The Garrison Institute Presents: The Common Good

Join a fascinating discussion with Suzanne Simard, visionary forest ecologist and author of Finding the Mother Tree. Simard reveals how forests thrive not as plantations but as diverse, interdependent communities. From the “wood wide web” of fungi communicating underground, to mother trees nurturing their kin, her research shows that cooperation, not just competition, sustains forest resilience. We explore how Indigenous management practices once aligned with ecological cycles, and how today’s clearcuts and monocultures leave forests vulnerable to disease and wildfire. Drawing, too, on her family’s century-long history of responsible woodcutting in British Columbia, Simard offers hope: ecosystems are regenerative. By restoring reciprocity with the land through forest management or even balcony gardens, individuals and communities can participate in the ongoing global reorganization of the human relationship to the earth. This episode calls us to reimagine our relationship with nature as one of kinship and mutual care.  We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at podcasts@garrisoninstitute.org to let us know what you think. Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

Dive into a captivating conversation with environmentalist Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act and author of The End of Nature and Here Comes the Sun, as we explore the emerging potential of sustainable economics. Bill explains how the global economy must adapt to renewable energy, and why rapid solar expansion in places like California and China signals a pivotal moment in our energy systems. We discover how climate solutions can support both economic growth and sustainability, while also recognizing that the window to act is closing. This conversation offers both practical insights and a grounded sense of hope for how communities, nations, and economies can transition toward a sustainable, equitable future through regenerative energy solutions. We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at podcasts@garrisoninstitute.org to let us know what you think. Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

Join us for a transformative conversation with Paul Hawken, visionary environmental thinker, author of Carbon: The Book of Life, and co-founder of Project Drawdown. Together we learn how stepping beyond a human-centered perspective can reveal the profound interconnections that bind all living systems. Along the way, Paul invites us into a richer awareness of complexity, carbon, and consciousness, and explores how life and mind are deeply entwined. What emerges is a call to unlearn outdated ways of knowing and to cultivate new practices of attuning to the intelligence of nature. This episode offers profound insights into regenerative action, ecological resilience, and how shifting our perception can help us live in reciprocity with the planet and one another. We’d love to hear your thoughts about the podcast, please send us a note at podcasts@garrisoninstitute.org to let us know what you think. Produced by The Garrison Institute and The Podglomerate.

What does it mean to live for the common good? To explore the threads that bind us all, the ⁠Garrison Institute⁠, a non-profit organization exploring the intersection of contemplation and engaged action in the world, offers the new podcast series, The Garrison Institute Presents. Hosted by Garrison Institute co-founder, urban visionary and award-winning author ⁠Jonathan F.P. Rose⁠, the show’s debut season, titled The Common Good, journeys into the nature of life, mind, and compassionate action. The show focuses on integrating the interdependent nature of life, the nature of the mind, and compassion in action.