Last Born In The Wilderness

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

In this episode, I speak with Mirna Wabi-Sabi—writer and co-editor of Gods & Radicals Press. We discuss the recent presidential election in her home country of Brazil, the subject of her recent piece; voting and the farce of liberal democracy; the destruction of indigenous and quilombist peoples’ lands, culture, and heritage and the ecocide currently underway in the rainforests of Brazil; and the ongoing efforts by leftist and indigenous groups to generate dialogue and united action in the face of rising far-right populist organizing and violence. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/mirna-wabi-sabi // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Historian of American Religion and author John G. Turner joined me to discuss the origins and development of the uniquely American religion The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or, as it is more colloquially referred to, the Mormon Church). He explored these subjects in his biography, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, about the church’s influential second president, and in his more recent book, The Mormon Jesus: A Biography, which covers the theological underpinnings of the LDS church and its place within the tapestry of American Christianity. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/john-turner // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In the second half of the Another End of the World Is Possible event, we were joined by gonzo journalist, conjurer, and political theorist Dr. Bones. Continuing with the theme of this event, we fit the global rise of far-right violence within the larger ecological crisis underway on our planet. What role can mutual aid and militant organizing play in adapting to the rapidly disintegrating life systems of the planet, especially as societies around the globe move toward more regressive, oppressive, and violent political ideologies and organizations in the face of these seismic shifts underway? This event was live-streamed and recorded in front of a live audience on October 28th, 2018, in the abandoned Idaho Youth Ranch building on Main Ave. in Twin Falls, Idaho. Along with live interviews, this event also featured a question and answer session after each respective interview for those participating in person and for those participating through the live stream of the event. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dr-bones-3 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this discussion with award-winning environmental journalist Dahr Jamail, we begin by addressing the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). I asked Dahr to unpack the data and projections in the report, with Dahr noting that the report excludes much of the more recent and varied data of the non-linear, exponential change in the climate system as a result of human industrial activity over the past several centuries. This event was live-streamed and recorded in front of a live audience on October 28th, 2018, in the abandoned Idaho Youth Ranch building on Main Ave. in Twin Falls, Idaho. Along with live interviews, this event also featured a question and answer session after each respective interview for those participating in person and for those participating through the live stream of the event. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dahr-jamail-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Spencer Sunshine. He is a researcher, journalist, activist, and political consultant regarding far-right movements. The last time I spoke with Spencer was a year ago, soon after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, North Carolina, in August 2017, in which we discussed the fallout of that event. In this conversation, we catch up on the developments of the far right over the past year. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/spencer-sunshine-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Helen Caldicott, the "single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises.” Our conversation addresses several key subjects, including the fallout of the nuclear meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011; the myths and lies that surround nuclear power as a sustainable energy source; the danger posed by having nuclear power plants near coastlines and large bodies of water around the world; the current state of the nuclear power industry; as well as other subjects relating to nuclear power and the dangers it poses for life on Earth. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/helen-caldicott // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast