Episode 99

Written By Michaela Carlin
 
 
 
 

In this week’s episode, Bayo Akomolafe joins Michaela Carlin to explore how the intricate relationship between humanity and the more-than-human world reveals that we are not the centers of existence but interconnected participants in a vast ecosystem.

Challenging conventional dualistic thinking, Bayo urges a shift towards recognizing our entanglement with the world around us. He emphasizes that the urgency of our times stems from deeper relational crises, where our responses to climate collapse and social injustices often reflect a misunderstanding of our place within this interconnected web.

The conversation delves into Bayo’s concept of “cracks” in our understanding—opportunities that invite new perspectives and growth. Within this dynamic exchange, Bayo cautions against reducing plant medicines to mere tools for personal gain and shares intimate anecdotes about parenting his neurodivergent son, illustrating how chaos can lead to transformative insights.

Bayo encourages us to rethink concepts of failure and success, suggesting that by cultivating spaces for reflection we can embrace a more holistic understanding of existence—one that acknowledges the beauty and complexity of being part of a living world.

Bayo Akomolafe (Ph.D.), rooted with the Yoruba people in a more-than-human world, is the father to Alethea and Kyah, the grateful life-partner to Ije, son and brother. A widely celebrated international speaker, posthumanist thinker, poet, teacher, public intellectual, essayist, and author of two books, ‘These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity's Search for Home’ (North Atlantic Books) and ‘We Will Tell our Own Story: The Lions of Africa Speak’, Bayo Akomolafe is the Visionary Founder of The Emergence Network and host of the online postactivist course, ‘We Will dance with Mountains’.

Episode Highlights

  • Exploring the concept of the "more than human world" and our place within it  

  • Bayo reflects on his upbringing in a dualistic world and the journey towards non-dual thinking  

  • The urgency of our times and how our responses can perpetuate deeper crises  

  • The importance of rethinking our relationships with each other and the world amidst modern challenges  

  • Sneaking through the “cracks” as a metaphor for exploring new perceptions and experiences  

  • Cracks as opportunities for transformation rather than mere solutions to problems  

  • The tension between solutions and cracks, emphasizing the need for experimental approaches  

  • The modern Western extraction and commercialization of indigenous plant medicines  

  • Bayo shares thoughts on cultural appropriation versus genuine engagement with earth medicines  

  • The haunting presence of stolen artifacts in museums and their restless energy as a decolonization narrative  

  • Understanding how we are shaped by the tools we use

  • The interplay between free will and determinism, questioning our agency in a complex world  

  • The idea of co-emergence as a bridge between free will and determinism in understanding creativity  

  • Rewilding as an invitation to challenge domesticated perceptions and reconnect with the world  

  • “Staying with trouble” as an essential practice in embracing chaos and uncertainty  

  • Failure as a socially constructed concept influenced by cultural narratives  

  • Embracing creativity through playfulness, allowing art to emerge without rigid expectations  

  • Parenting a neurodivergent child as a profound learning experience in embracing chaos  

  • Bayo reflects on his son's unique perspective, encouraging a politics of the seemingly useless  

  • Closing thoughts on the beauty of embracing uncertainty 

Bayo Akomolafe’s Links 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

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Special thanks to Jeremy Colbert (Taragápe) for the original podcast theme music.

You can find out more about Jeremey’s work here:
taragape.com and @taragape

Michaela Carlin
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