The globally dominant culture is suffering from an economic, ecological and social crisis that has deeper roots than failing budgets and environmental degradation. Do we have a role to play if our culture is headed towards its eventual death? Though our economic system has trained us to be needy, can we approach these challenges as if we were needed?

In Extraenvironmentalist #51 we speak with Stephen Jenkinson about our cultural difficulty with death. Stephen draws on lessons learned from decades of working with death to describe how we can frame our civilization’s trajectory. We ask how to find sanity in a time of alienation and if we can be a human in difficult circumstances. Stephen describes the distinct jobs given to us as our family members die. Also, John Michael Greer joins us briefly to talk about the death of Western culture.

You can stream Griefwalker, the film made about Stephen’s work.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:16:00 — 124.6MB) | Embed

Podcast (96kbps): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:16:00 — 93.5MB) | Embed

// Listen to each segment on Soundcloud:

// Music (in order of appearance)

Van She – Don’t Fear the Reaper via The Fader
Kaki King – Bowen Island via KCRW
Trails and Ways – Animal (Miike Snow Cover) via IndieShuffle
Elle Goulding – Anything Could Happen (Blood Diamonds Remix) via Salacious Sound
Crystal Fighters – At Home (Passion Pit Remix) via Fist In the Air

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] – 40m
John Michael Greer speaks on death

// Production Credits
Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

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