Solacene

This is a conversation about what makes the proposed metaverse ("a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual and augmented reality headsets") so awful and terrifying, especially when viewed through the principles of degrowth. The episode ends on a positive note, with a discussion of our 'SDGs', or Solacene Degrowth Goals,...

Various aesthetic qualities of degrowth have been growing in popularity, especially during the pandemic, through Internet subcultures like 'cottagecore' and the overall rise in activities like gardening and baking. These niches can be considered extensions of the age-old genre of art known as 'pastoral'. This episode features a discussion about the relationship between art and degrowth, and how it...

This week we debate two controversial subjects in the degrowth community: degrowth and innovation, and the circular economy's role in a degrown future. Buy the zines, sign up for field notes, or contact the hosts: www.solacene.org

Movements are made up of individuals becoming exemplars. Degrowth, while typically defining a collective social perspective, can therefore be a useful guide for individual behaviour. This episode sees us discuss how we can best embody degrowth in our own lives, as well as in an idealized 'degrown' Internet. We also continue our discussion on the potential environmental benefits of degrowth via spe...

Sustainability, in every sense of the word, is a core tenet of degrowth. This episode features a discussion of the environmental alternative degrowth proposes to the current paradigm of extraction and waste, as well as a look at the social and psychological unsustainability of modern mass media. Buy the zines, sign up for field notes, or contact the hosts: www.solacene.org

Today, some of the most affluent and technologically-advanced societies in history are suffering widespread ennui, especially among younger people. This episode discusses some of modernity's negative impacts on our individual and collective psyche, and the various ways degrowth could help. We also share some of our favourite degrowth-adjacent movements, ideologies, and concepts. Buy the zines, sig...

The home/school binary (or for adults, home/work) seems to be becoming more rigid and all-consuming as the generations pass. Gone are the days of kids hanging out unsupervised on the street all evening, for which our parents so wistfully pine. In this episode, we discuss how a variety of learning structured and unstructured learning environments is key to degrowth education, as well as how degrowt...

To continue our series within a series on transportation and education, we answer the question of how can we adapt existing infrastructure to be more walkable. We also ask what should students learn at home vs. in school in the ideal, degrown, future? Buy the zines, sign up for field notes, or contact the hosts: www.solacene.org

Are we on track to a sustainable future? This week we answer questions surrounding how transportation will change in a sustainable, Solacene, future. We also introduce the topic of education in relation to degrowth in creating free, moral, and informed citizens. Buy the zines, sign up for field notes, or contact the hosts: www.solacene.org

Politics should be a representation of the collective will of the people, a discourse featuring an all-encompassing variety of voices. So why are 'career politicians' so prevalent? In this episode, we address the pros and cons of a government full of people who stay in office for decades. We also describe the imagined aesthetics of a food-sovereign neighborhood in the Solacene. Buy the zines, sign...

Food sovereignty, a more nuanced concept semi-adjacent to food security, is a central illustration of how degrowth can redesign culture and economics. This episode features a discussion of the merits of decentralizing food. We also talk about how current systems incentivize the wrong types of politicians, and how structures of currency and trade can be tweaked in interesting ways. Buy the zines, s...

Proponents of degrowth vary in their visions of the power and purpose of the ideal state. In this episode, we outline some common ideas as well as our own opinions regarding a degrown government. We also discuss the pros and cons of a UBI, and continue exploring the impact of commodification on individual autonomy. Buy the zines, sign up for field notes, or contact the hosts: www.solacene.org

This discussion features a critique of the systems of work, leisure, and education that discourage mindfulness. What would systems that promote mindfulness look like? We connect this conversation to the 'great resignation' and also to true cost. Buy the zines, sign up for field notes, or contact the hosts: www.solacene.org

To celebrate and accompany our semester of podcasts all about degrowth, we are releasing a handmade zine on the topic. To learn more about it, follow the link below to our online storefront. https://www.solacene.org

We begin the semester of degrowth by asking ourselves what are the problems that can be solved by degrowth. The discussion spans environmentalism and the various types of alienation that we see in modern society, and is capped off by projections for how bad things can get. Is degrowth a distant inevitability? Buy the zines, sign up for field notes, or contact the hosts: www.solacene.org

Solacene is a project about merging activism and imagination- envisioning and discussing a perfect future to aim towards. We attempt to solve real-life environmental and social issues through research, art, and fantasy. The podcast is structured in 'semesters'- long series of episodes centred around a particular theme. Our first theme is degrowth. This episode is a brief introduction to the concep...