The Poor Prole’s Almanac

In a world dominated by the "unblemished record of total failure" that is mainstream environmental policy, how do we find a path toward actual survival?. In this episode, we sit down with author and activist Peter Gelderloos to discuss his recent month-long project in Brazil, where he worked alongside grassroots movements building an ecological revolution from the ground up. While international summits like COP 30 continue to push "green growth" and state-led frameworks that preserve capitalist interests, Peter shares a different story from the Atlantic forest and the urban peripheries of São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. We explore the work of the Teia dos Povos (Web of the Peoples) network—an anti-colonial, revolutionary movement reclaiming land and autonomy through agrofloresta (forest gardening). From the restoration of destroyed plantations into thriving forest ecosystems to the vital international effort of seed sharing, this conversation moves beyond the "depressing news" to highlight effective, eco-centric strategies for adaptation. Peter reveals how indigenous and landless communities are not just resisting the state but are actively "advancing" beyond capitalist society by developing technologies that prioritize collective survival and ecological health. To learn more, visit: https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2025/11/23/voices-in-brazil-for-radical-ecological-struggle-feat-peter-gelderloos-and-gah-te-iracema/ https://truthout.org/articles/the-real-models-for-sustainability-in-brazil-are-to-be-found-outside-cop30/ The Organise article below could be described as "a brief article about the coordination project Peter participated in, Weaving Paths from Colonial Apocalypse to Ecological Revolution" and the ITT article can better be described as a criticism of COP30's attempt to brand itself as a stage that empowers Indigenous peoples Article about Weaving Paths to Ecological Revolution: https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2025/10/27/further-weavings-international/ Article about Peters time so far in Brazil: https://inthesetimes.com/article/cop30-brazil-farce-not-failure-indigenous-territory-struggles Antimidia: https://antimidia.org/ Its Revolution Or Death: https://sub.media/its-revolution-or-death-a-three-part-series-from-submedia-and-peter-gelderloos/ Gah Te Iracema of the Kaingang ANMIGA: https://anmiga.org/en/home-english/ Teia Dos Povos: https://teiadospovos.org/the-web-of-the-peoples/   For sources, transcripts, and to read more about this subject, visit: www.agroecologies.org To support this podcast, join our patreon for early, commercial-free episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com For PPA Merch, visit: https://breadandrosespress.com/ To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/ Key words: Peter Gelderloos, Brazil, ecological crisis, ecological adaptation, ecocentric, anarchist, The Solutions are Already Here: Strategies for Ecological Revolution from Below, capitalism, Amazon, lungs of the planet, indigenous peoples, direct action, social movements, MST, Landless Workers' Movement, Teia dos Povos, Web of the Peoples, agrofloresta, forest gardening, green growth, United Nations, COP 30, Belém, Lula da Silva, seed sharing, traditional seed varieties, white corn, food autonomy, anti-colonial, Atlantic Forest, Terra Vista, Bahia, Quilombos, monocrop plantations, carbon accounting, habitat restoration, collective survival, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Cleveland, Catalonia, revolutionary movements, abolitionism, representational politics, grassroots solutions, autonomous alternatives, forest restoration, traditional knowledge, climate summit Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ever wonder about the man dubbed the "socialist Forrest Gump" of the 19th century?. Born in India to a military family, Henry Stephens Salt was funneled into the elite world of Eton College, where he eventually became a radical teacher who spent his nights translating Marx and obsessing over the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Despite being a "poor autistic kid" surrounded by the wealthy elite, he rejected the aristocrat bubble to forge a life of radical resistance. This episode dives into the hidden history of an unlikely academic rebel who became a secret pivot point for history’s most famous thinkers, counting everyone from Gandhi and Peter Kropotkin to the daughter of Karl Marx as his close associates. At the heart of Salt’s story is his groundbreaking "creed of kinship," a holistic philosophy that dared to link the mistreatment of animals directly to the exploitation of the working class and the horrors of imperialist war. In 1891, he founded the Humanitarian League, a radical organization that campaigned for everything from better prison conditions to the abolition of the "barbarity" of slaughterhouses. Listeners will discover Salt’s staggering intellectual reach, including how his writing famously convinced a young Mahatma Gandhi to adopt vegetarianism for ethical reasons rather than just religious tradition. He argued that true civilization could only be achieved through empathy and universal cooperation across all species, a message that pushed the boundaries of the era's political imagination. Beyond the high-stakes politics, this episode explores Salt’s deeply personal and often eccentric life in the English countryside, where he lived out his ethics "hand-to-mouth". You will hear about his unconventional marriage to Kate—a woman George Bernard Shaw claimed was the true brains of the operation—and Salt’s later years spent jokingly "cursing" his healthy vegetarian lifestyle for keeping him alive well into his late 80s. From dodging police during the Bloody Sunday riots to writing a defiant funeral address that challenged the very definition of "civilization," Salt’s life offers a masterclass in living one's convictions. Join us to explore the legacy of a man who viewed social problems as inseparable from ecological ones and left behind a blueprint for radical resistance that remains vital today. For sources, transcripts, and to read more about this subject, visit: www.agroecologies.org To support this podcast, join our patreon for early, commercial-free episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com For PPA Merch, visit: https://breadandrosespress.com/ To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/   Key Words: Henry Stephens Salt, HSS Salt, Old Honey, Socialist Forrest Gump, Eton College radical, Vegetarianism history, Animal rights and animal welfare, Anti-vivisection activist, Humanitarian League, Environmental resistance, Creed of Kinship philosophy, Radical empathy and cooperation, Mahatma Gandhi influence, Peter Kropotkin and mutual aid, George Bernard Shaw friendship, Percy Bysshe Shelley poetry obsession, Scientific socialism, Bloody Sunday 1887, Trafalgar Square protests, 70 Years Among Savages book, The Call of the Wildflower book, Universal cooperation vs competition, Ethical vs religious vegetarianism, Holistic humanitarianism, Ecological and social problems interconnection, Anti-vaccination history, Doctrine of simplicity and lifestyle, Henry David Thoreau biography Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode traces the continuous thread of Luddite resistance from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution straight through to the age of AI, noting how the term Luddite is often used today as a pejorative to dismiss critics of technological expansion. The movement began with 19th-century English cloth workers who mobilized against the horrific context created by industrial expansion. Following Parliament's enclosure of six million acres of commons, workers were forced into terrifying, unsafe cities to become "meat for the machines." The depravity was immense; for example, in Manchester, 57% of children under five died due to a mix of labor injuries and pollution, and the average lifespan for a laborer in Leeds was reduced to just over 18. Despite widespread hunger, many laborers refused factory work, preferring to starve to death rather than face the inhumane conditions. The original Luddites—highly skilled artisans including croppers, shearers, and framework knits—began systematic frame breaking near Noddingham on the night of November 4, 1811. Their actions were a calculated tactic of "collective bargaining by riot" used after repeated failed attempts to secure relief, legal protections, and minimum wage bills from Parliament. The Luddites fundamentally resisted capital’s efforts to restructure social relations using technology as a vehicle. They selectively targeted specific stocking frames used to produce inferior goods known as "cutups" that undercut the entire market and destroyed the existing trade, viewing this use as "hurtful to commonality," rather than opposing all machinery. The government responded with exceptional brutality, making machine breaking a capital offense in 1812 and deploying 14,400 troops—a force larger than the British contingent fighting Napoleon in Portugal at the time. Mass trials and hangings "broke the neck of Lutism as an organized movement," successfully establishing the "appropriate climate for business." Although they failed to achieve immediate material goals, their influence lived on in art, with supporters like Lord Byron and writers like Charles Dickens, who used fiction as a "forceful protest against the machine." The episode concludes by examining the "Second and Third waves" of Luddite thinking, focusing on anxieties around computers, automation, and the proliferation of AI. Ultimately, this history illustrates a fluid fight against technological imperialism, suggesting that modern resistance must adopt context-sensitive strategies, such as unionizing labor against technology and advocating for policies that enable public ownership of AI infrastructure, to shape a more just future. For sources, transcripts, and to read more about this subject, visit: www.agroecologies.org To support this podcast, join our patreon for early, commercial-free episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com For PPA Merch, visit: https://breadandrosespress.com/ To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/   Key Words: Luddism, technopolitical resistance, First wave Luddism, Collective bargaining by riot, Resistance to Industrial Revolution, Luddite reputation, Frame breaking, Machine breaking capital offense 1812, 19th century English cloth workers, Enclosure of the commons, Nottingham Luddites, King Edward (Ned Lud), York Castle hangings 1813, Croppers, shearers, and framework knitters, Lord Byron Luddites, Charles Dickens forceful protest against the machine, Kirk Patrick Sale, Stocking frames, Cutups inferior goods, Hurtful to commonality, Appropriate technology, Industrial system "appropriate climate for business", Second wave Luddism, Epistemological Luddism, Third wave Luddism, Resistance to AI proliferation, Unionizing labor against technology, Public ownership of AI infrastructure, Technological imperialism Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode traces the continuous thread of Luddite resistance from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution straight through to the age of AI, noting how the term Luddite is often used today as a pejorative to dismiss critics of technological expansion. The movement began with 19th-century English cloth workers who mobilized against the horrific context created by industrial expansion. Following Parliament's enclosure of six million acres of commons, workers were forced into terrifying, unsafe cities to become "meat for the machines." The depravity was immense; for example, in Manchester, 57% of children under five died due to a mix of labor injuries and pollution, and the average lifespan for a laborer in Leeds was reduced to just over 18. Despite widespread hunger, many laborers refused factory work, preferring to starve to death rather than face the inhumane conditions. The original Luddites—highly skilled artisans including croppers, shearers, and framework knits—began systematic frame breaking near Noddingham on the night of November 4, 1811. Their actions were a calculated tactic of "collective bargaining by riot" used after repeated failed attempts to secure relief, legal protections, and minimum wage bills from Parliament. The Luddites fundamentally resisted capital’s efforts to restructure social relations using technology as a vehicle. They selectively targeted specific stocking frames used to produce inferior goods known as "cutups" that undercut the entire market and destroyed the existing trade, viewing this use as "hurtful to commonality," rather than opposing all machinery. The government responded with exceptional brutality, making machine breaking a capital offense in 1812 and deploying 14,400 troops—a force larger than the British contingent fighting Napoleon in Portugal at the time. Mass trials and hangings "broke the neck of Lutism as an organized movement," successfully establishing the "appropriate climate for business." Although they failed to achieve immediate material goals, their influence lived on in art, with supporters like Lord Byron and writers like Charles Dickens, who used fiction as a "forceful protest against the machine." The episode concludes by examining the "Second and Third waves" of Luddite thinking, focusing on anxieties around computers, automation, and the proliferation of AI. Ultimately, this history illustrates a fluid fight against technological imperialism, suggesting that modern resistance must adopt context-sensitive strategies, such as unionizing labor against technology and advocating for policies that enable public ownership of AI infrastructure, to shape a more just future.   For sources, transcripts, and to read more about this subject, visit: www.agroecologies.org To support this podcast, join our patreon for early, commercial-free episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com For PPA Merch, visit: https://breadandrosespress.com/ For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/ Key Words: Luddism, technopolitical resistance, First wave Luddism, Collective bargaining by riot, Resistance to Industrial Revolution, Luddite reputation, Frame breaking, Machine breaking capital offense 1812, 19th century English cloth workers, Enclosure of the commons, Nottingham Luddites, King Edward (Ned Lud), York Castle hangings 1813, Croppers, shearers, and framework knitters, Lord Byron Luddites, Charles Dickens forceful protest against the machine, Kirk Patrick Sale, Stocking frames, Cutups inferior goods, Hurtful to commonality, Appropriate technology, Industrial system "appropriate climate for business", Second wave Luddism, Epistemological Luddism, Third wave Luddism, Resistance to AI proliferation, Unionizing labor against technology, Public ownership of AI infrastructure, Technological imperialism Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Victoria Melody, the vibrant comedian and artist from Bristol, takes us on a captivating journey into the world of the Diggers, a radical group from the English Civil War era. With her signature blend of humor and historical insight, Victoria uncovers how her chance discovery of Gerard Winstanley's revolutionary ideas sparked a passionate exploration of communal land ownership. Her project, initially sparked by a curiosity for historical reenactment, blossoms into a deeper narrative about these historical figures and their impact on society. Our spotlight then shifts to tales of community activism and change, where we meet inspiring individuals like Brian, who turned a simple act of kindness into a widespread meal service during the lockdown. His journey from a local initiative to advocating for national support systems reveals the power of community action. Meanwhile, Dave Banks' crusade to preserve green spaces reminds us of the everyday heroes among us, and the essential role that art and history play in fostering community trust and connection. In a unique chapter, we explore the power of historical reenactment in fostering community engagement, brought to life by an extraordinary event in Whitehawk. Locals embraced their roles as Diggers, while historical reenactors played their adversaries, creating a vibrant festival that celebrated community spirit. This reenactment was more than just a performance—it became a symbol of rewriting history, empowering the community to reclaim their narrative. We also touch upon gardening's role in youth empowerment and the transformative potential of turning unused spaces into thriving community hubs, all inspired by the arts and storytelling. Victoria’s work reminds us that through collaboration and creativity, we can challenge the status quo and build stronger communities. To check out Victoria's work, visit: https://victoriamelody.com/ For sources, transcripts, and to read more about this subject, visit: www.agroecologies.org To support this podcast, join our patreon for early, commercial-free episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For PPA Restoration Content, visit: www.restorationagroecology.com For PPA Merch, visit: https://breadandrosespress.com/ For PPA Native Plants, visit: www.nativenurseries.org To hear Tomorrow, Today, our sister podcast, visit: www.tomorrowtodaypodcast.org/   Diggers, English Civil War, Gerard Winstanley, communal land ownership, historical reenactment, community activism, social change, community action, community trust, community connection, gardening, youth empowerment, unused spaces, community hubs, art, storytelling, collaboration, creativity, status quo, community engagement, community-driven initiatives, community spirit, community collaboration, community issues, disenfranchisement, social spaces, artist in residence, privatization, online platforms, Victoria Melody, Bristol, UK, Christopher Hill, revolutionary groups, pamphlets, Brighton, Meals on Wheels, malnutrition, Whitehawk, beetle species, industrial development, community stories, broader narrative, trust, genuine connection, transformative power, community dynamics, community-driven initiatives, community garden, vegetables, empowerment, call to arms, elitism, theatre production, artist in residence, Norfolk, Northeast, disused spaces, community areas, online platforms, privatization, young people, US, victoriamelody.com, Instagram Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.