#763: Margaret Atwood and Boyd Varty

This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast
recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion
downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the
best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the
last decade. I could not be more excited.


The episode features segments from episode #573 "Margaret
Atwood — A Living Legend on Creative Process, The Handmaid’s
Tale, Being a Mercenary Child, Resisting Labels, the Poet Rug
Exchange, Liminal Beings, Burning Questions, Practical Utopias,
and More" and #571 "Boyd Varty — The Lion
Tracker’s Guide to Life."


Please enjoy!


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Timestamps:


[00:00] Start


[05:11] Notes about this supercombo format.


[06:14] Enter Margaret Atwood.


[06:48] What drives Margaret's ability to craft engaging
speculative fiction?


[10:52] The downsides of raising a family isolated in the woods.


[15:44] Factors that nudged young Margaret toward poetry.


[21:54] How limited options led Margaret to her current vocation.


[24:07] How long it took for writing to pay off, and its benefits
in the meantime.


[30:34] Life lessons learned by teaching.


[34:18] Enter Boyd Varty.


[34:42] Setting the scene.


[37:00] Origins of Londolozi Game Reserve and Boyd's childhood
influences.


[39:17] Why Boyd's family kept the seemingly useless property.


[41:23] Boyd's experiences with The White Knuckle Charter
Company.


[50:00] Transforming scrubland into a safari business with help
from Ken Tinley and Shangaan trackers.


[56:04] Shangaan trackers' lineage and wildlife trust in
Londolozi's caretakers.


[59:46] Renias Mhlongo's supreme tracking skills and work ethic.


[1:05:18] Hardest animals to track at Londolozi.


[1:08:30] Safety measures in Londolozi's unpredictable
environment.


[1:10:21] "I don't know where we're going, but I know exactly how
to get there." —Renias Mhlongo


[1:12:26] Boyd's tracking evolution: from childhood to trauma
recovery.


[1:30:30] Definition of Ubuntu.


[1:32:40] Boyd's 40-day tree-dwelling experience.


[1:45:47] Bees, birds, and hive algorithms.


[1:57:07] Interacting with lions in the wild.


[2:01:41] Death conversations, ancient myths, and inexplicable
animal movements.


[2:07:30] Comparing trauma recovery paths within Boyd's family.


[2:11:08] Ceremony work for trauma healing.


[2:14:06] An authentic life as activism.


[2:19:27] The impact of Byron Katie's Work on Boyd and me.


[2:23:55] Boyd's first sweat lodge experience in Arizona.


[2:29:18] Feelings. Nothing more than feelings.


[2:31:48] What a close encounter with a beautiful predator taught
Boyd about Ubuntu.


[2:40:53] The therapeutic value of spending time with animals.


[2:45:22] Contrasting lion roar descriptions: van der Post vs.
Boyd.


[2:49:40] Invitation to Londolozi and parting thoughts.


*


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