Some Things to Listen To & Ponder, 2022 Edition

Fall for me is always a time for reflection and introspection. The shortening of the days brings with it contemplating who I am, how I show up, and where I have been and am going. I find this time of year helps me question the things I think I know or believe and offers an opportunity to expand my thinking and knowledge. It is a time of year to listen, inquire, and begin the process of making meaning out of my discoveries of my self and the Cosmic Mysteries. 

Below are some of podcast episodes that I've listened to this past year that have helped me construct a more whole picture of what is happening in our bodies, on our planet, and within our cosmos. I've even listened to some of them a second time this fall. I didn't put in everything. Just the episodes that have really gotten me thinking. 

Some episodes I want to draw your attention to: 

• Reading Vine Deloria Jr.'s God Is Red on The Red Nation podcast - I picked up a copy of God Is Red from the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, in about 2003 or 2004. It totally changed my understanding about religion, god, American Indians / Native Americans, and the entire formation of the United States. I was joyfully surprised to hear Nick Estes and New Amauta in conversation about this important book on a podcast I listen to regularly. Please go give this one a listen. 
• Yoalli Rodriguez on Grief as an Ontological Form of Time on For the Wild - For the Wild is a podcast I just started listening to when I searched for podcasts about queers, magic, and nature. This particular episode was especially moving for me because of all the loss and grief over the past two years. I was especially moved to hear Yoalli Rodriguez also talk about the legacy of colonial violence and how they are working to heal its many tendrils of trauma. 
• Thanatology -- NEW Interview (Grief & Mourning) with Cole Imperi + Tips for Going Through It on Ologies with Alie Ward - Ologies with Alie Ward is my absolute favorite science podcast out there. Every episode contains gems, and she is such a compassionate and curious interview too. This summer she lost her dad and her grandpa. So she went and interviewed Cole Imperi, who studies grief, loss, and mourning, to get a better sense of what she's going through and share what she's going through with her audience. It is an incredibly nuanced look into the many layers of grief, and comes with some great strategies and tactics for how to let your grief be. 
• "Everybody Changes in the Process of Building a Movement" Ruth Wilson Gilmore on Millennials Are Killing Capitalism - Ruth Wilson Gilmore came out with a new book titled Abolition Geography. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I have listened to almost every podcast or radio show that Ruth Wilson Gilmore has been on in 2022. This episode of Millennials Are Killing Capitalism, another podcast I listen to regularly, is the most in-depth interview on her book. I highly recommend listening to it. There are also episodes from Haymarket Books Live and The Dig in this list that feature Ruth Wilson Gilmore. Both of those are excellent as well, but not as focused on her book. 
• Finally, all the episodes of Green Dreamer are dreamy, inspiring, and chock full of knowledge and wisdom. I limited this list to four - Hi'ilei Hobart, Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen, Min Hyoung Song, and Mark Rectanus - because if I didn't this would just be a Green Dreamer list. These four episodes have really shifted my understanding of how things like ambient temperature, reclamation of that which is called "traditional", denial, and art intersect the environment. 

These are just some of the reasons I included these particular episodes. If you give them a listen, I know you will find something that will challenge how you view the world. 

And if you listen to any of them and want to talk about them, please reach out by leaving a comment or connecting with me on social media I would love to hear your thoughts about what's in these episodes, how your worldview shifts, and any other revelations that come.