Doomer Optimism

On this episode, first time-host Donald Antenen (@riversofeurope) has an intimate conversation with writer and essayist James Pogue (@jhensonpogue), who is fresh off the release of his powerhouse article in Vanity Fair about the New Right. It's a can't miss conversation! About James Pogue James Pogue is an American essayist and journalist. He is a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine. His pieces have appeared on the covers of Harper's and The American Conservative. He is the author of Chosen Country: A Rebellion in the West, a first-person account of conflict over public lands in the American west. About Donald Antenen Donald Antenen lives with his wife and daughters in the Pacific Northwest. He is translating Genesis: https://bibletranslation.substack.com/

On this very special Doomer Optimism interlude, we drop in on our intrepid hosts, Ashley Colby and Jason Snyder, as they mix it up with Michael Garfield and the folks at Future Fossils. It was such a tremendous conversation that we figured we should crosslist on both podcasts. So, enjoy, and be sure to subscribe to Future Fossils!  Here are the show notes from Future Fossils: Be forewarned: This latest episode is some extremely heady stuff. But thankfully, it's also full of heart and soul... Back in February, Jonathan Rowson posted two clips from his latest in-progress writing to Twitter, where it succeeded in baiting a bunch of the folks with whom I regularly interact as members of the so-called "Liminal Web" into reflecting on the value of partitioning a global boil of loosely-associated "sensemakers," "meta-theorists," and "systems poets" into well-meaning but ultimately dubious cultural taxonomies. I had plenty to say about this from my awkwardly consistent stance of being both enthusiastic and skeptical about apparently everything. But so did numerous other brilliant and inspiring people, including Bonnitta Roy, Stephanie Lepp, Ashley Colby, and Jason Snyder – all of whom I've wanted on the show for a while (with the exception of Stephanie, with whom I had a great chat back on episode 154). So I took it upon myself to press for an on-the-record group discussion about the virtue and folly of putting labels on sociocultural processes and networks that are defined by their liminality: Is this ultimately a good thing, or does it just kill the magic in a foolish servility to economic pressures and the desire to be recognized as A Movement? When we finally met at the end of March for our call, the conversation turned to issues with more urgency and gravitas — namely: Is it even helpful to spend all of our time talking about crises and metacrises when there is so much work to be done? What transpired was easily one of the more profound and inspired conversations I've ever had the good fortune to host on this show, although it was also more beset with insane and infuriating technical problems that getting it ready for release took over thirty hours of excruciating editing. I am so immensely glad I am finally done and can get on with my damn life! But also that I get to share this with you and hear what the rest of our scene(s) have to contribute to this discourse. (Some of the people I'd especially love to hear from include folks we mentioned in this episode and/or were part of the original Twitter discussion, including John Vervaeke, Jeremy Johnson, Daniel Schmachtenberger, Kyle Kowalski, Jim Rutt, John Ash, and Joe Lightfoot, as well as people implied or indicted by Jonathan's prompts, including Nora Bateson and everyone involved with DAOs, GameB, cosmo-localism, meta-modernism, and The Dark Renaissance. So, like, half the people I talk and listen to...)

On this episode, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) has a conversation about Based Momming with Willow (@willlowthewhisp) and Tiger Lily (@Butterrespecter). Health, home birthing, and growing based families. About Tiger Lily Tiger Lily is a wife, mommy, herbalist, birth worker and shitposter. About Willow 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.

We're back with a brand new Doomer Optimism! This time, hosts hosts Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder(@cognazor) settle in around the proverbial campfire for a fascinating conversation with the one and only Empty America (@Empty_America). With interests that range from permaculture to political history, this conversation is as multi-faceted as the three individuals participating. About Empty America Semi-anonymous, Empty America can be found on Twitter and Etsy, where he sells classic outdoorsman's knives and dryland seeds. 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, hosts Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder(@cognazor) have a chat with Peter Allen (@pclarkallen) of Mastodon Valley Farm about ecological and regenerative farming, homesteading, rebuilding oak savanna, factory farming, and a ton more! About Peter Allen Peter Allen spent a decade in Madison where Peter was researching and teaching ecology, economics, and complexity science, and his wife Maureen was studied biology, taught team building seminars at the University, and helped develop a non-profit urban farm for kids. They moved to the Driftless in 2012 to build a homestead and start a regenerative farm nestled in the hills of the Kickapoo River Valley in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless region They are inspired by the oak savanna ecosystems that once blanketed our hills and valleys. Groves of fruit and nuts trees combined with prairie grasslands to create the most diverse, productive, and functional ecosystems in the history of our continent. It's no wonder why these savanna gardens were cultivated by Indigenous Americans for millennia and manicured by mastodons for tens of millions of years. Now they’re the keystone species - planting fruit and nut trees by the thousands, thinning out overgrown woodlands, and practicing multi-species rotational grazing with cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry to manage vegetation, build soil, boost biodiversity, and produce meats and medicines at peak power and potency. 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) discusses doom, prepping and bunkers, and building resilient communities with Dr. Chris Ellis (@Prep4Disasters) and Brad Garrett (@Goblinmerchant). This is a fascinating look at the prepper movement, and surviving the myriad coming crises. About Dr. Chris Ellis Dr. Chris Ellis is a subject matter expert on individual household disaster preparedness in the United States and other developed countries. He focuses on large-scale catastrophic threats, including natural, manmade, and spiritual events. Quantitative work and interests include deep analysis on FEMA’s annual National Household Survey. Qualitative work amalgamates – under the theory of ontological security – a model that matches fears, motivations, and government action (or inaction), with household response levels to assorted threats and potential futures. Chris earned his PhD at Cornell University, has four master’s degrees, and is an active duty Army Colonel with nearly 23 years of service. About Bradley Garrett Bradley Garrett is an American social and cultural geographer at University College Dublin in Ireland and a writer for The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom. He describes his research interests as being at the intersections of cultural geography, archaeology and visual methods and writes that his research is about "finding the hidden in the world". He is the author of five books including Bunker: Building for the End Times, a contemporary account of doomsday preppers around the world, and Explore Everything: Place-Hacking the City, an ethnographic account of the activities of the London Consolidation Crew (LCC), a group of urban explorers Garrett calls "place hackers". 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 is co-hosted by Ashley Colby and Jason Snyder, who interview Future Thinkers co-founder, Euvie Ivanova. The episode tackles motherhood, transhumanism, and the nitty-gritty of building community from scratch. About Euvie Ivanova Cohost of Future Thinkers podcast, OG in the 'liminal web', currently building a resilient 'smart village' in BC. 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.

This episode of Doomer Optimism sees Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) have a wide-ranging conversation with Brooke Bowman (@gptbrooke) and Grin (@grin_io) from This Part of Twitter (TPOT) and vibecamp about online communities, embodiment, and where all this is going. About Grin Grin is part of the core team at Vibecamp (vibecamp.xyz). His ingroups include his family, his startups (lbry.com, odysee.com), ultimate frisbee, (parts of) crypto, and friendly ambitious nerds. Find him at https://grin.io. About Brooke Bowman Brooke emerged from hardship a few years ago with ideas about how to thrive as humans that she's since been putting into practice by helping coordinate community building projects small and large. 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.

This episode of Doomer Optimism sees frequent contributor Anarcho-Contrarian (@AnarContrarian)and DO newbie Kara Marshall (@karakara98) sit down with the founder and president of Strong Towns, Charles Marohn (@clmarohn). Naturally, the conversation drifts toward community resilience and building...well...strong towns, as well as the future of community building.  About Charles Marohn Charles Marohn—known as “Chuck” to friends and colleagues—is the founder and president of Strong Towns. He is a professional engineer and a land use planner with decades of experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of Minnesota. Marohn is the author of Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity (Wiley, 2019) and Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town (Wiley 2021). He hosts the Strong Towns Podcast and is a primary writer for Strong Towns’ web content. He has presented Strong Towns concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America. About Kara Marshall Kara Marshall works to promote energy efficiency and, with her husband, takes care of and old house and five acres in Connecticut. About Anarcho-Contrarian Anarcho-contrarian is a nostalgia-poasting Twitter Anon who is passionate about the resiliency of rural places.

If Jordan Hall were a gin and tonic, then this, Jordan's second Doomer Optimism episode, would be a G&T with special elderberry simple syrup. By which I mean, the addition of this episode's hosts, Ashley Colby and Jason Snyder, unearths a few special nuggets about cosmo-localism and a variety of adjacent topics. So, get your lime juice, we're diving in! About Jordan Hall Jordan is the Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Neurohacker Collective. He is now in his 19th year of building disruptive technology companies. Jordan’s interests in comics, science fiction, computers, and way too much TV led to a deep dive into contemporary philosophy (particularly the works of Gilles Deleuze and Manuel DeLanda), artificial intelligence and complex systems science, and then, as the Internet was exploding into the world, a few years at Harvard Law School where he spent time with Larry Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain and Cornel West examining the coevolution of human civilization and technology. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. 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.