Get ready for a great episode on wild plants and the thrill of discovery that is foraging! Ellen Zachos is the author of the new book The Forager’s Pantry as well as several other titles like The Wildcrafted Cocktail, and Backyard Foraging, 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat. Ellen’s a wealth of knowledge on botany and foraging, but she also happens to be a great conversationalist too, which makes this a very upbeat and inspirational interview. Ellen and Daniel discuss the forager's pantry, foraging vs. gardening, Ellen's #1 tip to get started in plant identification, the plants they're both interested in finding and working with this season, and much more. You'll walk away from this conversation with a renewed sense of botanical purpose!
Read MoreArthur Haines, a recurring guest of the WildFed Podcast and TV show, is back today, and he’s here to talk about hunter attitudes and relationships to animals and the landscape, and how that influences the non-hunting public's perception of hunting as a lifestyle. Hunting is a tremendous responsibility, especially today when such a small part of the public participates. The way we hunt, talk about hunting, write and post about it, and behave on and off of wild landscapes all influences how hunting is perceived and, therefore, how it will be — or won’t be — carried into the future world. This is part of an ongoing conversation that Arthur and Daniel have been having for a while personally, and they wanted to share some of that with you today.
In this episode, Daniel and Arthur also catch up on a lot of other topics, like their Maple syrup seasons, their recent hog hunts, Arthur's experience at Buffalo Bridge (a program that assists North American indigenous bison hunters with their processing efforts after their harvests), and the story of a Moose hunt Arthur guided last season in Maine. Enjoy!
Read MoreWell, you’ve heard the buzz... maybe on the news, maybe in your social media feed, or if you live anywhere near Brood X, you’ve no doubt heard it in the trees these last few weeks! That’s right, it’s the return of the largest brood of 17 year cicadas — Brood X — and they're out in the billions, maybe even the trillions!
Here at WildFed, we're entomophagists — meaning we eat bugs — not entomologists — meaning those who study them. After a tasty meal of 17-year-old insects, we enlisted the help of Dr. Jonathan Larson, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky to bring us — and by extension you —up to speed on the incredible, bizarre, and uniquely American phenomenon of periodical cicada emergence. Meet us at the intersection of insect science and adventure gastronomy for a fascinating episode!
Read MoreThere are few things in life as important to humanity as salt. It’s been a strong force shaping historical events, and it will likely shape many future events too. At WildFed, we have a strong interest in natural salts — whole, unrefined sea salt in particular — so we were excited when Lauren and Cathy from Slack Tide in York, Maine invited us over to see how they produce their small-batch pure sea salt. Just before recording this interview, we boated from their headquarters on the York river out into the open ocean to gather some sea water and brought it back to start the salt making process. Then we sat down over a glass of Lambrusco and did a salt tasting as we recorded. Enjoy our conversation, and remember to stay salty!
Read MoreLuke Storey — host of The Life Stylist Podcast — joins us to share a "first hunt" story like you've never heard before. Luke and Daniel have been friends for over a decade, originally connecting in the health and nutrition space. Luke recently went on his first hog hunt in Texas, as part of a weekend with past podcast guest Mansal Denton of Sacred Hunting, and this interview centers around his experience. Not just any hog hunt — this hunt was book ended by ceremony, entheogenic medicine, and a particularly deep and nuanced reflection on what it means to hunt, kill, and eat your quarry. We promise — you’ve never heard someone break down their first hunting experience with so much subtlety and emotional intelligence. This episode is not to be missed!
Read MoreMike Kimmel aka the Python Cowboy lives and works on the front lines of the Florida invasion of non-native species like pythons, iguanas, Muscovy ducks and many others. Cowboy is a great description for Mike as he's a bit of a renegade who enjoys the adrenalized rush of capturing dangerous exotic critters. He’s also a conservationist who is passionate about his role in removing these species from the landscape to give native species much-needed time to recalibrate to the biological novelty in their new world. In this episode, Mike gives us the rundown on the invasive species issue in Florida — the python invasion, in particular — and gives us a glimpse into his exciting and impactful work.
