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. Alley and Rhyd provide needed context to what is currently unfolding there, tying cultural, historical, and broad economic trends in France and Europe to make sense of this movement.

// Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/valkyrie-wildermuth

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In this segment with Dezeray Lyn — activist, street medic, and co-organizer of Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR) — I ask her to discuss the fundamental differences between grassroots disaster relief efforts (as demonstrated by MADR), and those done by large-scale federal government agencies and charity organizations, in providing supplies and services to disaster-stricken communities. We need to take heed of successful direct actions made by networks like MADR in providing communities with a model in which to adequately anticipate, prepare for, and recover from these widespread disasters, especially as government agencies repeatedly fail to address the reality of our current predicament in any meaningful and helpful way. The socioeconomic relationships imposed under global capitalism and State has failed to adequately provide the resources and organizational structures required to face our collective predicament. As our global climate system becomes increasingly disruptive, we must look to nonhierarchical organizational models based on mutual aid, like MADR, in demonstrating how to proceed into our uncertain future.

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief is 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. MADR is a decentralized network, defined by the character and creativity of a multitude of communities and drawn together by the collective commitment to stand in solidarity with those impacted by disasters and turn the tide in favor of climate justice. Recent events have shown that the effects of climate change are not distant fears, but current realities. From historic flooding in Louisiana to Hurricanes Matthew, Harvey, Irma, and Maria we need each other more than we ever have before. Immediately after floods and other disasters, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief listens to affected community members and responds with supplies, work crews, and amplifying the grassroots community-led initiatives that blossom following disasters.

Learn more about Mutual Aid Disaster Relief here: https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org

This is a segment of episode #161 of Last Born In The Wilderness “Solidarity Not Charity: Mutual Aid Disaster Relief; A Factor Of Evolution w/ Dezeray Lyn.” Listen to the full episode: http://bit.ly/LBWmadr

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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.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/dezeray-lyn

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// Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

In this segment 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 U.S. 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 generally. We also get into the Nixon Administration's role in instigating the War on Drugs, and the role the US media played in propagandizing the government's agenda regarding the prohibition of psychedelic compounds and cannabis.

The media has played a major role in the “branding” of psychedelics and cannabis, both in a positive and negative light (depending on the time, and the context of their legal status). As Stephen examines in his book and in this interview, the initial coverage of LSD and other psychedelic compounds was initially very positive, with media outlets “hyping” the use and potential applications of these substances, effectively branding the psychedelic experience as a countercultural phenomenon. Along with this, Stephen discusses the other role the U.S news media has played in our popular perceptions of these substances. Leading up to the eventual criminalization of these substances under the Controlled Substance Act in 1970, the news media shifted its coverage of these substances, playing into the Nixon and successive administrations’ propaganda campaign to demonize and stigmatize psychedelic and drug use more broadly.

Stephen Siff, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Journalism and the author of ‘Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience,’ an account of mainstream media’s introduction of new drugs and new styles of recreational drug use in the 1950s and 1960s. His research as a journalism historian examines news coverage and government propaganda about illegal drug use and drug users during the latter half of the twentieth century. He has also published research in Journalism History and Newspaper Research Journal.

Learn more about and purchase ‘Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience’ here: http://bit.ly/AcidHype

This is a segment of episode #160 of Last Born In The Wilderness “Don't Believe The Hype: The Media, Branding Psychedelics, & The War On Drugs w/ Stephen Siff.” Listen to the full episode: http://bit.ly/LBWsiff

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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 media's role in the promotion—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 generally. We also get into the Nixon Administration's role in instigating the War on Drugs and the role the US media played in propagandizing the government's agenda regarding the prohibition of psychedelic compounds and cannabis.

// Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/stephen-siff

// Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

// Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Trying a new thing. You can now drop me a line and leave a message at this number: (208) 918-2837

More details when you call.

In this segment of my conversation with author, former educator, and “one of the foremost speakers on simple living.” Michael Sliwa, we discuss the traps of modernity and the path Michael has taken to move further away from the center of Empire in an attempt to liberate himself from false needs and excessive wants, in turn learning to live much more simply, nomadically, and communally.

