Last Born In The Wilderness

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

I speak with Joe Brewer—complexity researcher, cognitive scientist, and evangelist for the field of culture design. We discuss the social, economic, and ecological collapse we are currently in the midst of as a result of the destructive impacts of human industrial activity and the cultural value systems that uphold these practices. We also discuss Joe's work in designing cultural evolution through "regenerative hubs"—bioregional centers designed to implement processes of healing, mending humankind’s relationship with the living planet, and establishing a right role within the planet's living systems on the regional and global level. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/joe-brewer // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Kate Harris, author of the captivating travel memoir Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road. We discuss living off-grid in Atlin, British Columbia; Kate’s complex relationship with Marco Polo and the famed and mythologized explorers from the “Old World”; and her life-expanding decision to traverse the famed Silk Road by bike with her childhood friend. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/kate-harris // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with anarcho-primitivist writer and philosopher John Zerzan. We discuss his in-depth analysis of the roots of Time as we understand it to be in the modern sense, explored in a collection of essays, Time and Time Again; the roots of agriculture, the domestication of life, and the detrimental impact this transition has had on human health and physical development; the neuroses of mass society (alienation, depression, anxiety, etc.) with the wholesale disappearance of community; and the threat technological advancement poses for complex life on the planet. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/john-zerzan // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with pagan writer and activist John Halstead. We discuss his excellent and perceptive two-part essay published by Gods&Radicals, “What If It’s Already Too Late?”: Being an Activist in the Anthropocene and “Die Early and Often”: Being Attis in the Anthropocene. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/john-halstead // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast