In a side episode, the Crew was invited to partake in a bookclub with friends Mike and Dan.  The book is Eula Biss’ Having and Being Had.  The selection of this book came out of conversations about the discomfort with homeownership.  The book, told in 2-3 page chapter vignettes, brings out the contradictory experiences in living in late capitalism.  This discussion aimed at the first 2 sections: consumption and work.

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song Captain Jack by is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.

Nadir masterfully adds harmony to Bob’s enthusiastic but moribund version of Kansas’ Carry On You Wayward Son.  The brothers then discuss Halloween costume ideas (both influenced by different TV shows but landing on similar ideas).

They introduce the theme of season 8: the 9 practices of Valerie Kaur’s revolutionary love.  They will discuss each one in turn as it shows up in their lives.  The revolutionary love compass outlines the 3 domains (love for others, opponents, and self) and levels of revolutionary love.  

In episode 1, the Crew delves into love for others at the personal level, which is wonder.

Wonder is about curiosity and openness, and the brother ask each other about their first memories of being wonderstruck and the most recent experiences of wonder.  They end with some deeper reflections on wonder and love.

Stone Face

The joke that got Bob, “A giraffe eating cherries.”

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

The brothers muse on what turning 40 means (it's the day before Bob’s birthday). The show is in the Matrix white room (in-between seasons).  So the Crew does a big ol’ fashion tuned-in episode and share what TV, movies, music, sports, and podcasts they’ve been into.

TV

Dave: Sex Education (Netflix)

Upload (Prime)

Bob: Reservation Dogs (Hulu)

Sweet Tooth (Netflix)

Books

Both: Having and Being Had by Eula Biss

Movies

Dave: Kicking and Screaming (1995) with mention of Eric Stoltz being the original Marty McFly!

Bob: Freaks (2018)

Sports

Old Hoss Radbourn

Greatest shot in WNBA history

Music

Bob: Videoclub (French band)

Dave: Lofi chill out 

Podcast

Both: 60 Songs that Explain the 90s

Bob: For the Wild with Ayanna Young

Quatschen

Total Recall (1990 & 2012): Give These People Air

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song, Bach's Goldberg Variations is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.

Dave discusses plans for Hispanic Heritage month, which reminds Bob to ask Dave about his journey to major in Spanish in college and then how that has played into Dave becoming a teacher.  Within that story Dave brings up the interesting question of whether to wear an embroidered shirt (tune it as writing makes it seem mundane!).

Dave asks Bob about the 60 Songs That Explain the 90s podcast. With 19 songs left, Bob and Dave chat about some possibilities for them. 

The main topic of the episode is concluding the season on its last episode. After naming the episodes and the brother’s lists, the Crew synthesizes 3 themes from the season: 

1. Unplug from the dominant culture

They go on to discuss how to do the work of building another world in really rough times, (e.g. in a pandemic, with capitalism killing the earth, with a rising authoritarianism.  And why do this work? It gives us life, change can come quickly, and another world is for everyone. 

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

The brothers catch up and start with Dave’s first week of school.  Dave says he has been trying to integrate quietness, stillness, and reduce anxiety (a la Brene Brown).  He led a birthday line-up ice-breaker with 50 4th graders, which you had to see to believe.  Bob is still in summer mode but also thinking about returning to a UCSC campus that is not really prepared for the Delta variant.

The Crew wants to host their valiant editor to the show and take your questions for Nadir.  Please contact us with them or put them on this google doc!

The main topic of the show is learning from the Occupy movement 10 years later (Occupy Wall Street started September 17, 2011).  The brothers give the background on Occupy and then delve into some lessons learned in terms of another world being possible.  

Start of book club Having and Being Had by Eula Biss this week Sept. 6.  Join us!

Wearing a facemask is an act of love poster: https://community.amplifier.org/art/act-of-love/

Aviva Romm: https://avivaromm.com/ 

Quick Fix

How should Dave turn off the UV light for his class’ bearded dragon? Answer: see if there’s a custodial or other employee that can join in on the mutual aid! (And ask a vet exactly how much light they need.)

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song, Bach's Goldberg Variations is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.

The Crew addresses the long delay between recording.  Don’t worry everyone, we still love Thriving.  The summer has been busy indeed, and the brothers discuss the places on earth where marriage proposals seem to happen.  They discuss the new Cleveland baseball team nickname.  And end the chit-chat on Dave’s move into his new co-housing.

