Last Born In The Wilderness

[Intro: 3:35 | English transcript: http://bit.ly/GRchomksy | Br. Portuguese transcript: http://bit.ly/2DhFNQa] In this episode, I speak with political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky. In this brief discussion, we begin with Professor Chomsky examining the current state and trajectory of the United States empire within the broader scope of recent history, fitting the recent “withdrawal” of the US military presence in Northeast Syria, under Kurdish governance, as an indication of what the U.S. geopolitical influence in the region currently is. As Noam states, “the United States, didn't leave Northeast Syria, they just moved its troops to the oil producing regions. The number of troops is about the same,” with more troops being sent to Iraq and Saudi Arabia “to support their murderous war in Yemen.” Secondly, we discuss the responsibility of journalists, especially in this time, to challenge state power and stand for those that are willing to risk everything to expose the crimes of the state and

[Intro: 6:12 | Video episode: https://youtu.be/hpzas3qLTEQ] In this episode, I speak with Samantha Zipporah, reproductive justice activist and author of ‘Mapping The Yoniverse,’ a “sex and body positive, gender inclusive and affirming, physical and energy anatomy coloring book,” illustrated by Casandra Johns. This interview with Samantha is about reclaiming what has been lost. When it comes to our bodily autonomy and knowledge of own health, sexual or otherwise, we have, through a combination of historical and administrative processes, delegated that responsibility to the medical industry and to the state and the legislature. Samantha, in her years of work as a sex educator, doula, and activist, has worked diligently to demonstrate, for women and persons assigned female at birth, the numerous ways in which sovereignty can be attained over such bodily functions as menstruation, ovulation, miscarriage, abortion, full-term pregnancy, and childbirth. We all have these traditions of knowledge and wisdom in our

[Intro: 12:55 | Outro: 1:08:16] In this episode, I speak with political writer William Hawes. We discuss his sharp and insightful essay ‘Questioning The Extremely Online.’ What does it mean to be extremely online? As William puts it simply and bluntly, it’s “spending too much time on the web, scrolling through social media feeds out of habit, checking email or notifications dozens of times a day” — something that I, and so many others, are completely guilty of in this age of information. While that behavior in and of itself produces particular problems on its own, what concerns William is a more specific version of this complex, in which mainstream journalists and alternative media commentators are "constantly posting every news update; sharing a gazillion times every day each and every version and opinion on a current event/post/tweet about the lead news stories of the day, whether it is something interesting about global warming or something as ignorant and banal as the president’s tweets; prognosticatin

[Intro: 9:45] In this episode, I speak with Sam Adler-Bell, freelance journalist and co-host of the Know Your Enemy podcast, “a leftist's guide to the conservative movement.” The subject of this interview is his article ‘Why White Supremacists Are Hooked on Green Living,’ published by The New Republic. In this discussion with Sam, I ask him to elaborate on his research into the deeper connections between the roots of environmentalism and conservationism in the United States and rise of “eco-fascism” in our present time — an ideology expressed in the manifestos and stated intentions of white supremacist mass shooters in recent years, and in the rise of reactionary far right populism to refugee crises around the world. As Sam explains in his piece for The New Republic, the first thing we need to understand about this subject is that “most eco-fascists are sincere in their environmentalism,” and that the earliest forms of fascism in Europe were directly inspired by the earliest forms of environmentalism and co

[Intro: 2:50] In this episode, I speak with Barbara Cecil and Dahr Jamail, co-authors of the ‘How Then Shall We Live?’ series published at Truthout. An excerpt: ’What I've learned is when you really listen, and I mean go really quiet — put all the mental jargon aside and just get really quiet and really, really humble and really listen to the Earth — then I believe that each one of us is going to get our own personal marching orders of “here's what you're going to do, here's what I need you to do.” That's where I've gotten my messages to go to Iraq, to do the book that I did with 'The End of Ice,’ and so many other big decisions in my life — and small ones. When I go out there, I listen and I get this clear message, and I always know what to do. And I really believe that now is that time for people to — don't run around and panic. Don't light your hair on fire. Don't go out and see what other ten more things you can do, or how many articles you can forward and all this. But just stop and get really, reall

[Intro: 7:14] In the episode, I speak with Henry A. Giroux, McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest and the Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy, and author of ‘The Terror of the Unforeseen.’ How has neoliberalism paved the way for the rise of far right ideologies and populists around the world? As demonstrated in the elections of, and policies enacted by, such leaders as Donald Trump in the United States, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Viktor Orbán in Hungary, a “neoliberal fascism” is emerging globally. As Henry elaborates in his book ‘The Terror of the Unforeseen,’ “neoliberalism creates an all-encompassing market guided by the principles of privatization, deregulation, commodification, and the free flow of capital. Advancing these agendas, it weakens unions, radically downsizes the welfare state, and wages an assault on public services such as education, libraries, parks, energy, water, prisons, and public transportation. As the state is hollowed out, big corpo

[Intro: 9:23 | Outro: 1:11:40] In this episode, I speak with Steven Elliot Martyn, author of ‘Sacred Gardening: Seeds for the Reemergence of Co-Creative Agriculture’ and ‘The Story of the Madawaska Forest Garden: Co-creating Integrated Polyculture’ and co-creator of the Sacred Gardener Earth Wisdom School. In this discussion, I ask Steven to expound on his journey of becoming a “sacred gardener,” which has included years of deep intellectual and spiritual introspection and experimentation with agricultural production, gardening, and foraging — a journey that has led to him to a recognition of the roots of our dominant culture’s profound disconnection from the sacred roots of agriculture and land use. On this path of exploration (fleshed out more fully in ’The Story of Madawaska Forest Garden’ and ‘Sacred Gardening’), Steven has cultivated an intuitive and deeply expressed capacity of being able to truly listen to the spirit(s) of the land and the living beings that reside there, having gained superb insight

In this episode, I speak with Liyah Babayan, author of Liminal: A Refugee Memoir. In this discussion, we delve into Liyah’s profound, disturbing, and moving retelling of her childhood experiences fleeing the pogroms enacted against the Armenian minority population in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the midst of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989-1990, as expressed in her memoir Liminal. After experiencing incomprehensible trauma and dehumanization, Liyah and her family fled to Armenia, where they were homeless for over three years. Liyah recalls the hostility and derision (with notable punctuations of deep generosity) her and her family experienced from her fellow citizens during this time, as is too often the case with displaced and traumatized refugee populations around the world, regardless of the context of the displacement for each respective group. After this period, Liyah's family was finally granted the refugee status required to make their way to the United States, ultimately resettling in Twin Falls, Id

[Intro: 11:00] In this episode, I speak with creator of the Nordic Animist Calendar and Historian of Religion Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen. Rune has spent much of his academic career studying and highlighting various animist spiritual traditions and perspectives, with a special focus on Afro-Atlantic and Nordic traditions — the latter being the focus of this discussion. In his work, Rune has attempted to integrate the animist worldview into his academic research into religious and spiritual traditions, highlighting the very pragmatic and grounded function the animist perspective has served in human cultures and societies throughout human history. As Rune explains, the animist worldview integrates human community with the grander cycles of the cosmos and seasons of the Earth through ritual and story, serving as a sort of technology that integrates human life with the broader communities of life on the planet through spiritual practice. Of particular concern to Rune is how the animist worldview and mythologies can

[Intro: 8:09] In this episode with Brian Mier, co-editor at Brasil Wire and correspondent for TeleSur English, we discuss the fires and deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, the United States intervention in the Brazilian political system, and the rise of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. On August 19th, the city of Sao Palo, Brazil experienced a complete blackout of the sun. Brian describes the event in the article ‘The day the sky went out’: “Was I dreaming? I immediately checked my watch. Sunset on that mid-winter day was scheduled for 5:51 PM. ‘There must be a massive thunderstorm rolling in,’ I thought to myself. There wasn’t. It drizzled but it appeared as if the sun had simply gone down 2.5 hours early, and there was a weird, clammy feeling in the air. As it turns out, it was a freak incident caused by smoke from out of control forest fires burning in thousands of points across the country and satellite photos were showing that a lot of this was coming from the Amazon rainforest,  inclu

