Mike Edwards, PhD: Resonance with place and crises

How might we weave stories together as a response to ecological breakdown, using sound to connect to place?

In this episode, I speak with Mike Edwards. Mike began his career researching climate change in the Southwest Pacific, where his work—cited by the IPCC—was among the first to explore ecocolonialism: how climate discourse is manipulated by the powerful to control those most affected. His research challenged dominant narratives, sparking debate among those reluctant to rethink the status quo. In 2015, he co-founded Sound Matters, pioneering work in sonic rewilding, regenerative soundscaping, and Integral Listening (IL). His book Soundscapes of Life is set for release in 2025. Beyond sound, Mike has been a Climate Change Advisor to The Elders Foundation, working with leaders like Kofi Annan and President Jimmy Carter ahead of COP21. He has lectured worldwide, led the Arts and Ecology programme at Dartington Arts, and founded InnerDigenous, a movement helping people reconnect with self and place for personal and planetary healing. We discuss:

🥥 How knowledge is co-created by place and when it travels, brings place with it;

🥥 How soundscapes are the stories of many, which force us to attend differently;

🥥 How we are not interconnected, because that might suggested we can become disconnected, rather, we are all entangled and vibrating, sometimes, if we are lucky, at the same frequencies.

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Check out www.sound-matters.com