Solecast w/ Carla Bergman & Nick Montgomery on Joyful Militancy

This episode of the solecast I chat with Carla Bergman and Nick Montgomery about their new(ish) book out on AK Press, “Joyful Militancy.”  This book is a critical examination of the toxicity that seems to be so common within activist subculture.   They talk about the (potential) influences that schooling, religion, hierarchy, and empire has on our lives and how it can even seep into our organizing.  The text is full of nuance and offers many pathways for how we can look at and work through these tendencies within ourselves, our spaces and our communities.  They talk about how militant joy, art, and practices that empower us all to thrive can make our movements stronger and healthier.  This book is a must read and The Solecast highly recommends this for reading groups to open up conversations on how we can rid ourselves of rigid radicalism, and open up the possibilities for joyful militancy.

Pick up the book on AK Press

For more info visit JoyfulMilitancy.com

Carla is also a filmmaker, check out the Emma Talks video series she talked about in the interview at EmmaTalks.org

Food Autonomy w/ Aaron Parker on on "Unusual" Trees, Tree Care & Creating Polycultures For Food Forests

On this episode of the Solecast I talk with Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nurseries about some unusual edible trees to use in your backyard garden, orchard or food forest. We get in depth about tree care, disease resistance, picking which species of trees to grow in your area and how to propagate them. This is a long interview, he answers some audience questions about growing fruit trees, controlling pests and dealing with water distribution. He also lays out his approach to creating polycultures of mutually beneficial plants for trees. This is the second time Aaron has been on the Solecast, last time we talked about perennial veggies. To order some seeds, trees or plants hit him up at Edgewood Nursery Online Store and follow him on the gram.

In this episode I premiere a mellow new track “Measuring My Cage” from my upcoming album Destituent, that is available for pre-order here.

Solecast w/ Two Paychecks Podcast on Music, Happiness & Survival

Preview of my new single “Battle Rap Against Oblivion” and announcing my new album Destituent. Pre-order a copy here. I’ve teamed up with Fake Four to release it on vinyl, cd, & digital formats. All physical copies come with professionally printed full color zines of the lyrics (original artwork by sole).

An awesome in depth and thoughtful conversation on the Two Paychecks podcast about my thoughts on art, anarchy, race, the origins of my podcast, modernity, survivalism and more. Check out the Two Paychecks Podcast here.

Pre-order the limited vinyl, CD, zines & picture discs at soleone.org/destituent

Solecast w/ Rory Ferreira (FKA Milo) on Philosophy, Rap & Wonder

In this Solecast I took a trip down to Soulfolks Records in Biddeford, Maine to interview Rory Ferreira, the artist formerly known as Milo.  Milo is a rapper, producer, poet, shopkeeper, and member of the Ruby Yacht Collective.  Milo has a wide ranging catalogue of rap songs which are experimental, poetic and informed by study of his craft and literature.  Milo infuses a sense of wonder into his work, toying with the medium and keeps his work engaging without playing into the music industry or its pseudo-hype machine. 

  In this interview we discuss:

• How growing up around a preacher helped shape his approach to rap & philosophy

• How poetry informs his work

• Maine life and why connection to nature is so important

• His time working as a farmer

• His politics (he wants Black folks to win)

• His origins 

• Why Ruby Yacht shits on police

• Why he opened a record store in 2018, in Maine.

• Fatherhood

• His mother, Shay Stewart Bouley

Follow Rory, on Twitter, Fedbook, The Gram, or Bandcamp

Solecast w/ Time On Rap, Journalism, Empathy, & Anarchy

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In this Solecast I chat with Chris Steele Aka Time. Time is an anarchist rapper/writer/journalist/podcaster from Denver , Colorado. He publishes regularly through Truthout and collaborated with Noam Chomsky on his recent “Occupy” book. He just dropped a new album and is currently working on books about the history of anarchist repression and an anthology on Common Ground w/ Scott Crow.

In this interview we talk about:

• His band Calm’s new album, “Things I Learned While Dying In Denver”

• How anarchism influences his journalism

• Themes on his new album; empathy, housing, subverting capitalism & white supremacy

• His new podcast called “TimeTalks”

• His experience in academia

• Thoughts on how white rappers should engage in a black art

• Random shit talking anecdotes about FTP marches and Denver in general

Solecast w/ Woodbine NYC: An Experimental Hub Against The End Of The World

In this episode of the Solecast I chat with folks from Woodbine NYC.  Woodbine is an experimental hub in Queens that has been going for 5 years strong. Its hard to pin down what they do to any specific ideological persuasion, instead they draw from a wide range of influences and backgrounds to try to find new ways of looking at things to the skills to meet the challenges that face us. They host a multitude of events from poetry readings, educational events, assemblies, skill shares, gardening and too many things to list.  At the time of this interview they are fundraising for 2019 operations, please consider donating something here and follow them on fedbook / twitter. 

In this conversation we talk about:

• Why spaces like this are so important under Trump

• How Woodbine came about & the thinking that went into it

• The concept of the anthropocene and why it serves as a good way to frame things for this century 

• Concepts of revolution vs autonomy

• What there is to learn from the models of Rojava & Chiapas.

• The importance of breaking out of an ideological approach and pointing to specific liberatory practices

• Amazon HQ2 coming to Queens and what this means 

• Silicon Valleys role in our society

• The importance of “sharing” 

Solecast w/ Rodrigo Starz on Rebel Diaz, The Americas and The Power of Culture

In this episode of the solecast I chat with Rodrigo Starz of Rebel Diaz. Rebel Diaz is a Bronx/Chicago based political rap group that's been killing shit for over a decade. Whether its Ferguson, Occupy or a myriad of other social struggles, Rebel Diaz has been there and engaged. Their family left Chile after their father who was a political prisoner was released and they settled in The Bronx. They have made numerous musical & political interventions over the years and set up one of the only hip-hop squat/community centers in the US called the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective… in the Bronx. Check out their music on Bandcamp, and follow them on twitter.

In this interview we also discuss:

• Their origins

• Analysis on the socialist wins in Central /South America / North America over the past decades and the subsequent rise of fascism globally.

• Their new album America vs America

• Cultural differences between rap shows in the US and elsewhere

• The role of deportation & immigration in spreading and influencing hip hop culture

• Thoughts on early rap history in the Bronx & neo-liberalism (a fancy word for capitalism)

• The history of their autonomous hip hop center in the Bronx

• Fatherhood & multi generational struggle

• His viral intervention against Ted Cruz

• The power of culture

Solecast w/ Sima Lee on Anarchism, Hip-hop & Revolutionary Praxis

In today’s episode of the Solecast I speak with Sima Lee.  Sima Lee is a truly revolutionary artist who was raised on Black Panther-eque / Black Nationalist communities of self defense and mutual aid.  Her entire life has been spent making rap music and doing revolutionary organizing.  I discovered her music through submedia’s Trouble documentary on Hip-Hop, check it out here to learn more about her and other radical rap artists.  In this interview we discuss:

• Her upbringing and how she came to anarchism

• The ideas of the maroon communities and how it informs her work

• Her work at the maroon House in DC and the mutual aid practices they employ in the community

• The importance of self defense and building lasting power beyond mobilizations

• How to create stronger ties between (mostly) white anarchists and communities of color

• Her new album “Trap Liberation Army”

Solecast: In Conversation w/ Coffee With Comrades On Nuclear Winter 3, Permaculture, Mental Health & Revolution

Here is an interview I did on the Coffee With Comrades podcast a month ago about Nuclear Winter 3. It was a fun conversation ranging from art theory stuff to permaculture/food autonomy, revolutionary organizing and “self care.” Great talk with some great folks. If you dug this conversation check out more podcasts from Coffee With Comrades.

Get a free download of Nuclear Winter 3 here.

Solecast: A Conversation About Inhabit, Instructions For Autonomy

In today's episode of The Solecast I’ll be speaking with some folks about a new project slash book called Inhabit : Instructions For Autonomy.  Inhabit takes a look at what it means to live and fight in a world that is burning around us.  It side steps the radical identity and ideological labels and focuses on a set of liberatory practices for building a new world in the ruins of this one.  While silicon valley types want to escape the ravages of climate change by building fortresses for the wealthy, Inhabit imagines a world of autonomous territories, sharing resources, skills and power.  

Read/Get The Book here
Follow them on the gram and twitter

To hear more interviews about Inhabit, check out this interview with Its Going Down.

Food Autonomy: Working Class Vegan Recipes

Today is the first episode of my “Food Autonomy” series where I will be expanding my coverage on things from gardening, food production and how it relates to a revolutionary practice.  I started this journey with vegan cooking on a shoestring budget, so thats where I will start this series.  In this episode I talk about quick and inexpensive ways to cook dope healthy food for you and your peeps and most of these are good for feeding large amounts of people.  These are my go-to recipes and cooking styles when I have limited time and many are focused on storing food to eat throughout the “work week.”   In this podcast I  cover a number of best practices, recipes and methodologies, including:

Recipes Covered:

How To Bake Tofu
Chick Pea Salad
Tuna Fish Salad
Cooking with lentils & other dried legumes
Cast Iron Skillet Stir-fry
Tofu Scramble
Lentil Muajadara
Stews
Macrobiotic Cooking
Shepards Pie
Vegan Mac & Cheese Casserole
Seitan From Scratch
Grilling With Tofu
Cashew Gravy
Nutritional Yeast Gravy

Solecast w/ Frank Lopez on Radical Hip-hop and Submedia's New Film "And You Don't Stop"

In today’s episode of the solecast I sit down with Frank Lopez to discuss Submedia’s new film in their ongoing Trouble series, “And You Don’t Stop.”  And You Don’t Stop is a documentary about radical hip-hop as done by grass roots activists.  Its an excellent look on hip-hop’s roots, its evolution and highlights some artists that are doing amazing work today.  

In our conversation we talk about:

Hip-hop rising from the failures of Neoliberalism in the South Bronx
The rise of the Zulu Nation
The importance of  aesthetics
The role music can play in social movements
Public Enemy and some of Franks favorite artists of the 80s/90s
Combatting sexism in hip-hop
What rap can learn from punk and why we need to build up a network of radical hip hop based social centers

Frank also goes in depth talking about the artists he highlights in the documentary, the work they do and their music.  

Outro music: “Black Anarchist” By Sima Lee

From Submedia:

Trouble #15: And You Don’t Stop

It’s often said that hip hop is more than just a type of music…. it’s a way of life. A code, a set of practices, an aesthetic and a way of handling yourself. And despite the efforts of industry executives to commodify it and strip it of its subversive potential, hip hop remains a lifestyle firmly rooted in the daily struggles faced by oppressed peoples around the world. It is a weapon, masquerading as culture.

In this month’s episode of Trouble, subMedia explores hip hop as a potent site of revolutionary politics, drawing on the first-hand knowledge and experiences of some of Turtle Island’s baddest grassroots emcees: Ant Loc, Mic Crenshaw, La Marea, Sima Lee, Lee Reed and Mare.

Just a heads up that some of the dialogue in the film is in Spanish, so for English speakers we recommend turning on the subtitles by clicking CC on the video player, and/or downloading the SRT file – particularly if you plan on using a hard copy of the video for screening purposes.

As a bonus, The Stimulator brings us a very special sedition of Burning Cop Car, featuring the music of the emcees we interviewed for Trouble #15. Click here to check it out.

Solecast: Black Rose Federation Building Grassroots Working Class Power

On today’s episode of the Solecast I speak with a member of the Black Rose Federation.  Black Rose Federation has chapters across North America and utilizes an anarcho-communist tendency called “Specifismo:” which (according to wikipedia) has been summarized as:

• The need for a specifically anarchist organization built around a unity of ideas and praxis.

• The use of the specifically anarchist organization to theorize and develop strategic political and organizing work.

• Active involvement in and building of autonomous and popular social movements via social insertion.

In this interview we discuss:
Their organizing principles
Their approach to building working class power from below
Grass roots power vs local politics vs electoral politics
The need for a rigorous educational program within movements
Discussions on anarchist infrastructure projects
Thoughts on "protest,” their limitations and what they are good for
The life of Bakunin much more

Fore more information... visit Blackrosefed.org and sign up to their newsletter.

w/ Margaret Killjoy on Anarchist Sci-fi, The Cultural War, & Prefiguration

Todays episode is with Margaret Killjoy.  Margaret is an anarchist science fiction writer and electronic producer.  Her latest album "Always Forever" by "Nomadic War Machine" is available now on bandcamp.  Margaret has published several short stories and books, is currently working on a novel and releases a sci fi short story every month through patreon.   
In this podcast Margaret also reads one of my favorite short stories she has written called The Northern Host about a civil war in the year 2035, with some incredible plot twists.  

In this interview we talk about:

The tension between insurrection and prefiguration
Her new project Nomadic War Machine by Always, Forever
The role culture plays in building revolutionary potential
Living off the land and how it fits into a revolutionary strategy
The importance of infrastructure
Our relationship with technology
The writing process, the format of short stories
Weaving anarchist themes into science fiction and fantasy writings
The importance of radical honesty
and much more

Other Suggested Radical Sci-fi Readings:
"The Fifth Season" by NK Jemisin,
The short story "The Ogres of East Africa," by Sofia Samatar
"The Devil In America" by Kai Ashante Williams.
Everything Belongs to the Future by Laurie Penny

Solecast: "As Black As Resistance" w/ Zoe Samudzi

In today’s solecast I sit down with Zoe Samudzi to discuss the new book she just co-authored with William C Anderson called “As Black As Resistance.”  This book puts forth a compelling argument for a Black anarchism rooted in self defense & autonomy.    In their book they discuss the importance of linking Black liberation to Indigenous struggles, and point back to the Seminole War where Indigenous and Black folks successfully fought side-by-side and achieved the first emancipation proclamation.  In this podcast Zoe talks about the failure of respectability politics and  how appealing to liberals and the state gets Black People nowhere, because it is a system rooted on exploitation and killing of Black People.  Zoe also breaks down how people must overcome their own fears & potentially undermine their own class interests for a truly liberatory politics.   We also discuss  some of the challenges of building movements rooted around autonomy in areas of rapid gentrification and the need to create new kinds of movements/politics that don’t leave people behind.  We cover a lot of ground in this interview, and it barely scratches the surface of the book, pick it up now on AK Press. 

Follow Zoe on twitter or her website.  

In this talk Zoe mentions an article her co-author William wrote about “Cutting Capitalism Out Of Our Relationships."  

Outro music on this episode is Mic Crenshaw feat. Dead Pres "Superheroes"

Solecast: Food Forestry & Perennial Vegetables w/ Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nursery

in this episode of The Solecast I talk with Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nursery.  Aaron is a self-taught Horticulturist, Food forest designer and lover of Perennial Vegetables.  We talk about food forest concepts and he breaks down some of his favorite perennial foods to grow & eat.    We also discuss his work with Mt Joy in Portland, Maine,  a free public orchard and food forest on the Eastern Promenade.  Throughout this conversation we discuss some of the challenges of perennial vegetables, the health benefits and the history of pre-Columbian Americas as some of the largest food forest/agro-forestry projects in human history.    

For more information on his work, or to buy some insane rare perennial plants from him check out his website or instagram. 

Building The "Commune," Veganism, Civilization & Anarcho-Homesteading

In this episode I took topics from patreon subscribers.  Originally this was going to be another "exclusive" episode but I had so much fun doing it I decided to release it.  

In this interview I talk about:

Spotify/ streaming servies & their impact on artists
New music plans
Plans for our farm & little fun facts about permaculture plants
Anarcho-Homesteading
"Desert" and "environmental nihilism"
Small communities vs mega societies
The Singularity Web Blog
Exodus from Denver
Political shifts after having a child
Veganism vs Animal Rights
Alienation

If you want to help sustain this work please consider becoming a patreon subscriber for as little as $1 a month.

The Secret History of Animal Resistance w/ Jason Hribal (re-air from 2014)

This is a re-air of one of my first and favorite interviews, its a conversation with Jason Hribal, the other of Fear Of An Animal Planet. Its a book that examines the history of animal resistance, in zoos, circuses and other exploitative situations humans put animals in. We talk about the relationship between the war on pagananism, the rise of calvanism and the loss of the commons and how thats effected animals. He also talks about how animals are part of the working class, and important agents in history that are capable of solidarity, empathy and of course... resistance. 

Solecast: w/ Nancy Monson on Radical Education & Child Psychology

In todays solecast I sit down with Nancy Munson from Running River School.  Nancy is my wife’s former boss and for years ran a radical nature based experiential school outside of Boulder.  This year Nancy closed Running River down and will be spending the next few years in New Mexico to reflect on what they have learned and where this approach to education needs to go next.   

In our interview we talk about how important play is as an aspect of learning, how getting kids in nature invigorates all their senses and how to promote agency in early childhood.  We talk about the impact of technology on developing minds and how vital feedback and incorporating the parents into the educational process is to healthy development. Nancy talks about how her life spent living in intentional communities has helped shape her philosophy about education, why running & regular exercise  is so important and how vital it is for parents to remain open and vulnerable to promote those same values in young people.  In this interview you will find tons of nuggets about child psychology and how children actually learn, as opposed to the military training they get in public education.  So whether you are a teacher, a parent or someone like me who didn’t pay any attention to this stuff till I actually had a kid… even us up-tight adults can gain something critical from Nancy’s approach.  

Reach out to Nancy through the Running River website

Solecast: Anarchist Movement Building With Its Going Down

Todays solecast is an in-depth discussion with an editor from Its Going Down.  

IGD just launched a new anarchist news podcast called “This is America,” which is meant to be a short, every-other-day digest of anarchist analysis and activity.  Check it out.

In this episode have a wide ranging discussion about what anarchist & anti-authoritarian resistance has looked like under Trump and potential paths for the future.  We talk about lessons learned from J20, Standing Rock, Prison Strikes, Airport Shutdowns and more.  We talk about the things anarchists have done with disaster relief, anti-fascism and pipeline blockades.  We discuss certain modes of resistance that people might be interested in replicating, whether its anarchist student groups, unions (like the Burgerville union) or The Black Rose Federation in LA helping to organize resistance against ICE Deportations.  We also talk a little about media & ideology.