The RegenNarration

Highlights of 2025: The best from our guests, their places & tunes

What an incredible year. There was certainly dark stuff, but if you were ever in doubt there was plenty to revel in, welcome to the highlights from a unique and far-reaching year on the podcast. You’ll hear highlight selections from our guests throughout 2025, accompanied by some of the music they often played or sung themselves, and the sounds of Country as we travelled across multiple continents, countries and languages. This year featured a record 54 episodes, 4 with bilingual editions, and over a dozen bonus extras and vignettes. Most episodes were conversations, with 5 panels too, 1 documentary style production, 1 fan mail episode and this highlights reel.There were 67 guests, around half Aussie and half international, almost all of them on-location, just under a quarter First Nations, and from all walks of life.Once again listening to it all in one place today has been incredible. I hope you enjoy it too.And I hope you’ve enjoyed the podcast as a whole this year. As another year ends, huge thanks to all you generous subscribers and other supporting listeners, for making it possible. I’ll continue my shout outs, exclusives and other bonus bits next year, and as we enter the podcast’s 10th year, I’ll reach out with a few new things too. Thanks also for your wonderful correspondence this year. And to everyone who sheltered, fed and generally cared for us throughout the year, around Australia, Guatemala and the States, thank you.With enormous thanks also, to all the wonderful musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here.And finally, thanks so much for listening.The track list for this episode, identifying the people, places and tunes, is in the chapter list.Chapter markers.Title image: Glacier National Park, on Blackfeet Nation, northern Montana USA (pic: Anthony James).Find more:To access the full catalogue of episodes, head to the website (where there’ll often be photos with each episode) or wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks again for listening, have a wonderful festive season and see you in 2026!Send us a textSupport the showThe 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!

Life is Beautiful: Two friends on a lake reflect on Mayan roots at Tikal, war and peace, and the hope we pass to our children

Aníbal de Paz was a young man in Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, when I was a young man living there at the turn of the century. He had been born into war in the 80s, became a runner for the resistance as a boy, was a teenager as peace broke out in the 90s, and in his 20s, when we met and became friends, he was driver and confidant for his father, Don Ceferino de Paz González, my guest in episode 286, when he became Mayor.Aníbal carries a presence of hard-won wisdom, born of a unique life, with a prominent Maya Achí father, and quietly formidable mother. And he speaks with such poetic sensibility, though scarcely literate in the formal sense. All this comes to the fore all the more, as we’ve just spent the day at the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, along with Anibal’s wife, Q’eqchí woman Josefina Choc Tiul, and their wonderful daughters. It was the children’s first visit. At the end of an exhausting day, both our families settled into bed, while we headed out to have one last conversation, plenty of it we’d never talked about, before saying our farewells. They were to head back to Fray before the dawn.You’re about to hear a deeply felt and observed profile of a life, a country, and in many ways, a global dynamic that many of us are feeling more acutely these days. It is raw and real, hopeful and instructive, about power, choices of life and death, and how to navigate generational shifts in times like these.It’s my privilege to have landed in the midst of Aníbal’s story through a couple of narrow windows, yet wide enough to be able to share this with you now.It was still noisy on the street out front, near the town of El Remate in El Petén province. So we soon moved down to the beautiful Lake Petén Itzá, via a now permanently flooded jetty, and found a boat. Thanks again to old mate from those first Guatemala times, Dana ‘Patricio’ Scott, for so generously translating and speaking the Spanish in English.Recorded 18 January 2025.Title image: Aníbal on the jetty the day before (pic: Anthony James).See more photos on the episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below. Music:Salta Montes, by Migra (from Artlist).Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests. Send us a textSupport the showThe 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!

La Vida Es Hermosa: Dos amigos en un lago reflexionan sobre las raíces Mayas en Tikal, la guerra y la paz, y la esperanza que transmitimos a nuestros hijos

NOTE: This version of this week’s episode is in Spanish. You'll find the English translated version in your podcast feed too. Aníbal de Paz era un joven en Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, cuando yo era joven y vivía allí a principios del siglo. Había nacido en la guerra de los años 80, se convirtió en un mensajero para la resistencia de niño, era adolescente cuando se firmaron los Acuerdos de Paz en 1996, y unos años después, cuando nos conocimos y nos hicimos amigos, fue chófer y confidente de su padre, Don Ceferino de Paz González, mi invitado en el episodio 286, cuando asumió la alcaldía.Aníbal posee una presencia de sabiduría adquirida con esfuerzo, fruto de una vida única, con un prominente padre Maya Achí y una madre discretamente formidable. El habla con una sensibilidad poética también. Todo esto se hace aún más evidente, ya que acabábamos de pasar el día en la antigua ciudad Maya de Tikal, a unos 300 km o 6 horas en coche al noreste de Fray, junto con la esposa de Aníbal, la Q'eqchí Josefina Choc Tiul, y sus maravillosas hijas. Era la primera visita de las niñas.Al final de un día agotador, nuestras familias se acostaron, mientras el y yo salíamos para tener una última conversación antes de despedirnos. Ellos debían regresar a Fray antes del amanecer.Están a punto de escuchar un perfil profundamente sentido y observado de una vida, un país y, en muchos sentidos, una dinámica global que muchos de nosotros estamos sintiendo con mayor intensidad estos días. Es abierto y real, esperanzador e instructivo, sobre el poder, las decisiones de vida o muerte, y cómo afrontar los cambios generacionales en tiempos como estos. Es un privilegio haber sido una parte en la historia de Aníbal, y a compartir esto con ustedes ahora.Grabado al Lago Petén Itzá, el 18 de enero de 2025.Gracias a Dana ‘Patricio’ Scott por traducir esto para la versión en inglés.Foto principal: Aníbal y la lancha en la cual hablábamos.Vea más fotos en la página web del episodio y, para ver más del detrás de cámaras, conviértase en oyente colaborador a continuación.Música:Salta Montes, de Migra (fuente: Artlist).Regeneration, de Amelia Barden.The RegenNarration playlist.Send us a textSupport the showThe 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!

