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Cultures of Energy

Cultures of Energy

Dominic Boyer and Cymene Howe 259 Episodes Jul 13, 2026

Cultures of Energy brings writers, artists and scholars together to talk, think and feel their way into the Anthropocene. It covers serious issues like climate change, species extinction and energy transition, but also tries to confront seemingly huge and insurmountable problems with insight, creativity and laughter. The podcast believes in the possibility of personal and cultural change, and that the arts and humanities can help guide us toward a more sustainable future. It is a Mingomena Media production, co-hosted by Dominic Boyer and Cymene Howe.

Episodes

259 - Petrostates (feat. Ryan Cecil Jobson)
259 - Petrostates (feat. Ryan Cecil Jobson) Jul 13, 2026 53:05 The China adventure continues for your two co-hosts. Cymene and Dominic report from Zhangzhou, a small city of five million in Fujian province, and talk about party hotel life and what might have been the first energy humanities workshop in the country. And then (9:02) we welcome Ryan Cecil Jobson to the podcast to discuss his groundbreaking book, The Petro-State Masquerade: Oil, Sovereignty, and
258 - Smog (feat. Ann Carlson)
258 - Smog (feat. Ann Carlson) Jun 27, 2026 49:48 Cymene and Dominic report from the first week of their trip to China. And then (11:22) we welcome legal scholar Ann Carlson to the podcast to talk to us about battling smog in one of our favorite cities, Los Angeles. Ann has just published a new book, Smog and Sunshine (U California Press, 2026) that tells the remarkable and often inspiring story of how Los Angeles radically improved its air quali
257 - The Alibi of Capital (feat. Timothy Mitchell)
257 - The Alibi of Capital (feat. Timothy Mitchell) Jun 15, 2026 54:46 It's World Cup season and so your co-hosts deliver their first ever sports corner. And then (9:38) drum roll please, we welcome the one and only Tim Mitchell back to the podcast to talk about his latest masterpiece, The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke the Earth to Steal the Future on the Promise of a Better Tomorrow (Verso, 2026). We start with Tim's model of the shareholder corporation as a machi
256 - Land Art Generator (feat. Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian)
256 - Land Art Generator (feat. Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian) Jun 1, 2026 01:01:30 Cymene goes shopping with Beyoncé in this episode's dream sequence and if that weren't dreamy enough your co-hosts also break down the new film, Backrooms. Then (17:01) we welcome Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry to the podcast to talk about their amazing Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI), a remarkable effort to surface the potential beauty of renewable energy. As a unique kind of public art
255 - Accelerant (feat. Ciruce Movahedi-Lankarani)
255 - Accelerant (feat. Ciruce Movahedi-Lankarani) May 17, 2026 55:10 Dominic and Cymene eat crepes, share limericks and wonder whether dogs and rabbits might hold the secret to world peace on this week's episode. Then (13:09) we welcome Ciruce Mohavedi-Lankarani to the pod to talk about his new book Accelerant: Energy Infrastructures and the Natural World in Making Modern Iran newly out from Stanford U Press. We begin with how natural gas overcame its second-class
254 - Shrinking Cities (feat. Fernando Ortiz-Moya)
254 - Shrinking Cities (feat. Fernando Ortiz-Moya) May 4, 2026 58:02 Cymene and Dominic talk about shrinky dinks, tiny sweaters, miniaturized submarines and elemental ethnography during this week's intro segment. Then (12:12) we welcome Fernando Ortiz-Moya to the conversation to talk about his excellent new book We're Still Here: Regenerating Shrinking Cities from the Ground Up (U California Press, 2026). Fernando explains his lifelong fascination with cities with
253 - Disappearing Waste (feat. Dan Sosna)
253 - Disappearing Waste (feat. Dan Sosna) Apr 20, 2026 50:31 Dominic and Cymene marvel at April snow and the ice cream stylings of Ben and Jerry. Then (8:28) we welcome Dan Sosna to the podcast to discuss his new book, Europe's Disappearing Waste (Berghahn, 2026). We dive into his background in archaeology and what attracted him to landfill in the first place, how wastepicking can be viewed as a practice of "quiet sustainability", and the differences betwee
252 - Southern Anthropocenes (feat. Casper Bruun Jensen)
252 - Southern Anthropocenes (feat. Casper Bruun Jensen) Apr 5, 2026 51:17 Cymene and Dominic discuss what happened when ten art school kids were given a disney princess baking challenge on this week's episode of the podcast. Then (14:48) we welcome Casper Bruun Jensen to the pod to talk about a new collaboration and book project he organized called Southern Anthropocenes (Routledge, 2026). We begin with the Anthropocene concept and why Casper and his collaborators f
251 - Deep Listening (feat. Zina Saro-Wiwa)
251 - Deep Listening (feat. Zina Saro-Wiwa) Mar 22, 2026 01:15:32 Cymene and Dominic lament what is happening in Iran and explore what kinds of dogs they would be on this episode of the podcast. Then (15:47) we welcome to the podcast the amazing multitalented multimedia artist Zina Saro-Wiwa to talk about her work. We begin with her father Ken Saro-Wiwa's courageous activism on behalf of the Ogoni people and tragic death at the hands of Nigeria's Abacha dictator
250 - Energy Democracy (feat. Nikki Luke)
250 - Energy Democracy (feat. Nikki Luke) Mar 8, 2026 59:39 Dominic and Cymene celebrate the 250th episode of the podcast with tales of steamy avian encounter. And then (16:14) we welcome Nikki Luke to the podcast, author of the brand-new book Electric Life: Utility Regulation and the Fight for Energy Democracy (MIT Press, 2026). We start with what energy democracy means to Nikki in the context of her work on utility regulation and then move to her case
249 - Weathering (feat. Astrida Neimanis and Jennifer Mae Hamilton)
249 - Weathering (feat. Astrida Neimanis and Jennifer Mae Hamilton) Feb 22, 2026 01:02:54 Dominic and Cymene talk about their Cathostant (or is it Protelic?) families in this week's intro segment. And then (11:59) we are thrilled to be joined by Jennifer Mae Hamilton and Astrida Neimanis to discuss their work as the Weathering Collective, especially their inspiring new book How to Weather Together: Feminist Practice for Climate Change (Bloomsbury, 2026). We begin with their collaborat
248 - Maintenance & Repair (feat. Jérôme Denis & David Pontille)
248 - Maintenance & Repair (feat. Jérôme Denis & David Pontille) Feb 8, 2026 01:07:18 Cymene and Dominic share pirate tales from the Sundance Film Festival and reimagine Heated Rivalry with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk as the lead lovers. Then (15:34) we welcome Jérôme Denis and David Pontille to the podcast to discuss not one but two new books, The Care of Things: Ethics and Politics of Maintenance (Wiley, 2025) and Fragilities: Essays on the Politics, Ethics and Aesthetics of Main

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