#144 | At The End: The Conversations We Need To Start Having w/ Kevin Hester & [RS]

In this episode, I speak with Kevin Hester, host of ‘Nature Bats Last,’ and [RS], in a group conversation in which we discuss living in a time of accelerating change, abrupt climate disruption, and extinction.

As the climate crisis continues to accelerate, and the likelihood of mass human displacement and extinction increases by the year, what does it mean to live and be in this time? The nature of this discussion with Kevin and [RS] is to approach the difficulties of accepting the reality of the situation we are in and applying this understanding to our day-to-day existence, with all the complexities and inconsistencies that come with that. What does it mean to have and bear children in this time? How does this time of accelerating crisis (whether it be the climate system, ecological, economic, etc) inform our politics and political activism? We ask these questions in light of rising authoritarianism and full-fledged fascism worldwide, widespread social division, rising state/corporate surveillance and violence, and the accelerating loss of biodiversity across the bioshere. The deeper question that comes up in the face of the likely near-term extinction of the human species is: what is this crisis asking of us as individuals and as a collective? How do we act in this time? 

In the face of extinction, it is imperative that we act and resist beautifully, with love, in the time that we have, without being attached to the outcome. There is no map to the territory we have entered into, as individuals and as a species. At the very least, we must begin the process of accepting this truth in light of our current predicament, and aid others in their journey to acceptance, as well.

I thank Kevin and [RS] for their directness, honesty, and the courage to have the conversation most are unwilling or unable to have. Kevin Hester is the host of Nature Bats Last on the Progressive Radio Network, and lives on Rakino Island, a small island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. [RS] is the host of Moving Forward on the Progressive Radio Network, contributes frequently to the online publication Counterpunch, and currently lives in Portland, Oregon in the United States.

Episode Notes:

- Follow Kevin’s work on his website: https://kevinhester.live

- Listen and subscribe to Kevin’s show ‘Nature Bats Last’ on PRN: http://bit.ly/NaturePRN

- The songs featured in this episode are “God’s Away On Business” and “Diamond In Your Mind” by Tom Waits and the Kronos Quartet from the album Healing The Divide.