The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

On this episode, Nate is joined by Sian Sutherland, a leader in the movement towards reducing the overconsumption of plastic and its waste. The modern era is dependent on fossil fuels for many reasons - one of the most covertly ubiquitous ones being plastic. Everyday we are surrounded by it - encasing our food, woven in the threads of our clothes, and even permeating into the water that we drink. How do we begin to break off this addiction to the convenience and utility of plastics? How does this connect to the larger implications of a society embedded in a linear, consumption-based system dependent on growth? What role can industry, governments, and individuals each play in creating structural shifts to reduce our reliance on plastic - and ultimately return to a slower, more circular way of life? About Sian Sutherland Sian Sutherland is Co-founder of A Plastic Planet, one of the most recognised and respected organizations tackling the plastic crisis. More recently, she also co-founded PlasticFree, the first materials and systems solutions platform, empowering the 160m global creatives to design waste out at the source. Sian was awarded the Female Marketer of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, and British Inventor of the Year. In 2023 at the UN Plastics Treaty negotiations (INC2), in partnership with Plastic Soup Foundation, A Plastic Planet launched the Plastic Health Council, bringing expert scientists to the negotiating process with the irrefutable proof of plastic chemicals impact on human health. Passionately pro-business and solutions focused, Sian believes the plastic crisis gives mankind a rare gateway to change both materials and systems to create a different future for next generations. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jTs6KejhSg4 More Info & Show Notes: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/89-sian-sutherland

On this episode, neuroscientist and author Robert Sapolsky joins Nate to discuss the structure of the human brain and its implication on behavior and our ability to change. Dr. Sapolsky also unpacks how the innate quality of a biological organism shaped by evolution and the surrounding environment - meaning all animals, including humans - leads him to believe that there is no such thing as free will, at least how we think about it today. How do our past and present hormone levels, hunger, stress, and more affect the way we make decisions? What implications does this have in a future headed towards lower energy and resource availability? How can our species manage the mismatch of our evolutionary biology with our modern day challenges - and navigate through a 'determined' future? About Robert Sapolsky: Robert Sapolsky is professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya. Over the past thirty years, he has divided his time between the lab, where he studies how stress hormones can damage the brain, and in East Africa, where he studies the impact of chronic stress on the health of baboons. Sapolsky is author of several books, including Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, A Primate's Memoir, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, and his newest book coming out in October, Determined: Life Without Free Will. He lives with his family in San Francisco. Watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xhobcj2K9v4 For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/88-robert-sapolksy

On this Reality Roundtable, marine biologist Daniel Pauly, ocean physicist Antonio Turiel, and paleobiologist Peter Ward join Nate to discuss the numerous oft-overlooked threats to the Earth's great oceans. From overfishing and plastic pollution to climate change and acidification, the human system is assaulting one of the most important regulators for our climate and the largest habitat for life - anywhere. What early indicators of climate impacts are these great bodies of water showing us as we hit record heat across the oceans, fish populations dwindle, and major currents slow? Why are concerns for the ocean so overlooked and what further research needs to be done? Will we learn to value these high seas for all the priceless value they give us, or will we take them for granted until it's too late? About Daniel Pauly Dr. Daniel Pauly is a Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia. In 1999, Daniel Pauly founded, and since leads, a large research project, Sea Around Us, devoted to identifying and quantifying global fisheries trends. Daniel Pauly is also co-founder of FishBase.org, the online encyclopedia of more than 30,000 fish species, and he has helped develop the widely-used Ecopath modeling software. He is the author or co-author of over 1000 scientific and other articles, books and book chapters on fish, fisheries and related topics. About Antonio Turiel Antonio Turiel Martínez is a scientist and activist with a degree in Physics and Mathematics and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He works as a senior scientist at the Institute of Marine Sciences of the CSIC specializing in remote sensing, turbulence, sea surface salinity, water cycle, sea surface temperature, sea surface currents, and chlorophyll concentration. He has written more than 80 scientific articles, but he is better known as an online activist and editor of The Oil Crash blog, where he addresses sensitive issues about the depletion of conventional fossil fuel resources, such as the peak of oil and its possible implications on a world scale. About Peter Ward Peter Ward is a Professor of Biology and Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington. He is author of over a dozen books on Earth's natural history including On Methuselah's Trail: Living Fossils and the Great Extinctions; Under a Green Sky; and The Medea Hypothesis, 2009, (listed by the New York Times as one of the "100 most important ideas of 2009"). Ward gave a TED talk in 2008 about mass extinctions. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tSgPQyq_jyE More information & show notes: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/rr04-pauly-turiel-ward

In this Frankly, Nate describes the Carbon Pulse - a one time massive consumption of fossil hydrocarbons at a pace millions of times faster than they were created. He outlines the many shapes that this pulse could take, as well as some shapes it will never take. Compared to previous carbon pulses that led to mass and minor extinctions, how does the modern pulse compare? What can what we know about ecology and human behavior tell us about the most likely paths into descent? Can thinking about these graphs on such grand geologic time scales help guide us away from the Precipice and towards a more Sapient Future? For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/44-the-many-shapes-of-the-carbon-pulse To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/BjG7a58Y0Ig

On this episode, Nate is joined by Graham Palmer, a scholar and engineer in the field of energy. While this show frequently covers the importance of energy itself, this discussion focuses on how the ability to store and access energy has critically shaped societies. From agriculture, to wood, to coal, to oil, each transition has marked a new way for humans to interact with the world around them. What would it mean for economic growth if we no longer have access to these storable energies? What does the necessity of storability mean for electricity - an inherently flow-based energy form? Would human societies moving back to a flow-based energy system also mean once again becoming in-sync with the Earth and her ecosystems? About Graham Palmer Graham Palmer is a researcher at Monash University, with an industry background as an engineer and researcher in manufacturing, HVAC and electronics. He has published in the area of biophysical economics, renewable energy, life-cycle analysis, and energy-economic modeling. Graham obtained his PhD in the area of energy-return-on-investment (EROI) of electricity supply. His current research interests include the future role of emerging energy storage systems. Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tSsp_XyXfyY More info and show notes: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/87-graham-palmer

In this week's Frankly, Nate reacts to recent analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) critical of 2022 subsidies to fossil fuel. These subsidies - by IMF math totalling $7+ trillion - are not what they seem, resulting in widespread confusion on what is really going on. By peeling back the layers of the onion on these oft-misunderstood benefits - Nate outlines what comprises these fossil fuel subsidies, who receives them, the purpose they serve, and who benefits from them (spoiler alert - we ALL do). How do these subsidies fit into the larger story of the huge energy surplus that fossil fuels have provided? What will it mean for societies when the subsidy that is fossil fuels goes away? Will we be prepared when the externalities - paid for in these subsidies - catch up with us and we need to learn to live with the aftermath of the Carbon Pulse? To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/DpcjHqXYrFs For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/43-fossil-energy-subsidies-the-bottom-line

On this episode, 'Superorganisms' converge as Nate is joined by economist and anthropologist Lisi Krall to discuss the evolutionary origins of our current systemic predicament. Starting with the Agricultural Revolution, the evolutionary conditions of surplus and ultrasociality have combined to shape the way humans interact with their environment, ultimately leading to our current out of control global economy. Is this global system an inevitable emergent phenomenon of the human condition? Does surplus inherently breed inequality and hierarchy, such as the current capitalist system? What type of social evolution will we experience as we meet the limits of an expansionary system and move towards a Great Simplification? About Lisi Krall Lisi Krall is a professor of economics at State University of New York, Cortland. Dr. Krall engages a heterodox and transdisciplinary approach to understanding economic systems, their etiology, structure, dynamic, and the relationship between humans and the more-than-human world that is contextualized through them. She incorporates evolutionary biology, anthropology, history, heterodox economics, and deep materialism to understand how we arrived at this paradoxical moment where humans appear trapped in an economic system that functions as if it is not of this Earth at the same time it is clearly a material system. Her latest book, Bitter Harvest: An Inquiry into the War Between Economy and Earth, explores the formation and evolution of the economic system (the economic superorganism) that took hold beginning with the cultivation of annual grains and is now embodied in global capitalism. For Show Notes and more: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/86-lisi-krall Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eQNI4bUv_Fs More details & show notes: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/86-lisi-krall

In this week's Frankly, Nate considers 7 different continuums of perspectives people use when taking part in a "systems" discourse, such as The Great Simplification podcast is attempting. In such complex and often controversial discussions, each of us has a point of view that stems from our own personal experiences, knowledge and identity - yet how we channel that point of view into the larger discourse matters. How does understanding our own perspectives potentially help us side-step mental roadblocks and become more open to other possibilities and actions? What are the hidden ruts that we can fall into when discussing the future with others that we're not consciously thinking of and can we learn to avoid them? Can shifting our perspective along the spectrum of potential responses open dialogue and facilitate more inclusive and cooperative conversations as we collectively try to meet the future halfway? To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/XsNmLwX2X_4 For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/42-running-the-systems-discourse-gauntlet

On this episode, literary scholar and psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist joins Nate to discuss the way modern culture teaches and encourages us to use - and not use - the two lobes of our brains. While most functions require the use of both sides of our brains, each side is specially attuned to see and interact with the world in certain ways: the left side acts as a narrow problem solving executor, while the right side is a broadly open contextualizer. What happens when we humans - in aggregate - become imbalanced in our use of these two critical functions? Have we divided the Earth into pieces to be optimized rather than a whole (which we're a part of) to be stewarded? Can we learn to bring these two components of our brains back into balance and in turn heal fractures in ourselves, and ultimately in our communities, Earth, and her ecosystems? About Iain McGilchrist Dr. Iain McGilchrist is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an Associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and former Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at the Bethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospital, London. He has been a Research Fellow in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore and a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosch. He has published original articles and research papers in a wide range of publications on topics in literature, philosophy, medicine and psychiatry. He is the author of a number of books, but is best-known for The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World (2009); and his book on neuroscience, epistemology and ontology called The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World (2021). Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dogVQDydRGQ More information, and show notes: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/85-iain-mcgilchrist

On this episode, Nate is joined by well-known French educator Jean-Marc Jancovici to discuss the critical importance of energy to modern economies. Together, Nate and Jean-Marc break down the fundamentals of our complex, growth dependent global economic system. How much of the stereotypical Western lifestyle is centered around access to cheap, surplus fossil energy? What would it mean for societies to lose this stable, cheap and abundant supply - and how would the people who have become used to it react? Will a shift in society's institutions and expectations need to be forced upon us in a time of urgent change or is it possible for nations and societies to anticipate declining energy availability - to actively simplify before we are forced to by circumstances? About Jean-Marc Jancovici Jean-Marc Jancovici is a founding partner of Carbone 4, a Paris-based consultancy and data provider specializing in low-carbon transition, biodiversity impacts, and physical risks of climate change (www.carbone4.com). He is the founder and president of The Shift Project, a Paris based think tank advocating for a low-carbon economy (www.theshiftproject.org). Jean-Marc Jancovici is also an associate professor at Mines ParisTech, a member of the French High Council for the Climate, and (co-)author of 8 books and the website jancovici.com on energy and climate change issues. Jean-Marc Jancovici is a graduate from École polytechnique and Télécom ParisTech. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-EHCguJp9eQ Show Notes & Links to Learn More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/84-jean-marc-jancovici

On this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by Jon Erickson, Josh Farley, Steve Keen, and Kate Raworth - all of whom are leading thinkers and educators in the field of heterodox economics. In this lively discussion, each guest begins by sharing one fundamental aspect of what conventional economics gets wrong and how it could be improved in our education system. What basic assumptions about humans have led to a misunderstanding of the average person's decision-making? What areas has economics turned a blindspot to as the foundation of our economic systems? Who is finding the models and systems that economists have created useful - and how does economics as a discipline need to change in the face of a lower energy future? In short, what we teach our 18-22 year olds around the world matters - a great deal. About Jon Erickson Jon Erickson is the David Blittersdorf Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy at the University of Vermont. He has published widely on energy and climate change policy, land conservation, watershed planning, environmental public health, and the theory and practice of ecological economics. He advised presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on economics and energy issues. About Josh Farley Joshua Farley is an ecological economist and Professor in Community Development & Applied Economics and Public Administration at the University of Vermont. He is the President of the International Society for Ecological Economics. About Steve Keen Steve Keen is an economist, author of Debunking Economics and The New Economics: A Manifesto. He is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategy, Resilience, and Security at University College in London. About Kate Raworth Kate Raworth describes herself as a renegade economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, based on her best-selling book Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist. Kate is a Senior Associate at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She is a member of the Club of Rome and currently serves on the World Health Organisation Council on the Economics of Health for All. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/rr03-erickson-farley-raworth-keen To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EC11UQD9q3w

In Part 4 of this Frankly mini-series, Nate concludes the deep dive into the nexus between "just stopping oil" and "just pumping oil" with 10 guideposts which might help us to navigate through the intersection of the Four Horsemen of the 2020s and the shrinking Web of Life….together known as The Great Simplification. From decomplexifying at various scales to a change of consciousness arising from more humans focused on "Inner Tech", there are many ways we as individuals and as a part of the greater society can manage the push and pull of both environment and economic issues while remaining grounded in the reality of energy, technology, behavior, and the economy. For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/41-just-stop-oil-part-4-the-intersection To watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_C8rR5OR74Y

On this episode, Nate is joined by Doomberg - the anonymous energy/finance analyst team (visually presenting as a talking chicken icon) who uses an energy lens to analyze global trends in the economy, with so far some remarkable accuracy. In this wide ranging discussion, Doomberg and Nate cover the interactions between geopolitics, debt, climate policy, and - of course - energy. How have the narratives created around different types of energy - from renewables to nuclear - affected current policy making around the world? Will the increasingly precarious state of the global debt and monetary system shift the geopolitical landscape? How have increasing global tensions combined with a rise in green energy policy affected nations' desire for energy security - and what does it mean for future policy as we enter a period of decreasing energy availability? About Doomberg In May of 2021, Doomberg was started by a team of professionals experienced in heavy industry, private equity, and the hard sciences to highlight the fundamentals missing from many economic and policy decisions, and it quickly grew to be one of the most widely read finance newsletters on Substack. Doomberg covers topics from energy, finance, to the economy at large, in an attempt to improve society's thinking and clarity to complex problems. Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/pYkmJOhWtSU Show Notes & More Info https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/83-doomberg

In Part 3 of this Frankly Series, Nate (just after watching the movie Oppenheimer!) breaks down the logic of how we COULD arrive at a post-growth future. Our global situation is complex and not static - IF we somehow are able to shrink the global economic output (which would imply significantly less oil use) we first have to navigate 'the 4 Horsemen of the 2020s'. Nate outlines 10 possible avenues for how this could happen, not as a prescription but as a description of various possible scenarios. The implications of the complexity of our global systems means a path to a world without our current dependence on growth will not be an easy one. Yet understanding these hurdles between our current situation and an eventual post-growth future is essential to shifting the initial conditions of such a global transformation towards 'better-than-the-default' outcomes. How do impending and converging risks narrow our options for ways to move towards a different global system - and can we manage to protect the things that make life worth living? Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/EhOhfRrvYI0 For Show Notes and More: For Show Notes and more: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/40-just-stop-oil-part-3-10-pathways-to-post-growth

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate scientist Kevin Anderson to discuss the possible paths of averting severe climate outcomes and how this is interconnected with equity. As nations plan their climate goals and coordinate with each other, it's clear that extreme actions would be needed from everyone to meet the goal of keeping the global average temperature increase below 2ºC - if this is even possible. At the same time, there are wide disparities in the greenhouse gas emissions between the materially wealthiest and poorest within and across countries. How are past inequities already affecting people in presently climate impacted zones? How can concerned individuals begin incorporating changes and communicating with others in their own lives - and is it even worth it to do so? How can we attempt to balance the equity in standards of living and create rapid reductions in emissions, all while grappling with growing geopolitical tensions, declining energy availability, and the multitude of other converging risks in this impending poly-crisis. About Kevin Anderson: Kevin is professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester and visiting professor at the Universities of Uppsala (Sweden) and Bergen (Norway). Formerly he held the position of Zennström professor (in Uppsala) and was director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (UK). Kevin engages widely with governments, industry and civil society, and remains research active with publications in Climate policy, Nature and Science. He has a decade's industrial experience in the petrochemical industry, is a chartered engineer and fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/82-kevin-anderson To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aQzdK1uGhWA

In Part 2 of this Frankly Series, Nate breaks down why energy - and specifically oil - is currently the central foundation of our entire modern economic system. There are ecological and energetic laws that apply to all life, including humans and our economies. By accessing a huge surplus of dense carbon energy in the form of fossil sunlight, we've effectively turbo-boosted our economies, populations, and material wealth - but what happens if this fossil abundance were to go away? What are the systemic implications of an economy tethered to growth, tethered to carbon? Is it even possible for us to choose to stop using oil? How do these complex constraints on our global systems affect the options - and most likely outcomes - in a future with declining oil availability and rising climate insecurity? For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/39-just-stop-oil-part-2-oil-is-the-economy To Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-585aVUNz68

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate and policy scientist Roger Pielke Jr. to discuss the progression of climate research and modeling. The climate activist community is based around projections of what a future might look like given the actions of society - an important tool in the push for urgent climate action. Yet, just like with any other model, the assumptions and parameters can greatly shape the outcomes. How has climate science been shaped by previous models and public perception? How did 2Cº come to be our common climate goal post? Are we anticipating the future within the most likely range of possibilities, or are we polarizing ourselves to the extremes of climate denial and climate doom? About Roger Pielke Jr. Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. is a professor at the University of Colorado where he teaches environmental science and policy. A lifetime scholar with many interests, Roger researches and writes on subjects from understanding the politicization of science to decision making under uncertainty to policy education for scientists in areas such as climate change, disaster mitigation, and world trade. His most recent book, The Rightful Place of Science: Disasters and Climate Change takes a deeper look at the IPCC and climate science and how it is being interpreted in the media. Roger also oversees a popular Substack - The Honest Broker - where he is experimenting with a new approach to research, writing and public engagement. Roger holds degrees in mathematics, public policy and political science, all from the University of Colorado Boulder. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/81-roger-pielke To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T6Nx4SYZIvQ

In this week's Frankly, Nate expands upon something he finds himself saying more frequently these days; "what scares me the most is…". From the likelihood of nuclear war to how our human in/action harms innocent animals, Nate opens up about his personal list of deepest fears. Contrasting his childhood fear of [harmless] spiders against his current fear of humans' propensity towards [what is now existential] apathy as we face the metacrisis, Nate reminds us how much more complex our lives are in 2023. Can we be courageous and face our own fears head on, rather than feeling paralyzed by them? For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/38-the-7-things-that-scare-me-most Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psWmpCOvvmg&t=2s

On this episode, Nate is joined by recent Stanford graduate and biophysical researcher Taimur Ahmad to discuss energy inequality within and across nations. Taimur offers a unique perspective as someone who has spent years studying the issues of the polycrisis, while also having experience growing up in Pakistan and living in the United States. How does the culture of a nation and its access to energy interrelate to create huge differences in the daily lives of the people who live there? How do the looming implications of climate change and energy depletion impact the relationship between the Global North and the Global South? And how do issues of class, wealth, and 'fictitious capital' interplay with the larger poly-crisis at hand? About Taimur Ahmad Taimur Ahmad is the author of the Fictitious Capital newsletter where he writes about understanding the base layer of the global system: money/finance, energy, and raw materials. He studied economics at Georgetown University in Qatar and recently completed a graduate degree from Stanford University where he focused on energy policy and electricity markets. After working in agricultural development in Pakistan, he worked in the Middle East supporting clients across energy, CP&I, and national development. From these experiences, he realized the importance of reframing contemporary socioeconomic issues in an energy and ecological systems framework. His work is now focused on exploring the intersection of development in the Global South, degrowth/post-growth, MMT, and leftist social theory. To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4hzDKA0aNJk For show notes, and more information: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/80-taimur-ahmad

In this must watch Frankly, Nate illustrates how a reduction in the demand for gasoline will not - as commonly believed - result in a 1:1 reduction in the demand for oil. This is contrary to a widespread perception, which much growth in the Electric Vehicle industry has been based on, about the correlation between a decline in gasoline usage resulting in an overall decline in oil production and CO2 emissions. While a significant portion of oil refining results in gasoline, we need to be aware of modern civilization's deep dependencies on the remaining products that all come from the same barrel of oil. Only then can we understand and plan for feasible pathways to reducing oil production and consumption within the confines of a growth-dependent complex adaptive system. How can movements such as Just Stop Oil better reflect the reality of the current oil production system and our economy? Stay tuned next week when Nate shares 7 potential paths to a less oil-dependent future. A special thank you to Joris van der Schot, John Rowan, Robert Rapier, and Art Berman for helpful input on this video. To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/H-zYjcsLE_E For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/37-just-stop-oil-part-1-gasoline

On this episode, Nate is joined by "free range biologist" Anne Biklé and "broad-minded geologist" David Montgomery - a married duo who have been educating about the link between soil and human health for nearly a decade. As we continue to strip the land and soil of its life supporting capacity, our food has become less nutritious, even as we've received more calories. Has the age of 'The Green Revolution' - accredited with preventing millions from famine - led us to a new epidemic of starvation in the form of micronutrients? How do our modern systems degrade the land, leaving us with lifeless dirt even more dependent on fossil inputs? Can we implement better agricultural practices that lead to lively and fertile soils, better health, and a reconnection with the land that feeds us? About Anne Biklé & David R. Montgomery Anne Biklé is a science writer and public speaker drawing on her background in biology and environmental planning to explore humanity's tangled relationship with nature through the lens of agriculture, soil, and food. She is particularly enthralled with the botanical world and its influence on humanity throughout history. Her writing has appeared in digital and print magazines, newspapers, and her work has been featured in radio and independent documentary films. David R. Montgomery is a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington. He is an internationally recognized geologist who studies the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies. He is the author of several textbooks in his field and his work has been featured in documentary films, network and cable news, TV, and radio. Anne and David are married and live in Seattle, WA. In 2023, they published What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health, which builds on their trilogy of books about soil health, microbiomes, and farming—Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, The Hidden Half of Nature, and Growing a Revolution. Social Media & Contact for David and Anne web: www.Dig2Grow.com || twitter: @Dig2Grow || email: [email protected] For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/79-anne-bikl-david-montgomery

On this segment of Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by William Rees, Nora Bateson, and Rex Weyler to discuss the purpose of ecology and what it might look like to have a civilization centered around it. Despite our tendency to think of ourselves as separate from the biosphere, humans are a part of it, just like any other animal. What sets us apart now is our outsized impact on the world around us, as we and our societies take up more space and resources, degrading the ecosystems that support ourselves, our descendants, and other species. How can an understanding of systems and relationships help us rethink how we interact with the planet? Could ecologically literate governments and citizens create wider boundaries across time and space in which decisions are made? What might the parameters be for a civilization centered around ecology, and how can we navigate there through declining energy and resource availability? Most of all, how can we as individuals and communities root ourselves into a deep(er) ecological knowledge and way of being? About Nora Bateson Nora Bateson is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator, as well as President of the International Bateson Institute, based in Sweden. Her work asks the question "How can we improve our perception of the complexity we live within, so we may improve our interaction with the world?". An international lecturer, researcher and writer, Nora wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind, a portrait of her father, Gregory Bateson. Her work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems. Her book, Small Arcs of Larger Circles, released by Triarchy Press, UK, 2016 is a revolutionary personal approach to the study of systems and complexity. About William Rees William Rees is a population ecologist, ecological economist, Professor Emeritus and former Director of the University of British Columbia's School of Community and Regional Planning in Vancouver, Canada. He researches the implications of global ecological trends for the longevity of civilization, with special focus on urban (un)sustainability and cultural/cognitive barriers to rational public policy. Prof Rees is best known as the originator and co-developer with Dr Mathis Wackernagel of 'ecological footprint analysis' (EFA), a quantitative tool that estimates human demands on ecosystems and the extent to which humanity is in 'ecological overshoot.' Dr Rees is a founding member and former President of the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics; a founding Director of the OneEarth Living Initiative; a Fellow of the Post-Carbon Institute and an Associate Fellow of the Great Transition Initiative. About Rex Weyler Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land; the Government and Corporate War Against First Nations, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Greenpeace: The Inside Story, a finalist for the BC Book Award and the Shaughnessy-Cohen Award for Political Writing; and The Jesus Sayings, a deconstruction of first century history, a finalist for the BC Book Award. In the 1970s, Weyler was a cofounder of Greenpeace International and editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles. He served on campaigns to preserve rivers and forests and to stop whaling, sealing, and toxic dumping. He currently posts the "Deep Green" column at the Greenpeace International website. He lives on Cortes Island in British Columbia, with his wife, artist Lisa Gibbons. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GE39xfNRRyw For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/rr02-bateson-rees-weyler

On this steamy Frankly, Nate shares how his broken office air conditioner reminds him of the discomforts and dangers being faced by those living in high heat regions - including the heat dome over the Southern U.S and growing 'wet bulb temperature' areas around the world. Air conditioners are a modern luxury not afforded to most humans - and those that do use them are in turn part of a positive feedback loop to stay cooler while consuming more fossil energy. And yet as the climate gets hotter and hotter, climate control may shift from a luxury to a necessity for many people to even survive in parts of Earth's habitat. Can those of us with access to AC - at least as a first step - become more aware of the energy privileges we have? How will we respond in a future with less access to climate control and increasing periods of extreme heat? To watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/UWyoPzTpJtA For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/36-cool-privilege

On this episode, global systems researcher Iñigo Capellán Pérez joins Nate to discuss net energy analysis, and its use as a tool in analyzing the feasibility of an entire system. While net energy analysis is complex and polarized, some form of it will be necessary to guide society into a resource-constrained future. The energy outlook of a technology changes when scaled up to meet the needs of a larger society. Many models and EROI analyses that fail to take a system-wide view and only look at a single technology use case, only reflect the partial net energy story. When looking at the huge scale-up needed for 'solutions' such as Green Growth and Net Zero Transitions, do the hopes for renewable technologies hold up the lifestyles we've come to expect over the last century of fossil surplus? Do our policymakers and leaders have the full picture to make competent decisions? How can we best use these tools to make creative responses to guide us through a Great Simplification? About Iñigo Capellán Pérez: Iñigo is an Industrial Engineer currently doing research with The Group of Energy, Economy and Systems Dynamics (GEEDS) of the University of Valladolid. He holds a Master degree in Electric Energy and Sustainable Development and a PhD in Economics with his dissertation on "Development and Application of Environmental Integrated Assessment Modelling towards Sustainability" at the University of the Basque Country. His research interests focus on the analysis and modeling of the energy-economy-environment systems, the transition to renewable energies in the context of the depletion of fossil fuels and climate mitigation and the technical and social transformations towards sustainability. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/78-iigo-capelln-prez To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m9VFYTXSwNw

On this very personal Frankly, Nate speaks from the heart about ten things which bring him joy and, despite the accelerating polycrisis, will likely still be available to us even without abundant cheap energy. This message - really - is at the heart of the Great Simplification story. Distinct from intermittent and shallow hits of dopamine from social media "Likes" or shopping or stock investing - joy is a deep, soul-enriching emotion. Can we shift from wearing an economic lens which fears financial loss to opening our hearts and minds to what truly brings us joy? Can we learn - today - to appreciate the joy from the natural world around us, communing with other humans and animals, discovering beauty or sharing knowledge, as we travel through the Great Simplification? For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/35-the-10-things-that-bring-me-joy Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/GjpL1OoSi6o

On this episode, Nate is joined by the creator of Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth, to discuss alternative economies that measure more than just the material wealth created by a society. As we expand further past planetary boundaries, the gap between the standard of living of the materially wealthiest and poorest continues to grow. Increasingly, these shortfalls in both ecological and social well-being of the current economic system are becoming more recognized by the general populace. Can we create systems that keep people from falling down the cracks, while also respecting the limits of our planetary home? Are there governments and businesses already aligning themselves to these principles and shifting to a different way of leading? Could moving towards a holistic system, such as Doughnut Economics, be enough to overcome the energy hungry growth of a global Superorganism? About Kate Raworth: Kate Raworth describes herself as a renegade economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, based on her best-selling book Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist. Kate is a Senior Associate at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She is a member of the Club of Rome and currently serves on the World Health Organisation Council on the Economics of Health for All. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/77-kate-raworth To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/vBSvN3Ntal4

On this Frankly, Nate shares a personal reflection on the challenges of creating and broadcasting content focused on biophysical limits to growth. In a media industry that promotes feel-good content, over-simplified narratives and easy answers, the themes being highlighted on The Great Simplification can be complex, overwhelming, and leave more questions than answers. What should the goals be for these types of content creators? What are the pitfalls? How do the conventional social media rules apply to media that is so outside the norm? Most importantly, what is the best way to maintain credible, helpful, widely accessible, and factual information that can help steer society towards a gentler landing into The Great Simplification? For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/34-limits-to-podcasting-about-limits To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/nO9yHWIB_V0

On this episode, Nate is joined by Daniel Zetah, who practices regenerative agriculture on his family farm in Minnesota. Daniel shares his experiences in becoming aware of the global challenges we face and his journey back to his family farm, where he has been instrumental in naturally cultivating the land back to life again. While much of The Great Simplification covers the intricacies of the metacrisis we face, Daniel brings the perspective of someone who has stepped outside of the system and into what he calls 'personal sovereignty'. What are the time, energy, and labor requirements of being in tune with the land in this way? Where do animals - especially cows - fit into this story? Can deep, healthy topsoil be sexy? Is Daniel creating a blueprint for what many more happy, fulfilling lives could look like in a simplified future? About Daniel Zetah: Daniel grew up on a farm in Minnesota where he learned to fix all manner of things driven from an insatiable curiosity about how things worked. He studied economics and business at university and lived abroad for 15 years where he bought and sold classic cars, worked as a snake relocator and scatologist, and the chemical spraying auditor for Tasmania. After waking to our planetary predicament, he became a full time environmental activist, then moved to an off grid community in the mountains where he studied permaculture and built straw bale houses. He moved back to America to help steer culture in a more sane direction, where he realized as long as the majority of people are incapable of meeting most of their fundamental human needs, even committed activists are feeding the dragon they're trying to slay. He and his wife Stephanie moved back to the family farm in Minnesota where they are growing 80% of their calories, rebuilding the local ecology, and educating and empowering people to wrest back control of their sovereignty as human beings. Daniel and Stephanie's Farm - www.newstoryfarm.com For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/76-daniel-zetah To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PtW_Fh9fViw

On this episode, Nate welcomes back journalist, inventor, and low-tech expert Kris De Decker to take a deeper dive into a more human-powered system on the backside of the carbon pulse. Through both historical and experiential lenses, Kris shares five creative alternatives to current high tech systems - from hot water bottles to electric buses and preventative-focused healthcare systems. Could a move towards communal services and human-power also shift our mindsets to think twice about how much energy is actually needed to thrive and still be comfortable? Will society willingly move from a resource intensive growth economy towards a lower energy, human powered economy? About Kris De Decker: Kris De Decker shifted from a journalism career covering high tech to exploring low tech through formal and personal research and projects, including the Human Power Plant and the Solar Powered Website. De Decker is creator and author of Low Tech Magazine and No Tech Magazine, publications which explore low tech solutions to questions society assumes must be solved through high tech. De Decker has contributed articles about science, technology, energy and the environment to Mother Earth News, Techniques et Culture, Design Magazine, The Oil Drum, Resilience, EOS, Molenecho's, "Knack", "De Tijd" and "De Standaard". De Decker's books "Energie in 2030" advised the Dutch government on challenges related to science and technology and his book "Stralingswarmte: gezonde warmte met minder energie" provided a guide for how heat works. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/75-kris-de-decker To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4MYqRvm7vX4

