Why I'm Quitting AI for a Year: Dr. Amelia Hruby

Why Zines Are Making a Comeback with Maz George

In this episode, you'll hear from Maz George (they/them), a queer neurodivergent astro coach, artist, and avid zine maker, about why the DIY publishing format is experiencing a radical resurgence. Maz shares the evolution of zine-making from the pre-internet days of typewriters and rubber stamps to today's intentional analog rebellion against algorithmic content. We explore how creating physical, uncensored media offers focus, human connection, and creative freedom that social media can't replicate — and why choosing to make something tangible in a digital-first world is its own form of resistance. Whether you're curious about launching your first zine or just craving more offline creative practice, this conversation will inspire you to get your hands dirty (literally). Topics Covered: * How zine-making has evolved from necessity in the '90s and early 2000s to intentional resistance in the algorithm age, and why choosing print feels so different now * The unexpected emotional difference between 100 social media likes and 100 people holding your physical zine in their hands * Why zines remain uncensored, unfiltered, and un-algorithmed, and how zine distros and festivals are building alternative distribution networks * The concept of "skeuomorphism" (digital design mimicking physical objects) and what it reveals about our innate human need for tactile experiences * How the zine community creates serendipitous human connection, like meeting the maker of your favorite zine at a festival six months after buying it * Why children growing up in a digital-first world need the opposite of skeuomorphism: translation tools to help them understand offline, embodied experiences * The power of slowing down with a typewriter, embracing typos, and treating imperfection as part of the creative process * Simple zine ideas to get started: "shit I saw on my walk," color collections, lists of things you love, scavenger hunt finds * How making zines with kids can build creativity, focus, and appreciation for physical making * Why you don't need to escape the internet entirely to benefit from analog creative practices—it's about balance, not binaries Resources Mentioned: * Book Riot's history of zines [https://bookriot.com/history-of-zines/] * The Newspaper Club [https://www.newspaperclub.com/] * Quimby's (Brooklyn) [https://quimbysnyc.com/] * New York Art Book Fair (by Printed Matter) [https://www.printedmatter.org/programs/4-art-book-fairs] Maz's Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ma_george/] Maz's zine: Astrology and creativity guide [https://kindlingkind.myflodesk.com/big-3-kind] 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/ [http://feministpodcastcollective.com/]

Cuqui Magazine is Bringing Back Print for Gen Alpha Girls (with Paula James Martinez)

In this episode, you'll hear from Paula Goldstein, former fashion director at Refinery29 and founder of Cuqui Media [https://cuqui.club/], about why she's bringing print magazines back for Gen Alpha girls. Paula shares her journey from UK teen magazines to working at indie fashion mags in London and Paris, and why the collapse of print publishing taught her what we lost when everything moved online. We dig into why kids who've never known life before the internet are somehow more bored by it than we are, how nostalgia isn't a strategy but presence is, and why Paula turned down venture capital to bootstrap a magazine that prioritizes magic over metrics. If you've ever felt the sting of your kid calling you out for doomscrolling, this conversation will hit home. Topics Covered: * How the shift from print to digital happened in real time in the fashion magazine world, and why editors dismissed Instagram as "bad photos on phones" before it changed everything overnight * The moment commerce overtook art in publishing (2008 financial crisis) and opened the floodgates for digital-first media * Why Gen Alpha kids are somehow more bored by the internet than Millennials and Gen X, they've "reached the end of the internet and there's nothing new under the sun" * The difference between nostalgia (what we miss) and what kids are actually craving: magic, presence, and something tactile to hold * Paula's philosophy: "Nostalgia isn't a strategy, Cuqui is," building something new instead of trying to recreate the past * Why turning down venture capital was essential to building a magazine on her own terms, without growth-at-all-costs pressure * The painful moment when your kid calls you out for being on your phone when you should be present, and why it stings so much * How doomscrolling has become a parental habit we model for our children, and what breaking that cycle looks like * The magic of getting something in the mail that isn't a bill, why physical magazines create a reading experience digital media can't replicate * Paula's challenge: go somewhere without your phone for two hours and see if the world collapses (spoiler: it won't) Resources Mentioned: * Cuqui.club [https://cuqui.club/] is currently accepting pre-orders for journals to support the launch * Ms. Magazine [https://msmagazine.com/] 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/ [http://feministpodcastcollective.com/]

Third Spaces and Building Community Offline with Altagracia Montilla

In this episode, you'll hear from Altagracia Montilla, a visionary community architect, facilitator, and founder of the 7th Space Art Gallery and Wellness Center. Altagracia breaks down what third spaces actually are, and why they matter more than ever in our hyper-individualistic, screen-saturated culture. You'll explore the difference between a place and a space, why building community feels as scary as dating, and how to practice connection in small, low-stakes ways. From printing flyers in coffee shops to striking up conversations with strangers, Altagracia offers grounded, creative strategies for reclaiming in-person community and restoring your humanity, starting with yourself. Topics Covered: • What third spaces are and why they matter, Ray Oldenburg's definition and the key characteristics of true third spaces (free, come-and-go access, no social hierarchies) • Why our community-building skills were eroding long before 2020, and how American hyper-individualism makes it even harder • The difference between a "place" and a "space," and how intention transforms physical locations into sites of belonging • Why building community feels scary (hint: it's a lot like dating), including the risk of harm, rejection, and vulnerability • How to sustain third spaces financially without capitalist extraction, pay-what-you-can models, creative reciprocity, and trusting that generosity returns • Creating norms instead of rules, establishing a "spirit of culture" that invites people to relax, show up authentically, and share generously • Practical first steps for the community-rusty, striking up conversations with strangers, asking about someone's book, attending free library events, and printing flyers offline • Why restoring humanity starts with yourself, and the radical act of journaling to reconnect with your own humanity before seeking it in others Resources Mentioned: • 7th Space Art Gallery and Wellness Center [https://the7space.com/] • Freedom Readers Book Club [https://altagraciamontilla.com/freedom-readers/] Connect with Altagracia Montilla • Threads [https://www.threads.com/@alta_monti] • Website [https://altagraciamontilla.com/] 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE [http://feministpodcastcollective.com/]

Breaking Free from Always Being "On" with Jordan Maney

In this episode, you'll hear from Jordan Maney, the Radical Joy Coach, about how tech has fundamentally changed our relationship to rest and joy. Jordan helps people recovering from burnout use rest as a space to experiment with joyful living while transitioning into something kinder. You'll explore how social media shifted from an event to a constant presence, why scrolling puts your nervous system into survival mode instead of flow state, and what it means to reclaim your energy, attention, and time from platforms designed to keep you hooked. Jordan shares practical tools like social media office hours, the "look up" method for breaking scroll cycles, and her powerful definition of rest as an act of reclamation. This conversation is a permission slip to stop being constantly on. Topics Covered: * How social media evolved from an event (something you logged into intentionally) to a constant, exhausting presence that has fundamentally changed our relationship to rest * Why the fluctuation between cute dog videos and war footage on our feeds is traumatizing our nervous systems and keeping us in a perpetual state of survival mode * The myth of multitasking and how scrolling while doing other things actually prevents us from achieving flow states and genuine rest * Social media office hours: what they are, how they help manage capacity, and why setting external expectations protects your internal boundaries * The "look up" method — a simple embodied practice to interrupt the scroll cycle by literally lifting your eyes, breathing, and asking yourself what you're actually getting from being online * Why rest isn't boring or uncomfortable: Jordan's definition of rest as the energy, attention, and time you return to yourself, and how that reclamation can be joyful and generative * The attention economy and how platforms are systematically designed to rob us of our attention, making it crucial to bring intentionality to every interaction with tech * Why Germans disappear for the entire month of August and what we can learn from cultures that don't treat constant availability as a moral virtue * The difference between using social media as an event (intentional, time-boxed) versus a default coping mechanism for boredom, mood shifts, or avoidance Connect with Jordan Maney: * RestLab Report on Substack [https://jordanmaney.substack.com/] * Instagram * LinkedIn * YouTube: @theJordanManey 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/ [http://feministpodcastcollective.com/]

Why I'm Quitting AI for a Year: Dr. Amelia Hruby

In this episode, you'll hear from Dr. Amelia Hruby—author of Your Attention is Sacred, host of Off the Grid, and founder of Softer Sounds—about her decision to take a full year off from using generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude. Amelia shares what prompted her "GPT sobriety," how it's reshaping her relationship with creativity and skill-building, and why the pressure to use AI is actually the result of a massive marketing campaign designed to make us feel left behind. You'll also hear her honest take on harm reduction, why choosing intentional friction matters, and how to resist the pull of tools that promise efficiency but deliver erosion. If you've been wondering whether you have to use AI to keep up—or if there's another way forward—this conversation is for you. Topics Covered: * Why Amelia decided to take a full year off from generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, and what "GPT sobriety" actually means in practice * The parallel between leaving social media five years ago and stepping away from AI now—and why both decisions required confronting the fear of being "left behind" * How the pressure to adopt AI is not organic but the result of billions of dollars in marketing campaigns from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic * The cognitive and creative costs of outsourcing tasks to AI, including skill erosion and the loss of the ability to think through problems independently * Why AI feels different from other productivity tools: it's designed to replace human thought, not assist it * The labor, environmental, and data privacy harms embedded in mainstream AI tools—and why those harms matter even if we're not directly seeing them * What harm reduction looks like when you do choose to use AI: setting boundaries, choosing less harmful tools, and staying intentional about where and how you use it * Alternatives to ChatGPT and other extractive AI platforms, including open-source and nonprofit-driven tools * How stepping away from AI has made Amelia more creative, not less—and why reclaiming friction is an act of resistance * Why intentionality matters more than perfection: you don't have to be "sober" to make better choices about your relationship with AI Resources Mentioned: * Your Attention is Sacred by Dr. Amelia Hruby [https://amzn.to/3OHEl22] * Mel Mitchell Jackson [https://melmitchelljackson.com/] * Amelia's list of ChatGPT and Gemini alternatives [https://cutoffthespigot.substack.com/p/de-google-series-part-1-search-and] Connect with Amelia Hruby: * AmeliaHruby.com [https://www.ameliahruby.com/] * Off the Grid: Leaving Social Media podcast [https://offthegrid.fun/] 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE [http://feministpodcastcollective.com/]