Topic: Fermentation

[ Episode #35 // Ecology + Alcohol ]

You can easily enjoy a beer without knowing about the thousands of years alcohol has modified the senses of our species. We'll go out to a bar to participate in a ritual to help us deal with the tasks of a work day, yet what if a tree does the same? Should alcohol be recognized for its ability change our consciousness in a sacred way? Are other species using the same substances we do in modifying their ability to perceive signals?

In Extraenvironmentalist #35 we speak with Stephen Harrod Buhner about his thoughts on the role of alcohol on humans and nature based around his book, Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers. We ask Stephen about the ecological role of humanity in the environment. Are Homo Sapiens like bees that serve a role much bigger than we'll ever understand? Our conversation covers the ways ancient people experienced the world and alternative approaches to brewing beer. Once your hear Stephen explain the chemistry of plants, you'll never think about that tree outside your window in the same way again.


 

// Music (in order of appearance)
Labyrinth Ear - Walk on the Moon (Arthur Russel Rework) via The Fader
Mansions on the Moon - Athens via Iceland Music Maffia
Kishi Bashi - Bright Whites viaConsequence of Sound
Polica - Lay Your Cards Out via Life+Times
Parov Stelar - Catgroove via IndieShuffle

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
Alan Watts - Roots of the Ecological Crisis
Bill Rees - The Dangerous Disconnection Between Economics and Ecology
The History of Alcohol
Terence McKenna: On Alcohol, Caffeine, Culture and Extraenvironmentalism

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[ Episode #23 // Fermenting Culture ]

Sustainability is not a spectator sport. Unless every single one of us radically alters our participation in the rapidly failing industrial food system, within the next few years we'll find our food prices spiking  and chaotic weather decimating the food distribution networks we have relied on. In the age of cheap and abundant refrigeration, we're losing our species' long relationship with live culture foods produced by fermentation. The health and nutrition of humanity is suffering from this relatively sudden break from ingesting bacteria responsible for regulating the energy metabolism of our bipedal bodies.

In Extraenvironmentalist #23 we speak with food activist and author Sandor Katz about how to ferment the counterculture.  We discuss the philosophical underpinnings of live culture foods,  the historical role these foods have played through human history and share some recipes to get your hands dirty and your cabbage sauering. Sandor describes how a local economy built of food preserved with bacteria from your own backyard can help you become part of your environment on a deeper level. Can our trend toward ever greater rates of obesity and poorer health be partly due to our obsession with hygiene and the sterilization of everything that we eat? All of this along with the first appearance of Cooking with the Extraenvironmentalist as our airwaves pick up a slightly different version of public radio.


 

// Music (in order of appearance)
Stewart Phillips - Thanks, Smokey! via Zoochosis Youtube Channel
Zack Hemsey - Mind Heist
Anomie Bell - Ain't No Sunshine  via The Music Ninja
DJ Topcat - Folsom Prison Gangstaz via Soundcloud
A Smooth Jazz Tribute to Gorillaz
California Dreamin - Minnesota via This Song Slaps

// Extended Clips
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Symphony of Science - Children of Africa
Bruce Lee - Be Water My Friend 

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