Last Born In The Wilderness

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

I speak with Dr. Karla Tait—clinical psychologist, Director of Programming for the Unist'ot'en Healing Center, and member of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. In this interview, I ask Dr. Tait to bring us up to speed on the details surrounding the recent invasion of Wet'suwet'en Territory by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on January 7th, the legal dimension of this ongoing confrontation between the Wet'suwet'en people and the proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline project being pushed through by the Canadian government, and what this unfolding situation means for the sovereignty of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation and the ongoing work of the Unist'ot'en Healing Center within that territory. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/karla-tait // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

I speak with Trebbe Johnson, author of Radical Joy for Hard Times: Finding Meaning and Making Beauty in Earth's Broken Places. We discuss how in a "world devastated by human interaction and natural disaster—from clearcutting and fracking to extreme weather and urban sprawl—creating art, ritual, and even joy in wounded places is essential to our collective healing.” // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/trebbe-johnson // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with writer, lawyer, and environmental activist Will Falk. In 2014 and 2015, Will spent a great deal of time at the Unist’ot’en Camp, part of the Wet’suwet’en Nation (in so-called British Columbia). We place Will's activism and insights about his time at the Camp within the broader context of what is currently unfolding there. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), on January 7th, breached the borders of Wet’suwet’en territory, violating Canadian and International law, as well as the sovereignty of the unceded territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/will-falk // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with anarchist, activist, and writer Peter Gelderloos. Peter is the author of numerous books, two of which we examine in this interview — ‘How Nonviolence Protects The State’ and ’Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation.’ In this discussion, I ask Peter to examine the most lauded nonviolent movements in recent history: the anti-colonial movement in India in the early 20th century (in which Mahatma Gandhi became well known for his use of nonviolent resistance against British rule) and the civil rights and anti-war movements in the United States in the 1950s through the 1970s. As Peter elaborates in his book ‘How Nonviolence Protects The State,’ nonviolence and pacifism in general severely limit resistance movements in adequately and seriously upending and defending against entrenched systems of oppression and violence — the State being the ultimate manifestation of this in the world today (and through out much of human history, as we explore later). We get at the

In this episode, I speak with Siniša Malešević, Full Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University College in Dublin, Ireland. Siniša is the author of numerous books, including The Rise of Organised Brutality: A Historical Sociology of Violence, and the upcoming Grounded Nationalisms. We discuss Siniša research into the historical formation of national identity (nationalism) in the modern era, and how the molding of national identities by nation states over the past several centuries has given rise to unprecedented large-scale violence, at a scale previously unseen throughout human history. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/sinisa-malesevic // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this episode, I speak with Richard Heinberg — Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute and one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels.▴ We examine Richard’s recent essay “Our Bonus Decade,” in which he examines the role peak oil played in the 2008 financial crisis and what the long-term consequences will be as a result of the fossil fuel industry’s transition to unconventional oil production this past decade. In our examination of the themes presented Richard’s recent essay “Our Bonus Decade,” Richard discusses the role skyrocketing oil prices played in the financial crisis of 2008 and how this crisis coincided with a broader shift to unconventional fossil fuel production in our society, including an increased reliance on exceedingly destructive extractive methods such as fracking and tar sand oil extraction (like in Alberta, Canada). What will our civilization’s reliance on fossil fuels mean in the coming years as we come up against not only peak o

In this episode, I speak with Alley Valkyrie and Rhyd Wildermuth — co-founders of Gods & Radicals Press and the hosts of the Empires Crumble podcast. We discuss the recent widespread unrest in France (dubbed “Les Gilets Jaunes” or the "Yellow Vest" movement in the English-speaking world) — a response to President Emmanuel Macron's decision to implement a fuel tax hike in France. Alley and Rhyd provide much needed context to what is currently unfolding in France -- tying cultural, historical, and broad economic trends in France and Europe to what is currently unfolding under this movement. In this discussion, Alley and Rhyd contextualize the cultural, historical, and political reasons as to what the Yellow Vest movement is ultimately responding to, including what this fuel tax symbolizes within the broader discontent with neoliberal capitalism in Europe, and with the European Union more generally. What has been most misunderstood and misrepresented in the American press about Les Gilets Jaunes is the politic

In this episode I speak with Dezeray Lyn — activist, street medic, and co-organizer of Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR) — a "national network made up of many eco-activists, social justice activists, global justice activists, permaculturalists, community organizers, and others who are actively organizing around supporting disaster survivors in a spirit of mutual aid and solidarity.”☽ In this discussion with Dezeray, I ask her to discuss the fundamental differences between grassroots disaster relief efforts (as demonstrated by MADR), and those done by large-scale federal government agencies and charity organizations, in providing supplies and services to disaster-stricken communities (e.g. Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and most recently the communities impacted by the devastating wildfires in California). In particular, we examine how mutual aid is "a factor of evolution" (to use the adage of Peter Kropotkin), and by acknowledging this fundamental component of the human condition, we can understand grass

In this episode, I speak with Stephen Siff, Associate Professor of Journalism at Miami University and the author of ‘Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience.’ In this discussion, we get into the U.S. news media's role in the promotion, and in particular the "hype," of psychedelic drug use in the 1950s and '60s — initially by prominent public figures and the "Intelligentsia," and eventually the wider population more generally. We also get into the Nixon Administration's role in instigating the War on Drugs, and the role the US media played in propagandizing the government's agenda regarding the prohibition of psychedelic compounds and cannabis. As a proponent of cannabis and the psychedelic experience, I have become increasingly aware that our popular perception of psychedelic and cannabis use has largely been formed by very prominent cultural forces, in particular the U.S. news media, pro-capitalist interests, and the State. The media has played a major role in the “branding” of psyche

In this episode, I speak with Michael Sliwa — author, former educator, and “one of the foremost speakers on simple living.”⚐ My discussion with Michael addresses the traps of modernity — including work, consumerism, settler-colonialism, our culture’s attachment to things, and the path Michael has taken to move further away from the center of Empire in an attempt to liberate himself from false needs and excessive wants, in turn learning to live much more simply, nomadically, and communally. In particular, what we discuss is that in spite of this worthy effort, privilege plays an enormous role in an individual’s ability to move away from the destructive nature and impact of this industrial culture, and as Michael addresses in this episode, the recognition of this fundamental aspect of living within a society forged in settler-colonial values and maintained through the socio-economic imposition to “make a living” informs this effort in more ways than can be initially understood. The false sense of security car