A Life More Wild
A Life More Wild
Canopy & Stars
A Life More Wild takes you into the outdoors with fascinating people, to hear how nature shapes their work and lives. Go eagle spotting with Hamza Yassin, strolling on the beach with Jordan Stephens and walking in the woods with Charlotte Church. And hear remarkable stories, like the lady who flew over the Russian tundra to save endangered swans, the Londoners who turned birdwatching into a global movement and the last drystone waller in Wales.
Joycelyn Longdon on secret willow rooms and radical imagination
Joycelyn Longdon wears many hats. She works on conservation with communities in Ghana, she speaks and writes about environmental action and she also specialises in something called bioacoustics. It keeps her pretty busy, so we caught up with her to take a break from her desk and a stroll into one of her favourite places - Paradise Nature Reserve in Cambridge. On the way, she explains how all her worlds come together and how important it is that cultural interaction creates a new way to imagine our future.
Jun 10
22 min
The Sounds of Spring in Eryri National Park
This year, as well as walks with interesting guests, we’re doing something a little different on A Life More Wild. Working with our charity partner Campaign for National Parks, we’re creating bonus episodes with seasonal soundscapes from some of the UK’s most precious green spaces.   We start with The Sounds of Spring in Eryri National Park. You’ll follow Rhys, a shepherd from Dolgellau, as he takes his flock out into the wind and rain of a fairly typical spring day in Wales.
May 21
10 min
Barney Murray on the wibbly tightness, brutal conditions and surprisingly young demographic of drystone walling
Barney Murray was in his late teens, studying art and hating it. He took a casual labouring job with a couple of guys who ran a drystone walling company. He never looked back. Nine years later and now a certified Master Craftsman, he loves working out in the fields, even when the weather is at its most challenging. Join him as he works to patch a gap in the wall of a sheep field, a more technical process than you might think. As he builds “skins”, packs the centre and lays coping stones, he talks about finding himself already a veteran builder as a young wave of wallers emerges, brutal weather, wildlife habitats, and how he can read the walls like handwriting. A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.
Apr 15
21 min
Jordan Stephens on fame, heartbreak, dogs and braving the weather
At the age of 20, Jordan Stephens achieved his dream - when Rizzle Kicks’ album Stereo Typical went platinum. He’d always loved music and had seen it as a way he could transform the lives of himself and his mother. With the album’s success, he should have had it all but it’s never that simple. On a walk along the shores of the Isle of Sheppey, he talks about the problems with selling young people dreams of fame and wealth, making mistakes, walking dogs, his mixed feelings about the city and starting it all with raps that dissed his teachers. A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.
Mar 12
21 min
Tim Key on maybe being a ghost and definitely being a pigeon, but not knowing why
Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival has always been the centre of Tim Key’s professional life. For over 20 years, he’s been bringing shows to the city, honing his craft in the intensity of month-long runs. Every time he visits, he climbs Arthur’s Seat, so while he was in town for some Christmas gigs, we joined him on the ascent. He talks about the city’s place in his heart, the unfortunate year of 2002, being ignored in favour of Mark Watson and not getting any clarity on why he spent almost all his screen time in Bong Joon Ho’s film Mickey 17 dressed as a pigeon. A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.
Dec 18, 2025
25 min
Quick Strolls: Challenging Nature
Welcome to Quick Strolls, shorter walks with the guests from A Life More Wild. In episode ten, we talk to three guests who have taken on incredible challenges in nature, from a six-month trail hike and wandering the Cairngorms in period costume, to a paramotor flight from the Russian Arctic to the UK.
Dec 4, 2025
7 min
Quick Strolls: Natural Design
Welcome to Quick Strolls, shorter walks with the guests from A Life More Wild. In episode nine, we examine how design and architecture have been inspired by nature, from a tiny private garden to a London landmark.
Nov 20, 2025
5 min
Luke Adam Hawker on etching under a poncho in the rain
Luke Adam Hawker, once a designer and architect, is now a full-time artist, whose work is a deeply emotive exploration of nature, our relationship to it and our connections with each other. As he walks through the woods near his home, he talks about creating a book entirely of etchings, learning from his non-verbal son and the challenges of work in situ in all conditions. A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.
Nov 6, 2025
22 min
Quick Strolls: Coping with Loss
Welcome to Quick Strolls, shorter walks with the guests from A Life More Wild. In episode eight, we talk to guests who’ve leant on nature to help them through some of the most difficult times in their lives. This episode of Quick Strolls deals with the potentially triggering issues of grief, death and suicide right from the outset.
Oct 15, 2025
6 min
Mark Diacono on grounding, growing and momentous soup
Mark Diacono has always grown, cooked and written about food. But despite a life lived in and around nature, he felt disconnected. A simple weekly diary helped him get back in touch with the natural world and himself, and an even simpler soup helped him cope with being “happily heartbroken”. A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.
Oct 1, 2025
22 min
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