Last Born In The Wilderness

I speak with writer, lawyer, and environmental activist Will Falk. In 2014 and 2015, Will spent a great deal of time at the Unist’ot’en Camp, part of the Wet’suwet’en Nation (in so-called British Columbia). We place Will's activism and insights about his time at the camp within the upheaval currently unfolding there. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), on January 7th, breached the borders of Wet’suwet’en territory, violating Canadian and international law, as well as the sovereignty of the unceded territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/will-falk // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with anarchist and writer Peter Gelderloos. He is the author of numerous books, two of which we examine in this interview: How Nonviolence Protects the State and Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/peter-gelderloos // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Professor Siniša Malešević, Full Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University College in Dublin, Ireland. Professor Malešević is the author of numerous books, including The Rise of Organised Brutality: A Historical Sociology of Violence and the upcoming Grounded Nationalisms. We discuss his research into the historical formation of nationalism in the modern era and how the molding of national identities by nation-states over the past several centuries has given rise to unprecedented large-scale violence previously unseen throughout human history. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/sinisa-malesevic // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute and one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. We examine Richard’s recent essay, Our Bonus Decade, in which he examines the role peak oil played in the 2008 financial crisis and what the long-term consequences will be as a result of the fossil fuel industry’s transition to unconventional oil production this past decade. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/richard-heinberg // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Alley Valkyrie and Rhyd Wildermuth, co-founders of Gods & Radicals Press and the hosts of the Empires Crumble podcast. We discuss the recent widespread civil unrest in France—dubbed Les Gilets Jaunes, or the Yellow Vest movement in the Anglophone world—a response to President Emmanuel Macron's decision to implement a fuel tax hike in France. Alley and Rhyd provide needed context to what is currently unfolding there, tying cultural, historical, and broad economic trends in France and Europe to make sense of this movement. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/valkyrie-wildermuth // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Dezeray Lyn, an activist, street medic, and co-organizer of Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR), a "national network made up of many eco-activists, social justice activists, global justice activists, permaculturalists, community organizers, and others who are actively organizing around supporting disaster survivors in a spirit of mutual aid and solidarity.” // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dezeray-lyn // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Stephen Siff, Associate Professor of Journalism at Miami University and the author of Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience. We get into the media's role in the promotion—the "hype"—of psychedelic drug use in the 1950s and '60s, initially by prominent public figures and the intelligentsia, and eventually the wider population more generally. We also get into the Nixon Administration's role in instigating the War on Drugs and the role the US media played in propagandizing the government's agenda regarding the prohibition of psychedelic compounds and cannabis. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/stephen-siff // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Michael Sliwa—author, former educator, and “one of the foremost speakers on simple living.” My discussion with Michael addresses the traps of modernity, including work, consumerism, and settler-colonialism. I asked him to describe the path he has taken to move further away from the center of Empire in an attempt to liberate himself from false needs and excessive wants, in turn learning to live much more simply, nomadically, and communally. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/michael-sliwa // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Stand-up comedian and political commentator Lee Camp joined me to discuss his new comedy special, Super Patriotic Very Uncle Sam Comedy Special Not Allowed On American TV—his first comedy special in over four years. We discuss such topics as the value of voting under a corporate oligarchy, our “inverted moral universe,” and the far-reaching implications of the recently revealed sealed indictment against WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange by the United States Justice Department and the threat this case poses for press freedoms under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/lee-camp // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Aimee Lewis-Reau and LaUra Schmidt, co-founders of the Good Grief Network, an organization that “cultivates individual resilience to metabolize collective grief.” // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/lewis-reau-schmidt // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast