Last Born In The Wilderness

In this episode, I speak with Dmitry Orlov. This interview was recorded Sunday, April 15, less than two days after the events discussed in this episode. We discuss the recent missile strikes by the US military in Syria, the Trump Administration, and the broader US military establishment's true intentions and objectives behind the strike, as well as what other major world powers (Russia in particular) are doing in response to this attack.  Dmitry presents this whole event within a broader geopolitical trend: the American Empire is fading. America's influence in the Middle East, in particular, has begun to dissipate, with Russia and other regional players aligning themselves outside US American control and influence. These nations have begun to nudge the United States out of its once dominant role on the international stage, and the response to this missile strike in Syria fits neatly within this trend. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dmitry-orlov // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Shane Burley joins me to discuss his book Fascism Today: What It Is and How To End It. At the beginning of this interview, Shane provides a precise description of what fascism is, the historical context in which it first emerged, as well what fascist organizing in contemporary US society looks like. We discuss and break down the pseudo-scientific claims espoused by many of these groups regarding the concepts of race, as well as the reasons as to why and how these widely dismissed pseudo-scientific claims still exist and continue to spread among the far-right. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/shane-burley // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Rhyd Wildermuth returns to the podcast to discuss some of the ideas presented in his recent essay, A New Luddite Rebellion. Rhyd expounds on the role social media has played on our ability to discuss complex and nuanced ideas, and the role identity politics has played in the Left's (in)ability to effectively organize against capitalism and produce tangible alternatives to the dominant organizing ideology of our time. We also discuss traveling, the culture shock that comes when you travel back to the United States, as well as an upcoming online course, led by Rhyd, on "a pagan introduction to Marxism." // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/rhyd-wildermuth-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

This is a segment of my incompletely recorded conversation with Daniel Christian Wahl. Unfortunately, due to some technical issues with the recording of this episode, a significant chunk of our conversation was lost and unsalvageable. Daniel asked that I release what was recorded, and here is the finished result. I thank Daniel for sharing his insights with me, and I appreciate his kindness. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/daniel-wahl // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Johann Hari, journalist and author of Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions, and Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs.  Johann goes over some of the themes he explored in Lost Connections, which includes exploring some of the root causes of depression and anxiety, understanding some of the deep misconceptions we have in Western societies about treating anxiety and depression, as well as pointing to the possibility and potential for radical change to occur in alleviating these mental health issues permeating throughout society.  // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/johann-hari // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, Silvia Federici goes over many of the details and themes in her groundbreaking book Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation, an extensive history of the body in the transition to capitalism. Silvia discusses the conditions that led to the witch-hunts in medieval Europe, and the lasting impact these events have had on the trajectory of capitalist development into the modern era. Silvia provides a description of the social and economic system—feudalism—that governed societies in medieval Europe, and how the events and struggles that occurred during that time period led to the economic and social system—capitalism—that dominates our lives today. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/silvia-federici // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, Cynthia Jones and I speak with Milica Popovic, Associate Professor of Art at the College of Southern Idaho. Milica discusses her personal experiences with the social and economic disintegration in her home country of Serbia, during the fracturing of the Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. She describes how her and her husband left their home country and made their way to the United States, where Milica eventually settled in Twin Falls, Idaho, and took up a position at the College of Southern Idaho, where this interview was conducted. In our discussion, Milica also discusses the impact trauma has had on her art, and how producing art has helped her work with the traumatic memories she carries with her to this day.  // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/milica-popovic // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

This is my second interview with David O'Hara, and as with the first, conversing with him is always a delight and a great pleasure. In this episode, we discussed his trip to Central America, and the recent archaeological discovery of a vast Mayan metropolis that "at its peak some 1,500 years ago, covered an area about twice the size of medieval England, with an estimated population of around five million." David describes the cutting-edge technology that is now being used to discover these, until very recently, hidden ruins of an ancient Mayan civilization, and what we can learn from these discoveries regarding our own civilization.  We also get into the ethics of artificial intelligence and the corporate control of the development of computer technology, and the implications this has for how information is disseminated through our society. David discusses some of the underlying issues on relying on algorithms and computer learning to make big decisions for us, and how this kind of thinking leads to unintended outcomes.  // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/david-ohara-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, climate journalist Dahr Jamail lays out the details of the current state of the global climate system and the massive catastrophic changes currently underway in our oceans, as well as the ongoing disappearance of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, the receding land ice on Greenland, and what this means for sea level rise in the upcoming decades. We discuss the implications of these very rapid shifts in our global climate system and what this means for the future of our species, and all life on this planet. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dahr-jamail // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Patrick Dougherty is a veteran, clinical psychologist, and founder of Moving Through It, an organization that raises public awareness and cultivates a deeper understanding of collective trauma, helping to provide a means for individuals and groups to move through the various states of feeling we have all begun to experience as we enter a time of great uncertainty and instability. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/patrick-dougherty // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast