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 RobinsonCounty Road Six by Kevin Hardcastle------ This episode was first released on Patreon on 11 August 2026, a day after recording Video version premiering on YouTube on 17 August 2026 at 6pm UK time: https://youtu.be/37-oFTg6xBI If 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.com Everything else is archived on the website. ------ Elia's recent pieces ShadoMag: The Belfast pogrom was predictable972Mag: 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 PogromIt Could Happen Here: Lebanon's Agreement with Israel------ Credits Elia 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.
