For this episode, I speak with Seattle-based abstract artist, Leif Forrest Clamor. In this mind expanding conversation, we cover everything from queer joy to personal liberation to art as a medium for honesty. Experiencing the death of their father, best friend and partner consecutively within the span of three years, Leif speaks of the emotional transformation that has come through navigating such unimaginable loss. Leif combats the conditional formula for processing grief that prescribes depression as the only way to mourn. Alternately he asks, what can I do to personify a loving life in honour of the ones that have come to pass? Through self-observation, Leif offers three reminders when experiencing the loss of a loved one: the power of connection, the freedom to choose your own path, and the importance of sharing your story with others that are able to witness your whole humanity. Laugh and cry with us in this heartening conversation about what it means to keep on living after death, the significance of forming an unshakeable bond with ourselves, and finding home with our chosen family where we can express ourselves without limitations.

Leif Forrest Clamor has been a professional abstract artist for 17 years. He’s done paid non-credited digital graphic art and printwork for restaurants and zines in Brooklyn, NY. They have had works professionally displayed in: Melbourne, FL, West Palm Beach, FL, Orlando, FL, New York, NY, Seattle, WA (Neighborhoods: South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, Belltown and SODO). Clamor is a new artist to the Seattle area since 2019 and has participated in window displays in South Lake Union, featured work in Ballad and Capital Hill neighbourhoods.

***

Follow Leif’s work:

@safewithleif

Leif’s Rec’s:

Deviant Matter by Kyla Wazana Tompkins

The Last Day by Owain Owain

Is Zionism a death cult? For this special mid-season episode, host of Little Death podcast, Dvorah Silverman, delves into the manipulative mechanics of Zionism across time, the resistance movements that have always existed in parallel and how modern Zionism has shaped our present-day (distorted) realities. Employing Michael Langone’s 3Ds of cult dynamics - Deception, Dependence and Dread - Dvorah breaks down Zionism's persuasive recruitment tactics, insidious control of information and the repercussions of leaving for those who dare to question.

To illuminate the “exceptional” case of Israel, Dvorah shares their journey of unraveling the cultishness of Zionism, the cracks in the ingrained narratives that led them to anti-Zionist movements and the surfacing guilt and shame in the cult recovery process. Ultimately, Dvorah stresses the criticalness in finding belonging amidst anti-Zionist communities and relationships through cross-cultural solidarities in order to begin to heal and combat the cult of Zionism for a Free Palestine within our lifetimes.

Episode Sources:

⁠What is Zionism?⁠

⁠More than a century on: The Balfour Declaration explained | Al Jazeera⁠

⁠Khaled Hourani: The Story of the Watermelon⁠

⁠Israelism Documentary⁠

⁠What Does Israel Fear From Palestine? By Raja Shehadeh⁠

⁠Cult Dynamics 101⁠⁠–⁠⁠ Conspirituality⁠

⁠“Deception, Dependence, and Dread” By Michael Langone⁠

⁠Doppelganger – Naomi Klein⁠

⁠Israel Projects 2009 Global Language Dictionary⁠

In this episode, I am joined by local Queer Jewish ritualist, matchmaker and cultural connector: Madison Slobin. Divulging a once fearful relationship with ghosts and death, Madi vulnerably invites us into her subconscious to reveal ancestral encounters and the portals of connection that became possible once she was open to them. She offers her experiences with supernatural visitations from her Ashkenazi grandparents and the ancient Jewish divinatory practice of dream interpretation. During the pandemic, this led Madi along a hallowed path towards co-creating “the place/s” (hamakom) where she wanted to be. Elaborating on the concept of “spiritual technology”—ritual that offers both threads of tradition and is also useful to our realities today—encapsulates Madi’s ultimate sacred aspiration: to show up in instinctually spiritual ways that honour the gifts of our ancestors and cultivate lasting connection in modern times.

Madison Slobin is a Queer Jewess who grew up in Vancouver. By day, she works for Vancouver Aboriginal Child & Family Services as their Lifelong Connections Coordinator. In this role, Madison focuses on connecting youth in care to their biological families and Indigenous communities. Outside of work Madison coordinates a number of projects: she is the co-founder and coordinator of Shiva Delivers (Jews in solidarity with Black Grief), Hamakom (a Jewish community that centres the voices and experience of marginalized Jews) and YVR Yenta (a modern matchmaking collective). Madison has also recently organized her building and coordinates a number of projects to strengthen solidarity amongst renters living in the neighborhood. In her free time Madison watches reality TV, grows vegetables and takes long strolls around the city.

Follow Madi’s work:

@makin.madi.moves

@hamakom.bc

@shivadelivers

@yvryenta

Madi’s Rec's:

Episode 16: Jewish Views of the Afterlife w/ Simcha Raphael - Jewish Ancestral Healing | Podcast on Spotify

Beyond the Pale by Elana Dykewomon | Goodreads

Are You The One? Season 8

Episode Sources:

Women's Memorial March calls for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women

What Is Phasmophobia (Fear of Ghosts) and How to Cope?, By Very Well Health

Jewish Divination-An Introductory Discussion, By Jewitches

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism, By Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis

History of the Word Companion, By Merriam Webster