Podcast appearances and mentions of ashley colby

Gord and the two Ashleys discuss the modern state of leftism: what remains of it, and how to navigate the upside-down world where the professional-managerial elites have hijacked the conversation.

Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprised of internet friends building a global network of modern villages. Learn more at cabin.cityRead more about the future of living at futureofliving.substack.comAshley 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: @RizomaSchoolJackson Steger @JacksonStegerGrin: @grin_io

A discussion of Chris' forthcoming book Saying No to a Farm-Free Future “Everyone in the food business needs to read this book. . . . [A] lively and superbly written polemic.”—Joel Salatin, co-founder of Polyface Farm A defense of agroecological, small-scale farming and a robust critique of an industrialized future. One of the few voices to challenge The Guardian‘s George Monbiot on the future of food and farming (and the restoration of nature) is academic, farmer and author of A Small Farm Future Chris Smaje. In Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future, Smaje presents his defense of small-scale farming and a robust critique of Monbiot's vision for an urban and industrialized future.Responding to Monbiot's portrayal of an urban, high-energy, industrially manufactured food future as the answer to our current crises, and its unchallenged acceptance within the environmental discourse, Smaje was compelled to challenge Monbiot's evidence and conclusions. At the same time, Smaje presents his powerful counterargument – a low-carbon agrarian localism that puts power in the hands of local communities, not high-tech corporates.In the ongoing fight for our food future, this book will help you to understand the difference between a congenial, ecological living and a dystopian, factory-centered existence. A must-read! “Chris Smaje has laid down an indictment – as unremitting as it is undeniable – that cuts through the jargon-filled, techno-worshipping agricultural futurists who promise silver-bullet fixes for having your cake and eating it too. This brilliant and compelling book is at once hopeful and persuasive about the future of food.”—Dan Barber, chef at Blue Hill and author of The Third Plate Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future: The Case For an Ecological Food System and Against Manufactured Foods ‌https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/saying-no-to-a-farm-free-future/

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Ashley Colby, she's an environmental scientist and the co-founder of the Rizoma field school. On the podcast we discussed the perils of modern life for sustainability and Ashley's decision to uproot to Uruguay with her family and live in a homestead. In the extended part of the podcast, Ashley talks about the gendered division of labour in a homestead. You can find extended episodes, bonus episodes, and the MMM chat community at louiseperry.substack.com

Ashley speaks with Christopher Lasch's biographer, Eric Miller, about all things Lasch, localism, and his forthcoming book on Wendell Berry. ‌ Eric Miller is professor of history and the humanities at Geneva College, in Beaver Falls, PA, where he directs the college's honors program. He is the author of Hope in a Scattering Time: A Life of Christopher Lasch (2010) and Glimpses of Another Land: Political Hopes, Spiritual Longing (2012), and co-editor of Confessing History: Explorations in Christian Faith and the Historian's Vocation (2010). He was the project director of a grant that assembled a team of international scholars to study Brazilian evangelicalism. Their book, Brazilian Evangelicalism in the Twenty-First Century: An Inside and Outside Look, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2019. Eric's essays have appeared in a range of publications, including Commonweal, Front Porch Republic, and Christianity Today. He is the editor of the online journal of opinion Current. You can find his essays for Current here.

Ashley Colby from Rizoma School and Doomer Optimism joins Thriving the Future to discuss her tweet on Rediscovering Tradition:"A big question for me is - if a majority of your tradition has been lost, at least a generation or two back, what is the best way to rebuild?"Expat life in UruguayIf a majority of your tradition has been lost, at least a generation or two back, what is the best way to rebuild?Instead of building from scratch, look to the past. Pull from the past, realizing that there was always context and a tradeoff in that tradition. What does learning from the past mean for a modern person?Ashley Colby's Linktree, with links to Rizoma School, Doomer Optimism and other podcasts, and Ashley's writing.More on this episode's website: https://thrivingthefuture.com/traditionGet episodes early plus Extras on Patreon:More content and outtakes.Like this episode? Shoot us a tip on Venmo @ThrivingtheFuture.JOIN our Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/thrivingthefutureWhat you get for $5/month:Early episodes.Lots of extras, including outtakes.The bonus episode with Cyprian where he explains the banking collapse and why it can be a risk for your crypto - even if you have it in a custodial wallet. Plus - what is a Cargo Cult?Free copies of e-books as they come available.Download the audio from our Community Chicken Planning workshop.Thriving Garden Spreadsheet. Included free with your Patreon subscription.The Thriving Garden Spreadsheet has just released! This includes a breakdown on How Much to Plant to live off your garden as a primary food source. It calculates how much space, how many plants/seeds you need for each crop. There are also tabs to track what you plant, inputs, first and last frost dates, and the food costs that you have saved by growing your own food. It's all customizable.It's available now on ThrivingGardenPlanner.com and is currently on sale for $5 off.

Chris and Ashley speak with Dougald about his new book At Work in the Ruins and where it intersects with both the Small Farm Future and Doomer Optimism. Dougald Hine is a social thinker, writer, speaker and the co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project and a school called HOME. His latest book is At Work in the Ruins (2023) and he publishes new essays on his Substack, Writing Home. https://linktr.ee/atworkintheruins His substack can be found at: https://dougald.substack.com/ Chris Smaje has coworked a small farm in Somerset, southwest England, for the last 17 years. Previously, he was a university-based social scientist, working in the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey and the Department of Anthropology at Goldsmiths College on aspects of social policy, social identities and the environment. Since switching focus to the practice and politics of agroecology, he's written for various publications, such as The Land , Dark Mountain , Permaculture magazine and Statistics Views, as well as academic journals such as Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems and the Journal of Consumer Culture . Smaje writes the blog Small Farm Future, is a featured author at www.resilience.org and a current director of the Ecological Land Co-op. Chris' latest book is: A Small Farm Future: Making the Case for a Society Built Around Local Economies, Self-Provisioning, Agricultural Diversity, and a Shared Earth.

Ashley and Padre discuss homesteading in the deep south, working on rented land, making a small space productive, and the coming localist revolution! The Homestead Padre @padrehomestead Joseph Smith is the husband of the beautiful and amazing Dr. @MRSpadrehmsted. He is a father who focuses on small space homesteading. Follow his newsletter at http://Padre.substack.com Buy Smith Homestead products at: https://www.smith-homestead.com/ His book Homesteading: Breaking Ground https://jdmanly18.gumroad.com/l/breaking His book: Beginning the journey to food independence https://jdmanly18.gumroad.com/l/SnpwW The tweet he mentioned in the episode: https://twitter.com/padrehomestead/status/1613187315979124738

Jim talks with Douglas Rushkoff about the ideas in his essay series, "What's a Meta For?" They discuss Facebook's renaming to Meta, the semantic web, ChatGPT, a Turing test recalibration period, Rocco's Basilisk, the conversion of the real world into a meta-world, Elon Musk as techno-monarch, the limitations of his understanding of free speech, returning Twitter to the people who use it, Zuckerberg's Caesar obsession, Rushkoff's criticisms of GameB, the dangers of an abstracted "omega point," understanding the complex binding energies of GameA, dominant political isms as a result of industrialism, GameB's schism over personal vs institutional change, the need to actually deliver, coherent pluralism, what being a member of GameB will mean, dangers of a totalizing narrative, not knowing what GameB is, cultivated insecurity, rejecting the metaverse, GameB's resilient response to critiques, and much more. Episode Transcript Douglas Rushkoff (website) "What's a Meta For?" by Douglas Rushkoff (part 1 and 2) Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, by Douglas Rushkoff Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity, by Douglas Rushkoff JRS Currents 051: Douglas Rushkoff on the Once and Future Internet Character.AI "If I Were CEO of Twitter," by Douglas Rushkoff "The Liminal Web: Mapping An Emergent Subculture Of Sensemakers, Meta-Theorists & Systems Poets," by Joe Lightfoot Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior, by Christopher Boehm The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, by David Graeber & David Wengrow Doomer Optimism JRS Currents 049: Ashley Colby & Jason Snyder on Doomer Optimism Named one of the “world's ten most influential intellectuals” by MIT, Douglas Rushkoff is an author and documentarian who studies human autonomy in a digital age. His twenty books include the just-published Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, as well as the recent Team Human, based on his podcast, and the bestsellers Present Shock, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, Program or Be Programmed, Life Inc, and Media Virus. He also made the PBS Frontline documentaries Generation Like, The Persuaders, and Merchants of Cool. His book Coercion won the Marshall McLuhan Award, and the Media Ecology Association honored him with the first Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity. Rushkoff's work explores how different technological environments change our relationship to narrative, money, power, and one another. He coined such concepts as “viral media,” “screenagers,” and “social currency,” and has been a leading voice for applying digital media toward social and economic justice. He is a research fellow of the Institute for the Future, and founder of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens, where he is a Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics. He is a columnist for Medium, and his novels and comics, Ecstasy Club, A.D.D, and Aleister & Adolf, are all being developed for the screen.

