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The Tools At Hand with Harrison Gardner: Daily Summaries Delivered
by harrisongardner
THE TOOLS AT HAND is a podcast about using what we have to build what we need. borrowing ideas, building capacity, and learning as we go.
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- 5 days ago1h 6m
I Traded Photography for Food & Shelter to Travel the World | The Pixel Trade | Shantanu Starick
What happens when you decide to travel to all seven continents without spending any money?That was the challenge Shantanu Starick set himself after stepping away from a career in architecture. Trading nothing but his photography skills for food, shelter and transport, he created The Pixel Trade — a three-and-a-half-year journey built entirely around exchange, trust and the people he met along the way.But living without money comes with its own challenges. What does it actually cost to rely on other people? And what happens when the journey ends and you have to reintegrate into a world that still runs on money, responsibility and bills?In this conversation, we explore the value of trade, the relationships that grow from it, and why the best exchanges are the ones where both people feel they’ve come away with the better end of the deal.Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/HarrisonGardnerCONNECT WITH MEInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/_harrisongardnerWebsite: https://www.harrisongardner.net/Bookstore: https://www.harrisongardner.net/bookstore-1 Pre-order my new book HEAT-SHELTER-WATER-FOODhttps://www.harrisongardner.net/heat-shelter-water-foodExplore the Pixel Trade Project and discover the trades that made this journey possible: http://thepixeltrade.com/tradesChapters00:00 — Teaser & Introduction 02:22 — The Pixel Trade: Trading Photography for Food, Shelter & Transport 19:33 — The Squarespace Hosting Trade 20:40 — New York, Tumblr & Inter-Trading 29:12 — What Makes a Great Trade? 40:40 — Burnout & Reaching Antarctica 41:41 — How He Got to Antarctica 48:40 — The Pixel Trade as a Life Apprenticeship 50:00 — What He Learned About Money 51:40 — Returning to a World That Runs on Money Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 1 weeks ago1h 28m
From Sailing to Antarctica to Becoming a Polar Bear Guard | Sarah Schwimmer
Sarah Schwimmer is a naturalist, ecologist and polar expedition leader who has spent the last decade guiding more than 125 expeditions around the world.In this conversation, Sarah talks about her upcoming expedition to Svalbard aboard a first-of-its-kind solar-powered polar expedition vessel, how she dropped out of university to sail across the Atlantic at 19, and how following her curiosity shaped the life she built.We also talk about Antarctica, the realities of working in the polar regions, the experience of coming out later in life, creating safer and more inclusive spaces in expedition travel, and what it means to become a polar bear guard.Sarah's approach to life comes back to a simple idea: you don't need to know exactly how to do something before you start. Sometimes you have to trust that you'll figure it out along the way.Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/HarrisonGardnerConnect with Harrison:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_harrisongardnerWebsite: https://www.harrisongardner.net/Books: https://www.harrisongardner.net/bookstore-1Pre-order my new book HEAT-SHELTER-WATER-FOODhttps://www.harrisongardner.net/heat-shelter-water-foodFind Sarah and learn more about her expeditions: https://www.instagram.com/the_vagabondist/https://www.the-vagabondist.com/pages/aboutChapters00:00 — Teaser & Introduction04:00 — Solar-Powered Ship to Svalbard & the North Pole18:00 — Sustainable Travel & the Future of Exploration24:00 — Childhood, Nature & the Dream of Exploration30:00 — Dropping Out of University to Sail Across the Atlantic43:00 — Dyslexia, Dyscalculia & Learning to Trust Yourself56:50 — Becoming a Polar Expedition Leader58:50 — Antarctica, Sailing & the Drake Passage01:08:00 — Coming Out, LGBTQ+ Inclusion & Expedition Travel01:18:40 — Freedom, Wilderness & Being Yourself01:20:00 — What Does a Polar Bear Guard Do?01:26:20 — Talking to Bears & Sarah's Next Adventure Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 2 weeks ago56 min
Paul Noonan & Brian Crosby: From Bell X1 to Pilgrims, Music Therapy & Breathwork
Paul Noonan and Brian Crosby have been making music together, in one form or another, for decades.From Juniper and Bell X1, through 16 years of separate creative journeys, they eventually found their way back into a room together. What started with Brian’s solo piano record Imbrium and a voice note from Paul during COVID became Pilgrims — a new project built from everything they had learned and experienced in the years apart.In this conversation, we talk about what it means to return to a creative partnership after so much time, the vulnerability of making something new with someone you have a long history with, and how Pilgrims grew from remote recordings into a live project.We also get into the very different paths they took along the way. Brian talks about leaving Bell X1, moving to Berlin, composing for film, building recording studios from scratch, and training in holotropic breathwork. Paul talks about his work as a music therapist, working with people with dementia, brain injuries and children, and what music can make possible in those settings.And underneath all of it is a bigger question about creativity: what happens when we stop trying to be perfect, become willing to be vulnerable, and allow other people to change what we're making?This is a conversation about music, collaboration, fear, connection, and finding your way back to making things.Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/HarrisonGardnerConnect with Harrison:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_harrisongardnerWebsite: https://www.harrisongardner.net/Books: https://www.harrisongardner.net/bookstore-1Pre-order my new book HEAT-SHELTER-WATER-FOODhttps://www.harrisongardner.net/heat-shelter-water-foodExplore Pilgrims and their music:https://www.pilgrims.music/ Chapters00:00 – Teaser 00:51 – Intro: Creating Something People Are Ready to Receive 03:50 – From Bell X1 to Pilgrims 05:42 – The Voice Note That Sparked Pilgrims 07:31 – Finding a New Musical Voice 08:17 – Two Very Different Journeys 09:17 – Why Brian Left Bell X1 16:40 – Building a Creative Scene in Berlin 19:28 – What Is Holotropic Breathwork? 23:45 – Fear, Self-Doubt & Creativity 30:55 – Paul Noonan on Music Therapy 32:00 – Music & Brain Injury 32:45 – Creating a Safe Space 34:20 – From Performer to Facilitator 40:55 – Building the Wicklow Studio 45:00 – Why Small Venues Matter 52:34 – What's Next for Pilgrims? 55:37 – Outro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 3 weeks ago1h 8m
Why Education Keeps Preparing Kids for the Wrong Future | Owen Losse
What if we're preparing young people for a future that will never exist?After more than 15 years working across education systems and helping schools improve outcomes for students, Owen Losse has reached a surprising conclusion: we spend too much time trying to predict the future, and not enough time understanding how people actually learn.In this conversation, Owen draws on his experience as an education leader to explore one of the biggest questions facing education today:How do we prepare people for a future we can't predict?From AI and the surprising history of the chalkboard to confidence, practical skills, and why learning has to be hard, this conversation challenges many of our assumptions about education, technology, and what it really means to prepare people for an unknowable future.Whether you're an educator, parent, leader, builder, or lifelong learner, you'll walk away with a different perspective on learning—and why the most important skills may be the ones that never go out of date.Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/HarrisonGardnerConnect with Harrison:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_harrisongardnerWebsite: https://www.harrisongardner.net/Books: https://www.harrisongardner.net/bookstore-1Pre-order my new book HEAT-SHELTER-WATER-FOODhttps://www.harrisongardner.net/heat-shelter-water-foodConnect with Owen:https://www.linkedin.com/in/owenlosse/Chapters00:00 Learning Has to Be Hard02:45 Owen's Journey Through Education09:06 Why Education Doesn't Work the Same Everywhere12:20 What Should Schools Actually Teach?15:45 Why Schools Keep Chasing the Future24:50 Why Schools Are Always Behind27:33 The AI Education Debate Happened 100 Years Ago34:35 How Build School Teaches People to Learn39:30 How Schools Can Stop Chasing Society50:15 What 15-Year-Olds Really Think About Home58:00 Is Confidence a Skill?59:20 What Cooking 100 Chickens Teaches Us About Learning01:03:20 Learning From Failure01:05:05 What a Good Learning Environment Looks Like Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Aug 20, 202652 min
Earthships: Houses From Cans and Tires Without Utility Bills | Mike Reynolds
What if your home could produce its own water, energy, food, and comfort?For more than 50 years, Michael Reynolds has challenged conventional architecture by building off-grid, self-sustaining homes from materials most people consider trash. As the creator of the Earthship movement, he believes our homes should take care of us, not the other way around.But this conversation isn't really about architecture.It's about independence.It's about questioning the systems we've come to depend on and asking a simple question:What if the resources we need are already all around us?In this episode, Mike shares why he built homes from tires, beer cans, and bottles and why he believes autonomous off-grid housing is the future.We explore Earthships, off-grid living, self-reliance, and sustainable architecture, while asking whether waste could become one of our most valuable resources.Whether you're interested in alternative building or simply learning to think differently, this conversation will challenge the way you think about home, freedom, and resilience.Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/HarrisonGardnerCONNECT WITH MEInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/_harrisongardnerWebsite: https://www.harrisongardner.net/Bookstore: https://www.harrisongardner.net/bookstore-1 Pre-order my new book HEAT-SHELTER-WATER-FOODhttps://www.harrisongardner.net/heat-shelter-water-foodEarthship Biotecture: https://earthship.com/Earthship Academy & Training:https://earthship.com/learn00:00 Building a House From Beer Cans01:04 The Colombia Story03:40 Why Mike Started Building Earthships08:10 The 60-Year Fight Against the System12:00 Why Autonomous Off-Grid Housing Matters14:09 Ad Break: Supporting The Tools at Hand15:57 Unbuilding the Way We Think About Homes20:30 The Six Things Every Human Needs25:30 Why Everything Has Become an Industry29:05 The Knowledge Mike Wants to Spread38:03 What COVID Taught Mike About Self-Reliance43:21 Why a House Should Be a Machine48:25 How Earthships Changed Harrison's Life49:45 The Garbage Warrior & Harrison's New Book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Aug 13, 202657 min
The Question I've Been Trying to Answer for 20 Years
When I was 19, I went to Kenya because I wanted to make myself useful in the world. Instead, I found myself caught in the middle of the 2007–08 post-election violence and came home with a feeling of helplessness and a question that has stayed with me for almost 20 years: why do some people keep believing their actions matter while others eventually stop trying?Years later, I went back to the journal I kept during that time and started looking at the experience differently. In this episode, I explore Martin Seligman’s famous dog experiment and the psychology of learned helplessness, and how our sense of agency is shaped by repeated experience.I also look at where I see the same pattern today, from Irish farmers dealing with wool that has almost no economic value to a generation growing up with every global crisis in their pockets. And I ask what it might take to unlearn helplessness and start finding the levers that still work.Pre-order my new book HEAT-SHELTER-WATER-FOODhttps://www.harrisongardner.net/heat-shelter-water-foodSupport the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/HarrisonGardnerCONNECT WITH MEInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/_harrisongardnerWebsite: https://www.harrisongardner.net/Chapters00:00 Intro: Kenya and Helplessness01:03 Welcome Back01:40 Why I Went to Kenya04:10 Kenya's 2007 Election Crisis13:03 Reading My Diary From Kenya24:04 Martin Seligman's Dog Experiment26:30 Learned Helplessness and Agency28:00 Why I Thought I Could Change the World31:20 Finding the Same Pattern Everywhere33:42 The Irish Wool Problem38:10 What Today's Generation Is Learning42:30 What Really Happened in Kenya?48:20 The Work That Actually Matters52:50 Looking Back Twenty Years Later55:40 Finding the Levers Around Us56:50 My New Book: Heat, Shelter, Water, Food57:35 Credits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 17, 202652 min
Alan Wyley: The Answer Was Already There
Ireland wastes over a million euro of renewable energy every day while over half a million households can't afford to heat their homes. Alan Wyley is the CEO of Energycloud and has a €500 device that connects those two factors. He and Harrison talk about elegant solutions, stubborn optimism, and what it takes to bring an end to energy poverty.Brought to you by Bord Gáis Energy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 10, 202645 min
Clare Noone: Understanding the System We're In
Dr Clare Noone has sat in the rooms where the world tries to agree on its future. As a climate scientist who attended the most recent COP summit in Brazil, she has seen up close the gap between what the science says and what actually gets decided. She and Harrison talk about turning research into action, what it costs to keep communicating clearly when the stakes are this high, and what the rest of us can actually do with that information.Contains strong language.Brought to you by Bord Gáis Energy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
About The Tools At Hand with Harrison Gardner
THE TOOLS AT HAND is a podcast about using what we have to build what we need. borrowing ideas, building capacity, and learning as we go.
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