The New Modality Issue 1

Art, Culture, and Spirit

• “Untitled Conversation With God,” by PH Lee
• “Game: The Unsighted Art Tour,” by Laika Young
• "Weddings Outside Tradition: How To Get Married Without Selling Out," by Jessica Carew Kraft
• "The Great Showdown of Hierarchical Polyamory vs. Relationship Anarchy: Why People Are Passionate About the Differences Between Two Models of Non-Monogamy," by Kat Jercich
• "Psychedelics and Society, Part 1: The NewMo Psychedelic Resource List," by Lydia Laurenson
• "Hosting Safer Psychedelic House Parties," by Annie Oak, with original illustrations by Pol Morton
• "What It Takes To Get Your Art Banned At A Giant Psychedelic Party," edited by Lydia Laurenson, with original illustrations by Stephen Lim
• "Book Review: The Philosophy and Impact of Burning Man — The Scene That Became Cities, published 2020 by Caveat Magister," by P Segal, with photographs by Tom Stahl
• "What’s The Return on the House of Eternal Return?: Plucky Anarchist Art Collective Meow Wolf Turns Corporate and Goes Global," by Lydia Laurenson, with photographs by Jane Hu
• "Can We Pass Our Species IQ Test?: An Interview with Deborah Parrish Snyder of Synergia Ranch,” by Sarah Henry
• "The American Seekers Who Found Santería: Notes On A Grassroots Spiritual Tradition From Cuba," by Rebecca Bodenheimer
• "Senongo Akpem’s African Storytelling Diaspora: Cross-Cultural Design and Art on the Internet," by Lydia Laurenson
• “Immerse Yourself in New York City Online — Excerpt from A Game Lover’s Tour of New York City: A City Guide to Inspire the Love of Game Creation & Playing (2020),” edited by Michael T. Middleton

Science and Technology

• "Optimism In The Age of Climate Change: Climate Collapsers Command a Cult Following Around The World — But Should They?" by Michael J. Coren
• "Promised Land: Religious Ideology and Solarpunk Science Fiction," by Rob Cameron, with illustrations by Maxime Schilde
• “Baboon, Brain, Brick: A Speculative Fiction Story," by Louis Evans
• "Modern Magical Realism on Twitter: The Exquisite Modalities and #invisiblenetworks of @ctrlcreep," by Jonathan Stray and Lydia Laurenson
• "The Mega-Diverse Coral Reef Future of Humanity: Interview with Anders Sandberg," by Lydia Laurenson
• "The Ideology of Transhumanism: The Ethics of Transcending the Physical Body," by Anna Lewis, with an original illustration by Visual Scientist a.k.a. СЛАВА СЕМЕНЮТА
• "The Future of Lunar Exploration and Settlement: Actual Scenarios For Planning Governance and Policy on The Moon," by Jessy Kate Schingler
• "Can Humans Be Hacked?: A Semi-Technical Investigation Into Whether Artificial Intelligence Can Control Our Minds (Yet)," by Stacey Svetlichnaya, guest edited by Jonathan Stray, with an original illustration by Christina Lastovska
• "A Citizen Science Dinner Party at the Social Observatory," by Grant Currin
• "Innovation in an Ebola Epidemic: Interview with Ka-Ping Yee," by Lydia Laurenson

Business, Philanthropy, and Society

• "Climate Change Heroism In The Insurance Industry: How Insurance Can Help Us All Build Climate Resilience," by Shanna McIntyre, with paintings by Suelyn Yu
• "The Economics of Culture, Values, and Meaning: Interview with Tyler Cowen," by Lydia Laurenson
• "How Do We Combat Polarization Online?" by Helena Puig Larrauri and Maude Morrison
• "What Does It Even Mean To Innovatively Give Money Away?: Interview with Colleen Gregerson," by Lydia Laurenson
• "Book Review: The Metamodernist Movement — The Listening Society (2017) and Nordic Ideology (2019), books by ‘Hanzi Freinacht,’" by Aurora Quinn-Elmore
• "The Bard Takes Minutes: What Professional Workplace Teams Can Learn From Roleplaying Games," by Terry Johnson and Hakan Seyalioglu, with original illustrations by Raul Higuera
• "The Nitty-Gritty: Sexual Violence and Transformative Justice in Alternative Communities — How The Radical Justice Systems of BIPOC and Activist Communities Are Influencing the Counterculture," by Mischa Byruck, with original illustrations by Amandine DeLauney
• “Concrete Co-Living Processes: Resources For Building Better Intentional Communities," by Lydia Laurenson
• "An Actual Co-Parenting Contract: How An Asexual Man Figured Out Parenthood With a Heterosexual Couple," by Lydia Laurenson

Plus!

"Is The New Modality Really New?" by Caveat Magister, a.k.a. Benjamin Wachs

Catalyst Spotlights and Tiny Reviews:

• Future Fossils (ongoing podcast), created by Michael Garfield
• Dialect: A Game About Language and How It Dies (2019 roleplaying game), created by Kathryn Hymes and Hakan Seyalioglu
• The OA (2016 Netflix series), reviewed by Abigayel Bryce
• The Untethered Soul (2007 book by Michael A. Singer), reviewed by Fang Yuan
• The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor (2018 book by Michael Tanner), reviewed by Cathy Reisenwitz