DO 271 - The Machine with Paul Kingsnorth and Leighton Woodhouse
Paul Kingsnorth and Leighton Woodhouse in conversation for the Third Annual Doomer Optimism Campout at The Wagon Box.
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1:06:16
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1:06:16
DO 271 - The Machine with Paul Kingsnorth and Leighton Woodhouse
Paul Kingsnorth and Leighton Woodhouse in conversation for the Third Annual Doomer Optimism Campout at The Wagon Box.
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1:18:32
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1:18:32
DO 270 - Leaving the 20th century w/ James, Donald and Ashley
Ashley, Donald, and James cover a lot of ground in this episode. They kick things off with the story of Leslie Peltier, a self-taught stargazer from Ohio, before diving into a deeper conversation about environmentalism. Donald raises concerns about how today’s climate discourse can feel paralyzing, especially for young people, and argues that instead of backing away from nature, we need to find ways to work with it.The conversation broadens into bigger questions about collapse — not dramatic doomsday stuff, but a slower kind of breakdown where complex systems just can’t hold themselves together anymore. That idea leads them into American history, particularly the legacy of Jacksonian democracy and the ongoing tug-of-war between centralized power and local control.They touch on everything from the role of tradition to the limits of liberalism, and explore what it might take to build a coherent moral framework in a fractured time. It’s a thoughtful, wide-ranging discussion about how we got here — and where we might be headed.
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1:39:31
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1:39:31
DO 269 – Engineering, education, empathy, and memetic warfare? Dr. Chuck Pezeshki & Josh
DO 269 – Engineering, education, empathy, and mimetic warfare? Dr. Chuck Pezeshki & JoshDr. Chuck is an engineering professor at Washington State University. He runs an engineering design studio for student projects and blogs on an exorbitantly wide range of topics at https://empathy.guru.Dr. Chuck is hard to characterize other than “someone Doomer Optimists ought to be paying attention to.”
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1:53:29
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1:53:29
DO 268 - Matt P on DO
Can Humanity Keep Pace with the Technologies It Creates?Matthew Pirkowski joins Ashley Fitzgerald to unpack the complicated relationship between technology and humanity. They dive into the worlds of AI and cryptocurrency, exploring how these tools work—and how they shape our minds, societies, and futures.Drawing from his background in evolutionary psychology, Matthew reflects on how our instincts and behaviors interact with fast-moving technologies. He and Ashley wrestle with big questions: How does AI influence our decisions? What risks do we face when innovation outpaces understanding? And how do we walk the fine line between exploring new digital frontiers and exploiting them?The conversation also touches on a tech-driven world's psychological and political consequences—from polarization and power concentration to the importance of real, embodied experiences like parenting. They explore the need for communities to rethink how we live and govern together in a time of rapid change.Matthew and Ashley share a cautious hope for the future—one rooted in curiosity, responsibility, and a commitment to keeping human values at the center of technological progress.
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!