“The Fire These Times is a place where we tell our hardest truths, and find one another.”
Naomi Klein

Where doom scrolling

meets radical hope

(wherever you listen to podcasts)


Beyond the Apocalypse w/ Waubgeshig Rice (E221) The Fire These Times

These days, the apocalypse has been on my mind a lot. Maybe that's not surprising, given the state of the world. This can easily descend into dread and hopelessness, which is something I try and avoid for my own sake. When I picked up Moon of the Crusted Snow and Moon of the Turning Leaves, written by my guest Waubgeshig Rice, in a bookshop in Ottawa, I didn't know what to expect. I've always been into 'post-apocalyptic' stories, but I soon found out that there was something different about this cast of characters: their people, the Anishinaabe, had already survived multiple apocalypses at the hands of the Canadian state. In this episode, Waubgeshig and I spoke about the Whitesky saga books, the ongoing wildfires, passing on traditions, learning Ojibwe and teaching it to his kids, Gaza, how the father-daughter relationship in the books inspired my own relationship, and so much more.Waubgeshig’s Recommendations:​⁠Buffalo Hunter Hunter⁠ by Stephen Graham Jones  ​⁠The Sorceress of Sky Serpents⁠ by Eden Robinson​⁠County Road Six⁠ by Kevin Hardcastle——This episode was first released ⁠on Patreon⁠ on 11 August 2026, a day after recordingVideo version premiering on YouTube on 17 August 2026 at 6pm UK time: https://youtu.be/37-oFTg6xBIIf you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come.Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠——Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠ayoub@thefirethesetimes.com⁠⁠Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠.——Elia's recent pieces​ShadoMag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Belfast pogrom was predictable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​972Mag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Also, for Hauntologies​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report from Belfast. Day 1.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Recent Podcast interviews​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon's Agreement with Israel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠——CreditsElia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions)As always, thank you for listening and take care.
  1. Beyond the Apocalypse w/ Waubgeshig Rice (E221)
  2. The Ceuta 'Incident' w/ Ayman Makarem (E220)
  3. Cosmic Dream Boogie w/ Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (E219)
  4. Solarpunk Panel 2026 w/ Luka Dowell, Ariel Kroon & Andre (E218)
  5. Israel Bombed My Hometown – And I Worry About a Civil War (E217)