What's lost when we hand over skills or experiences to technology ?

We sat down with localisation pioneer Helena Norberg-Hodge to learn more about the waves of radical economic and social changes she has experienced first hand.

In 1975, as a student of linguistics amongst the glacial melt of the Himalayas, Helena witnessed the rapid erosion of traditional culture that followed the introduction of Western ideas and economics to the isolated territory of Ladakh, or "Little Tibet."

As an economist, linguist and filmmaker, Helena has worked to popularise an economics of happiness for more than 30 years.

Our first episode with Helena aired back in April 2020. Her organisation Local Futures offers practical solutions for changing the systems that aren't serving us best; for coping and deepening connection – what they see as key to unlocking healthier futures for people and planet.

We wanted to have Helena back on to address a topic that’s been coming up a lot in our house – about technology and whether mechanistic tech is always the best or healthiest solution.

More specifically – what's lost when tech takes over our skills or experiences ?

We also hear from two listeners on the topic of tech: Surfers for Climate board member Courtney Miller and Nick Hounsfield, founder of The Wave wavepark in the UK.

We’d love to hear from your lived experience on this topic, too.

If you’d like the chance to be featured in a forthcoming episode – please email over a voice memo to waterpeoplepodcast@gmail.com .

Send us a text

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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast

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Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter.

You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

You can stream every Waterpeople episode from your desk.

How do we make magic boards last longer?

Gary McNeill and Dave have been experimenting with alternative, non-petrochemical materials for the last decade. The front runner in their experiments? Flax cloth, for board strength and durability.

Stab recently ran The Electric Acid Surfboard Test, to explore the validity of their flax tinkerings.

This episode features the flax master himself, shaper Gary McNeill.

Gazza absolutely fizzes about all things board design. He's an accomplished competitive surfer and has worked as production manager and/or ghost shaper for some of surfing’s most well-known board brands. Today, he focuses his energy on making left of centre, high performance surfboards under the Gary NcNeill Concepts label.

Gazza considers himself an 'accidental activist;' in the pursuit of good design, he cemented a more ethical business model. He hopes to help the board building industry mature beyond 'planned obsolesce.'

"As a result of growing up in humble surroundings, I have a full appreciation of the value of a dollar. In creating my Concept boards, I always strive to produce high-performance boards using materials that provide strength and longevity.

I want customers to have a board that they can build a quiver around, that last, and that they know they can surf in the conditions that best suit them, and their boards. Importantly, boards that last reduce environmental impact."

We wrangled Gazza into sitting down for a whole hour to share more about his story, and the nitty gritty of experimental surfboard design and materials.

Send us a text

...

Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast

...

Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter.

You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

You can stream every Waterpeople episode from your desk.

How do you better a culture? How do we better surf culture?

Dr. Krista Comer is a scholar of American literature and cultural politics. She has written widely about women and surfing as a way "to build bridges between university and community, or subcultural knowledges. Because we need each other to understand the worlds we inhabit, and to make better worlds. I need bridges to stay true to who I am, my own histories and hopes for the future."

Dr. Comer offers clarifying perspectives on the gendered realities of modern surf culture - and has been part of supporting surfers to create inclusive research, social movements and events.

Professor Comer teaches at Rice University in Houston, Texas and has lived near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico for 25 years. She is the author of Surfer Girls in the New World Order (2010) and is currently working on her latest book: Feminist Surf Life in the Age of Climate Change.

In 2014, Dr. Comer co-founded the Institute for Women Surfers (IWS), an international grassroots political education initiative in the Public Humanities. The institute has conducted trainings in California, Europe, and Australia. For more on IWS see “Surfeminism in an Era of Trump” (2019).

Our episodes typically revolve around stories — lived experiences, often from the water, looking landward. This one is a little different.

We recorded at the close of the Waterwomen Camp Out near a point break in Northern NSW, Australia. The event was hosted by the NGO Surfers for Climate and invited more than 100 women to gather for a weekend of workshops, wellness, and celebration of our shared love of watery play.

Dr. Comer presented work and encouraged dialogue around intergenerational activism, along with local researcher Dr. Rebecca Olive from RMIT University.

We sat down to discuss the relevance of surf feminism, learning from current social movements, the importance of face to face gathering, and bio-deregulation.

Send us a text

...

Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast

...

Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter.

You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

You can stream every Waterpeople episode from your desk.