The Realisation Festival Podcast
Welcome to the podcast of the Realisation Festival, which takes place every year at St Giles House, Wimborne, Dorset (http://realisationfestival.com).
The podcast is hosted by Mark Vernon, in conversation with individuals who have attended the festival. The aim is to develop a sense of the various ways in which realising is done, as people offer reflections on ideas, experiences, books and activities.
Episodes
15 episodes
The good, the beautiful and the truth. A philosophical godfather of the Realisation Festival, with Esmé Partridge
The Realisation Festival is held at St Giles House, Wimborne, the home of the Earls of Shaftesbury. The place is loaded with the history of social reform and philosophical innovation - not least when it comes to ideas that inspire our gathering...
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36:27
The joys of spring. A conversation with Indra Adnan
If politics is broken how might people rediscover agency? If capitalism favours the powerful are there alternative forms of power to be found? If life often feels fragmented how can the fractal become revelatory? And further: how might practise...
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52:43
Poetry as a tool for transformation. A conversation with Josiane Smith
What good is a poem? How might poetry be a tool for transformation, both personally and collectively? And how does poetry help us to better understand the spirit of our times? In this conversation, Mark Vernon and Josiane Smith expl...
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50:01
The Spiritual Function of Myth. A conversation with Martin Shaw, 2025 Realisation Festival guest speaker
What is the function of myth and story? How can they help us become more human? What do they teach us about the nature of reality and how we might orient wisely in a time such as ours when the world is in turmoil? In this conv...
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1:01:00
Soul nerding and becoming the ground in collapsing times. A conversation with Sarah Wilson, Realisation Festival 2025 speaker
Why is seeing simply so valuable? How can we relearn from nature a reimagining our of lives? What does it mean to tackle contemporary troubles with joy and devotion? And what role might myth and ritual play in the rediscovery of pathways to the...
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30:18
Science and imagination, nature and meaning. A conversation on bridging divides with Pauline Rudd
Professor Pauline Rudd is a leading glycobiologist, recognised most recently by being awarded the Torbern Bergman Medal 2025. So what is it like to work as a scientist? And why is she inspired by everything from beluga whales to the grail stori...
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36:38
When the world gives back. A conversation with Ed Haddon
How is sport a spiritual practice? What is the value of coaching? Why are collective undertakings as valuable as individual goals?Mark Vernon talks with Ed Haddon, who Is one of the directors of the Realisation Festival and knows St Gile...
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34:05
The confidence to be human in an age of AI. A conversation about the complexity of things with Mazviita Chirimuuta
What do we really learn from neuroscience? How can scientific assumptions shape the world we perceive? Why might notions such as soul and mind matter all the more in times of mechanistic, computational thinking?Mark Vernon talks with phi...
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41:42
In the beginning was connection. A conversation with Kenneth Cross
Many of today’s troubles could be described as ones of connection. But is that about a lack of connection, a flood of connection, or perhaps the quality of connections?Mark Vernon talks with Kenneth Cross about relationally and, in parti...
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36:27
From energy transition to knowing your bees - and there is a link. A conversation with Jonny Williams
What is it like to work in the world of renewables? Why is transitioning to new fuels so complicated and what practical difference can soulful concerns make? Mark Vernon talks with Jonny Williams about multipolar traps and the seduc...
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34:17
The body as the practice of the imaginal. A conversation with Dominique Savitri Bonarjee
The body as the practice of the imaginal. A conversation with Dominique Savitri Bonarjee.What does it look and feel like to explore life through the body? How can ancient traditions of movement help us meet today’s challenges? <...
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40:31
Passion and trust in a turbulent age. A conversation with Juliette Otterburn Hall
What does it mean to have a shared story? How can collaboration be fostered in competitive times? Mark Vernon talks with Juliette Otterburn Hall about the power of connecting to purposes and how uniqueness is actually the key to coo...
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38:26
How to be a pilgrim of cultures. A conversation with Jacob Kishere
Much is changing in the world, evidenced by movements flourishing as well as environments degrading. So how can we live into these times? What qualities and imaginative tools might help?Mark Vernon talks with Jacob Kishere about dialogue...
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50:02
Levity, trees and the shape of the festival. A conversation with Pippa Evans
The Realisation Festival is five years old, so how is it shaping up? What ways best describe the gathering? And also, what of its distinctive coupling of music and improvisation with ideas and the challenges of today?Two directors of th...
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32:23
Ghosts, sci-fi and fictional philosophy. A conversation with Carrie Myshkin
What would happen if the doors of perception were cleansed, to recall William Blake's phrase? Can science-fiction help us re-imagine the world in which we live? Might strange experiences play a part in enlightening us?Mark Vernon talks ...
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27:18