[Intro: 6:41] In this episode, I speak Alexander Reid Ross, author of 'Against the Fascist Creep,' and Shane Burley, author of 'Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It.' I ask Alexander and Shane to discuss the curious case of Andy Ngo — right-wing provocateur, so-called “independent journalist” (https://nyti.ms/2lwcMuz), former Quillette editor, and grifter. (http://bit.ly/2lvaU5r) Ngo is best known for using his prominent social media platform to promote and spin provocative right-wing media narratives, demonstrated in his coverage of street clashes between antifascists and far-right groups over the past several years — most notoriously in Portland, Oregon. His promotion of the concocted narrative that antifascists activists (antifa) are anti-free speech and even terroristic (#antifaterrorists), has had real consequence in the lives and safety of journalists and activists, including Alexander and Shane. (http://bit.ly/2koyQHe) While Ngo is discussed in this episode at some length, Shane and Alexander

[Intro: 7:50] In this episode, I speak with musician, poet, anthropologist, educator, community organizer and public speaker Lyla June. This discussion with Lyla covers a variety of compelling subjects, including Lyla’s journey of connecting with not only her Indigenous Diné (Navajo) and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) identity and ancestry, but also with her European lineage as well. In connecting with that neglected line, Lyla uncovers and speaks not only to the intergenerational trauma that Indigenous peoples have endured since the colonization of the Americas began, and also to the deep and yet-to-be-reckoned-with trauma European settlers have carried with them to the so-called “New World” (e.g. the Black Death, the enclosure of the Commons, the Witch Hunts, etc). In addressing this fundamental truth about the underlying trauma that replicates itself up to the present day in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities alike, solidarity can be forged — potentially serving as a force for healing in our time. Alo

[Intro: 7:34] In this episode, I speak with eco-radical and guerrilla ontologist philosopher and writer Julian Langer. In this wide-ranging discussion, we discuss the middle-spaces of social engagement with technology and industrial infrastructure within an eco-pessimist perspective, Julian’s encounters with the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion and the mainstreaming of climate/environmental activism, the “ineffable visceral space” of his encounter with cancer and modern medicine, and maximizing individual freedom within the varying “intensities of capture” of civilized life. This discussion with Julian covers a great deal of territory, meandering as conversations often do, with general (and quite specific) reflections on the nature of resistance and liberation within an eco-pessimist perspective — nestled within Julian’s ontological anarchist approach to philosophy, writing, and activism. How can a more pessimistic view of life enable us to more fully engage with the reality we find ourselves in

[INTRO: 12:37 | OUTRO: 1:22:37] In this episode, I speak with culture activist, teacher, author and ceremonialist Stephen Jenkinson. We discuss his most recent performative project ‘Nights of Grief & Mystery,’ made in collaboration with “song and dance man” Gregory Hoskins — as documented in the recent short film ‘Lost Nation Road,’ directed by Ian MacKenzie. After watching Ian MacKenzie’s short documentary film ‘Lost Nation Road,’ I finally began to understand more fully the real spirit and essence of Stephen Jenkinson and Gregory Hoskins’ exquisite and subversive project ‘Nights of Grief & Mystery.’ By that, I mean the immersive and ritualized nature of this performative act. To describe this act merely as a storytelling/spoken word and musical performance is to reduce the unifying purpose to its individual components. ‘Nights of Grief & Mystery’ subverts our notions of what performance is and could be in this time of deep trouble, and as Stephen elaborates in this interview, this act taps into something

In my fourth interview with Truthout staff reporter, climate journalist, and author Dahr Jamail, we discuss some of the most dramatic and recent examples of abrupt climate disruption in recent months, how these accelerating changes are manifesting across human communities and political institutions across the planet, and how these changes are forever altering the natural world as a whole through widespread species displacement, loss, and extinction. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dahr-jamail-4 // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

