Stanzin Dorjai Gya is a multi-award-winning filmmaker and cultural leader from Ladakh. Born in one of Ladakh’s oldest villages called Gya, Stanzin lived a partly-nomadic childhood, spending half the month tending his family’s herd of yaks and cashmere goats in the mountains above 4000 metres, while attending school during the other half. As a teenager, he dropped out of conventional high school, and began attending Ladakh’s alternative school, SECMOL, where he discovered filmmaking.
Stanzin’s much loved documentary films generally deal with issues of climate change, cultural change and cultural survival. The Shepherdess of the Glaciers, which is probably his most celebrated work, is a touching portrait of his elder sister, Tsering, who still lives a nomadic life in the mountains, tending her family’s sheep and goats.
In this episode, Stanzin shares the gems of wisdom he’s gathered high in the Himalaya – from the interdependence of all beings to the profound inner peace borne of farming and shepherding. He talks about his films, his family, his village and his childhood. He questions and redefines education and intelligence, and reflects on Ladakh’s deep past, its modernisation, and its future.
4 Sept 2026
Planet Local Voices II with Warwick Smith
In this episode, Warwick introduces his town of Castlemaine on Dja Dja Wurrung country in Victoria, Australia, and the range of interesting projects happening there. He shares the process of starting the Castlemaine community investment cooperative, which is acquiring real estate for the community and by the community, remove it from rampant speculation to support the local culture, community and economy instead. He stresses relationship building as a key part of this hands-on work, and reflects on ways to help ordinary people and public policymakers understand and put into practice alternative economic development ideas.
20 Aug 2026
Planet Local Voices II with Anja Lyngbaek
In her interview for Planet Local Voices II, Anja discusses the cascade of social and environmental harms being caused by the global growth-obsessed corporate-controlled economy, and conversely, the multiple benefits to people and nature the accrue from a systemic shift towards the local. This dynamic is, she argues, most starkly visible in the food system, which under corporate globalization is destroying the planet, local economies and health, but under a shift to localized, ecological production and consumption models heals our interlocking polycrises simultaneously. Anja issues a rousing call to get involved, become an activist - especially a food activist - and link up with others to heal our relationship with the land beneath our feet, but also to transform the system that is driving catastrophe. Millions of people are already doing this, she reminds us, and from this realization we can draw inspiration and hope in dark times.
Who has been a guest on Local Futures Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
15 different voices
Bill Powers
Ruby Van der Wekken
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
1,418,395
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
19 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
24 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
6
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
85
Contact Local Futures Podcast
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
