Last Born In The Wilderness

In this episode, I speak with Birgitta Jónsdóttir—former Icelandic politician, anarchist, poet, and activist. Birgitta is the co-founder of the Pirate Party of Iceland (in which she served as a representative of from 2013 to 2017), and is well known for her collaboration with Wikileaks in the production and release of the “Collateral Murder” video, as a result of the courageous leak by whistleblower and former U.S. Army private Chelsea Manning. I ask Brigitta to describe the role she has played in some of the most historic and impactful political moments this past decade—including the founding of the Pirate Party and her time as a member of the Icelandic Parliament from 2013-2017; her collaboration with Wikileaks and its controversial co-founder and editor Julian Assange, leading to the release of the Collateral Murder video in 2010 (which depicts the murder of several citizens and journalists during the U.S. military occupation of Iraq in 2007); and her involvement in the high-profile legal case “Hedges vs

In this episode, I speak with Xabat—a representative of the Internationalist Commune of Rojava. We discuss the ecological dimension of the Rojavan Revolution in Northeast Syria, represented and explored in the book, Make Rojava Green Again, which examines the environmental perspective and ecological practices inherent in the egalitarian and anticapitalist revolution in the region. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/xabat // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

[Intro: 12:35] In this episode, I speak with meteorologist and geoscientist Nicholas Humphrey. I ask him to detail the record-breaking flood in the Midwest United States this season, in particular the impacts this is having on the agricultural center of the country, and how this event is directly tied to the dramatic global changes associated with abrupt climate disruption as a result of human industrial activity. As Nick and I discuss, there are numerous reasons why this year’s flooding in the Midwest has been as destructive as it has been — with estimated damage, in economic terms, of “$12.5 billion, based on an analysis of damages already inflicted and those expected by additional flooding, as well as the lingering health effects resulting from flooding and the disease caused by standing water.”* Nick’s interdisciplinary research into global climate change, especially in describing its direct impact on the hydrological (water) cycle and weather, helps us understand how this record-breaking event occurre

In this episode, I speak with lawyer, grief therapist, and community builder Holly Truhlar. We discuss her provocatively titled essay ‘Mainstream Psychology Can Go Fuck Itself,’ which addressed the ways mainstream psychology, as it is currently practiced today, largely lacks the framework, language, and tools required to adequately counsel those that are coming into the growing awareness that the systems we are embedded within are leading to societal collapse, ecological disintegration, and abrupt climate disruption on the global scale. Mainstream psychology “puts the onus on the individual and takes the focus off of the violent and divisive systems we’re in,”* which in turn disempowers the individual from preparing, in any meaningful sense, for what lies ahead as we begin to experience the impacts of a fraying socioeconomic and political system (mired in systemic oppression and corruption), the catastrophic loss of species (described as the Sixth Mass Extinction event), a radically changing climate system (

[Intro: 13:30] In this episode, I speak with heathen writer and poet Ramon Elani. In exploring his unique prospective on how to address the converging social, spiritual, and ecological crises on this planet, we examine three essays published for Gods & Radicals, which include ‘Land, Home, and the Gods,’ ‘World’s End,’ and ‘Our Rage Against The Modern World’ — the last of which was co-written with Gods & Radicals co-founder Rhyd Wildermuth. “Let the home and the idea of the home become a pillar of strength. Let the home become a site of defiance, a bold denial of industrial society. Let the home be made into a bulwark against the modern world.”* Often, when I try to get at the vast moral dilemma we are forced to address in the face of the global climate crisis, the extinction of human and non-human life, and the hollowing of community and connection to the land implicit in the “progress” narrative of industrial civilization — the notion of addressing these converging crises on a collective level seemed appar

In this collaborative interview with [RS], we speak with Yoav Litvin, doctor of psychology, photographer, and writer. Yoav's work focuses on the roots of the ideology of Zionism, in particular how trauma has informed its formation and practice, through the policies and actions of the State of Israel, and through such powerful organizations like AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee)—"a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States."   In this discussion, Yoav expounds on his views and research into the settler-colonialist and supremacist roots of Zionism, not only from a socio-historical perspective, but from a neurological and psychological perspective as well. How has a collectivized form of post-traumatic stress disorder shaped the genocidal policies of the State of Israel, especially toward the Palestinian people and land that the State of Israel has been literally built upon? As Yoav gets into his piece in Monthly Review Online: “In