Rich, Steph, Roscoe and Ashley discuss their experience at the Microsolidarity Retreat in Denver in October 2022. Tune in to find out if Ashley did battle with the hippies or became one! Steph Soussloff @stephsoussloff is an animal-lover, artist, gardener, cook, daughter & friend passionate about co-creating cultures of care, authenticity & embodied creativity. A design strategist & org development consultant by training, she loves to support clients in unfolding their shared capacity for collaboration, strong relationships and brave communication. She is a catalyst of a community project called Starter Cultures where she hosts a writing circle and a peer-coaching space. Roscoe is a 58-year-old white guy living in Boston, Massachusetts, working as a counselor. An artist and synthesizer by wiring and practice, he cares about using the meta as a tool for advancing the ordinary good. Richard D. Bartlett @RichDecibels is a Director at Enspiral, a network of self-managing, purpose-driven companies. He co-founded Loomio, a worker-owned company that builds collaboration software, and The Hum, helping decentralized organizations thrive. He's the author of a community building practice called Microsolidarity. He's enthusiastic about co-ownership, self-governance and building relationships of partnership instead of domination to create collaborative workplaces. read more at richdecibels.com

Ashley and Mary discuss her forthcoming book: Feminism Against Progress. Ashley pushes Mary to especially explore the optimism in her book, as well as the ecological underpinnings of reactionary feminism. Pre-order Mary's book now! https://www.amazon.com/Feminism-Against-Progress-Mary-Harrington-ebook/dp/B0B5Z4YT5Y Mary Harrington @moveincircles is a reactionary feminist, contributing editor at @unherd, and Author of Feminism Against Progress. Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley and Jason speak with Jared on all things metamodern religion and spirituality. Jared Janes I have a long list of eclectic interests & experiences*, but the unifying theme seems to be human development. A theme that eventually led me to meditation in 2013. I spent the following six years exploring a handful of popular meditation methods & spiritual traditions but sensed that something was missing. Then, with the guidance of my friend & teacher Charlie Awbery, I moved from renunciative practice to the life-affirming path of a yogi. In 2020, the two of us co-founded a contemporary community of practice called Evolving Ground. Jaredjanes.com Jason Snyder @cognazor Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley and Jason reflect on Doomer Optimism. We talk a little about how it started, what brought us to doom and optimism personally that led us to accidentally define the term, some of the challenges we see in building a movement, and where we see things going from here.

Ashley and Inez solve the battle of the sexes. Inez Feltscher Stepman @InezFeltscher is a senior policy analyst at IWF and host of High Noon with Inez Stepman, a podcast that hosts conversations with heterodox thinkers on a variety of important cultural and political subjects. She has over a decade of experience in education policy, and also handles issues related to institutional capture and the definition of sex in law and culture. She is a Lincoln Fellow with the Claremont Institute and a senior contributor to The Federalist. Her work has additionally appeared in outlets such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Post, and she has made appearances on Fox News, PBS, CSPAN, and NPR. Inez has a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, San Diego, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. She lives in New York City with her husband. Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley and first time host Donald ask Blake about his Unherd article "What Christopher Lasch Got Wrong" in which he argues that we fundamentally need to be seeking a "politics that makes politics possible." https://unherd.com/2022/11/what-christopher-lasch-got-wrong/ Blake Smith @blejksmith is a Harper-Schmidt Fellow at the University of Chicago. A historian of modern France, he is also a translator of contemporary francophone fiction and a regular contributor to Tablet. Donald Antenen @riversofeurope lives with his wife and daughters in the Pacific Northwest. He is translating Genesis: Beginning: a Verse Translation of Genesis. Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley sits down with Michael Sacasas to discuss institutions, technology, conviviality, education and sitting around a table for a nice meal! Michael (LM) Sacasas @lmsacasas Writes a newsletter, The Convivial Society, where he thinks about technology and culture. http://theconvivialsociety.substack.com His book: http://gum.co/CWRfq his website: https://thefrailestthing.com/ Ashley Colby is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley and Brian ask John about network swarms, energy, technology, and what we can be optimistic about in the face of it all. John Robb @johnrobb -- Tier 1 special ops. Pilot. Analyst. Author. Tech pioneer. He writes The Global Guerrillas Report -- predictive frameworks for making sense of the world at the intersection of war, technology, and politics. http://patreon.com/johnrobb johnrobb.substack.com Brian Keith podcasts on mindset, systems, and profit om Red Beard Radio. Get it at http://redbeard.am. He also interviews John Robb inside his Patreon each month. Subscribe at http://patreon.com/johnrobb. Ashley Colby is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley sits down with Jon Askonas to dive into his Compact Magazine article Why Conservatism Failed (https://compactmag.com/article/why-conservatism-failed). They discuss solutions to the problem of political or cultural 'team sports' including simply driving after the Good. Jon Askonas @jonaskonas is a Fellow at the Center for the Study of Statesmanship at the Catholic University of America and a member of the Politics faculty. Ashley Colby is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley and Stephanie Lepp sit down with Nore Bateson to discuss warm data, nursing mothers, balance bikes, and what all that has to do with the sustainable development goals (if anything!). Nora Bateson is a filmmaker, lecturer, author. Founder of #WarmData #PeopleNeedPeople #symmathesy #aphanipoiesis. Ecology & society reframing & shifting perception, complexity, and tenderness. Stephanie Lepp, producer and conceptual artist. I'm the outgoing Executive Producer at the Center for Humane Technology, and incoming Executive Director at the Institute for Cultural Evolutions. To get a feel for Stephanie's work, listen to her interviews on The Jim Rutt Show (jimruttshow.com/stephanie-lepp/) and KALW's Inflection Point (bit.ly/3jGcAEg). The best way to be in dialogue with Stephanie is to follow her on Twitter: @stephlepp Ashley Colby is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to collapse. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School in Colonia Uruguay.

Ashley speaks with Roxanne about her new book (!!!), homesteading, her meet cute story with her husband, God, agency, and paw paws! **please forgive the audio quality issues in this episode! Roxanne had to do this recording in a parking lot and Ashley's internet was spotty. Homestead life, sorry! Roxanne Ahern is the author of Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to a Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle. She lives with her family of 7 on a homestead in the Ozarks where they grow food, raise animals, and homeschool. Follow along with Roxanne's journey on Instagram @happyholistichomestead. Roxanne also acts as a consultant and a speaker on the topics of regenerative homesteading and gardening, permaculture, and holistic nutrition. Reach out to her at her website HappyHolisticHomestead.com. Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist and co-founder of the Rizoma Field School in Uruguay.

Ashley and Lee discuss politics, Lee's IM1776 article "Country Party Reprise," localism, family, populism, and Werner Herzog's films. Lafayette Lee @Partisan_O is an American writer and veteran. See his writing here: https://im1776.com/author/lafayette-lee/ Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist and co-founder of the Rizoma Field School in Uruguay.

Ashley and Tucker ask Jack about the version of homestead rescue he did for a member of his Liminal Order on a farm in Michigan. They discuss the barn raising, homesteading, localism and why it is important to push yourself to learn and try new things, even when it is hard to do. Jack Murphy @jackmurphylive interviews the world's best thinkers on Jack Murphy Live. He is the founder of the Liminal Order and an Alumnus of the Claremont Institute's Lincoln Fellowship. YouTube.com/jackmurphylive liminal-order.com Tucker Max @tuckermax is the co-founder of Scribe Media, a company that helps you write, publish, and market your book. He's written four New York Times Best Sellers (three that hit #1), which have sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. He's credited with being the originator of the literary genre, “fratire,” and is only the fourth writer (along with Malcolm Gladwell, Brene Brown and Michael Lewis) to have three books on the New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller List at one time. He was nominated to the Time Magazine 100 Most Influential List in 2009. He received his BA from the University of Chicago in 1998, and his JD from Duke Law School in 2001. He currently lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Veronica and four children. Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist and co-founder of the Rizoma Field School in Uruguay.

Ashley and AC talk to Chris about the dominance of Front Row thinking, and Ashley offers Chris use of her term "spreadsheet brain." We talk about antidotes to this kind of thinking, including the advice "don't be an asshole." Chris Arnade @chris_arnade is the author of Dignity, a book exploring poverty, addiction, and faith in the US. He is currently walking across the cities of the world. Anarcho-contrarian @anarcontrarian is a nostalgia-poasting Twitter Anon who is passionate about the resiliency of rural places. Ashley Colby @rizomaschool is an Environmental Sociologist and co-founder of the Rizoma Field School in Uruguay.