In particular, what we discuss is that in spite of this worthy effort, privilege plays an enormous role in an individual’s ability to move away from the destructive nature and impact of this industrial culture, and as Michael addresses in this episode, the recognition of this fundamental aspect of living within a society forged in settler-colonial values and maintained through the socio-economic imposition to “make a living” informs this effort in more ways than can be initially understood. The false sense of security careers and material accumulation brings in a culture bereft of community and land-based consciousness is something worth addressing and overcoming in spite of this, especially in the face of widespread ecological disintegration and abrupt climate disruption — a result of this imposition to “make a living” regardless of the long-term consequences. Michael and I get at the worthiness of the effort to liberate oneself of false needs and wants, and what interesting paths await those that make the leap toward personal responsibility and deep recognition of the role privilege plays in the maintaining of the illusion of stability and prosperity in this society, in light of the devastating impact this logic has had on the living systems of this planet — in which we are inextricably tied to.

Michael Sliwa is the author of 'Chasing A Different Carrot: A Manifesto For The Predicament Of Privilege’ and is one of the foremost speakers on simple living. He and his wife Karen are former educators who left behind their careers and most of their worldly possessions in order to pursue a life of genuine connectivity. Learn more about Michael’s work at his website: https://michaelsliwa.wordpress.com

Watch Michael’s new video project ‘Another Way’: http://bit.ly/MSanotherway

This is a segment of episode #159 of Last Born In The Wilderness “The Privilege To Leave: Stepping Away From The Center Of Empire w/ Michael Sliwa.” Listen to the full episode: http://bit.ly/LBWsliwa

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In this segment of my discussion with Lee Camp, we discuss a subject he frequently touches on in his show ‘Redacted Tonight,’ and in his recently released comedy special ‘Super Patriotic Very Uncle Sam Comedy Special Not Allowed On American TV’ — his first comedy special in over four years. What value does voting actually have in generating real political change? Lee goes over the various ways our voting process in the United States is fundamentally flawed, from the fact the U.S. is an oligarchy — not a democracy, the fact that most votes are recorded in black box voting machines owned by private companies, and the many instances of illegal voter purges and gerrymandering across the country, just to name a few.

In Lee’s newest comedy special, no stone is left unturned. Covering a wide, but ultimately connected, series of subjects, Lee digs deeply into our contemporary political, environmental, and cultural predicament, uncovering the root of our “inverted moral universe” with the skill of a veteran comedian and political commentator. In this discussion, we get into Lee’s process in crafting comedy, his ability to deliver sobering truths about the state of things in 2018 America, all while empowering his audience to recognize the collective power we have in the face of the bleak reality we find ourselves in. Considering how much is at stake, what role can comedy play in disseminating truths (cutting through the bullshit narratives promulgated by the corporate press) while empowering individual and collective action in the face of seemingly hopeless conditions?

Watch his new special ‘Super Patriotic Very Uncle Sam Comedy Special Not Allowed On American TV’ and use the code “UNCLE SAM” to get a discount: https://www.leecampcomedyspecial.com

Lee Camp is the head writer and host of the national TV show ‘Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp’ on RT America. He’s a former contributor to The Onion, former staff humor writer for the Huffington Post, and his web series ‘Moment of Clarity’ has been viewed by millions. He’s toured the country and the world with his fierce brand of standup comedy, and George Carlin’s daughter Kelly said he’s one of the few comics keeping her father’s torch lit. Learn more about Lee and his work: https://leecamp.com

This is a segment of episode #158 of Last Born In The Wilderness “Super Uncle Sam Very American: Crafting Comedy In Our Inverted Moral Universe w/ Lee Camp.” Listen to the full episode: http://bit.ly/LBWcamp

WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com

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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, in turn learning to live much more simply, nomadically, and communally.

// Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/michael-sliwa

// Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

// Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast

Stand-up comedian and political commentator Lee Camp joined me to discuss his new comedy special, Super Patriotic Very Uncle Sam Comedy Special Not Allowed On American TV—his first comedy special in over four years. We discuss such topics as the value of voting under a corporate oligarchy, our “inverted moral universe,” and the far-reaching implications of the recently revealed sealed indictment against WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange by the United States Justice Department and the threat this case poses for press freedoms under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

// Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/lee-camp

// Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

// Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast