Community is all we have

Owen Kelly looks at a number of current events and relates them to the arguments that Sarah Wilson puts forward in her new book I Eat the Stars: How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World. 

Meanwhile in an Abandoned Warehouse

EPISODE 90 | September 5 | 2026   

PARTICIPANT

Owen Kelly

COMMENTARY

Wendell Berry died this week at the age of 92, and so what I had planned for this episode changed to focus more on the contrast between his world view and the world view of the tech bros leading us into an irreversible climate catastrophe.

The episode still draws from my reading of Sarah Wilson’s book I Eat The Stars although it no longer attempts a proper review. Perhaps that will come later.

It draws together a number of different news stories: a corporate court case; a social media company selling early access to a president's posts; betting markets hiding in plain sight; a clear pattern behind online pile-ons; and a theory about disconnection and climate change.

The conclusion remains the same: in the final analysis ideas of community and communal culture are all we have and we need to keep regenerating and rewilding them.

REFERENCES

I Eat The Stars by Sarah Wilson https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/808096/i-eat-the-stars-by-sarah-wilson/

Your worst fears about cultural collapse might be true – here’s what you can do about it (an interview with Sarah Wilson) https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2026/jul/29/sarah-wilson-book-interview

Spirituality+Health interview with Sarah Wilson https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/articles/2020/12/29/this-one-wild-and-precious-life-sarah-wilson

NPR: Beloved writer and environmentalist Wendell Berry has died at age 92 https://www.npr.org/2026/09/01/1139228585/wendell-berry-obituary

PBS NewsHour: Paid early access to Trump's posts raises insider trading questions https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/paid-early-access-to-trumps-posts-raises-insider-trading-questions

MetaMask News: Top prediction market categories to watch in 2026 https://metamask.io/news/top-prediction-market-categories-2026

NPR: Judge sides with Meta in antitrust trial, will not spin off WhatsApp and Instagram https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5495626/meta-ftc-instagram-whatsapp-antitrust-ruling

HHS Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/youth-mental-health/social-media/index.html

New Statesman: The dangers of public shaming, mob justice and scolding on the internet https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2014/01/dangers-public-shaming-mob-justice-and-scolding-internet

Axios: New book 'Commander in Cheat' goes long on Trump's golf game https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-golf-book-rick-reilly-21b439c1-2de5-4e34-9370-37d666fa9b86.html

Kentucky Lantern: Kentucky writer, farmer and advocate Wendell Berry dies at 92 https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/08/31/kentucky-writer-farmer-and-advocate-wendell-berry-dies-at-92/

QuoteFancy: Top 450 Wendell Berry Quotes https://quotefancy.com/wendell-berry-quotes