Finally I dare to make myself the subject of an interview in my own podcast. The art/science pioneer Victoria Vesna grilled me on how I got where I am today: What I learned from John Cage, R. Murray Schafer, and all those birds, bugs, and whales I have made music with for years.โดย David Rothenberg

David James Duncan worked on his masterwork novel SUN HOUSE for nearly two decades, and it has now arrived. I met him last in the early days of the project, and now sixteen years later we sit down to talk about why the best things often take time, and why it was indeed that we all spent so much of our youth musing on distant spiritualities and phil…

Sun Chung founded Red Hook Records after working for more than a decade at ECM Records in Munich. It's rapidly becoming a beacon for what a creative music label can be in our tumultuous times. In this extensive conversation, we discuss why it can take years to set up a recording session for improvised music, and why it then might take a few more ye…

A far-reaching conversation with one of the finest bass players of our time, Glen Moore, known for his work with the Paul Winter Consort and Oregon, he also recorded many albums on ECM and Intuition with the likes of Tim Hardin, Larry Coryell, Art Lande, Rob Scheps, Larry Karush, and of course Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless, and Collin Walcott. Why …

Today we're visiting the botanical gardens. A chorus of Currawongs is singing in the trees and a mother duck is gathering her ducklings together, ready for a walk. All families are different and that's what makes them special. Sometimes our friends can feel like family. What's important is finding the people who make you feel like you can really be…

Today we're visiting the Australian bush. Next to the trunk of the gum tree is a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch. The joey hops out to rummage for some food, whilst mum takes care of him. It's important to care for others. We are all stronger when we look after one another.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Today we're visiting a promontory. A promontory is a high stretch of land surrounded by water. In a nest there's a family of magpies with some new babies, ready to find their voice. It's important to find your voice so if you have something to say, people will pay attention. And when we speak, we need people to listen too. All communication must ha…

Today we're visiting an island. Up above the sand dunes, there's a dingo howling to the sky. He's howling to get the attention of his pack so they can help him dig a big hole. What great teamwork. Do you sometimes work together with your siblings or friends to get something done? Just like this pack of dingoes.…

Today we're visiting a savanna. A wild mob of Brumbies are galloping across the sandy desert, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. A mare is encouraging her foal to join the rest of the group. Adventure awaits but the little foal is nervous. It's okay to feel nervous, everyone feels nervous sometimes.…

Today we're visiting some mountain ranges right here in the middle of the Australian desert. Some busy grey crowned babblers are making their nest, flying up and down and up and down. Watching on, is a frill-necked lizard sitting very still. Only his chest moves as he breathes in and out. Even though he isn't moving, he is actually very busy on the…

Today we're visiting a Rainforest, where we meet two different kinds of birds, a yellow-bellied sunbird and brush turkey. Both birds are tending to their nests and helping their young to grow. We all need others to help us, and to help others, so we can grow and get stronger.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Today we're visiting the summit of a mountain. We're going to journey up to the top, but so that it's not overwhelming, we're going to break the trek down into small, manageable sections. Along the way we'll make some friends, as we piece each small task together to get to the top.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Today we're visiting a forest. A spotted nightjar owl flies back to his hollow where two baby owlets wait. One owlet is very talkative and extroverted, whilst the other is quiet and introverted. Are you more like the talkative owlet? Or more of a quiet type… Happy to watch and listen.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Today we're visiting a leafy, green gully. As the sun disappears, some animals are getting ready for the evening, including a wombat friend. He's dug a big burrow and is heading out for the for a night time wander. His burrow is attracting some visitors, do you think he'll share his home?โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Today I speak with the poet, activist, and environmental writer Lisa Wells, author of Believers: Making a Life at the End of the World. We talk about the anger of youth, the fallibility of heroes, and the value of art and beauty in dark times.โดย David Rothenberg

Composer-performer Ben Neill reveals the history of his invention the Mutantrumpet, and his work over the years with Jon Hassell, John Cage, and La Monte Young, along with new ideas on where music will go in the coming decades. It will still have a beat, but will be played and heard in ways we can only dream of.…

Today I speak with musician, software developer, sound experimenter Matthew Aidekman on what computers can and can't do for us in the world of audio, and why the search for surprising ways to transform music electronically will never end.โดย David Rothenberg

