Collective Liberation Appears in the Cracks

despite what's happening in the news

While I’m slowly stirring the cauldron that is brewing my next post from the fractured memoir, I decided that while we wait for what wants to emerge, that it would be good to share some things that are helping me navigate this time

My food forest refuge, July 2023 with my feline companion, Avi.

I listen to podcasts a lot while I water the garden and do household chores. It’s one of my grief navigation tools. Some of the podcasts have been elevating, giving me lots of strength and a sense of possibility in a time when many are avoiding the PTSD of the last few years. Because I am carrying so much at the moment, I am very discerning about what I listen to and read, so take these recommendations with that in mind.

The two podcasts I’ve shared below are examples of “emergent strategy” tools - they provide visions of collective liberation (new ways of conceiving the latter) that many of us might not encounter in our daily media consumption.

Báyò is a fascinating thinker. I’ve been encountering his voice and ideas in many online spaces in the past few years, and I’m refreshed by his stories. Naomi is unafraid to share her despair about what she’s observing. Yuria brings an ancient knowing to the table.

Green Dreamer is dense with amazing interviews of people you will not read about in the mainstream, but whose work is essential medicine or offers deep insight into the crisis we sit inside. The interviewer, whose name I’m blanking, is remarkably articulate and thoughtful. I would take a look at other episodes to see what might interest you.

I’m restraining myself from overloading you, the reader, with too many resources at once. I listen to about a dozen different podcasts regularly, but not more than 1 or 2 per day. Since I am not learning from students at the moment, I have found this form of intellectual/emotional stimulation essential to my well being. In the future, I will share some stellar podcasts that combine spiritual tools with activist ones…they’re unexpectedly rich and necessary for this time.

The cauldron of my fractured memoir will continue to stir in the coming days. Hopefully, by next week, “Brooklyn (Part 3)” will feel sufficiently cooked to share with you. You can anticipate some discussion about shifting pathways for an art practice in relation to the critical issues of that particular time and how it weaves together with this time. But, before I share more, I'll leave you with what my former student and dear friend, Chris Karl, calls a “cliff hanger.”