Read More"Humanity is more comfortable but less happy and healthy than we've ever been before," says today's podcast guest Michael Easter — author of the new book The Comfort Crisis, Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. On assignment for Men’s Health Magazine, Michael went on a trip following the modern hunter and filmmaker Donnie Vincent on a hunt to the arctic. That trip changed the trajectory of Michael’s life, and led to him writing The Comfort Crisis. In this fantastic interview, he shares about the impact of this hunt, along with some really valuable takeaways, like how we can approach discomfort, how we relate to death, and how our own success can sometimes — if we aren’t careful — be our undoing. So, take this one to heart. With so many voices out there suggesting we take the easy road, sometimes we need a reminder the easy way isn’t always — if ever — the fulfilling one.
Read MoreIt’s always great to catch up with friends and colleagues, especially when that friend is our returning guest Lori McCarthy of Newfoundland, Canada. Lori is one of Canada’s most celebrated wild food enthusiasts, the creator of Cod Sounds — a cultural education and culinary excursion company — the author of the upcoming book Food Culture Place and the host of a new television series called The East Coast Forager. Lori and Daniel chat about the many benefits of rural and self-sufficient living, the controversial seal hunt, Lori's very first upcoming bear hunt, stories of "the good old days" and the importance of keeping the rich cultural heritage of Newfoundland alive.
Read MoreIn this episode, we chat with Danny Christensen aka the Urban Huntsman about the future of hunting and what it's like to be a hunter in Europe. Originally from Denmark, Danny launched the Urban Huntsman project while living in New York City, and is now residing in Italy — so, he has a pretty unique and comprehensive understanding of the dramatically different modern hunting systems in the United States and Europe. He shares his perspectives and experiences hunting in both places, which are fascinating and highlight how things could change here in North America if we don’t participate in and protect the incredible North American conservation model. Enjoy, and take his advice to heart!
Read MoreDoug Duren — passionate hunter, farmer, land manager and conservationist — is a national voice in the conservation movement, and in particular, in the conversation around Chronic Wasting Disease in the North American deer herd. His guiding principle is simple: It's not ours, it's just our turn. We cover a lot of ground in this interview — from the impacts of big ag on the wild game we harvest to getting new hunters access to good hunting grounds, how chronic wasting disease is changing the hunting space and what we can do about it, and, ultimately, what it really means to be stewards of the landscapes we care for during our short visit here on earth.
Read MoreWe're doing something a little different this episode — Dr. Matt Dawson of the Wild Health Podcast will be interviewing Daniel! Get a behind-the-scenes look into the philosophy that informs this show as Daniel takes us back to the very beginning of his health and wellness journey. He shares about his transition from strict veganism to a natural human diet and what his diet looks like today. He also discusses one of the main pillars of what it means to be WildFed — developing meaningful relationship with species and how important this is to fostering ecological awareness and stewardship. Enjoy!
Read MoreDr. Matt Dawson is a physician and the founder and CEO of Wild Health, a genomics-based precision medicine company. If you live a nature-immersed lifestyle, you've likely felt the physical and mental benefits of this firsthand. Matt is here to share how he integrates nature immersion into his genetic medicine practice and the scientific results he's seeing from prescribing this lifestyle to his patients. Daniel and Matt have a thoughtful discussion on bringing mindfulness and intention to what you do, why your DNA is not your destiny, and how you can improve your vitality with a personalized and nature-based approach to your health.
Read MoreBlack bears are elusive and often very timid around humans. But occasionally, they aren’t. Black bears sometimes attack, and when they do, the attack is usually of a very different nature than the more common brown bear attack. When black bears attack, they’ve most often decided you are on the menu — and this requires a very different approach to how you handle an attack, and really, how you think of black bears in general. Now, it’s rare… but that said, it’s actually far more common than you think. Today's guest Carl Semencic has written a book called Encounter, which deals with just this topic. In this interview, he shares a handful of accounts that might give you a more realistic appreciation of these beautiful, powerful, and sometimes predatory animals.