La Nueva Libertad: Cómo Retornados Formaron Una Exitosa Comunidad Multicultural, Cooperativa y Centro Educativo

NOTE: This version of this week’s episode is in Spanish. You'll find the English translated version in your podcast feed too. Bienvenidos de nuevo a Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Alta Verapaz, para continuar con una serie especial desde Guatemala, Centroamérica.Al regresar a este lugar que fue mi hogar durante unos años a principios de siglo, no sabía quién estaría, aún seguiría vivo. Pensé que mis viejos amigos Cándido Reyes y su esposa Maricela, si todavía estaban aquí, seguirían en la comunidad de retornados que ayudaron a fundar 30 años antes, llamada La Nueva Libertad, a solo unos kilómetros del pueblo de Fray. Pero después de tantos años, no tenía forma de recordar cuál era su casa, una vieja dirección de correo electrónico no funcionaba, y una antigua oficina suya en el pueblo ya es un restaurante.Así que pregunté por ahí y al fin recibí la información que los encontraría en las instalaciones actuales de la legendaria ONG para la que siguen trabajando, Adelina Caal Maquín (ACM). Esa trabaja con mujeres, jóvenes, soberanía alimentaria, agroecología y, más recientemente, una escuela secundaria de desarrollo comunitario sostenible.Al día siguiente, sin poder avisar y con cierta timidez, fui a buscarlos. La conversación fue tan maravillosa, que luego Cándido y yo grabamos esta conversación mientras dimos un paseo por La Nueva. Comenzamos en ACM, paseamos por los huertos, la comunidad, sus escuelas, su innovadora cooperativa, y nos adentramos en las extraordinarias historias de sus vidas y de este lugar. Tras los horrores de la guerra, exploramos la época de Cándido como joven organizador de la resistencia, y cómo luego regresó como líder en la formación de la cooperativa y la comunidad.Hablamos de los enormes éxitos y desafíos de la cooperativa, de la reconexión con los ancestros, los cambios de Fray y de Guatemala, de la empresa de procesamiento de alimentos, de reflexiones sobre su vida hasta ahora, y de su irreducible fe en lo posible.Cándido es un tipo muy inteligente y bien chistoso. Y aquí, están iluminando un camino para Guate y, en muchos sentidos, para todos nosotros. Grabado el 14 de enero de 2025.Foto por Olivia Cheng.Vea más fotos en el sitio de web y, para ver más del detrás de cámaras, conviértase en oyente colaborador a continuación.Música:Salta Montes, de Migra (fuente: Artlist).Regeneration, de Amelia Barden.The RegenNarration playlist.Send us a textSupport the showThe 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!

The New Freedom: How a Refugee Return Became a Thriving Multi-Cultural Community, Cooperative & Education Centre

Welcome back to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Alta Verapaz, as we continue a special series from Guatemala, Central America. I wish I’d recorded how I came to find today’s guest. In returning to this place that was home for a few years back at the turn of the century, I didn’t know who’d still be around, alive even. I figured that my old friends Cándido Reyes and his wife Maricela, if they were still around, would be in the returned refugee community they helped set up 30 years prior, called la Nueva Libertad (the New Freedom), just a few kilometres out of town. But after so many years, I had no chance of remembering which house was theirs, an old email address didn’t work, and an old office of theirs in town was now a restaurant.So I asked around, and eventually got the tip I’d find them in the current facility of the legendary non-profit they continue to work for called Adelina Caal Maquín (ACM) – working with women, youth, food sovereignty, agro-ecology and, more recently, a residential secondary school in sustainable community development.Anyway, next day, unannounced and with some timidity, I went to find them. Catching up was so wonderful and compelling, later Cándido and I pressed record on a walk around La Nueva. We start at ACM, wander around the gardens, the community, its schools, its innovative cooperative set up, and delve into the extraordinary stories of their lives and this place. Emerging from the horrors of war, we explore Cándido's time as a young resistance organizer, and how he later returned as a leader in the formation of the coop and community. We talk about the coop’s enormous successes and challenges, reconnecting with ancestors, the changing face of Fray and Guatemala, the exciting food processing venture, reflections on a life so far, and his unflinching belief in what’s possible.Cándido is sharp, resilient and very funny. And out here, they’re lighting a beacon for Guate, and in many ways, for us all. Thanks again to Dana ‘Patricio’ Scott for generously translating and speaking the Spanish in English. Let’s head to la Nueva Libertad.Recorded 14 January 2025.See more photos on the episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.Music:Salta Montes, by Migra (from Artlist).Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.Send us a textSupport the showThe 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!