Last Born In The Wilderness

In this collaborative interview with RS, we speak with Yoav Litvin, doctor of psychology, photographer, and writer. His work focuses on the roots of Zionism, trauma, and the policies and actions of the State of Israel and such influential organizations as AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), "a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of t...

Truthout senior editor and lead columnist William Rivers Pitt joined me for this episode. We discussed the federal investigation by former FBI Director Robert Mueller into Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russian foreign agents during the 2016 presidential election—an investigation that lasted for most of Trump's time as US president. Without buying into the media spectacle that has clouded l...

Kevin Tucker joined me to discuss his book The Cull of Personality: Ayahuasca, Colonialism and the Death of a Healer. The book takes a deep dive into the reality of the ayahuasca eco-tourism industry and places it within the centuries-long history of colonialism and resource extraction in Amazonia, in particular Peru, where much of the narrative of this book is centered. // Episode notes: https://...

Author, journalist, and political researcher Shane Burley returns to the podcast. We discuss the recent mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which an Australian white supremacist targeted Muslim worshipers at two separate mosques, murdering 50 people—the largest mass shooting in the nation’s history. We place this event within Burley’s larger analysis of far-right ideology and insurgency...

I speak with sociologist Milton Bennett, director of the Intercultural Development Research Institute and the creator of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, also known as the Bennett Scale. What is a cult in the literal sense, and what is culting? As can be observed in the hardcore base of support for leaders such as Donald Trump and other examples Bennett is very familiar with,...

Lecturer, activist, and author Bayo Akomolafe returns to the podcast. We pick up where we left off over one year ago and get into some of the major cruxes of his work, including radically reshaping the understandable, but often unexamined, sense of urgency we feel in a time of accelerating change and collapse as we fully enter into the Anthropocene, "the human epoch." // Episode notes: https://www...

Economist and cryptocurrency/blockchain specialist Alex de Vries joined me to discuss his research into the energy-consumptive cryptocurrency Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency in the world at the present moment. I asked de Vries to elaborate on how Bitcoin and blockchain work—particularly Bitcoin “mining” and transactions—his research into the disturbing amounts of energy required to keep B...

Alexander Koch joined me to discuss the groundbreaking new scientific paper, Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492, which he is a lead author of. As the title suggests, the research indicates that dramatic global climatological changes resulted from Indigenous peoples first contact with Europeans in the Americas in 1492—an event that resulted in ma...

I speak with Clare Farrell, co-founder and spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion (XR), a nonviolent international social movement that aims to drive radical change to minimize species extinction and avert climate breakdown. This discussion includes an overview of the principles and the proposed demands of this movement, the global implications of climate change and environmental disintegration and...

In my second joint interview with RS, we speak with Shane Burley​, journalist and author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How To End It. Our discussion covers numerous topics, including the "Intellectual Dark Web" (or, as Shane says, "the academics that circle around Joe Rogan​ for some reason"); the pseudoscientific claims surrounding race, ethnicity, and IQ; and an examination of observable patt...

In this episode, I speak with independent political analyst Eric Draitser. He expands upon his analysis of recent events in Venezuela, expressed in his piece in CounterPunch, Trump’s Coup in Venezuela: The Full Story, in which he lays into the recent decision by the Trump Administration to back “interim president” Juan Guaido as the rightful leader of the nation. Eric Draitser defines the celebrat...

I speak with Michael Laufer, chief spokesperson for the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective. Four Thieves is a network of individuals that seeks to make commonly inaccessible medicines affordable and accessible to the public. We tackle the ethics behind the project, the anticapitalist/anarchist structure of the network, and the various DIY technologies the Collective has been able to make more afforda...

Indigenous artist, activist, and author Gord Hill—also known as Zig Zag—joined me for this episode. He has authored and illustrated numerous books and graphic novels, including the excellent The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book and The Antifa Comic Book. A major theme that runs through this discussion is the recognition of the growing intersection between traditionally Eurocentric leftist politi...

In this joint interview, RS and I speak with Dahr Jamail, investigative journalist and the author of The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption. After meeting Dahr for his book release at Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon, we sat down with Jamail to discuss his journey writing this book. // Episode notes + video: https://www.lastborninthewilderne...

I speak with Dean Spillane-Walker, author of The Impossible Conversation: Choosing Reconnection and Resilience at the End of Business as Usual and the host of The Poetry of Predicament podcast. We pick up where we left off from our first discussion on The Poetry of Predicament: how to approach a more sane and connected means of discussing our "predicament-laden times" in the face of radical social...

I speak with Dr. Karla Tait—clinical psychologist, Director of Programming for the Unist'ot'en Healing Center, and member of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in so-called British Columbia, Canada. I asked Dr. Tait to bring us up to speed on the details surrounding the recent incursions into Wet'suwet'en Territory by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on January 7th; the legal dimension of this...

I’m joined by Trebbe Johnson, author of Radical Joy for Hard Times: Finding Meaning and Making Beauty in Earth's Broken Places. We discuss how in a "world devastated by human interaction and natural disaster—from clearcutting and fracking to extreme weather and urban sprawl—creating art, ritual, and even joy in wounded places is essential to our collective healing.” // Episode notes: https://www.l...

I speak with writer, lawyer, and environmental activist Will Falk. In 2014 and 2015, he spent a great deal of time at the Unist’ot’en Camp, part of the Wet’suwet’en Nation (in so-called British Columbia). We place Falk’s activism and insights about his time at the camp within the upheaval currently unfolding there. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), on January 7th, breached the borders of W...

I speak with anarchist and writer Peter Gelderloos. He is the author of numerous books, two of which we examine in this interview: How Nonviolence Protects the State and Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation. // Episode notes + transcript: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/peter-gelderloos // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness /...

I speak with Professor Siniša Malešević, Full Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University College in Dublin, Ireland. Professor Malešević is the author of numerous books, including The Rise of Organised Brutality: A Historical Sociology of Violence and the upcoming Grounded Nationalisms. We discuss his research into the historical formation of nationalism in the modern era and how the moldi...

I speak with Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute and one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. We examine his recent essay, Our Bonus Decade, in which he examines the role peak oil played in the 2008 financial crisis and what the long-term consequences will be of the fossil fuel industry’s transition to unconventional...

In this episode, I speak with Alley Valkyrie and Rhyd Wildermuth, co-founders of Gods & Radicals Press and the hosts of the Empires Crumble podcast. We discuss the recent widespread civil unrest in France—dubbed Les Gilets Jaunes, or the Yellow Vest movement in the Anglophone world—a response to President Emmanuel Macron's decision to implement a fuel tax hike in France. They provide needed contex...

I speak with Dezeray Lyn, an activist, street medic, and co-organizer of Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR), a "national network made up of many eco-activists, social justice activists, global justice activists, permaculturalists, community organizers, and others who are actively organizing around supporting disaster survivors in a spirit of mutual aid and solidarity." // Episode notes: https://www...

I speak with Stephen Siff, Associate Professor of Journalism at Miami University and the author of Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience. We get into the US news media's role in the promotion and, in particular, the "hype," of psychedelic drug use in the 1950s and '60s—initially by prominent public figures and the intelligentsia and eventually the wider population more gene...

In this episode, I speak with Michael Sliwa—author, former educator, and “one of the foremost speakers on simple living.” My discussion with Michael addresses the traps of modernity, including work, consumerism, and settler-colonialism. I asked him to describe the path he has taken to move further away from the center of Empire in an attempt to liberate himself from false needs and excessive wants...