Historian and author Betsy Gaines Quammen returns to the podcast to discuss her new book, True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America, published by Torrey House Press. Building on her previous book, American Zion, Gaines Quammen follows the historical roots and trajectories of troubling political trends in the Western United States, decoupling the myths and material realities of the landscapes and the peoples and the more-than-human lives that occupy them.

Betsy Gaines Quammen is a historian and writer. She received a PhD from Montana State University where she studied religion, history and the philosophy of science. Her dissertation focused on Mormon history and the roots of armed public land conflicts occurring in the United States. She is fascinated at how religious views shape relationships to landscape. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, and the History News Network. She is the author of American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God, and Public Lands in the West and True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America. Betsy lives in Montana with her husband, writer David Quammen, three giant dogs, a sturdy cat, and a lanky rescue python.

Episode Notes:

- Purchase a copy of True West from Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3TjfJfM

- Learn more about Betsy and her work: https://www.betsygainesquammen.com 
- Music produced by Epik The Dawn: https://epikbeats.net

WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

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

SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com

BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast

DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop

EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

#354 | True West w/ Betsy Gaines Quammen

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This is a segment of episode 362 of Last Born In The Wilderness, “Tourism Is A Prism: Cultural Homelessness & The Consequences Of Hypermobility w/ Chris Christou.” Listen to the full episode: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/chris-christou

Learn more about The End of Tourism and subscribe: https://www.theendoftourism.com / https://chrischristou.substack.com

Chris Christou joins me in this winding discussion to explore the subjects and themes raised in his phenomenal podcast, The End of Tourism, described as “a project about the deep causes and consequences of tourism, wanderlust, spectacle, exile,” and “an invitation into the local resistance and resilience movements in the face of each of these things.” In my discussion with him, Chris reflects on the historical moment he chose to begin this project: during the earliest waves of the global pandemic, at a time when global tourism effectively collapsed.

“[Locals] are also now experiencing this sense of, what is home? Where is my home? Am I a homeless person within a place that apparently has all this culture? So, that’s arrived, and that’s there. Part of the dilemma for local people, that largely goes unnoticed, is that it’s not new. It’s not five years old. It’s been around for a while, and it’s just now becoming noticeable to people, and because of the cathartic short-term memory of twenty-first century society, culture, or people, there is an unwillingness and inability to recognize what’s gone unrecognized. And I think that in order to understand the patterns in all this and the way the light shines off that prism, and see what’s to come, we have to be able to understand what we couldn’t see 10 or 20 years ago, and understand why we couldn’t see it. So, suddenly, it’s all here; the dilemmas are in our face now, but nobody is willing to ask how it got this way because then they might actually be implicated in how it came to be, and then they might actually be responsible. And I don’t mean guilty; I’m not talking about guilt. I’m talking about our ability to respond to what’s happened and what’s to come.”

Chris Christou is a writer, educational curator, and activist. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, he moved to Oaxaca, Mexico in 2015 after a decade of delirious wanderlust. In 2016, Chris began concurrently working in and writing about the tourism industry, founding Oaxaca Profundo, a deep learning organization focused on food culture and radical hospitality. In 2021, alongside friends and strangers, he organized and launched the End of Tourism Podcast. He is the author of a book of poetry entitled the Black Braid of Memory, as well as forthcoming books on the psychedelic culture, the unauthorized history of tourism, and radical hospitality. Finally, he is a student of all things chocolate and cacao-related.

WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

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

SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com

BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast

DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop

EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

Chris Christou: The Consequences Of Hypermobility

Lydia Pelot-Hobbs and Jack Norton, co-editors of the collection The Jail is Everywhere, join me in this interview to discuss the “quiet jail boom” in numerous counties across the United States. They examine how the county jail has become the preeminent site of the adaptive, expansive, and shapeshifting carceral state, as well as the local and nationwide struggles to end it.

The Jail is Everywhere: Fighting the New Geography of Mass Incarceration is edited by Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, Jack Norton, and Judah Schept, with contributions by, and interviews with, numerous anti-jail organizers across the United States. It was published through Verso Books.

Lydia Pelot-Hobbs is an Assistant Professor of Geography and African American & Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky, and author of Prison Capital: Mass Incarceration and Struggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana.

