Wild with Sarah Wilson

Dr Michael E. Mann (super notorious climate scientist; El Niño expert) is a Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (and more such academic titles). But he is best known for bringing the world the “hockey-stick graph” back in 1999, which showed a sharp “uptick” in global temperatures since the industrial age and signalled to the world “humans did it!”.This conversation, however, goes to a new chapter in the climate fight. We cover two doozies: the role of Russian interference in the Australian carbon pricing fight and the terrifying El Niño event set to hit as early as July. I also push Michael to be honest - does he have hope, or is it a professional front…Michael is touring Australia with Think Inc. in May/June 2023Pre-Order a copy of Michael’s book The Climate War hereIf you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious LifeLet’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most

Margaret Atwood is best known for her mega-bestselling dystopian fiction, including the Booker Prize-winning novels “The Blind Assassin” and “The Testaments”, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and, most recently, the essay collection “Burning Questions”. The Canadian firebrand imagines future societies, specifically the worst scenarios in these future societies, worlds of genetic modification, pharmaceutical and corporate control, human-made disasters and theocracies where women’s bodies are controlled by capitalist overlords. And this is the thing – her dark fantasies have a horrifying habit of coming true, Exhibit A: “The Handmaid’s Tale”, a portent for the new abortion laws in the US, the erosion of American democracy, even the January 6 insurrection.However, at age 83 Margaret, dubbed “the prophet of dystopia”, is turning her vibrancy and wild care to creating… utopias. Or rather, she is trying to find a way to save the world via an online program where participants work with experts to develop solutions to all the wicked problems we’ve created. Today we discuss how the subordination of women and theocracies follow particular economic cycles, why she’s not quitting Twitter (yet) and what hope will need to look like. We mention Rebecca Solnit’s book Hope in the Dark and Paul Hawken's book Drawdown, as well as Martha Gellhorn: A LifeFollow Margaret on SubstackCheck out Practical Utopias here

Helen Lewis (internet famous for her GQ interview with Jordan Peterson, pop culture expert) is a British journalist, BBC broadcaster and currently a staff writer for Atlantic magazine. Her work covers the rise of TikTok tics in teenagers, Harry-and-Meghan, Andrew Tate, the absurdities of US and UK politics…you know, all the chunky bits of life in 2023. She also wrote the best bestseller Difficult Women, A History of Feminism in 11 Fights and just released the BBC podcast series The New Gurus. However, Helen is probably best known for her 2018 GQ interview with Jordan Peterson, the controversial Canadian psychologist and messiah of the manosphere (the video version has been viewed 60 million times).My conversation with Helen was fast and intense and we cover the IDW, Andrew Tate (she declined an invitation to debate him), tactics for arguing with Galaxy Brains and why we don’t use pronouns in our bios. This episode is extra-long because Helen’s riff is that good.**BONUS ** Join Helen and I over at my Substack, (this is precious) as we talk through our tips for remaining sane amid the noise – a productivity tip, a writing tip, two podcasts, two Substack follows, the book to read and the journalist to follow. Available only on Substack, Friday 3rd March.Subscribe to Helen’s Substack The Bluestocking – it's a good place to follow her writing and projectsThe New Gurus series can be downloaded here

Rebecca Giblin (author Chokepoint Capitalism, media academic) joins me to explain how the Big Tech squillionaires are choking creatives – musicians, authors, screenwriters etc – and their customers. And in so doing, killing culture. Hmmm….Rebecca is a Melbourne Law School professor specialising in creators’ rights and the director of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia. Her new book Chokepoint Capitalism (co-written with LA-based bestselling science fiction writer and Boing Boing website owner Cory Doctorow) was awarded a Financial Times' “best books of 2022” gong and is one the most talked about polemics doing the podcast rounds.In this chat, we discuss the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster debacle, “chickenization” (how the lock-in tactics used by Monsanto are now applied to live music), whether Spotify playlists are part of the problem, and what we can all do to win back culture again! A must-listen for creatives, music lovers, concert-goers.Chokepoint Capitalism by Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow is out now.Follow Rebecca on Twitter. She does good twit!If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most

Nick Riggle (Ex-pro skater, philosophy professor at the University of California, YOLO expert) has become known for dissecting contemporary phenomena in a distinctly Socratic manner.In this chat, we delve into the philosophical significance of awesomeness (and its antonym, suckiness), the existential imperative of YOLO (!) and the aetiology of the high five. Nick’s theses on these cliched expressions ultimately lead to a wonderfully wild answer to the quandary of what makes life worth living in such a fraught era. To flesh it all out we draw on sporting analogies, the poetry of Mary Oliver and each other’s really rather near-death experiences. We mention philosopher Kieran Setiya, here you can listen to Kieran’s Wild episode featuring his take on how to love living a hard life.You can read more about Nick via his website and follow him on TwitterNicks books can be purchased via the below links:On Being Awesome This Beauty: A Philosophy of Being Alive If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most

Dr Simon Longstaff (Philosopher, Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre) is one of Australia’s most ethical thinkers. He mindfully stokes the national debate on cancel culture, corporate conduct, mask-wearing and psychedelic drugs (via his role as chair of Mind Medicine Australia). Simon guides contemporary moral thinking as the ethics commissioner for Cricket Australia, the executive director of The Ethics Centre, which advises corporates on how to make better decisions, and as a fellow of CPA Australia, the World Economic Forum and…oh, the list goes on. Simon also co-founded the contentious Festival of Dangerous Ideas!In this wonderful conversation we discuss his harrowing childhood experience with an ethical decision made by his mother and how it shaped his moral journey, how to counter “Free Speech at All Costs” evangelists and whether it’s ethical to quit Twitter... and much more!If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" pageSubscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversationGet your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the mostSimon mentions 10 videos to help you navigate ethical quandaries…you’ll find them hereYou can join The Ethics Centre community hereLearn more about the Festival of Dangerous IdeasSimon also recommends Ethi-Call. You can call for free ethical advice here