Loam Listen

How might we collapse a world rooted in extraction and nurture one built on reciprocity? What can decomposition teach us about seeding sustainable futures? Join us as queer Hoodoo, earth tender, and living ancestor Jordan Alexander Williams contemplates the liberation of land, ourselves, and our communities from “radical individualism” in this soul-stirring conversation with Amirio Freeman. From meditating on a week spent at the revolutionary Soul Fire Farm to exploring the beauty of mycelial networks, Williams walks us through possibilities for planting world(s) worth growing into. GUEST: Jordan Alexander Williams (they/them) is a queer Hoodoo, earth tender, and living ancestor. Jordan was born and raised in the so-called Chicagoland area of Illinois, lands stewarded by many peoples and lineages including: the Potawatomi, Miami, Ho-Chunk and at least a dozen more Indigenous Nations, and Hoodoos / Black African peoples of Turtle Island (so-called North America). In 2016, Jordan graduated from the University of Illinois (a land-grab university) with a degree in environmental science and a concentration in human dimensions of the environment. They have since collaborated with human and more-than-human beings across Turtle Island to: develop the collective visions and leadership of environmental changemakers; facilitate organizational culture shifts towards anti-racism and cooperative leadership; cultivate food, climate, and ecological justice; and build liberatory practices, relationships, and spaces with Two-Spirit, Queer, and Trans / Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (2SQT/BIPOC). Jordan trusts that the liberation and regeneration of people and planet will come by dancing in the moon and sunlight, getting our hands in the soil, caring for each other, and reclaiming and evolving the earth-sourced wisdom(s) of our ancestors. RESOURCES: Soul Fire Farm Soul Fire Farm BIPOC Farming Immersion Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land Hoodoo Mojo Workin’: The Old African American Hoodoo System by Katrina Hazzard-Donald Ep. 25 Mama Rue Breaks the Juju Down (A Little Juju Podcast) Nested Wholes & Fractals The Regenerative Life: Transform Any Organization, Our Society, and Your Destiny by Carol Sanford Regenerative Design for Change Makers by Abrah Dresdale Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown

In the face of compounding crises, the work of multidisciplinary, multidimensional folk healer Richael Faithful is a call back into healing justice. Tune in as host Amirio Freeman and Faithful explore community organizing, connection to ancestral healing traditions, care work, and the birthing of new selves in this heart-filled episode. As Richael reminds us, there are many ways to heal, love, connect, and care. How can we make space for our multitudes? How can we nurture new possibilities for worldbuilding into being? GUEST: Richael Faithful (they/them) is a Black trans southern multidisciplinary, multidimensional folk healer, culture worker, strategist, and creative rooted in Washington DC / Piscataway ancestral lands / Chocolate City. RECOMMENDATIONS: Web: www.richaelfaithful.com, IG: @richaelfaithfulfolkhealer, FB: @faithfulfolkhealer Together at the Edge of the World: On Healing Justice Tell us about your healing justice and care work The Black Trans Prayer Book (Lambda Literary Award Winner, featuring "My Black Soul Absorbs Every Shade of Being") On Grief, Land and Ritual with Revenge of the DandeLions Griot Collective

With Earth in Color, sustainability scientist and designer Darel Scott is reclaiming the relationship between Blackness and Greeness through vibrant, community-oriented media. In the face of a mainstream environmental movement rooted in the erasure of the lived experiences of Black folx, Earth in Color is a call to reimagine, reclaim, and regenerate. Tune in as host Amirio Freeman connects with Darel to talk about creating spaces that center and celebrate Black connections to Earth, holding histories of harm, and activating meaningful allyship in Black-led spaces. Guest: Darel Scott is a designer, sustainability scientist, and the founder of Earth in Color, an emerging media platform and creative studio focused on Black culture, community healing, and the natural world. Through creative storytelling and nature experiences, Earth in Color celebrates Black culture connections to nature and helps us heal with the Earth. Darel is on a personal mission to cultivate collective healing, spark Earth curiosity, and nurture deep joy in the Black community. She is a tea fanatic and loves developing plant-forward recipes. You can check out those recipes and so much more @earthincolor.co! Resources: Radicle Magazine “Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry” by Camille Dungy “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds” by adrienne maree brown “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer

During an era when our bodily autonomy is under increasing threat, doulas — for birth, for death, for abortion, and more — are essential to supporting our collective capacity to meet change. In this vital episode, host Amirio Freeman talks with abortion doula Michelle Loo about their experiences with full-spectrum carework. Through situating the work of abortion doulas within a long history of communities innovating systems of care, Amirio and Michelle unpack the link between abortion access and diverse movements for liberation. GUEST: Raised by Chinese-Malaysian immigrants in New York City and Philadelphia, and now residing in DC, Michelle Loo is an East Coast baby who is grounded by eating good food and building expansive networks of care. They are a queer and leftist trainer, educator, and doula. They like to ask good questions, listen, and make art. RESOURCES: The Radical Doula Guide by Miriam Zoila Perez DIY Doula Self-Care for Before, During, and After Your Abortion by the Doula Project

As we explore (and expand) our understanding of matriarchy at Loam this year, this conversation with activist, healer, and creator extraordinaire Twiggy Pucci Garçon offers insight into how the Ballroom community redefines and reimagines nurturing relationship through creating unique spaces of care, support, and expression. From reflecting on queerness to excavating the link between spirituality and self, Loam Listen host Amirio Freeman and Twiggy dive deep in this world-building conversation. GUEST: Raised in a southern, religious, Black community, Twiggy is a proud non-binary member of the LGBTQ+ community. As an activist, producer, healer and creator, Twiggy attributes the balance of struggle and strength they witnessed and experienced, early in life, to their ability to maneuver through spaces of power and represent for people without. Praising literary greats like James Baldwin to the women in their family, Twiggy is quick to credit their ancestral warriors and pathmakers for the elevation of their own voice in a way that ultimately leads to progress. Since finding support in the Ballroom community at a very crucial moment in their life, Twiggy leverages every opportunity to generate conversations around equity for LGBTQ+ young people and create quality spaces for them to be centered in making decisions and solutions around the issue of homelessness. With over 15 years of experience, both personally and professionally, Twiggy has collaborated with artists, filmmakers, academics and policymakers to increase visibility of both creative and sociopolitical agendas.