Not Necessarily Politics

Frayed. That's the word I think of when I think of how I left Growing Down. Growing Down was last published in 2020. A lot of water has flown under the bridge since that time. Here is an update of cohosts Jeremy and Ryan: Jeremy is engaged in other projects but is up for reunions now and then. Ryan has created a wonderful political podcast "Meta-Ideological Politics" with Nate Coffman that deserves a listen to. As for me, I was not ready to let Growing Down, or GD, go because I believe the panel of thinkers we interviewed are the foundation for future integral politics. I want to build upon their insights. There are two subjects for the episode. The first is closure. I am not certain of the future of Growing Down, but I do know that the idea that birthed GD is still very needed today. Before giving up on it, I wanted to explore the subject of political engagement. Growing Down was my political engagement-at least, how I measured it. Without this political outlet, I found myself disinterested in the current political narrative. There was a wonderful satirical sitcom in the 80's called "Not Necessarily the News". As a child, I watched it with joy to watch some of the world leaders make comedic faux pas' over and over. If anything, it made politics fun. To the skeptics that say politics can't be fun I say this: you are probably right. But -- Let's try. I asked Canadian metamodernist Brent Cooper (and past interviewee of GD) to cohost to help me unravel some anxiety I have about the future of politics and this podcast: How do politics fit into our lives? How can we transcend the left/right spectrum? Is direct democracy a good thing? How can we stay politically engaged when all we want to do is quit? And -- Should we quit? Not necessarily. Be a working class hero and donate a $1 to Brent's project: https://www.patreon.com/abs_tract