June 2, 02015
Blacksmith James Austin's metalworking practice focuses on ancient Viking axes. We consider this talk which delves into the history and related cultural traditions of working with iron to be an addition to our Manual for Civilization. In other words it's a way to make sure we don't lose vital knowldege that is fundamental to what we consider modern civilizaiton. In conversation with Long Now's Alexander Rose, he discusses the history of blacksmithing, how it has changed over the years, the importance of preserving the techniques of the craft and some cutting-edge ways to document and pass on these skills for the future.
A working and teaching blacksmith for over thirty years, James Austin specializes in making Viking age axes using traditional methods.
Upcoming Talks
Videos
Johanna Hoffman
Speculative Futures: Design Approaches to Foster Resilience and Co-create the Cities We Need
October 12, 02022
Creon Levit
Space Debris and The Kessler Syndrome: A Possible Future Trapped on Earth
April 26, 02022
Brittany Cox
Horological Heritage: Generating bird song, magic, and music through mechanism
August 20, 02019
Elizabeth Lonsdorf
Growing Up Ape: The Long-term Science of Studying Our Closest Living Relatives
April 30, 02019
James Holland Jones
The Science of Climate Fiction: Can Stories Lead to Social Action?
January 29, 02019
Kevin Kelly, Stewart Brand, Alexander Rose
Siberia: A Journey to the Mammoth Steppe
January 22, 02019
Caroline Winterer
The Art and Science of Deep Time:
Conceiving the Inconceivable in the 19th Century
September 4, 02018
Esther Dyson
The Short Now: What Addiction, Day Trading, and Most of Society’s Ills Have in Common
July 17, 02018
Hannu Rajaniemi
The Spirit Singularity: Science and the Afterlife at the Turn of the 20th Century
July 10, 02018
Shahzeen Attari
Facts, Feelings and Stories: How to Motivate Action on Climate Change
June 26, 02018
Renée DiResta
Disinformation Technology: How Online Propaganda Campaigns Are Influencing Us
April 10, 02018
Scott Kildall
Art Thinking + Technology: A Personal Journey of Expanding Space and Time
August 15, 02017
Miles Traer
The Geological Reveal: How the Rock Record Shows Our Relationship to the Natural World
June 27, 02017
Andrew Lakoff
How We Became “Unprepared”:
Imagining Catastrophe from the Cold War to Bird Flu
May 30, 02017
Jennifer Petersen
Why Freedom of Speech Is More Than Speech:
Expressions in Media and Code
April 18, 02017
Tara Behrend
The Psychology of Surveillance:
How Being Watched Changes Our Behavior
February 28, 02017
Ben Novak
The Next Flight of the Passenger Pigeon: Engineering Nature's Engineers
September 27, 02016
