Lifepod

Tek! What is it, where does it come from, and what on Earth does that goofy “k” imply? On this episode of Lifepod, I consider what this little chunk of language has taught me about how knowledge is developed and shared, and how practices born in guerrilla mycology might help us more effectively organize shelter and mutual care in our communities. Terms and topics mentioned in this episode: - “ LRH...

On this week’s Lifepod, researchers Susana Caló and Godofredo Pereira join me to discuss their new book “CERFI Analysis Everywhere,” and the history of that organization’s experiments in collective psychotherapy in the France of the 1960s and ‘70s. Starting from CERFI’s advocacy for a dynamic understanding of "institutions" as processes rather than static structures, we cover everything from the t...

Cassie Thornton of the Feminist Economics Department drops by to discuss the Hologram — a framework for viral, peer-to-peer care she developed following a visit to post-Crisis Greece, and which people all over the world are currently using to make themselves “harder to fuck with.” We talk about the Hologram works, how to start one for yourself, and how to access the resources that are available to...

Kentucky-based artist Dianna Settles joins us for a conversation about her work. We discuss what inspires the remarkable specificity in her paintings — as well as the people she doesn’t want collecting them, the mistakes first-time farmers make, the type of book one may wish not to read while nursing, and the making of a life worth living. Terms and topics mentioned: - Dianna’s own paintings, draw...

I welcome Chris Smaje to Lifepod, to discuss his book Finding Lights in a Dark Age , an exploration of what he sees as the need for a transition from mostly urban to mostly rural “sustainable livelihood communities.” Chris shares his journey from academia to small farming in Somerset —highlighting the challenges involved in balancing high-complexity modern technology with local autonomy. We discus...

I talk to two members of the Pirate Care collective, Valeria Graziano and Tomislav Medak, about their book of the same name . In addition to the concept of "pirate care" itself, we discuss the historical and contemporary significance of the pirate figure, the criminalization of care, the inspiration we can take from the Four Freedoms of the free software movement, the notion of “queer kinning” and...

Host Adam Greenfield welcomes you to Lifepod with an overview of the show’s themes and central concerns, rooted in his book Lifehouse: Taking Care of Ourselves in a World On Fire (Verso, 2024). In this episode, we consider the Occupy Sandy mutual-aid effort in New York City in 2012, and what it might have to teach us about surviving our era of climate-system collapse with values of dignity, invita...