Episode 28 - Neal Spackman w/ Ashley Colby and Jason Synder

In this episode Jason speaks with Steven Stoll, the author of the excellent book Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia, about the history of land dispossession in Appalachia and the rise of industrial capitalism, manufactured dependency on wage labor due to land degradation or dispossession, The Whisky Rebellion, absentee land ownership and the initial squatters rights movement, coal towns and the how household gardens often served the interests of coal companies, a comparison of the experience of indigenous populations and early white settlers in losing access to land, his modern-day proposal for The Commons Communities Act and land reform more broadly, the potential of community land trusts, the broader international context e.g., modern-day land dispossession in Africa, and much more

9 Nov 20231h 3min

Donald and Joey talk to writer Jordan Castro about his new novel, the history of the Alt Lit literary movement, punk rock, and the Midwest. Jordan bio: Jordan Casto is the author of The Novelist (Soft Skull, 2022) and two poetry books. He is from Cleveland, Ohio.

8 Nov 20231h 32min

Brian Fink chats with Going Godward, offering a unique perspective on finding meaning in the chaos of life. Explore existentialism, spirituality, and optimism in this enlightening episode of Doomer Optimism.

2 Nov 20231h

The Weird Wild Wonderful World of Biochar – with Tom Miles, Kelpie Wilson, Myles Gray, and Josh What is biochar and why should we care about it? A roundtable discussion with veterans of the biochar world. Tom Miles –  TR Miles Consultants (ag and bioenergy) and US Biochar Initiative Kelpie Wilson – Wilson Biochar Myles Gray – US Biochar Initiative Josh Kearns – A Field Guide to Biochar Water Treatment Interest in biochar – “charcoal, with a purpose” – has been growing for 20 years. Biochar can enhance garden and agricultural soils and improve crop yields, provide a mechanism for drawdown and sequestering of atmospheric carbon, and provide a tunable engineered sorbent for a variety of water treatment and environmental remediation applications. In this conversation, we discuss contemporary innovations and developments for using biochar to tackle a variety of sustainability challenges. 2024 North American Biochar Conference February 12-14, 2024 Sacramento, CA

31 Okt 202358min

In this episode, Ashley and Jason talk with Michel Bauwens about his work developing ideas for a ‘cosmo-local’ society through the power of horizontal P2P networks, a reimagining of the commons, and crypto. Along the way they talk about ascending and descending civilizations, why he thinks we’re in a descending one, and what that potentiates in terms of reinvigorating local societies and provisioning systems through the power of superlinear collaboration networks Michel’s work can be found here: https://4thgenerationcivilization.substack.com/ https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Category:Civilizational_Analysis

26 Okt 20231h 33min

For decades, indigenous communities in the Amazonian region of Ecuador have been impacted by petrochemical exploitation and monocultural ag for export. They have suffered from pollution and associated ill health effects, economic insecurity, and encroachment on their traditional territories from roads, oil wells, pipelines, and industrial ag plantations. Grassroots groups such as Amisacho Restauracion and La Clinica Ambiental have been working with locals to develop permaculture and agroecology approaches to preserving rainforest biodiversity and deriving sustainable livelihoods. In this conversation we delve into the environmental history of region and the work of Lexie Gropper and Luis Munoz at Amisacho. For example, they have developed a system for climbing morete palm trees and other large trees in the rainforest to harvest fruit without needing to cut the trees down. They have developed equipment for processing morete palm fruits and other foraged items from the jungle into preserved foodstuffs, skin and health care products, essential oils and natural medicines. And they’re developing new approaches to making biochar for water treatment and soil amendment from local waste biomass that otherwise is burned for disposal.

24 Okt 202354min

Ashley speaks with Geoffrey, @‌longstoryfarms, about his adventures away from home, including time spent in Chile, and his moving back home to be a productive member of his community.

19 Okt 20231h 14min

Ashley and Feidhlim Harty of Ireland talk about ecological approaches to water, sewage treatment, constructed wetlands, and more. Feidhlim runs FH Wetland Systems - Creating Spaces for Nature. Find more info at: https://www.wetlandsystems.ie

17 Okt 20231h 9min