Doomer Optimism

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Ashley (@RizomaSchool) chats with John Dios (@FibromyalgiaDad) about rural gentrification, homesteading, catholicism, and his project Holy Agony/Cathedral in the Pines. With a special pop-in from Willow Liana (@willlowthewhisp)! About John Dios Order, tenderness, piety. Cathedral in the Pines & Isolation Chamber. About Willow Liana Willow is a professional social butterfly and mother of a wee babe whom she is raising in the Canadian countryside. 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.

This episode of Doomer Optimism sees Jason Snyder (@cognazor) hanging out with two native children of Appalachian, returning guest/host Dr. Josh Kearns (@HillbillyNarnia) and SaraDay Evans (@esaraday). What naturally starts as an interesting dissection of the tragi-magic quality to Appalachian living turns inevitably to SaraDay's amazing work with Accelerating Appalachia, a nature-based business accelerator that connects innovative businesses, investors and mentors who aligned with people, place and prosperity. Oh, and SaraDay is Wendell Berry's niece-in-law! About SaraDay Evans Sara Day Evans is the Founding Director for Accelerating Appalachia and Co-Founder of Prosperity Collective. She's a sixth generation Kentuckian, and has worked with communities and small businesses across the southeast for over 20 years. She’s served over 300 communities and small businesses in economic development, entrepreneurship and environmental protection and leveraged over $250M in funding in service to the southeast and Appalachian region. She was awarded a presidential commendation from Bill Clinton for her work in the health and livelihood of women living in Appalachian Kentucky through her clean water efforts. With degrees in Geology/Hydrogeology and a background in water law, she was instrumental in developing Kentucky’s groundwater protection programs and later developed Kentucky’s first ongoing solid waste management fund, resulting in an 85% reduction in illegal dumping and a 25% increase in recycling. She served western North Carolina’s hardest hit counties by developing sustainable economy plans that fit with the people and place of the region and created North Carolina’s Green Economy Resources Directory. She’s particularly proud of the program she developed and implemented to install clean energy systems on farms in western NC’s high-unemployment counties while also training high school and community college students in clean energy installation. In 2011, Sara Day co-founded the social enterprise Prosperity Collective and inspired by the textile, farming, forest products skills of Appalachians, the expanding world of social entrepreneurs and investing for good, she launched Accelerating Appalachia in 2012 to serve nature-based businesses in Appalachia and beyond. About Dr. Josh Kearns Josh is a born-n-bred Appalachian and a native of West-By-God-Virginia and damn proud of it. He studied chemistry and environmental engineering at Clemson (BS), biogeochemistry at Berkeley (MS), and environmental engineering at CU-Boulder (PhD). He's spent years bumming around rural and remote communities in Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, India, Nepal, Ladakh, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, and generally tried to make himself useful while doing so. He's the Director of Science for Aqueous Solutions, and the Chief Technical Advisor for Caminos de Agua, grassroots water and health development organizations in Thailand and Mexico, respectively. He taught environmental engineering courses at NC State University for a couple of years before returning to his roots as a freelance renegade scientist and exponent of ecological transition engineering. He lives with his wife Rachael and all their critters on a small mountaintop homestead in southern Appalachia. 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, our 50th episode of Doomer Optimism, Jason Snyder (@cognazor) hosts a panel discussion with some of the brightest minds in regeneration. Joe Brewer (@cognitivepolicy), Kate Raworth (@KateRaworth), Nora Bateson (@NoraBateson), and Daniel Christian Wahl (@DrDCWahl) come around the virtual table to try to define regeneration, discuss their work, and find a path forward for the regeneration movement. About Joe Brewer Joe is a change strategist working on behalf of humanity, and also a complexity researcher, cognitive scientist, and evangelist for the field of culture design. About Kate Raworth Author of Doughnut Economics. Co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab. Teaching at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute. About Nora Bateson Filmmaker, lecturer, author. Founder of #WarmData #PeopleNeedPeople #symmathesy #aphanipoiesis. Ecology & society reframing & shifting perception, complexity, and tenderness. About Daniel Christian Wahl Catalysing transformative innovation, cultural co-creation, whole systems design, and bioregional regeneration. Author of Designing Regenerative Cultures. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

On episode 49 of Doomer Optimism, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) sit down with Stephanie Lepp (@stephlepp), Executive Producer at the Center for Humane Technology. They discuss a range of topics, from Stephanie's roots in Memetic Mediation to the potential for truly humane social networks. It includes a deeper discussion of Stephanie's Synthetic Strategy, a potential framework for enabling collaboration between adjacent tribes. About Stephanie Lepp Stephanie Lepp is a producer whose work strives to hold up a mirror — inviting us to grow from what we see. As the Executive Producer at the Center for Humane Technology, Stephanie leads Your Undivided Attention — the podcast hosted by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, which has garnered over 10 million downloads. She's also working to bring the organization into new media. Infinite Lunchbox is Stephanie's studio for independent work. Recent projects include: Deep Reckonings (deepreckonings.com), a Webby award-winning series of explicitly-marked deepfake videos that imagine morally courageous versions of our public figures, and Reckonings (reckonings.show), a podcast that tells the stories of people who've made all kinds of transformative change, which was named in The Constant Listener's Best Podcasts of 2018. Stephanie is a member of the Guild of Future Architects. Her work has been covered by outlets such as NPR, Forbes, and the MIT Technology Review, and supported by institutions including the Mozilla Foundation, Sundance Institute, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. To get a feel for Stephanie's work, listen to her interviews on The Jim Rutt Show (jimruttshow.com/stephanie-lepp/) and KALW's Inflection Point (bit.ly/3jGcAEg). The best way to be in dialogue with Stephanie is to follow her on Twitter: @stephlepp 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. 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, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) continues her informal "Based Mommy" series with two incredible anon women, Bosco (@selentelechia) and Ourania (@ouranometrian). Topics obviously include motherhood, but also spreads into the natalism debate, the ideal number of kiddos, and what exactly "based" mothering is. About Bosco Bosco, or Selene is an aspiring celestial body and cyberpunk tradwife. About Ourania Ourania is a Maenad Queen, computer wrangler, aspiring to go from primiparous to quintiparous. 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.

The guest on this episode of Doomer Optimism is world traveler and do-gooder Simon Mostafa, who joined hosts Josh Kearns (@HillbillyNarnia) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) from Spain, where he is currently working on various homesteading projects .Topics include: water and sanitation projects in the developing world, Mostafa's work in Chiapas and Spain, and facing down the existential crises of our time. About Simon Mostafa After graduating from Colorado University with a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering, Mostafa moved to Chiapas to work as the Director of Research for Cántaro Azul, focusing on water sanitation research. He now lives in Spain doing community homesteading work. About Dr. Josh Kearns Josh is a born-n-bred Appalachian and a native of West-By-God-Virginia and damn proud of it. He studied chemistry and environmental engineering at Clemson (BS), biogeochemistry at Berkeley (MS), and environmental engineering at CU-Boulder (PhD). He's spent years bumming around rural and remote communities in Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, India, Nepal, Ladakh, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, and generally tried to make himself useful while doing so. He's the Director of Science for Aqueous Solutions, and the Chief Technical Advisor for Caminos de Agua, grassroots water and health development organizations in Thailand and Mexico, respectively. He taught environmental engineering courses at NC State University for a couple of years before returning to his roots as a freelance renegade scientist and exponent of ecological transition engineering. He lives with his wife Rachael and all their critters on a small mountaintop homestead in southern Appalachia. 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, first-time hosts Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) have a beautiful conversation with the Meta Nomad himself, James Ellis (@meta_nomad). From accelerationism to the very meaning of Doomer Optimism itself, this conversation perfectly encapsulates the Nick Land to Wendell Berry pipeline. About James Ellis James Ellis studied fine art at Norwich University of the Arts, after finishing his degree he completed an M.A. in continental philosophy at Staffordshire University. He blogs at Meta-Nomad and is the host of Hermitix Podcast. 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. 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, first time host Josh Kearns (@HillbillyNarnia) teams up with Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) to discuss potential low tech futures with Scott Johnson (@Low_Techno), the founder of the Low Tech Institute in Wisconsin. About Scott Johnson Scott has been carrying out research into low tech since tried to build a catapult in 6th grade. He is a jack of all trades, but a master of none, including carpentry, gardening, electric, plumbing, beekeeping, brewing, butchery, baking, and more. His interest in past technologies led to a Ph.D. in anthropology (Tulane University, 2012), focusing on archaeology. He’s taught at universities across the US and Canada and led international field projects funded by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society. He is also the author of several books (Translating Maya Hieroglyphs, Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail?). Today, he works at the Low Technology Institute and lives in the historic village of Cooksville, Wisconsin (just south of Madison), with his wife, kid, and dog. He enjoys a good cup of tea, aikido, running, and books. He is founder of the Low Tech Institute based in Wisconsin. 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. About Dr. Josh Kearns Josh is a born-n-bred Appalachian and a native of West-By-God-Virginia and damn proud of it. He studied chemistry and environmental engineering at Clemson (BS), biogeochemistry at Berkeley (MS), and environmental engineering at CU-Boulder (PhD). He's spent years bumming around rural and remote communities in Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, India, Nepal, Ladakh, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, and generally tried to make himself useful while doing so. He's the Director of Science for Aqueous Solutions, and the Chief Technical Advisor for Caminos de Agua, grassroots water and health development organizations in Thailand and Mexico, respectively. He taught environmental engineering courses at NC State University for a couple of years before returning to his roots as a freelance renegade scientist and exponent of ecological transition engineering. He lives with his wife Rachael and all their critters on a small mountaintop homestead in southern Appalachia.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism we're going down south with Magnus Popp and Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool), two Doomer Optimists that are cutting a new path forward in Uruguay. In this wide-ranging conversation, Ashley and Magnus chat about Magnus' past as a researcher in evolutionary biology, and his new life as a free man, homesteader, and self-described "beer brewing control freakish evolutionary biologist." About Magnus Popp Magnus Popp is a PhD in Evolutionary Biology, a Swedish homesteader in Uruguay living with his Argentinean wife Virginia and two kids. He is a self described beer brewing control freakish evolutionary biologist. 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.

Our 43rd episode of Doomer Optimism sees Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) having a one on one chat with Rich Bartlett (@RichDecibels), writer, intellectual, and founder of Loomio and The Hum. Conversation ranges from what constitutes a "cult," how to organize effective organizations, and the intersection of community and governance. About Rich Bartlett Richard D. Bartlett is one of those people with a lot of websites. He's the co-founder of Loomio, a platform for small-scale digital democracy inspired by the 2011 Occupy Movement. He's also co-leader of The Hum, a training & consulting company that supports decentralised organisations to work without domination hierarchies. He's also the co-director of the Enspiral Foundation, which is a professional network of friends supporting each other to do more meaningful work in the world. And he's the author of a community-building methodology called Microsolidarity. 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.