Eating Cake

R and N discuss a variety of things: the U.S. election being fewer than two weeks away, how media and advertising industry,  how the ad industry affects  our states of mind, the politics of respectability, how being respectable benefits those in power, and how the current social and  political climate can rob us of of our creativity and of a vision of a  better future. We also discuss why BLM is essential and how BLM connects  to the saying of "an injury to one is an injury to all." The Alice in Wonderland image is a nod to Ruth's background on Skype. 

What is COVID teaching us at this time? R and N discuss what they have learned about the world during COVID. This discussion stems from a conversation that N participated in where a Native elder called COVID "the great teacher." They also discuss the American obsession with prolonging life, disrespecting the land, and the so-called American healthcare system. We discuss why we named the podcast Eating Cake that includes a tiny history lesson and end the podcast reflecting on Teddy Roosevelt and his worry about change being dangerous, but delaying change is fatal. Shout out to our overseas listeners: Norway, Brazil, Ireland, Australia! We love you! 

Correction: When discussing Theodore Roosevelt, N mistakenly says the 18th century. It should have been the 1800s.   Also, when discussing activism and being a "change agent," N means to address burning out on individualized activism, not collective action. More to come on that later. 

R and N reflect on Indigenous Peoples' Day, reflect further on land acknowledgments,  talk about their own ancestry, what it means to them to be indigenous, and reflect on the power of naming.  "Name the word, name the world!"  

Sources cited in the podcast:

Real Rent Duwamish: https://www.realrentduwamish.org/

Paolo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed

bell hooks' Love as the Practice of Freedom

Cornel West's Race Matters

Cover Picture: Ferns are some of the oldest plants. We honor the land and recognize some of our oldest ancestors and relatives by seeing the fern. 

R and N start out with a long overdue land acknowledgement, discuss the importance of caring and being in community together, Maslow's hierachy of needs and its indigenous roots, vampires and zombies, and the decadence of the political realm.  N ends with reading a passage from Clark Strand's latest book, Now is the Hour of Her Return.  Jai Kali Ma! 

Podcast References:

Psychology Today article - The Blackfoot Nation (Canada) and its direct influence on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201903/original-influences 

Correction in the Podcast  Discussion: N mistakenly attributed the Hierarchy of Needs to the Iroquois Nation.  See the above article

Clark Strand's Now is the Hour of Her Return: https://wayoftherose.org/now-is-the-hour-of-her-return-poems-in-praise-of-the-divine-mother-kali/

R & N discuss various strategies they use to stay sane, answer listeners' questions, discuss "Trump Derangement Syndrome," and why they aren't listening to the debate tonight. 

R and N discuss the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, discuss the U.S. as a failed state, and examine politics as a form of spellcasting.  We had fun with this episode and made fun of the current absurdity of life in the United States.

What does protests, the quarantine, and the wildfires have in common? R and N discuss the West Coast fires and its impact on an ecological level, a psychological level, and a spiritual level. We discuss wildfires, protests, and the quarantine as part of a planetary initiation into a different state of consciousness - both on the individual and collective levels. 

Articles and other sources referenced in the podcast:

The Intercept: Mass Extermination Method for Iowa Pigs Amid Pandemic: https://theintercept.com/2020/05/29/pigs-factory-farms-ventilation-shutdown-coronavirus/

NPR: How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled:  https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled

Book: Recovering a Sense of the Sacred - Conversations with Thomas Berry: https://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Sense-Sacred-Conversations-Thomas/dp/0988392801

Extinction Rebellion: https://extinctionrebellion.us/

R and N start off with an update about the recent news about Julian Assange. The episode takes a quick turn into environmental politics, activism, Celtic mythology, being indigenous, and the politics of genocide. We even briefly touch upon the connection between electoral politics, the politics of being "respectable," and violence. 

Ruth and N. introduce the podcast, why they decided to start a podcast, and what listeners can expect in the near future.