Wilderness Within
Wilderness Within (WW) is an exploration of inner worlds and landscapes through shared stories, lived wisdom, and honest conversations with changemakers, elders, and visionaries whom I am privileged to call friends. Birthed from a realisation of how radical it is to carry such inspirational humans in my life, this project is an invitation to step beyond the superficial and dive into the depths of our devotions, motivations, and vulnerabilities. Each episode is an unhurried, open share celebrating the triumphs, learnings, and raw honesty of these wonderful souls. From ancient skills practitioner Tamara Wilder on eldership, paleotechnics, and ancestral connection, to organic farming pioneer Jim Barngrover on living soil, native seed saving, and rural community sovereignty, to personal solo meditations recorded on trail walks touching into truth, grief, and deep gratitude, Wilderness Within weaves a tapestry of stories reconnecting us to our spirit and inner self, to one another, and to the land. Hosted by Kai J. Lee, a storyteller, facilitator, and community weaver, this show is an uncommercialised sanctuary dedicated to whānaungatanga (kinship and genuine relationship) and deep listening. Wilderness Within runs alongside Letters at Dawn, my primary devotion on Substack. Together, these creations document a personal evolution of rediscovering identity, standing for truth, and honouring the human experience across past, present, and future. My wish is that these shared stories serve you on your own inner discoveries. Listen & Connect: Website: wildernesswithinpod.com Instagram: @wildernesswithinpod Substack + financial contributions: lettersatdawn.substack.com WW is an independent, listener-supported project made possible by the ongoing generosity of our community. Deepest gratitude to my brothers Scott Hanson and Carlos Militante for the original soundtrack and logo, and to all the past patrons, clients, and friends who have sustained this passion project across the years. Note on availability: Wilderness Within is available on Apple Podcasts and all major podcast platforms, except Spotify, which has been intentionally removed due to their funding of military startups. Mauri ora (to life, health, and the living essence in us all), - Kai J. Lee 李曉敦
Episodes
What does it truly mean to provide for a community and care for the earth beneath our feet?
In this episode of Wilderness Within, Kai J. Lee sits down with elder, lifelong organic grower, and sustainable agriculture pioneer Jim Barngrover at his home in Helena, Montana. Recorded during the summer of 2023 against the backdrop of the landmark Held v. Montana youth climate trial taking place just blocks away, this expansive kitchen-tab...
Some conversations take time to find their moment. This one was recorded in Mazunte, México in January 2023, just over three years ago now, waiting for the right container to release it into.
Andy and I were housemates on the Oaxacan coast. We'd wake up, walk to morning meditations at a local centre, drift down to the beach, cook together, and marvel at the plants and wildlife around our tropical setting. It was one of those rare po...
"Living with openness isn’t easy, but it’s the only way I feel truly connected."
In this intimate, firelit conversation recorded in the oak woodlands of Mendocino, I sit down with someone who has long felt like a little sister to me - Alyson. We’ve shared many chapters over the years, from our time living and working in Nepal to weaving our own creative paths through life. What we spoke about in 2023 still holds we...
"It’s no longer getting healthy because I should. It’s getting healthy because I’m trying to become fit for fatherhood - physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally."
In this heartfelt catch-up, I sat down with my dear friend and brother, Scott Hanson - a man whose life story reminds me (and all of us) what happens when you listen to your gut, surrender to change, and build a life of intentional service and comm...
In this deeply personal solo episode, yours truly, Kai J., return to one of the lands that raised me - Los Angeles - to walk, reflect, and speak aloud the truths that have shaped my latest chapter. Through spontaneous storytelling on the trail, I explore what it means to finally meet the hero I've been searching for: myself. From honouring ancestral roots and interviewing my parents on camera for the first time, to shedding victimh...
After a hiatus, we're back! This episode features a very special guest and friend, Tamara Wilder.
Tamara became fascinated by ancient living skills in at age 19 when she attended an Ancient Living Skills gathering. She was “hooked” and quickly began incorporating the practice of skills into her daily experience. Ever since, she has been dedicating her life to enjoying, learning, researching, experimenting with, writing a...
In this episode, I speak with Beth Huggins amongst the hills of coastal Ecuador on land being stewarded and restored by Regeneration Field Institute. Beth believes in development work that intimately considers unique community and individual needs with a systemic and holistic approach. I recall her soaking up the book (amongst countless other books) 'How Can I Help?' while living and working together in Nepal. She says "The concept...
In this episode, I have a connective walk and talk with Orion Haas, a long-time friend, brother, and collaborator amongst the jungle on the outskirts of Tulum, Mexico. Orion speaks into the early months of our friendship, then diving into our time and work in Nepal which brought us into a post-disaster, service-oriented community and the contrast to the living situation then in Tulum as a newly married man to Mariana, who was the g...
In our first full episode with a guest, I have a connective walk and talk with Mariana Jimenez Moreno, a dear friend, natural building teacher, and community living advocate in the tranquil forested art walk at Holistika in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Mariana speaks into her unique dual-world upbringing in Mexico & the United States, snippets of travel and living experiences in Mexico, France, India, Dominica, and Nepal that h...
In this pilot episode-trailer, I, Kai J. Lee, share the "ah-ha" moment of this podcast in the Spring of 2021 during a camping trip with an old friend outside of Los Angeles in southern California, and the months and years that followed of its shaping and materialization.
Next up - our first full episode with guest and dear friend, Mariana Jimenez Moreno.
Wilderness Within (WW) is an exploration of inner worlds through shared stories ...
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