Tristan and Alex examine how work and creativity shape our lives, from time spent at a feel-goodery factory to the experience of arranging your own mother's funeral. They ask whether wealthy and poor people face the same struggles and why healthcare remains tied to a 40-hour workweek. The episode includes two recorded poems by Debasery (A Friend of Yours Has Other Friends and Luxury Lobotomy), a story from Alex about anarchy in action, and reflections on how nostalgia, free time, and past employers influence what drives us to keep going, make art, or step away. We sample Tristan's track Economic Fear from the album Ambient Distress, you can hear the full version on Bandcamp. All transition music is by Fat Kneel, also on Bandcamp and used with permission.

Fat Kneel - https://fatkneel.bandcamp.com

Tristan - https://tristanwelch.bandcamp.com

Debasery - ig: @debasery

Maybe today we remember pets or animal companions that have touched us deeply. Perhaps today we live in honor of them. We remember the way they made us feel, or moments we shared both beautiful and tragic. We are so lucky to have animals around us all the time, working alongside us to keep this ball rolling up the hill.

At this moment, let us recognize that perhaps even Sisyphus had a companion. Is this artistic license yes, but one must imagine Sisyphus happy, no?

Good morning world. Today we all have choices, what shall we do with those choices? And if you know someone who doesn't have access to choices, let's start there.

Every moment is an opportunity to connect. Every interaction with the world, be it an exchange of smiles, a quick glance, or a hello. Even the breath you take in from our beautiful mother earth and return to her carbon dioxide, an interaction that is perfect, simple, beautiful and so automatic. It is done without purposeful thinking, but the magical flip side of that is when we deeply think of this exchange with mindfulness, we are granted insight beyond our wildest dreams, provided we do it often and be respectful of the knowledge and wisdom bestowed on us.

We choose love over fear because, pleasure over pain, connectedness over isolation. And if you dig deep, past all the garbage that has been brought to you that you have turned into, a beautiful and wonderful existence, if you dig deep past all those layers of progress, achievements, triumphs and treasures, you don't have to choose love is the default, it is natural, it is where everything emanates.

All that pain, all that uncertainty has been brought to you to try and motivate you, but now you don't need it. The knowledge that pain exists is enough but to understand how deeply it is rooted in what we call the human experience is beyond clear and we must work to help those in pain.

You don't have to choose love, it's always there. You have to turn it off sometimes or re-direct it, not turn it on. Pleasure is what we feel all the time when we want to and it is impossible to isolate yourself, you are sharing this world at all times with everyone you know. So, you know what, give someone a call, text or check in on a video chat. Life is short and there is so much to be done.

His specialties include phenomenologically informed sociology of knowledge, pre-k to 12+ education, astrology, Tarot, dream analysis and more generally helping traumatized children and adults.

His educational background includes doctoral credits in sociology from Brandeis University and a masters degree in elementary education from U/Mass, Boston, And everything he does is informed by a 6th sense which became active during his 12th year of life.

Debasery is a very nice writer and multi-media artist from South Florida who recently moved from Brooklyn, NY to Portland, OR (whoah). Their most recent poems and visual art can be found in Ethics, exquisites, SCAB, Moral Crema, and forthcoming in Lurch Zine and Post No Bills. Their first short film, "Wisdom in the Land of Fort Lauderdale," is available on Vimeo. You can find them irl hosting a reading series called Intrusive Thoughts. ig: @debasery

You can find more about Charles on Quora.

His specialties include phenomenologically informed sociology of knowledge, pre-k to 12+ education, astrology, Tarot, dream analysis and more generally helping traumatized children and adults.

His educational background includes doctoral credits in sociology from Brandeis University and a masters degree in elementary education from U/Mass, Boston, And everything he does is informed by a 6th sense which became active during his 12th year of life.

This is a call to everyone:

I wonder if you listen to these, wondering or longing? I wonder if you listen to these with even a glimmer of desire to participate?

Ivan Himanen:

Born in Helsinki in 1987 to a Finnish father and Russian mother.

Learned to draw before he learned to walk.

Once spent an afternoon playing violin in the streets because he didn't have enough cash for an ice cream.

Moved to New York City in 1993 and has dwelled there ever since.

Studied fine arts at LaGuardia High School, architecture at The Cooper Union, and cities & technology at The Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

Believes in technique, adaptability, patience, storytelling, that touching cold stone or dry wood will never cease to delight, and that no single person has the power to build a community.

Hello there, what are you waiting for? We NEED your poems for this to work. Work...get it? This is a podcast, that at this moment in time and space (right here, right now) is focused on poems, about work and labor. We are pleading with you to participate. [email protected]. The stakes are high.

From Merriam-Webster, the etymology.

Old English werc, weorc "work, activity directed toward accomplishing something"

Middle English, from Anglo-French labur, from Latin labor; perhaps akin to Latin labare to totter, labi to slip — more at SLEEP