#234 | The Curse Of Hope: We Did Start The Fire w/ John Halstead
Intro: 11:51
In this episode, I speak with John Halstead — pagan writer, (former) activist, and author of 'Another End of the World is Possible.’ We discuss his two most recent essays published at Gods & Radicals Press — 'We Did Start the Fire: Climate Change and the Curse of Hope' and 'Why I Stopped Protesting and Started a Garden.’
“Human civilization is a fire. It’s been burning since we’ve been human. And the human story is not a straight line, but a circle, a great ring of fire.” (http://bit.ly/2TaUCwQ) In this discussion with John, we begin by examining some of the ideas he explores in his most recent writing, including where the Anthropocene began and where it will ultimately lead. In 'We Did Start the Fire: Climate Change and the Curse of Hope,’ John asserts that fire, or rather humankind’s long-standing relationship with fire, is where humanity’s complex and often impactful relationship with the biosphere truly began, with the crescendo in this process being the rise of industrial capitalism and the rapacious need to endlessly extract and consume fossil fuels to fuel its growth. Catastrophic climate change, mass extinction, and ecological collapse across the globe has been the result.
We then move into discussing his most recent article ‘Why I Stopped Protesting and Started a Garden’ in which he lays out his reasoning for leaving behind environmental and climate activism, towards what Bayo Akomolafe has called “post-activism.” John states “I’m turning my attention from the planet to the place where I live, from humanity to the beings—both human and other—who I share this place with. I am turning from my hopes and fears about the future to the needs of the present. I’m turning from all the big picture stuff to the small scale, from the global to the local, to what I can see and touch and feel.“ (http://bit.ly/3alkM5T)
John Halstead is the author of ‘Another End of the World is Possible,’ in which he explores what it would really mean for our relationship with the natural world if we were to admit that we are doomed. John is a native of the southern Laurentian bioregion and lives in Northwest Indiana, near Chicago. He is a co-founder of 350 Indiana-Calumet, which (until recently) worked to organize resistance to the fossil fuel industry in the Region.
Episode Notes:
- Learn more about John and his work, including his book ‘Another End of the World is Possible,’ at: https://anotherendoftheworld.org
- Read 'We Did Start the Fire: Climate Change and The Curse of Hope' and 'Why I Stopped Protesting and Started a Garden’ at Gods & Radicals Press: http://bit.ly/2TaUCwQ / http://bit.ly/3alkM5T
- The song featured in this episode is “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Live)” by Pete Seeger from the album The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert, June 8, 1963.