Erica Cirino, science journalist, photographer, adventurer, discusses her new book THICKER THAN WATER (Island Press), on her journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the problem of plastics in our world in general.โดย David Rothenberg

Happy to be back in Berlin after an absence of more than two years, I was invited to guest host Bernhard Wöstheinrich's radio show THF Experience, which broadcasts from an old guardhouse at the entrance to the Tempelhof Airport Park. We tackled the theme of EMERGENCE: into nature, after this pandemic, with great guests including Monika Dorniak, Vol…

Today I speak with philosopher and nature writer Kathleen Dean Moore, whose new book celebrates the wild music of the natural world, in the hope that we can attune to its beauty and still clearly see the challenges our species faces in shaping a better place and way for us on this threatened planet. With music by Jane Rigler.…

Today I talk to anthropologist and writer Hugh Raffles about THE BOOK OF UNCONFORMITIES: SPECULATIONS ON LOST TIME, his latest epic work, a journey across the globe through personal tragedy, cultural conflict, and the raw qualities of the Earth from Arctic outposts to the ancient histories of Manhattan and the Callanish stones. A book impossible to…

Today I speak with the great English folk singer, musical archivist, and activist on how he became obsessed with that fine singing bird, the nightingale. That makes at least two of us who go out into the forests to perform along with this magnificent wild musician. How did he get there?โดย David Rothenberg

Jon Balke, master pianist, composer and bandleader, has blended the music of Africa and the Middle East with a uniquely precise and personal approach to improvisation, which sometimes blends his keyboard work with electronics and field recordings. I spoke to him online and blended his words with soundscapes from his entire career.…

I am honored to present this live duo concert and discussion with the great Stephen Nachmanovitch, author of the books FREE PLAY and THE ART OF IS—improvisor, teacher, thinker. We converse through music and words, presenting our shared fascination with the beautiful sounds of birds, sped up, slowed down, and transformed beyond recognition into a wi…

Unable to see, hear, or meet each other in the real world, Hanna and David try everything to break through the ‘meaninglessness' of nature to find truth, beauty, and contact in a world where invisible species are constantly trying to lure us beyond our mere humanity. Released in cooperation with Montez Press Radio in New York and the 3hd Festival B…

Professor David Rothenberg’s electronic music class at the New Jersey Institute of Technology is introduced to John Cage, and they are not pleased. As they ask themselves and their friends some of Cage's famous questions about what music is and is not, they come to change their tune.

Let’s go on a journey to the beach, so that we can listen to the sound of birds, the wind and big waves crashing ashore. Do you sometimes have big feelings? Maybe sometimes you feel angry, or scared or sad? Big feelings are okay, everyone has them sometimes, and there are a few things that can help.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Being out in nature is a great way to relax, and when we’re outside there’s a lot to listen to and discover. All of these different things can make our minds feel busy. Sometimes when your mind feels busy, it can be good to stop, breathe and concentrate on just one thing.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The national park is full of wonderful nature noises, especially late in the day when birds are getting ready for bed. From cockatoos to rosellas, all our feathered friends are preparing for a good night’s sleep. What do you do to help yourself get ready for a nice rest?โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We’re sitting by some wonderful wetlands, using our imaginations to watch finches fly, and have a gander at geese. Mother goose jumps into the water and goes under to try and find some food. And her little goslings are trying too! Do you every use your courage to try new things?โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Waterfalls make so many different sounds. They rumble, and crash, and gurgle and send sprays of water flying through the air. Eventually, they become a river. Calm and relaxed and flowing steadily.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Deserts are full of lots of marvellous sounds to listen to, including our friend little rainbow finch. Rainbow finch loves having lots of different finch friends and likes to go on adventures a little far from home. Sometimes this makes his friends a bit worried. Do you ever feel worried?โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The rainforest is a beautiful place to relax. They’re filled with so many amazing things. From the tallest trees, to the littlest insects and everything in between. There’s so much to be grateful for, here and everywhere.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We’re down by the wetlands, and little duck is showing us his beautiful home. When you feel joyful do you enjoy sharing your happiness with others? It can feel wonderful to smile at someone and share your joy like painting a grey day with wonderful bright colours.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Let’s lie down by this soothing stream and do a full body scan. A body scan is when we check in with each part of our body, to see how it’s feeling. From the top of our head, to the tips of our fingers and toes. It’s a nice way to say hello and thank you to your body for everything it’s done for you today.…