Ashley and new host Sam Sager sit down with legend of permaculture David Holmgren. They discuss a permaculture vision for the suburbs laid out in David's book: Retrosuburbia. David Holmgren is the co-originator of the permaculture concept following publication of Permaculture One, co-authored with Bill Mollison in 1978. David is globally recognised as a leading ecological thinker, teacher, writer and speaker promoting permaculture as a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism. Other key publications include Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (2002) and Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt To Peak Oil and Climate Change (2009) and RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future (2018). www.holmgren.com.au www.retrosuburbia.com www.futurescenarios.org Sam Sager is slowly building a suburban food forest on a 1/4 acre in North Carolina. He's fascinated by how we can build the capacity to respond to change within ourselves and the natural world around us. He loves exploring new ideas and experimenting in his own backyard. He runs First Stone Fitness to help people embrace exercise more fully and hosts The Self-Renewal Podcast.

On one of the most inspiring episodes of Doomer Optimism, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Willow Liana (@willlowthewhisp) speak with the father of Kevin Cooper (AKA Cole Summers) about his late son's work. They discuss Cole's plans and aspirations for sustainably developing the farmland where he lived to preserve the water table. Cole passed away at aged 14, leaving a huge legacy behind him. He had some of the most ambitious plans for business development and sustainable agriculture that you'll ever hear of. The hope of this episode is to inspire others to continue the work he left behind him. You can donate to help Cole's family rebuild their lives here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kevin-coopers-family You can purchase Cole's autobiography here. About Willow Liana Willow is a professional social butterfly and mother of a wee babe whom she is raising in the Canadian countryside. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) teams up with Nathan Gates (@TornadoNate) to co-host an intriguing conversation about Distributism with Chris Smaje (@csmaje) and Sean Domencic (@tradtom), co-founder of Tradistae. About Sean Domencic Sean Domencic is the director of Tradistae, a contributing author at New Polity, and a maintenance man who speaks and writes about Distributism and Catholic Social Teaching. He and his wife live in community at Holy Family Catholic Worker in Lancaster, PA. About Chris Smaje Chris Smaje has coworked a small farm in Somerset, southwest England, for the last 17 years. Previously, he was a university-based social scientist, working in the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey and the Department of Anthropology at Goldsmiths College on aspects of social policy, social identities and the environment. Since switching focus to the practice and politics of agroecology, he's written for various publications, such as The Land , Dark Mountain , Permaculture magazine and Statistics Views, as well as academic journals such as Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems and the Journal of Consumer Culture . Smaje writes the blog Small Farm Future, is a featured author at www.resilience.org and a current director of the Ecological Land Co-op. Chris' latest book is: A Small Farm Future: Making the Case for a Society Built Around Local Economies, Self-Provisioning, Agricultural Diversity, and a Shared Earth. About Nathan Gates Nathan is a licensed psychotherapist and co-host of Altered States of Context, a podcast about psychedelics, science and psychotherapy. He also practices regenerative ranching and writes from his family's farm in rural west-central Illinois. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, first-time host Donald Antenen (@riversofeurope) and Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) interview associate English professor and editor of Front Porch Republic, Jeff Bilbro (@jeff_bilbro). Topics range from Jeff's experiences living in a remote part of Washington state to his work at Front Porch Republic. About Jeff 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. About Donald Antenen Donald Antenen lives with his wife and daughters in the Pacific Northwest. He is translating Genesis: Beginning: a Verse Translation of Genesis. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

This episode of Doomer Optimism has Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) discussing voluntary poverty with Malcolm Schluenderfritz (@HAYPpodcast), the host of Happy Are You Poor, a blog and podcast dedicated to discussing radical Christian community as a means of evangelization. About Malcolm Schluenderfritz Malcolm Schluenderfritz hosts Happy Are You Poor, a blog and podcast dedicated to discussing radical Christian community as a means of evangelization. He works as a graphic design assistant and a horticulturalist in Littleton, CO. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On episode 68, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Josh Kearns (@HillbillyNarnia) to interview writer and historical geopolitics specialist, Chris Mott (@ChrisDMott), about his recent white paper "Woke Imperium: The Coming Confluence Between Social Justice and Neoconservatism". Show note: Ashley's anecdote about Uruguay was about Cavani, not Suarez. About Chris Mott Chris Mott is an historical geopolitics specialist, and Research Fellow at Institute for Peace & Diplomacy . He's the author of 'The Formless Empire'. Allergic to moralism. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Dr. Josh Kearns Josh is a born-n-bred Appalachian and a native of West-By-God-Virginia and damn proud of it. He studied chemistry and environmental engineering at Clemson (BS), biogeochemistry at Berkeley (MS), and environmental engineering at CU-Boulder (PhD). He's spent years bumming around rural and remote communities in Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, India, Nepal, Ladakh, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, and generally tried to make himself useful while doing so. He's the Director of Science for Aqueous Solutions, and the Chief Technical Advisor for Caminos de Agua, grassroots water and health development organizations in Thailand and Mexico, respectively. He taught environmental engineering courses at NC State University for a couple of years before returning to his roots as a freelance renegade scientist and exponent of ecological transition engineering. He lives with his wife Rachael and all their critters on a small mountaintop homestead in southern Appalachia.

Episode 67 is all about regenerative ag, with Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Peter Allen (@pclarkallen) teaming up to talk to Brendan Barnard (@IntractableLion)of Posterity Ciderworks about his cider-making philosophy, and his interest in low intervention agriculture. About Brendan Barnard Passionate about stewardship, long term thinking, and the intersections of nature, art, and science, cider captured Brendan's attention in 2016 and he hasn't shaken it. When he's not grafting, planting, pruning, picking, pressing, or sampling cider you'll find him cooking for his family. About Peter Allen Peter Allen spent a decade in Madison where Peter was researching and teaching ecology, economics, and complexity science, and his wife Maureen was studied biology, taught team building seminars at the University, and helped develop a non-profit urban farm for kids. They moved to the Driftless in 2012 to build a homestead and start a regenerative farm nestled in the hills of the Kickapoo River Valley in the heart of Wisconsin's Driftless region. They are inspired by the oak savanna ecosystems that once blanketed our hills and valleys. Groves of fruit and nuts trees combined with prairie grasslands to create the most diverse, productive, and functional ecosystems in the history of our continent. It's no wonder why these savanna gardens were cultivated by Indigenous Americans for millennia and manicured by mastodons for tens of millions of years. Now they're the keystone species - planting fruit and nut trees by the thousands, thinning out overgrown woodlands, and practicing multi-species rotational grazing with cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry to manage vegetation, build soil, boost biodiversity, and produce meats and medicines at peak power and potency. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) interviews "Mash Tun" Timmy (@MashTunTimmy) and his band of merry brewers about making beer, friendships, and how making things can bring people together. About "Mash Tun" Timmy He owns a software company. Interested in complexity, mysticism, the power of male friendship, re-enchanting the world, and brewing beer with his "Watch the Pot" brewery/club, which he helps run from a barn in Michigan. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

This episode has Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) chatting up Matt Berk (@mattdberk), a swiss army knife a man with a broad range of interests. From energy crunch, peak oil, and climate change to high performance building and passive housing, this conversation packs a punch. About Matt Berk High performance building, passive house, energy and natural resources. Principal at Eco Windows and Facades. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

Episode 59 of Doomer Optimism is all about climate change. What's real, what's not, and how to sift through the noise. Ashley (@RizomaSchool) is joined by first-time host Donald Antenen (@riversofeurope) as they host a conversation with Ilan Kelman (@IlanKelman), Professor of Disasters and Health. About Ilan Kelman Ilan Kelman, Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, and Professor II, University of Agder Ilan Kelman is Professor of Disasters and Health at University College London, England and a Professor II at the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. About Donald Antenen Donald Antenen lives with his wife and daughters in the Pacific Northwest. He is translating Genesis: Beginning: a Verse Translation of Genesis. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

This episode of Doomer Optimism has Ashley (@RizomaSchool) and Jason (@cognazor) team up again to interrogate spirituality, religion, and esoterica with Big Buddhi (@embryosophy) and Vivid Void (@VividVoid_). About Big Buddhi +

This episode of Doomer Optimism has Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) speak with Uruguayan regenerative farmer, Magdalena Urioste. Topics range from Magdalena's past as a world traveler in the United States, France, and southeast Asia to her work running Pampeanas Regenerativas Orientales, a regenerative women's ranching group in Uruguay. About Magdalena Urioste Magdalena is an uncompromising and passionate custodian of Nature. She studied Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Republic of Uruguay and studied and lived in the US and France, working as a language teacher, interpreter, and translator. Over 30 years she dedicated her life to education and was deeply involved in early childhood and elementary education in Thailand and Vietnam, where she founded two international schools. She lives and works at “Valle Sol”, a regenerative ranch and farm in the beautiful Sierras of Maldonado, Uruguay, where she raises cattle, sheep, horses, and chickens, and grows organic vegetables for her family and the community. The farm serves as the demonstration and learning site of Pampa Oriental, the Savory Hub in Uruguay, dedicated to training and supporting the implementation of Holistic Management in the country. In 2019, she co-founded Pampeanas Regenerativas Orientales, a women network dedicated to promoting the regeneration of the Pampas grasslands and all its inhabitants. She is a peaceful activist and works tirelessly to inform and support other ranchers and policymakers, particularly women, sharing her practical knowledge on all aspects of land, animal and human health. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

This episode of Doomer Optimism is all about community building. Ashley (@RizomaSchool) brings back Brooke Bowman (@gptbrooke) of This Part of Twitter (TPOT) and vibecamp to chat with Ladi Jadi (@LadiJ16), intentional community veteran and otherwise brilliant individual. About Ladi Jadi Wife, Mama...off grid living...lover of this world Observations from my perch in the Rocky Mountains. About Brooke Bowman Brooke emerged from hardship a few years ago with ideas about how to thrive as humans that she's since been putting into practice by helping coordinate community building projects small and large. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Ashley (@RizomaSchool) chats with John Dios (@FibromyalgiaDad) about rural gentrification, homesteading, catholicism, and his project Holy Agony/Cathedral in the Pines. With a special pop-in from Willow Liana (@willlowthewhisp)! About John Dios Order, tenderness, piety. Cathedral in the Pines & Isolation Chamber. About Willow Liana Willow is a professional social butterfly and mother of a wee babe whom she is raising in the Canadian countryside. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

 In this episode, Helen speaks with Ashley Colby about the ways women and mothers are forging new paths for their families in the wake of collapse. Ashley is a founder of Rizoma Field School,and experiential learning farm in rural Uruguay. She is the author of “Subsistence Agriculture in the United States” and host of the podcast and substack “Doomer Optimism.”   Ashley's Links: Subsistence Agriculture in the US: Reconnecting to Work, Nature and Community (Routledge-SCORAI Studies in Sustainable Consumption) https://a.co/d/aGhqf1c https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-4-tucker-max-and-joe-norman/id1585565573?i=1000539906915 https://substack.com/profile/47365107-doomer-optimism https://twitter.com/rizomaschool?s=21&t=uPuKnkV4qn_vFlIZm5dKzA

On episode 49 of Doomer Optimism, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) sit down with Stephanie Lepp (@stephlepp), Executive Producer at the Center for Humane Technology. They discuss a range of topics, from Stephanie's roots in Memetic Mediation to the potential for truly humane social networks. It includes a deeper discussion of Stephanie's Synthetic Strategy, a potential framework for enabling collaboration between adjacent tribes. About Stephanie Lepp Stephanie Lepp is a producer whose work strives to hold up a mirror — inviting us to grow from what we see. As the Executive Producer at the Center for Humane Technology, Stephanie leads Your Undivided Attention — the podcast hosted by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, which has garnered over 10 million downloads. She's also working to bring the organization into new media. Infinite Lunchbox is Stephanie's studio for independent work. Recent projects include: Deep Reckonings (deepreckonings.com), a Webby award-winning series of explicitly-marked deepfake videos that imagine morally courageous versions of our public figures, and Reckonings (reckonings.show), a podcast that tells the stories of people who've made all kinds of transformative change, which was named in The Constant Listener's Best Podcasts of 2018. Stephanie is a member of the Guild of Future Architects. Her work has been covered by outlets such as NPR, Forbes, and the MIT Technology Review, and supported by institutions including the Mozilla Foundation, Sundance Institute, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. To get a feel for Stephanie's work, listen to her interviews on The Jim Rutt Show (jimruttshow.com/stephanie-lepp/) and KALW's Inflection Point (bit.ly/3jGcAEg). The best way to be in dialogue with Stephanie is to follow her on Twitter: @stephlepp About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

On this episode, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) continues her informal "Based Mommy" series with two incredible anon women, Bosco (@selentelechia) and Ourania (@ouranometrian). Topics obviously include motherhood, but also spreads into the natalism debate, the ideal number of kiddos, and what exactly "based" mothering is. About Bosco Bosco, or Selene is an aspiring celestial body and cyberpunk tradwife. About Ourania Ourania is a Maenad Queen, computer wrangler, aspiring to go from primiparous to quintiparous. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, first-time hosts Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) have a beautiful conversation with the Meta Nomad himself, James Ellis (@meta_nomad). From accelerationism to the very meaning of Doomer Optimism itself, this conversation perfectly encapsulates the Nick Land to Wendell Berry pipeline. About James Ellis James Ellis studied fine art at Norwich University of the Arts, after finishing his degree he completed an M.A. in continental philosophy at Staffordshire University. He blogs at Meta-Nomad and is the host of Hermitix Podcast. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, first time host Josh Kearns teams up with Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) to discuss potential low tech futures with Scott Johnson (@Low_Techno), the founder of the Low Tech Institute in Wisconsin. About Scott Johnson Scott has been carrying out research into low tech since tried to build a catapult in 6th grade. He is a jack of all trades, but a master of none, including carpentry, gardening, electric, plumbing, beekeeping, brewing, butchery, baking, and more. His interest in past technologies led to a Ph.D. in anthropology (Tulane University, 2012), focusing on archaeology. He's taught at universities across the US and Canada and led international field projects funded by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society. He is also the author of several books (Translating Maya Hieroglyphs, Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail?). Today, he works at the Low Technology Institute and lives in the historic village of Cooksville, Wisconsin (just south of Madison), with his wife, kid, and dog. He enjoys a good cup of tea, aikido, running, and books. He is founder of the Low Tech Institute based in Wisconsin. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Dr. Josh Kearns Josh is a born-n-bred Appalachian and a native of West-By-God-Virginia and damn proud of it. He studied chemistry and environmental engineering at Clemson (BS), biogeochemistry at Berkeley (MS), and environmental engineering at CU-Boulder (PhD). He's spent years bumming around rural and remote communities in Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, India, Nepal, Ladakh, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, and generally tried to make himself useful while doing so. He's the Director of Science for Aqueous Solutions, and the Chief Technical Advisor for Caminos de Agua, grassroots water and health development organizations in Thailand and Mexico, respectively. He taught environmental engineering courses at NC State University for a couple of years before returning to his roots as a freelance renegade scientist and exponent of ecological transition engineering. He lives with his wife Rachael and all their critters on a small mountaintop homestead in southern Appalachia.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism we're going down south with Magnus Popp and Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool), two Doomer Optimists that are cutting a new path forward in Uruguay. In this wide-ranging conversation, Ashley and Magnus chat about Magnus' past as a researcher in evolutionary biology, and his new life as a free man, homesteader, and self-described "beer brewing control freakish evolutionary biologist." About Magnus Popp Magnus Popp is a PhD in Evolutionary Biology, a Swedish homesteader in Uruguay living with his Argentinean wife Virginia and two kids. He is a self described beer brewing control freakish evolutionary biologist. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

