Last Born In The Wilderness

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 the SubMedia program Here's The Fuckin' News, and former host of It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). In this conversation, Franklin discusses the aims of the SubMedia media collective, as well as Franklin's 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, as well as the catch-22 of using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the like 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/lastbornpo

I speak with agroecologist, entomologist, farmer, and beekeeper Jonathan Lundgren, CEO of Blue Dasher Farm and Director of the ECDYSIS Foundation. At the very beginning of this conversation, Jonathan discusses his time as a top scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, during which time he conducted important research into the wide-scale use of pesticides in U.S. 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 (e.g. bees and butterflies), Jonathan began to experience various forms of suppression and censorship from within the USDA, as an attempt to hinder his work and inhibit his ability to publish his findings on the subject. After spending 11 years at the USDA, Jonathan moved on to his next project, Blue Dasher Farm, "where research, education, and demonstration converge to support the regeneration of agriculture." While Bl

In this episode, prolific author and historian Dr. Gerald Horne discusses some of the themes and details presented in his most recently published book, The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, and Capitalism in 17th Century North America and the Caribbean. In the 17th century, major European powers were undergoing a massive colonization project on the North and South American continents, which inevitably resulted in the mass genocide and enslavement of countless indigenous peoples. During this same period, millions of Africans were kidnapped from their respective homelands, transported across the vast Atlantic Ocean, and then sold for staggeringly high profits, resulting in one of the most economically profitable periods (for the major European powers involved) in human history. In this conversation, we explore how these monumentally disruptive events in the 17th century informed the initial formation and development of capitalism as the dominant socio-economic system o

In this episode, I speak with John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. This interview covers two major geopolitical trends currently developing in the world today: the reconciliation process currently unfolding between North and South Korea, and the inflamed tensions between the United States and Israel (and other regional players) with the government of Iran. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/john-feffer // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Israel Bravo, an innovator in the world of beekeeping and bee colony storage. Israel has years of experience in beekeeping, and through experimentation and passionate dedication to the preservation of bee colonies, has managed to work through, and ultimately overcome, one of the major reoccurring problems experienced by many beekeepers around the world: the decline of bee populations during the storage of bee colonies during the winter months. Beekeepers lose significant portions of their bee colony populations over those months of storage (in many cases, up to 40% of the bee colony populations). It's common practice, at least in this part of the United States, to store bees through the winter months in vacant potato cellars, and for reasons discussed in this episode, provide less than ideal conditions for bee colony storage. Israel goes over the very practical methods and tools that can be adopted and used by beekeepers to prevent such significant losses of bee populations over the winter months

In this episode, I speak with Alley Valkyrie about the recent events in western France regarding the communal, long-term occupation at the ZAD (French: zone à défendre; English: zone to defend). Alley provides a much needed explanation of the events currently unfolding there; she contextualizes and expounds on the overlapping and interplaying cultural, political, and historical trends that have led to the present situation on the ground there. Here's a very brief (and simplistic) description of what is unfolding at the ZAD, published in The Guardian, on April 9th 2018: "French police have used teargas in an attempt to clear anti-capitalist squatters from the site of an abandoned airport project. About 2,500 riot police made a pre-dawn raid in Notre-Dame-des-Landes to evict about 250 activists. The squatters have occupied the site for 10 years to prevent the airport from being built, but refused to leave after the plans were dropped earlier this year, saying they sought to construct an alternative way of li

In this episode, I speak with psychiatrist, lecturer, and author Iain McGilchrist. We discuss some of the themes and ideas presented in his book The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/iain-mcgilchrist // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Max Dashu, founder of the Suppressed Histories Archive and author of Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700–1100. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/max-dashu // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

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. Dmitry and I discuss the recent missile strikes by the US military in Syria, the Trump Administration, as well as 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. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dmitry-orlov // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Shane Burley, author of "Fascism Today: What It Is and How To End It." In 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 modern American 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. Shane also responds to a recent statement by Richard Spencer, the poster boy of the Alt-Right, in which he states that speaking at events to promote his views is no longer "fun" due to the fact that “Antifa [anti-fascist resistance] is winning."* Shane also describes the varied tactics used by anti-fascists that successfully undermine the ability of fascists groups to promote their ideology to the broader public, as well as their ability t

In this episode, Rhyd Wildermuth and I discuss some of the ideas presented Rhyd's recent essay, A New Luddite Rebellion. Rhyd expounds on the role social media has played on our ability to discuss complex and nuanced ideas, as well as 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 [ EP 109 / REC 03.26.2018 / REL 03.27.2018 / RMST 01.25.2025 ]

In this episode, 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 in his latest book 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 we see permeating throughout our 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, we currently exist in today. Caliban and the Witch is an incredibly important and relevant work, and provides a much-needed context of how capitalism did not merely emerge naturally out of feudalism, but was enacted piece by piece through systemic acts of state violence over hundreds of years against the landless, the poor, and in particular women. Silvia

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. Milica 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 this episode, 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 unintend

In this episode, 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, as well as provides 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