The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

(Conversation recorded on October 10th, 2024) 

Our modern economic system is designed to maximize financial capital, viewing money as though it were wealth itself. But what would happen if we viewe…

(Recorded October 27, 2024)

Somebody is going to win the upcoming US election. In a society deeply divided along partisan lines, individual identities and hopes/fears for the future may seem bound …

(Conversation recorded on October 17th, 2024) 

As the trust in the U.S. presidential election process continues to be in question, alongside growing polarization and dwindling good-faith conversati…

(Conversation recorded on October 16th, 2024)  

Ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, both of whom have distinct monetary and fiscal policies, there is muc…

(Conversation recorded on October 3rd, 2024) 

While humans, like all animals, are subject to certain fundamental realities, we also possess the unique ability to shape the world around us through p…

(Conversation recorded on September 16th, 2024)    Where have all the elders gone? As the world grapples with its unfolding economic and energy crises, it can often feel like we lack capable guides …

(Conversation recorded on September 25th, 2024)  

There has been much discussion lately of Planetary Boundaries – the 9 biophysical systems and processes that regulate the functioning of life support…

(Recorded October 7, 2024)

In a polarized and fractured society, those who draw attention to the ecological devastation wrought by human activities, and those who champion the importance of protect…

(Conversation recorded on September 5th, 2024)

The deeper we dive into the complexity of the metacrisis, the more it becomes apparent that the changes we desire in our communities, governments, and…

(Conversation recorded on August 6th, 2024)  

The damaging effects of humanity’s disconnected relationship to Earth’s ecosystems are broad and deep. Yet, despite targeted efforts to address these i…

(Recorded September 30, 2024)

Nate’s work tends to focus on systems-level analysis of the current (and future) global macro/ecological situation. But peering beneath the surface of that system lies…

(Conversation recorded on August 13th, 2024)  

Humanity’s relationship with Earth’s forests is long and complex. While some societies have preserved their understanding of the intricate connections…

(Recorded September 22, 2024) 14.8% of Americans do not believe in climate change. Recently, a study mapping a 485-million-year history of Earth’s temperature and CO2 levels has been misinterpreted …

(Conversation recorded on August 5th, 2024)

While the global crises we face are on a larger scale than anything before, there is rich wisdom to glean from past civilizations who have faced existent…

(Recorded September 18 2024)

Over past decades, abundance and peace have become the prevailing narratives in modern societies. The reality, as usual, is both more nuanced and more complex. Today, our…

(Conversation recorded on July 30th, 2024)  

The science surrounding our planet’s dynamic and complex climate can be difficult to understand, and perhaps even more challenging to decipher what the ac…

(Conversation recorded on September 3rd, 2024)  

As the United States continues to play a major role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the risk of a direct engagement, possibly leading to…

(Conversation recorded on July 24th, 2024)  

In the past century of abundant energy surplus, humanity’s globalized, large-scale approach to problem-solving has yielded remarkable benefits and innovat…

(Conversation recorded on May 8th, 2024)  

Without a systems lens, the full reality of the human predicament will never be understood. It is only when we adopt this kind of holistic, wide-boundary th…

(Conversation recorded on July 17th, 2024)  

Addressing the risks we face on a global scale is a challenge that can feel both enormous in execution and personally daunting. When it comes to finding t…