# Ep. 188 - Marta Wanderlust - Motherhood, Sovereignty & Medicalization of Childbirth, Initiation, Christ & Love Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-universe-within-podcast-1273864/ep-188-marta-wanderlust-motherhood-sovereignty-medicalization-of-childbirth-initiation-christ-love Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-universe-within-podcast-1273864/ep-188-marta-wanderlust-motherhood-sovereignty-medicalization-of-childbirth-initiation-christ-love.md Podcast: [The Universe Within Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-universe-within-podcast-1273864) Published: 2026-03-18T12:30:00+00:00 Episode link: https://jasongrechanik.com/podcast/marta-wanderlust-2 Audio file: https://pdcn.co/e/static1.squarespace.com/static/56796d68841abae3f5e4fae3/t/69a9a6fe0795f634c32c8596/1774366970808/188+new+FINAL+VERSION+05.03+audio.MP3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-universe-within-podcast-1273864/episodes/ep-188-marta-wanderlust-motherhood-sovereignty-medicalization-of-childbirth-initiation-christ-love Duration seconds: 6930 ## Resource Hey everybody! Episode 188 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with my friend Marta Wanderlust for her second appearance on the podcast—the first was five years ago, back in episode 16. Since then, Marta has become a mother of two, and this conversation centers largely on motherhood and the birthing process. We explore the parallels between birth and plant medicine ceremonies, birth as an initiation and threshold, the medicalization of childbirth and its downsides, and how birth itself can be a path to God. Marta also speaks to the role of Christ and faith, the reclamation of women’s sovereignty, and what that return of power could mean for a society less dependent on institutions and hierarchy. This was a deeply fascinating conversation about life, and Marta’s grounded, experiential wisdom truly shines through. I trust you’ll gain a lot from this one. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy! If you enjoyed our recent episode with Dr. Nathan Bryan and are curious to try Nitric Oxide, as listeners of the show, you can receive a 10% discount on all orders from their WEBSITE at checkout by using the Coupon code: UNIVERSE To connect with Marta directly, please email info@martawanderlust.com . To learn more about our work, visit our website: https://NicotianaRustica.org To view the recent documentary, Sacred Tobacco, about my work, visit: https://youtu.be/KB0JEQALI_w I will be guiding our next plant medicine dietas with my colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) in: September 1-8: Remote Online Dieta November 2-30: Sacred Valley of Peru If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do or about future retreats, visit my site at: https://Ni… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-universe-within-podcast-1273864/episodes/ep-188-marta-wanderlust-motherhood-sovereignty-medicalization-of-childbirth-initiation-christ-love/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-universe-within-podcast-1273864/ep-188-marta-wanderlust-motherhood-sovereignty-medicalization-of-childbirth-initiation-christ-love.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.