In today’s episode, Ariel chats with Joseph Brannan about sustainability workshop series at the Kitchener Public Library, unionizing library workers, and bringing solarpunk into the sustainability conversation.

Links:

• Everyday Permaculture by Anna Matilda
• Waterloo Region Nature
• Building for people : designing livable, affordable, low-carbon communities by Michael Eliason
• Low Tech Magazine article
• Reep Green Solutions
• Article on the neighbourhood effect and solar panels

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We like to think that a rising tide lifts all boats. But, according to Stanford University historian Dr. Walter Scheidel, wealth and income inequality have almost always only grown drastically toward the maximum level a society can sustain in times of peace and prosperity. Instead, as he outlined in his book The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century, true leveling of inequality between, for example, the rich and the poor, has almost always happened as a result of exceptionally catastrophically violent events that take the lives of a good chunk of the population (see, for instance: the Black Death, World War II, and the communist revolutions of the 21st century).

This has shattered Christina’s previously strong faith in democracy, and we discuss just how and why that happened. Does human society stand any chance of leveling inequality voluntarily, intentionally, and peacefully aka, which is to say, without having to go through an event of widespread death, turmoil, destruction, and suffering? Join us as we wonder whether, in order to reach a solarpunk future world of justice, equality, and harmony, we will ever be able to escape this historical pattern.

Links:

• The Great Leveler by Walter Schiedel
• The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Encyclopedia Britannica Entry
• “Government accused of hoarding Canadian history in 'secret' archives” CBC News article
• Ea-Nasir meme explainer
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cory Doctorow’s 2017 novel Walkaway has a reputation in solarpunk circles as a great example of a solarpunk lifestyle, and a must-read book for everyone from the individual who lives and breathes solarpunk to the solarpunk-curious to general science fiction fans. But what is it about Walkaway that gives it solarpunk cred? Ariel and Christina ponder this, discussing features of the novel that could be considered solarpunk, and some that might be more post-cyberpunk than anything, and how some of the ideologies and technologies are or have been applied in our present world. Is the world of Walkaway an achievable solarpunk paradise, or a nice hopeful story featuring very cool gadgets and bites of lefty philosophy? Or something else entirely? What is the draw, here, anyway? Join us to think through some of the quandaries and ideas the book raises.

Links:

• https://catholicworker.org/aims-and-means/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/79r7c7/is_cory_doctorows_book_walkaway_solarpunk/?rdt=44395
• https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/1fgv88h/has_anyone_on_this_sub_read_walkaway_by_cory/
• https://theportalist.com/solarpunk-books
• https://alxd.org/solarpunk-lenses-and-foundations.html
• https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765392770/walkaway/
• https://edgeryders.eu/t/solarpunk-and-permaculture/12079
• https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/18ajw7y/solarpunk_fiction_where_to_start/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/1bfrpy6/solarpunk_fictionutopias/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_ping
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10384867/
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20230120-how-gut-bacteria-are-controlling-your-brain
• https://www.news-medical.net/health/Signals-from-Gut-Biome-to-Brain-and-Behavior.aspx
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.