Upstream

Unemployment is down and the stock market is up. So we're in a recovery, right? Many politicians & economists would like us to think that, but in this Conversation, Professor Richard D. Wolff explains how this couldn't be farther from the truth. Not only is the recession that started in 2008 far from over, but we might actually be witnessing the collapse of capitalism as we know it. Professor Richard Wolff studied economics at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. He is the author of the recent book Capitalism's Crisis Deepens, the founder of Democracy @ Work, host of the radio program Economic Update, and is currently teaching at the New School University in NYC.

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

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Greece was all over the news in 2014 and 2015. You might remember hearing about the new radical left party Syriza, the referendum, the violence in the streets, the German banks, the flamboyant finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. So what happened? Mistrusting the mainstream narrative coming from western media outlets, and suspicious of the abrupt end of most news coverage we decided we'd travel to Athens and see for ourselves what was going on in the aftermath of the tumultuous events which have been building up over the last few years in Greece. From the streets of Athens with our host Yianni Litovchenko from Alternative Tours of Athens, to the apartment of the Greek activist Maria Scordialos, to the economic analysis of James K. Galbraith, to the Refugee Accommodation and Solidarity Space City Plaza. Join us. Featuring: ​ Maria Scordialos - Greek activist and co-founder of The Living Wholeness Institute James Galbraith - American economist, founding DiEM25 member, and advisor to Yannis Varoufakis Yianni Litovchenko - Member of the Alternative Tours of Athens cooperative Margarita - Volunteer at the Refugee Accommodation & Solidarity Space City Plaza ​ Music: ​ The Rembetika Hipsters A. Kostis (Thanks to Olvido Records)

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Maria Scordialos is a Greek activist, co-initiator of The Art of Hosting, and founder of the Living Wholeness Institute, which runs the Axladitsa retreat and workshop center. We spoke about the Greek debt crisis, her experience living in Athens before, during, and after the referendum, gentrification and inequality, and her experiences working with governments.

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

James K. Galbraith is an advisor to former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. He is also a founding member of DiEM25, an economist who writes often for the popular press, and a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. We spoke about the Greek debt crisis, inequality, and U.S. politics.

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Raising animals for food is often cited as being one of the drivers of the ecological crisis we're in. But does it have to be? Meet Jesse McDougall, one of the farmers behind Studio Hill Farm in Vermont. He and his wife Caroline are part of an exciting movement known as carbon farming. We spoke with Jesse about the concept of regenerative agriculture and explored some of the politics and economics behind modern day farming in the United States. What is carbon farming? Or regenerative meat? Ever wonder what mob grazing is? And since when do farmers propose bills to Congress? Tune in to find out. Intermission music by Will Oldham. And thank you to our contributing team member Mark J. Phillips for recording and hosting this one.

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Liz Zeidler is the Co-founder and Director of Happy City, an organization in Bristol, UK which is about giving people more of what we all want, but that our current economic system fails to give us: happiness. We interviewed her for part 3 of our 3-part series "Welcome to Frome"

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

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You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Peter Macfadyen is the radical council member and previous Mayor of Frome. He is also the author of Flatpack Democracy, a DIY guide to creating independent politics. We interviewed him for our 3-part series "Welcome to Frome". Parts of this interview are featured in the series.

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett are the authors of the book The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. The Spirit Level not only changed the way we understand and view inequality, it inspired the creation of The Equality Trust, an organization that works to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic inequality. We interviewed them for our 3-part series "Welcome to Frome". Parts of this interview are featured in the series.

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

In this final episode of our 3-part series, "Welcome to Frome", we explore possible futures for the small Somerset town of Frome. ​ In this episode, we'll talk to some of the leading experts on why GDP and economic growth are flawed measures of wellbeing. Then we'll travel to a small kingdom in south Asia, an indigenous village in the sierras of Peru, and the headquarters of Happy City in Bristol. We'll talk to the visionaries of new cultural paradigms. and ask them to reveal the secrets of happiness and wellbeing that are hidden right beneath our noses. How can Frome adopt a wellbeing strategy that helps to further the movements we discussed in episode 1 and which begins to bridge the divides we explored in episode 2? There's no simple solution, but we hope that this series will provide some food for thought in towns and cities like Frome all over the world. Featuring: Ha Vinh Tho PhD - Program Development Coordinator of GNH Centre in BHutan Martin Whitlock - Businessman, author, Co-Founder of StopGDP.org Inez Aponte - Founder of Growing Good Lives Martin Kirk - Co-founder of The Rules Liz Ziedler - Co-Founder of Happy City Richard Wilkinson - Co-author of The Spirit Level Maria Scordialos- Co-Founder of The Living Wholeness Institute Annabelle Macfadyen - Co-organizer, Home in Frome Music by: Molly Murphy (a million creatures) Annabelle Macfadyen Frome Street Bandits Theme music by Lanterns (Robert Raymond & Molly Murphy)

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

In this second episode of our 3-part series, "Welcome to Frome", we explore the darker history of the small Somerset town of Frome. ​ In this episode, you'll meet more Frome residents, more politicians, local historians, experts in the field of inequality, and a filmmaker. We'll tackle some timely topics and ask some difficult questions. What are the scars left from thirty years of closing factories and cutting government services? How do these scars reveal themselves in our hearts and in our communities? Is it possible to bridge the economic, social, and psychological divides that carve up our societies? If it's possible, then how do we do it? Featuring: Des Cornish - Born and raised in Frome John Payne - Local historian and author Annabelle Macfadyen - Co-organizer, Home in Frome Bob Ashford - Chair of Trustees, Fair Frome Sam Phripp - Somerset District Councilor Richard Seymour - Marxist writer, broadcaster, and activist Joseph Choonara - Spokesperson, Socialist Workers Party Richard Wilkinson - Co-author of The Spirit Level Kate Pickett - Co-author of The Spirit Level Katharine Round - Director of the film The Divide Music by: Molly Murphy (a million creatures) Annabelle Macfadyen Frome Street Bandits Theme music by Lanterns (Robert Raymond & Molly Murphy)

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.