[INTRO: 12:34 | OUTRO: 1:29:24] In this episode, I speak with visionary documentary filmmaker Ian MacKenzie. We discuss his two most recent projects: ‘Love School’ — an ongoing film project, made in collaboration with John Wolfstone and Julia Maryanska, that explores the revolutionary research village and healing biotope Tamera in Portugal; and Ian's recently released short film ‘Lost Nation Road’ — which follows culture activist and author Stephen Jenkinson and Canadian musician Gregory Hoskins on their unlikely collaboration with the ‘Nights of Grief and Mystery’ tour. “In the Oak-dotted countryside of Southern Portugal lies the Tamera Healing Biotope, one of Earth’s most radical social experiments in human futurism.”* In this discussion with Ian, we discuss his ongoing collaborative project ‘Love School,’ a film that delves deeply into the revolutionary work the community of Tamera, which aims to build a nonviolent culture through the integration of eros (life force) — by building communities of trust,

In this interview, I speak with Natalie Minoshka and Ínaru de la Fuente Díaz. Natalie and Ínaru are on-the-ground activists and citizens of Puerto Rico, and have been active participants in the massive protests that have swept the island for several weeks. Natalie and Ínaru provide some background on the demands of these protests, including what incited them, the historic size and turnout of these demonstrations, and what we can expect in the coming weeks. This interview was recorded Tuesday, July 23rd, two days before Governor Ricardo Rosselló resigned. After nearly 900 pages of private chat logs between Governor Ricardo Rosselló and several members of his administration was leaked to the public in July, the people of Puerto Rico have had one demand for Roselló: resign. The leak of these chat logs has revealed to the world and the citizens of Puerto Rico the truly abhorrent attitudes and blatant corruption the Governor and his administration have engaged in. For nearly two weeks, hundreds of thousands of Pu

In this episode, I speak with lawyer and radical environmental activist Will Falk. In this discussion, Will examines the United States legal system, in particular environmental law, and the difficult realities communities around the US continuously face when it comes to protecting natural entities (lakes, rivers, forests, etc.) from ecologically destructive government and corporate projects. As Will elaborates in this interview, the United States legal system is not designed to effectively protect human and non-human communities from ecologically destructive projects. Instead, as Will explains, it exists primarily “to make it near impossible for the citizenry to oppose those projects” through legal means. This assertion can be demonstrated to be true by examining numerous legal cases that have come up in the last several decades in communities around US—perhaps most dramatically by the community of Toledo, Ohio in their efforts to end the proliferation of toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie—the region’s main sou

[INTRO: 13:02] In this episode, I speak with Tania Li, Ph.D — Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto and the author of ‘Land’s End: Capitalist Relations on an Indigenous Frontier.’  In our era of globalized neoliberal capitalism, we tend to examine the emergence of capitalist economic and social relations among indigenous communities primarily as a result of overbearing external pressures, e.g. governments, nonprofit organizations, and multinational corporations (often in tandem). It is important, however, to recognize that while this is often the case, this view does not include the ways capitalism can emerge and take hold in far more subtle ways. As documented in ‘Land’s End,’ from 1990 to 2009 Tania conducted annual ethnographic research in the Lauje highlands of Sulawesi Indonesia, and bore witness to the indigenous population’s rapid adoption of the tree crop cocoa for cultivation, transitioning away from the more communally managed production of food crops, as had been done traditional

This is a segment of episode #200 of Last Born In The Wilderness “We Live In The Orbit Of Beings Greater Than Us: A Weaving Of Threads.” Listen to the full episode: http://bit.ly/LBW200 / http://bit.ly/LBW200v Episode #200 is something of a highlight reel, featuring numerous segments from previous interviews I’ve conducted and released, with commentary on the underlying themes and threads that tie all this work together. The episode contains segments with Silvia Federici, Dr. Gerald Horne, Shane Burley, Liyah Babayan, Stephen Jenkinson, Dahr Jamail, William Rees, Dezeray Lyn, Peter Gelderloos, Cory Morningstar, Jasper Bernes, Rhyd Wildermuth, Dr. Karla Tait, Ramon Elani, John Halstead, Charles Eisenstein, Joe Brewer, and Bayo Akomolafe. The song featured is “Listening Piece 1” composed by Scott Farkas (used with permission): https://youtu.be/tBvMrqmHMVk WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness DONATE: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcas