Going Steady with Herman Daly: ‘The canary has fallen silent’

We follow Herman from the lecture halls of Louisiana to the forests of Brazil – and through a period of global upheaval and personal transformation. Herman was profoundly shaped by the realities of inequality and ecological fragility in the Global South. These experiences helped crystallize his vision of a steady-state economy; one that operates within the planet’s ecological limits and prioritizes human wellbeing and ecological boundaries over endless growth.

With reflections from his family and followers, this episode captures the moment Daly’s thinking moved from quiet resistance to creating economic theories that would go on to have a truly global influence. 

Featured in this episode:

Colvis Cavalcanti, ecological economist

Brian Czech, Author of Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train and executive director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Rob Dietz, Program Director at the Post-Carbon Institute, co-author of Enough is Enough, and co-host of Crazy Town

Terri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist and Herman and Marcia's eldest daughter

Karen Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughter

Denis Lynn Daly Heyck (Deni), Professor Emeritus of Spanish language and literature and Herman's sister

Katy Shields, Regenerative economist and co-creator/host of Tipping Point

Peter Victor, Professor Emeritus of ecological economics & author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World

Kate Raworth, Author of Doughnut Economics and co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story.

Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.

Visit the Cities 1.5 podcast page on UTP’s website for the media citations used in this episode.

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/