Episodes

Follow Your Current: Rivers, Resilience, and When to Swim Upstream With Matthew Best & David Stormer of Riverkeeper Jessica Morgenthal travels the long arc of rivers — from the chaotic, sediment-laden flows of an early Earth to the great waterways that built civilization, to the modern story of dams, levees, and recovery. To navigate these waters, she's joined by two river champions from Riverkeeper, the organization that helped bring the Hudson River back from the dead: Matthew Best, a fish bio...

Guests: Etelle Higonnet (Director, Coffee Watch) • Sebastian Nielsen (CEO, Slow Forest) • Andrés Montenegro (Sustainability Director, Specialty Coffee Association) What if your daily cup of coffee is actually a masterclass in resilience? In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, host Jessica Morgenthal takes us deep into coffee's origin story — back to a plant that learned to survive through a brilliant strategy: the nudge. Coffee's caffeine was nature's quiet genius: a molecule that repels what ...

Episode 67 Evolving Your Armor in an Ever-Changing World: What Pangolins Teach Us About Updating Protection and Accepting Help Guest: Tim Santel, Retired Special Agent in Charge (SAC), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement; Senior Advisor & Media Relations Director, Focused Conservation What if the very thing that once protected you… is the thing that’s now keeping you stuck? And what happens when the world changes faster than your instincts can? In this episode of Resilienc...

Episode 66 Guest: Daniel J. Cox, Award-Winning Wildlife Photographer and Director of The Arctic Documentary Project for Polar Bears International What if resilience during the holidays and shifting seasons isn’t about just holding everything together? How much better would it be to meet each moment and each challenge with calm and ease? In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, host Jessica Morgenthal returns to one of her most beloved animals — the polar bear — to explore a resilience mindset t...

Episode 65 Awakening Our Soulful Intelligence: What the Octopus — and Sy Montgomery — Know Guest: Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus What if resilience doesn’t come from thinking harder or pushing faster, but from listening more deeply to the intelligence that already lives within us? In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, host Jessica Morgenthal explores the quiet, embodied wisdom of the giant Pacific octopus—and how soulful intelligence can help us navigate our own lives with ...

What if Thanksgiving is really an invitation to let our giving nourish the world that nourishes us? In this Thanksgiving episode of Resilience Gone Wild, Jessica Morgenthal explores the ancient ecological wisdom of the Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—and how their centuries-old partnership reveals a living model of regeneration, cooperation, and shared strength. Through immersive storytelling and a powerful conversation with regenerative systems expert Rob Avis, this episode shows how appr...

In “Lessons from the Wisdom of the Vines,” Jessica weaves narrative and reflection to uncover how vineyards mirror the rhythms of human life—growth, rest, and transformation. Through her conversation with Marta Mendonça, leader of The Porto Protocol, we learn how wisdom lives not in isolation but in connection: between generations, between the roots and the rain, and between people who choose to share what they know. Marta invites us to see resilience not as endurance but as renewal—to understan...

What if the things we label “icky”: decay, dirt, discomfort, are actually where transformation begins? In this thought-provoking episode, Resilience Gone Wild host Jessica Morgenthal sits down with Tim Steckel, founder of The Compost Marketing Agency, to explore the hidden brilliance of composting as a metaphor for personal and ecological renewal. From the red wiggler’s quiet labor to the microbial symphony beneath our feet, this episode redefines how curiosity, not control, fuels real resilienc...

Resilience doesn’t always mean going it alone. In the Lighthouse Dragons, a Florida-based breast cancer survivor and supporter dragon boat team, strength is a shared current. Each stroke through the water reflects a truth found in nature: power grows when it’s given, not hoarded. I joined the Lighthouse Dragons team after being invited by another supporter I met in Florida, a simple act of connection that changed my understanding of resilience. The Lighthouse Dragons are a community of grounded...

Step into the Amazon rainforest with environmental journalist Rhett Ayers Butler, founder of Mongabay, as he shares a lifetime of lessons about connection, resilience, and the hidden systems that sustain life.This episode of Resilience Gone Wild blends vivid storytelling with science to reveal how the smallest sparks of awe, whether a frog’s call, a monkey’s leap, or a single seed, can ignite powerful change in both ecosystems and human communities.What You’ll Learn:* How rainforest biodiversity...

What if screen time could become a bridge for curiosity instead of a battle at the dinner table? In this episode, Rion Nakaya, creator of The Kid Should See This (TKSST), reveals how curated educational media can inspire children, parents, and educators to explore the world together. With over 7,000 handpicked videos, Rion shows how shared media experiences nurture trust, spark creativity, and build resilience across generations What You’ll Learn: Why co-viewing transforms screen time into a ...

Have you ever wondered how ancient forests teach us about resilience, connection, and care? In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, Jessica Morgenthal explores the hidden intelligence of mother trees, the oldest, strongest trees that sustain life around them through the “wood wide web.” With Mother’s Day as a backdrop, this story shows how nature’s quiet networks reveal timeless lessons about nurturing, legacy, and human resilience. Listeners will discover how forests model sustainable system...