Our 43rd episode of Doomer Optimism sees Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) having a one on one chat with Rich Bartlett (@RichDecibels), writer, intellectual, and founder of Loomio and The Hum. Conversation ranges from what constitutes a "cult," how to organize effective organizations, and the intersection of community and governance. About Rich Bartlett Richard D. Bartlett is one of those people with a lot of websites. He's the co-founder of Loomio, a platform for small-scale digital democracy inspired by the 2011 Occupy Movement. He's also co-leader of The Hum, a training & consulting company that supports decentralised organisations to work without domination hierarchies. He's also the co-director of the Enspiral Foundation, which is a professional network of friends supporting each other to do more meaningful work in the world. And he's the author of a community-building methodology called Microsolidarity. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this very special Doomer Optimism interlude, we drop in on our intrepid hosts, Ashley Colby and Jason Snyder, as they mix it up with Michael Garfield and the folks at Future Fossils. It was such a tremendous conversation that we figured we should crosslist on both podcasts. So, enjoy, and be sure to subscribe to Future Fossils! Here are the show notes from Future Fossils: Be forewarned: This latest episode is some extremely heady stuff. But thankfully, it's also full of heart and soul... Back in February, Jonathan Rowson posted two clips from his latest in-progress writing to Twitter, where it succeeded in baiting a bunch of the folks with whom I regularly interact as members of the so-called "Liminal Web" into reflecting on the value of partitioning a global boil of loosely-associated "sensemakers," "meta-theorists," and "systems poets" into well-meaning but ultimately dubious cultural taxonomies. I had plenty to say about this from my awkwardly consistent stance of being both enthusiastic and skeptical about apparently everything. But so did numerous other brilliant and inspiring people, including Bonnitta Roy, Stephanie Lepp, Ashley Colby, and Jason Snyder – all of whom I've wanted on the show for a while (with the exception of Stephanie, with whom I had a great chat back on episode 154). So I took it upon myself to press for an on-the-record group discussion about the virtue and folly of putting labels on sociocultural processes and networks that are defined by their liminality: Is this ultimately a good thing, or does it just kill the magic in a foolish servility to economic pressures and the desire to be recognized as A Movement? When we finally met at the end of March for our call, the conversation turned to issues with more urgency and gravitas — namely: Is it even helpful to spend all of our time talking about crises and metacrises when there is so much work to be done? What transpired was easily one of the more profound and inspired conversations I've ever had the good fortune to host on this show, although it was also more beset with insane and infuriating technical problems that getting it ready for release took over thirty hours of excruciating editing. I am so immensely glad I am finally done and can get on with my damn life! But also that I get to share this with you and hear what the rest of our scene(s) have to contribute to this discourse. (Some of the people I'd especially love to hear from include folks we mentioned in this episode and/or were part of the original Twitter discussion, including John Vervaeke, Jeremy Johnson, Daniel Schmachtenberger, Kyle Kowalski, Jim Rutt, John Ash, and Joe Lightfoot, as well as people implied or indicted by Jonathan's prompts, including Nora Bateson and everyone involved with DAOs, GameB, cosmo-localism, meta-modernism, and The Dark Renaissance. So, like, half the people I talk and listen to...)

On this episode, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) has a conversation about Based Momming with Willow (@willlowthewhisp) and Tiger Lily (@Butterrespecter). Health, home birthing, and growing based families. About Tiger Lily Tiger Lily is a wife, mommy, herbalist, birth worker and shitposter. About Willow Willow is a professional social butterfly and mother of a wee babe whom she is raising in the Canadian countryside. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

We're back with a brand new Doomer Optimism! This time, hosts hosts Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder(@cognazor) settle in around the proverbial campfire for a fascinating conversation with the one and only Empty America (@Empty_America). With interests that range from permaculture to political history, this conversation is as multi-faceted as the three individuals participating. About Empty America Semi-anonymous, Empty America can be found on Twitter and Etsy, where he sells classic outdoorsman's knives and dryland seeds. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, hosts Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder(@cognazor) have a chat with Peter Allen (@pclarkallen) of Mastodon Valley Farm about ecological and regenerative farming, homesteading, rebuilding oak savanna, factory farming, and a ton more! About Peter Allen Peter Allen spent a decade in Madison where Peter was researching and teaching ecology, economics, and complexity science, and his wife Maureen was studied biology, taught team building seminars at the University, and helped develop a non-profit urban farm for kids. They moved to the Driftless in 2012 to build a homestead and start a regenerative farm nestled in the hills of the Kickapoo River Valley in the heart of Wisconsin's Driftless region They are inspired by the oak savanna ecosystems that once blanketed our hills and valleys. Groves of fruit and nuts trees combined with prairie grasslands to create the most diverse, productive, and functional ecosystems in the history of our continent. It's no wonder why these savanna gardens were cultivated by Indigenous Americans for millennia and manicured by mastodons for tens of millions of years. Now they're the keystone species - planting fruit and nut trees by the thousands, thinning out overgrown woodlands, and practicing multi-species rotational grazing with cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry to manage vegetation, build soil, boost biodiversity, and produce meats and medicines at peak power and potency. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

On this episode, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) discusses doom, prepping and bunkers, and building resilient communities with Dr. Chris Ellis (@Prep4Disasters) and Brad Garrett (@Goblinmerchant). This is a fascinating look at the prepper movement, and surviving the myriad coming crises. About Dr. Chris Ellis Dr. Chris Ellis is a subject matter expert on individual household disaster preparedness in the United States and other developed countries. He focuses on large-scale catastrophic threats, including natural, manmade, and spiritual events. Quantitative work and interests include deep analysis on FEMA's annual National Household Survey. Qualitative work amalgamates – under the theory of ontological security – a model that matches fears, motivations, and government action (or inaction), with household response levels to assorted threats and potential futures. Chris earned his PhD at Cornell University, has four master's degrees, and is an active duty Army Colonel with nearly 23 years of service. About Bradley Garrett Bradley Garrett is an American social and cultural geographer at University College Dublin in Ireland and a writer for The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom. He describes his research interests as being at the intersections of cultural geography, archaeology and visual methods and writes that his research is about "finding the hidden in the world". He is the author of five books including Bunker: Building for the End Times, a contemporary account of doomsday preppers around the world, and Explore Everything: Place-Hacking the City, an ethnographic account of the activities of the London Consolidation Crew (LCC), a group of urban explorers Garrett calls "place hackers". About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

This episode of Doomer Optimism is co-hosted by Ashley Colby and Jason Snyder, who interview Future Thinkers co-founder, Euvie Ivanova. The episode tackles motherhood, transhumanism, and the nitty-gritty of building community from scratch. About Euvie Ivanova Cohost of Future Thinkers podcast, OG in the 'liminal web', currently building a resilient 'smart village' in BC. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

This episode of Doomer Optimism sees Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder (@cognazor) have a wide-ranging conversation with Brooke Bowman (@gptbrooke) and Grin (@grin_io) from This Part of Twitter (TPOT) and vibecamp about online communities, embodiment, and where all this is going. About Grin Grin is part of the core team at Vibecamp (vibecamp.xyz). His ingroups include his family, his startups (lbry.com, odysee.com), ultimate frisbee, (parts of) crypto, and friendly ambitious nerds. Find him at https://grin.io. About Brooke Bowman Brooke emerged from hardship a few years ago with ideas about how to thrive as humans that she's since been putting into practice by helping coordinate community building projects small and large. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University.

Don't waste another minute here. Go read the full show notes on Patreon!Be forewarned: This latest episode is some extremely heady stuff. But thankfully, it's also full of heart and soul...Back in February, Jonathan Rowson posted two clips (here and here) from his latest in-progress writing tlimito Twitter, where it succeeded in baiting a bunch of the folks with whom I regularly interact as members of the so-called "Liminal Web" into reflecting on the value of partitioning a global boil of loosely-associated "sensemakers," "meta-theorists," and "systems poets" into well-meaning but ultimately dubious cultural taxonomies.I had plenty to say about this (here, here, and here) from my awkwardly consistent stance of being both enthusiastic and skeptical about apparently everything. But so did numerous other brilliant and inspiring people, including Bonnitta Roy, Stephanie Lepp, Ashley Colby, and Jason Snyder – all of whom I've wanted on the show for a while (with the exception of Stephanie, with whom I had a great chat back on episode 154). So I took it upon myself to press for an on-the-record group discussion about the virtue and folly of putting labels on sociocultural processes and networks that are defined by their liminality: Is this ultimately a good thing, or does it just kill the magic in a foolish servility to economic pressures and the desire to be recognized as A Movement?When we finally met at the end of March for our call, the conversation turned to issues with more urgency and gravitas — namely: Is it even helpful to spend all of our time talking about crises and metacrises when there is so much work to be done?What transpired was easily one of the more profound and inspired conversations I've ever had the good fortune to host on this show, although it was also more beset with insane and infuriating technical problems that getting it ready for release took over thirty hours of excruciating editing. I am so immensely glad I am finally done and can get on with my damn life! But also that I get to share this with you and hear what the rest of our scene(s) have to contribute to this discourse. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/futurefossils. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If Jordan Hall were a gin and tonic, then this, Jordan's second Doomer Optimism episode, would be a G&T with special elderberry simple syrup. By which I mean, the addition of this episode's hosts, Ashley Colby and Jason Snyder, unearths a few special nuggets about cosmo-localism and a variety of adjacent topics. So, get your lime juice, we're diving in! About Jordan Hall Jordan is the Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Neurohacker Collective. He is now in his 19th year of building disruptive technology companies. Jordan's interests in comics, science fiction, computers, and way too much TV led to a deep dive into contemporary philosophy (particularly the works of Gilles Deleuze and Manuel DeLanda), artificial intelligence and complex systems science, and then, as the Internet was exploding into the world, a few years at Harvard Law School where he spent time with Larry Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain and Cornel West examining the coevolution of human civilization and technology. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and her husband Patrick Fitzgerald (@RizomaAt) discuss the future of American democracy and the prospects for a new dark ages with author and soothsayer Morris Berman. About Morris Berman Morris Berman is an American historian and social critic. He earned a BA in mathematics at Cornell University in 1966 and a PhD in the history of science at Johns Hopkins University in 1971. Berman is an academic humanist cultural critic who specializes in Western cultural and intellectual history. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Patrick Fitzgerald Patrick is one half of the power duo Rizoma Field School. He's been a Spanish teacher for over a decade at both the high school and college levels in the United States. He has a BA in Spanish Teaching from the University of Illinois and my MA in Foreign Languages and Cultures from Washington State University. Along with different kinds of language instruction (formal grammar and/or immersion training), he's also taught Spanish language literature and art, and currently teaches AP Spanish Literature through Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. He almost got a hole in one once, and he used to be able to dunk.

On a very special Doomer Optimism we have three Twitter powerhouses on one episode! Chelsey Norman (@quachelsey), Willow Liana (@willlowthewhisp), and Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) mix it up about the modern housewife, RETVRNING, child-rearing, and the future of the home. About Chelsey Norman Chelsey, aka Kitchen Marm, is a mother of two and practitioner of the domestic arts in rural New England. About Willow Liana Willow is a professional social butterfly and mother of a wee babe whom she is raising in the Canadian countryside. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

This episode of Doomer Optimism sees host Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) chats with writer and philosopher Nina Power. The two discuss gender politics, the meaning of Doomer Optimism, and the definition of the "female" Chad. About Nina Power Nina Power is an English writer and philosopher. Power received her PhD in philosophy from Middlesex University on the topic of humanism and anti-humanism in postwar French philosophy, and also has an MA and BA in philosophy from the University of Warwick. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, hosts Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Jason Snyder(@cognazor) sit down with none other than the regenerative guru himself, Neal Spackman (@NealSpackman). For the regenerative landscape and farming folks out there, this is a high-powered episode filled with inspiring stories from Neal's work, as well as plenty of practical tips for participating in the regeneration movement. About Neal Spackman Neal Spackman is an internationally recognized pioneer of hyperarid agroforestries. He is now the Cofounder/CEO of Regenerative Resources https://regenerativeresources.co/ He was cofounder and Director of the Al Baydha Project in Saudi Arabia, where he lived and worked with tribes of bedouin to convert deserts into savannahs. He founded the webinar series Sustainable Design Masterclass, and has taught and consulted in the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

We discuss the Rhizoma field school, regenerative methodologies, larger paradigms of social change, small scale initiatives, unintended consequences, dual process theory, addressing macro scale issues, global trade futures, positive impacts of protectionism and localism, Ideology vs material interests, changing circumstances, community design principles (oblique approach), alienation inspiring self production, embodied experience, getting the framing right, action vs theory, holistic invisible hand, problem with subsidies, outcompeting industrial ag, and making farming fun again.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool), Jason Snyder(@cognazor), and Steven Morris (@lifesmyth) sat down with the incredible John Michael Greer, previous founder of the Archdruid Report and current founder of Ecosophia. Topics discussed range from regenerative futures to the collapse of industrial civilization. Doomer Optimists everywhere won't be disappointed with this one! About John Michael Greer John Michael Greer is a widely read author, blogger, and astrologer whose work focuses on the overlaps between ecology, spirituality, and the future of industrial society. He served twelve years as Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America, and remains active in that order as well as several other branches of Druid nature spirituality. He currently lives in East Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife Sara. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Steven Morris Steven Morris started his journey into Doomer Optimism in 2011 when during the time of a divorce he stumbled upon 3 of the many early doomer optimist voices: Chris Martenson's Crash Course, John Michael Greer's blog The Archdruid Report, and KMO's C-Realm podcast. These 3 identified the many issues of decline in the world that he could sense but didn't have words for. At the same time they all provided positive possibilities for the future. Steven considers himself an amateur Renaissance Man and Polymath of sorts with a wide variety of interests including, appropriate use of technology, regenerative systems, explorations in consciousness, alternative (sometimes called complementary) currency systems, computer technology, and complex systems. He has worked on multiple award winning independent films, managed warehouse logistics for a small business, run a college radio station and lead ecstatic dance workshops. He is a trained Host for Nora Bateson's People Need People gatherings. He currently generates income from running the audio visual technology behind corporate events and is working with the Commons Engine as the video editor for their upcoming Currency Design for Change Agents master class to be launched this spring.

On this episode a trio of hosts, Ashley Colby, Jason Snyder, and Josh Heling, have a chat with Gregory Landua, the Co-founder of the regenerative finance company Regen Network. Topics range from DeFi, ReFi, crypto and much, much more. About Gregory Landua Co-founder of Regen Network. He dwells humbly at the intersection of ecology, economics and technology. About Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Josh Heling Josh Heling and his family run Hidden Savanna Farm, a permaculture-inspired small farm in the countryside outside of Madison, WI whose mission is to contribute to its local food economy while connecting people to each other and the natural environment. He's spent the last eight years starting the process of converting 10 acres of overgrown woodland to a perennial food system supporting the farm's pastured poultry and sheep operations. Hidden Savanna also acts as a hands-on learning lab for a variety of educational enrichment programs for elementary and middle-school aged kids.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Tres Crow (@dogeatcrow) and Dr. Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) managed an international three-way call with Sean Dixon-Sullivan (@NextSuccession), the luminary behind Contour Lines. This discussion focused mostly on the importance and purpose behind permaculture, agroforestry, and the work Sean is doing in Guatemala. About Sean Dixon-Sullivan Sean is the founder of Contour Lines, a non-profit dedicated to transitioning rural communities to regenerative land uses. Through working grants to farmers, they help set up communities with reliable, sustainable sources of nutritious food, and the knowledge to steward the land. About Dr. Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Tres Crow Tres is making the world a greener place one urban space at a time with my friends Roots Down. He's a storyteller and marketing dude. He loves natural urbanism and climate justice.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Dr. Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Steven Morris (@lifesmyth) sit down with family, financial and legal expert Ali Katz (@thealikatz)for a conversation about leaning into the things that scare you most. An apt topic for these terrifying times. About Ali Katz Ali Katz is a family, financial and legal expert who works as a private advisor for families, small business owners, and inheritors of family wealth, in addition to running 3 of her own, purpose-aligned companies. As a trusted advisor, Ali supports her clients to make eyes wide open legal, insurance, financial and tax decisions, often providing interim CEO/CFO services to founders ready for their next level of expansion and evolution. About Dr. Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About Steven Morris Steven Morris started his journey into Doomer Optimism in 2011 when during the time of a divorce he stumbled upon 3 of the many early doomer optimist voices: Chris Martenson's Crash Course, John Michael Greer's blog The Archdruid Report, and KMO's C-Realm podcast. These 3 identified the many issues of decline in the world that he could sense but didn't have words for. At the same time they all provided positive possibilities for the future. Steven considers himself an amateur Renaissance Man and Polymath of sorts with a wide variety of interests including, appropriate use of technology, regenerative systems, explorations in consciousness, alternative (sometimes called complementary) currency systems, computer technology, and complex systems. He has worked on multiple award winning independent films, managed warehouse logistics for a small business, run a college radio station and lead ecstatic dance workshops. He is a trained Host for Nora Bateson's People Need People gatherings. He currently generates income from running the audio visual technology behind corporate events and is working with the Commons Engine as the video editor for their upcoming Currency Design for Change Agents master class to be launched this spring.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Dr. Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and Dr. Jason Snyder (@cognazor) sit down with Dr. Josh Kearns, an environmental chemist and engineer with a specialty in appropriate technologies for low-resource settings. About Dr. Josh Kearns My mission in life is to use environmental chemistry and engineering to understand and repair ecological harms and empower marginalized peoples. I'm a born-n-bred Appalachian and a native of West-By-God-Virginia and damn proud of it. I studied chemistry and environmental engineering at Clemson (BS), biogeochemistry at Berkeley (MS), and environmental engineering at CU-Boulder (PhD). I've spent years bumming around rural and remote communities in Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, India, Nepal, Ladakh, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, and generally tried to make myself useful while doing so. I'm the Director of Science for Aqueous Solutions, and the Chief Technical Advisor for Caminos de Agua, grassroots water and health development organizations in Thailand and Mexico, respectively. I taught environmental engineering courses at NC State University for a couple of years before returning to my roots as a freelance renegade scientist and exponent of ecological transition engineering. I live with my amazing wife Rachael and all our critters on a small mountaintop homestead in southern Appalachia. About Dr. Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. About Dr. Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Dr. Ashley Colby (@RizomaSchool) and returning guest William Wheelwright (@ploughmansfolly) chat with Tara Ann Thieke (@TaraAnnThieke), a homemaker, writer, and intellectual DO powerhouse on the state of modernity, spirituality, and what comes next. About Tara Ann Thieke Tara Thieke is a homemaker and writer. Her writing can be found at Mere Orthodoxy, Front Porch Republic, The American Mind and many more. About Dr. Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation. About William Wheelwright They're anonymous, soooo....

