Welcome to the 10th year of the podcast! And thank you. As an entirely listener supported show, it only happens thanks to listeners like you.

To start off the year, another form of thanks, and tribute, to a guest from 2023 who was so wonderful, as much for his brilliance as his grace. I’m talking of the late Manchán Magan, acclaimed Irish travel writer, documentary maker, radio producer, theatre performer, builder of the first straw-bale house in Ireland, regenerator of the 10 acre block it stands on, and best-selling author. Manchán died in October last year at an age not too senior to mine, just a couple of months after a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Beautifully, I’ve learned he and long-term partner Aisling married a few weeks before he died. Aisling described how they fell in love too, as she later posthumously accepted the Best Irish-Published Book of the Year award for Manchán's latest work ‘Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun)’. You can find that story here.

Manchán and I signed off our podcast chat looking forward to meeting, given the various threads emerging at the time, including tracing more of my roots back to Ireland, and the connections between those roots and Aboriginal cultures and Country here - so a little slice of me cut away with the news too. But what a blessing to have had that yarn. Thanks Manchán for your fleeting but unforgettable presence in my life. And of course, for being so much more for so many more people all over the place. That, no doubt, will continue on. Right now, in fact.

For here are the last 25 minutes or so of my conversation with Manchán from a couple of years ago. So much to love in just this short window.

To listen to the full episode with Manchán, and find further links, head to episode 173. Recorded with thanks to the Derby Aboriginal Media Corporation, at 6DBY deadly Derby radio in the West Kimberley, on the heels of the Aboriginal Irish festival in Fremantle WA.

Title image source.

Chapters and transcripts.

Music: The Blackbird (Irish Song Dance), by Ennis, Morrison and Muller (from Artlist).

Thanks again for listening, and for supporting The RegenNarration.

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Support the show

The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Just one final highlight from last year, before we kick off the new series. Well, it was actually from 2024, but an excerpt of it was played last year, when the latest book from 5x New York Times best-selling author and friend, Paul Hawken, was released - Carbon: The Book of Life.

That 2024 episode and 2025 excerpt featured Paul doing a world premiere reading of the final passage of the book, in his sun-drenched garden in northern California. Today, the last minute of that reading, for your pure listening pleasure.

If you’re inspired to listen to more, or to revisit the rest of our conversation, you’ll find it at episode 204.

Title image: Paul in the garden (pic: Olivia Cheng)

To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts.

With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here.

And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast!

Next up, the new series for 2026 ...

Chapter markers

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Ok, just a couple more bite size highlights from last year. Well, this one was actually from a few years ago, but an excerpt of it was played last year - titled A Laugh, a Cry and a Touchstone Moment, featuring Tyson Yunkaporta. And indeed, this passage in particular might still be the most moving and funny of the entire podcast. Certainly, the opening gambit has continued to come up in conversation ever since.

Tyson belongs to the Apalech Clan from Western Cape York in far north Queensland, with community/cultural ties all over Australia. He is the author multiple books, including Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. He’s also a poet and artist carving traditional tools and weapons, processes that were central to writing the book.

If you’d like to hear or revisit our conversation in full, head to episode 70 – ‘Sand Talk: Indigenous thinking, saving the world & living creation’ (there are a bunch of links in those show notes too, and a very special photo from this conversation on that episode website).

Title image: Tyson Yunkaporta (supplied)

To access all episodes, including the full 2025 highlights package in ep 289, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode), or wherever you get your podcasts.

With thanks to our wonderful guests and the musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here.

And thanks for listening and supporting the podcast!

Chapter markers

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!