The Orbit

In the months before COVID-19 swept the United States, Salmonberry Goods supplied farm-fresh baked goods to cafes and markets across Seattle. Now their business looks a lot different - they've lost 90% of their wholesale market, had to close their cafes, and now are focused on delivering organic food items to folks at home. In this interview, we talk about what they're doing in uncharted waters, and the response in their community of small businesses and farmers. 

You can order from Salmonberry Goods at:  https://www.salmonberrygoods.com/

Elliott Cost makes unique, online experiences that foster a sense of community. Based in New York City, he recently launched a site called "special.fish", a slower-paced social media platform that feels like a collection of rich-text files masquerading as people. Each of his many projects have a simplistic surrealism that encourages the user to explore at their own pace - similar to how we poked through tumblr in the early 2010s. In this interview, we discuss his process, inspiration, and background in making websites using primarily html, css, and javascript.

Marisa loves Russian literature, so much that she is making her way towards becoming an expert. In this interview, we discuss which books to start with, how to make time to read, and what makes Russian literature so darn good. Marisa is also working on a podcast on the subject, so be sure to stay tuned for more!

Megan Saxelby has taught middle school for thirteen years and loved it. In this interview, she tells us that there is something wrong with how we think about teenagers, especially when it comes to offering them dignity. This concept, dignity, it what drives her own work as an advocate for people (young and old alike) to have the tools to manage their internal lives. Calling in from Austin, Texas, she tells us about how she is putting together pocket handbooks that we can fall back on in times of need. Check out more of her work at http://megansaxelby.com/.

Everyone is a curator, which is why I ask my friends to send me their "Best of" lists every year for a blog called "CultureBucket". In this episode of Finds, Amira and I walk through our top media picks from 2019, thus to clarify our own processes for finding, gathering, and sharing our favorite things.

The internet is a lot less weird than it used to be... or is it? In this episode, Amira and I investigate the past, present, and future of apps and websites that exist seemingly for small-scale personal enjoyment. Including mini-games, alternate realities, directories and more, we try to gather some inspiration for creating new projects with quirkiness, personality, and authenticity.

Amira loves to sew, and draws inspiration for various YouTube and Instagram channels. Connor, on the other hand, has no experience in this field whatsoever. So, in this episode of "Finds", Amira shares with us quality content from small businesses and bloggers who have a knack for making their own garments.

Lillian Karabaic seems to do it all, but assures us that once we get to know her, it will all make sense. Mainly, she hosts a radio show about personal finance for millennials. Drawing from her background in data, statistics, taxes, and more, "Anomalily" makes sorting out your bank account more approachable with a can-do attitude and... well... cats. We discuss how she works and what her goals are for her business and community. (YouTube: https://youtube.com/anomalily/, Podcast: http://ohmydollar.com/tag/podcast/).

In this episode, Amira and I gathered a sampling of cannabis tools and media on the internet. With legalization steadily making its way across the United States, along with the continuous growth of the internet, we found that there are many opportunities to reshape the way we think about cannabis. From influencers to libraries to stuff to watch when you're stoned, toke up and tune in for this week's finds.

Elliot Murphy is interested in systems, group cognition, and statistics - all of which tie into his security work at Kindly Ops. In this interview, we discuss what the layperson needs to know about staying safe online, with an emphasis on what to do /when/ you get compromised, as opposed to pretending that you can wholly prevent it.