Doomer Optimism
By Doomer Optimism
Doomer OptimismOct 25, 2022
D0 243 - The spiritual quality of global capitalism
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/
DO 242 - Jane Jacobs and the City as Liturgy w/ Dr. Timothy Patitsas, Michael Sellas and Ashley
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
DO 241 - Motherhood Sabbatical w/ Ashley and Sean Blanda
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
DO 240 - Ecological Farming in Guatemala w/ Dwight, Tessa Carman and Ashley
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.
DO 239 - Local Politics and the Hurricane with Jon Council, Sarah Davis, and Jason
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/ )
DO 238 - 20th Century German Philosophy with Casey Spinks and Ashley
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/
DO 237 - Small Town Mayor James Decker w/ Ashley and Nate
Small Town Mayor James Decker w/ Ashley and Nate
DO 236 - Midwestern Water with Robert Hirschfeld
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.
DO 235 - The Revival of American Manufacturing and Agriculture with Rust Belt Kid and Jason
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:
DO 234 - Funding the Future of Food with Alice, Dylan and Ashley
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
DO 233 - DO Emergency 2024 Election Coverage w/ Ashley, Jason, Nate and Josh
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”
DO 232 - The Failing Renewables Transition with Chris Smaje and Jason
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
DO 231 - Chief Chainsaw Officer with Jason
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.
DO 230 - Agriculture for the People
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.
DO 229 - Confessions of a Recovering Technocrat
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
DO 228 - At Work in the Ruins Retreat w/ Dougald Hine and Ashley
In this episode, Ashley and Dougald discuss an event they are co-creating in Chicago over the weekend of September 14 and 15. They talk about the various experimentations on the margins they have been a part of over the years, many of the friends they have in common, Ashley’s experience hosting Dougald’s co-conspirator Paul Kingsnorth in Wyoming last year, and their plans for this upcoming retreat in September.
Check out the event here: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/dougaldhineretreat
DO 227 - Paul McNiel and the Wagon Box with Ashley
Paul McNiel and Ashley discuss the Wagon Box, their shared event with Paul Kingsnorth last year, and their upcoming event this Labor Day in Wyoming. Ashley asks Paul about his conception of the Wagon Box as a new vision of a campus: a place to not only learn, but enjoy fleeting moments of inspiration with fellow learners. You get the inside scoop on the event with Kingsnorth in this episode and an invite to the upcoming event, to Doomer Optimism listeners only.
DO 226 - Food Hub Round Table Discussion
Today we sat down with four similar-minded folks to talk about our personal experiences with various Food Hub models. We let the conversation go free-form like we were sitting on the front porch at one of our farms and chatting with friends. It was a great and insightful conversation for all of us and we vowed to record another episode in the future to get updates on our respective projects.
Megan Kinney- Director of Cooperative Distribution-North Coast Growers Association
https://www.northcoastgrowersassociation.org/
As the director of Harvest Hub, Megan seeks to increase our community's access to local food infrastructure like cold storage and distribution systems. This includes coordinating the Harvest Box program (a multi-farm CSA-style produce box), the Farm-to-Freezer project (a freezer for use by NCGA members), and overseeing the operations of Harvest Hub. She sits on the board of Humboldt Made and is the co-chair of the Food Access Working Group in the Humboldt COAD. She is a registered and certified Trainer with the Produce Safety Alliance through Cornell University. Megan is honored to have been awarded the Community Alliance with Family Farmers 2022 Farmers' Market Champion of the Year and is a graduate of the Food Systems Leadership Cohort and Leadership Redwood Coast in 2023.
Amy Neukom- Co Owner Neukom Family Farms
https://www.instagram.com/neukomfamilyfarm/
Neukom Family Farms is a small family farm located along the Trinity River in Inland Northern Humboldt County. We dry farm tree fruit including peaches. pluots, plums, figs, apples, Asian and European pears. We also grow a variety of annuals such as heirloom and slicer tomatoes, melons, winter squash, and dried beans utilizing water conservation techniques. Most of our land is kept natural for the abundance of wildlife in our area.
Dru Zucchino- Executive Director- TRACTOR Food and Farms
https://tractorfoodandfarms.com/
Hailing from the Old North State, Dru is the Executive Director of TRACTOR Food and Farms. He has over a decade of experience in North Carolina agriculture, ranging from conventional blueberry production in Pender County to biodynamic fruit orchards in Mitchell County. He holds a BA in English Literature and a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. He lives in Mitchell County, where he, his wife, Jessica, and two children keep busy managing small fruit plots and orchards.
Chris Jagger- Co-Owner Blue Fox Farm, Not Only Farmers Podcast
https://www.instagram.com/bluefoxfarm/
https://open.spotify.com/show/12YRGbk9IYMh4gbR0pTkEh?si=cb16eecee40a49e5
Chris and Melanie started farming in Santa Cruz, CA in the late 90’s and took the classic route of on-farm internships with several mentors until they had the gumption to start their own farm in southern Oregon in the early 2000’s. Blue Fox Farm started as a 1-acre farm, scaled to 45 acres, and is now back at 5 acres in production. Chris has supplemented their farm income with his Blue Fox Ag Services consulting business, helping farmers scale efficiently and farm cost-effectively. Chris also has a labor-of-love podcast Not Only Farmers, where he chats with interesting people doing things in agriculture.
DO 225 - Goethean Science w/ Arie and Ashley
Ashley and Arie broadly discuss Goethean science, loconomy, and doomer optimism.
This is part of a series of interviews where new hosts turn the mic on recurring DO hosts, like this one with Donald: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOyS9fAtSI8
Arie J. Dallas is a sometimes surrealist painter who wonders about the mystery of life and connection. He currently produces Popcorn Forest, an interview show focusing especially on epistemology, neurodivergence, creativity, systems science, and experimentation.
Popcorn Forest is at: http://www.popcornforest.com .
His paintings are at: www.ariejames.xyz.
Goethe on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe
Goetheanum and their publications: https://dasgoetheanum.com/en/
Craig Holdregde on Goethean Science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmzXTuoqjMU&t=3744s&pp=ygUQZ29ldGhlYW4gc2NpZW5jZQ%3D%3D Merlin Sheldrake (son of Rupert Sheldrake) on Fungal Lifeforms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpnCowci0XQ&pp=ygUTc2hlbGRyYWtlIG11c2hyb29tcw%3D%3D
Arie's Selected Doomer Optimism Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVgIDIxsH2zleq7jFf7Dxw8sP5Ia_3yrg
DO 224 - Ashley and Dana discuss Dana’s book: Saving Ourselves
Here’s a link to buy the book (if you use the code ‘CUP20’ you can get 20% off)
Here’s a link to the Nature article I mentioned
Dana R. Fisher is a dynamic speaker and author who writes about activism, democracy and climate policy. Her most recent book, Saving Ourselves: from Climate Shocks to Climate Action was published in February 2024 by Columbia University Press. She is the Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity (CECE) and a Professor in the School of International Service at American University. Her current projects include evaluating the ways that federal service corps programs are expanding their climate-related work (funded by AmeriCorps, the Department of Interior, and the US Forest Service). Fisher is a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Governance Studies program at The Brookings Institution and the chair-elect of the Political Sociology section of the American Sociological Association. She served as a Contributing Author for Working Group 3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Assessment Review (IPCC AR6) writing about citizen engagement and civic activism. Her media appearances include ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, PBS Newshour, and various programs on NPR, BBC, and CBC. Her words have appeared in the popular media, including in the Washington Post, Slate, TIME Magazine, Politico, the Nation, and the American Prospect. Dana earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has authored over eighty research papers and book chapters and has written seven books. For more details, see www.danarfisher.com
DO 223 - Along the Shore: A Journey with James of Michigan
Ashley talks with James of Michigan (@michlakeshore ) about his adventure walking along the coast of Lake Michigan from his home all the way up the shore to the top of the state at Mackinac Bridge. They discuss the meaning of pilgrimages, the unexpected lessons, and how the journey reinforced James’ faith.
DO 222 - Cultural Renewal with Donald and Mike
Cultural Renewal with Donald and Mike
In this episode, the roles are reversed, and occasional first-time host Donald is interviewed by friend & DO fan, Mike. They discuss religion & spirituality, education, punk rock, veganism, literature, and Ancient Greek, circling around the question of how to bring about cultural renewal in their own lives.
Donald lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughters. He writes at the Borges Review of Books.
Mike lives in the same town and liked the original tweet where Doomer Optimism was coined.
DO 221 - Ecologica Americana with C. Sandbatch, Roland Gunn, and Jason
In this episode, Jason and Roland Gunn (@rolandgunntn ) talk with C. Sandbatch (@csandbatch ) about his project Ecologica Americana. With a focus on the South but more broadly generalizable to America, they weave in ecology, history, and politics to talk about paradigm change, shifting from rigid ideology to cybernetic mythology, breaking through the cultural ennui, and creating a future worth our time
C. Sandbatch’s Substack can be found here: ecoamericana.substack.com
DO 220 - Local Food Hubs with Dru Zucchino and Jason
In this episode, Jason talks with Dru Zucchino, executive director of the Tractor Food & Farms food hub in Spruce Pine, NC to talk about local food systems, the challenges that farmers face, local distribution, quantifying the value of local food, the cultural dynamics of local food, and much more
DO 219 - Reverent Servitude: Healing the Land, Body, and Soul Through Regenerative Agriculture with Jake Hubbard with GG
Jake Hubbard is a farmer at Brookhaven Farms, nestled in the mountains of Northeast Tennessee. Hex has a life-long passion for animal husbandry and sustainable farming and hopes to win others to his cause.
You can find Jake at the following places:
Website: https://brookhavenfarms.net/
Twitter: @brookhavenfarms
Instagram: @brookhaven.farms
TikTok: @Jacobhubbard0
Email: Jake@brookhavenfarms.net
DO 218 - How to make a co-created event w/ Rich Bartlett and Ashley
Rich Bartlett joins Ashley to discuss the art of crafting co-created events. Discover the intricacies of collaboration, community engagement, and fostering inclusivity.
Rich Bartlett co-founded tech co-op Loomio, community building network Microsolidarity, non-hierarchical management consultancy The Hum, and director of the social impact collective Enspiral.
You can check out his newsletter here: https://richdecibels.substack.com/
And you can find Rich on Twitter @RichDecibels
DO 217 - Defending and Cultivating Land and People with Farahn Morgan, Ashley, and Jason
In this episode Ashley and Jason host Farahn Morgan (@farahnmorgan) to talk about her reporting on community pushback against lithium mining in North Carolina many other themes around ‘defending and cultivating land and people’
DO 216 - Doomer Optimist Guide to Geopolitics w/ James Pogue, Chris Mott and Ashley
James Pogue describes his experience in Africa with Chris Mott and Ashley, including his experience getting detained in the Central African Republic, the role of empire and the United States in a deglobalizing world, and what this means for preparing for the future.
James Pogue: I’m a Contributing Editor at Harper’s, and write about national politics for Vanity Fair. I’ve written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and the London Review of Books, among many others. I was a 2022 Alicia Patterson Fellow, and have received support from from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I live in Los Angeles, where I help run a native plant nursery. My first book is called Chosen Country: A Rebellion in the West.
I have appeared on Real Time With Bill Maher, All In With Chris Hayes, NPR’s Today Explained, and many other TV and radio shows or podcasts.
Dr. Chris Mott is an international relations scholar focused on historical geopolitics, grand strategy, and the intersection of defensive realism and conceptions of sovereignty in an era of increasing multi-polarity. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, an MA in International Relations from London Metropolitan University, and a BA in History from Rutgers University.
He has published a book, “The Formless Empire: A Short History of Diplomacy and Warfare in Central Asia,” on the rise of indigenous forms of geopolitical strategy on the Eurasian steppe, as well as numerous peer-reviewed and general audience articles on foreign policy and historical topics in a variety of places. Dr. Mott is currently a fellow at Defense Priorities in Washington DC and a former researcher and desk officer at the U.S. Department of State.
Chris writes at https://geotrickster.com
DO 215 - Building Local Community
Simon @simoningall, Kara @karakara98, and Anarcho-Contrarian 2.0 @waysyoucanstay sit down to discuss building a local community. They work through the challenges of returning home again, new ways to build a community for the future, and different scenarios of how to build a community dependent on your neighborhood.
DO 214 - Metamodern Permaculture with Brendan Graham Dempsey and Jason
In this episode, Brendan (@brendangrahamd1)and Jason talk about the meaning of metamodernism and how it relates to permaculture, the interplay of various forms of meaning-making, and how it translates into a theory of change and pragmatic action. Brendan also talks about his work at the Sky Meadow Institute, a retreat center and permaculture homestead in Vermont
Brendan Graham Dempsey is a writer, poet, farmer, and the director of Sky Meadow Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting systems-based thinking about the things that matter most.
He holds a BA in religious studies from the University of Vermont and a master's in religion and art from Yale University. He is the author of the 7-volume Metamodern Spirituality Series and, most recently, Metamodernism: Or, The Cultural Logic of Cultural Logics.
His primary interests include theorizing developments in culture after postmodernism, productively bridging the divide between science and spirituality, and developing sustainable systems for life to flourish. All of these lead through the paradigms of emergence and complexity, which inform all of his work
He hosts the podcast Metamodern Spirituality which can be found here: https://www.brendangrahamdempsey.com/metamodern-spirituality
DO 213 - Limicon Panel
Ashley, Jason, Nate, and Josh host a panel and audience discussion as part of Limicon, a month long event bringing together different strands of the ‘Liminal Web’. Main themes include the sensibility and meaning of doomer optimism and the recent trend towards traditional religion as a response to the meaning and civilizational crisis
DO 212 - Should I stay or should I go? w/ Andy, Keturah, Ashley and Patrick
Andy and Keturah are exploring the possibilities of where to raise their future family. Ashley and Patrick, on the far side of 7 years in Uruguay, discuss the pros and cons, where to live, and why.
DO 211 - The digital politics of spiritual war with James Poulos and Donald
James Poulos joins Donald to talk about Tocqueville, McLuhan, Orthodoxy, and "the digital politics of spiritual war."
James Poulos helps advance enterprises impacting American life in technological, spiritual, and political ways. He is the co-founder and editor of The American Mind at the Claremont Institute, the founder and editorial director of RETURN, acquired by Blaze Media, and the host of Zero Hour at BlazeTV. He is the author of The Art of Being Free, Human Forever, and the forthcoming Pink Police State. Over nearly twenty years as a prolific writer, his columns and essays have been featured in publications spanning the spectrum of mainstream and independent media. He has appeared on numerous audio and video programs and regularly addresses domestic and international audiences. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Political Theory from Georgetown University, both with distinction. He lives in Los Angeles.
Links:
The American Mind: americanmind.org
RETURN: blazemedia.com/return
Zero Hour: https://www.theblaze.com/podcasts/zero-hour-with-james-poulos
Human Forever: https://canonic.xyz/p/1YV9yExbmJ9mgBXNM81TouJuDtqxH2PpL
@jamepoulos on Twitter
DO 210 - Catalyzing Urban Food Forests in Chattanooga with Jonathan Parks Allen and Jason
In this episode Jonathan and Jason talk about Jonathan’s relationship to the South, his Orthodox faith and Interest in Islamic history, anarcho-agrarianism, the commons, and his current efforts helping to catalyze urban community food forests in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Food Forest Organization: chattanoogafoodforests.org
Substack: https://jonathanparkesallen.substack.com
Twitter: @Mar_Musa
DO 209 - Podcast about podcasts w/ Donald and Ashley
Donald asked Ashley to sit down to think out loud about the pros and cons of continuing to devote time to podcasts, as both a creator and as a listener. Please feel free to weigh in on this topic in the YouTube comments!
DO 208 - The DO of Anna Karenina with GG, Evan, Nate, and Jason
A panel discussion talking about the brilliant book Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - how it relates to DO themes of agrarianism, relationship, religion, and much more
DO 207 - What has happened to the left? With Ashley Frawley, Gord Magill and Ashley Colby
DO 206 - Christianity with Jordan Hall, Mash Tun Timmy and Ashley
Ashley invites Tim and Jordan to both share stories about their recent conversions to Christianity. We discuss the limits to rationality and the importance of relationship, place and people.
DO 205- Jeffrey Bilbro
Jeffrey Bilbro is an Associate Professor of English at Grove City College. He grew up in the mountainous state of Washington and earned his B.A. in Writing and Literature from George Fox University in Oregon and his Ph.D. in English from Baylor University. His books include Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News, Loving God’s Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature, Wendell Berry and Higher Education: Cultivating Virtues of Place (written with Jack Baker), and Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms.
DO 204 - Cabin X DO crossover with Jackson Steger, Grin and Ashley
This is a syndicated episode where Grin and Jackson invited Ashley on their podcast, Campfire, to talk about Doomer Optimism and where it intersects with their project, Cabin, building a network of modern villages.
Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprised of internet friends building a global network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.city
Read more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.com
Ashley Colby Fitzgerald is a cohost of Doomer Optimism and founder of the Rizoma Field School. This episode explores how to prep for periods of instability, varying methods of homeschool, localism, agroecology, relationships in a time of crises, and integrating children into intentional communities. Cabin's technical lead (Grin) joins as cohost.
Twitter:
Ashley: @RizomaSchool
Jackson Steger @JacksonSteger
Grin: @grin_io
DO 203 – Kris de Decker and Low Tech Magazine, with Josh and Simon
We speak with founder and editor-in-chief of Low Tech Magazine, Kris de Decker, about his work since 2007 highlighting technologies of yesteryear, developing simple and low-cost energy systems to run his apartment and publishing, building un-hackable websites powered completely off of solar, and advocating demand-side management as a superior approach to sustainability.
https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com
https://www.notechmagazine.com
Support the work of Kris and his collaborators by purchasing low-tech versions of his online magazine, AKA books (compendiums of website content)!
DO 202 – Alexis Zeigler, Living Energy Farm - with Josh and Ashley
They have also prototyped an array of low-cost homestead technologies used for biogas systems, drying seeds and foodstuffs, harvesting crops and doing other “tractor work.”
This fast-paced conversation outlines the technologies developed by LEF and contextualizes them in Alexis’ and community members’ philosophy of practical non-nonsense environmental technologies for achieving good quality of life as an antidote to typical, mainstream, middle class, bourgeois environmentalism.
Learn more about their work:
livingenergyfarm.org
livingenergylights.com
DO 201 - The philosophy of Charlotte Mason with Tessa Carman and Ashley
Tessa Carman and Ashley reminisce about their time at the Front Porch Republic Conference before moving on to discuss the educational and life philosophy of Charlotte Mason. Tessa Carman writes and teaches in Maryland. With J.C. Scharl in 2022, she translated the Old English vision poem The Dream of the Rood. Her writing can be found at tessacarman.wordpress.com. Here are a few pieces that may be of interest to DO listeners: “Children Are Born Persons: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s First Principle of Education” “Nurturing Goodness: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s Second Principle of Education” “Authority and Docility: Exploring Charlotte Mason’s Third Principle of Education” “Fleeing the Ephemeral and Pursuing the Eternal,” Front Porch Republic, July 4, 2023 "Joining the Dance: Setting Aside Screens to Build the City,” Front Porch Republic, November 15, 2022 “Following Christ in the Machine Age: A Conversation with Paul Kingsnorth,” Mere Orthodoxy, September 13, 2022 “A Time to Replant, a Time to Rebuild,” Fare Forward, May 26, 2021
DO 200 - Big 200 Host Roundtable
Welcome to a special roundtable milestone episode of Doomer Optimism. Ashley, Jason, Donald, Josh, Simon, Nate, and Tres get together to reflect on the journey of the podcast, where it is at now, and where they and the podcast are headed next.
DO 199 - Reforming Ag with Greg Gunthorp, Ashley and Nate
Greg Gunthorp is a proud independent family farmer at Gunthorp Farms. With a deep-rooted commitment to sustainable and high-quality farming practices, Greg continues the family legacy of rearing pasture-raised pigs. His unwavering dedication to preserving traditional values while navigating the challenges of the modern agricultural landscape sets him apart as a resilient and forward-thinking steward of the land.
DO 198 - Digital Prepping with Ashley, Josh and Donald
Ashley, Donald and Josh discuss what would happen in the case of a digital apocalypse and how to embrace lower technologies from landline phones to family poetry readings.
DO 197 - Epic Gardening's Kevin Espiritu
Tres Crow and Sim Gooder talk with Kevin Espiritu about Epic Gardening, food production maxing, inspiring your neighbours, critical mass of small-scale food production, and running a seed business in the age of the internet.
Kevin Espiritu is the founder and CEO of Epic Gardening, the world’s most-followed gardening brand and online garden store. As a self-taught gardener, Espiritu has spent over a decade producing educational gardening content across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, the Epic Gardening podcast, and the Epic Gardening website.
He’s amassed over 3.6 million social media followers, 11 million podcast downloads, and 42 million blog visits. Additionally, Espiritu has authored two books, ‘Field Guide to Urban Gardening: How to Grow Plants, No Matter Where You Live” and “Grow Bag Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow Bountiful Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers in Lightweight, Eco-friendly Fabric Pots.”
Kevin currently lives in San Diego, California, at his Epic Homestead. His favorite plants are beans and peas.
DO 196 - Bioregional and Solidarity Economies with Neal Gorenflo, Daniel London, Ashley, and Jason
In this episode Ashley and Jason have a conversation with Neal Gorenflo (@gorenflo ) and Daniel London (@dlondonwortel ) on the theme of solidarity and bioregional economies. Specifically, where the solidarity and bioregonalist movements intersect, blind spots of each, and where they can compliment each other to create a viable vision for sustainable and equitable economies moving forward. Neal Gorenflo is the co-founder and board president of Shareable, an award-winning nonprofit news, action network, and consultancy for the real sharing economy (plus a dad, husband, community gardener, and budding urban forester). An epiphany in 2004 inspired Neal to leave the corporate world to help people and communities share resources. Subsequently, Neal co-founded Shareable and led it from 2009-2022 as Executive Director. In the process, he became knowledgeable about resource sharing, the commons, and the solidarity economy through practice, activism, entrepreneurship, writing, publishing (4,000+ articles), consulting, and public speaking. He's consulted for Institute for the Future, Stanford University, Lowe's Home Improvement, and numerous startups. His expertise has been featured by The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS Sunday Morning, Wired, Fast Company, Christian Science Monitor, Grist, and Sunset Magazine. He is an experienced public speaker with countless appearances at conferences on four continents over the last decade. His writing is featured in YES! Magazine, 7x7 Magazine, The Urbanist, and the anthologies The Wealth of the Commons, Open Design Now, and Enabling City. He's editor, publisher or author of 10 books including "Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons" and "Share or Die". In 2020, he chronicled his pandemic experiences resulting in the book, "A Year of Living Locally." Neal earned a masters with distinction from Georgetown University's Communication, Culture & Technology program and BAs in American Studies and English Literature with distinction from George Mason University. Contact him at neal at shareable dot net. Daniel Wortel-London is a historian and advocate of economic and ecological justice. He currently serves as Policy Specialist for the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy. He has also served as Knowledge Co-Lead for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Research Coordinator for the CivWorld project at Demos. He earned his Ph.D. in History from New York University, where his dissertation focused on the history of alternative economic development strategies in New York City. This project, titled "The Menace of Prosperity," is currently under advanced contract with the University of Chicago Press. A native of Hoboken, Dan works out of West Orange, NJ. You can find him on X @dlondonwortel, and his articles can be found at www.publicspaced.com https://www.publicspaced.com/
DO 195 - The End of Modernity with Tom Murphy, Jason, and Josh
In this episode Jason and Josh talk with Tom Murphy, author of the blog Do The Math, about the inherently unsustainable nature of modernity and the delusion of infinite growth on a finite planet. As part of this they discuss his early retirement from academia as a successful astrophysicist at the University of California, his growing interest in indigenous wisdom and lifeways, the long view of earth history and where we’re going, and his realization that the end of modernity doesn’t mean the end of humanity
Tom’s university bio:
I am a Professor in the physics department at UCSD, and the Associate Director of CASS, the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences. From 2003–2020, I led the APOLLO project as an ultra-precise test of General Relativity using the technique of lunar laser ranging. My interests are transitioning to quantitative assessment of the challenges associated with long-term human success on a finite planet.
In November 2021, I was one of five founders of the Planetary Limits Academic Network, aiming to connect scholars from all disciplines who are concerned about the deep systemic challenges humanity faces this century. Our "launch" paper gives the background, titled Modernity is Incompatible with Planetary Limits: Developing a PLAN for the Future.
In 2014, I started a company (Aircraft Avoidance Systems) to provide safety devices for observatories using lasers for scientific research.
Tom’s blog, Do the Math:
DO 194 - Whole food agri-culture vs. "feeding the world"
Nate is joined by Sam Knowlton to explore agroforestry and sustainable agriculture practices. In this episode, Nate and Sam challenge the conventional narrative that advocates for high-tech, high-input agriculture to feed the world. Sam is an agronomist and the founder of SoilSymbiotics, a regenerative agronomy company, as well as the forthcoming venture, Soma Farm Group. He has worked on the ground with over 300 farms in 9 countries, helping large-scale operations transition from chemically intense production to integrated biological farming systems.