Best Robert MacFarlane Podcasts (2025)

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Robert Macfarlane on Embracing Flow and Letting Rivers Heal Us 42:22

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15d ago42:22

42:22

What does it mean to move like a river and to live in flow with the world around us? In this episode, Willow is joined by one of the world’s most celebrated nature writers, Robert Macfarlane, to follow the many forms of flow—of water, of language, and of life itself. Together, they explore the question at the heart of his newest book: Is a River Al…

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Nan Schwartz - Grammy Winning And 5x Nominated Arranger, And 7x Emmy Nominee For Her Compositions. Argo, In The Heat Of The Night, Harry Potter. Natalie Cole, Ray Charles. John Williams! 34:01

8m ago34:01

34:01

Nan Schwartz is a Grammy winning arranger and a 5x Grammy nominee, and she’s a 7x Emmy nominee for her compositions for television and TV films. As a conductor and orchestrator, she’s worked on projects like In The Heat Of The Night, Argo and Harry Potter. She’s also collaborated on a ballet score. And she’s worked with stars like Natalie Cole, Ray…

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Kate Marvel Will Change How You Feel About Planet Earth 41:48

20h ago41:48

41:48

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 d…

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FBI Investigation Hits St. George | Housing Crisis, Water Cuts & 4 Council Seats Open 1:00:09

11h ago1:00:09

1:00:09

Send us a text Southern Utah is changing fast—and we’re breaking down the real forces driving growth, prices, politics, and water. This episode cuts through the noise to explain what’s really happening with drought, development, new builds, county policy, and the power struggles shaping the future of Washington County. We start local with the Purga…

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Henry James 1: The Portrait of a Lady 1:27:45

17m ago1:27:45

1:27:45

Many readers consider The Portrait of a Lady to be the greatest novel in English. But for some reason, James' fellow novelists loved to dump on him. Nabokov called him a "pale porpoise," and said his books were strictly for "non-smokers." Virginia Woolf, who knew him as a family friend, wrote, "we have his works here, and I read them, and can’t fin…

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Tin House Live: Stephen Hayes

2h ago

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Painter Stephen Hayes latest exhibition, “Elegy,” consists of twelve abstract paintings that engage with the genocide in Gaza. One of the twelve paintings was created while listening to the Between the Covers conversation with Omar El Akkad about his book One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. Because of this, instead of asking, as he…

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Toby Gad - Hit Pop Songwriter: "All Of Me" (John Legend), "Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie), "If I Were A Boy" (Beyonce). 19 Bn Streams. 3 Grammys. Madonna, Leona Lewis, Demi Lovato, Jessie J, Selena Gomez ... 35:38

23h ago35:38

35:38

Toby Gad is one of the most successful pop songwriters of this era. His songs have gotten over 19 billion streams and have won 3 Grammys. His hits include “All of Me” with John Legend, and Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, both of which won “Song Of The Year”. He produced and wrote Beyonce’s “If I Were A Boy”, and also albums for Madonna and Leona Le…

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Lauren Ellis - New Zealand Born Drummer And Composer. Winner Of New Zealand Grammy. LA Philharmonic, Seth Macfarlane, Peter Erskine! 28:41

3d ago28:41

28:41

Lauren Ellis is a terrific drummer and composer from halfway around the world in Wellington, New Zealand, now living in Los Angeles. She’s worked with Peter Erskine, at USC's Music School. She plays with groups as diverse as the LA Philharmonic and with Seth Macfarlane. She writes commissioned works for jazz ensembles in the US and in New Zealand. …

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Juan Chiavassa - Argentinian Born, Multi-Genre Drummer, Producer, Composer. Plays With Mike Stern, Esperanza Spalding, John Patitucci, Jimmy Haslip. Leads The Neverpony Project! 38:45

4d ago38:45

38:45

Juan Chiavassa is an Argentinian born drummer, producer, and composer. His work spans a number of genres, including jazz, Latin, R&B, soul, hip-hop, rock and world music. As a performer, he has collaborated with Mike Stern, Paquito D'Rivera, Esperanza Spalding, John Patitucci and Jimmy Haslip among others. He performed on The Tonight Show with Bad …

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Pierre Piscitelli - Grammy Winning Keyboardist, Composer, Arranger. Created Lyle Mays Anthology. Arranged Metallica, Todd Rundgren And ELP Music. Hosts A YouTube Channel! 35:14

7d ago35:14

35:14

Pierre Piscitelli is a Grammy winning keyboardist, composer and arranger. He’s worked as a session keyboardist as well as an arranger for various string ensembles and big bands. His master work is a comprehensive 253-page anthology of all of the music of Lyle Mays, longtime collaborator with Pat Metheny. And he also scored Mays’s work Eberhard. Pie…

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Across Quebec's Ungava Peninsula with Dave Greene 41:52

7d ago41:52

41:52

On this episode of Explore, host David McGuffin is joined by Arctic explorer and elementary school teacher Dave Greene. Earlier this year, Greene completed his fourth RCGS-flagged expedition across northern Quebec’s Ungava Peninsula. As the leader of this ski expedition, Greene shares his experience, traversing the harsh landscape alongside teammat…

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Greece Lightnin': My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell 1:02:47

6d ago1:02:47

1:02:47

SLoB is turning 1! To celebrate, Sophie and Jonty re-read one of their all time favorites, My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. My Family and Other Animals (1956) is the beloved, hilarious, brilliant chronicle of a childhood idyll — which is also a series of comic disasters — set on the Ionian Greek Island of Corfu. The memoir is the firs…

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Michael Shrieve - Legendary Drummer With Santana. A Star Of Woodstock. Played on Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue" LP. Member Of GO With Steve Winwood And Al Di Meola! 45:48

9d ago45:48

45:48

Michael Shrieve is the legendary drummer with Santana who became a superstar at Woodstock with his incredible drum solo in “Soul Sacrifice” during the band’s set. He went on to play with a Who’s Who in the music business including Steve Winwood and Al Di Meola in GO, a fusion supergroup, another band with Sammy Hagar and Neil Schon, and with Supert…

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Southern Utah Election Results, Government Shutdown Impact & Fed Cuts 1:04:32

3h ago1:04:32

1:04:32

Send us a text Fresh leadership, fresh pressure, and a fresh set of misconceptions. We kicked off our first live show by unpacking Southern Utah's election night: Hurricane and Santa Clara shakeups, tight Springdale margins, and a notable flip in St. George. We explain why council vacancies won't be handpicked by mayors and how Utah's state code fo…

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Jane Eisner - Acclaimed Journalist And Author. Former Editor-In-Chief Of The Forward. Interviewed Barack Obama, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Benjamin Netanyahu. Author Of New Carole King Biography! 26:23

11d ago26:23

26:23

Jane Eisner is an acclaimed journalist, author, educator and nonprofit leader. She was the editor-in-chief of The Forward, the influential Jewish newspaper. She’s been a professor at Columbia School of Journalism and a reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer. She’s interviewed Barack Obama, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Benjamin Netanyahu among others. Her…

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Xito Lovell - Afro-Panamanian Grammy And Latin Grammy Winning Trombonist, Flugelhorn Player, Composer. Leader Of Que Xopa Collective. Performed With Ruben Blades, Ricky Martin, Camila Cabello, Jon Batiste ... 33:07

12d ago33:07

33:07

Xito Lovell is an Afro-Panamanian Grammy and Latin Grammy award winning trombonist, flugelhorn player, composer and vocalist. He’s a protege of Ruben Blades and the leader of the Que Xopa Collective. He’s performed at major festivals including the Newport, Glastonbury and Riviera Maya Jazz Festivals and he’s had two recent appearances on The Tonigh…

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Amanda Morgan and Christopher D'Ariano on the Ballet World and AfterTime 29:38

8d ago29:38

29:38

Choreographers and Pacific Northwest Ballet Dancers Amanda Morgan and Christopher D'Ariano discuss how they decided to become professional dancers, how much of dance is drive versus talent, and how we can encourage our kids to pursue their dreams. Their new work, AfterTime, has its world premiere this weekend to kick off PNB's In the Upper Room rep…

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Marc Broussard - Singer-Songwriter Of "Bayou Soul": Funk, Blues, R&B, Rock And Pop. Latest Album Features Joe Bonamassa! 31:39

14d ago31:39

31:39

Marc Broussard is a Louisiana born musician whose music has been called “Bayou Soul” and “Swamp Pop”. It’s a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop together with his Southern roots. He learned music from his father, Ted Broussard, Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist for “The Boogie Kings”. He’s performed on many of the late night network TV talk shows.…

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Robin Coste Lewis : Archive of Desire 2:40:51

10d ago2:40:51

2:40:51

Archive of Desire: A Poem in Four Parts for C.P. Cavafy began as a collaborative multidisciplinary project between the poet Robin Coste Lewis, the composer Vijay Iyer, the cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and the visual artist Julie Mehretu. This multimedia quartet traveled to Athens together to engage with the Cavafy archives as part of the composition of …

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American Horror 3: Salem's Lot by Stephen King 1:10:00

2d ago1:10:00

1:10:00

Salem’s Lot (1975) is Stephen King’s second published novel, and many would say it's his best. It tells the story of a plague of vampires running amok in a blue-collar town in New England and the band of heroes who come together to fight them. We’re aware that many listeners may not have read a Stephen King novel, although they will probably have s…

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Arturo Sandoval - Legendary Cuban-Born Trumpeter. Kennedy Center Honoree, Presidential Medal Of Freedom, 10 Grammys, 6 Billboard Awards, Emmy. Master Of Afro-Cuban Rhythms! 47:39

16d ago47:39

47:39

Arturo Sandoval is a legendary trumpeter, pianist and composer. Since he defected from Cuba over 30 years ago his accomplishments have been simply remarkable. He’s a 2024 Kennedy Center Honoree. He’s won 10 Grammys, 6 Billboard Awards, an Emmy, the Hispanic Heritage Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. …

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Misha Piatigorsky - Russian Born Pianist. Winner Of Thelonious Monk Composers Competition. Latest Project: The Daddy Rabbit! 23:30

18d ago23:30

23:30

Misha Piatigorsky is a Russian born pianist. His music is a fusion of jazz, rock and pop. He performs solo piano and trio concerts, and his latest project is The Daddy Rabbit, an immersive “theater-in-the-round” speakeasy show. He won the Thelonious Monk Composers Competition. He can also be heard on the soundtracks of several films including “How …

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Alexander Claffy - Terrific Young Bassist. Plays With Randy Brecker, Benny Benack III, Jimmy Cobb, Benny Green, Fred Hersch And Many Others! 28:04

19d ago28:04

28:04

Alex Claffy is a terrific young bassist out of Philadelphia. He’s got his own thing going on but he’s also played with a number of great artists including Chris Botti, Randy Brecker, Jimmy Cobb, Fred Hersch, Benny Green and Leslie Odom Jr, one of the stars of Hamilton. My featured song is “The Rich Ones”. Spotify link. —----------------------------…

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SPECIAL EPISODE - YAY! WE JUST PASSED 4 MILLION DOWNLOADS! 3:13

20d ago3:13

3:13

Welcome to a Very Special Episode of the podcast! This episode celebrates that we just passed 4 MILLION DOWNLOADS! I started the podcast 4 1/2 years ago, during the depths of the pandemic. At that time I had no audience and no guests. What I did have though was a goal: to inspire and motivate people to follow their dream, just like I followed my yo…

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Chris Boardman - Oscar Nominated, 6x Emmy Award Winning, 13x Emmy Nominated, Film, TV And Recording Composer And Arranger. Quincy Jones, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand! 36:38

21d ago36:38

36:38

Chris Boardman is a master musician, arranger and composer. His resume is off the charts. He began his career in film, tv and recording in 1974. He’s received an Academy Award nomination for his work on “The Color Purple”, 6 Emmy Awards, 13 Emmy nominations, and ASCAP and BMI film awards. He’s worked with a Who’s Who including Steven Spielberg, Bar…

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Frozen fjords and first ascents: Shira Biner’s Baffin Island odyssey 53:10

9d ago53:10

53:10

In this episode of Explore, podcast host David McGuffin speaks with Canadian climber and expedition leader Shira Biner, who led the first female-plus team to establish a new 600-metre route on Eglinton Tower in the remote fjords of Baffin Island. Biner recounts the 2025 expedition, which was partly funded by The Nat Gillis Adventure Photography Exp…

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American Horror 2: Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin 51:57

9d ago51:57

51:57

Chocolate Mouse, anyone? Rosemary’s Baby was a smash hit on release - the best selling horror novel of the 1960s, eventually selling over 4 million copies. The year after publication it was adapted into one of the greatest films of the decade - directed by Roman Polanski with Mia Farrow as the eponymous heroine. At first glance, it seems that Ira L…

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Tierney Sutton - Superb 9x Grammy Nominated Jazz Singer. Leader Of The Tierney Sutton Band. Clint Eastwood: "My Favorite Singer". She Scored His Movie "Sully". 16 Albums As Leader! 40:46

23d ago40:46

40:46

Tierney Sutton is a superb 9x Grammy nominated jazz singer. Since 1993 she has fronted The Tierney Sutton Band. Clint Eastwood has called her “my favorite singer” and he hired her to score his film “Sully” in which she sang the ending song “Flying Home”. She has released 16 albums as leader, addressing themes like materialism and the pursuit of hap…

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Alice Sandahl - Indie Musician. Founding Member And Keyboardist Of The Band La Luz. Got Her MFA And Now Mentors Other Artists! 30:55

25d ago30:55

30:55

Alice Sandahl is an Indie musician. She’s been a professional musician for over 20 years and for 10 years she was a founder and keyboard player with the all-girl band La Luz. She has since developed a solo career and she also obtained an MFA in music. And she now helps other artists accomplish their songwriting dreams and artistic goals. My feature…

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Melissa Stylianou - Superb Canadian Jazz Vocalist With Irish And Greek Cypriot Roots. Sings The Great American Songbook To Johnny Cash, And Also With The Duchess Vocal Trio! 35:53

26d ago35:53

35:53

Melissa Stylianou is a superb jazz singer. She’s Canadian born, with Irish and Greek Cypriot roots. Her material runs the gamut from the Great American Songbook to Johnny Cash. She has performed at numerous festivals and clubs and toured internationally. And she’s also a member of the award winning vocal trio Duchess. My featured song is “Tessa” fr…

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Yolanda Kondonassis - Rock Star Harpist! 2x Grammy Nominated. World's Most Recorded Classical Harpist. Dedicated Environmentalist! 32:36

28d ago32:36

32:36

Yolanda Kondonassis is a Rock Star of the harp. She’s got two Grammy nominations. She’s considered one of the world’s leading solo harpists and she is the world’s most recorded classical harpist. She has performed worldwide and released over 25 albums. She’s been featured on CNN, PBS and NPR. And listen to this - she is a dedicated environmentalist…

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Suleika Jaouad on Living Every Day Like It’s Your First 55:22

29d ago55:22

55:22

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 l…

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American Horror: The Haunting of Hill House 1:10:38

18d ago1:10:38

1:10:38

Who's afraid of American horror? Sophie and Jonty, for starters. To celebrate halloween, SLOB is taking a deep dive into three classics of the American Horror genre. We've chosen novels published after 1945, and we're asking how the war - and its many aftershocks and resonances in American domestic and political life - transformed horror as a liter…

