wonderful musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here. And finally, thanks so much for listening. The track list for this episode, identifying the people, places and tunes, is in the chapter list. Chapter markers. Title image: Glacier National Park, on Blackfeet Nation, northern Montana USA (pic: Anthony James). Find more: To access the full catalogue of episodes, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode) or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks again for listening, have a wonderful festive season and see you in 2026! Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

NOTE: This version of this week’s episode is in Spanish. You'll find the English translated version in your podcast feed too. Aníbal de Paz era un joven en Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, cuando yo era joven y vivía allí a principios del siglo. Había nacido en la guerra de los años 80, se convirtió en un mensajero para la resistencia de niño, era adolescente cuando se firmaron los Acuerdos de Paz en 1996, y unos años después, cuando nos conocimos y nos hicimos amigos, fue chófer y confidente de su padre, Don Ceferino de Paz González, mi invitado en el episodio 286, cuando asumió la alcaldía. Aníbal posee una presencia de sabiduría adquirida con esfuerzo, fruto de una vida única, con un prominente padre Maya Achí y una madre discretamente formidable. El habla con una sensibilidad poética también. Todo esto se hace aún más evidente, ya que acabábamos de pasar el día en la antigua ciudad Maya de Tikal, a unos 300 km o 6 horas en coche al noreste de Fray, junto con la esposa de Aníbal, la Q'eqchí Josefina Choc Tiul, y sus maravillosas hijas. Era la primera visita de las niñas. Al final de un día agotador, nuestras familias se acostaron, mientras el y yo salíamos para tener una última conversación antes de despedirnos. Ellos debían regresar a Fray antes del amanecer. Están a punto de escuchar un perfil profundamente sentido y observado de una vida, un país y, en muchos sentidos, una dinámica global que muchos de nosotros estamos sintiendo con mayor intensidad estos días. Es abierto y real, esperanzador e instructivo, sobre el poder, las decisiones de vida o muerte, y cómo afrontar los cambios generacionales en tiempos como estos. Es un privilegio haber sido una parte en la historia de Aníbal, y a compartir esto con ustedes ahora. Grabado al Lago Petén Itzá, el 18 de enero de 2025. Gracias a Dana ‘Patricio’ Scott por traducir esto para la versión en inglés. Foto principal: Aníbal y la lancha en la cual hablábamos. Vea más fotos en la página web del episodio y, para ver más del detrás de cámaras, conviértase en oyente colaborador a continuación. Música: Salta Montes, de Migra (fuente: Artlist). Regeneration, de Amelia Barden. The RegenNarration playlist. Send us a text Support the show The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!