Doomer Optimism

James Pogue describes his experience in Africa with Chris Mott and Ashley, including his experience getting detained in the Central African Republic, the role of empire and the United States in a deglobalizing world, and what this means for preparing for the future. James Pogue:  I’m a Contributing Editor at Harper’s, and write about national politics for Vanity Fair. I’ve written for The New York...

Simon @‌simoningall, Kara @‌karakara98, and Anarcho-Contrarian 2.0 @‌waysyoucanstay sit down to discuss building a local community. They work through the challenges of returning home again, new ways to build a community for the future, and different scenarios of how to build a community dependent on your neighborhood.

In this episode, Brendan (@brendangrahamd1)and Jason talk about the meaning of metamodernism and how it relates to permaculture, the interplay of various forms of meaning-making, and how it translates into a theory of change and pragmatic action. Brendan also talks about his work at the Sky Meadow Institute, a retreat center and permaculture homestead in Vermont Brendan Graham Dempsey is a writer,...

Ashley, Jason, Nate, and Josh host a panel and audience discussion as part of Limicon, a month long event bringing together different strands of the ‘Liminal Web’. Main themes include the sensibility and meaning of doomer optimism and the recent trend towards traditional religion as a response to the meaning and civilizational crisis

Andy and Keturah are exploring the possibilities of where to raise their future family. Ashley and Patrick, on the far side of 7 years in Uruguay, discuss the pros and cons, where to live, and why.

James Poulos joins Donald to talk about Tocqueville, McLuhan, Orthodoxy, and "the digital politics of spiritual war." James Poulos helps advance enterprises impacting American life in technological, spiritual, and political ways. He is the co-founder and editor of The American Mind at the Claremont Institute, the founder and editorial director of RETURN, acquired by Blaze Media, and the...

In this episode Jonathan and Jason talk about Jonathan’s relationship to the South, his Orthodox faith and Interest in Islamic history, anarcho-agrarianism, the commons, and his current efforts helping to catalyze urban community food forests in Chattanooga, Tennessee Food Forest Organization: chattanoogafoodforests.org Substack: https://jonathanparkesallen.substack.com Twitter: @‌Mar_Musa

Donald asked Ashley to sit down to think out loud about the pros and cons of continuing to devote time to podcasts, as both a creator and as a listener. Please feel free to weigh in on this topic in the YouTube comments!

A panel discussion talking about the brilliant book Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - how it relates to DO themes of agrarianism, relationship, religion, and much more

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.

Ashley invites Tim and Jordan to both share stories about their recent conversions to Christianity. We discuss the limits to rationality and the importance of relationship, place and people.

Nate and Jeffrey Bilbro of Front Porch Republic sit down and discuss agrarianism. Rather than simply a general term for rural life, they discuss the economic, philosophical and moral aspects of agrarianism that make it a holistic approach to human individual and social life, distinct from the overly ideological -isms of capitalism and communism that have dominated 20th century social and political...

This is a syndicated episode where Grin and Jackson invited Ashley on their podcast, Campfire, to talk about Doomer Optimism and where it intersects with their project, Cabin, building a network of modern villages. https://campfire-by-cabin.simplecast.com/episodes/37-homesteading-homeschooling-and-home-economics-with-ashley-colby-fitzgerald-and-grin Campfire is produced by Cabin, which is comprise...

We speak with founder and editor-in-chief of Low Tech Magazine , Kris de Decker, about his work since 2007 highlighting technologies of yesteryear, developing simple and low-cost energy systems to run his apartment and publishing, building un-hackable websites powered completely off of solar, and advocating demand-side management as a superior approach to sustainability. https://solar.lowtechmagaz...

Living Energy Farm is a pioneering off-grid project in central Virginia. They have developed relatively low-cost methods for taking advantage of solar energy in the form of passive solar-thermal systems for space heating and water heating as well as DC electricity. Their “DC microgrids” systems power household appliances and computers/phones, in addition to a wide array of hand tools and shop tool...

Tessa Carman and Ashley reminisce about their time at the Front Porch Republic Conference before moving on to discuss the educational and life philosophy of Charlotte Mason. Tessa Carman writes and teaches in Maryland. With J.C. Scharl in 2022, she translated the Old English vision poem The Dream of the Rood. Her writing can be found at tessacarman.wordpress.com. Here are a few pieces that may be...

Welcome to a special roundtable milestone episode of Doomer Optimism. Ashley, Jason, Donald, Josh, Simon, Nate, and Tres get together to reflect on the journey of the podcast, where it is at now, and where they and the podcast are headed next.

Join us in this episode as Ashley and Nate delve into reforming agriculture with Greg Gunthorp. Greg reflects on the evolution of agriculture and his dedication to reforming the industry alongside Ashley and Nate. Greg Gunthorp is a proud independent family farmer at Gunthorp Farms. With a deep-rooted commitment to sustainable and high-quality farming practices, Greg continues the family legacy of...

Ashley, Donald and Josh discuss what would happen in the case of a digital apocalypse and how to embrace lower technologies from landline phones to family poetry readings.

Tres Crow and Sim Gooder talk with Kevin Espiritu about Epic Gardening, food production maxing, inspiring your neighbours, critical mass of small-scale food production, and running a seed business in the age of the internet. Kevin Espiritu is the founder and CEO of Epic Gardening, the world’s most-followed gardening brand and online garden store. As a self-taught gardener, Espiritu has spent over...

In this episode Ashley and Jason have a conversation with Neal Gorenflo (@gorenflo ) and Daniel London (@dlondonwortel ) on the theme of solidarity and bioregional economies. Specifically, where the solidarity and bioregonalist movements intersect, blind spots of each, and where they can compliment each other to create a viable vision for sustainable and equitable economies moving forward. Neal Go...

In this episode Jason and Josh talk with Tom Murphy, author of the blog Do The Math, about the inherently unsustainable nature of modernity and the delusion of infinite growth on a finite planet. As part of this they discuss his early retirement from academia as a successful astrophysicist at the University of California, his growing interest in indigenous wisdom and lifeways, the long view of ear...

Nate is joined by Sam Knowlton to explore agroforestry and sustainable agriculture practices. In this episode, Nate and Sam challenge the conventional narrative that advocates for high-tech, high-input agriculture to feed the world. Sam is an agronomist and the founder of SoilSymbiotics, a regenerative agronomy company, as well as the forthcoming venture, Soma Farm Group. He has worked on the grou...

DO podcast alumnus Chris Smaje (@csmaje) returns to deflect eco-modernist criticisms of his agrarian vision laid out in “A Small Farm Future” and most recent book “Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future.” Specifically, we examine evidence for the claim that traditional/territorial food webs supply 70-80% of the nutrition people intake globally, and discuss what this means for the potential of small biodi...

painkillersTending Our Dead Ourselves with Joe Orso and Susan Nesbit Joe Orso talks to death doula Susan Nesbit about the many gifts that come with tending the bodies of our deceased loved ones at home. Their conversation covers home vigils, home burials, home funerals, washing the body after death, and how these practices have historically been done by families and communities, not professionals....