
The Book on Fire Podcast
Discussion of books and ideas for our tangled times. Read along with us or just listen in.
Latest episodes

Jan 14, 2025 • 55min
Season 3 Wrap-up: Life updates, Book updates
Life updates, book updates, parting thoughts.
Mentioned:
"On historical materialism and The Dawn of Everything" by David Wengrow
Endgame: Economic Nationalism and Global Decline by Jamie Merchant
Lifehouse: Taking Care of Ourselves in a World on Fire by Adam Greenfield
Organization, Community, Continuity by Peter Gelderloos
Mad World: The Politics of Mental Health by Micha Frazer-Carroll
The End of Eddy by Edouard Louis
Survival is a Promise: The Enternal Life of Audre Lorde by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
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Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood and "Open the Gates" by Irreversible Entanglements. (thanks to International Anthem for permission to use the song).
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Sep 12, 2024 • 1h 31min
Philosopher of Possibility :: A talk with Graeber scholar Nick Smaligo
Our SECOND TO LAST episode of the season! We are joined by Nick Smaligo to talk through the major themes of The Dawn of Everything, and of Graeber's work in general. Nick was full of insights.
Nick's essay on The Dawn of Everything: "Closing Paradise's Gate"
Also mentioned: The Terms of Order by Cedric Robinson
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Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" and "Thank You for the Path" by Big Blood.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Aug 14, 2024 • 1h 8min
Conclusion :: The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 12
This is not our last episode on The Dawn of Everything, but here we discuss the concluding chapter of the book, which summarizes the book's project while moving forward on some of its new ideas.
Next time we will be joined by a guest to help us think about the book as a whole.
Mentioned:
Secrets, Lies, and Consequences (about Mircea Eliade) by Bruce Lincoln
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Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

May 12, 2024 • 1h 21min
Monumental Legacies (w/ special guests)
We are joined by two of our good friends, who deliver a nuanced Indigenous response to The Dawn of Everything, centering on Chapter 11's treatment of Mississippian culture. They also share about an indigenous earthwork that they have recently helped to construct in the city of Bulbancha (a.k.a. New Orleans, Louisiana).
Links to further reading, courtesy of our guests:
The Great Power of Small Nations by Elizabeth Ellis
[Ellis podcast interview]
The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere by Paulette F.C. Steeves
[Steeves podcast interview]
Gods of Thunder - Timothy R. Pauketat
[Pauketat podcast interviews here and here]
ArchaeoEd: A podcast about ancient civilizations of the Americas
A Sacred Path: The Way of the Muscogee Creeks
Stolen Anarchy: Playing Indian & The Roots of Collectivism | TwinRabbit
Plains Sign & the Myth of Indigenous Illiteracy | TwinRabbit
Deciphering Cherokee ritual imagery deep in the caves of the American South
nanihbvlbancha.net
IG: @nanihbvlbancha
_*_*_*_*_*_*_
Book on Fire Discord community for further discussion -*-
Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood, Selections from "Disaster Prone" mixtape by Deejay Karo.
Cover photo by Joe Darensbourg.
Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Apr 12, 2024 • 1h 49min
Full Circle :: The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 11
In the last full chapter of the book, the Davids return to Turtle Island to argue against the inevitability of domination and to give historical context for the indigenous critique of European society.
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Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Mar 8, 2024 • 1h 19min
Why the State Has No Origin, Part 2 :: The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 10
Hungry ancestors, play kings, and copious cosmetics. The conclusion of our discussion of Chapter 10.
Mentioned:
One River book by Wade Davis
The King Must Die book by Mary Renault
Cover image from a fresco at Knossos, on the island of Crete.
-*- our Discord community for further discussion -*-
Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" and "Blind Owl I" by Big Blood.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Feb 20, 2024 • 1h 51min
Why the State Has No Origin, Part 1 :: The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 10
Regarding history, teleology and the state, and the three elementary forms of power. Our discussion of the first half of Chapter 10.
Cover image from a detail of the Raimondi Stele from Chavín de Huántar, Peru.
-*- our Discord community for further discussion -*-
Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood. "That Glow in the Morning" by Sarah Louise.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Jan 30, 2024 • 1h 8min
Hiding in Plain Sight :: The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 9
We finish discussing Chapter 8 and move on to Chapter 9. More early cities, and a type of democracy uncovered in Spanish chronicles of Mesoamerica.
Mentioned:
Henry Corbin, French scholar of Islamic philosophy, and his book Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn 'Arabi
-*- our Discord community for further discussion -*-
Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood. "R Mountain" by Sarah Louise.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Jan 14, 2024 • 2h 9min
Imaginary Cities :: The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 8
Cities emerge around the world. What are they like? We return to discuss Chapter 8 of our book.
Mentioned:
Mountain Gardens website, instagram
Fight Like an Animal podcast
-*- our Discord community for further discussion -*-
Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood. "Jewel of the Blue Ridge" by Sarah Louise.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]

Oct 21, 2023 • 1h 24min
The Ecology of Freedom :: The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 7
We return from halftime to talk more about early farmers and the vast middle ground that spans foraging and agriculture.
Mentioned:
"Low Level Food Production" by Bruce Smith, 2001.
-*- our Discord community for further discussion -*-
Featured music: "Stars Sewn Into Our Skies" by Big Blood. "Offering" by Anna Luisa.
Buy us a coffee :: Email us at thebookonfirepodcast@gmail.com
[[ Dave & Janet's Radical Vitalism :: Blog :: Instagram ]]