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Doomer Optimism

Doomer Optimism

By Doomer Optimism

Doomer Optimism is a podcast dedicated to discovering regenerative paths forward, highlighting the people working for a better world, and connecting seekers to doers. Beyond that, it's pretty much a $hitshow. Enjoy!
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Currently playing episode

Episode 53 - Roland Gunn w/ Jason Snyder and Tres Crow

Doomer OptimismJul 11, 2022

00:00
01:24:43
DO 211 - The digital politics of spiritual war with James Poulos and Donald
Mar 26, 202401:16:49
DO 210 - Catalyzing Urban Food Forests in Chattanooga with Jonathan Parks Allen and Jason
Mar 19, 202401:25:24
DO 209 - Podcast about podcasts w/ Donald and Ashley

DO 209 - Podcast about podcasts w/ Donald and Ashley

Donald asked Ashley to sit down to think out loud about the pros and cons of continuing to devote time to podcasts, as both a creator and as a listener. Please feel free to weigh in on this topic in the YouTube comments!

Mar 12, 202401:18:26
DO 208 - The DO of Anna Karenina with GG, Evan, Nate, and Jason

DO 208 - The DO of Anna Karenina with GG, Evan, Nate, and Jason

A panel discussion talking about the brilliant book Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - how it relates to DO themes of agrarianism, relationship, religion, and much more

Mar 05, 202401:11:32
DO 207 - What has happened to the left? With Ashley Frawley, Gord Magill and Ashley Colby

DO 207 - What has happened to the left? With Ashley Frawley, Gord Magill and Ashley Colby

Gord and the two Ashleys discuss the modern state of leftism: what remains of it, and how to navigate the upside-down world where the professional-managerial elites have hijacked the conversation.
Feb 27, 202401:20:41
DO 206 - Christianity with Jordan Hall, Mash Tun Timmy and Ashley

DO 206 - Christianity with Jordan Hall, Mash Tun Timmy and Ashley

Ashley invites Tim and Jordan to both share stories about their recent conversions to Christianity. We discuss the limits to rationality and the importance of relationship, place and people.

Feb 20, 202401:31:41
DO 205- Jeffrey Bilbro

DO 205- Jeffrey Bilbro

Nate and Jeffrey Bilbro of Front Porch Republic sit down and discuss agrarianism. Rather than simply a general term for rural life, they discuss the economic, philosophical and moral aspects of agrarianism that make it a holistic approach to human individual and social life, distinct from the overly ideological -isms of capitalism and communism that have dominated 20th century social and political thought.



Jeffrey Bilbro is an Associate Professor of English at Grove City College. He grew up in the mountainous state of Washington and earned his B.A. in Writing and Literature from George Fox University in Oregon and his Ph.D. in English from Baylor University. His books include Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News, Loving God’s Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature, Wendell Berry and Higher Education: Cultivating Virtues of Place (written with Jack Baker), and Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms.
Feb 13, 202401:08:45
DO 204 - Cabin X DO crossover with Jackson Steger, Grin and Ashley

DO 204 - Cabin X DO crossover with Jackson Steger, Grin and Ashley

This is a syndicated episode where Grin and Jackson invited Ashley on their podcast, Campfire, to talk about Doomer Optimism and where it intersects with their project, Cabin, building a network of modern villages.

https://campfire-by-cabin.simplecast.com/episodes/37-homesteading-homeschooling-and-home-economics-with-ashley-colby-fitzgerald-and-grin

Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprised of internet friends building a global network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.city

Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com

Ashley Colby Fitzgerald is a cohost of Doomer Optimism and founder of the Rizoma Field School. This episode explores how to prep for periods of instability, varying methods of homeschool, localism, agroecology, relationships in a time of crises, and integrating children into intentional communities. Cabin's technical lead (Grin) joins as cohost.

Twitter:

Ashley: @‌RizomaSchool

Jackson Steger @‌JacksonSteger

Grin: @‌grin_io

Feb 08, 202457:44
DO 203 – Kris de Decker and Low Tech Magazine, with Josh and Simon
Feb 06, 202401:17:36
DO 202 – Alexis Zeigler, Living Energy Farm - with Josh and Ashley
Feb 01, 202401:14:18
DO 201 - The philosophy of Charlotte Mason with Tessa Carman and Ashley

DO 201 - The philosophy of Charlotte Mason with Tessa Carman and Ashley

Tessa Carman and Ashley reminisce about their time at the Front Porch Republic Conference before moving on to discuss the educational and life philosophy of Charlotte Mason. Tessa Carman writes and teaches in Maryland. With J.C. Scharl in 2022, she translated the Old English vision poem The Dream of the Rood. Her writing can be found at tessacarman.wordpress.com. Here are a few pieces that may be of interest to DO listeners: “Children Are Born Persons: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s First Principle of Education” “Nurturing Goodness: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s Second Principle of Education” “Authority and Docility: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s Third Principle of Education” “Fleeing the Ephemeral and Pursuing the Eternal,” Front Porch Republic, July 4, 2023 "Joining the Dance: Setting Aside Screens to Build the City,” Front Porch Republic, November 15, 2022 “Following Christ in the Machine Age: A Conversation with Paul Kingsnorth,” Mere Orthodoxy, September 13, 2022 “A Time to Replant, a Time to Rebuild,” Fare Forward, May 26, 2021

Jan 30, 202401:33:00
DO 200 - Big 200 Host Roundtable

DO 200 - Big 200 Host Roundtable

Welcome to a special roundtable milestone episode of Doomer Optimism. Ashley, Jason, Donald, Josh, Simon, Nate, and Tres get together to reflect on the journey of the podcast, where it is at now, and where they and the podcast are headed next.

Jan 23, 202401:31:52
DO 199 - Reforming Ag with Greg Gunthorp, Ashley and Nate

DO 199 - Reforming Ag with Greg Gunthorp, Ashley and Nate

Join us in this episode as Ashley and Nate delve into reforming agriculture with Greg Gunthorp. Greg reflects on the evolution of agriculture and his dedication to reforming the industry alongside Ashley and Nate.

Greg Gunthorp is a proud independent family farmer at Gunthorp Farms. With a deep-rooted commitment to sustainable and high-quality farming practices, Greg continues the family legacy of rearing pasture-raised pigs. His unwavering dedication to preserving traditional values while navigating the challenges of the modern agricultural landscape sets him apart as a resilient and forward-thinking steward of the land.

Jan 18, 202401:17:56
DO 198 - Digital Prepping with Ashley, Josh and Donald

DO 198 - Digital Prepping with Ashley, Josh and Donald

Ashley, Donald and Josh discuss what would happen in the case of a digital apocalypse and how to embrace lower technologies from landline phones to family poetry readings.

Jan 16, 202401:08:43
DO 197 - Epic Gardening's Kevin Espiritu
Jan 11, 202446:59
DO 196 - Bioregional and Solidarity Economies with Neal Gorenflo, Daniel London, Ashley, and Jason

DO 196 - Bioregional and Solidarity Economies with Neal Gorenflo, Daniel London, Ashley, and Jason

In this episode Ashley and Jason have a conversation with Neal Gorenflo (@gorenflo ) and Daniel London (@dlondonwortel ) on the theme of solidarity and bioregional economies. Specifically, where the solidarity and bioregonalist movements intersect, blind spots of each, and where they can compliment each other to create a viable vision for sustainable and equitable economies moving forward. Neal Gorenflo is the co-founder and board president of Shareable, an award-winning nonprofit news, action network, and consultancy for the real sharing economy (plus a dad, husband, community gardener, and budding urban forester). An epiphany in 2004 inspired Neal to leave the corporate world to help people and communities share resources. Subsequently, Neal co-founded Shareable and led it from 2009-2022 as Executive Director. In the process, he became knowledgeable about resource sharing, the commons, and the solidarity economy through practice, activism, entrepreneurship, writing, publishing (4,000+ articles), consulting, and public speaking. He's consulted for Institute for the Future, Stanford University, Lowe's Home Improvement, and numerous startups. His expertise has been featured by The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS Sunday Morning, Wired, Fast Company, Christian Science Monitor, Grist, and Sunset Magazine. He is an experienced public speaker with countless appearances at conferences on four continents over the last decade. His writing is featured in YES! Magazine, 7x7 Magazine, The Urbanist, and the anthologies The Wealth of the Commons, Open Design Now, and Enabling City. He's editor, publisher or author of 10 books including "Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons" and "Share or Die". In 2020, he chronicled his pandemic experiences resulting in the book, "A Year of Living Locally." Neal earned a masters with distinction from Georgetown University's Communication, Culture & Technology program and BAs in American Studies and English Literature with distinction from George Mason University. Contact him at neal at shareable dot net. Daniel Wortel-London is a historian and advocate of economic and ecological justice. He currently serves as Policy Specialist for the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy. He has also served as Knowledge Co-Lead for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Research Coordinator for the CivWorld project at Demos. He earned his Ph.D. in History from New York University, where his dissertation focused on the history of alternative economic development strategies in New York City. This project, titled "The Menace of Prosperity," is currently under advanced contract with the University of Chicago Press. A native of Hoboken, Dan works out of West Orange, NJ. You can find him on X @‌dlondonwortel, and his articles can be found at www.publicspaced.com https://www.publicspaced.com/

Jan 09, 202401:34:47
DO 195 - The End of Modernity with Tom Murphy, Jason, and Josh

DO 195 - The End of Modernity with Tom Murphy, Jason, and Josh

In this episode Jason and Josh talk with Tom Murphy, author of the blog Do The Math, about the inherently unsustainable nature of modernity and the delusion of infinite growth on a finite planet. As part of this they discuss his early retirement from academia as a successful astrophysicist at the University of California, his growing interest in indigenous wisdom and lifeways, the long view of earth history and where we’re going, and his realization that the end of modernity doesn’t mean the end of humanity

Tom’s university bio:

I am a Professor in the physics department at UCSD, and the Associate Director of CASS, the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences. From 2003–2020, I led the APOLLO project as an ultra-precise test of General Relativity using the technique of lunar laser ranging. My interests are transitioning to quantitative assessment of the challenges associated with long-term human success on a finite planet.

In November 2021, I was one of five founders of the Planetary Limits Academic Network, aiming to connect scholars from all disciplines who are concerned about the deep systemic challenges humanity faces this century. Our "launch" paper gives the background, titled Modernity is Incompatible with Planetary Limits: Developing a PLAN for the Future.

In 2014, I started a company (Aircraft Avoidance Systems) to provide safety devices for observatories using lasers for scientific research.


Tom’s blog, Do the Math:

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/

Jan 04, 202401:28:03
 DO 194 - Whole food agri-culture vs. "feeding the world"

DO 194 - Whole food agri-culture vs. "feeding the world"

Nate is joined by Sam Knowlton to explore agroforestry and sustainable agriculture practices. In this episode, Nate and Sam challenge the conventional narrative that advocates for high-tech, high-input agriculture to feed the world. Sam is an agronomist and the founder of SoilSymbiotics, a regenerative agronomy company, as well as the forthcoming venture, Soma Farm Group. He has worked on the ground with over 300 farms in 9 countries, helping large-scale operations transition from chemically intense production to integrated biological farming systems.

Jan 02, 202401:19:54
DO 193 - Bioregional Self-Provisioning with Chris Smaje, Jason and Josh

DO 193 - Bioregional Self-Provisioning with Chris Smaje, Jason and Josh

DO podcast alumnus Chris Smaje (@csmaje) returns to deflect eco-modernist criticisms of his agrarian vision laid out in “A Small Farm Future” and most recent book “Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future.”


Specifically, we examine evidence for the claim that traditional/territorial food webs supply 70-80% of the nutrition people intake globally, and discuss what this means for the potential of small biodiverse farming to “feed the world.”


Reasons for dispute of this claim include that much food production in traditional local food webs is “invisibilized” to top-down technocrats using data collected of commodity crops produced for the industrial food chain. This is one of several blind spots we discuss that characterize elites’ and technocrats’ worldviews, and partially explains why their prescriptions fail to deliver on promised sustainability and “equity” goals.


In this episode, Chris, Jason and Josh ponder whether it’s worth it trying to persuade technocratic elites of their errors, or instead turn our attention and efforts to different natural constituencies better oriented to implementing diverse approaches to agrarian bioregionalism. We consider what barriers people may face to getting involved and how to overcome those barriers.


The whole conversation pivots on the notion of Bioregional Self-Provision as a method for securing resilience for affluent-but-fragile “developed” regions while alleviating ecosystem degradation and impoverishing exploitation on poor peripheral “underdeveloped” regions, facilitating their own self-provision from local resources.


Chris’ website, blog, and links to books:

https://chrissmaje.com


ETC Group report: “Small-scale farmers and peasants still feed the world

Dec 12, 202301:44:39
DO 192 - Tending Our Dead Ourselves with Joe Orso and Susan Nesbit
Dec 07, 202301:06:53
DO 191 - Kayaking with Lambs with farmer/author Brian Miller, Josh, and Jason

DO 191 - Kayaking with Lambs with farmer/author Brian Miller, Josh, and Jason

East Tennessee farmer Brian Miller discusses his new book “Kayaking with Lambs” with Jason and Josh.


The book, published by Front Porch Republic, features a panoply of sensorial and spiritual experiences observed over 25 years of farming and animal husbandry.


Our conversation slaloms around Brian’s roots in anarchism and how these led him to an agrarian life, the need for renewed manual competency and appreciation for the practical arts particularly among the youth, gender relationships, and the reasonable choice of firearms for homestead protection, and the difficulties implied by rural gentrification.


Brian runs Winged Elm Farm with his wife Cindy, blogs at South Roane Agrarian, and can be reached at bmiller@wingedelmfarm.com.

Dec 05, 202301:21:55
DO 190 - Doomer Optimism Literary Hour with Sally Thomas and Donald
Nov 30, 202301:07:19
DO 189 - Permaculture in the Age of Displacement with Evan Welkin and Jason

DO 189 - Permaculture in the Age of Displacement with Evan Welkin and Jason

Jason speaks with Evan Welkin (@ewelkin ) about the general theme of displacement and dispossession, and what permaculture (permanent culture) means in contexts of people increasingly being uprooted from their homes for political, climate, financial, ideological, or other reasons and having to move. They discuss his growing up in a rural Oregon town where the forests were being clearcut and toxic chemicals applied, his experience in Palestinian rights activism and the general Israeli / Palestinian conflict involving two peoples who have experienced dispossession throughout their history, their experience in developing a folk school, ecovillage, and regenerative farm at his wife’s families place in Italy and the waves of shocks (covid, climate, financial) that might force them to leave, his work with an organization teaching permaculture to refugees all around the world, and much more

Nov 28, 202301:27:04
DO 188 - Bringing Permaculture to the World with Andrew Millison, Roxanne, and Jason

DO 188 - Bringing Permaculture to the World with Andrew Millison, Roxanne, and Jason

Jason and Roxanne (@happyholistichs ) speak with Andrew Millison (@andrewmillison ), who runs the permaculture design course for Oregon State, and who produces a serious of remarkable educational videos on permaculture concepts and on projects all over the world. They talk about the importance of water in landscapes, his journey towards permaculture and education, how he sees the permaculture movement growing, applying permaculture in different cultural contexts, the lost opportunity of designing U.S. political borders around watersheds and bioregions, the economics of permaculture, motivating people to grow food, creative arrangements to enable broad scale land access, cutting edge ideas and projects for Andrew, how to address with the ecological problems in the California food system and the rising prevalence of wildfires, and his recent video documenting the work of Planting Justice

Andrew currently teaches the for-credit courses Permaculture Design Course (Hort 285) and the Advanced Permaculture Design Tools for Climate Resilience (Hort 485) at OSU, on campus and online.

Andrew teaches non-credit courses for the general public as well, including the:

Andrew also has produced two open source textbooks for his courses that are freely available:

Finally, Andrews excellent Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@amillison

Nov 23, 202301:38:58
DO 187 - Thriving the Future with Scott Miller and Jason
Nov 21, 202350:50
DO 186 - Working with Purpose with Nathaniel Marshall and GG
Nov 16, 202348:20
DO 185 - Growing Food in Sub/Urban Spaces with Zach Loeks, Tres, and Sim
Nov 14, 202301:01:46
DO 184 - Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia with Steven Stoll and Jason

DO 184 - Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia with Steven Stoll and Jason

In this episode Jason speaks with Steven Stoll, the author of the excellent book Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia, about the history of land dispossession in Appalachia and the rise of industrial capitalism, manufactured dependency on wage labor due to land degradation or dispossession, The Whisky Rebellion, absentee land ownership and the initial squatters rights movement, coal towns and the how household gardens often served the interests of coal companies, a comparison of the experience of indigenous populations and early white settlers in losing access to land, his modern-day proposal for The Commons Communities Act and land reform more broadly, the potential of community land trusts, the broader international context e.g., modern-day land dispossession in Africa, and much more

Nov 09, 202301:03:06
DO 183 - Doomer Optimism Literary Hour with Jordan Castro, Donald and Joey

DO 183 - Doomer Optimism Literary Hour with Jordan Castro, Donald and Joey

Donald and Joey talk to writer Jordan Castro about his new novel, the history of the Alt Lit literary movement, punk rock, and the Midwest.

Jordan bio:

Jordan Casto is the author of The Novelist (Soft Skull, 2022) and two poetry books. He is from Cleveland, Ohio.

Nov 08, 202301:32:22
 DO 182 - Finding meaning in the chaos of life with Brian Fink with Going Godward

DO 182 - Finding meaning in the chaos of life with Brian Fink with Going Godward

Brian Fink chats with Going Godward, offering a unique perspective on finding meaning in the chaos of life. Explore existentialism, spirituality, and optimism in this enlightening episode of Doomer Optimism.


Nov 02, 202301:00:57
DO 181 - The Weird Wild Wonderful World of Biochar with Tom Miles, Kelpie Wilson, Myles Gray, and Josh Kearns

DO 181 - The Weird Wild Wonderful World of Biochar with Tom Miles, Kelpie Wilson, Myles Gray, and Josh Kearns

The Weird Wild Wonderful World of Biochar – with Tom Miles, Kelpie Wilson, Myles Gray, and Josh


What is biochar and why should we care about it? A roundtable discussion with veterans of the biochar world.


Tom Miles –  TR Miles Consultants (ag and bioenergy) and US Biochar Initiative

Kelpie Wilson – Wilson Biochar

Myles Gray – US Biochar Initiative

Josh Kearns – A Field Guide to Biochar Water Treatment


Interest in biochar – “charcoal, with a purpose” – has been growing for 20 years. Biochar can enhance garden and agricultural soils and improve crop yields, provide a mechanism for drawdown and sequestering of atmospheric carbon, and provide a tunable engineered sorbent for a variety of water treatment and environmental remediation applications.


In this conversation, we discuss contemporary innovations and developments for using biochar to tackle a variety of sustainability challenges.


2024 North American Biochar Conference

February 12-14, 2024

Sacramento, CA

Oct 31, 202358:08
DO 180 - Towards a Fourth Generation Civilization with Michel Bauwens, Ashley, and Jason
Oct 26, 202301:33:15
DO 179 - Agroecological Enterprise in the Amazon - Lexie and Luis of Amisacho Restauracion with Josh

DO 179 - Agroecological Enterprise in the Amazon - Lexie and Luis of Amisacho Restauracion with Josh

For decades, indigenous communities in the Amazonian region of Ecuador have been impacted by petrochemical exploitation and monocultural ag for export. They have suffered from pollution and associated ill health effects, economic insecurity, and encroachment on their traditional territories from roads, oil wells, pipelines, and industrial ag plantations.


Grassroots groups such as Amisacho Restauracion and La Clinica Ambiental have been working with locals to develop permaculture and agroecology approaches to preserving rainforest biodiversity and deriving sustainable livelihoods.


In this conversation we delve into the environmental history of region and the work of Lexie Gropper and Luis Munoz at Amisacho. For example, they have developed a system for climbing morete palm trees and other large trees in the rainforest to harvest fruit without needing to cut the trees down. They have developed equipment for processing morete palm fruits and other foraged items from the jungle into preserved foodstuffs, skin and health care products, essential oils and natural medicines. And they’re developing new approaches to making biochar for water treatment and soil amendment from local waste biomass that otherwise is burned for disposal.

Oct 24, 202354:02
DO 178 - Returning from abroad w/ Long Story Farms

DO 178 - Returning from abroad w/ Long Story Farms

Ashley speaks with Geoffrey, @‌longstoryfarms, about his adventures away from home, including time spent in Chile, and his moving back home to be a productive member of his community.

Oct 19, 202301:14:06
DO 177 - Ecological wastewater treatment w/ Feidhlim Harty and Ashley
Oct 17, 202301:09:23
DO 176 - Wendell Berry Book Club recap W/ Ashley, Donald, AC, Tiffani, and Joel

DO 176 - Wendell Berry Book Club recap W/ Ashley, Donald, AC, Tiffani, and Joel

Join our book club community as Ashley, Donald, AC, Tiffani, and Joel gather to discuss the timeless wisdom of Wendell Berry. Delve into the captivating world of his works, exploring profound insights, reflections, and engaging conversations that promise to leave you inspired and enlightened.


Oct 12, 202301:27:33
DO 175 - Tres and Simon ask what are we gonna do with the suburbs?

DO 175 - Tres and Simon ask what are we gonna do with the suburbs?

Tres and Simon delve into the urgent question: What are we going to do with the suburbs? As they discuss the repercussions of unrestrained suburban expansion and its impact on the environment, you'll gain insights into the challenges of unchecked growth, from encroaching wildlife to insurance woes. Join the conversation to explore alternative approaches to suburban living and sustainable urban development.


Oct 10, 202301:02:19
DO 174 - Modern Nomadism w/ Andy, Keturah and Ashley
Oct 05, 202358:39
DO 172 - Prepping with Jonathan Rawles, Roland Gunn and Ashley

DO 172 - Prepping with Jonathan Rawles, Roland Gunn and Ashley

Ashley and Roland talk with Jonathan Rawles, son of famous survivalist James Wesley Rawles about religion, localism in the inner mountain west, the state of the redoubt movement and our thoughts on white nationalism.

Sep 28, 202301:09:11
DO 171 - Building the Regenerators Network with Ed Bourgeois, Ashley, and Jason

DO 171 - Building the Regenerators Network with Ed Bourgeois, Ashley, and Jason

Ashley and Jason speak with Ed Bourgeois about his long history in the regenerative agriculture movement, the importance of holistic science, good soil management as the foundation, and his work now building peer to peer networks among farmers working towards a regenerative transition

Sep 26, 202301:33:53
DO 170 - Coming Home w/ Ashley and Nate

DO 170 - Coming Home w/ Ashley and Nate

Nate helps Ashley think through the idea of returning home from Uruguay to Chicago by reflecting on his own story of homecoming.

Sep 21, 202301:21:47
DO 169 - The Best of Times, The Worst of Times with Will Caverly, Going Godward, and Jason
Sep 19, 202301:24:33
DO 168 - Silvopasture with Drake Larson, Nate, and Jason

DO 168 - Silvopasture with Drake Larson, Nate, and Jason

Drake, Nate, and Jason talk about Silvopasture, Drake’s experience with it, and Nate’s plans for it. What it is, why it has so much potential for both food production and ecological restoration, the central role of water management, keyline design, carbon myopia, ecological prefiguration, and the numerous beings that are supporting our efforts.

Sep 14, 202301:31:29
DO 167 - Doomer Optimism Literary Hour

DO 167 - Doomer Optimism Literary Hour

Description:

Tessa Carman and JC Scharl join Donald and Going Godward to talk about poetry, translation, and motherhood in the first-ever Doomer Optimism Literary Hour.


Bios:

Tessa Carman is a writer and teacher. You can find more of her work at TessaCarman.wordpress.com.


Jane Clark Scharl is an American poet, playwright, and critic. Her poetry has appeared in many American and European outlets, including the BBC, The Hopkins Review, The New Ohio Review, The American Journal of Poetry, The Lamp, Measure Review, and others. Her criticism has appeared in Dappled Things, Fare Forward, Plough Quarterly, and others. Her first verse drama, Sonnez Les Matines, was published by Wiseblood Books in February 2023. The play had its theatrical debut in NYC on February 21st, 2023 at the Nubox Theatre.

Sep 12, 202301:29:02
DO 166 - Biochar Water Treatment in Malawi with Richard, Ahmad, and Josh

DO 166 - Biochar Water Treatment in Malawi with Richard, Ahmad, and Josh

Over the past several months Josh Kearns has been remote mentoring a small group of Stanford students working on biochar water treatment (mostly though one student contact). Two students just wrapped up a 10-week implementation trip in Malawi. He recorded the conversation the night before they were flying out to come back to Western Civilization. He wanted to talk to them while they were still fresh off the experience and in-context, before the mind-warp of readjusting to life in the US.

In this conversation they talked about their project and what insights and experiences they gained, what they found surprising, challenging, etc. They discussed the utility of field-based hands-on experiential education versus formal university education. They had some interesting things to say, including that living in the campus environment (in campus housing where cleaning is all done for you, eating at the dining hall where you don't have to prepare your own food, etc.) many students don't feel like "adults." Managing their own housing upkeep and meals was a salient point for them it seems.

Sep 07, 202357:41
DO 165 - Narrative Exchange with Evan Barker and Jason

DO 165 - Narrative Exchange with Evan Barker and Jason

Evan and Jason talk about Narrative Exchange, a program of bringing people from very different backgrounds and sharing stories to foster greater empathy and compassion. They also talk about many related topics including the internet and polarization, the loss of community life, Dunbar’s number, building new communities across differences, public schooling vs. homeschooling, how to be a responsible newcomer to a region, and much more


Sep 05, 202301:29:47
DO 164 - Evan Meyer on Global Supply Chains

DO 164 - Evan Meyer on Global Supply Chains

Ashley and Evan discuss global supply chains and suggest a synthesis between globalism and localism.


Aug 31, 202301:04:55
DO 163 - Small Farm Future meets Lean Logic with Chris Smaje, Shaun Chamberlin, and Jason

DO 163 - Small Farm Future meets Lean Logic with Chris Smaje, Shaun Chamberlin, and Jason

Chris, Shaun, and Jason record a follow up conversation to an earlier one between Shaun and Jason (found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yni0F-3VVxo&t=1174s ) talking about the intersections of Chris’s vision of a Small Farm Future and Shaun’s of Lean Logic, and particularly the cultural and spiritual dimensions of collapse and regeneration, as well as the more near term conflicting urban/rural class politics involved

Aug 29, 202301:56:13
DO 162 - Braxton McCoy with Roland Gunn and Ashley

DO 162 - Braxton McCoy with Roland Gunn and Ashley

Braxton sits down with Ashley and Roland to discuss localism, agriculture, community, and that controversial new country music singer Oliver Anthony!

Aug 24, 202301:11:40
DO 161 - American Literature with James Pogue, Ketruah Lamb, Adirondacker and Donald Antenen

DO 161 - American Literature with James Pogue, Ketruah Lamb, Adirondacker and Donald Antenen

James, Keturah, Andy, and Donald talk about America and literature and American literature, its limits and possibilities.

Aug 22, 202301:20:03