Doomer Optimism

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Simon Gooder and Tres Crow interview experimental farmer and science fiction author Shane Simonsen. Shane talks about his farming experiments in his difficult Australian ecosystem, and then dives into the impetus behind his science fiction novella series set in the distant future. About Shane Simonsen About Shane Simonsen Shane is a scientist, documenting his experiments through trialling and breeding crops and livestock that can produce without irrigation, fertiliser and imported nutrients on http://zeroinputagrilculture.com. A writer of biological sci-fi, working from his farm in Australia. About Simon Gooder Nature, gardening, permaculture, doomer optimism, design, regenerative action, community building, homeschooling. Building Permapeople.org in his spare time. About Tres Crow Tres is making the world a greener place one urban space at a time with my friends at Roots Down. He's also turning his .75 acre suburban lot into Old Crow Hill, a food forest, pollinator habitat, and community space. Follow along at innisfreeatl.com. 

In this episode Jason speaks with Kimberly (@blkhomesteader) about her path towards gardening and homesteading, the Black homesteading and farming movement, the importance of own production and skill-building, the irony of underutilized land and problems of land access, political advocacy especially at the hyper-local level with HOAs, veganism and small scale livestock production, the hiphopisgreen organization, and much more.  Kimberly is an experienced master gardener and urban homesteader, living in zone 9b, who is  interested learning how to live a more holistic and sustainable life. Some links mentioned in the episode:  Infinite Zion Farms: https://www.infinitezionfarms.org/  Hip Hop is Green: https://www.hiphopisgreen.com/  https://www.localharvest.org/orlando-fl

Jason hosts an interview with Simon Gooder about his path towards permaculture, homesteading, and the plant database and seed trading platform that he cofounded with Benjamin Knofe called Permapeople.org.  Simon Gooder Nature, gardening, permaculture, doomer optimism, design, regenerative action, community building, homeschooling. Building Permapeople.org in his spare time.

An exploration of evolutionary dynamics and potential futures Matthew Pirkowski experiments at the intersection of software, behavioral / evolutionary psychology, and complex adaptive systems. These interests first took root while observing and modeling the collective behavioral psychology of capuchin monkeys at Yale’s Comparative Cognition Laboratory, with the goal of understanding why–and to what extent–our conceptions of “rational action” fail to describe what we observe beyond the domain of analytic abstraction. Such experiences catalyzed an interest in designing and building the interfaces through which human perception and purpose contacts the computational processes that have thoroughly saturated our lives and minds. Matthew is presently building a platform for modeling purpose-aligned human networks as naturally emergent organisms. He also consults on system architecture, advises nascent companies and communities, and writes about topics related to the evolution of human socioeconomic, technological, and representational systems–in particular the emergence and impact of cryptoeconomic protocols, as outlined in his Crypto Beyond Capitalism essay series. He spends most of his free time maintaining, regenerating, and growing food on a bit of land in the Cascade Range. He can be found as @MattPirkowski on twitter

During the night of February 1/2, 2021, a military junta deposed the elected government of Burma (Myanmar) and instituted martial law. Protests followed, answered by a violent and swift crackdown by the newly self-installed military dictatorship. In this episode we hear from "Romeo," a pseudonymous young woman living and working in Yangon since before the 2021 coup. We discuss some of the events leading up to the coup as well as citizens' grassroots resistance efforts over the past two years, the actions of the junta to attack protestors in the streets, imprison, interrogate, and torture suspected members of resistance groups, and what (albeit faint) sources of hope exist for circumstances to improve for the people of Burma. Interview conducted by Josh Kearns, who has worked with grassroots efforts in Burma for >10 years to provide communities' access to low-cost decentralized drinking water treatment and eco-sanitation. More info at: https://joshkearns.substack.com/s/field-notebook

Daniel Baryon (@anarkyoutube), Glen Ganaway (@glenganaway), and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) discuss modern day anarchism, how it's informed by complexity science, and how it works as a map for local solutions to a planet wide crisis. ‌ About Daniel Baryon Daniel Baryon is an anarchist theorist and organizer. He co-founded Cooperation Tulsa and is a key member of Scissortail Anarchist Organization. He also runs the YouTube channel Anark, where he produces video essays on anarchism and libertarian socialism. About Glen Ganaway Glen considers himself a product of the Military Industrial Complex, The Deep South and the Southern Baptist Church. Today he identifies as an Anarchist. Born in Anchorage, Alaska to a deeply religious family and raised in the gated communities of Navy bases.The 80's found Glen doing sex work and waiting tables to support an injection habit. Glen cleaned up in the 90's and joined the Radical Faeries, a loose knit collection of Pagan Queer Anarchists. He met the love of his life Yolanda, an East Village legendary performance artist in 2004. Glen went on to be ordained an Interfaith Minister and acquire an Integral Mentor Certification and a BS in Healthcare Management, which he uses for UFCW Local 2013. Glen's passions include Advaita-Vedanta, Integral Theory, Anarchism, and Regenerative Agriculture. His next project is a 4.4 Acre Homestead in Vermont. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Twitter favorite Scratchy Johnson (@scratchyjohnson) sits down with the localism and applied complexity guru, Joe Norman (@normonics). Topics include: history, complexity, the role of the state, and localism. This is a real treat for fans of Joe, Scratchy, and localism. About Scratchy Johnson God, Family, Country. He's on Twitter. He's not hard to find. About Joe Norman Joe is a complex systems scientist researching risk in large-scale systems, pattern formation in biological systems, physiological patterns for improving human health, and military strategy for international and global security.

Ioan, Josh, and Rich discuss BridgeSpace Commons, and in particular, the challenges of creating a different kind of community space that can be shared by different groups of people with different goals and values   Josh @pdxregencommons is part of Portland Commons Technology Project, a group building commons infrastructure for people and creatures. A budding economic solidarity bloc between arts, mutual aid, and ecology in Portland, OR.   Richard D. Bartlett @RichDecibels is a Director at Enspiral, a network of self-managing, purpose-driven companies. He co-founded Loomio, a worker-owned company that builds collaboration software, and The Hum, helping decentralized organizations thrive. He’s the author of a community building practice called Microsolidarity. He's enthusiastic about co-ownership, self-governance and building relationships of partnership instead of domination to create collaborative workplaces. Read more at richdecibels.com   Ioan Mitrea @awarenesss Founder @SellerEngine, Aspiring animist regenerative custodian of woods, creeks and meadows. Quantum physics and chaos theory. Friendly Bridgespace troll

Ashley and Padre discuss homesteading in the deep south, working on rented land, making a small space productive, and the coming localist revolution!   The Homestead Padre @padrehomestead Joseph Smith is the husband of the beautiful and amazing Dr. @MRSpadrehmsted. He is a father who focuses on small space homesteading. Follow his newsletter at http://Padre.substack.com   Buy Smith Homestead products at: https://www.smith-homestead.com/   His book Homesteading: Breaking Ground https://jdmanly18.gumroad.com/l/breaking   His book: Beginning the journey to food independence https://jdmanly18.gumroad.com/l/SnpwW   The tweet he mentioned in the episode: https://twitter.com/padrehomestead/status/1613187315979124738

Ashley, Lindsay and Astrid discuss the doom of industrial schooling and the optimism of homeschooling. Lindsay speaks from the perspective of a homeschooling parent, and Astrid as an adult who was a homeschooled student.    Lindsay @Lindsay_Rainey2 is a certified teacher turned home educator and a mom of two. She has over 8 years of experience as a home educator and several more in the classroom.  Believing that interests lead to deeper learning, she endorses a self-directed, project based approach to education. She’s experienced how providing choice in the learning process removes friction between parents and kids. She is an expert in finding resources and crafting open ended projects that free kids to learn in ways that work for them.  Astrid @astridwilde1 is a lifelong learner brought up in a homeschooling household.