Last Born In The Wilderness

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.

André Miguéis, da Mídia Independente Coletiva (MIC), discute as origens radicais do evento 'Mais amor, menos capital' no Rio de Janeiro e seu objetivo final de construir solidariedade e poder político de base no Brasil. Ouça o episódio completo em áudio (inglês): http://bit.ly/LBWmllc Assista à segunda entrevista com a ativista Elisa Quadros: https://youtu.be/oUFDj0c66DM Esta entrevista foi gravada em colaboração com Mirna Wabi-Sabi -- teórica política, jornalista e editora da Gods & Radicals Press. Mirna foi a intérprete e gravou grande parte das imagens do evento, e nada disso seria possível sem ela. Saiba mais sobre o seu trabalho: https://medium.com/mirna-wabi-sabi Agradecimentos especiais a Nora Lynn Kommer por sua ajuda na gravação. Gravado 20 de dezembro de 2019.

In this episode, I speak with Timothy Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. We discuss his research into climate tipping points presented in the article, Climate tipping points—too risky to bet against, published at Nature. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/timothy-lenton // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with André Miguéis and Elisa Quadros—radical political organizers of the More Love, Less Capital (Mais Amor, Menos Capital) event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, recorded on December 20th, 2019. This is the first episode featuring interviews conducted from Brazil in collaboration with Mirna Wabi-Sabi—political theorist, journalist, and editor at Gods & Radicals Press. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/more-love-less-capital // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Matthew Remski. He is a yoga practitioner, teacher, and author of Practice and All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, and Healing in Yoga and Beyond. As Matthew revealed in his article, Yoga’s Culture of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories, published at The Walrus, contemporary yoga has an appalling and pervasive sexual abuse problem. “Modern yoga has been fraught with stories of charismatic male yoga teachers who promoted their teachings as spiritually pure and later abused, or otherwise took advantage of, students who believed their mentors were gurus or saints.” (http://bit.ly/2SFaNT8) Not only is sexual misconduct and abuse an all-to-common occurrence in countless yoga studios around the world, “somatic dominance” (as Matthew has termed it) is often employed by yoga instructors to assert control over their students, creating a dynamic that leads to “trauma bonding”—a crucial process that occurs between cult leaders and their followers as a means of obscuring abuse. In this interview, Matthew explains what these dynamics look like in practice, and how these dynamics can, and do, manifest in all kinds of contexts, including within collapse-conscious activist and support groups (at least potentially). As we enter into a more climate disrupted future, various cult-like groups and charismatic figures will likely emerge to take advantage of people’s yearnings for spiritual guidance and counseling. Matthew provides much-needed insight into spotting these abusive cult dynamics in group contexts, insights that will prove to be increasingly useful in addressing the complex outcomes of the various crises manifesting in the world today. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/matthew-remski // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast