Ashes Ashes

Episode 107 - "Face Off" We're back with more discussions about facial recognition and the draconian world we're quickly building. Updating our previous discussion with new information out Clearview AI, the 2020 protests, coronavirus and our new masked world, and much more. We're thrilled too have a special interview with fashion designer, activist, and technologist Kate Bertash to discuss the implications of facial surveillance and how we can start to fight back. A lot to unpack so sit back and hit play. Chapters 04:47 - Intro stats 06:23 - What is facial recognition? 09:14 - Why should we care? 20:20 - Faults in the system 35:16 - Clearview AI 45:48 - Consumer facial recognition 49:40 - Benefits of Facial Recognition? 54:37 - Fear 56:21 - Facial tracking in the home 58:58 - Interview with Kate Bertash 01:22:29 - Over-surveillance of communities of color 01:29:08 - THOSE WHO RESIST: Artists, Technologists, Legislators A full transcript will be available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 106 - "Human Nature" This week we get back to the basics with an episode about climate change and the many people waking up to it. Join us as we explore everything from a new European report on need for renewable energy to fuel economic growth to the work archaeologists are doing on how humans have always had an impact on the earth. A dive into humans, nature, and our place in the world. Chapters 02:48 - Progress on 20 Global Sustainability Goals 14:39 - Failure to respond 19:13 - MEDEAS Report in Europe 25:37 - Faith in science restored? 31:29 - Short term gains, long term pains 39:32 - What's coming: migration, heat, crop loss, and more 53:40 - Brazil mayors cut trees for election 59:48 - Money is the root of all evil 1:01:11 - Debt jubilee 1:04:18 - Economic theory disproves climate change 1:13:03 - Deep Anthropocene 1:33:34 - What to Do A full transcript will be available soon and detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) are on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 105 - "School's Out" Friend of the podcast Moriah sits down with us to discuss life as a grad student during the pandemic. Then, we dive into Wendell Berry, a brief history of the start of some universities, the school-to-sports pipeline, competition in the workforce, and we ask what is the purpose of education anyway? Join us on a meandering walk down the hallway of another broken system (don't worry, we'll be back on this soon for deeper dives). Chapters 03:44 Moriah Catches Up 23:47 Degrees for Cops 27:16 Profits Over Education 30:50 Sports 47:24 Packers 51:33 What Are People For? 01:12:21 Land Grant Universities 01:48:42 What is the Purpose? Detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) are available on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 104 - "This Land Is My Land" You might be surprised how much our cities and streets are designed to keep people out. From spikes on sidewalks, baby shark music in our parks, to gates, buzzers, bouncers, water, deeds, and a whole bunch of clowns, and more! Why are our places designed to be so hostile to common enjoyment and peace? Why is it so important for white people to wall themselves off from the rest of the world? What does it mean to live in places designed like prisons on the eve of historic climate calamities? These and other questions are all explored as we contemplate and reflect on the crazy world that's driving us all nuts! Chapters 01:12 Some things that make cities terrible 18:58 Exclusion connected to racism 35:31 Origins of "Family Values" 40:47 Whiteness is self-destruction 46:42 Real estate market exclusion 1:01:59 Clown Town 1:05:01 Clown Music 1:13:34 Anti-Cruisin' USA and more examples 1:26:57 Gated communities, escapism, and climate change Detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) are available on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 103 - "Minimum Justice" Mandatory minimums, three strike rules, and other similar laws were created to strengthen the "justice" system and make us safer - but have they done the opposite? This week we interview newly minted activists working to free a man caught up in this system and explore in detail the how's and why's of this tragedy of justice. Chapters 04:18 Disparities in Sentencing 13:26 Justice for Willie Simmons 29:10 Interview Takeaway 31:01 The ones who get away with it 42:05 Mandatory Sentencing and Unintended Consequences 01:09:08 We live in a bullshit society 01:18:21 Why do prisons exist? Reading from Ruth Wilson Gilmore 01:30:21 "Justice" versus Justice: What can we do A full transcript will soon be available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast or follow our live shows at twitch.tv/ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 102 - "The Then, The Now, and The Next" We've been away for a while and this episode exists to fill in the gap. Catch up with us as we discuss what we've been up to, a small state of the world, and the big question of where do we go from here? We hope you've been healthy, happy, and working towards a better future because we've certainly been (well - maybe we haven't been totally happy). Chapters 01:07 Patreon 03:01 Where ya been 10:41 Organizing 20:47 Daniel and the Land 24:17 Quarantine 30:33 Work and Connections 36:26 What next? Detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 101 - "We Didn't Start the Fire" Jack from Uni Students for Climate Justice joins us to discuss the bushfires in Australia, some of the resulting political and economic fallout and ways to respond. Then, with fire and ashes on our mind, we turn our attention to the unfolding catastrophes catalyzed by COVID-19, how we are each responding as individuals, and ways to move forward in our communities. Chapters 03:38 Bushfires in AU 00:59 Bushfire political fallout 13:02 Bushfire perspectives as an environmental student 30:17 Anxiety and Agency 42:06 Foundations of Power Questioned 46:10 NYC 51:31 What are our socially responsible options? 59:04 Two divergent opportunities presented in crisis 01:01:55 What can we do, economic fallout, and more A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 100 - "One Hundred Years of Ashes" We're incredibly lucky to spend this week celebrating our 100th episode with all of you. Looking back at all the episodes we've recorded, the many systemic threats, issues, and problems explored, we thought it would be a nice change to look forward instead. This week we discuss one hundred years of the future, imagining what that might look like, good and bad, in some of the key areas of this show. What lessons have we learned? What obstacles will we face? Can we really build a better world? In this time of great uncertainty, it's important to look inside and imagine the future we want for the world so we know how to go ahead and start building it.Join us for Ashes Ashes #100 and to imagine a better future for all. Chapters 05:53 100 Years of Surveillance and Fashion 29:40 Social Media 34:59 The Commons and Land 40:32 Georgism 47:36 Mad Mac and the World of Copyright 53:21 Economic Collapse 59:32 Climate change 01:09:01 Hope in Disaster A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 99 - "Collapse Chat: Border Patrol Catch COVID-19" It's time for another chat show as David and Daniel review more bad news // from the border involving a recent Supreme Court decision // which reminds us to reflect on the real gun control debate not being had // recent labor struggles in education // indigenous activists fighting big gas // COVID-19 aka coronavirus and what we might expect economically, politically, and medically Chapters 00:57 STRIKE! 04:07 RESIST! 06:03 Border Patrol (again) 18:35 COVID-19 43:19 Pandemic Economy 01:03:39 Healthcare Sucks A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 98 - "Water World (Spoiler: Not So Good)" The latest IPCC report details observed effects of climate change on the ocean and cryosphere (really really cold places), which are altering the environment from the highest mountain peaks to the lowest depths of the ocean. The implications for our world are significant. The ocean, which has been absorbing 90% of the excess heat we produce, is giving way to critical levels of acidity and hypoxia threatening the foundation of all marine life. Sea level rise caused by melting ice and thermal expansion threatens to transform once-in-a-century sea level events into regularly occurring annual events by 2050. As if that were not enough, arctic sea ice is decreasing, marine heatwaves are accelerating, permafrost is melting, and planet-scale ocean currents are slowing. If you want to learn more, you've come to the wrong place. You'll find nothing here but rants and nonsensical metaphors. Chapters [10:07] Melting Ice [22:16] Rising Seas [32:39] Warming Oceans, Acidification, DEOXYGENATION [44:29] AMOC [47:33] Ecosystems, Life, and Indigenous Knowledge [01:12:02] What can we do? [01:21:19] A Tale of Two Reports A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 97 - "Collapse Chat: Borders, Fires, Viruses, and Cannibalism" We've published our big border show and now take a chance to reflect on the production (and why it took so long) as we ease back into weekly episodes. A lot happened over the past few months and we briefly address new border developments, the Australian Fires, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Daniel chats about business, Christopher Columbus, and cannibalism and you don't want to miss it. Chapters [00:31] We're back, what happened? [14:29] Border news updates [23:55] Quick note on bushfires, viruses and coping [31:31] Daniel rambles incoherently on business management and cannibalism A full transcript is coming soon and you can find detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 96 - "Walls That Divide U.S." There is a crisis at the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Global forces of climate change, development and war conspire in a deadly feedback loop of human suffering. At the heart of this crisis is the most sprawling system of detention and surveillance the world has ever seen, relying on unjust criminalization for the benefit of a few sources of power. What does it all mean, how did we get here, and what can we do about it?Learn more at https://borders.ashesashes.org Chapters (00:00) PART I: The Border Crisis (02:31) 1.1: Humane Borders and Desert Aid Work (15:47) 1.2: Guest intros and Crisis Summary (34:28) 1.2.1: Fake University, Real Arrests (38:55) 1.3: History of US Border Patrol (1:16:10) 1.4: Criminalization of Status and Public Safety vs National Security (1:33:13) 1.5: What Does it Take to Become a Refugee? (1:52:20) 1.6: The Wall and Climate Change (2:17:00) 1.7: Child Separation and the History of Concentration Camps (3:02:50) PART II: How We Got Here (3:04:30) 2.1: Mexico (3:52:20) 2.2: Guatemala (4:00:23) 2.3: El Salvador (4:20:08) 2.4: "Just Enter Legally" (4:28:40) 2.5: The Border Benefits Power (4:36:14) 2.5.1: Prison Corporations (4:55:49) 2.5.2: Law Enforcement and Criminality (5:17:04) 2.5.3: Big Surveillance, Co. (5:49:09) 2.5.4: Immigration Enforcement Turned Back on Everyone Else (5:58:49) 2.5.4: Global Development, the Fourth Invasion (6:23:39) 2.5.5: Lucrative Drug Smuggling (6:49:57) PART III: What Can We Do? Special Thanks Doug Ruopp, Humane Borders Amilcar Valencia, El Refugio Paedia Mixon, New American Pathways Azadeh N. Shahshahani, Project South Erin Argueta, Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative Music by Juan Camillo GarzaDetailed links and sources (plus credits and more) are available on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 95 - "Collapse Chat: Silviculturists, Entrepreneurs and Social Science" A real silviculturist provides inputs on last week's show // David provides first-hand knowledge of essential bathroom upgrades // The big business of promoting entrepreneurship abroad // Co-opting social scientists // Future show updates Chapters 01:01 Will the real silviculturists please stand up 05:01 Promoting Entrepreneurship 10:55 Invading Communities from the Inside 23:47 How to Change Your Diet 27:19 Social Science and Industry 35:32 Wake Up and Smell the Gas(lighting) 44:09 Ashes Ashes Updates A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 94 - "If a Tree Falls" We're missing the forest and the trees. Not only has logging exploded in recent years, but it is has done so often in the explicit name of sustainability and green energy. We examine the authenticity of these practices as well as look at some of the long-term destructive consequences that forest disturbances can wreak, in some cases (e.g. extinction debt) reverberating a century in the future. Additionally, the same economic forces that destroy pristine and critical ecosystems are the same that seek to divide and conquer indigenous people by pitting them against one another and against the health of the very land they depend on. Chapters 00:38 "The Industrial 'One-Night Stand'" 08:22 Logging 101 11:32 Good or Bad? 19:52 Sustainable Logging 32:45 Problems 34:23 Biomass Woes 45:09 Logging and Climate 53:42 Dangerous Jobs 58:08 Land Tenure 1:12:18 What's this all for? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 93 - "Collapse Chat: Birds, Vindictive Climate, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch" You asked for topic updates so we deliver. Bird populations are not doing well in North America and researchers are shocked at how effective it is to connect the dots. Tropical storms in Texas remind us of the economic paradoxes we've placed ourselves in. In addition, we reflect on Friday's climate strike from New York and Boston and start tackling the looming question in all of our minds over the climate crisis, "What now?" Chapters 2:06 Birdemic 13:48 Tropical Storm Catch-22 23:47 Responsibility 27:29 Climate Strike 43:24 A Better World A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 92 - "Good Heavens" In 1967 the world witnessed the signing of the Outer Space Treaty, and now over 100 countries have joined the international agreement to declare space as "the province of all mankind," to be used "exclusively for peaceful purposes", and kept free of weapons and military installations. This idealism is a far cry from current reality, with US officials espousing values of domination and exclusive advantages to be maintained in space, while other countries are blowing satellites out of the sky with missiles to prove themselves mighty "space powers." Will we ever reclaim space as the peaceful province of all mankind, or will the road to Donald J. Kessler's infamous scenario be paved with neutral particle beams, lasers, nano-satellite swarms, machine-gun mounted satellites, and giant tungsten rods? Chapters 03:46 Space Opera 08:05 Beams, Bombs, and Rods from God 15:35 Two Visions for Space 24:33 Space Force and the Drive to Dominate 27:55 Neighbors and Rockets 40:22 Satellite-Killers 52:29 What Choice? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 91 - "Collapse Chat: Name and Shame, Community, and Re-Imaginings" It's another chat episode as we take a break between deep dives and this week we explore in more depth some of the experiences Daniel has had in the organizing for his new work. It turns out there are important lessons to be learned for not just Daniel, but all of us even in his first few days on the job. David also shares his latest organizing work and explores some trends in the world around us.Reflections on naming and shaming, community work, food justice and agricultural sustainability, the tipping point of a global future, community radio, rants, and more - this week we've got it all! Chapters 04:49 A Language Note 10:05 Two Projects 24:10 Tipping Points 36:16 World David 43:02 I've got Mine 51:39 Imagination A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 90 - "A Grave Situation" Over 100 billion people have died on this planet and been laid to rest through countless burial traditions and customs, and while a majority of these passings simply re-entered natural ecological cycles, many popular burial traditions of today require exorbitant additions of resources that cause dramatic natural disturbances guaranteed to have a lasting environmental impact. But beyond this, it appears that the way we live in society carries over to the ways we die. The same alienation, segregation, and disconnection from our land and ourselves that we experience in life can all be found in our cultural habits surrounding death. Can we imagine a better way? Or will this grave situation only deepen? Chapters 03:49 Post-Life Carbon Footprint 17:50 Embalming History 28:42 Land and Space Challenges 48:10 Segregation in Life and Death 1:00:01 Body Brokers: Bodies and Profit A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 89 - "Collapse Chat: Banality, Good, and Evil" Another week, another collapse chat! This week we explore bullshit jobs through a listener email, dive into the upcoming Earth Strike event through interviews with activists and organizers, and take a look at the playbook of the forces who want to stop activism at all stages. There's a lot to learn as we jump through all these different topics so settle in and enjoy the ride!Our most sincere apologies for the sound quality in some of these interviews, sometimes you just have to roll with what you're given. Chapters 00:34 Lawrence's BS Job 15:38 Earth Strike 21:41 Earth Strike NYC 39:03 Earth Strike UK 47:25 Corporate Wars and Activists Recommended Reading The origin comment of Earth Strike The Duchin Formula (warning, Facebook link) Links from Jacob UPROSE Outlive Them Network Bronx Climate Justice North Rise and Resist AFT Links from Cosmo By 2020 We Rise Up International Rebellion Oct 7th Earth Strike Extinction Rebellion Global Climate Strike A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 88 - "This Land is Our Land" The IPCC released their special report "Climate Change and Land" to examine how human-led land use change is contributing to global warming irrespective of our direct GHG emissions, and how this might impact our future resilience in the face of desertification, land degradation, and food insecurity. This episode features a ton of facts: surface air temperature is warming twice as fast above land compared to the global average; land change alone accounts for a whopping 1/4 of all anthropological based warming; agriculture is responsible for 70% of global freshwater use; and industrial agricultural methods along with nitrogen fertilizer use have exploded so rapidly over the past several decades that top soil is being lost at rates 100 times faster than the earth's ability to replenish it. But more importantly, these facts are just the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg and give way to plenty of endless rants on all of the usual failures of the IPCC's failures and omissions. Chapters 00:31 Fire Lord Bolsonaro 04:47 IPCC: Climate Change and Land 12:17 Our Waists and Waste 24:17 Nitrogen - it's a gas 30:21 Sustainable What 44:47 Risks 50:46 Feedback Loops 1:04:56 Adaptation and Projections 1:18:03 Blame 1:26:44 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 87 - "Collapse Chat: On the Border" David and Daniel are in person in Tucson, AZ reflecting on their time at the US Border Patrol Museum, running into border patrol agents on New Mexico state road 9, walking into Juarez, Mexico, and much more. Chapters 01:21 Border Patrol Museum 17:10 Detention Visitation 28:51 Border Drive 40:01 Medic Training From the Show David's tweet gallery from the Border Patrol Museum: https://twitter.com/davidtorcivia/status/1159978514289954816Where to start if you want to visit an immigrant in detention: Find the local organizations in your area: Freedom for Immigrants Read the "Freedom for Immigrants Guide to Visiting People in Immigration Detention": Visiting Guide Additional groups that may be in your area: More groups Medic stuff: NYC Action Medical: NYCAM Atlanta Resistance Medics: ARM An example of what can go wrong when you call 911: 911 Story A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 86 - "Sprawl Above All" What began as a harmless attempt by the wealthy to escape the poor peasants they were forced to rub shoulders with in the cities turned into the greatest infrastructural nightmare ever to be unleashed upon this world: the American suburb. Countless people and generations of their progeny who got swept up in the fervor of suburban sprawl experienced a radical shift in physical space that has left communities in shambles or precluded their existence and paved over much of the land we should have conserved for agricultural use. Economically, what began as a financial shot of adrenaline to kickstart the post-war economy has now culminated in a ticking time bomb of unpaid infrastructure and health liabilities threatening to bankrupt municipalities throughout the country. If that wasn't enough, sprawl is an ecological and environmental disaster that contributes more to climate change than any other development pattern. We can trace some of these consequences to the early foundation of property law in the United States, as well as a handful of powerful men destined to drive a stake in public transportation and influence generations of engineers and city planners. More importantly, we can rant and rave for two hours about how much we hate the suburbs. Chapters 11:21 A Brief History of Property Law 18:03 The Birth of the Suburb 23:29 Innovations in Housing Construction 25:03 The Post War Economy 29:48 "The Auto, Baby" 35:47 What is Sprawl 58:52 Early Zoning 1:02:56 Divide and Separate 1:13:08 Shopping Mall Financials 1:17:35 Road Costs and Driving Pains 1:23:03 Little Lords 1:35:16 Bernays and the Suburban Experience 1:45:39 Oh Yeah, Climate Change Talk Too 1:49:49 Looking Forward A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 85 - "Ep 85 - Collapse Chat: Beach Vibes, Rockets, and Burgers" What compels a group of truck owners to drive in a procession down the sandy Florida coast (and how does racism relate to environmental issues)? How can you bypass the paywall to access the latest scientific papers? Why do you need an adblocker? Can the world create a co-op burger joint with vegetarian options? More importantly, what is the quickest and surest way to trigger David? These questions and more are discussed on the latest collapse chat. Chapters 02:47 Trucks on the Beach 22:56 ROCKET MANNNNNN 33:10 Research Tricks 36:45 Militarization of the Climate 50:53 Carbondale Spring Updates 53:51 Advertising Hate A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 84 - "Carbon Bootprint" They're the single biggest polluter on earth in both chemicals and greenhouse gas emissions, their effects can be felt around the world in both rising temps and destroyed lives, in fact they're in the very business of destruction: it's the US Military. This week we are joined be researcher Dr. Patrick Bigger to discuss the paper he coauthored (Hidden carbon costs of the “everywhere war”: Logistics, geopolitical ecology, and the carbon boot‐print of the US military) covering some of the far reaching impacts of imperialist policies and what it really costs to have the most powerful military on Earth. Tune in to hear about logistics, supply chains, concrete, solar powered tanks, and so much more in our exploration of the everywhere war. Chapters 01:08 Externalities 16:31 Dr. Patrick Bigger 52:01 Thinking Big A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 83 - "Collapse Chat: Love, Life, and Salmon" Collapse Chat is back and it's here to stay. This is the first of a new period for Ashes Ashes. To keep up our high levels of research, we're going to need a little more time per episode and will be transitioning to an every other week schedule for our deep dives. But fret not, collapse chat will fill in the gaps and educate you on what's happening in our immediate worlds as well as our thoughts on everything going on in the larger world around us. This week we cover Daniel's new career shift, how both of us came to our current thinking, what media we're currently consuming, some talk about salmon, and a whole bunch of other interesting tidbits. We hope you enjoy this and stick around for our deep dive back next week!A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 82 - "Cash Out" South Korea is eliminating coins and requiring shoppers to upload their cash receipts to a digital database; Indians are still reeling from a 2016 decision that turned 86% of the country's cash worthless in a matter of hours; migrants and refugees are being targeted for new schemes of financial inclusion, but not experiencing the promised benefits; US cities are retaliating against cash-only retailers eager to speed the flow of customers, increase spending, and surveil our every purchase while excluding undesirable demographics; and despite our technological proficiencies, fiction writers 500 years ago still had more creative solutions to our money woes.It seems like a straight-forward topic and yet we still manage to ramble off script. Chapters 09:08 The Age of Cashless 16:30 Resisting 21:11 Ancient Wisdom 25:56 India Demonetization 35:32 Refugee Services 47:54 Migrants and Music Festivals 51:37 The High Cost of Banking 58:19 The Psychology of Cashless 1:06:01 Surveillance and Control A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 81 - "This Is Not a Place of Honor" It has threatened to start wars and it has (arguably) finished them; its effects and influences can be found throughout our world today; it has nearly limitless power for creation and destruction; and according to some people it may be our only hope. This week (and the last one too) we are digging deep into the controversial world of nuclear power generation. Over the course of two episodes we'll explore the basics of this technology (which is coincidentally where most other podcasts and videos seem to stop) and go from there to really truly explore the pros and the cons - including plenty that you've probably never considered. Is this technology our best hope for a carbon free future? Or is it another example of too many promises and technological optimism clouding out the realities of our situation?All this and more in a special two part series on everything nuclear power. Chapters 12:16 Unexamined Costs 17:25 Megatons to Megawatts 24:16 Thoughts from former chairman of US NRC 30:01 Construction costs 34:24 Waste 36:24 Church Rock 41:17 Waste disposal plans 44:45 Uranium-235 reserves 46:14 How do you communicate with the future? 56:47 What choice do we have? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 80 - "The Nuclear Option" It has threatened to start wars and it has (arguably) finished them; its effects and influences can be found throughout our world today; it has nearly limitless power for creation and destruction; and according to some people it may be our only hope. This week (and the next one too) we are digging deep into the controversial world of nuclear power generation. Over the course of two episodes we'll explore the basics of this technology (which is coincidentally where most other podcasts and videos seem to stop) and go from there to really truly explore the pros and the cons - including plenty that you've probably never considered. Is this technology our best hope for a carbon free future? Or is it another example of too many promises and technological optimism clouding out the realities of our situation?All this and more in a special two part series on everything nuclear power. Chapters 01:47 Nature First 09:07 The Atomic Age 12:18 Controversy 15:01 The Strong Nuclear Force 25:44 Types of Reactors 38:43 LFTR 48:53 Lives saved? 58:34 Climate Change Prep 1:04:40 Unaccounted Damage 1:09:10 Nuclear CO2 Emissions? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 79b - "Death Dealers Part II" Part II of Ep 79 - Death DealersMerchants of Death. War Profiteers. Death Dealers. These are the people who fan the flames of war to transmute human suffering into profit. They play one nation against another to sell to both sides. Although the international community condemned these actors as conspirers in the tensions leading up to WWI, no policy effectively curbed their influence. In fact, such is the clout of wealth and power accumulated through arms deals that these merchants of death now litter the administrations of our governments’ institutions. Their presence is felt in the profligate overspending that results in $10,000 toilet seats for military cargo planes, it is seen in the constant rebuke of humanitarian law, and it is revealed through the habits of our politicians who espouse ideals of democracy and freedom while pedaling billions of dollars of weapons into regions rife with human rights abuse and violent conflict.As our world clings ever more desperately to life, it seems our leaders can think of nothing but death. A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 79 - "Death Dealers" Merchants of Death. War Profiteers. Death Dealers. These are the people who fan the flames of war to transmute human suffering into profit. They play one nation against another to sell to both sides. Although the international community condemned these actors as conspirers in the tensions leading up to WWI, no policy effectively curbed their influence. In fact, such is the clout of wealth and power accumulated through arms deals that these merchants of death now litter the administrations of our governments’ institutions. Their presence is felt in the profligate overspending that results in $10,000 toilet seats for military cargo planes, it is seen in the constant rebuke of humanitarian law, and it is revealed through the habits of our politicians who espouse ideals of democracy and freedom while pedaling billions of dollars of weapons into regions rife with human rights abuse and violent conflict. As our world clings ever more desperately to life, it seems our leaders can think of nothing but death. Chapters 15:05 Economy of War 25:52 Basil Zaharoff 34:53 European disagreement over Saudi arms exports 39:05 America says no 40:40 Do we sell arms to human rights abusers? 48:50 Is there an economic benefit to arms exports? 53:34 Costs not included in economic figures 1:00:09 Things that maybe should not be a business 1:04:19 What enables notorious Merchants of Death? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 78 - "Grounded" Sweeping deregulation of the Airline industry in 1978 brought big changes to air travel. Lower prices, more routes, and consolidation of the market allowed for regional hub-and-spoke models of logistics and greater access to air travel with the associated massive surge in passengers. Now, with the current climate crisis and an industry responsible for 10% of US GHG emissions, we may be suffering from success.What does the future hold for a business sensitive to many different climate factors? What is the responsibility we each have for our own transportation choices? Will carbon credits or fuel efficient technology save us? And what might we expect for the future of air travel? All this and more on Episode 78 - Grounded. Chapters 4:32 MAX 8 15:37 Regulation 25:35 Jevon 31:39 The Climate Crisis 44:43 Centralization & Shocks 52:51 Limited Dreams 1:07:45 Grounding 1:11:26 More Jevon 1:14:33 The Future 1:20:58 Slowdown A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 77 - "Coping with Collapse" Awareness of the systemic threats to our world comes at a cost. Often, that cost includes feelings of isolation, existential dread, depression, shock, and other uncomfortable realities. But these emotions do not define the final stage of our journeys. This week we read from listener emails, each describing a different point along the path of coming to terms with uncomfortable truths, and from these we learn that there is a way to move forward. Through confronting the denial that our society wants us to consume, pushing past hopelessness, and expressing our grief, we can begin to reconnect with other humans, build communities, "prep" for the future, and build a better world together. Chapters 08:38 Denial 14:32 Hopelessness 20:40 Grief 34:27 Preparing 49:32 What can we do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 76 - "Self-made" For once we thought it would be nice to look at a culture of building things up, rather than the slow collapse of everything around us that we normally discuss. We find this culture in a huge variety of different fields from repair in the home to hacking and building in farming fields to careful experimentation on our bodies to filling in gaps in the beauty world to digging deep into the source code of the software that runs everything. In so many worlds this vibrant idea of "let's do it ourselves" has empowered people, spurred innovation, saved lives, and helped to end the alienation that society so frequently forces on us in our modern economic system. This week is everything DIY as Ashes Ashes digs into the culture of creativity and seeks to learn why this idea is so powerful and pervasive. Chapters 05:10 David Does It Himself 11:09 Farming 17:42 Repair Cafes 21:09 Beautiful Hair 42:07 The DIY Body 1:00:36 Free Software 1:25:24 D I Why 1:31:46 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 75 - "Business. School." The past few decades has seen explosive growth in the number of universities around the world, but it may not be for the noble reasons we would like. Decreased public funding, and new conceptions of universities as engines for economic growth has spurred an intensity of competition for student fees. This shift may help explain rising trends in managerialism, over-quantification of students and researchers, commodification of education, and an 'amenities arms race.' Not to mention staggering student debt, elitism, college admission scandals, and whole countries in protest. Will we be able to turn this failing grade around, or will class be dismissed? Chapters 05:38 Speaking of Universities 17:58 Dystopian Future of Universities 20:53 Bolsonaro Assaults Education 33:36 U.S. Education Scandals 38:46 Managerialism and Quantification 47:56 Student Debt; Predatory For-Profit Schools; Competition 56:47 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 74 - "Eco-lapse" The IPBES Global Assessment summary is out and we're digging in to all 39 pages this week. The report lays out a grim picture of our current world in terms of life on earth, the ecosystems they create, and our relationship with them that our civilization as we know it depends upon. While not the full 1500+ page report due out later this year, this study is perhaps the most important look at the state of our world that we've ever seen - and if we don't act quickly to fix the problems it so clearly exposes, then nothing less than very the future of humanity may be at risk. Chapters 4:07 "The IPBES report findings on biodiversity, ecosystem services, agriculture, and more" 30:23 Indigenous and Marginalized People 54:02 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 73 - "Tear Up, Tear Down" Protests around the world in 2011 gave riot-gear dealers a three-fold increase in sales of tear gas. In 2013, Turkey used up an entire year's supply of tear gas in just two days, before promptly ordering more. 2015 was the year Kenyan police fired tear gas into a group of schoolchildren as young as 7, and its use is so popular in Uganda that a girls rugby team named themselves the Police Teargas Rangers. Such profligate use of tear gas tempts us to take for granted the conflicts between unruly protesters and the police who demand order. Indeed, Israeli Defence Forces have employed tear gas for close to 90 years against Palestinians. But tracing the history of tear gas tells the story of a tool that did not simply emerge naturally, but was created from the ground up for the singular purpose of domination. Of countries opposed to the use of gas against citizens on ethical grounds, but eventually caving from the economic necessities of colonial empire; of industrial owners, rich from the poison gas arms race of global war, determined to drum up new demand for their banned products; and finally, of the creeping association of protesters with criminality. More than anything else, the history of this weapon is a revelation into the relationship between the state and her citizens, and the many ways status quo hierarchies are maintained in the face of public outcry against overt expressions of violence and power. Chapters 11:55 Tear gas: from the trenches of WWI 25:48 Tear gas: the colonial arsenal 29:36 Tear gas: policing in 60s America 32:51 A state and its people 44:13 Tear gas: nonlethal? 53:48 Going beyond 58:15 What can we do: direct action 1:08:37 What can we do: protest safety A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

BONUS EPISODE (there is no episode) Well we fucked up and here we are without an episode (it would've been really great, we swear). We didn't want to leave our loyal listeners hanging, so we put something together anyway. Listen in and find out how and why we made such a big screw up, get updated on the state of the show, find out how to grab some sweet swag, and learn about a couple important apps and reports because David and Daniel can't go more than a few minutes without lecturing about things.It's got everything a regular episode would have (except the episode) and so much more! Chapters A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 71 - "The Mean, Big Green, Corporate Machine" The world may be burning, but more and more companies are giving us green alternatives to our favorite products so we can continue to shop and consume the same way we always have, but without hurting the Earth - or so they would like us to believe. Greenwashing, the practice of making bad things seem environmentally friendly, has run rampant across the shelves of our favorite stores and even carried over to the actions of companies, NGOs, and nations themselves. Is there any hope to the allure of shopping in an environmentally friendly way? What are the greatest greenwashing sins occurring right now? Is there any hope outside of radical change if we want to save the Earth? We think you probably know the answers to these questions, but join us this week as we explore all this and much more in our dive into the mean, green, corporate machines of the world.Special thanks to fans of the show, The Matching Shoe, for the outro track "Pickin' Up Speed." Be sure to check out their new album! Chapters 04:35 Big Green 22:44 The Seven Sins 48:59 The Economy vs The Environment 1:07:34 What can we do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 70 - "Thinner Ice" New reports find the Arctic to be the warmest it's been in millennia, and complex feedback loops mean this warming could continue unabated for decades to come. While the Arctic may feel like a distant place far removed from the concerns of daily life to many of us, the connections between melting sea ice, global ocean currents, and local weather patterns mean that the effects of a warmer Arctic are closer to home than we realize. It's cooler than cool this week as we discuss enthalpy of fusion, albedo, exploding methane in Siberia, and what it all might mean for our future. Chapters 07:56 Ice formation and the link to the world's oceans 10:13 Albedo 14:55 How are we connected to the Arctic? 24:08 Enthalpy of Fusion?? Also the Blue Ocean Event 31:25 Arctic opening: shipping, militaries, and ticks 42:49 Permafrost 50:00 What can we do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0Find out more on the Ashes Ashes website.

Episode 69 - "Rent Seekers" Half of America's poor pay at least 50% of their income on rent, while a quarter of them pay over 70%, and this trend is worsening as the number of affordable housing units continues to outpace Americans' abilities to pay for them. How did we get in a scenario where so many Americans are surrendering so much just to have a place to live? What incentives drive people to prey upon the needs we have for basic necessities? What does eviction actually mean? All these questions will be answered and we'll get to listen into a special interview with a guest joining us from Santa Cruz to discuss tenant organizing, legislative solutions, and how all of us could be making a difference in our lives and those of our neighbors in this intro episode to housing rights. Chapters 5:51 "Multifamily Evictions, Large Owners, and Serial Filings: Findings from Metropolitan Atlanta" 13:22 Maximizing that Mailbox Money 24:57 "Do the Poor Pay More for Housing? Exploitation, Profit, and Risk in Rental Markets" 32:23 Nothing is Profitable 41:59 Neoclassical economics and oversimplification 51:43 INTERVIEW: Claire from Santa Cruz, CA A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 68 - "Mask Off" Half of all US Citizens have their faces in a database that can be searched by facial-tracking software, and the slow creep of surveillance technology means more of us are being watched and analyzed by AI face-detection cameras, often without us knowing, and almost always without our consent. So what are some of the ways companies and governments deploy these technologies today? What are the limits and blind spots to these systems? More importantly, what can and does go wrong when we choose to outsource human recognition to automated computers? Chapters 03:21 Implementations 11:25 Landlords, Churches, Hotels, and Schools - Oh My! 23:30 Technology Creep 31:29 Potential for Abuse 37:24 Ridiculous Ideas 41:43 Failures and Blind Spots 48:43 Irrevocable Consequences 55:25 Aiding Selective Enforcement 1:05:41 Fighting Back 1:15:01 Daniel moving to Boston? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 67 - "Collapse Chat: So Long and Thanks for All the Surveillance" This week we're trying a new format for periodic updates. Daniel, David, and Moriah King all sit down together to discuss a handful of important articles and texts they selected covering everything from dolphins to tragedies. We go over the key points of each piece and spend a little time discussing the ramifications of what these (typically dark) pieces of news means for us and the entire world. Hopefully we take away some valuable lessons that allow us to build better things. Chapters 03:04 Dolphins and Language 15:59 Surveillance for Profit 24:38 Acceleration of Time 47:42 Freedom Technologists 57:40 Christchurch A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 66 - "Trash Talk" The world is garbage and we're talking trash in this week's episode. What really happens when you throw something away? Is recycling as green as we think it is? Just how much garbage are we making anyway? All this answered and so much more as we find ourself waist deep in the world of waste. Chapters 00:31 Trash Opportunities 06:01 Trash Stories 17:10 Trash Stats 36:16 The Big Biz of Recycling 1:05:47 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 65 - "Above the Paving Stones, the Desert" Two-thirds of Spain is at risk of permanent desertification. The cold and wet country of Iceland holds half of all Europe's deserts. China's Gobi Desert is expanding rapidly, swallowing thousands of villages and threatening to envelop the capital city Beijing. In just 40 years a third of the plant's arable land has eroded, and each year desertification destroys the potential to grow 20 million tons of grain. Once again, a show all about sand, but this time we're not building with it; we're running from it. What are some of the long-term systems that lead to desertification? What are some of the simple causes? And in what ways does human and economic development play a role in this process? Chapters 00:32 Civilizations Rise and Fall 12:00 "Spain, Iceland, China, Mongolia" 24:54 Global Aridity 31:30 Desertification Causes and Feedbacks 44:28 Land Use 53:07 Incentives 59:09 What can we do? 1:06:55 Carbondale Spring A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 64 - "Sweet Re-Release" It's natural, it's delicious, it's everywhere, and it may be killing us. For years, sugar has been overlooked as a serious detriment to our health because of the manipulations of the sugar industry in both science and politics, but the lies are coming to light as the diseases caused by that deadly white powder threaten to overwhelm the health systems of the world.Can we wake in time up to the danger that this major health risk is posing? Or are we too addicted to the sweet release? Join us this week as we explore the how and why of sugar.This episode originally published March, 2018, and we have a few up to date comments to make before and after. Chapters 05:45 Progress in the 21st Century 09:50 The Scam 18:11 "Pure, White, and Deadly" 19:12 Ancel Keys 20:17 Seven Countries Study 22:16 Coca-cola continues the scam in 2015 25:00 The Start of Nutrition 29:24 Pendulum Swings 32:32 The Failure of the Scientific Method and Industry Infiltration 35:43 "This is Objective Science" 38:30 Publication Bias 41:49 Failure of Politics 43:58 Local Political Manipulation 44:58 What Can We Do? 46:18 Food Access 48:41 Food Affordabilty 51:45 Don't Shame 53:14 Avoid Bad Science 55:11 Updated Thoughts A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 63 - "Busy Work" Some 37% of workers believe their jobs are pointless, and if we include the jobs that exist to serve those pointless jobs in some way, it's possible that half of the jobs in our economy today (mostly residing in the informational sectors of white-collar work) could disappear with no ill-consequences. In this episode we read and hear from listener-submitted examples of pointless jobs, explore the nature and causes of this phenomenon as outlined in David Graeber's book on the subject, and imagine a world where such pointless assaults on our soul can't happen. Chapters 07:29 Our Own BS Jobs 18:24 What are the definitions and categories of BS jobs? 31:09 Even More BS Jobs 47:47 Concepts about these BS jobs 1:00:13 BS jobs responsible for social media? 1:06:07 Why do BS jobs proliferate? What are the structures? 1:19:55 Bringing it all home; policies to support; what we can do A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 62 - "Separate Ways" A global epedimic of loneliness is spreading rapidly. 20% of the UK population claims to be always or often lonely, 3 out of 4 people fin the US are affected by loneliness, a quarter of Japanese men over 60 don't have a single friend or family member they can talk to, and there is an alarming rise of youth across borders who are feeling joyless, useless, and alien in their own homelands. This is a growing health disaster: loneliness has been shown to significantly increase the risk of early death, heart disease, stroke, and much more. Medicine and the high tech industry are working on "loneliness pills" and other high tech software fixes, but we're increasingly afraid that they've missed the point and are wasting time chasing symptoms. This week we explore the systemic causes of why we all feel so alone and look towards a world where we make the dramatic shifts to our social insitutions, governments, economic relationships, and very culture so we can begin to repair the frayed seams of our great big collective family. Chapters 00:31 Loneliness: Stats and Figures 09:36 Getting to the Source 14:39 America: Declining Social and Civic Engagement 20:25 America: Suburban Sprawl and the Commercialization of Social Life 25:49 China and the Big Money Machine 33:28 Japan: Relationless Society 38:41 Hikikomori 56:13 Individualism and Social Media 1:05:06 David's 5 Points to Get Your Life Together and Stop Loneliness in its Tracks 1:21:50 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 61 - "Owning Change" In an age of global disparity and inequity, billionaire philanthropists (dead and alive) are stepping up to the plate with powerful foundations and acts of charitable giving to solve some of the world's greatest challenges. But how much faith should we place in the hands of individuals with concentrated wealth and power? And if we take a step back to examine the broader system in which these individual philanthrocapitalists function, do we find any contradictions between wealth doled out and the process of accumulating it? Further, despite some of the good that we perceive directly stemming from philanthropic efforts, what are some of the hidden motivations behind these efforts that ultimately seek to deepen the same structures that produced the problems in the first place which philanthropy purports to solve? Chapters 04:44 The Man Who Wrote the Gospel 40:44 Philanthropy and Celebrity 48:11 The Larger System 54:12 Just How Rich? 1:03:04 "How philanthropy shapes foreign policy, civil rights, and healthcare" 1:20:20 Taxes and Giving 1:30:36 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 60 - "Drawn Apart" Invisible, but they define our world. Borders are the lines that limit us as we live our lives and as we increasingly feel the frictions they cause, it brought us to wonder: where did these things comes from anyway? A look back through history shows that what we take for granted may in fact be ridiculous, that lines on a map can be a world changing invention, and that things that feel as old as civilization may have surprisingly recent origins. Join us this week as we draw a line in the sand and begin working towards tearing down the myths, preconceptions, and assumptions we share about the lines that divide us. Chapters 06:58 Evolution of Border Concepts 37:38 Modern Map Origins 44:52 The Question of National Identity 57:44 Freeports and Free Flowing Capital 1:04:13 UK Home Office Incompetence 1:17:48 Indigenous People on the Margins 1:24:58 Who moves anyway? 1:29:09 The C Word 1:32:12 No Man's Land A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 59 - "Bankrupt Ethics" After the US government shutdown of 2018-2019 witheld two paychecks from 800,000 federal workers and countless more contractors and businesses, and with US officials encouraging furloughed employees to simply take out loans, we've got debt on the mind again. Citizens of the US and UK are experiencing record high levels of debt concurrent with falling wages, and higher costs of living. But the financial systems that enable these vicious debt spirals play out on the world stage, as private companies and wealthy governments alike employ innovative strategies for ensnaring vulnerable countries, companies, and individuals in inescapable economic webs. Vulture funds play an important role here, but we also want to understand how the opportunities for vulture funds open in the first place. Will we finally solve the global debt crisis, or will the hole get deeper and deeper? Chapters 00:33 Debt on the Mind 13:35 Africa: opportunities for predatory financial systems 26:30 Sudan and the HIPC Initiative 34:32 Puerto Rico: Vicious Cycle 47:15 Debt in a Climate Change World 50:38 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 58 - "Renewable Problems" With the deadline for keeping global warming below 1.5C quickly approaching (at least according to the extremely optimistic IPCC calculations - and we know how we feel about those), the time for renewable energy is yesterday. The transition to these clean sources of energy should be a no brainer, right? Well, as always, the story is more complicated than it would first appear and our addiction to cheap and highly energetic fossil fuels isn't going away anytime soon. Can we break our addiction and create real change? Chapters 00:29 Energy Investment in Southern Mexico 10:12 Why is Ashes Ashes hating on renewable technology? 16:11 Individual vs Social Change 20:56 Energy Density 29:35 Hidden Externalities 34:57 Grid storage 39:37 Struggling to Maintain Renewables 46:51 Close Out A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.CC BY-SA 4.0