Human beings have done a good job of ripping this planet apart; we have to figure out how to put it back together, and today’s guest is at the forefront of this initiative. Erin Yoshi joins us today to talk about her new project, The Land of WE. In this project, Erin is using art to drive conversations that imagine a different world, one in which we live within our means, and we rethink our exploitative systems that deplete our limited resources. Our conversation with Erin starts by tracing her journey as an artist, zooming in on how she got interested in murals, where her activistic approach found its expression, and how she developed such a strong skill in the business side of the pursuit. From there, we switch gears and focus on our current moment in history, a time defined by the exploits of capitalism which have driven movements to destroy the environment, divide people, and spread feelings of hopelessness. Erin talks about her belief in, and the possibility of, building a post-capitalist world. In this dream society, we keep the benefits of modernity but achieve them in more sustainable ways by ‘remembering forward’ – taking solutions from the past and turning them into our new default systems. This segues into a focus on The Land of WE, and listeners get to hear Erin talk about how she is researching these kinds of older, sustainable cultures and systems, and spreading the word about them through murals, billboards, and educational social media initiatives.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing muralist Erin Yoshi and her new project fighting climate change, The Land of WE.
• Erin’s love of podcasts, the types she listens to, and some of her experiences as a guest.
• Discipline, being a mom, and how Erin has been dealing with the logistics of being an artist.
• How Erin got her work ethic and skills in the business and creative sides of art.
• The story of how Erin’s mural career evolved, starting from an erasable board her dad bought her.
• Being scrappy and how a career in art is a slow journey with no overnight success.
• The need for artists to enjoy the craziness of the struggle that comes with being an artist.
• Tough love as a parent and lessons Erin learned from her dad that made her a better artist
• Themes of the fight for justice and against prejudice; the story of Erin’s family history.
• Erin’s consideration of herself as an activist and some of her work in this area.
• How Erin became ED of the Estria Foundation and the environmental activism work they did.
• The extent that religion impacts humankind’s ability to manage its natural resources.
• The myth of the political right versus the left: A way of distracting the masses from their similarity.
• Pros and cons of capitalism and Erin’s belief that a post-capitalist world is coming.
• ‘Remembering forward’: How Erin applies this principle to advocate for more sustainability.
• The idea that more sustainable solutions already exist, we just need to incorporate them.
• The need for governments to support sustainable initiatives so they aren’t so expensive.
• Localized solutions and the need for systems that allow local leaders.
• Warnings to be found in bizarre natural disasters that sound like sci-fi but are real.
• The role of the artist in these times of crisis as...