Last Born In The Wilderness

I speak with Stephen Jenkinson, founder and lead instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School and the author of numerous books, including Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul, and most recently, Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble.  In this interview, we discuss how the dominant culture of North America, as Stephen frames it, is awash in aged people, but bereft of elders in the truest sense of the word. Stephen “argues that elderhood is a function rather than an identity—it is not a position earned simply by the number of years on the planet or the title ‘parent’ or ‘grandparent.’” Why is it that the dominant culture of North America has been unable to produce the conditions necessary for elderhood to flourish, especially in this time of trouble we find ourselves in? Stephen discusses what the historical and cultural conditions have been that has led to this unexplored and unexamined crisis, and points to what elderhood in our time of great crisis—ecological, spiritual, political, and otherwise—would possibly look like, framing it within the profound realization that elderhood can only flourish when the appetite exists for it. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/stephen-jenkinson // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Cynthia Jones and I speak with Liyah Babayan—local entrepreneur, business owner, activist, and Armenian refugee.  In this conversation, Liyah goes over her life story, framing it within the cultural/historical/political framework of her home country of Azerbaijan, where she had spent much of her early childhood before fleeing with her family from severe persecution and genocide. In the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, a pogrom was enacted against ethnic Armenians in the capital city of Baku, Liyah’s place of birth, as well as in surrounding areas, resulting in the expulsion and mass murder of thousands of Armenians. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/liyah-babayan-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

This episode contains two interviews. The first is with Shane Burley—filmmaker, journalist, and author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How To End It. The second is with RS—journalist and radio host for the Progressive Radio Network. Each of these interviews focus on the dynamics and recent developments within the Abolish ICE movement, and specifically the OccupyICE encampments that have sprung up recently around ICE offices throughout the US, the largest and most prominent being in Portland, Oregon. The formation of these encampments are in response to the increasingly Gestapo-like policies and tactics currently being employed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, in particular the agency’s active role in the detainment of immigrants crossing the southern US border seeking asylum. Much of the anger, and subsequent action, in recent weeks has been in response to the Trump Administration’s policy of separating immigrant families and imprisoning them in privately owned detention facilities along the US border. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/burley-rs // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Anglo-Scandinavian philosopher of mind Peter Sjöstedt-H joins me to discuss psychedelics, panpsychism, and philosophy. Peter and I discuss the resurgence of interest in psychedelics in popular culture regarding the profound therapeutic value these substances can provide for individuals suffering from trauma and addiction. The therapeutic value of these substances is only the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to the value these substances hold for humanity’s philosophical exploration into the nature of the mind and the mind's relationship with reality. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/peter-sjostedt-h // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Joel Wainwright, professor at Ohio State University, and co-author of Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future. Professor Wainwright and co-author Geoff Mann examine a question often overlooked within the broader discussion about global climate change and our planetary future: how will our political and economic institutions respond to global climate change?  // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/joel-wainwright // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Tom Aiello, founder and lead instructor at the Snake River BASE Academy, returns to the podcast. Tom has travelled all around the world pursuing his passion of BASE jumping, and in this episode he shares his rich depth of experience and knowledge, as well as some truly fascinating and engrossing stories well worth listening to. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/tom-aiello-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with William Rees, human ecologist, ecological economist, Professor Emeritus and former Director of the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Rees is the originator and co-developer of the ecological footprint analysis, and the co-author, with Mathis Wackernagel, of Our Ecological Footprint, an exploration of this concept. The ecological footprint concept has become the world’s best-known metaphor for the human ‘load’ (the resources required of ecosystems to maintain our current mode of living) on the planet. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/william-rees // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Zak Witus, freelance journalist and activist. Zak discusses the unfolding events in the Gaza Strip, in which thousands of Palestinians, over the past several months, have demonstrated against the horrific conditions imposed on the Palestinian people by the state of Israel. Over 100 Palestinian demonstrators have been killed by Israeli forces, with over 1,200 injured, during what has been called "The Great March of Return," a large-scale protest that demands “that Palestinian refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to what is now Israel.” Zak also goes over the recent decision made by the Trump Administration to move the U.S. Embassy to the city of Jerusalem, and how this decision fits into the demonstrations in the Gaza Strip. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/zak-witus // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Franklin Lopez, also known as the Stimulator, host of SubMedia’s Here's The Fuckin' News, and former host of It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). Franklin Lopez discusses the aims of the SubMedia media collective, as well as their iconic role as the shit-talking riot-loving anti-authoritarian character the Stimulator. Franklin also gets into the humble role filmmakers and content generators have in collective organizing and coordinating direct action. We discuss the catch-22 of using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote independent media and news, while simultaneously trying to build decentralized forms of online organizing and social media outside centralized corporate media platforms. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/franklin-lopez // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Agroecologist, entomologist, farmer, and beekeeper Dr. Jonathan Lundgren joins me for this episode. At the very beginning of our conversation, Jonathan discusses his time as a top scientist at the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, during which time he conducted important research into the wide-scale use of pesticides in US agriculture. After conducting research that indicated that the use of certain chemicals (neonicotinoids) on fields was causing significant and alarming declines in insect pollinator populations, such as bees and butterflies, Jonathan was subjected to various forms of suppression and censorship from within the USDA—an attempt to hinder his work and inhibit his ability to publish his findings. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/jonathan-lundgren // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast