DO 289 - Beef, Bartering, and the Agorist's Guide to Not Starving with Nigel, Nate, and Jason
Nigel Best doesn’t have time for your bullshit. He’s too busy welding gates, rotating cattle, building spiral staircases, and conducting “illicit beef transactions” in Craigslist parking lots.Missouri woodworker and regenerative rancher Nigel Best joins Jason and Nate to talk about what it actually takes to make a living on the land—without going broke, without selling your soul, and without waiting for Washington to save you.In this episode:Why coming up hard isn’t a strategy (but flat tires and crooked fingers are part of the deal)The truth about rotational grazing: genius in wet years, dumbass in droughtsHow to raise beef when customers complain about prices and the president says you’re greedyThe case for land value tax as the only moral tax (and why nobody’s entitled to your heartbeats)Why the informal economy beats W-2 farms and digital surveillance every timeMeat packer monopolies vs. the last stand of independent ranchersTwo competing theories of change: political antitrust warfare or agorist opt-outWhy every kid should work construction with crotchety old men before graduating high schoolFair warning: Nigel solves exactly zero problems in this episode. What he does offer is three decades of hard-won wisdom from someone who’s actually been “out there in the rain at midnight with their hand up a cow.” No Instagram-perfect farm content. No verbatim regurgitation of regenerative ag books. Just the unvarnished reality of feeding yourself, your family, and your neighbors in a system designed to extract value from everyone who touches it.If you’re tired of influencers peddling theories and want to hear from someone who’s actually dragging their knuckles through it, this one’s for you.Guest: Nigel Best (@NigelBest5)Hosts: Jason & NateTopics: Regenerative Agriculture, Land Tax, Agorism, Beef Industry, Rural Economics, Informal Markets
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1:27:34
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1:27:34
DO 288 - Beyond Interchangeability: Leah Sargeant on the Dignity of Dependence
Why We Need Each Other More Than Everhttps://undpress.nd.edu/9780268210335/the-dignity-of-dependence/https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-great-feminization/Ashley welcomes back Leah Sargeant to discuss her new book, The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto. They explore two core arguments: that women's equality with men doesn't depend on being interchangeable with them, and that no humans are truly autonomous; we're all dependent on one another throughout our lives.The conversation moves from "doom" to optimism, examining how modern society tries to flatten sex differences and promote an illusion of self-reliance, particularly around pregnancy, motherhood, and the workplace. Leah critiques the approach of treating women as "defective men" who need to suppress their biology and feminine qualities to succeed in male-normed environments.Ashley and Leah discuss Helen Andrews' controversial essay on workplace feminization, the false ideal of the independent individual, and how this myth fails everyone—from infants to aging populations. They explore practical solutions, including community building, workplace flexibility, policy changes like baby bonuses and caregiver Social Security credits, and the importance of creating space for interdependence at every scale.The episode celebrates the seasons of life, the necessity of mutual dependence, and finding dignity in our need for one another, from the everyday juggling of school pickups and neighborhood networks to the profound vulnerabilities of pregnancy, illness, and aging.
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59:10
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59:10
DO 287 - Graze Against the Machine: Breaking Up Big Ag, Rewilding America, and the Future of Food
Fresh from dinner with Wendell Berry in Kentucky, the crew discusses Paul Kingsnorth’s new book and the deep tensions in American agriculture. From Trump’s controversial beef deal with Argentina to the packing monopolies squeezing ranchers, we explore why our food system prioritizes industrial products over actually feeding people.Topics include: the soybean-ethanol scam, why 80% of corn never becomes human food, land prices and the return-to-the-land movement, the death of email jobs and rise of excess labor, and why California could have fed tens of millions on acorns and salmon alone. Plus: the case for a new agrarian think tank, the difference between living as creatures versus machines, and why we need a million cowboys to restore America’s ecosystems.Featuring reflections on nationalism vs. patriotism, the regulatory capture of agriculture, fiat currency, and farmland prices, and why the real abundance agenda has nothing to do with cheap beef from Argentina.
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1:09:53
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1:09:53
DO 286 - Building a Regenerative Landscaping Business with Tres of GreenBox Homes
Creating member networks, local food systems, and recession-proof community infrastructureJason talks with Tres, co-founder of GreenBox Homes, about creating a regenerative landscaping company that competes with traditional lawn care services. They discuss the business model of providing weekly yard care focused on building soil and ecosystems rather than just aesthetic maintenance, creating member networks for sharing plants and resources, and the massive supply-demand gap in the native plant industry.Tres shares how his Catholic faith informs his environmental mission, the potential for vertical integration through nurseries and material recovery, and his vision for a replicable, distributist model that could transform millions of acres. The conversation covers practical business strategy, the spiritual dimensions of working with land, and opportunities for others to enter the growing regenerative landscaping market.
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1:10:59
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1:10:59
DO 285 - AI and The 95% Extinction Threshold
AI safety researcher Nate Soares explains why he believes there's at least a 95% chance that current AI development will lead to human extinction, and why we're accelerating toward that outcome. Soares, who has been working on AI alignment since 2012, breaks down the fundamental problem: we're building increasingly intelligent systems without any ability to control what they actually want or pursue.The conversation covers current AI behavior that wasn't programmed: threatening users, keeping psychotic people in delusional states, and repeatedly lying when caught. Soares explains why these aren't bugs to be fixed but symptoms of a deeper problem. We can't point AI systems at any specific goal, not even something simple like "make a diamond." Instead, we get systems with bizarre drives that are only distantly related to their training.Soares addresses the "racing China" argument and why it misunderstands the threat. He explains why AI engineers can build powerful systems without understanding what's actually happening inside them, and why this matters. Using examples from evolutionary biology, he shows why there's no reason to expect AI systems to develop human-like morality or values.The discussion covers why a catastrophic warning event probably won't help, what international coordination could look like, and why current safety efforts fall short of what's needed. Soares is direct about industry motivations, technical limitations, and the timeline we're facing.Nate Soares has been researching AI alignment and safety since 2012. He works at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), one of the pioneering organizations focused on ensuring advanced AI systems are aligned with human values.
Doomer Optimism is a podcast dedicated to discovering regenerative paths forward, highlighting the people working for a better world, and connecting seekers to doers. Beyond that, it's pretty much a $hitshow. Enjoy!
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