Thank you Gavin Mounsey, Jane van Dis, Steve Birkholz, L. Whitmer, Rose Tulip, and dozens of others for joining this week’s lively and energizing weekly book chat.
Zahra Sethna from Collapse Life and Susan Harley from Courageous Conversations picked up their discussion of Derrick Broze’s How to Opt-Out of the Technocratic State.
While last week’s conversation (linked below) talked about very practical ways to live outside the system, this week the conversation explored Samuel Edward Konkin III’s philosophy of ‘Agorism’ — the idea of building parallel systems outside centralized control — and what that might look like in 2026. From barter and local food networks to home distilling, tool sharing, heirloom seeds, and creative workarounds to restrictive regulations, the conversation was packed with practical ideas and real-world examples.
What made the stream especially uplifting was the audience participation. Viewers shared everything from meat rabbit projects and electric trikes with 75-mile ranges to maple-syrup alcohol tinctures for herbal medicine and small-denomination gold alternatives. There was humor (‘bootleggers rule!’), realism (‘neighbors might squeal’), plus a steady undercurrent of encouragement: (‘resistance is NOT futile’).
Even for a discussion that touched on war, rationing, digital IDs, and economic instability, the tone remained hopeful. The recurring message is that we’re not powerless, we’re not alone, and alternatives are already out there — we just have to find and support them.
Next week we’ll start diving into The Fourth Turning Is Here by Neil Howe. It’s a follow up to his seminal book, co-written with the late William Strauss, which helps place today’s upheaval into a larger historical context by mapping out cycles that have played out in patterns many times before.
In this new piece of work, Howe explores: “how all of us will be differently affected by the political, social, and economic challenges we’ll face in the decade to come, and reveal how our country, our communities, and our families can best prepare to meet these challenges ahead.”
In case you missed it, here’s a link to part 1 of our discussion on Derrick Broze’s book:
Also, we mentioned Joel Salatin’s book, Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal, as a potential title for exploration. We’ll reach out to Joel to see if he’s available to join us for a future livestream.
And many thanks to Rachel Wild for suggesting The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century, by Carne Ross.
Keep the ideas coming and thanks to everyone for the great conversation!
