“There’s a lot of awareness about the direct lobbying of big money in politics. But that doesn’t take into account the much more dangerous way that big money is shaping the narrative through the media, even through funding in science and academia. That has led to this narrow fixation on carbon and an embrace of robots and satellites as the way to deal with climate change.” In this episode, we revisit our past conversation with Helena Norberg-Hodge, a pioneer of the new economy movement and a leading proponent of “localization” (or decentralization). As the author of Ancient Futures and Local is Our Future, she also founded The International Alliance for Localization and Local Futures, which works to renew ecological, social and spiritual wellbeing by guiding communities towards a sustainable future of interconnected, localized economies. Some of the topics we explore in this conversation include the limitations of using economic wealth as the indicator of a community’s quality of life, the false promises of “progress” and “development”, how economic globalization has been driving an erosion of relationships, and more. (The musical offering featured in this episode is Tear Down the Wall by Forest Veil.) Support our in(ter)dependent show: GreenDreamer.com/support

“Under a capitalist system of production or any system of production based on the extraction of value via wages, it’s always going to be the case that mechanization leads to more work and lower wages...” In this episode, we welcome Annie McClanahan, an Assistant Professor of English at UC Irvine, where she is also a faculty advisor for UCI-LIFTED, a prison education program. Her first book, Dead Pledges: Debt, Crisis, and 21st Century Culture, was published in 2016, and she is currently finishing a second book, Tipwork, Gigwork, Microwork: Culture and the Wages of Service. Some of the topics we explore in this conversation include the history of today's service and tip work economies, the trend of automation driving deskilled labor and microwork, the possibility of a world disentangled from wages, and more. (The musical offering featured in this episode is Come The Rain by Maggie Clifford. The episode-inspired artwork is by Ellie Yanagisawa.) Support our in(ter)dependent show: GreenDreamer.com/support

"We sometimes forget that the knowledge systems we use to conceptualize the world are not necessarily exactly the same thing as the world that we're conceptualizing. We mistake the model of the model for the thing that is being modeled. We mistake the map for the territory. We mistake the word for the thing." In this episode, we welcome Catriona Sandilands, a professor of environmental arts and justice at the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University. Having written, edited, or co-edited four books and close to 100 essays and articles, her research areas include queer and feminist posthumanities, critical plant studies, biocultural histories, ecocriticism, and public environmental engagement through literature and storytelling. Some of the topics we explore in this conversation include cultivating plurality within the stories we tell, remembering histories of reciprocity coming from Western traditions, the connection between how we relate to the more-than-human world and our views of and experiences with sexuality, and more.   (The musical offering featured in this episode is Everyday Magic by Luna Bec. The episode-inspired artwork is by Ellie Yanagisawa.) Support our in(ter)dependent show: GreenDreamer.com/support

“We are all pretty familiar with the concept of the ‘biosphere’, which is the ‘living layer’ of the earth. The ‘noosphere’ is the ‘thinking layer’ of the earth that grows in and from that biosphere. It includes human thought and activity but is also much more than that.” In this episode, we welcome Dr. Micha Rahder, the author of An Ecology of Knowledges and an independent scholar, freelance editor, indexer, and writing coach living in North Carolina. Her research and writing address environmental themes ranging from forest conservation in northern Guatemala to extraterrestrial futures. (The musical offering in this episode is Everyday Magic by Luna Bec. The episode artwork is by Xiao Mei.) Support our in(ter)dependent show: GreenDreamer.com/support

“Lies, deceit, and dupery are also very much part of the story. Often, these promises are made in the early stages of oil palm development, but they do not end up materializing in practice.” In this episode, we welcome Dr. Sophie Chao, a Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellow and Lecturer at the Department of Anthropology, University of Sydney. Her research investigates the intersections of Indigeneity, ecology, capitalism, health, and justice in the Pacific. Chao is the author of In the Shadow of the Palms: More-Than-Human Becomings in West Papua (Duke University Press, 2022) and co-editor of The Promise of Multispecies Justice (Duke University Press, 2022). (The musical offering in this episode is Come The Rain by Maggie Clifford.) Support our in(ter)dependent show: GreenDreamer.com/support

"Instead of being head over heels, be heels over head—privilege your sense of touch. I think that shifts the weight of an overactive mind back into the body, [towards] our full body-mind experiences." In this episode, we welcome Gavin Van Horn, Ph.D, Executive Editor at the Center for Humans and Nature and leads the Book Series for the Center for Humans and Nature Press. He is the co-editor, with Robin Wall Kimmerer and John Hausdoerffer, of the five-volume series, Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations; and the author of The Way of Coyote: Shared Journeys in the Urban Wilds. (The musical offering in this episode is Power to Change by Luna Bec.) Support our in(ter)dependent show: GreenDreamer.com/support

"We are not a lacking people. We are more than capable to provide for ourselves. The issue is those who continue to pretend that they are here to help are here for other intentions.” In this episode, we welcome Dimah Mahmoud, who facilitates order by manipulating chaos and stops at nothing for Truth, Justice and Love. She co-creates grassroots solutions by growing her knowledge, skills and community to build alliances for inclusive collective growth. As a self-proclaimed Warrior of Truth, Dimah vowed to beat the drums of Truth till the world knows Unity. Support our in(ter)dependent show: GreenDreamer.com/support (The musical offering in this episode is Deja Vu by M!tch.)

“The sooner we are able to get rid of these two commodities, oil and coal, the better it will be... But 'green' technologies such as electric cars, solar panels, and wind turbines, don’t come out of thin air.” –Guillaume Pitron In this episode, we revisit our past conversation with Guillaume Pitron, an award-winning journalist and documentary-maker for some of France’s leading TV channels. From Chinese rare earth metals, oil extraction in Alaska, to Sudanese gum arabic and khat trading in Djibouti, he focuses his work on commodities and on the economic, political, and environmental issues associated with their use. His first book, The Rare Metals War: The Dark Side of the Energy Transition and Digitalization, explores our new dependence on rare metals. Support our community-powered show: GreenDreamer.com/support (The musical offering in this episode is Power to Change by Luna Bec.)

“For Palestinians, agriculture seems to be the only option. This is why we see the vicious, atrocious, and systematic attacks against Palestinian farmers.” In this episode, we welcome Rami Barhoush, an activist and president of the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature, known as APN, based in Amman, Jordan. The independent non-profit organization seeks to enhance the capacity of Arab peoples, including those living under occupation and armed conflicts, to protect, sustain, and establish sovereignty over their natural resources and food, while strengthening the advocacy efforts of civil society organizations on regional and global environmental issues. Support our community-powered show: GreenDreamer.com/support (The musical offering in this episode is Power to Change by Luna Bec.)

“If you’re actually targeting migrants as the source of the problem, if we’re thinking about climate migration as one of the amplified 'threats' from the Department of Defense’s point of view, then you’re never actually going to solve the problem because you’re only addressing the symptom and not the root cause.” In this episode, we welcome A. Naomi Paik, an interdisciplinary scholar whose work examines the relationship between law and cultural politics, centering racism, state violence, and the limits of citizenship to secure rights and social equity. Paik is the author of three books, most recently, Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary.  She is an associate professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on topics including im/migration, U.S. imperialism, comparative ethnic studies, women of color feminisms, carceral spaces, and racial violence. Support our podcast: GreenDreamer.com/support (The musical offering in this episode is Deja Vu by M!tch. The episode artwork shared in the show notes is by art twink.)