Alastair McIntosh is a Scottish writer, broadcaster and activist on social, environmental and spiritual issues. His books include Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power described as “world changing” by George Monbiot, “life changing” by the Bishop of Liverpool and “truly mental” by Thom Yorke of Radiohead. His two most recent books are Spiritual Activism – Leadership as Service co-authored with Matt Carmichael and Poacher’s Pilgrimage: an Island Journey. He joins us via the wires to talk about growing up on an island community, experiencing Papua New Guinea, rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful and experiencing the poverty of affluence, and his life long work to emphasise the importance of cultures of place and his experience of rebuilding them after forcible displacement on the Isle of Eigg and in urban settings with his GalGael project. We also touch on the island Presbyterian heritage he shares with Rupert Murdoch, and Donald Trump who “was wrung from the loins of a woman from Lewis” and how the force can be turned to the dark side.
Photo by Leo Fosdal on Unsplash
Related Articles
'SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID
FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id)
WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (3468419) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (5,8988,8992)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = \'post\' AND ((wp_posts.post_status = \'publish\'))
GROUP BY wp_posts.ID
ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC
LIMIT 0, 3'
By Don Hall, Evolutionary Change
Drawing on the insights of more than 1,000 groups worldwide, here is a compilation of stories, guides, webinars and an ongoing discussion course to help communities drive long-term change.
September 3, 2026
By Alex Leff, Human Nature Odyssey
How did humans go from living in small-scale communities where everyone knew each other to building a massive civilization filled with billions of strangers? Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, author of “The Score,” joins the odyssey to explore the strange relationship between games and large-scale society.
September 2, 2026
By Mark Engler, Dispatches from the Whirlwind
In a world of AI and data centers and phones in our pockets that demand continual attention, Berry’s voice remains as important as ever.
September 2, 2026
