Frontiers of Commoning, with David Bollier

Leah Penniman, cofounder of Soul Fire Farm in the Hudson Valley, New York, showcases the history of African-American farming and Indigenous land traditions in her new book 'Black Earth Wisdom' in which sixteen Black elders of various backgrounds discuss the intertwined fate of the earth and our spiritual lives. The book brings attention to often-neglected protectors of the Earth such as enslaved herbalists, seeds-savers, scientist-mystics like George Washington Carter, artists, musicians, poets, and earth-centered religious traditions. More about the commons: www.Bollier.org. PDF transcript of this interview: https://www.bollier.org/files/misc-file-upload/files/Leah_Penniman_transcript_Episode_38.pdf

How might the commons paradigm be applied to cities in a more focused, effective way? Professors Sheila R. Foster of Georgetown University and Christian Iaione of Luiss Carli University in Rome, share their insights into this topic after years of study and collaborative experimentation. Their new book, 'Co-Cities: Innovative Transitions Toward Just and Self-Sustaining Communities,' describes lessons from Elinor Ostrom's research, the six distinct phases of the "co-cities protocol," and the work of the interdisciplinary research clinic LabGov, among other things. More about the commons at Bollier.org. A PDF transcript of this episode can be found here: https://www.bollier.org/files/misc-file-upload/files/Foster__Iaione_Episode_37_transcript.pdf

Dorn Cox is a New Hampshire family farmer who has long been in the vanguard of improving regenerative agriculture with open source technologies. He sees participatory science and knowledge commons as powerful tools for improving crop yields, soil health, and ecosystem resilience, especially in the face of climate change. Here, Cox talks about his new book 'The Great Regeneration' on these themes, and the encouraging vistas of possibility that open source hardware, data analytics, knowledge-sharing and localism are opening up. [PDF of transcript: https://www.bollier.org/files/misc-file-upload/files/Dorn_Cox_Episode_36_transcript.pdf More on the Commons: https://www.bollier.org]

As Director of the Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons, Binna Choi is in the vanguard of exploring how commoning can be used to make art and curate exhibitions. Choi and her colleagues in Utrecht, Netherlands, see commoning as an organizing principle for how artists can produce art collaboratively, in service to the community. As the Institute puts it, "Art is an imaginative way of doing and being which connects, heals, opens, and moves people into new social visions." PDF transcript available at https://www.bollier.org/files/misc-file-upload/files/Binna_Choi_Episode_35_transcript.pdf. More on commons: https://www.Bollier.org [Photo credit: Francisco Baquerizo, 2022]

John Thackara, an activist and thinker, discusses 'designing for life' by spotlighting local eco-friendly projects, critiquing corporate greenwashing, and advocating for a transition to a post-capitalist world. Topics include sustainable food systems, the role of designers in creating meaningful connections, and reshaping the fashion industry for sustainability.

BIPOC farmers -- many afflicted by the persistent legacy of slavery, racism, and land theft -- generally do not have an easy path forward. To help inaugurate a different history, Jubilee Justice, a small Louisiana organization, is developing an ambitious array of commons-oriented projects. As cofounder and president Konda Mason explains, these strategies include community land trusts as a way to secure farmland in perpetuity; cooperatives that help protect farmers from market exploitation and discriminatory practices; an open-source-style of climate-friendly agronomy known as the System of Rice Intensification; and the hosting of "transformational learning journeys" to help White and BIPOC Americans heal the wounds of American slavery and racism. [Printable transcript: https://www.bollier.org/transcripts-frontiers-commoning]

When the Indonesian artists collective ruangrupa was selected to curate the prestigious international art exhibition Documenta, held every five years in Germany, the group made a bold choice: to prototype a new type of commons-oriented political economy for art-making. In this episode, Ruangrupa member Farid Rakun explains how the exhibition not only showcases many first-rate artists from marginalized countries. Ruangrupa's curation also became a massive experiment in artistic commoning, with democratic assemblies of artists deciding how the exhibit would be organized, funds allocated, and noncapitalist infrastructures of social solidarity built. (Photo credit: Jin Panji/Gudskul, 2019)