Episodes
-
In this episode, James and Ashley speak with a return guest and climate and disaster researcher Ilan Kelman. We discuss the state of climate activism, the eco-modernist approach to solving climate change, the uselessness of international climate summits, how the new Trump administration factors on the environment, and what are some points of optimism to focus on.
-
Josh catches up with Tom for a second conversation (first interview here) about two new series on Tom’s excellent Do The Math blog.
Tom has produced a “Metastatic Modernity” series of 18 short (~10 min) videos accompanied by write-ups providing a succinct but comprehensive explication of the poly crises of modernity, along with a convenient index to the series.
Tom also became an ad hoc demographer after examining population and fertility data and noticing anomalies in the official UN population projections for this century. Turns out, we may be facing peak population, peak energy throughput, and peak economic growth much earlier than anticipated!
Demography series:
Watching Population Bomb—could we actually start to deflate before 2050?
Peak Population Projections—demographic models supporting earlier peaks
Whiff After Whiff—the U.N. models don’t capture/predict recent fertility declines
Population “What If” Games—exploring population limiting cases
Peak Population Video—why U.N. models may overestimate peak population
Brace for Peak Impact—demographic driver for civilization’s peak power (soon)
Peak Power Video—why we might hit peak power in the next decade
Stubborn Expectations—U.N. models for fertility barely react to recent trends
-
Missing episodes?
-
DO 245 - Regenerative Ag Technology W/ Josh Jenske and Ashley
-
DO 245 - Regenerative Ag Technology W/ Josh Jenske and Ashley
-
In this episode, Going Godward guest hosts X’s Audrey Horne in a Doomer Optimist/e-girl crossover. GG and Audrey discuss how the Machine affects women and its consequences on beauty standards, self-image, and identity.
-
In this episode I link up with my new buddy from a recent Doomer Optimism event in Margaretville NY, Travis Logan. Travis brought an essay to my attention, Techne-Zen and the Spiritual Quality of Global Capitalism, by Yale professor R. John Williams. We decided to call John up to see if he would discuss his work, and where he lands with trying to navigate technology, spirituality and religion. One of my (Ashley’s) favorite conversations yet!!
Discussing: https://rjohnwilliams.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/williams-techne-zen-and-capitalism.pdf&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1731775211585824&usg=AOvVaw1ZTYOktfC-mKHhdUCdnVma
Bios and links
R John Williams is Associate Professor of English and Film Studies at Yale (https://filmstudies.yale.edu/people/r-john-williams)
Travis Logan reviews books on Substack: https://postliberalbookreviews.substack.com/ -
Ashley met Michael Sellas as a couple recent Doomer Optimism events and they immediately hit it off. After discussing urban planning’s connection to DO, Michael suggested some writing by his friends Dr. Timothy Patitsas, who not only thinks a lot about cities, but worked with Jane Jacobs!
Michael Sellas, M.Div, is the founder of Michael Sellas Photography, and the Audio Producer for the No-Till Growers Podcast Network.
Photography: michaelsellasphotography.com
Music: Spotify
Timothy Patitsas is the author of The Ethics of Beauty and the assistant professor of Ethics at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Boston.
For his book: https://www.stnicholaspress.net/store/the-ethics-of-beauty
For his film work: https://www.beautyfirstfilms.com
-
This is an interview Sean Blanda of Sabbatical did with Ashley on her approach to moving to Uruguay for a time when her kids were young. A write-up of the interview is here:
https://sabbatical.email/interviews/ashley-colby-how-i-took-a-working-parent-sabbatical -
Ashley speaks with Tessa Carman and her uncle Dwight about his journey to Guatemala from a small farming family in the Midwest. We discuss the push and pull of moving abroad, learning ecological farming, where to find home, and more.
-
In this election day special, Jason talks with Jon Council, candidate for County Commissioner 3 in Watauga County of Western NC (Jason’s home county) and Sarah Davis, his campaign manager, to talk about local issues in the region, including environmental protection, affordable housing for the working class, and mutual aid. In particular they talk about the impacts of Hurricane Helene in the region, how it changed the nature of their campaign into one of disaster relief organizing, and the challenges and opportunities moving forward.
They are both active members with Down Home NC (https://downhomenc.org/ ) and it’s local chapter Keep WNC (and Watauga) Home (https://keepwnchome.org/ )
A profile of Sarah Davis can be found here: https://medium.com/reclaiming-rural/calling-watauga-home-a8608d9d36d7
Jon’s campaign website can be found here: https://www.councilforwatauga.com/
About Jon:
Born and raised in North Carolina, I have grown to appreciate the diverse communities and nature that surround us, especially here in the High Country. My wife and I have lived on the Watauga River for the past six years after living and working in other communities around the area. We have witnessed firsthand the areas where our local government has fallen short. Our county's working people deserve access to safe and affordable housing, environmental protections, clean water, a voice on our local boards, and much more. I have faced these same issues daily and am dedicated to making a difference for our county. I aim to become a public servant, not a politician.
To learn more about my involvement in our community and the issues I am running on, check out this interview with the national publication, Barn Raiser Media (https://barnraisingmedia.com/appalachia-carpenter-watauga-county-development-organizing-minimum-housing-standards/ )
-
In this episode, Casey Spinks, editor at Front Porch Republic, and Ashley discuss philosophy, theology, and the challenges in contemplative and active lives.
Casey Spinks is a contributing editor for Front Porch Republic. He lives with his family in Waco, Texas, where he teaches theology and philosophy at Baylor University.
https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/author/caseyspinks/
-
Small Town Mayor James Decker w/ Ashley and Nate
-
In this episode, Nate talks with Robert Hirschfeld, the director of water quality at the Illinois Prairie Rivers Network. They discuss the water quality crisis in the midwest, chemical pollution in the water and air, pesticide drift, and why despite the common sense that everyone wants “clean air and clean water” we continue to allow polluters to destroy what should be a healthy commons. They also talk about what can be done and how we can move beyond passive acceptance or theatrical protest.
-
In this conversation, Jason talks with Rust Belt Kid (@rustbeltkid1 ) about the decline and signs of a potential revival of American manufacturing and agriculture. He talks about his experience growing up in the Midwest, his day job in manufacturing, his aspirations to become a farmer and early successes on his recent 20 acres, and ideas he has about combining the two in new and innovative ways, while also drawing heavily from the knowledge of the old timers and from old photos about how things used to be done
Rust Belt Kid’s Twitter Profile: https://x.com/rustbeltkid1
Manufacturing and Agriculture. Terry Redlin American. Midwest's Greatest Archive Browser.
Company: gatorbar.com
Two prior DO episodes were mentioned in the episode, including:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5F29SVjpME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npQ1m38V6Hc&t=97s
-
Alice, Dylan, and Ashley discuss using government funds for regenerative agriculture, building bioregional food hubs, and their upcoming Heritage Food Festival this November.
Alice Melendez-
I was born in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains between Clay City and the rolling fields of central Kentucky. I grew up on the farm, went to small-town schools, and learned to drive on winding country roads with lots of blind spots. I went away, like a lot of people, and came back. “Away” took me to Dartmouth College, Philadelphia, and then six or so years in Houston where my kids were born into a big Mexican household. I studied the way that economies social agreements and hard physical realities interplay in actual places (not models). I worked at a delivery business and a refugee resettlement agency. I ran a handyman business and for a short while a grain elevator. I thought for a while that 'the climate movement' might generate political will for a massive transformation in how humans relate to the natural world, and I worked on that. Now, I think it's time to focus on regenerative agriculture in our Ohio River Valley to ride through whatever comes our way.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e1duQMt65R-EeAMVzZzhpsVwQuBfYet0/view?usp=drive_link
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Uxg83U_IQ6RXOUQVCOz3H-MlkCt6EzP0/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=115071514593909738663&rtpof=true&sd=true
http://heritagefoodfest.org
http://mtfolly.com
http://mtfolly.com/for-farmers
-
In this emergency podcast, DO hosts discuss the upcoming US Presidential election as well as plans for yanking Western society back from the precipice of certain total destruction.
The conversation doubles as a drinking game. Take a drink any time a host:
refers to wokeness (approvingly or disparagingly)
mis-pronounces “Kamala”
uses a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings metaphor
complains about Twitter
complains about “neocons”
expresses fear of AI and/or transhumanism
accuses another host of conspiracy theory
mentions “authoritarianism” or “totalitarianism”
gets googly-eyed talking about Thomas Massie
disagrees on the relevance of RFK joining the Trump campaign
Finish your drink (and open another) any time a host mentions:
cosmo-localism
epistemology
meta-modern ______
“hive mind”
“techno-feudalism”
“The woke/postmodern Right”
“I'm not telling you who you should vote for”
“___ is morally depraved”
-
In this episode we discuss Chris Smaje’s recent article: Off-grid: further thoughts on the failing renewables transition
Chris can be found at chrissmaje.com and on Twitter at @csmaje
-
An excellent conversation on topics of mutual interest.
Can be found on Twitter at @Hispeedlowdrug: Lightly brain damaged 6ft 2in white trash polymath
I've heard all these stories about people with twitter connections meeting IRL and forming beautiful friendships and relationships. I would like that. I'm a mid 40's handyman with a strange bio and a young son in Western MA. Interested in schizo bros and cute single mothers.
-
Austin and Nate discuss Austin’s recent book Barons, concerning consolidation and corruption in the food system. With a focus on the midwest, Austin and Nate discuss how the rise of industrial agriculture has degraded the heartland, how it was allowed to happen, who has been responsible, and most importantly, how to move forward with a different, more humane agriculture that values the health of people and places. They spoke about the necessity of a two prong approach, one involving building capable mid-sized farms and the other taking a hatchet to the monopoly industrialists who have been allowed to seize our land and our resources.
Austin Frerick is an expert on agricultural and antitrust policy. He worked at the Open Markets Institute, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Congressional Research Service before becoming a Fellow at Yale University. He is a 7th generation Iowan and 1st generation college graduate, with degrees from Grinnell College and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. -
Arie and Jason meander through a conversation, loosely inspired by recent podcast topics, exploring various ideas.
https://bothand.libsyn.com/20-whats-metamodern-with-linda-ceriello-greg-dember
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4iKUVpwwGA&t=11s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XBfoJx_8mg&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZKrhrb9oao&t=34s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4DmHZJu8UE&t=24s
- Show more