In this episode, I speak with Truthout senior editor and lead columnist William Rivers Pitt. We discuss the federal investigation by former FBI Director Robert Mueller into Donald Trump’s potential collusion with Russian foreign agents during the 2016 presidential election, an investigation that lasted for most of Trump's time as President. Without buying into the media spectacle that has clouded lucid analysis into the implications of this investigation, William provides much needed perspective into what we can expect now that the investigation has officially concluded (the findings of which have not yet been publicly released, it must be noted). // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/william-rivers-pitt // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

[Intro: 22:35] In this episode, I speak with Kevin Tucker, author of ‘The Cull of Personality: Ayahuasca, Colonialism and the Death of a Healer’ — the subject of this interview. The book takes a deep dive into the reality of the ayahuasca eco-tourism industry, and places it within the centuries-long history of colonialism and resource extraction in the Amazon Region, in particular Peru, where much of narrative of this book is centered. The book begins with the description of the murder of 81-year-old Indigenous rights activist and healer Olivia Arevalo, a member of the Shipibo-Conibo people in Peru, by Sebastian Woodroffe, a Canadian man seeking to extract the methods of the Shipibo-Conibo practice of administering the psychedelic brew ayahuasca for healing purposes. On April 19th of last year, Arevalo was killed in her home in the Ucayali region in Peru. Records show Woodroffe purchased a gun from a local police officer, and was the individual that confronted Arevalo at her home, subsequently leading to h

[Intro: 17:30] In this episode, I speak with author, journalist, and political researcher Shane Burley. We discuss the recent mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which an Australian white supremacist targeted Muslim worshippers at two separate mosques, leading to the deaths of 50 people — the largest in the nation’s history. We place this event within Shane’s larger analysis of far right ideology and insurgency, which has been thoroughly examined in Shane’s journalism on the subject, as well as in previous interviews I have had with him.* In this discussion with Shane, we touch on an Op-Ed Alexander Reid Ross and Shane very recently co-wrote for The Independent, titled ‘How to defeat the cretinous ‘great replacement’ theory at the heart of the Christchurch mosque attack,’ in which they respond to the recent mass shooting in Christchurch by self-proclaimed white supremacist Brenton Tarrant. Aside from embodying the most vile and insurgent aspects of white supremacist ideological violence, Tarrant

I speak with sociologist Milton Bennett, director of the Intercultural Development Research Institute and the creator of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (also known as the “Bennett Scale”). I was introduced to Milton and his work by journalist Dahr Jamail, after a private discussion Dahr and I had about the dynamics of cults and "culting" within certain political groups, in particular between President Donald Trump and his base of supporters, as explored in Dahr's interview with Milton in the Truthout article, Is There a Cult of Trump? // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/milton-bennett // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Bayo Akomolafe—lecturer, activist, and the author of These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to my Daughter on Humanity’s Search for Home. We pick up where we left off from when we last spoke over one year ago, and get into some of the overlying (and underlying) themes of his work, which includes a radical reshaping of the understandable, but often unexamined, sense of urgency we feel in a time of accelerating change and ecological collapse as we fully enter into the Anthropocene, "the human epoch." // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/bayo-akomolafe-2 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with economist and cryptocurrency/blockchain specialist Alex de Vries. We discuss his research into the energy consumptive cryptocurrency Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency in the world at the present moment. I ask Alex to elaborate on how Bitcoin and blockchain works (in particular how Bitcoin “mining” and transactions work), Alex's research into the disturbing amounts of energy required to keep Bitcoin functioning and growing, Bitcoin's growing environmental footprint, as well as what these trends mean for the future for Bitcoin and decentralized cryptocurrencies more generally. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/alex-de-vries // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Alexander Koch, lead author of the recently released groundbreaking scientific paper, Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492. As the title suggests, it explores the dramatic global climatological changes that resulted from the “Great Dying" of indigenous populations in the Americas after first contact with Europeans in 1492. Alexander and his colleagues’ research has been making the rounds in the mainstream media, getting extensive coverage in The Guardian, BBC, The Hill, and numerous other publications. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/alexander-koch // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Clare Farrell, co-founder and spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion (XR)—"an international social movement that aims to drive radical change, through nonviolent resistance in order to minimise species extinction and avert climate breakdown.” This discussion includes an overview of the principles and the proposed demands of this movement, the realities of the global implications of climate change and environmental disintegration and how it informs the activism of those involved in the movement, and the ground-level organizing Extinction Rebellion is engaged with in communities across the United Kingdom, and internationally as well. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/clare-farrell // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

