Last Wild Places
3 episodes Last Updated: Apr 14, 25
The Last Wild Places: Guardians of Untamed Wilderness follows globe-trotting adventurer Jack Maddox as he journeys to Earth's few remaining truly wild regions to live alongside the indigenous guardians who protect these ecosystems through traditional stewardship practices. Each episode immerses listeners in a different environment—from rainforest to savanna to jungle—where Jack participates in conservation efforts that blend ancient knowledge with modern challenges. Through vivid, first-person storytelling, Jack reveals how these traditional guardians maintain ecological balance through practices developed over thousands of years, often in the face of mounting threats from development, extraction, and climate change. The series explores the profound connection between cultural preservation and environmental conservation, showing how traditional ecological knowledge often provides solutions that modern science is only beginning to understand.Click here to browse handpicked Amazon finds inspired by this podcast series!https://amzn.to/43tvQNahttps://www.quietperiodplease.com/
Episodes
Deep in the Brazilian Amazon, Jack joins indigenous Kayapo rangers patrolling the boundaries of their protected territory, which serves as a buffer zone for uncontacted tribes who still live in voluntary isolation from the modern world. As Jack participates in tracking illegal loggers and miners, he witnesses how traditional knowledge of the rainforest combines with modern technology to create an effective defense system against encroachment. Through conversations around campfires and during tense encounters with illegal operations, Jack explores how these indigenous guardians are fighting not just for the forest itself, but for the right of isolated peoples to maintain their traditional ways of life in one of Earth's last truly untouched regions.
Jack travels to the remote rainforests of Central African Republic's Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area to join BaAka trackers who use their extraordinary traditional knowledge to monitor and protect the last remaining forest elephants—smaller, more elusive cousins of their savanna counterparts and among the most endangered mammals on Earth. As Jack learns tracking techniques passed down through generations, he witnesses how the BaAka can read subtle signs invisible to outside eyes and interpret elephant behavior with remarkable precision. Through his immersion with anti-poaching patrols and research teams, Jack explores the parallel struggles for survival facing both the forest elephants and the BaAka culture, revealing how traditional knowledge offers insights that even the most sophisticated conservation technology cannot replace.
Apr 10, 2025
Episode 1.The Fire Keepers of Northern Australia
In Australia's remote Northern Territory, Jack embeds with Aboriginal ranger groups who use fire management techniques developed over 60,000 years to prevent catastrophic wildfires and preserve biodiversity in ancient savanna landscapes. Living alongside rangers in Arnhem Land, Jack participates in traditional burning practices that create intricate mosaics of differently-aged vegetation across the landscape. He learns how Aboriginal people "read country" to determine exactly when, where, and how to burn, and discovers how these ancient practices are now recognized as sophisticated tools for both conservation and carbon management in a changing climate. The episode reveals a profound philosophy of environmental stewardship where humans are active participants in ecological processes rather than separate from them.