It’s early in the morning on a beautiful Aussie farm. The cows are waking up, the ducks are starting to quack and the sheep are off in search of food. But sometimes it can be hard to wake up in the morning. Maybe you’re like the farmers dog, and want to sleep in all day?โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Today I interview the great environmentalist and nature writer Carl Safina, discussing his new book Becoming Wild, which introduces culture in the world of animals, from sperm whales to macaws to chimpanzees. We discuss how his work moved from science to writing and activism, and why it was that legendary editor Jack McRae told him to write a book …

A walk through Queens with William Helmreich, a man who has walked every street in all the boroughs of New York City, not once but twice. We walked together in November 2017. In 2020 Helmreich became yet another casualty of the COVID-19 global pandemic. No one know the city the way he did, because he took the time to walk, to engage with people, an…

A conversation with jazz pianist and composer Daniel Kelly, where we discuss his unique series of pieces called "Rakonto," that combine storytelling with original music, created in communities all across America.โดย Daniel Kelly

The great German synth player Bernhard Wöstheinrich, founder of Iapetus Media and Centrozoon, here reveals his secrets for what makes a good electronic sound. He and I experiment with some sounds he likes, some he dislikes. Together we learn to listen to and to shape the unknown.โดย Bernhard Wöstheinrich

Elliott Sharp and David Rothenberg discuss their new books, IRRATIONAL MUSIC and NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN, with sound artist Jem Finer, at Iklectik Arts, London, June 12th 2019.โดย Elliott Sharp

We travel to the Arctic Hideaway, or Fordypningsrommet, on the Arctic archipelago of Fleinvær, invited by Nordic Music Days 2019. With Tine Surel Lange, Bjarne Kvinnsland, Håvard Lund, Gyrid Nordal Kaldestad, Leif Haglund and Espen Tversland, with everyone introducing some of their favorite sounds. The snipe hunt is real...…

Let’s go camping under the stars! Gather round the camp fire, feel its warmth and hear the sounds of the night all around you. Cicadas sing, frogs come out to play, like the pobblebonk also known as the eastern banjo frog, eastern common froglet and brown tree frogs. Listen and you’ll hear the southern boobook owl!…

Ever wondered what its like to walk in a field of wildflowers? Amongst the hundreds of colourful flowers of all shapes and size. Their lovely perfume fills the air. The birds are out singing their songs. Hear the pied butcherbird, willie wagtail, yellow throated miner, galah, yellow rumped thornbill and southern whiteface and more.…

Winter is here, it’s snowing outside but its warm inside. Time to snuggle up, wrap your favourite blanket around you and cosy up near a fireplace. Hear the soothing sounds the burning logs make.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

It’s a clear Autumn day in Melbourne and a perfect day for a walk in the park. The fallen leaves create a colourful carpet under foot as you crunch your way through the park. The birdsong of the bell miner, wattlebirds, pied currawong fills the air. Whilst the waddling black ducks enjoy a swim in the pond.…

It’s the sounds of Summer at Cradle Mountain lake. Let’s take a walk down the boardwalk to the boat shed by the water’s edge. So many happy sounds, kookaburras laugh, fairy wrens sing to a spotted pardalote and many more.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Imagine you’re at the beach, walking bare foot on the sand. Hear the waves crashing on the shore. Silver gulls fly over head and hungry albatross dive for food. Listen for the little swimmer crab scampering past.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian outback is a vast and beguiling place. Listen for the sounds of wild camels lolloping through the outback. Hear the zebra finches, willy wagtails, butcherbird, parrots, and honey eaters. Marvel at the soaring wedge-tailed eagle.โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Relax to the soothing sounds of trickling water as it slowly becomes a cascading waterfall. Listen to the calls of the lorikeets, bowerbirds, robin and king parrot. Can you spot the sound of the green tree frog?โดย Australian Broadcasting Corporation