A bit of a follow-on to my last post about Barcelona en Comú. The campaign videos that the Comunes put out are amazing. So fun, so inclusive, showcasing what they love about the city and what they’ve been able to accomplish. I want to share four videos — 3 by…

One of the reasons why I wanted to study Political Ecology in Barcelona was to witness first-hand the progressive municipalism of Barcelona en Comú (the Comuns). In 2015 a group of activists decided to run for office. They had been challenged to do so; they realized there were limits to…

This week over 1,000 people gathered in Brussels, and thousands more online, to attend the EU Beyond Growth Conference. It was put on by 20 members of the EU Parliament and over 60 organizations across Europe, and the event was held in the EU parliament. Not all the speakers were…

Did you ever sing this song? I think it was a church song. Joy is something I struggle to feel. Mom was a bit of a joy killer. Everything time something was good she commented on what could go wrong. We had to not “jinx” ourselves by saying something positive…

You’ve probably seen photos of the massive protests in France over the last few weeks, or heard about flight delays due to striking workers. As Macron is advancing the neoliberal agenda and increasing the retirement age, people in France are not having it. But these aren’t the only protests in…

I’m going to get to the point: the entire design of our society and system is oppressive and exhausting. Capitalism demands more and more and more from us, and wants us to want more and more as well. Leaving us overburdened with debt, afraid of having enough to pay the…

Two months have passed since my last personal update — time is flying! Classes started up again in mid-January and we continue until spring break in late March. Then mid-April to mid-July is my last stretch of classes. Half way there already! I just finished a class on Degrowth Economics…

In all my years in activist spaces, feminism and gender justice have rarely been brought up. Every so often there would be a concern about patriarchal behavior in a group, usually men taking up too much air time. …

I’ve been in Europe for three months now and have finished my first semester of three semesters of classes in my program. Tomorrow I start my second semester. Time is flying! Carlo returned in early December and his mom visited from Madrid soon after and was in town for his…