Reimagining science, meaning, and myth for life on a finite planet.
We are living through a profound mythological transition. The stories that once organized our world – limitless growth, separation from nature, and hyper-individualism – are falling apart. What comes next requires a new relationship to reality: one grounded in evolutionary truth, ecological interdependence, and scientific awe. I’m Matthew Wilburn King. I work at the frontier of science and meaning, translating the truths of ecology, survival, and myth into stories that help us remember who we are.
Three decades. More than forty-five countries. A Cambridge doctorate in political ecology. Stage IV blood cancer, survived. And a life spent riding ahead of the caravan to map the terrain of a world in transition, listening for what needs to be said, then translating it into quiet truth.
University of Cambridge Ph.D.
TEDx · 1M+ views
45 countries
6 continents
One finite planet
In the field
For thirty years, my work has explored the intersection of science, myth, ecology, and human survival – through research, diplomacy, and public writing. My work has appeared in journals, shaped international policy, and reached broad public audiences through platforms including TEDx, BBC Future, and Euronews.
“You managed to weave philosophy, history, and humanity into a single thread. This is the kind of talk that makes people rethink their place in the world.”
Dave BakerTEDx Global Audience
“Dr. King balances his sharp mind with a big heart, capable of deep compassion for individuals and global communities alike. This combination of head and heart makes him an incomparably effective advisor and leader.”
Dallas ThorntonComposer, Producer, & Performing Artist
“Dr. King’s ability to think boldly while also remaining grounded in the practicality of an objective stands out as highly unique. He is committed to doing what is right, not doing what will prove that he is right.”
Kate HanfordVice President at Analysis Group
“Dr. King’s words strike hard because they are lived, not theoretical. Every example comes from family, community, or deep survival, making this vision for empowerment impossible to ignore.”
Silas W.TEDx Global Audience
“What truly inspires me about Dr. King is his ability to see beyond the status quo, ask the difficult questions, and work with you to come up with innovative and tangible solutions.”
Chela Garcia IrlandoExecutive Director, Next 100 Coalition
“Dr. King applies the perfect mix of accountability, straightforward encouragement, and kind, compassionate understanding. I’ve found his advice full of deep wisdom and intelligently actionable strategies.”
Holly WilliamsonMedical Professional & Researcher
Coordinates for an evolving world.
If you are new to my explorations, begin with these essays. They chart a new relationship to reality; exploring what the evolutionary sciences, deep ecology, and myth are telling us about meaning and survival.
Why the Next Stage of Capitalism is Coming
Ecuador's Kichwa Implement Innovative Approach to Rainforest Conservation
Five Steps Toward an Ecological Worldview
Evolutionary Governance for Self-Replicating AI
Sunrise in Bocas del Toro: Rainforests, Coral, and Mangroves
Human Evolution Means We Can Tackle Climate Change
Evolutionary truth. Ecological interdependence. Scientific awe.
Three dimensions of a single, lifelong inquiry – where information becomes experience becomes meaning.
Scholar
A Cambridge doctorate. A single question, explored across decades.
How can human systems evolve to ensure the survival of life on a finite planet? This inquiry has spanned three decades and four domains: governance, ecology, economics, and philosophy. While this inquiry has been forged alongside scientists, leaders, and communities across continents, the synthesis happens in quiet solitude as I ground global theory in lived reality.
Explorer
Exploration is not a metaphor – it is the method.
Five countries lived in. Forty-five traversed. From the glacial fjords of Norway to the vibrant coral reefs of Fiji, I think with my senses; every exploration is a physical immersion into the unknown. These expeditions are inherently multi-dimensional – ecological, intellectual, artistic, and spiritual. For me, navigating the physical frontiers of our planet is inseparable from mapping the inner terrain of mortality and meaning.
Author
Stories don’t just inform – they reorient.
My novel, Vanished, explores myth and ecological erasure through fiction. My philosophical work, One Choice. One Act., offers a grounded guide for living with integrity in a world designed to distract. My long-form narrative essays appear in Elemental, BBC Future, Mongabay, and Earth Island Journal – each an inquiry into how we might live more honestly within the living world.
Everything written is an evolution.
In 2012, a Stage IV cancer diagnosis stripped away my illusions of control and time. Faced with a slim chance of survival, I made a different choice: to learn from death rather than resist it. I invited him in. He became my Guru, and I became his student. Our conversation unfolded in hushed, liminal silence. He taught me that to understand how to live, one must first be willing to die.
The essays, books, and dispatches are field notes from a scout who rode ahead, sat with the silence of the end, and returned to map the quiet contours of what truly matters.
Works in progress. Work alive in the world.
Vanished
A story of myth, loss, and ecological mystery set against the disappearance of the world we were promised.
Manuscript in progress
Quiet, periodic correspondence. A new way of seeing.
Elemental is written from the threshold of science, story, and spirit for those seeking a new relationship to reality. One grounded in evolutionary truth, ecological interdependence, and scientific awe.
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