Ashley Colby is my guest on Episode 153 of Inside Ideas with Marc Buckley. Ashley is the Executive Director of the Rizoma Foundation. She earned her PhD in Environmental Sociology with a focus on household food production in the United States. Her dissertation was published as a book: Subsistence Agriculture in the US: Connecting to work, nature and community. It was in the process of completing her research that Ashley discovered the creativity in individuals creating diverse informal economies unnoticed by policymakers and politicians. Ashley is interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. Ashley is a qualitative researcher, so she tends to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. Ashley's focus has turned to Rizoma Foundation, where she seeks to accelerate local, decentralized networks of people who can get us to the next iteration of society, and fast. https://www.rizomafoundation.org/

Jim talks with Ashley Colby & Jason Snyder about the growing movement of Doomer Optimism. They discuss Ashley's coinage of the term, doomer optimism as an open-source structure of feeling, avoiding pathologies of despair & naive optimism, balancing philosophy with action, cosmopolitan localism, healthy skepticism, theory-of-change pluralism, building local capacity toward the meso-scale, the social … Continue reading Currents 049: Ashley Colby & Jason Snyder on Doomer Optimism → The post Currents 049: Ashley Colby & Jason Snyder on Doomer Optimism appeared first on The Jim Rutt Show.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, Dr. Ashley Colby (@rizomaschool) and Dr. Jason Snyder (@cognazor) have a wide-ranging convo with Eli Whipple (@whippleeli) and James Risberg (@jimmyris) that touches on DAO's, decentralized industry, and industrial eco-villages. About Eli Whipple Eli is an innovator and systems thinker designing business and production solutions at the intersection of automation, regenerative environmental stewardship, and meaningful opportunities for community contribution. As the founder of both New Power Industry and Ethanol Revolution, he leverages his background in business, toolmaking, and renewable energy to develop innovative technologies designed to bridge gaps in distributed manufacturing, incentivize local production, and drive beneficial outcomes for both the local economy and environment alike. About James Risberg James is a breather. About Dr. Jason Snyder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. About Dr. Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

On this episode of Doomer Optimism, hosts Dr. Ashley Colby (@rizomaschool) and Dr. Jason Snyder (@cognazor) interview the inestimable Tao Orion (@tao_orion) and get deeeeep into the weeds on the ecology of a homestead. This one is up there with episode 6 with Ben Falk of Whole Systems Design as one of the more practical episodes we've run this season. If you're interested in the ins and outs of maintaining your own ecological system, this is the episode for you. About Tao Orion Tao graduated from UC Santa Cruz after majoring in Environmental Studies with a focus on Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture. She participated in the 2001 Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at the UC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and received a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture. She received her PDC from Max Lindegger at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Australia in 2002. Tao holds a MSc in Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security at the National University of Ireland. Tao is the author of Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Perspective on Ecosystem Restoration (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015), and also “People as Purposeful and Conscientious Resource Stewards: Human Agency in A World Gone Wild” (Routledge Press, 2020). She is passionate about linking restoration with thoughtful design of human and non-human habitat. Tao currently serves on the Lane County Climate Action Planning Committee, as well as on the Planning Commission for the City of Cottage Grove, OR. About Dr. Jason Synder Metamodern localist | homesteading, permaculture, bioregional regeneration | meditation, self inquiry, embodied cognition | PhD from Michigan State University, faculty Appalachian State University. About Dr. Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

In this episode, Dr. Ashley Colby chats up poultry farmer and all-around great guy Josh Heling in what is his very first podcast appearance. Tres hangs around in the background, but has nothing of interest to add to the conversation, per usual. A survey of topics covered: getting over imposter syndrome in the homesteading movement, the meaning of Doomer Optimism, why an oak savanna is freaking important, and whether cottagecore is based or cringe. About Josh Heling Josh Heling and his family run Hidden Savanna Farm, a permaculture-inspired small farm in the countryside outside of Madison, WI whose mission is to contribute to its local food economy while connecting people to each other and the natural environment. He's spent the last eight years starting the process of converting 10 acres of overgrown woodland to a perennial food system supporting the farm's pastured poultry and sheep operations. Hidden Savanna also acts as a hands-on learning lab for a variety of educational enrichment programs for elementary and middle-school aged kids. Indoors, Josh has almost three decades of experience driving software product development as an executive and founder in organizations ranging from bootstrapped prototypes to VC-funded startups to scaled-up global enterprises. He is motivated by a passion for finding ways for network connectivity to unleash new opportunities for human collaboration and innovation. About Ashley Colby Ashley is an Environmental Sociologist who studied at Washington State University, the department that founded the subdiscipline. She's interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. She's the founder of Rizoma Field School and Rizoma Foundation.

Hosts Jo Firestone & Manolo Moreno play listener-created games with callers via Zoom!Games played: Top 3 submitted by Miya Saito, Shyamalan Travel Agency submitted by Tyler Boudreau from Greenwich, Connecticut, and Alexi Mall Game with rules by Alexis Kagel from Burlington, North CarolinaCallers: Michelle from Arvada, Colorado; John & Christine from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Brenna from Louisville, Colorado; Alexi from Washington, DC; Michael-Paul from Newcastle, Washington; Liv from Venice, Florida; Evan & Geo from Kenosha, Wisconsin; Katya from New Brunswick, New Jersey; Ashley & Colby from Honolulu, Hawaii; Levi from Brooklyn, New York; JJ from Dallas, Texas; Peter from Portland, OregonOriginal outro theme by Big HugeThis episode sponsored by: Magic Spoon - Go to magicspoon.com/GAMESHOW and use the code GAMESHOW to save $5 off!Green Chef - Go to GreenChef.com/gameshow100 and use code gameshow100 to get $100 off including free shipping!

Debates about reversing climate change can be understood as a tension between two groups: wizards and prophets.  According to Charles C. Mann, wizards are tech-optimists, those who believe that technology resolves more problems than it creates, that technology will save us from the climate crisis. It has advanced us this far, and it will continue to do so. Think of the innovations in alternative energy, such as wind or solar power.   On the other hand, prophets are more focused on how culture shapes our choices. They believe we need to live more within our means, exercise more humility about what we're able to control or even manage. For prophets, we face this climate crisis because of human hubris and the reality that we are taking more from the earth than it can give.   This is certainly a clarifying model for understanding the discourse around our perhaps most ubiquitous challenge in the twenty-first century. But what if there's a more productive middle way between these two perspectives?   Jeffrey Howard talks with Ross Kenyon, a cofounder of the Nori carbon removal marketplace where he serves as Creative Editor. He has had a varied career, working in an academic center and taking PhD coursework in political philosophy before switching to screenwriting and producing content. He currently leads Nori's creative media efforts, hosting their Reversing Climate Change podcast and producing the Carbon Removal Newsroom podcast.   Kenyon exemplifies a curiosity-driven approach to reversing climate change. He minimizes polemics or alarmist rhetoric, hoping that doing so will bring more voices to the climate crisis table. While he freely admits his communication style doesn't work for everyone, he believes we need this pluralistic vision to reversing climate change if we're going to have much success in reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.   A few questions to ponder. What role does literature or climate fiction have in convincing us of the urgency around the climate crisis? How bad are things now, and what will our failure to reverse climate change mean for geopolitical issues such as war, immigration, starvation, and drought? How do we get people with conflicting ideologies to work together toward shared problems, and what should we personally be doing to help reverse climate change?   Show Notes S2E48 - Reversing Climate Change Podcast - On Pragmatism and Climate Change w/ Jeffrey Howard (2021)   S1E107 - Reversing Climate Change Podcast - A Dedicated Introduction to Communitarianism w/ Jeffrey Howard (2019)   "Going Home with Wendell Berry" by Amanda Petrusich (2019)   Essays, 1993-2017 by Wendell Berry (2019)   Mary Oliver   Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver (2019)   The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann (2019)   Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013)   The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (2020)   On Liberty by John Stuart Mill (1859)   All Hell Breaking Loose by Michael T. Klare (2019)   "Treating Carbon Emissions Like Trash Collection Could Reverse Climate Change" by Paul Gambill (2018)   Ep. 16 Where Do Animals Fit Into Human Flourishing w/ Ike Sharpless (2021)   Ep. 11 A Small Farm Future w/ Chris Smaje (2021)   Ep. 9 Trust in a Polarized Age w/ Kevin Vallier (2021)   Ep. 8 Subsistence Agriculture During the Collapse of Industrial Capitalism w/ Ashley Colby (2021)