Jack Norton is Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Governors State University, and was a senior research associate at the Vera Institute of Justice. He conducted research for the In Our Backyards initiative and investigated how counties across the United States use their local jails.

Episode Notes:

- Learn more about The Jail is Everywhere and purchase a copy from Verso Books or Bookshop: https://bit.ly/49YrCMS / https://bit.ly/4dsnTuf

- Read an excerpt from the book at The Baffler: https://bit.ly/4aT8VeU

- Music produced by Epik The Dawn: https://epikbeats.net

WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

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

SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com

BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast

DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop

EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

#363 | The Jail Is Everywhere w/ Lydia Pelot-Hobbs & Jack Norton

Lydia Pelot-Hobbs and Jack Norton, co-editors of the collection The Jail is Everywhere, join me in this interview to discuss the “quiet jail boom” in numerous counties across the United States. They examine how the county jail has become the preeminent site of the adaptive, expansive, and shapeshifting carceral state, as well as the local and nationwide struggles to end it.

Support the work and listen to the full interview: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

TEASER: The Jail Is Everywhere w/ Lydia Pelot-Hobbs & Jack Norton

This is a segment of episode 361 of Last Born In The Wilderness, “To The Trees: Diversifying Tactics To Defend The Sacred w/ Eleanor Goldfield.” Listen to the full episode: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/eleanor-goldfield

Learn more about To The Trees and how to watch: https://tothetreesfilm.com / https://eleanorg.gumroad.com

Journalist and filmmaker Eleanor Goldfield joins me to discuss her documentary To the Trees, which documents humankind’s relationship to the sacred Redwoods and the tactics tree defenders use to protect old-growth forests from the clear-cutting practices of the lumber industry. In our discussion, Eleanor disputes the claims made by the industry of practicing sustainable harvesting practices in the Pacific Northwest, and how it is part and parcel of a larger global effort by extractive industries to greenwash ecologically destructive practices in the name of sustainability and the "green energy" transition.


Eleanor Goldfield is a creative radical, journalist and filmmaker. Mutual aid and community organizing are cornerstones of Eleanor’s work and personal life, informing both her journalistic and artistic projects. Her written and photojournalism has appeared in independent publications across the U.S. and internationally. She is one of the 2020 recipients of the “Women and Media Award” presented by The Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press. Recently, she released her first solo EP, titled “No Solo,” after more than a decade fronting the political hard rock band Rooftop Revolutionaries. Her recent documentary film, To The Trees covers forest defense tactics in Northern California and our relationship to nature. Her first documentary Hard Road of Hope covers the radical history and present struggles in West Virginia and has been widely acclaimed. Currently, Eleanor is the co-host and associate producer of the Project Censored Show, and co-host of the podcast Common Censored along with Lee Camp.


WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

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

SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com

BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast

DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop

EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

Eleanor Goldfield: Diversifying Tactics To Defend The Sacred

Chris Christou joins me in this winding discussion to explore the subjects and themes raised in his phenomenal podcast, The End of Tourism, described as “a project about the deep causes and consequences of tourism, wanderlust, spectacle, exile,” and “an invitation into the local resistance and resilience movements in the face of each of these things.” In my discussion with him, Chris reflects on the historical moment he chose to begin this project: during the earliest waves of the global pandemic, at a time when global tourism effectively collapsed.

Chris Christou is a writer, educational curator, and activist. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, he moved to Oaxaca, Mexico in 2015 after a decade of delirious wanderlust. In 2016, Chris began concurrently working in and writing about the tourism industry, founding Oaxaca Profundo, a deep learning organization focused on food culture and radical hospitality. In 2021, alongside friends and strangers, he organized and launched the End of Tourism Podcast. He is the author of a book of poetry entitled the Black Braid of Memory, as well as forthcoming books on the psychedelic culture, the unauthorized history of tourism, and radical hospitality. Finally, he is a student of all things chocolate and cacao-related.


Episode Notes:

- Learn more about The End of Tourism and subscribe: https://www.theendoftourism.com / https://chrischristou.substack.com

- The song featured is “64” by Nick Vander from the album Relatives, used with permission by the artist. Listen and purchase at: https://nickvander.bandcamp.com

WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

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

SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com

BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast

DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop

EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

#354 | True West w/ Betsy Gaines Quammen

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