On this inaugural episode of Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by Art Berman, Simon Michaux, and Pedro Prieto to discuss the viability of scaling electric vehicles and what role they could play in the future. Electric vehicles have become increasingly more popular in recent years, and in tandem more polarizing and controversial. Art, Simon, Pedro, and Nate join together for a multi-faceted conversation jam packed with expertise and insight about the reality of EVs. Are plans for dramatically increasing the production of electric vehicles as a replacement for internal combustion vehicles materially, economically, or even infrastructurally possible? Are current EV initiatives taking a science-based systems approach towards this massive economic, environmental, and cultural shift or are they rooted in energy blindness? About Arthur Berman: Arthur E. Berman is a petroleum geologist with 36 years of oil and gas industry experience. He is an expert on U.S. shale plays and is currently consulting for several E&P companies and capital groups in the energy sector. About Pedro Prieto: Pedro is the vice president of the Asociación para el Estudio de los Recursos Energéticos (AEREN). AEREN is an open space for debate and communications on energy issues and their role in demography, development, economy and ecology. Pedro was a member of the board at ASPO International with AEREN representing ASPO in Spain. Since 2004, Pedro has led several solar photovoltaic projects in Spain, a leading world country in solar PV penetration. Pedro co-authored Spain's Photovoltaic Revolution. The Energy Return on Investment, that challenged the conventional energy boundaries considered up to the moment for calculations. About Simon Michaux: Dr. Simon Michaux is an Associate Professor of Geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland. He has a PhD in mining engineering. Dr. Michaux's long-term work is on societal transformation toward a circular economy. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/rr01-berman-michaux-prieto To watch this video episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/5stPFdegJpg

Recorded June 2nd, 2023 Description On this Frankly, Nate unpacks his thoughts on the escalating situation between Russia and Ukraine. US and NATO have been cautiously supporting Ukraine, but increasingly crossing more and more lines that had been previously 'out of bounds'. With the upcoming Defender 23 military exercise on June 12th, NATO is increasingly pushing the boundary of how far it is willing to engage in this conflict. How is the current narrative being put forth by the US Government and media obscuring the public concern towards the risks of World War III and nuclear exchange? How high is the risk of a nuclear first strike - and what are the chances of further escalation after that? What would this mean for humans and the biosphere? In the larger picture of the existence of complex life on Earth, does it really matter who is right? For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/33-nato/ukraine-playing-russian-roulette-with-complex-life To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/cqgNltPFY5s

On this episode energy systems expert James Fleay joins Nate to talk about the current state of nuclear energy and its potential applications in the future. Out of all the potential 'replacements' for the subsidy of the fossil labor force we've grown used to, nuclear energy is one of the most frequently suggested as being the savior of our modern lifestyles. What is the reality of the benefits and costs of nuclear energy? How does it fit into our current mix and our financial situation? Does it have the ability to support 'human flourishing' for millenia to come? Will the expansion of it result in a toxic waste situation that we can't come back from? Or is nuclear energy simply one more piece to the puzzle for complex societies to support - and eventually reduce - their energy demands? About James Fleay: James Fleay is an Australian engineer and energy project manager with two decades of experience in design, delivery, operation, and carbon sequestration in the power, oil, and natural gas sectors. Ten years ago, he joined the oil and gas sector to work on the design, delivery and operation of some of Australia's largest complex energy (LNG) projects. This included 2 years work on one of the largest carbon capture and sequestration projects in the world and another 3 years on a ground-breaking deep-water subsea compression gas project in Australia's North West. He is the founder and manager of DUNE, Down Under Nuclear Energy, with the purpose of studying the investment case for nuclear energy in Australia and understanding the parameters for its success. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/74-james-fleay To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QCogtFKP2TY

On this episode, Nate is joined by Joslin Faith Kehdy, a changemaker and citizen of Lebanon. Over the last 3 years, Lebanon has had a 50% drop in GDP and 98% devaluation in their currency, massive unemployment, and - among many other things - an ongoing waste crisis. Throughout this, Joslin has been a leader in responding to and coming up with new (and old) ways for living a dignified and simplified life. Joslin is an environmentalist currently living 'The Great Simplification' - she offers a valuable perspective on what 'sustainable' living really means and insights for what may come to the rest of the world. About Joslin Faith Kehdy: Joslin Faith Kehdy is the Founder and Director of Recycle Lebanon, whose goal is to make a circular system change to "re-psyc'le" our mindset towards action. Since 2015, Recycle Lebanon has been organizing projects focusing on reducing plastic usage and pollution in Lebanon, while building initiatives to expand nature based consumption & production alternatives. A hands-on unlearner with a devotion for land & water stewardship, Joslin lives off-grid, homesteading in the rural village of Baskinta, Lebanon. Joslin's organization, Recycle Lebanon, is fundraising for their newest initiative: TerraPods. If you'd like to learn more or support this project please visit: Sustain Lebanon - TerraPods For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/73-joslin-faith-kehdy To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/S1iAa9kP80Q

On this episode, Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation joins Nate to unpack how monetary policy and debt have increasingly extended the reach of colonial powers over recent decades and how bitcoin offers an alternative to the many people who are under this financial exclusion. How have the IMF and World Bank upheld the power of reserve currency countries in the Global North to exploit and extract resources and labor from the Global South under the guise of aid and development? What is the origin of the 'petrodollar' and how has it shaped geopolitical relationships since its creation? What exactly is Bitcoin and how does it provide economic and political freedom? Is Bitcoin compatible with a low energy future? About Alex Gladstein: Alex Gladstein is Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. He has also served as Vice President of Strategy for the Oslo Freedom Forum since its inception in 2009. In his work, Alex has connected hundreds of dissidents and civil society groups with business leaders, technologists, journalists, philanthropists, policymakers, and artists to promote free and open societies. He serves as faculty at Singularity University and as an advisor to Blockchain Capital, a leading venture firm in the fintech industry. He frequently speaks and writes about why Bitcoin matters for freedom, and is the author of Check Your Financial Privilege. His new book, Hidden Repression: How the IMF and World Bank Market Exploitation as Development was just published in May 2023. For Show Notes and More visit: http://thegreatsimplification.com/episode/72-alex-gladstein To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/u84tyIokAY8

On this Frankly, Nate reflects on the Beyond Growth Conference held at the European Parliament, including the stunning public acknowledgement by EU President that a growth model based on fossil fuels is now obsolete. In the context of this growing and relevant conversation, Nate unpacks what the degrowth movement is getting right, but also what is missing from the conversation. Is it possible to purposely navigate from our current system to one with lower energy and material wealth? How does a large and growing global debt overhang impact this possibility? Is a transfer of wealth between nations feasible or even desirable based on realistic outcomes? In any case, as to the inevitability of a post-growth world, the degrowth conversation needs to be expanded. It's the primary movement mapping out what a desirable destination might look like as we move through a Great Simplification. Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/JYbIsXoBg70 For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/31-reflections-on-beyond-growth

On this episode, Daniel Schmachtenberger returns to discuss a surprisingly overlooked risk to our global systems and planetary stability: artificial intelligence. Through a systems perspective, Daniel and Nate piece together the biophysical history that has led humans to this point, heading towards (and beyond) numerous planetary boundaries and facing geopolitical risks all with existential consequences. How does artificial intelligence, not only add to these risks, but accelerate the entire dynamic of the metacrisis? What is the role of intelligence vs wisdom on our current global pathway, and can we change course? Does artificial intelligence have a role to play in creating a more stable system or will it be the tipping point that drives our current one out of control? About Daniel Schmachtenberger: Daniel Schmachtenberger is a founding member of The Consilience Project, aimed at improving public sensemaking and dialogue. The throughline of his interests has to do with ways of improving the health and development of individuals and society, with a virtuous relationship between the two as a goal. Towards these ends, he's had particular interest in the topics of catastrophic and existential risk, civilization and institutional decay and collapse as well as progress, collective action problems, social organization theories, and the relevant domains in philosophy and science. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/71-daniel-schmachtenberger To watch this video episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_P8PLHvZygo

Last Friday we released Nate's annual Earth Day presentation for 2023: a reflection on ~3 dozen common English words which are semantically disconnected from what they really mean - paired alongside more biophysically accurate terms. Building on that theme, this week's Frankly is a thought experiment of which ecological and systems concepts do not exist in the English language - but perhaps should. All of this is to say, the semantics and connotations of our language are extremely powerful and have direct impacts on the way we think and act. Could shaping our speech to be more accurate, empathetic, and comprehensive cause our aggregate actions to do the same? For Show notes and more: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/30-missing-words To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/wDLTkAad3rY

On this episode, former Governor of Oregon and ER Doctor John Kitzhaber joins Nate to discuss the shortcomings of the medical system in the United States. With health outcomes below average compared to other developed nations and healthcare spending at nearly 20% of GDP, creating medical systems that are less costly while also keeping people healthier is critical to the well-being of the country and its citizens. Dr. Kitzhaber's hands-on experience working in medicine and systemic perspective as a policymaker gives him a unique perspective on healthcare resource allocation, the effectiveness of medicine, and the real world effects of how we incentivize medical care. Can we extend our time horizons by making long-term investments in the most effective preventative care? How do we take care of more people with fewer resources available? Most of all, can we come together to think critically about how we can create a system that prioritizes holistic health, based in community and accessible to everyone? About John Kitzhaber John Kitzhaber has more than 40 years of experience in health care and health policy in both public and private sectors. He practiced as an emergency room physician for 15 years; served 14 years in the Oregon Legislature, and served three terms as Governor of the State of Oregon. Kitzhaber is the author of the groundbreaking Oregon Health Plan, through which hundreds of thousands of low- and moderate-income Oregon families gain access to health care. During his third term as Governor, Kitzhaber was the chief architect of Oregon's Coordinated Care Organizations, the first effort in the country created on a statewide basis to meet the Triple Aim—better health, better quality, lower cost—with a focus on community and population health. To watch this video episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Z4cjl77rj78 Show Notes & Links to Learn More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/70-john-kitzhaber

For this year's Earth Day presentation, I highlight common terms in the English language - the meanings of which we've come to take for granted. These words semantically imbue our understanding, perspective, and even behavior but have become untethered from the systemic reality they attempt to describe. Words have power. What we call things and how we describe things matters. This presentation is recommended to be viewed on Youtube with the accompanying visuals, but can still be listened to and understood in audio-only form. Thanks to my team - Leslie Batt-Lutz, Lizzy Sirianni, Luke Robert Mason, and Jason Figueredo for putting this together. Also thanks (as always) to my friend DJ White for helpful input. Thanks to Joan Diamond, Kyle Saunders, Maia Nillson, Rex Weyler for helpful input.

In this episode, Dr. Robert Lustig joins Nate to dive into the metabolism of the micro level of human systems - the humans ourselves. Over the last century, accompanying the transformation of our energy systems, our food and consumption patterns have been massively transformed. One of the biggest areas of change is the dramatic increase in sugar consumption. But are our bodies adapted to eating such high sugar, processed foods? What are the health effects connected to this way of eating? And, writ large, how does our metabolic dysfunction as individuals contribute to the energy hungry global Superorganism? What are the systemic drivers that currently prevent a shift towards healthier food systems? Can changing how we eat make us healthier - and thus better equipped to face the complex challenges of the metacrisis? About Robert Lustig: Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, and Member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He is one of the leaders of the current "anti-sugar" movement that is changing the food industry. He has dedicated his retirement from clinical medicine to help to fix the food supply any way he can, to reduce human suffering and to salvage the environment. Dr. Lustig graduated from MIT in 1976, and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1980. He also received his Masters of Studies in Law (MSL) degree at University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2013. He is the author of the popular books Fat Chance (2012), The Hacking of the American Mind (2017), and Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (2021). For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/69-robert-lustig To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/onVqjZOYlQs

In this episode, Simon Michaux returns to discuss his new paper "A Resource Balanced Economy", which outlines an alternative economic and social system. This conversation builds off of his two previous episodes on The Great Simplification, unpacking the ideas and tools that will be helpful in planning for an unknown future with more energy and material constraints. How can we be more intentional about the design of our technology to make products that are longer lasting and easier to reuse? How can we organize society to create resilient communities based around actual human needs, rather than endless efficiency geared towards growth? Can an 'Arcadian Blueprint' emerge, and at what scale, and by whom? About Simon Michaux: Dr. Simon Michaux is an Associate Professor of Geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland. He has a PhD in mining engineering. Dr. Michaux's long-term work is on societal transformation toward a circular economy. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/68-simon-michaux To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/bb801wdRULM

On this episode, financial historian Edward Chancellor joins Nate to give a meta-history of interest rates and human societies. With recent news of global financial turmoil in response to rising interest rates, taking a look at our history could help us interpret our present and plan for the future. How deeply entangled is this financial predicament that we've gotten ourselves into? Can we learn from the past to reshape a more stable monetary policy in the future, or are inflating financial bubbles (and popping them) simply in our human nature? About Edward Chancellor: Edward Chancellor is a financial historian, journalist, and investment strategist. He is the author of Devil Take Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation and his latest book, The Price of Time, where he explains the story of capitalism is really the story of interest: the price that individuals, companies and nations pay to borrow money. He is currently a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews and a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, MoneyWeek, the New York Review of Books and Financial Times. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/67-edward-chancellor To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/q5PWaYw6h5k

Recorded April 10, 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate explains how he views the future from a probability perspective - a tool frequently used in industries such as finance, retirement planning, and by e.g. gamblers. While there will be only one eventual outcome, the possible paths to that future fall in a distribution, with some results much more likely than others. We can shift these results with our actions in the present. However, no one person can know this distribution perfectly, only the distribution shaped by their own bias, knowledge, and perspective. How might we use a probabilistic approach to better understand what's possible - and even to better relate to others? By thinking of the future as a spectrum, can we avoid falling into traps of certainty and complacency that inevitably lead to inaction? While there are some outcomes that are impossible, there are still many within our power to steer towards during a Simplification. To watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/uWn2svl6aBU For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/29-reality-probability-and-perception

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson to discuss how he contributes to the discussion of climate and pro-social changemaking through writing. There have been many calls to improve the communication of scientists to the general public in hopes it will help people understand the severity of the various global threats we face. A key component to such communication comes from art and literature. Even further, the humanities help us think about the type of future and culture we want to have given the information that science brings us. How can we incorporate fiction into our set of tools to bring more people into awareness of the pressing systemic dynamics underpinning global events? About Kim Stanley Robinson: Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer. He is the author of over twenty books, including the internationally bestselling Mars trilogy, and more recently Red Moon, New York 2140, and The Ministry for the Future. He was part of the U.S. National Science Foundation's Antarctic Artists and Writers' Program in 1995 and 2016, and a featured speaker at COP-26 in Glasgow, as a guest of the UK government and the UN. His work has been translated into 28 languages, and won awards including the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards. In 2016 asteroid 72432 was named "Kimrobinson." To watch this video episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Xc53KPv7flk Show Notes & Links to Learn More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/66-kim-stanley-robinson

Recorded April 4, 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate shares his early Wall Street experience of 'squawkboxes' summarizing the daily financial Global Macro events and compares it to present day, where we find ourselves faced with the real Global Macro news - the systemic nexus of economic, environmental, and geopolitical risks and realities. From sea surface temperatures at all-time recorded highs, to the threat of nuclear war, to failing nation-states - how does a single person make sense of and cope with a 24 hour news flow reporting our increasingly chaotic world? Our cultural challenges are now far greater than stock markets and currency movements. We need people paying attention, understanding, and engaging with the 'real' Global Macro. To Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/TtYpW2GQGHc For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/28-the-real-global-macro

On this episode, physicist Antonio Turiel joins me for a wide-ranging discussion from oceans and climate to energy and culture. Oceans are one of the most important factors regulating the Earth's climate, and yet they receive relatively little attention from the climate community. There are numerous critical risk factors to unpack regarding just the oceans alone - and still so much that we don't know. This conversation also delves into the complexity of an economic system requiring continuous growth itself embedded in an Earth system that is already hitting its limits. What are the boundaries of our energy systems and what options do we have - and not have - for the future? Is the root of the critical issue we're facing - not a technical problem - but a cultural problem? About Antonio Turiel: Antonio Turiel Martínez is a scientist and activist with a degree in Physics and Mathematics and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He works as a senior scientist at the Institute of Marine Sciences of the CSIC specializing in remote sensing, turbulence, sea surface salinity, water cycle, sea surface temperature, sea surface currents, and chlorophyll concentration. He has written more than 80 scientific articles, but he is better known as an online activist and editor of The Oil Crash blog, where he addresses sensitive issues about the depletion of conventional fossil fuel resources, such as the peak of oil and its possible implications on a world scale. To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/n1fIkS4y798 Show Notes & Links to Learn More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/65-antonio-turiel

Recorded March 29, 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate reflects on the varying perspectives from which people perceive the meta-crisis relative to their own circumstances. This extends to the countries we live in and the particular economic/social situations we are part of. But each of these is part of a wider systems lens that we should at least keep in mind and respect - even if it doesn't feel like our central cause. The challenging times ahead will have huge implications for the social progress of the last few centuries on local, national, and international levels. There will never be one solution to such grand scale problems. As we work on responding to these challenges, keeping in mind the scope and complexity of these issues might allow us to approach them from a place of empathy and compassion. To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5PZagNLa6s&list=PLdc087VsWiC5im7eWkCD0t907MbOAftb3&index=13 For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/27-usa-but-wait-theres-more

On this episode, permaculture expert and educator Andrew Millison joins us to unpack how we can better design our societal infrastructure and agriculture to be more attuned with the water, solar, and "geomorphic" conditions of our surroundings. When critical resources become scarce, it is more important than ever that communities learn to do more with less. By focusing on resiliency and stability through systems thinking, permaculture is a design system which does just that. In a world that often feels beyond our control, how can we use permaculture design to work with the land rather than against it, and regain agency in our local food, water, and social systems? About Andrew Millison: Andrew Millison is an innovative educator, storyteller and designer. He founded the Permaculture Design education program at Oregon State University (OSU) in 2009. At OSU Andrew serves as an Education Director and Senior Instructor who offers over 25 years of experience, and a playful approach to regenerative design. Andrew is also a documentary videographer who travels the world documenting epic permaculture projects in places such as India, Egypt, Mexico, Cuba, and throughout the US. You can view his videos and series on his YouTube channel. To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/52L4Ncs0jLk For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/64-andrew-millison

On this episode, chemical engineer Paul Martin joins The Great Simplification to talk about all things hydrogen. There are many 'Fuels of the Future' about which the media likes to create hopeful and seamless narratives, one of the currently popular of these being hydrogen. Where does hydrogen come from and what do we already depend on hydrogen for - is it as 'clean' as the media leads us to believe? How can we think about hydrogen from a systems perspective to determine if it is really an energy solution - or an energy problem? What does this mean for the design of global supply chains entering into a simplified material future? About Paul Martin: Paul Martin is a Canadian chemical engineer with decades of experience making and using hydrogen and syngas. As a chemical process development specialist, Paul offers services to an international clientele via his private consultancy Spitfire Research. He is also co-founder of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, a nonprofit organization providing science-based information about hydrogen from a position free from commercial interest. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/63-paul-martin To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/YVjEK_PjvD0

In this Frankly, Nate shares some context about how he thinks about the recent global banking and financial market news. How do the catalysts triggering the SVB collapse compare to the 2008 financial crisis? What might world financial market reactions indicate as we move closer to The Great Simplification? What can we learn and proactively plan for by taking a balanced, comprehensive view of the global financial system and banking? One thing to be sure of: world governments and central banks "are gonna need bigger boats" as more and more entities require bailouts and guarantees. Eventually that 'boat' may become so big that it will be "Too Big to Save". Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/eOYU1VlwTNs For Show Notes and More: www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/26-a-bigger-boat