Doomer Optimism

Arie and Jason meander through a conversation, loosely inspired by recent podcast topics, exploring various ideas. https://bothand.libsyn.com/20-whats-metamodern-with-linda-ceriello-greg-dember https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4iKUVpwwGA&t=11s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XBfoJx_8mg&t=1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZKrhrb9oao&t=34s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4DmHZJu8UE&t=24s

In this episode, Ashley and Dougald discuss an event they are co-creating in Chicago over the weekend of September 14 and 15. They talk about the various experimentations on the margins they have been a part of over the years, many of the friends they have in common, Ashley’s experience hosting Dougald’s co-conspirator Paul Kingsnorth in Wyoming last year, and their plans for this upcoming retreat in September. Check out the event here: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/dougaldhineretreat

Paul McNiel and Ashley discuss the Wagon Box, their shared event with Paul Kingsnorth last year, and their upcoming event this Labor Day in Wyoming. Ashley asks Paul about his conception of the Wagon Box as a new vision of a campus: a place to not only learn, but enjoy fleeting moments of inspiration with fellow learners. You get the inside scoop on the event with Kingsnorth in this episode and an invite to the upcoming event, to Doomer Optimism listeners only.

Today we sat down with four similar-minded folks to talk about our personal experiences with various Food Hub models. We let the conversation go free-form like we were sitting on the front porch at one of our farms and chatting with friends. It was a great and insightful conversation for all of us and we vowed to record another episode in the future to get updates on our respective projects.  Megan Kinney- Director of Cooperative Distribution-North Coast Growers Association https://www.northcoastgrowersassociation.org/ As the director of Harvest Hub, Megan seeks to increase our community's access to local food infrastructure like cold storage and distribution systems. This includes coordinating the Harvest Box program (a multi-farm CSA-style produce box), the Farm-to-Freezer project (a freezer for use by NCGA members), and overseeing the operations of Harvest Hub. She sits on the board of Humboldt Made and is the co-chair of the Food Access Working Group in the Humboldt COAD. She is a registered and certified Trainer with the Produce Safety Alliance through Cornell University. Megan is honored to have been awarded the Community Alliance with Family Farmers 2022 Farmers' Market Champion of the Year and is a graduate of the Food Systems Leadership Cohort and Leadership Redwood Coast in 2023. Amy Neukom- Co Owner Neukom Family Farms https://www.instagram.com/neukomfamilyfarm/ Neukom Family Farms is a small family farm located along the Trinity River in Inland Northern Humboldt County. We dry farm tree fruit including peaches. pluots, plums, figs, apples, Asian and European pears. We also grow a variety of annuals such as heirloom and slicer tomatoes, melons, winter squash, and dried beans utilizing water conservation techniques. Most of our land is kept natural for the abundance of wildlife in our area. Dru Zucchino- Executive Director- TRACTOR Food and Farms https://tractorfoodandfarms.com/ Hailing from the Old North State, Dru is the Executive Director of TRACTOR Food and Farms. He has over a decade of experience in North Carolina agriculture, ranging from conventional blueberry production in Pender County to biodynamic fruit orchards in Mitchell County. He holds a BA in English Literature and a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. He lives in Mitchell County, where he, his wife, Jessica, and two children keep busy managing small fruit plots and orchards. Chris Jagger- Co-Owner Blue Fox Farm, Not Only Farmers Podcast https://www.instagram.com/bluefoxfarm/ https://open.spotify.com/show/12YRGbk9IYMh4gbR0pTkEh?si=cb16eecee40a49e5 Chris and Melanie started farming in Santa Cruz, CA in the late 90’s and took the classic route of on-farm internships with several mentors until they had the gumption to start their own farm in southern Oregon in the early 2000’s. Blue Fox Farm started as a 1-acre farm, scaled to 45 acres, and is now back at 5 acres in production. Chris has supplemented their farm income with his Blue Fox Ag Services consulting business, helping farmers scale efficiently and farm cost-effectively. Chris also has a labor-of-love podcast Not Only Farmers, where he chats with interesting people doing things in agriculture. 

Ashley and Arie broadly discuss Goethean science, loconomy, and doomer optimism. This is part of a series of interviews where new hosts turn the mic on recurring DO hosts, like this one with Donald: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOyS9fAtSI8 Arie J. Dallas is a sometimes surrealist painter who wonders about the mystery of life and connection. He currently produces Popcorn Forest, an interview show focusing especially on epistemology, neurodivergence, creativity, systems science, and experimentation. Popcorn Forest is at: http://www.popcornforest.com . His paintings are at: www.ariejames.xyz. Goethe on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe Goetheanum and their publications: https://dasgoetheanum.com/en/ Craig Holdregde on Goethean Science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmzXTuoqjMU&t=3744s&pp=ygUQZ29ldGhlYW4gc2NpZW5jZQ%3D%3D Merlin Sheldrake (son of Rupert Sheldrake) on Fungal Lifeforms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpnCowci0XQ&pp=ygUTc2hlbGRyYWtlIG11c2hyb29tcw%3D%3D Arie's Selected Doomer Optimism Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVgIDIxsH2zleq7jFf7Dxw8sP5Ia_3yrg

Here’s a link to buy the book (if you use the code ‘CUP20’ you can get 20% off) Here’s a link to the Nature article I mentioned Dana R. Fisher is a dynamic speaker and author who writes about activism, democracy and climate policy. Her most recent book, Saving Ourselves: from Climate Shocks to Climate Action was published in February 2024 by Columbia University Press.  She is the Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity (CECE) and a Professor in the School of International Service at American University.  Her current projects include evaluating the ways that federal service corps programs are expanding their climate-related work (funded by AmeriCorps, the Department of Interior, and the US Forest Service).  Fisher is a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Governance Studies program at The Brookings Institution and the chair-elect of the Political Sociology section of the American Sociological Association.  She served as a Contributing Author for Working Group 3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Assessment Review (IPCC AR6) writing about citizen engagement and civic activism.  Her media appearances include ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, PBS Newshour, and various programs on NPR, BBC, and CBC. Her words have appeared in the popular media, including in the Washington Post, Slate, TIME Magazine, Politico, the Nation, and the American Prospect.  Dana earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has authored over eighty research papers and book chapters and has written seven books.  For more details, see www.danarfisher.com

Ashley talks with James of Michigan (@michlakeshore ) about his adventure walking along the coast of Lake Michigan from his home all the way up the shore to the top of the state at Mackinac Bridge. They discuss the meaning of pilgrimages, the unexpected lessons, and how the journey reinforced James’ faith.

Cultural Renewal with Donald and Mike In this episode, the roles are reversed, and occasional first-time host Donald is interviewed by friend & DO fan, Mike. They discuss religion & spirituality, education, punk rock, veganism, literature, and Ancient Greek, circling around the question of how to bring about cultural renewal in their own lives. Donald lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughters. He writes at the Borges Review of Books. Mike lives in the same town and liked the original tweet where Doomer Optimism was coined.

In this episode, Jason and Roland Gunn (@rolandgunntn ) talk with C. Sandbatch (@csandbatch ) about his project Ecologica Americana. With a focus on the South but more broadly generalizable to America, they weave in ecology, history, and politics to talk about paradigm change, shifting from rigid ideology to cybernetic mythology, breaking through the cultural ennui, and creating a future worth our time C. Sandbatch’s Substack can be found here: ecoamericana.substack.com

In this episode, Jason talks with Dru Zucchino, executive director of the Tractor Food & Farms food hub in Spruce Pine, NC to talk about local food systems, the challenges that farmers face, local distribution, quantifying the value of local food, the cultural dynamics of local food, and much more