Last Born In The Wilderness

In this episode, I speak with Mikkel Krause Frantzen, author of Going Nowhere, Slow—The Aesthetics and Politics of Depression, published by Zero Books. We discuss depression, capitalist realism, and revolution, as discussed in his essay, A Future with No Future: Depression, the Left, and the Politics of Mental Health, published at Los Angeles Review of Books. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/mikkel-krause-frantzen // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) at the Institute for Policy Studies. We discuss the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has had on the global economic system, as laid out in his article, Will the Coronavirus Kill Globalization?, published at FPIF and CounterPunch. There are plenty of adequate resources currently available on the nature of the coronavirus, including how it spreads, the common symptoms to look out for, and the demographics most likely to suffer and potentially die from exposure to it. What needs to be explored a bit more is the impacts this global pandemic has had and will continue to have on the global economic system as numerous governments respond to this public health emergency. I ask John to provide some insight into the impact this virus has had on globalization at large, with whole sectors of the global supply chain experiencing dramatic shortages as numerous economic sectors shut down, impeding international trade into the foreseeable future. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/john-feffer-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with prolific writer and dissident Kollibri terre Sonnenblume. We discuss two articles he recently published, Russiagate: The Toxic Gift That Keeps on Giving published at CounterPunch, and Coming Atrocities published on his website. We begin this discussion by addressing the McCarthy-era tactics, other forms of character assassination, the corporate media and the DNC have directed against the Bernie Sanders campaign as we approach the 2020 presidential election in November. After addressing this topic, we move into the massive level of environmental deregulation that has occurred under the Trump Administration and what is currently at stake in this election, as Kollibri addresses in his article Coming Atrocities. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/kollibri-terre-sonnenblume // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this interview, I speak with Brian Pace, PhD, evolutionary ecologist and co-host of the Psymposia podcast Plus Three. We discuss his recently published article at Psymposia, Lucy In The Sky With Nazis: Psychedelics and the Right Wing. Brian dispenses with much of the cultural baggage that surrounds psychedelic use, including the assumption that psychedelic use alone will lead individuals towards more egalitarian and anti-authoritarian attitudes and dispositions. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/brian-pace // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with John Halstead—pagan writer, (former) activist, and author of Another End of the World is Possible. We discuss his two most recent essays published at Gods & Radicals Press, We Did Start the Fire: Climate Change and the Curse of Hope, and Why I Stopped Protesting and Started a Garden. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/john-halstead-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this interview, I speak with Indigenous artist, activist the author Gord Hill. We discuss the recent events at the Unist’ot’en Camp on the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s territory in B.C., Canada, and the wave of solidarity actions that have sprung up across Canada the past several weeks in response to the RCMP’s invasion of their territory. Over the past several weeks, the RCMP has invaded Wet’suwet’en sovereign territory and arrested numerous land defenders, including three Matriarchs—Freda Huson (Chief Howilhkat), Brenda Michell (Chief Geltiy), and Dr. Karla Tait—to enforce an injunction to proceed with the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project through their unceded territory. I ask Gord to update us on the dramatic acts of solidarity that have sprung up around Canada since this invasion began, in particular with the ongoing blockades spearheaded by members of the Mohawk Nation of railroads and roads, shutting down large sectors of the Canadian economy and putting enormous pressure on the Canadian government to carefully reconsider their next steps in this crisis. Citing the Oka Crisis of 1990, Gord provides historical context to the scale and weight of the solidarity actions that have sprung up across the nation, and what is truly at stake in this struggle. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/gord-hill-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Christian Braga—photojournalist, activist, and member of the media collective Farpa (“It is, therefore, a product of the restlessness that moves us, that spurs us every day in search of images that matter”). This interview was recorded in São Paulo, and interpreted by Mirna Wabi-Sabi. Christian’s striking and stirring photographic work has helped elevate the perspectives of the most oppressed populations in Brazil. His vivid documentation of such catalyzing events as the release of former Brazilian president Lula da Silva from his false imprisonment in 2018 (http://bit.ly/3bLDOnr), the first Indigenous Women’s March in Brasilia this past year (http://bit.ly/2V6okoh), and the ongoing deforestation and plundering of natural resources in the Amazon (http://bit.ly/2SVplwn) by illegal mining operations, has reframed the national and global discussion around these struggles. In discussing this work, Christian provides his insights into the role independent journalists and documentarians can, and should, play in giving voice to the struggles of the most disenfranchised peoples in society, and in turn, giving space for their stories to be told. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/christian-braga // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

This interview with anthropologist and linguist Joshua Birchall was recorded in his office at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi in Belém, Brazil. Joshua has been doing field work in Indigenous communities in the Brazilian state of Rondônia and in parts of Bolivia for over a decade, documenting dying languages before they completely disappear from the human collective for good. Languages are disappearing at an increasing and alarming rate, with Indigenous communities in Amazonia at the forefront of this trend. As Joshua explains in this discussion, of the 26-or-so known languages in the region he does field work in, two-thirds of those languages have less than 50 speakers left. This indicates that one of the most linguistically diverse regions on the planet is on the verge of losing a majority of its speakers within a few generations, if that. Along with documenting these languages for their continued use and preservation, Joshua has a deep understanding of the role language plays in the cultural makeup of the communities he researches, including the internal and external forces that are threatening their disappearance. I asked him to describe what those pressures are, and how they fit within the broader history of colonialism, capitalist development, and environmental destruction in the region. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/joshua-birchall // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this interview with Karina Ramos, historian and member the Brazilian Association of African Studies, we discuss the roots and contemporary struggles of Afro-Brazilian religious traditions and communities in Brazil (in particular Rio), and how contemporary forms of State and social oppression of these communities has manifested. This interview was recorded and filmed in Rio de Janeiro, with interpretation by Mirna Wabi-Sabi. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/karina-ramos // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Elisa Quadros, ativista anarquista e co-organizadora do evento 'Mais amor, menos capital' no Rio de Janeiro, conta sua história como uma das dissidentes e prisioneiras políticas mais conhecidas do Brasil devido à perseguição implacável da mídia, da polícia, e de milicianos desde seu envolvimento nos protestos em massa de 2013. Ouça o episódio completo em áudio (inglês): http://bit.ly/LBWmllc Assista à primeira entrevista com o ativista André Miguéis: https://youtu.be/uu7YCQLaLX8 Esta entrevista foi gravada em colaboração com Mirna Wabi-Sabi -- teórica política, jornalista e editora da Gods & Radicals Press. Mirna era a intérprete e gravou grande parte das imagens do evento. Saiba mais sobre o trabalho dela: https://medium.com/mirna-wabi-sabi Agradecimentos especiais a Nora Lynn Kommer por sua ajuda na gravação. Gravado 20 de dezembro de 2019.