The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

Show Summary:

On this episode, we meet with social innovator, writer, and speaker, Vicki Robin.

Robin unpacks how the machine of community begins. How does being vulnerable, sharing, and being obligated to others create a system that allows everyone to contribute? Why do we need to learn to begin asking for help?

Further, Robin shares how we can begin to take steps toward food resiliency. Robin shares the story of how she only ate food that was produced within a 10-mile radius of her home for 30 days, and how we should all begin to think and act locally.

About Vicki Robin:

Vicki Robin is a prolific social innovator, writer and speaker. She is coauthor with Joe Dominguez of the international best-seller, Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence (Viking Penguin, 1992, 1998, 2008, 2018). It was an instant NY Times best seller in 1992 and steadily appeared on the Business Week Best Seller list from 1992-1997. It is available now in twelve languages.

Blessing the Hands that Feed Us; Lessons from a 10-mile diet (Viking/Penguin 2014) recounts her adventures in hyper-local eating and what she learned about food and farming as well as belonging and hope.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/21-vicki-robin

On this episode we meet with founding member of The Consilience Project, Daniel Schmachtenberger.

In the second of a four-part series, Nate and Daniel explore the relationship between energy, information, technology, the Superorganism, and the maximum power principle.

How can we maximize returns on agency? Nate and Daniel explain the importance of hyper agents: those humans who have an outsized influence on what's happening in the world.

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 Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/20-daniel-schmactenberger

On this episode, we meet with Associate Professor of Geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland, Dr. Simon Michaux.

Why do humans ignore important mineral and material limits that will affect human futures? Dr. Michaux reveals how we are "minerals blind" — and the consequences of this myopia.

To shed light on the effects of our minerals blindness, Dr. Michaux explores the disconnect between experts in renewable energy and economic and government leaders.

Dr. Michaux offers individual strategies for us to overcome our energy and minerals blindness. How can we learn to adapt in order to overcome the coming challenges?

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 Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/19-simon-michaux

On this episode, we meet with Professor of Physics at UCSD and the Associate Director of CASS, the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Tom Murphy.

Murphy shows us how continued growth and energy use is an impossibility if continued at our current trajectory. How does physics constrain our planetary ambitions? Murphy helps us do the math.

To help us align with a post-growth trajectory, Murphy offers suggestions for how humans can begin to treat nature as well as we treat ourselves — and why we must care about the future in order to create a brighter one.

Thomas Murphy is a Professor in the Physics Department at UCSD, the Associate Director of CASS, the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, and is the author of Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet.

From 2003–2020, Murphy led the APOLLO project as an ultra-precise test of General Relativity using the technique of lunar laser ranging. Professor Murphy's interests are transitioning to quantitative assessment of the challenges associated with long-term human success on a finite planet.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/18-tom-murphy

Show Summary:

On this episode, we meet again with risk expert Chuck Watson.

How can we avoid a nuclear conflict? Watson gives a primer on how to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict and the measures we can take to mitigate nuclear exchange as individuals, a nation, and the world. Further, Watson explains the potential pathways to nuclear escalation.

This episode was recorded thanks to the valuable feedback from listeners of The Great Simplification, who expressed a desire to dive deeper into this topic.

About Chuck Watson:

Chuck Watson is the founder and Director of Research and Development of Enki Holdings, LLC, which designs computer models for phenomena ranging from tropical cyclones (hurricanes) and other weather phenomena, earthquakes, and tsunamis, as well as anthropogenic hazards such as industrial accidents, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction

Enki's models and their outputs are used by governments around the world such as the US Government (NASA, Defense Department, State Department, EPA), the States of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Hawaii, as well as the insurance industry and UN Agencies. Chuck has been a frequent guest on NPR, CNBC, and Bloomberg News providing expert perspectives on the economic impacts of natural and anthropogenic hazards.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/17-chuck-watson-nuclear-war

On this episode, we meet with Co-Founder of the Center for Humane Technology and co-host of Your Undivided Attention Podcast, Tristan Harris.

Harris explores the intersection of society and social media technology. How does modern social media pose an existential risk for society? How can we create a healthier, sustainable relationship between our social technology and culture?

Harris explains how privacy, liability, and antitrust could contribute to a healthier tech ecosystem. Why is it not enough to reduce the harm of technology, and how can we use technology to strengthen democracy?

Tristan Harris has spent his career studying how today's major technology platforms have increasingly become the social fabric by which we live and think, wielding dangerous power over our ability to make sense of the world. Along with Aza Raksin, he is the Co-Host of "Your Undivided Attention," consistently among the top ten technology podcasts on Apple Podcasts, which explores how social media's race for attention is destabilizing society and the vital insights we need to envision solutions. Tristan was also the primary subject of the acclaimed Netflix documentary, "The Social Dilemma," which unveiled the hidden machinations behind social media.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/16-tristan-harris

On this episode, we meet with Professor at the University of British Columbia and Founder of Sea Around Us, Dr. Daniel Pauly.

Dr. Pauly shares the role warming sea water plays in fish migration. How do warming temperatures affect water oxygen levels and fish behavior?

Dr. Pauly explains that the world has passed peak fish, and why contemporary metrics do not always paint a complete picture of our dire situation.

Dr. Daniel Pauly is a Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia, the Founder of the Sea Around Us, and author of more than a dozen books.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/15-daniel-pauly

On this episode, we meet with Ecological Economist, John Gowdy.

Gowdy explores the revolution in biology and its significance in society. How do different cultures manifest human nature? What role has agriculture, and specific crops, played in how societies developed?

Further, Gowdy discusses the relationship between capitalism, surplus, and The Superorganism. Does human agency matter to the Superorganism? What role do blind evolutionary mechanisms play in the development of our society?

John M. Gowdy is Professor of Economics and Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He is the recipient of the Herman Daly Award for contributions to ecological economics.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/14-john-gowdy

On this episode, we meet with Executive Director of the Flow Genome Project, Jamie Wheal. Jamie discusses the evolutionary importance of music as a coping mechanism, how the United States' university system fails to prepare students for the crises of the coming decades, and how to find hope in this time of tumult.

About Jamie Wheal:

Jamie Wheal is the Executive Director of Flow Genome Project. His work ranges from Fortune 500 companies, leading business schools, Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), to Red Bull and its stable of world-class athletes. He combines a background in expeditionary leadership, wilderness medicine and surf rescue, with over a decade advising high-growth companies on strategy, execution and leadership. He is a sought-after speaker, presenting to diverse and high-performing communities such as YPO, Summit Series, MaiTai Global, TEDx, and the Advertising Research Foundation.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/13-jamie-wheal

On this episode, we meet with Professor Emeritus of Systems Management and author, Dennis Meadows.

Meadows revisits Limits to Growth 50 years after it was published. Looking back, how does Meadows view the book? How much of the response to his description of overshoot was based in fear?

Meadows offers advice to current leaders based on the models he developed in Limits to Growth. Why is it important to develop success indicators, and how can they be clearly communicated to the public?

Further, Meadows explores the available leverage points to avoid the worst types of collapse at our current stage of crises.

About Dennis Meadows:

Dennis Meadows is the Emeritus Professor of Systems Management at MIT and the co-author of Limits to Growth and Beyond the Limits.

He has received numerous awards and is the recipient of four honorary doctorates for his contributions to environmental education. He co-authored the pioneering 1972 book The Limits to Growth, which analyzed the long-term consequences of unconstrained resource consumption driven by population and economic growth on a finite planet.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/12-dennis-meadows

On this episode, we meet with ecologist, writer, and Greenpeace cofounder, Rex Weyler.

Weyler explains how the ecology movement was hijacked by the environmental movement. How is climate change one of many issues that has a root cause of overshoot?

Weyler also explores the dangers of relying on hope as a strategy. Why must we be careful about virtual signaling in the environmental movement, and how can we "sharpen the sword" as individuals?

Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land, a history of indigenous American 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.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/rex-weyler

An important dialogue with Chuck Watson on:

1) Why the U.S. public is naïve about what nuclear war means

2) The mechanics on how nuclear war with Russia could actually happen

3) How bad would nuclear war short and long term effects be?

For Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-02-are-americans-willing-to-risk-nuclear-war

To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3LhvVyB_qo

On this episode, we meet with award-winning filmmaker, writer, educator, and President of the International Bateson Institute, Nora Bateson.

Nora brings us beyond the descriptions of the physical science that underpins our predicament to the nuance and perception of the complexity that we live within. How can we improve our relationships with others, as well as the broader world?

Nora helps us understand how systems dynamics inform our predicament. How does an ecosystem develop and mature through mutual learning? What are ways we can apply this thinking to our profit-focused superstructure?

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.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/10-nora-bateson

In addition to regular Wednesday longform podcasts, this video is #1 of new series of short takes, "Frankly" which are framings and context on current world events. Today, I riff on longer term implications of Ukraine/Russia especially with energy and global systems.

For Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-1-what-war-in-the-ukraine-means-for-energy-and-money

To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gLIP9odpVs

The second part of The Great Simplification Animated Series is now available!

Visit http://thegreatsimplification.com to view now.

On this episode, we meet with Professor Emeritus of Population Studies at Stanford University and author of The Population Bomb, Paul Ehrlich.

Ehrlich discusses what has happened with the human population situation in the decades since he published The Population Bomb. Why has humanity not responded to our long-term sustainability challenges? How would Ehrlich frame contemporary discussions about population?

In a wide-ranging conversation spanning stories about his appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to how the environmental movement merged with corporate greenwashing, Ehrlich provides colorful and interesting commentary on the human predicament.

Paul Ehrlich is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies at Stanford University and author of many books, including The Population Bomb.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/09-paul-ehrlich

On this episode, we meet with author and paleobiologist Peter Ward.

Ward helps us catalogue the various risks facing Earth's oceans, how the Atlantic Ocean's currents are slowing due to warming, what happened in Earths history when ocean currents stopped, and why a reduction in elephant poaching is contributing to the destruction of coral reefs.

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.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/08-peter-ward

On this episode we meet with ecological economist and Professor in Community Development & Applied Economics and Public Administration, Josh Farley.

Farley explores the importance of human cooperation in a modern superstructure that incentivizes competition. What role will cooperation play in helping us solve our largest existential problems?

Farley explains the critical social dilemma humans face: How can we grapple with the paradox that individuals are better served to act selfishly, but cooperation among individuals makes everyone better off?

Additionally, Professor Farley helps us distinguish the difference between how a system works, and how we can understand and participate in changing a system.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/07-josh-farley

Visit thegreatsimplification.com to view now.

On this episode, we meet with ecological economist and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, Herman Daly.

Daly discusses the biophysical underpinnings of human economies, and how a social system that is more tethered to our ecological reality might come into being.

Daly explains how the transformation from classical economics to neoclassical economics created an understanding of the world that prioritized utility and money above all else. How did neoclassical economics contribute to our current predicament?

Further, Daly explores what he believes to be the best-case scenario humans face in the next decade.

Herman Daly is Professor Emeritus of economics at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, former senior economist at the World Bank, and a founder of the field of ecological economics. He is the author of For The Common Good, Valuing the Earth, the textbook Ecological Economics, and many other books, essays, and academic papers

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/06-herman-daly

On this episode we meet with founding member of The Consilience Project, Daniel Schmachtenberger.

In the first of a five-part series, Nate and Daniel outline the macro risks and pathways for civilization to 'bend' and avoid 'breaking' in coming decades.

In the Part 1 of 5 conversation, Schmachtenberger flips the script to interview Nate about the urgent problems his research and work on energy, money, and growth confront. Nate explains how we can come to understand energy blindness and the overlooked role of oil in consumption, production, and progress since the Industrial Revolution. The dominant narrative of human progress prioritizes capital and labor — but the omission of energy and materials leaves out a key component to understanding how the modern human ecosystem functions.

Further, Nate discusses how a growth economy will inevitably lead to increased energy production and consumption, and how new energy technologies like renewables end up creating more energy output, not less. Putting everything together, in outsourcing our decisions and planning to a market dependent on growth, we have not so metaphorically become an energy hungry superorganism.

Finally, Daniel and Nate look forward to answering: What are ways for us to prepare for a post-growth economy? How can we stay balanced in the face of existential crises? What type of policy can help shape a future that is yet to arrive, and how can we get ahead?

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 Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/05-daniel-schmactenberger

On this episode we meet with risk expert and consultant, Chuck Watson.

Watson analyzes the types of risk we face in the modern world - from climate change to nuclear arms - and how the decisions of experts help us from plunging into the abyss. How do humans manage our instincts to over-react to risks we recently experienced with high-consequence, low-probability situations?

Further, Watson explores the role of human agency in risk analysis. How are humans smart enough to build dangerous systems, but unable to manage the same systems? He looks at how building stronger governance systems will allow humans to overcome our current predicament.

About Chuck Watson:Chuck Watson is the founder and Director of Research and Development of Enki Holdings, LLC.

Enki's models and their outputs are used by governments around the world such as the US Government (NASA, Defense Department, State Department, EPA), the States of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Hawaii, as well as the insurance industry and UN Agencies. Chuck has been a frequent guest on NPR, CNBC, and Bloomberg News providing expert perspectives on the economic impacts of natural and anthropogenic hazards.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/04-chuckwatson

On this episode we meet with petroleum geologist and expert in U.S. shale, Arthur Berman.

In the discussion, Berman explains oil from the ground-up. What is oil? How is oil formed? How did we become dependent on fossil fuels? How much human labor is equal to the amount of energy in one barrel of oil? Where do the majority of carbon emissions come from, and what role can we humans play in helping us reduce emissions? How much oil is left and what are future prospects for oil production and the economy?

Further, Berman looks at the human desire to continue to grow and how it contributes to our collective energy blind spots. If oil is the economy, and oil is depleting, Berman explains why human cultures will one day soon need to learn to be satisfied with enough, rather than more.

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.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/03-arthurberman

On this episode we meet with one of the world's leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists, Dr. Shanna Swan.

Dr. Swan discusses how chemicals in our environment threaten human hormones, male sperm count, and ultimately, human reproduction. How do endocrine-disrupting hormones disrupt pregnancy? Further, she explains "The 1% Effect," which accounts for the 1 percent annual decrease in human fertility and related functions.

To combat the urgent threats facing human reproduction, Dr. Swan offers recommendations about how we can avoid harmful chemicals — and live healthier lives.

Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., is one of the world's leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists. She is Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City where is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Center on Early Environmental Exposures and the Mindich Child Health and Development Institute.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/02-shannaswan

On this episode we welcome the Honorable Richard A. Gephardt to explore the challenges and opportunities present in our modern democracy.

In his first-ever podcast appearance, Leader Gephardt details what he believes to be the primary challenges facing the United States today. He explains the conflict of interest between the business plans of social media platforms, civil society, and functioning democracy. He contrasts 9/11 and the Iraq war to current polarization and Jan 6 episode, as well as discusses what he's doing to help work toward solutions.

Gephardt additionally explains the importance of civic engagement, the importance of public service, and why he feels encouraged by the care that younger generations display for climate change and democracy.

Richard Gephardt is an attorney, author, lobbyist, and politician who served served 28 years in the United States House of Representatives. He is the President and CEO of the Gephardt Group, where he works to inspire a new understanding of citizenship based on activism to bring about economic, social, and political change.

Gephardt previously served as the United States House Majority Leader (1989-95) and House Minority Leader (1995-2003). He is the author of three books, including An Even Better Place and The American Immigrant: The Outsiders.

For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/01-dickgephardt

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens is a podcast that explores money, energy, economy, and the environment with world experts and leaders to understand how everything fits together, and where we go from here.

As we reach peak fossil fuel use, we'll need to adapt new, simpler ways of living. The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens explores the problems facing humans, helps us understand how we got here, and looks ahead to where we go. Featuring conversations with world-class experts including doctors, economists, and scientists.

Find out more: http://thegreatsimplification.com