Episode 76 – Eco-fascism and the Unabomber

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We’re covering a big topic this week: eco-fascism, an extreme far-right ideology that combines environmental concern with fascist viewpoints.

In this episode, Olivia takes us through a brief history of eco-fascism, its ties to the U.S. conservation movement, and the surprising story of conservationist-turned-eugenicist Madison Grant.

Then Elise tells the story of arguably one of the most famous eco-fascists, the Unabomber, who went from math wunderkind to eco-terrorist.

Other topics include ways to spot early fascist thought patterns, flawed logic, and why doom is the easy route.

Story #1: The roots of eco-fascism and Madison Grant (Olivia)

The antler guy isn’t a climate activist. He’s an eco-fascist., HEATED, January 11, 2021
Madison Grant, National Park Service
Madison Grant (1865–1937), The Embryo Project Encyclopedia
The Long, Complicated History of the “14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism.”, a Medium article by Daniel Malmer
Climate denial is waning on the right. What’s replacing it might be just as scary, The Guardian
NO ONE IS A VIRUS: ON AMERICAN ECOFASCISM, Environmental History Now
Eco-fascism: What It Is, Why It’s Wrong, and How to Fight It, Teen Vogue
Some Wikipedia: Eco-fascism, Jacob Chansley

Story #2: The Unabomber (Elise)

A Chronology of the UNABOM investigation, Cornell Law
Ted Kaczynski, ‘Unabomber’ Who Attacked Modern Life, Dies at 81, New York Times, June 2023
Inside the Unabomber’s odd and furious online revival, Wired, Jan 2010
Children of Ted, New York Magazine, Dec 2018
The Unabomber Trial: The Manifesto, Washington Post

The Dump

We’re listening to books on Libby, and we’re keeping track of our reading on Storygraph. We’ve been reading Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss.

The World Is Burning bookshop is live! Help us come up with book list titles and bulk up our reading list.

Our World is Burning themed playlist is on Spotify.

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Thanks for listening!

Ep. 82 – Cheese Caves and Banana Republics – World Is Burning

We’re digging into America’s deepest darkest secrets — when it comes to food, that is. Elise tells us how one president’s cheese became the next president’s problem, which might lead you to Google “American government 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in caves.” We explore how the cheese caves of yesteryear became the weird milk ads of our present. Then Olivia gives us a brief history of bananas, which involves quite a lot of railroad tycoons, bare minimum union demands, and good old American capitalism. Plus, our theory as to why slipping on banana peels was more common a century ago, and our next book club pick. Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos. World Is Burning is hosted by Olivia Hamilton and Elise Nye. Our theme music is by Kaycie Satterfield, and our logo was made by Sonja Katanic.

1. Ep. 82 – Cheese Caves and Banana Republics 01:10:23
2. Ep. 81 – Navigating Anger & Disinformation in Times of Conflict 01:16:42
3. Ep. 80 – Something in the Water – Hurricane Sandy & Flint Michigan 01:12:13
4. Ep. 79 – Disability & Climate: Greyhound fights the ADA and Lyme Disease 01:26:05
5. Ep. 78 – Labor & Leisure – The First Strike & A Depression-Era Prediction 01:29:24