Read MoreTyler Sharp — CEO & Editor in Chief of Modern Huntsman — joins us for a fascinating conversation on his time in Africa, his thoughts on the rebranding of modern hunting, and how we can take control of the hunting narrative before we lose it forever. Tyler shares about his immersive experiences living and hunting in the African bush that were formative to his balanced outlook on modern hunting culture, and we also get to dig in on one of the most controversial hunts on earth — the African elephant. Tyler is passionate about elevating the hunting narrative, and we discuss his thoughts on the North American model of conservation, the hunter's paradox, and how we can make hunting more inclusive for all who want to participate.
Read MoreDr. Karl Malcolm is an ecologist and hunter who leads the Renewable Resources department for the Eastern Region of the US Forest Service. With his inclusive, boundary-pushing, and thoughtful ethos on conservation, he's a model of the hunter/conservationist of the future. In this episode, Karl shares about his experiences working with Moon Bears in China and the contrast between hunting and conservation here versus there. We also discuss his fresh perspectives on bringing other stakeholders outside of the hunting and angling community into the conservation funding model and how we can build bridges between hunters and non-hunters. Karl encourages us to push the conservation conversation into a new arena, and this thought-provoking interview will give you a lot to think about!
Read MoreIn today's episode, our host Daniel Vitalis shares an incredible experience he had fishing for a blacktip shark in the Florida Keys. Despite strong, well-managed populations here in the US, fishing for sharks has become somewhat controversial — largely due to unregulated and unethical practices in other parts of the world — and Daniel's story leads this episode into a much bigger conversation about the complexities of fisheries, regulations, hunting predators and the emotional charge around charismatic species, and the future of hunting and fishing in the US. Enjoy!
Read MoreToday's guest is Dr. Susan Crockford — zoologist, author, and the polar bear expert that’s rocking the boat on the climate change narrative that these bears have become — through very manipulated data and media talking points — enmeshed in. To be clear, this podcast isn’t countering the theory of climate change, but rather the way polar bears have been misused as the charismatic mega-faunal poster children for climate change. Susan is here to share her research and set the record straight on polar bears, what’s really going on with the arctic ice, and what can happen when you step out of line in the scientific community. This eye-opening interview is a must-listen!
Read MoreIn his book, The Fifth Beginning, archeologist and anthropologist Dr. Robert Kelly proposes a way of looking at the human saga that divides our history up into five distinct turning points — what he calls Beginnings — times of radical transition that fundamentally alter the way we live on the planet and with one another. In this conversation, Dr. Kelly walks us through the history of humanity, using the first four Beginnings as a framework that leads us to what he proposes is our current major stage of the human journey — the Fifth Beginning. This is a fascinating conversation, and we range across both time and geological space as we review human antiquity and speculate about our future too.
Read MoreBarb Barton — author of Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan, endangered species biologist, and leader of a local women's circle that teaches traditional wild food knowledge — joins us to share about wild rice, wild foods, and relationship to place from her unique perspective as someone with experience in both indigenous and modern approaches. Daniel and Barb discuss the history of wild rice, appreciating wild foods as gifts, the importance of restoring traditional knowledge, how speaking the English language vs North American indigenous languages can shape our worldview, and how to create ecological change on an individual level.
Read MoreIt's always a pleasure to have Arthur Haines — botanist, forager & Maine Guide — back on the show! In this episode, Daniel and Arthur go in-depth on maple syrup, maple trees, and their own home sugar bushes. An iconic wild food of the Northeast, maple syrup is an important staple in both Daniel and Arthur's homes. Tune in to gain an understanding of the process of harvesting maple syrup, its indigenous history, health benefits and nutrient profile, along with simple strategies for a beginner's maple sugaring set-up. If you're interested in getting started harvesting maple syrup, this conversation will give you invaluable insights from two seasoned harvesters to get you going this spring!
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