Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature

Since time immemorial, storytellers have held an exalted role in human societies, because stories illustrate parables that help us make sense of the world and survive. In this episode, we hitch a ride with comedian, writer, futurist, technologist, and storyteller Baratunde Thurston. At this perilous existential threshold that will determine the fate of the human experiment, he knows that the story of the battle is equally the battle of the story. This is an episode of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature series. Visit the ⁠radio and podcast homepage⁠ to learn more. Featuring Baratunde Thurston, a writer, communicator, and creator and host of the How To Citizen podcast, is also a founding partner and writer at Puck. His newest creation is Life With Machines, a YouTube podcast focusing on the human side of the A.I. revolution. Author of the bestselling comedic memoir, How To Be Black, Baratunde also serves on the boards of Civics Unplugged and the Brooklyn Public Library and lives in Southern California. Credits: Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel Written by: Kenny Ausubel Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch Associate Producer: Emily Harris Producer: Teo Grossman Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey Graphic Design: Megan Howe Resources Baratunde Thurston – From Me to We, A Story of Interdependence | Bioneers 2025 Keynote Baratunde Thurston Closes Out Bioneers 2025

The late world-renowned feminist, writer and change-maker Gloria Steinem connects the dots among disparate social movements to reveal the common patterns of oppression that underlie them all. From gender and race to democracy and universal spirituality, she applies her razor intellect, compassionate heart and nuanced eye to weave a unifying vision of a richly human and humane world where all people are valued for their uniqueness and full humanity – neither treated as property, nor defined by labels or stereotypes. This is an episode of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature series. Visit the ⁠radio and podcast homepage⁠ to learn more.

Globally, women experience some of the harshest challenges in wartime and the climate crisis while simultaneously remaining caretakers to their families, communities, and the Earth. Zainab Salbi is a humanitarian, author and media host who has dedicated her life to empowering women on the frontlines in conflict zones and climate crisis zones. Her vision is that the fate of humanity depends on elevating feminine leadership that offers a model for a new way of being – for both women and men. Featuring: Zainab Salbi is a celebrated humanitarian, author, and journalist, co-founder of ⁠DaughtersforEarth.org⁠, “Chief Awareness Officer” at ⁠FindCenter.com⁠, host of the ⁠Redefined⁠ podcast, and founder of ⁠Women for Women International⁠. The author of several books, including the bestseller, ⁠Between Two Worlds⁠ and, most recently, ⁠Freedom Is an Inside Job⁠, she is also the creator and host of several TV shows, including ⁠#MeToo, Now What?⁠ on PBS. Resources ⁠Zainab Salbi – Daughters for Earth⁠ (video) | Bioneers 2022 Keynote ⁠Daughters for Earth: Women and the Climate Change Movement⁠ (video) | Bioneers 2022 Panel This is an episode of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature series. For more info on Zainab Salbi and show notes, ⁠please visit our radio page⁠.

We present a profound conversation on the Indigenous Roots of American Democracy that puts women at the center. The vision for U.S. democracy drew largely from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the longest-standing democracy in world history. Women are central to the Great Law of Peace and Governance within the Haudenosaunee, whose federalist structure values peace, justice, and collective wellbeing. The Constitutional phrase “We the People” was drawn directly from Haudenosaunee philosophy.  This conversation took place at the Indigenous Forum during the 2026 Bioneers Conference and features revered contemporary leaders, author-activists, elders, and clan mothers who speak to the themes of governance rooted in peace, matrilineal values, women's leadership, and wisdom from their own life's work and activism.

In this episode, Indigenous scholar and organizer Nick Estes explores how Indigenous land-based and Earth-centered societies are advancing regenerative solutions and campaigns to transform capitalism. “Eco-nomics” puts Indigenous leadership at the forefront of assuring a habitable planet. Nick Estes, Ph.D. (Kul Wicasa/Lower Brule Sioux), is a Professor at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Oak Lake Writers Society, a group of Dakota, Nakota and Lakota writers. In 2014, he was a co-founder of The Red Nation in Albuquerque, NM, an organization dedicated to the liberation of Native people from capitalism and colonialism. He serves on its editorial collective and writes its bi-weekly newsletter. Nick Estes is also the author of: Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance. Credits Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel Written by: Kenny Ausubel Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch Program Engineer and Music Supervisor: Emily Harris Producer: Teo Grossman Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey Production Assistance: Anna Rubanova