Rebecca Jim (Cherokee) was a school counselor in 1979 when she witnessed Tar Creek run orange with pollution from nearby mining tailings. The federal government eventually made it a Superfund site. She has been an environmental advocate ever since and is even known as the Tar Creek Keeper, raising awareness for the 11-mile waterway and leading a non-profit organization dedicated to ongoing cleanup and holding polluters accountable. Jim is our December Native in the Spotlight.
In this episode, Rivers heads back to the Record Parlour in Hollywood, CA to dig through the Bargain Bin for weird LPs with comedians Kevin Anderson and Kaye. The albums we played and talked about are as follows: Doctored for Super Stereo - 'Sound Effects, Vol. 1' (1960) Oscar Brand - 'Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads, Vol. 4' (1957) Joe Ely - 'Musta Notta Gotta Lotta' (1981) Isis - 'Breaking Through' (1977) Roger Cook – Meanwhile Back at the World (1972) Deaf School - 'English Boys/Working Girls' (1978) Lakeside - 'Shot of Love' (1978) Kaptain Kool and the Kongs - 'Kaptain Kool and the Kongs' (1978) The Nighthawks - 'Hot Spot' (1984) Zephyr - 'Zephyr' (1969) Bruce Scott - 'They're All Raving About Bruce Scott' (1965) The Rave Ups - The Book of Your Regrets (1987) Santa Esmeralda - 'Beauty' (1978) Follow Kevin on everything @KBAndersonYo Follow Joe on everything @JoeCharlesKaye Subscribe on Patreon for the UNCUT video version of this episode as well as TONS of bonus content! http://patreon.com/TheGoodsPod Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt here: http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod
The time is right to revisit cabins: Log cabins, woodsy getaways, A-frame cuties, cottages, tiny homes, lake houses. WE GET INTO IT, including 2024 updates. World famous Minnesota architect, author, professional cabinologist and human delight Dale Mulfinger sits down to discuss everything from what makes a cabin a cabin, to why we bond better surrounded by wood, Scandinavian hygge-ness, where to situate windows, cabin history, horror flicks and vacation activities. Alie sits there starry-eyed and stammers a bunch because she's so excited.
James begins a 4 part series looking at the history and future of the low lying atoll nation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This episode looks at the islands’ nuclear legacy.
'Twas (the night before) the night before Christmas/ And all through the show/ We await Sarah Archer with eyes all aglow/ To blow the dust off some old books from the shelf/ And tell us the tale of a jolly old elf.
Where did he come from?/ Where is he going?/ We know you have questions/ So bundle up, if it's snowing/ And sing out your favorite holiday song/ (As ever, it was capitalism all along.)
OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji is found dead in what US officials deem a "suicide." French national Gisèle Pelicot takes an heroic stand in an assault trial fundamentally rocking the nation. Over in the US, a new federal policy may ban 'junk fees.' Also -- spoiler -- remember when Ben, Matt, and Noel bragged, in slightly frightened language, about the brilliance of fungal life? Turns out a species of fungi has evolved to thrive off the radiation at Chernobyl. All this and more in this week's strange news segment.
Native America Calling runs down some of the standout Indigenous tracks from the past year. We get expert recommendations from The Mainstream's Brett Maybee (Seneca), Indigenous in Music’s Larry K (Ho-Chunk), and Sounds of Survivance’s Tory J (Quinault) from KEXP. They give us a wide range of selections that include rock, folk, jazz-fusion, soul, and more, in addition to the insightful stories behind the music. We wrap up the 2024 Native Playlist with music you don’t want to miss.
James talks to Kevin McDonald, in an interview recorded before the ceasefire, about his experience as a peacekeeper with the Irish Defence Forces within UNIFIL and UNTSO in Lebanon.
[Note: we explain TMK's new structure from 0:00-10:28, so skip that to get straight into the episode]
We dive into the market for catastrophe bonds (or, “cat bonds”) and talk about how this complex financial instrument is sold as the silver bullet for climate finance — especially for under-developed countries that are at risk of devastation from disasters like hurricanes, floods, earthquakes — which is meant to be an alternative to insurance for places that cannot access or afford policies. In reality, they have given institutions like the World Bank the perfect neoliberal policy for climate (in)action, they have provided extremely lucrative windfalls for hedge funds, and they have left people in devastated regions with nothing to show for their expensive premiums.
••• Pre-order Jathan’s new book! https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
——
••• The Harsh Reality of ‘Hurricane Insurance’ https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-jamaica-hurricane-catastrophe-bonds/
••• The Risky Business of Predicting Where Climate Disaster Will Hit https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-flood-fire-climate-risk-analytics/
••• In Nature’s Casino https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/magazine/26neworleans-t.html
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It's the annual parade of Bonus Bits - things this year's guests said that I couldn't fit into their episodes, and/or weren't about language, but now is their time to shine. We've got tricorn hats, changing your dog's name, Boston cream pie, parmesan vs vomit, the placebo effect's negative sibling, the universal blank, headache poetry and bawdy riddles. And more! Thanks to, in order of appearance: Joanna Kopaczyk, Juliana Pache, Ben Zimmer, Stacey Mei Yan Fong, A.J. Jacobs, Zazie Todd and Caroline Crampton.
Visit theallusionist.org/bonus2024 for the transcript of this episode, more information about the topics therein, links to all the guest and their original episodes, and all the previous years' bonus episodes.
Content note: this episode contains mentions of cancer and death, and anti-fat culture - but I tell you when that section is about to start, so you can skip ahead by five and a half minutes if you need to.
To help fund this independent podcast, take yourself to theallusionist.org/donate and become a member of the Allusioverse. You get regular livestreams with me reading from my ever-expanding collection of dictionaries, inside scoops into the making of this show, and watchalong parties - coming up, we've got Great Pottery Throwdown 2025, and Cold Comfort Farm (1995). And best of all, you get the company of your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.
And go to theallusionist.org/events for information about the Allusionist's big 10th birthday live show in Vancouver BC on 12 January 2025.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with music and production assistance from Martin Austwick of palebirdmusic.com. Find @allusionistshow on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, etc.
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Rebecca Jim (Cherokee) was a school counselor in 1979 when she witnessed Tar Creek run orange with pollution from nearby mining tailings. The federal government eventually made it a Superfund site. She has been an environmental advocate ever since and is even known as the Tar Creek Keeper, raising awareness for the 11-mile waterway and leading a non-profit organization dedicated to ongoing cleanup and holding polluters accountable. Jim is our December Native in the Spotlight. 