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Martha Redbone - Extraordinary Afro-Indigenous Singer, Songwriter, Composer. United States Artist Fellow. "Tasty Gumbo" Of Kentucky Roots Music Mixed With Brooklyn! 32:34

1M ago32:34

32:34

Martha Redbone is an extraordinary artist - a singer, songwriter and composer. She was selected as a United States Artist Fellow. Her music has been called a “tasty gumbo” of roots music which combines the folk and mountain blues of her youth growing up in the coal country of Kentucky, together with her teenage years living in Brooklyn, NY. Her son…

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Graham Sharp - Grammy Winning Bluegrass Star. Plays Banjo And Guitar, Songwriter. Member of Steep Canyon Rangers. Plays With Steve Martin! 30:54

1M ago30:54

30:54

Graham Sharp is a Grammy winning bluegrass star. He’s an accomplished banjo and guitar player and songwriter. He plays with the Steep Canyon Rangers, a very cool bluegrass band. Graham also has a solo career. And he’s been the right hand man for fellow banjoist Steve Martin on record and on stage since 2009. My featured song is “Sunday Slide”, my l…

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Diana Arterian : Agrippina the Younger & Smoke Drifts 2:12:56

26d ago2:12:56

2:12:56

As an artist, how does one dive into the wreck of an archive, a canon, a shared collective memory, a history—one filled with silenced voices, distorted accounts, erasures and elisions—on behalf of those wronged by it? Poet Dionne Brand says “the salvage is the life which exceeds the wreck” and Diana Arterian’s work seems animated by this work of sa…

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Dave Eggar - Rock Star Cellist: 5x Grammy Nominated. Played On Coldplay's "Viva La Vida". Performed With Paul Simon, John Legend, Norah Jones, Foreigner! 37:03

1M ago37:03

37:03

Dave Eggar is a Rock Star Cellist. He’s a 5x Grammy nominee. He plays classical, rock, bluegrass and more. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in music including Paul Simon, John Legend, Norah Jones, Foreigner, Josh Groban and Train. And it’s his cello that opens Coldplay's massive hit "Viva La Vida". On a personal note, I met Dave recently …

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SPECIAL EPISODE - Introducing "MI CACHIMBER", Robert's New Single. His Tribute To His Father. Ft. Benny Benack III And David Smith On Flugelhorn! 7:15

1M ago7:15

7:15

This is a Special Episode introducing “Mi Cachimber”, my new single. It’s my tribute to my father, Bert Miller. My dad was a self-taught trumpet player. He loved music. He played weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, private parties and the like on the weekends. In particular he loved Latin music. Whenever we were in the car he would always tune the radio to one…

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Gales of November: John U. Bacon on the untold story of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald 1:00:24

23d ago1:00:24

1:00:24

“From 1875 to 1975, there were 6,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes — one a week for a century. Everyone remembers one: the Edmund Fitzgerald. And that’s because of the song.” — John U. Bacon, Explore Podcast This year marks 50 years since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes history. In this episode of Expl…

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Montaigne pt2: A Montaigne out of a mole hill (with Rowan Tomlinson) 48:32

24d ago48:32

48:32

Jonty and Sophie were separated by an ocean while Sophie and her family went back to New York and Jonty stayed in Sydney - so they made lemonade out of life's lemons, and created two miniature episodes about the great 16th-century French essayist Michel de Montaigne. Montaigne isn't just any old essayist — he's the man who invented the form, with t…

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Montaigne pt1: Climb Every Montaigne (with Stephen Greenblatt) 35:28

24d ago35:28

35:28

Sophie talks to one of the world's leading literary scholars, who co-founded a whole branch of literary studies known as "The New Historicism," before reinventing Shakespeare for new generations of readers, and then turning the Roman poet Lucretius into an (almost) household name. Stephen Greenblatt is professor of English at Harvard University, he…