Upstream Coffee Club
Come together with other radical thinkers in this monthly virtual Coffee Club. This is a space to ask questions, stretch your understanding, share experiences and most importantly build community.
Coffee Club is free. Direct donations to Gaza Mutual Aid gratefully accepted.
Unlearn, build community and drink coffee
"Great to reflect on the subject matter with peers. I really feel its important for us all to build communities like this, especially when the ideas we're discussing run against the grain of the mainstream."
"It was great to join such an open and accepting environment, to discuss weighty topics but with lightness, and to start to build community with the others on the call."
"I also really appreciate your ability to act as librarian and point to resources, and the summary of the podcast was really simple and effective. I also loved the relaxed ADHD approach and the intention to build community."
Recent feedback from coffee club
The Upstream podcast radicalised me and changed my life. As a homage to this amazing show and as a means of sharing the beautiful wisdom from the huge back catalogue of episodes I've created an Upstream podcast library which has transcripts, summaries and resources. It's a labour of love I'm building up slowly. If there are episodes you'd like transcripted or summarised let me know!
upcoming Coffee clubs
7th january 2025 1pm utc
Exhausted of the earth with Ajay Singh Chaudhary
"Exhaustion. What a perfect and powerful word to describe our times. Exhausted bodies—over-worked, over-productive, over-stretched. Bodies pushed to their limits, treated like machines whose sole existence is to produce profit. Exhausted ecosystems—extracted, ruined, plundered. Viewed as nothing but raw material for the ceaseless flow of capital accumulation. Exhausted minds—hurried and harried, no time for joy, for introspection, for pondering the cosmos. Our minds are tethered to an orbit delineated by distraction, denial, and despair. Exhaustion."
Join Emma from Flourish Economics to have an relaxed discussion about the episode, build community and drink coffee.
11th february 2025 1pm utc
How to be a good ancestor with Roman Krznaric
"It's been said that “the shortest path to the future is always one through the deepening of the past.” But how do we balance the past, present, and future, when all three weigh so heavily on our consciousness and our social existence?"
Perhaps one way to find a balance—or at least to distill these various webbed threads of temporality—might be to pose them as questions: what can we learn from the past to help us in the present? And how can I be a good ancestor for the people of tomorrow?
Join Emma from Flourish Economics to have an relaxed discussion about the episode, build community and drink coffee.
Episode transcripts available soon.
11th march 2024 1pm utc
Save the date - episode tbc!
Got an episode you want to discuss? Let me know!
Join Emma from Flourish Economics to have an relaxed discussion about the episode, build community and drink coffee.
Episode Transcripts added soon.
previous Coffee clubs
December 2024
Breaking the chains of empire with Abby Martin
Recorded live with Della and Robert, there were several points in this episode that reduced me to tears.
Hearing about the sheer scale of the US military, its involvement incountless conflicts across the world and its environmental impact was mindblowing for me. Coupled with Abby's passionate storytelling and dedication to dismantling US imperalism this is definitely an episode worth listening to.
Join Coffee Club to discuss the themes from this episode in community with others.
Episode Transcripts downloads;
November 2024
How we show up with Mia Birdsong
Probably my favourite Upstream podcast episode, it's a perfect time to share Mia's warming examples of community building, liberation, accountability and "how we show up" in these turbulent times.
The episode explores ideas around community building, ways to unhook from capitalism and turn to one another, navigating conflict and alternative metrics of success.
Episode resources;
November 2024
Why women have better sex under socialism with Kristen Ghodsee
When the Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall was toppled, researchers had a unique opportunity to understand how women's lives were different under different economic regimes and ask the question; did women have better sex under socialism? Spoiler alert - research suggests they did.
This episode explores how capitalism shapes not just sex, but relationships, care and much of the life of people who identify as women.
Episode transcripts available in the Upstream Podcast Library
Kristen Ghodsee is a professor and author of twelve books including Red Valkyries: Feminist lessons from five revolutionary women, Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 years of wild experiments can teach us about the good life and Why women have better sex under Socialism.
october 2024
Breaking things at work with Gavin Mueller
"Despite all the technological advancements we're more isolated, exploited, and alienated than ever before and it really does feel like there's a growing, popular backlash against many of the technologies of our modern world as well as a resigned realisation of their false promises"
Whilst the term luddite is often thrown around as an insult, what did they actually stand for and have they still got relevance today?
Listen to the podcast then join Emma from Flourish Economics to have an relaxed discussion about the episode, build community and drink coffee.
Episode transcripts available in the Upstream Podcast Library
Want to delve deeper?
Read this blog by Jathan Sadowski explaining why you should be a Luddite and this article on neo-luddism warning of AI apocalypse.
September 2024
Better Lives for all with Jason Hickel
"We can end poverty, meet all human needs, and reverse climate change and do all of this with only 30% of the current energy and material output"
Sound too good to be true? Listen to the Upstream podcast to learn why we don't need accept the trade off between addressing poverty or the ecological crisis; switching to a needs based approach and how to pay for it.
High Level Mindmap summary of the episode
Episode transcripts available in the Upstream Podcast Library
