Here at The New Sincerest, I’m very excited to announce a new regular series. You’re now listening to Ecopunk, a music and talk show program aiming to highlight the intersection between the arts and environmental perspectives. Ecopunk will air on Thursdays from 12pm-1pm on KHOI Story City/Ames, except for the last Thursday of each month, and will be archived here on this Substack.
I’m your host, Connor Ferguson. I am a creative writer based out of Ames. My work largely considers the intersection of urban environments, natural environments, and human environments in relation to queerness, cultural criticism, and mysticism.
For this week’s episode I’m excited to be joined in the studio by Shalini Singh, a candidate in the MFA in Creative Writing and Environment Program at Iowa State University. Shalini Singh is originally from India, a lawyer in a past life, and a graduate of the MFA program in Creative Writing and Environment at Iowa State University. She has been nominated for Best American Essays 2025 and Longlisted for the DISQUIET Poetry Prize 2025. Shalini has received support and scholarships from various international and national organizations and residencies. Shalini is an assistant poetry editor for DIAGRAM and published in Oberon Magazine, Berkeley Poetry Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, and Hobart, amongst others.
In this episode, Shalini Singh reads “When the grape bursts” from her thesis Lullaby into the Microphone, and a standalone essay titled “Cremains”, discusses how Dadaism and its many interpretations informs her approach to writing, her background as a lawyer and educator, and much more!
Check out Shalini Singh’s Substack, Belladonna of Lavender, at the link below:
Song Selections:
“The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” - Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Doin’ It Right” - Daft Punk (feat. Panda Bear)
“Sticky” - Tyler, the Creator (feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne)
“Dead Frogs” - Allan Rayman
“Hey Hey, My My” - Battleme
“Shano Shano” - Sonu Nigam
“Dil Pe Zakham Khate Hain” - Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
“Who Loves the Sun” - Nu & Jo Ke
“Whatever Will Be, Will Be” - Doris Day
“Superpowers” - Daniel Caesar
“Plutoski” - Future
About Ecopunk
The title of the program comes from its definition as a literary genre: Ecopunk is a subgenre combining science fiction with themes of sustainability, conservation, and reparation; it explores how humans can symbiotically and respectfully interact with the environment and adapt to climate change. Ecopunk is also a design aesthetic that embraces a positive outlook on the future. While the definition does relate it to fiction as a genre, I think it’s a philosophical concept that can be applied to any creative work, since it champions the imagination of a better world in our current climate crisis.
Each week on Ecopunk, I will invite a locally based creative to come onto the show to discuss their craft, how philosophical perspectives on the environmental imagination informs their work, and how the arts can connect and collect our community. After our conversation, the guest will curate a selection of music that is conversation with their craft.
Ecopunk is produced in collaboration with KHOI’s partnership with the BeWild/ReWild program, a loosely-knit group of volunteers with a passion for wildness, reconnecting with the natural world, and curiosity about what lifestyle changes are necessary for us to live within the bounds of sustainability. Here at Ecopunk, we invite you to imagine a better, more sustainable world through the arts.