WATCH THE VIDEO-VERSION OF THIS EPISODE: https://youtu.be/r6RRNyRTPLc In my second joint interview with [RS], host of [MF] on The Progressive Radio Network (PRN), we speak with Shane Burley​ -- journalist and author of 'Fascism Today: What It Is and How To End It.' Our discussion with Shane covers numerous topics, including the "Intellectual Dark Web" (or as Shane says "the academics that circle around Joe Rogan​ for some reason"); the pseudoscientific claims surrounding race, ethnicity, and IQ; and an examination of observable patterns within far right insurgency, as examined in Shane's recent piece in Commune Magazine​ 'A History of Violence,’ which examines the case of James Alex Fields — found guilty for the murder of Heather Heyer at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville in 2017 when Fields drove his car through a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heyer and injuring 28. In Shane’s piece ‘A History of Violence’ and in this interview, Shane unpacks the observable patterns within far-right i

In this episode, I speak with independent political analyst Eric Draitser. I ask Eric expand upon his analysis of recent events in Venezuela, expressed in his piece in CounterPunch ‘Trump’s Coup in Venezuela: The Full Story,’ in which Eric lays into the recent decision by the Trump Administration to back “interim president” Juan Guaido as the rightful leader of the nation. Eric explains the celebrated successes of the ongoing Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela under the successive governments of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, the legitimate criticisms of the current Maduro-led government in Venezuela, the colonial legacy of the United States’ relationship with Latin America in general, and what this ongoing incursion by the United States into the Venezuelan government and economy will ultimately lead to in the future. What Eric does in this discussion is provide a much fuller and richer picture of what is currently happening in Venezuela, in light of the recent decision by the Trump Administration — under

In this episode, I speak with Michael Laufer — Chief Spokesperson for the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective, a network of individuals that seek to make commonly inaccessible medicines affordable and accessible to public by providing the means to produce pharmaceutical medicines outside of the dominant medical establishment. We tackle the ethics behind the project, the anti-capitalist/anarchist structure of the network, and the various technologies the Collective has been able to make affordable and accessible to the broader public, in order to adequately participate in pharmaceutical drug production in a more direct DIY fashion. In this discussion with Michael, we get at the various ways the for-profit healthcare system in the United States makes commonly needed medicines practically impossible to access for a wide swath of the population. "The main reasons for people being disenfranchised from medicines are: price, legality, and lack of infrastructure. Medicines like Solvadi which costs $80,000 for a course o

In this episode, I speak with Gord Hill (also known as Zig Zag) — Indigenous artist, activist, and the author of numerous books/graphic novels, including ‘500 Years of Indigenous Resistance,’ ‘The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book,’ ‘The Anti-Capitalist Resistance Comic Book,’ and 'The Antifa Comic Book.’ A major theme that runs through this discussion with Gord is the recognition that there is currently a growing intersection between what can be defined as traditionally Eurocentric Leftist political theory and practice with anti-colonial Indigenous resistance, throughout the so-called American continents, from North to South. At the beginning of this discussion, I ask Gord to provide some examples of Indigenous resistance to colonialist expansion throughout the so-called Americas over the past 500 years, from the earliest forms of resistance in the earliest days of European colonial expansion, up to the present day. Gord, having one foot in indigenous resistance movements and the other in anarchist/anti-ca

In this joint interview with [RS], we speak with Dahr Jamail — investigative journalist and the author of ‘The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption.’ After meeting Dahr for his book release at Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon, [RS] and I sat down with Dahr to discuss his journey writing this book. “[Dahr] embarks on a journey to the geographical front lines of [climate disruption] —from Alaska to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, via the Amazon rainforest—in order to discover the consequences to nature and to humans of the loss of ice.” // Episode notes + video: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dahr-jamail-3 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Dean Spillane-Walker, author of The Impossible Conversation: Choosing Reconnection and Resilience at the End of Business as Usual, and the host of The Poetry of Predicament podcast. We pick up where we left off from our first discussion on The Poetry of Predicament, in which we discuss how to approach a more sane and connected means of discussing our "predicament-laden times" in the face of radical social change, abrupt climate disruption, and the collapse of the global economic order in the face of these ongoing crises. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dean-spillane-walker // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast