Doomer Optimism Strikes Back with Josh Heling

In this episode, Dr. Ashley Colby chats up poultry farmer and all-around great guy Josh Heling in what is his very first podcast appearance. Tres hangs around in the background, but has nothing of interest to add to the conversation, per usual. A survey of topics covered: getting over imposter syndrome in the homesteading movement, the meaning of Doomer Optimism, why an oak savanna is freaking important, and whether cottagecore is based or cringe.

About Josh Heling

Josh Heling and his family run Hidden Savanna Farm, a permaculture-inspired small farm in the countryside outside of Madison, WI whose mission is to contribute to its local food economy while connecting people to each other and the natural environment. He's spent the last eight years starting the process of converting 10 acres of overgrown woodland to a perennial food system supporting the farm's pastured poultry and sheep operations. Hidden Savanna also acts as a hands-on learning lab for a variety of educational enrichment programs for elementary and middle-school aged kids.

Indoors, Josh has almost three decades of experience driving software product development as an executive and founder in organizations ranging from bootstrapped prototypes to VC-funded startups to scaled-up global enterprises. He is motivated by a passion for finding ways for network connectivity to unleash new opportunities for human collaboration and innovation.

About Ashley Colby

Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.