Editor’s Picks

Chris Smaje visits Crazy Town for some farmer-to-farmer straight talk. We cover Viking raids to agrarian populism, from societal collapse to the practicalities of making your way in a failed state. And they can’t get away from the shop talk of gardens, livestock, and home economics.

We’re talking dam removal today. So grab a sledge hammer, a few sticks of dynamite, and a wrecking ball, and come along as we explore the battle between concrete placement and concrete removal. And don’t miss our interview with Tara Lohan, author of Undammed: Freeing Rivers and Bringing Communities to Life.

For the past couple of decades, we at Post Carbon Institute have been pointing out that a transition to alternative energy sources will necessarily be slow and incomplete. Given that oil is a depleting, polluting, non-renewable resource, industrial society is due for a reckoning. We are all in an extended Wile E. Coyote moment.

It’s really refreshing to hear from you, our listeners and fellow strugglers living in high-energy modernity (affectionately known as Crazy Townies). This mailbag episode offers the element of surprise, as it gives us a chance to respond with delight and spontaneity to your questions and comments.

We travel to Morocco to speak with storyteller and ecosystem weaver Hajar Tazi. Working across a wide network of organizations—from Shareable and Gaia Education and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance—Hajar helps connect people, ideas, and communities in service of a more resilient future.

Our journey begins in the Philippines with farmer, chef, entrepreneur, and environmentalist Louise Mabulo. From her early start on MasterChef Junior to founding The Culinary Lounge and The Cacao Project, Louise works to reconnect people with the land—and the food they grow and eat.