The main topic of the week is around the question of whether it is possible to hack capitalism.  In other words, can capitalist tools be used to undo capitalism?  The Crew starts this question by laying out what capitalism is and what it does to people and the world, and whether capitalism can be reformed or is revolution needed.  The brothers believe revolutionary change is needed, however what revolution looks like for the majority of people in the world has led to more complex thinking.  This leads to the concept of revolutionary reforms which the brothers develop.

Dave presents the “credit card hack (scam).”  Dave discusses how to use the deals that credit card companies give people to gain the benefits and then get out.  The Crew discusses where this falls on the revolution vs. reform discussion.

References:

Revolution or Reform

Reformist Reforms vs. Abolitionist Reforms

Quick Fix

How can I watch the Olympics without a TV?  Use friend’s log-in to Xfiniti. 

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song, Bach's Goldberg Variations is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.

The brothers are joined by Bob’s new cat, Teddy Bear.  They discuss introducing kittens to a new home (with Teddy mewing in the background).  Dave theorizes that we do things for 4 reasons: to make money, because we love it, for others, and to do something new; and then asks Bob why he does the podcast.  Lastly, they let listeners know that they are working on a new podcast with friend Dan C that will take sports on in a critical way.

The topic for the week is what is art’s role in building another world?  Bob draws on his research on artivism, which Chela Sandoval describes as art in the service of changing the world.  He makes the point that we can all be artists because art is more of a way of approaching the world than an elite skill. 

This reminds Dave of when the brothers started a collective called Artist for Justice within the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center many years ago.  Dave loves the idea of art as creation and reflects where he feels creativity.  

Beehive Collective

Opera by Eric Oh

Quick Fix

How can we spend less time scrolling on our telephone?  Put your cellphone in a drawer and leave it there.  Do that for an hour a day.

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song, Bach's Goldberg Variations is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.

The brothers are blessed to have friend Dan, the Lynx of the Rocky Mountains, on the show.  They start by discussing the intersection of basketball, culture, soccer, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and gender relations. 

The main topic is whether another world of sports is possible?  What kind of sports world do we want?  The Crew shares their perspectives on what can be done to confront the cisheteropatriarchal dynamics in sports. 

Box score from Seattle Supersonics @ Los Angeles Lakers on Nov 27, 2007, a month after the first episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians aired.  In this game rookie Kevin Durant played against Khloe Kardashian ex-partner Lamar Odom.

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song, Bach's Goldberg Variations is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.

The show starts with Dave sharing that he recently had to sell his chicken which brought some unexpected thoughts.  Bob reflects on the last week of his school year teaching at Zoom U.

For the show today, the Crew takes from the movie High Fidelity and the book Read and Riot by Nadya Tolokonnokova (of Pussy Riot) to make their Top 3 list with the category: Making Another World Possible.

Dave’s list:

1. Unplug (from the world)

Bob’s list

1. 1. Find a radical documentary and watch it.  Even better, watch it with friends.

• Go to a demonstration.

Quick Fix

If you hear faint dripping in your walls after doing dishes, what should you do?  Call your supe or plumber!

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song, Bach's Goldberg Variations is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.

Bob sings the show in with one of Dave’s favorite songs from 1998.  Then, a Thriving first: Dave makes a big announcement about one of our friends.   Dave reflects on celebrating our mom’s birthday with a killer bike ride.  After this, Dave tells a perfect Seinfeld story that just happened to him.  Bob describes his first vacation in 17 months, a trip to Mendocino, in the Green Triangle.  

The topic of the week is the Zapatistas, the revolutionaries in Chiapas who live the praxis of “another is possible.”  They start the episode asking the question, “how did it come to be that Dave found himself living in Chiapas for 6 months in 2018-19?”  The Crew gives a background on the Zapatistas over the last 30 year. They then discuss their trip to Oventic, the 6th Zapatista Caracol.

Wobblies and Zapatistas

Quick Fix

How can we have better mornings? Answer: Think more about the night before and the day after. Have a bed time routine and some structure the next day.

Contact info

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @BMaze19

IG - Thriving_In_Dystopia

Website - https://thrivingindystopia.com/

TikTok - @davepeachtree

Deep appreciation to In Heaven by Drake Stafford for our intro song, Bach's Goldberg Variations is the new outro, the prolific and enigmatic Joe Shine for the thumbnail art.   Big thank you to Nadir Čajić for editing this week’s show.   Finally, we are indebted to the wonderful Chris Sawyer for funding and creating our new website.  Thank you, Mix.