Answering questions about what it means for humans to flourish is difficult. Attempting any certainty as to what it means for nonhuman animals to flourish is even more confounding. And yet, these questions have significant overlap.   While some cultures have developed relationships that are responsive to the lives and needs of other animals, some communities—many stemming from modern Western traditions—have tended to view nonhuman animals more like resources. Materials to be managed or controlled for the primary benefit of humanity. From this perspective, the natural world is mechanical, passive, and speechless, seen as distinct from the human world.   But how might attending more to nonhuman perspectives and ways of being contribute to human flourishing? What, if any, moral obligations do we have to the nonhuman members of our particular communities and households?   Jeffrey Howard speaks with Ike Sharpless, a political theorist interested in animal ethics and the history of science and philosophy. He holds two master's degrees from Tufts University. One in law and diplomacy, the other in animals and public policy. In addition to earning a master's degree in political science from UC San Diego, he is also studying to receive his doctorate. He advocates for a more inclusive view of human nature that obscures the divisions between humans and nonhuman animals, inviting us to reflect more on the sensorial encounters we have with other living beings. He takes us on a freewheeling exploration into the challenging territories of animal flourishing, interspecies relationships, and how we might better accommodate nonhuman animals into our political and social systems.   Now some things worth considering. How confident can we be in our understanding of the inner lives of other animals? What are some tangible steps we can individually take to make right our relationships with other animals? Do nonhuman animals have moral agency? In what ways do other living creatures contribute to human wellbeing and what can we do to bolster animal flourishing?   Show Notes The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram (1996)   Why Look at Animals by John Berger (2009)   Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership by Martha Nussbaum (2007)   Primates and Philosophers by Frans de Waal (2006)   Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka (2011)   The Eye of the Crocodile by Val Plumwood (2012)   Animal Minds and Human Minds: The Origins of the Western Debate by Richard Sorabji (1995)   How Forests Think: Toward an Anthology Beyond the Human by Eduardo Kohn (2013)   "Alone in One of Nature's Threshold Places" by Derek Parsons (2020)   Ep. 8 Embracing Subsistence Agriculture During the Collapse of Industrial Capitalism w/ Ashley Colby (2021)   Ep. 7 Charles Peirce and Inquiry as an Act of Love w/ David O'Hara (2020)   "Politics and the Signs of Animal Life: Biosemiotics, Aristotle, and Human-Animal Relations" by Ike Sharpless (2016)

Can one person really change the world? No matter how many times we are told that ‘change starts with you', it's hard to believe that ‘little old me' can change the world when we feel like we're battling against governments and major corporations.    Ashley Colby is a badass who has studied social change, and is now living social change. She is an environmental sociologist who did her PhD at Washington State University, and in her book, she explores subsistence farming as a potentially revolutionary act. In her own words: “I am interested in and passionate about the myriad creative ways in which people are forming new social worlds in resistance to the failures of late capitalism and resultant climate disasters. I am a qualitative researcher so I tend to focus on the informal spaces of innovation. Before my current life I was once an itinerant overland international traveler, Chicago Tribune travel writer, and a long-haul, 18-wheel-driving trucker. I am now a mom to three beautiful girls, roommate to one husband (ha) and custodian to 2 cats, 2 dogs 2 cows and 5 chickens. I am now focused on doing anything I can to foment local, decentralized networks of people who can get us to the next iteration of society, and fast. The most urgent of these initiatives is a cooperative startup whose mission is to accelerate local economies (sulofair.com). You can find out more about my life and work in Uruguay at rizomafieldschool.com.”   In this episode, Ashley talks about collaboration, food production and the importance of a local community. She also has one of my favourite ‘calls to action' of all time. Listen in to find out more.   Let's get into it!

When it comes to resource management, there are two dominant forces that exert tremendous influence on who gets what: the market and the state. Sometimes these two entities compete or conflict. Other times they collaborate, and even conspire—to the great detriment of communities. Either can result in environmental exploitation, extreme inequality or poverty, erasure of culture and place, and invite an alienation that is generated by people having limited say in what happens to their communities.   Yet there remains a resource management system whose history runs deeper than either the market or the state—and that is the commons. Distinguished by its clearly demarcated membership, it is fiercely democratic and practices a more locally-oriented governance regime. A given resource is apportioned and stewarded by members according to norms they determine within their community. For the most part, neither the market nor the state are expected or encouraged to intervene. One is either a contributing member of the commons or they are not.   But if commons have such a rich heritage, then why have they become less prevalent in the United States and in what are considered "developed countries"?   Jeffrey Howard speaks with Neal Gorenflo. He is the executive director of Shareable, an award-winning nonprofit news outlet, action network, and consultancy focused on the latest innovations in resource sharing, the commons, and the solidarity economy. He is also the author of Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons (2018). In addition to the state and the market, he proposes the commons as a way to foster small-scale experiments to see what works best in any given community. This pragmatic approach to solutions is geared toward addressing needs more than trying to satisfy any particular ideology. As the saying goes, ideologies divide us, while needs unify us.   Now, looking further into the twenty-first century, what would it take for the commons to become a prevailing paradigm for resource management? What does a Sharing Cities approach to urban development look like? And what prevents a commons from being co-opted or captured by market or state forces?   Show Notes: A Year of Living Locally by Neal Gorenflo (2020) Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons by Neal Gorenflo (2018) Think Like a Commoner: A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons by David Bollier (2014) Shareable Ep. 11 A Small Farm Future w/ Chris Smaje (2021) Ep. 8 Embracing Subsistence Agriculture During the Collapse of Industrial Capitalism w/ Ashley Colby (2021) Ep. 3 Placemaking and the Benefits of Local Scale w/ Jaime Izurieta (2020) "Coops in Spain's Basque Region Soften Capitalism's Rough Edges" by Peter S. Goodman (2020) Mondragon Coop "A Land Value Tax Fosters Strong Community" by Matthew Downhour (2020) "The Tragedy of the Commons" by Garrett Hardin (1968) "All the Lonely People: The Atomized Generation" by Willow Liana (2020) Elinor Ostrom "Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action" by Elinor Ostrom (1990) "A General Framework for Analyzing Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems" by Elinor Ostrom (2009) "Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms" by Elinor Ostrom (2000) "Beyond Markets and States: Polycentric Governance of Complex Economic Systems" by Elinor Ostrom (2010) "America Needs to Build Strong Towns, Not More Infrastructure" by Jacqueline M. Kory-Westlund (2020)

Ashley Colby & Jim start this episode by talking about her book, Subsistence Agriculture in the US: Reconnecting to Work, Nature and Community. They cover Gemeinschaft vs Gesellschaft, Dual Process Theory, bottom-up change, arriving at paradox & the purist failure, creating social capital, food producer demographics & insights, modern industrial alienation, the value of shadow structures, the urban chicken … Continue reading EP122 Ashley Colby on Subsistence Agriculture → The post EP122 Ashley Colby on Subsistence Agriculture appeared first on The Jim Rutt Show.

“Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often.”  - Susan StathamAshley Colby Fitzgerlad's life is one in which passion meets purpose. She dared to take the road less traveled; the road that many of us only glimpse in bleary-eyed daydreams. To venture into the unknown, guided by a burning question of “What could be?” takes a leap of faith. It is an act that tests your resolve, questions your motives, grades on your patience, and thus, builds your resilience.With the burning desire to learn through the experience of living a life of sustainability and subsistence farming, Ashley and her husband purchased land in Uruguay while a trip volunteering with WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) with the intention of creating a life there.Ashley's academic background in subsistence food production in the US fanned her desire to immerse herself in a community that practiced this lifestyle at large. It is through this lens that she examines how lifestyle choices can address social and environmental problems.In this episode of The Regenerative Real Estate Podcast, Ashley tells a gripping narrative of what led her to Uruguay, the hardships encountered, and the endeavors she has taken on. From raising a family to starting the Rizoma Field School, Ashley's story is nothing short of extraordinary. Through her lived experience of regeneration, Ashley helps to put the pieces together on how sustainability is couched within social systems that can be drivers for positive change and transformation.To learn more about Ashley's work you can visit her new site SuLoFair or pickup her book Subsistence Agriculture in the US: Reconnecting Work, Nature, and Community.