Planet: Critical

You know when you have one of those conversations that manages to crystallise feelings into thoughts and direction?

This is one of those.

I am so thrilled to present Linda Havenstein as this week’s guest, a phenomenal artist who explores and tests both capitalism and language through her incredible work. We delve deep into the irony of the art market, the profound terror of creating within a capitalism regime, and dispel the long-told myth of the suffering artist.

It was a gift to speak with Linda, and I’m honestly humbled to share it with you all today. Listen here or catch it on either Apple or Spotify.

Treat yourself to Linda’s work here. She also has an ongoing exhibition at Kiz Windows in Berlin, and simultaneous shows September 17th to 19th at Berlin’s Unblock Fair Art Fair; Stockholm’s Market Art Fair; and Amsterdam’s Unseen Art Fair. Keep your eyes peeled for her solo show at Dorothee Nilsson Gallery in Berlin January 21 to March 5 next year.

Platform is for people who are pissed off with capitalism. Subscribe to get episodes like this delivered to your inbox every week.

Indonesia recently announced exciting news, the sighting of two Javan rhino calves in Ujung Kulon National Park, the last place on Earth where the critically endangered species is found.

The new additions bring the estimated population of the species to 73; conservationists have recorded at least one new calf a year joining the population since 2012.

Listen to a June 2021 report published at Mongabay.com about this news via this episode of Mongabay Reports, which shares evergreen articles from Mongabay.com, read by host Mike DiGirolamo.

This episode features the popular article, "Two new Javan rhino calves spotted in the species’ last holdout."

Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.

If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!

See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay.

On this week’s show is Will Evans, co-creator of Ignition Brewery, the UK’s first brewery and taproom bar staffed exclusively by people with learning disabilities. Will explains that his colleagues were typically offered jobs that kept them hidden in back rooms or storage centres—but Ignition Brewery has successfully shown that his colleagues exceed in everything, from public facing roles, to managing the bar and making the beer.

This is a wonderful story of community, be sure to check it out. You can also listen on Apple or Spotify.

Visit Ignition Brewery in Lewisham or online.

Platform is for people who are pissed off with capitalism. Subscribe to get episodes like this delivered to your inbox every week.

Often called a panacea, 'tree planting' is a hot topic but it can fail when too little thought goes into it, so the guests on this episode reframe the practice, saying that 'tree growing' ought to be the focus of reforestation programs.

'Right tree, right place, right community” is the approach taken by Trees for Climate Health that guest Erin Axelrod directs, whose approach ensures that the dozens of projects it is implementing currently (and its overall goal to grow over 10 million trees by 2025) are appropriate to the areas, likely to succeed and survive, and benefit local communities. 

We also speak with freelance environmental journalist Mike Tatarski who recently filed a story about Vietnam’s plan to plant a billion trees by 2025. Tatarski tells us about the impetus and goals of this nationwide effort, Vietnam’s long history of supporting tree planting, and more.

Articles discussed:

• ”How to pick a tree-planting project? Mongabay launches transparency tool to help supporters decide”

• ”‘Drastic forest development’: Vietnam to plant 1 billion trees — but how?”

Look for episode 119 of the Mongabay Newscast to hear our discussion of reforestation trends and issues with Mongabay staff writer Dr. Liz Kimbrough, who helped develop the new Reforestation Directory and app that rates such projects: Reforestation.app.

Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.

If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!

See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay.

This week I’m joined by British filmmaker, Marc Silver, whose documentaries demand deep investigation into culture, society, and the self. Marc is well-known for 3 1/2 minutes, ten bullets, a documentary which told the story of Jordan Davis’ murder in 2012 and invites viewers to better understand their own relationship to race and judgement.

We discuss this film, his upcoming project about extractive capitalism as understood through Amazonian ayuahasca ceremonies, and the power that storytelling has to invite change, nurture growth and demand better.

This is a powerful interview, do not miss it. You can also listen on Apple or Spotify.

Platform is for people who are pissed off with capitalism. Subscribe to get episodes like this delivered to your inbox every week.

On this week’s episode is Chiara Ciccarello, an Italian artist based in Germany, who joined me to discuss the fascinating Discuvry project, a home she built with her husband out of wood found on the streets of Berlin. After an arson attack—rumoured to have been coordinated by the landowner—shut down the space they’d been living in for years, Chiara and Yuki began travelling the world, showcasing Discuvry and what can be achieved when you take life—and home—into your own hands.

Chiara’s website: www.ciccaboom.com

Platform is for people who are pissed off with capitalism. Subscribe to get episodes like this delivered to your inbox every week.

During the past year's pandemic and lockdowns, spending time outdoors has been soothing for many--whether found outside our homes, in parks, or via nature documentaries--and in some ways it was a meaningful reset.

Both human health and conservation benefit when we spend time in nature, so today we're discussing reconnection for kids and adults: what we know about its beneficial effects, how a movement to connect with nature is growing globally, and what this means for conservation.

Our first guest is author Richard Louv, who coined the phrase ‘nature deficit disorder’ and wrote the 2005 book that introduced the concept, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, in order to facilitate discussion of the human cost of alienation from the natural world. Louv discusses the international movement kicked off by the book, what the latest research says about the connection between nature deficit disorder and a variety of physical and mental ailments, and how the pandemic shifted the public's views on nature. 

We also welcome to the show educator Megan Strauss, co-editor of Mongabay Kids, which provides kids, families, and educators with content that helps raise awareness of environmental issues and fosters an appreciation of plants, wildlife, and wild places. She shares the philosophy behind the site and the great variety of activities available there, plus her point of view on nature connection from her home region of Australia.

Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.

If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!

See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay.

On this week’s episode is housing activist and all-round Leftie, Gordon Maloney. One of the founding members of Living Rent, Gordon has campaigned for a fair and equitable housing market for years, growing Living Rent from a campaign to a red-blooded organisation with thousands of members all over the U.K.

Gordon joins me to discuss the future of British politics, The Left, and what fighting the housing battle has taught him about community, organising, and politicking.

Despite his humble objections, you might just be listening to the future Scottish First Minister…

Watch this episode here. You can also listen on Apple or Spotify.

Check out Living Rent here.

Platform is for people pissed off with capitalism. Subscribe to get episodes like this delivered to your inbox every week.

Wildlife researchers often use motion-sensing cameras, also known as camera traps, to study animals in the wild. However, these are usually positioned at ground level, leaving a diverse world of animals unexamined: those that dwell in the trees above.

Camera traps set in trees in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park captured 35 different mammal species over a 30-day period, including a rare Central African oyan, a small catlike mammal that had not previously been documented there.

Mongabay Reports is a new series that shares evergreen articles like this from Mongabay.com, read by host Mike DiGirolamo. This episode features the popular article, "Camera traps in trees reveal a richness of species in Rwandan park." 

Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to have access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.

If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!

See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching for @mongabay.

On this week’s episode is author, journalist and financial hacker, Brett Scott. Brett’s work centres around analysing and developing new monetary systems (stay tuned for a blistering review of crypto), whilst also campaigning for the bits in ours that aren’t broken (did you know cash is crucial to a democratic society?)

Brett’s specialism is phenomenally interesting in a world being devoured by capitalism. It was an honour to pick his brain about money and its impact on society, and I highly recommend you make time for what he has to say.

Watch this episode here. You can also listen on Apple or Spotify.

Subscribe to Brett’s newsletter: www.alteredstatesof.money

Platform is a newsletter and podcast for people pissed off with capitalism. Subscribe to get episodes like this delivered to your inbox every week.