Doomer Optimism hosts many conferences bringing together an eclectic mix of people—farmers, philosophers, tradesmen, journalists, and others. It is people who are simultaneously doomers—who worry about large-scale civilizational collapse—but optimistic in the capacity of citizen activists to effect meaningful change.
The events are convivial and family friendly. They host talks along with music, often in serene and remote locations—such as rural Wyoming, a farm house in Ligonier, PA, and the Bruderhoff community in Rifton NY, by the mountains.
What content do they focus on? I noticed four topics: farming, education (primarily K-12), technology, building local communities. They discuss problems like: how big corporate agriculture effects small farmers, homeschooling to reconnect with Western canon, how modern technology hurts human dignity, and how to develop local activist communities—emphasizing the importance of local over national focus.
DO started as a podcast by Ashley Fitzgerald during COVID as a way to connect with people she would interview. It was through this network of guests that she found the wide variety of speakers for DO conferences.
Piraeus articles:
Another Life is Possible (Rifton, 2026) — In Progress
Ligonier, 2025 — Future
