Doomer Optimism

This is a syndicated episode where Grin and Jackson invited Ashley on their podcast, Campfire, to talk about Doomer Optimism and where it intersects with their project, Cabin, building a network of modern villages. https://campfire-by-cabin.simplecast.com/episodes/37-homesteading-homeschooling-and-home-economics-with-ashley-colby-fitzgerald-and-grin Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprised of internet friends building a global network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.city Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com Ashley Colby Fitzgerald is a cohost of Doomer Optimism and founder of the Rizoma Field School. This episode explores how to prep for periods of instability, varying methods of homeschool, localism, agroecology, relationships in a time of crises, and integrating children into intentional communities. Cabin's technical lead (Grin) joins as cohost. Twitter: Ashley: @‌RizomaSchool Jackson Steger @‌JacksonSteger Grin: @‌grin_io

We speak with founder and editor-in-chief of Low Tech Magazine, Kris de Decker, about his work since 2007 highlighting technologies of yesteryear, developing simple and low-cost energy systems to run his apartment and publishing, building un-hackable websites powered completely off of solar, and advocating demand-side management as a superior approach to sustainability. https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com https://www.notechmagazine.com Support the work of Kris and his collaborators by purchasing low-tech versions of his online magazine, AKA books (compendiums of website content)!

Living Energy Farm is a pioneering off-grid project in central Virginia. They have developed relatively low-cost methods for taking advantage of solar energy in the form of passive solar-thermal systems for space heating and water heating as well as DC electricity. Their “DC microgrids” systems power household appliances and computers/phones, in addition to a wide array of hand tools and shop tools. This is accomplished by efficient “daylight drive” using power from PV panels to directly run DC motors, or by using energy stored in robust nickel-iron batteries. They have also prototyped an array of low-cost homestead technologies used for biogas systems, drying seeds and foodstuffs, harvesting crops and doing other “tractor work.” This fast-paced conversation outlines the technologies developed by LEF and contextualizes them in Alexis’ and community members’ philosophy of practical non-nonsense environmental technologies for achieving good quality of life as an antidote to typical, mainstream, middle class, bourgeois environmentalism. Learn more about their work: livingenergyfarm.org livingenergylights.com

Tessa Carman and Ashley reminisce about their time at the Front Porch Republic Conference before moving on to discuss the educational and life philosophy of Charlotte Mason. Tessa Carman writes and teaches in Maryland. With J.C. Scharl in 2022, she translated the Old English vision poem The Dream of the Rood. Her writing can be found at tessacarman.wordpress.com. Here are a few pieces that may be of interest to DO listeners: “Children Are Born Persons: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s First Principle of Education” “Nurturing Goodness: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s Second Principle of Education” “Authority and Docility: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s Third Principle of Education” “Fleeing the Ephemeral and Pursuing the Eternal,” Front Porch Republic, July 4, 2023 "Joining the Dance: Setting Aside Screens to Build the City,” Front Porch Republic, November 15, 2022 “Following Christ in the Machine Age: A Conversation with Paul Kingsnorth,” Mere Orthodoxy, September 13, 2022 “A Time to Replant, a Time to Rebuild,” Fare Forward, May 26, 2021

Welcome to a special roundtable milestone episode of Doomer Optimism. Ashley, Jason, Donald, Josh, Simon, Nate, and Tres get together to reflect on the journey of the podcast, where it is at now, and where they and the podcast are headed next.

Join us in this episode as Ashley and Nate delve into reforming agriculture with Greg Gunthorp. Greg reflects on the evolution of agriculture and his dedication to reforming the industry alongside Ashley and Nate. Greg Gunthorp is a proud independent family farmer at Gunthorp Farms. With a deep-rooted commitment to sustainable and high-quality farming practices, Greg continues the family legacy of rearing pasture-raised pigs. His unwavering dedication to preserving traditional values while navigating the challenges of the modern agricultural landscape sets him apart as a resilient and forward-thinking steward of the land.

Ashley, Donald and Josh discuss what would happen in the case of a digital apocalypse and how to embrace lower technologies from landline phones to family poetry readings.

Tres Crow and Sim Gooder talk with Kevin Espiritu about Epic Gardening, food production maxing, inspiring your neighbours, critical mass of small-scale food production, and running a seed business in the age of the internet. Kevin Espiritu is the founder and CEO of Epic Gardening, the world’s most-followed gardening brand and online garden store. As a self-taught gardener, Espiritu has spent over a decade producing educational gardening content across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, the Epic Gardening podcast, and the Epic Gardening website. He’s amassed over 3.6 million social media followers, 11 million podcast downloads, and 42 million blog visits. Additionally, Espiritu has authored two books, ‘Field Guide to Urban Gardening: How to Grow Plants, No Matter Where You Live” and “Grow Bag Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow Bountiful Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers in Lightweight, Eco-friendly Fabric Pots.” Kevin currently lives in San Diego, California, at his Epic Homestead. His favorite plants are beans and peas.

In this episode Ashley and Jason have a conversation with Neal Gorenflo (@gorenflo ) and Daniel London (@dlondonwortel ) on the theme of solidarity and bioregional economies. Specifically, where the solidarity and bioregonalist movements intersect, blind spots of each, and where they can compliment each other to create a viable vision for sustainable and equitable economies moving forward. Neal Gorenflo is the co-founder and board president of Shareable, an award-winning nonprofit news, action network, and consultancy for the real sharing economy (plus a dad, husband, community gardener, and budding urban forester). An epiphany in 2004 inspired Neal to leave the corporate world to help people and communities share resources. Subsequently, Neal co-founded Shareable and led it from 2009-2022 as Executive Director. In the process, he became knowledgeable about resource sharing, the commons, and the solidarity economy through practice, activism, entrepreneurship, writing, publishing (4,000+ articles), consulting, and public speaking. He's consulted for Institute for the Future, Stanford University, Lowe's Home Improvement, and numerous startups. His expertise has been featured by The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS Sunday Morning, Wired, Fast Company, Christian Science Monitor, Grist, and Sunset Magazine. He is an experienced public speaker with countless appearances at conferences on four continents over the last decade. His writing is featured in YES! Magazine, 7x7 Magazine, The Urbanist, and the anthologies The Wealth of the Commons, Open Design Now, and Enabling City. He's editor, publisher or author of 10 books including "Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons" and "Share or Die". In 2020, he chronicled his pandemic experiences resulting in the book, "A Year of Living Locally." Neal earned a masters with distinction from Georgetown University's Communication, Culture & Technology program and BAs in American Studies and English Literature with distinction from George Mason University. Contact him at neal at shareable dot net. Daniel Wortel-London is a historian and advocate of economic and ecological justice. He currently serves as Policy Specialist for the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy. He has also served as Knowledge Co-Lead for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Research Coordinator for the CivWorld project at Demos. He earned his Ph.D. in History from New York University, where his dissertation focused on the history of alternative economic development strategies in New York City. This project, titled "The Menace of Prosperity," is currently under advanced contract with the University of Chicago Press. A native of Hoboken, Dan works out of West Orange, NJ. You can find him on X @‌dlondonwortel, and his articles can be found at www.publicspaced.com https://www.publicspaced.com/

In this episode Jason and Josh talk with Tom Murphy, author of the blog Do The Math, about the inherently unsustainable nature of modernity and the delusion of infinite growth on a finite planet. As part of this they discuss his early retirement from academia as a successful astrophysicist at the University of California, his growing interest in indigenous wisdom and lifeways, the long view of earth history and where we’re going, and his realization that the end of modernity doesn’t mean the end of humanity Tom’s university bio: I am a Professor in the physics department at UCSD, and the Associate Director of CASS, the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences. From 2003–2020, I led the APOLLO project as an ultra-precise test of General Relativity using the technique of lunar laser ranging. My interests are transitioning to quantitative assessment of the challenges associated with long-term human success on a finite planet. In November 2021, I was one of five founders of the Planetary Limits Academic Network, aiming to connect scholars from all disciplines who are concerned about the deep systemic challenges humanity faces this century. Our "launch" paper gives the background, titled Modernity is Incompatible with Planetary Limits: Developing a PLAN for the Future. In 2014, I started a company (Aircraft Avoidance Systems) to provide safety devices for observatories using lasers for scientific research. Tom’s blog, Do the Math: https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/