The Nature Of with Willow Defebaugh

What does it cost to truly document the natural world, and why do some people keep returning even when the risk is real? In this episode of The Nature Of, Willow sits down with renowned conservation photographers Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, whose lives and love story have unfolded at the edge of danger, from plane crashes and near-drownings to an encounter with a whale that nearly turned fatal. Together, they reflect on what it means to document the natural world with intimacy rather than distance, and why storytelling, vulnerability, and reverence are essential tools in the fight for our planet. This is a conversation about risk, devotion, and hope, about falling in love with each other, with the ocean, and with a living world worth protecting.Cristina Mittermeier Reflects on Her Life Underwater: https://atmos.earth/science-and-nature/cristina-mittermeier-ocean-conservation/60 Seconds On Earth with Cristina Mittermeier: https://atmos.earth/art-and-culture/60-seconds-on-earth-with-cristina-mittermeier/Behind the Lens: https://atmos.earth/art-and-culture/behind-the-shot-nature-photography/Thin Ice: https://atmos.earth/climate-solutions/antarctica-conservation-campaign/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week’s episode of The Nature Of, Willow sits down with Robin Wall Kimmerer, beloved scientist, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. They explore the shift from learning about to learning from nature, understanding that the land loves us back, and her new initiative Plant Baby Plant. Robin invites us to step back into belonging, and to see the natural world not as something separate from us, but as a generous teacher offering guidance every single day. This conversation is full of wonder and clarity, and it just might change the way you walk outside.On Embracing the More-Than-Human Through Law and Language: https://atmos.earth/ecological-wisdom/embracing-the-more-than-human-through-law-and-language/On Why The World Needs Spiritual Ecology: https://atmos.earth/ecological-wisdom/why-the-world-needs-spiritual-ecology/Find out more about Plant Baby Plant: https://plantbabyplant.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, host Willow Defebaugh is joined by renowned climate scientist and writer Kate Marvel for a conversation about her book, Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet. With poetic insight and scientific precision, Marvel reframes climate change not just as a planetary emergency, but as an emotional experience, one that demands our full humanity. Together, they explore how feelings like wonder, anger, grief, and love can become tools for engagement rather than paralysis, and what it means to hold both scientific truth and emotional complexity in a time of profound transformation.For more about Kate Marvel and her book Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet: https://www.marvelclimate.com/On Climate Science: https://atmos.earth/ecological-wisdom/the-emotional-whiplash-of-a-climate-scientist/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How can we alchemize pain into possibility? In this episode, Willow is joined by bestselling author, artist, and three-time cancer survivor Suleika Jaouad to explore the nature of imagination as a tool to help us navigate life’s most impossible moments.Through the lens of her new book, The Book of Alchemy, Suleika shares how creativity became her lifeline during her years of treatment: not just a means of expression, but a vital practice of presence, transformation, and survival. Together, they explore imagination as a force that allows us to find our way through uncertainty and re-enchant ourselves with the everyday.For more about Suleika Jaouad: suleikajaouad.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How can the way we cultivate relationships with one another offer insight into healing our fractured relationship with nature? In this episode, Willow is joined by renowned psychotherapist and bestselling author Esther Perel, whose work has reshaped how we understand intimacy, communication, and belonging in the modern world. They explore the intersections between human and ecological connection, and the epidemic of loneliness that so many are experiencing today. From the importance of relational intelligence to the role of desire in deepening our bonds, this episode unpacks how embracing the complexity of relationships—whether with people or the planet—can lead to greater resilience, reciprocity, and renewal. On loneliness and curiosity: https://www.estherperel.com/blog/letters-from-esther-54-curiosity-is-a-balm-for-lonelinessOn mutualism: https://atmos.earth/overview-mutualism-symbiosis-deep-ecology/On queerness in nature: https://atmos.earth/overview-nature-and-queerness-lets-talk-about-sex/On mating behaviors: https://atmos.earth/overview-relationships-mating-games/To see a transcript of this episode: https://atmos.earth/podcast/esther-perel-on-the-nature-of-connection-and-modern-loneliness-ep-1/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if the rupture of these tumultuous times is not an ending, but an opening? In this episode, Willow speaks with Bayo Akomolafe, philosopher, poet, and thinker whose work challenges us to step beyond binaries and into the fertile, unpredictable space of emergence. They dig into how transformation doesn’t come from rigid certainty or oppositional thinking, but from the cracks—where new possibilities take root. Nature does not resolve tension; it composts it, making way for something unexpected to arise. Bayo invites us to see the turbulence of our moment not as a problem to be solved, but as an invitation to step out of fixed ways of being and embrace the "third way"—the space between and beyond, where new ways of relating, knowing, and becoming can unfold.For more about Bayo Akomolafe: https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/On How to Make Sanctuary in Times of Loss: https://atmos.earth/political-landscapes/bayo-akomolafe-on-how-to-make-sanctuary-in-times-of-loss/On Slowing Down in Urgent Times: https://atmos.earth/ecological-wisdom/dr-bayo-akomolafe-on-slowing-down-in-urgent-times/To see a transcript of this episode: https://atmos.earth/podcast/bayo-akomolafe-on-the-nature-of-possibility-in-uncertain-times/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we explore the nature of food as a profound act of care—with the power to transform not only our health and the planet, but the very systems we live within. Maggie Baird, longtime activist, founder of Support + Feed, and mother of artists Billie Eilish and Finneas, joins Willow for a conversation rooted in compassion for humans, animals, and the Earth. From her early awakening to animal welfare to her family’s shared commitment to cultural and climate transformation, Maggie shares how plant-based food offers a hopeful path forward. Willow and Maggie discuss the myths that persist around veganism, the spiritual cost of industrial agriculture, and how joy and justice can help flavor the way we eat—for good.For more about Maggie Bair and Support + Feed: https://supportandfeed.org/about-us/To see a transcript of this episode: https://atmos.earth/podcast/maggie-baird-on-the-nature-of-food-as-an-act-of-compassion/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.