In part 2 of our episode on the extraordinary parrotfish, Jessica and Kai take a deeper look at the parrotfish’s remarkable sleep bubble and its metaphor for resilience. Along with guest Dr. John Lesku, they uncover how animal sleep patterns, from parrotfish to magpies, reveal hidden lessons for human well-being, environmental adaptation, and the neuroscience of rest. This conversation connects marine biology, positive psychology, and practical strategies for creating your own “protective bubb...

What can a parrotfish’s nighttime bubble teach us about resilience, health, and rest? In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, Jessica Morgenthal explores how nature’s most unusual sleep strategies, like the parrotfish’s mucus cocoon, offer profound lessons for humans on stress management, brain health, and creating protective boundaries. Listeners will walk away with practical insights for building their own “sleep bubble” to restore balance and thrive. What You’ll Learn: Why parrotfish buil...

In part 2 of our episode on the importance of balancing purpose with profit in ocean conservation, Jessica and Kai take a deeper look at the extraordinary resilience of mama sea turtles and the lessons they offer humans about mistakes, growth, and adaptability. Through vivid storytelling, we explore how nesting behavior connects to themes of resilience, mindset, and conservation, and why reframing mistakes as learning opportunities is essential for both nature and people. What You’ll Learn: W...

What do sharks, sea turtles, and coral reefs teach us about resilience? In this powerful conversation, Andy Dehart, shark biologist turned CEO of Loggerhead Marinelife Center, shares lessons from the ocean that apply as much to human resilience as they do to marine ecosystems. From tiger sharks’ unique feeding strategies to sea turtles’ fight for survival, this episode uncovers how risk, adaptation, and purpose drive conservation success. What You’ll Learn: Why sea turtles embody resilience b...

How do resilience, adaptability, and courage come together when life feels most uncertain? In Part 2 of Episode 51 of Resilience Gone Wild, host Jessica Morgenthal dives deeper into the lessons from nature’s most fearless survivor: the honey badger. This continuation expands on Part 1 by exploring how courage becomes contagious, how resilience grows through setbacks, and how small, deliberate acts of adaptability help us face our own “wild” with strength and purpose. What You’ll Learn: Why t...

What can the fearless honey badger teach us about courage and resilience in everyday life? In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, host Jessica Morgenthal explores how nature’s most determined survivor embodies the lessons we need to rise after setbacks, face challenges head-on, and inspire resilience in others. Through vivid storytelling, Jessica reveals how the honey badger’s adaptability, persistence, and grit offer a natural blueprint for building courage muscles that help us thrive in th...

What can a gentle ocean giant teach us about leadership, adaptability, and resilience in the face of uncertainty? In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, marine conservationist Stella Diamant shares her journey from Belgium to the turquoise waters of Madagascar, where she founded the Madagascar Whale Shark Project. Through her lens, we explore Resilience Through Nature, the Win-Win-Win Mindset, and the art of Purpose-Driven Leadership that bridges community needs with environmental stewardshi...

Welcome back to Shark Week! This is Part 3 in the series which follows insightful guest episodes with Rare Shark Guy David Ebert and Marine Life and Shark Artivist Francesca Page. In this episode, host Jessica Morgenthal explores the fascinating world of whale sharks and the surprising lessons their thick skin offers for building resilience and emotional health. Jessica dives into their unique beauty, life, behavior, anatomy, and migration patterns and how these massive the gentle giants of the ...

This episode is Part 2 of our special Shark Week celebration on Resilience Gone Wild. Host Jessica Morgenthal talks with Francesca Page — marine conservationist, underwater photographer, and visual storyteller — about her inspiring journey from fearing the ocean to becoming one of its most passionate defenders. Francesca explores how art and storytelling can shift public perceptions about sharks, highlight the impact of bycatch, and drive community action for healthier oceans. She also shares he...

In this very special SHARK WEEK episode of Resilience Gone Wild, host Jessica Morgenthal dives deep with renowned shark scientist David Ebert, exploring how sharks have been misunderstood for decades, especially since the blockbuster impact of Jaws. Dave shares his fascinating journey from childhood curiosity to becoming an internationally recognized marine biologist studying sharks and rays. Together, they discuss the evolution of shark research, how the cultural fear sparked by Jaws paradoxic...

In this episode of Resilience Gone Wild, host Jessica Morgenthal speaks with fungi enthusiast and circular economy advocate Marc Violo about the hidden potential of fungi across multiple sectors. From agriculture and pest control to sustainable materials and healthcare, Marc unpacks the extraordinary power of fungi and the vital role of mycelium networks in plant communication. He shares his personal journey into mycology in China, India and across the globe and emphasizes how storytelling can s...

This is Part 2 of our deep dive into the world of Tasmanian devils with Aussie Ark’s Dean Reid. In this follow-up conversation, Dean shares even more insight into breeding programs, marsupial behavior, and the critical role community involvement plays in preserving Australia’s unique wildlife. We explore the impact of introduced predators, the power of celebrity influence in raising awareness, and the sustainable management strategies that keep Aussie Ark running. Dean also discusses how underst...