Breaking Down: Collapse

Here is a sample of our weekly bonus episodes. You can access all 80 of our bonus episodes by joining us on Patreon ($5/month).Kellan runs through several news stories of the week and their relation to collapse.Learn More:Déjà coup: How election lies sparked the violent attack on Brazil's government | CNN BusinessSeattle Schools Sue Big Tech Over Youth Mental Health Crisis - BloombergCheddar News on LinkedIn: #poopElon Musk Has Officially Lost More Of His Own Money Than Anyone In History (buzzfeednews.com)Climate-fueled disasters cost U.S. $165 billion in 2022 : NPRIndia set to overtake China as world's most populous country in next 3 months: UN report | Fox NewsNisha Mehta, MD on LinkedIn: The Coming Collapse of the U.S. Health Care System‘Terrifying prospect’: Utah’s Great Salt Lake could disappear in 5 years without drastic water conservation – ICMGLTSupport the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we talk about the potentially dark future of AI and what is known as the "singularity", were it able to break the constraints that currently hold it back. Learn More:The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 1 - Wait But WhyThe Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 2 - Wait But WhyWorld’s most powerful AI chatbot ChatGPT will soon ‘look like a boring toy’ says OpenAI boss | The IndependentA new experiment: Does AI really know cats or dogs -- or anything? | ZDNET1.1 quintillion operations per second: US has world’s fastest supercomputer | Ars TechnicaWhen will singularity happen? 1700 expert opinions of AGI [2023] (aimultiple.com)Support the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a lot of hype, especially recently, around the future of AI. The fact is that AI is present now in our world, for both positive and negative. In this episode we talk about the current reality and near-term expectations of AI, and how it relates to collapse. From surveillance and policing to job and culture loss to deepfakes, AI is helping drive us towards a dystopian future.Learn More:COVID restrictions in India are being enforced by artificial intelligence and facial recognition | FortuneSan Francisco’s Board of Supervisors Grants Police More Surveillance Powers | Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org)SFPD’s killer robots are off the table for now (sfbayview.com)Actor Goes Viral With Deepfake Star Impressions—How Many Can You Name? (newsweek.com)How ChatGPT actually works (assemblyai.com)https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-is-chatgpt/473664/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/technology/personaltech/how-to-use-chatgpt-ethically.htmlhttps://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-replacing-jobs-creating-jobshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2022/05/03/the-rise-of-artificial-intelligence-will-robots-actually-replace-people/?sh=5a88c4403299https://www.saviom.com/blog/12-jobs-that-robots-ai-will-replace-in-the-future-and-12-that-wont/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.htmlhttps://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/12/artstation-artists-stage-mass-protest-against-ai-generated-artwork/Support the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our second annual installment, discussing the happenings of the previous year and how they relate to collapse. We often forget everything that's happened over the course of just 365 days and stepping back to take it all in can be eye-opening!Learn more:2022 CPI and Inflation Rate for the United States | CPI Inflation Calculator (2022 Updated Monthly)How Africa Can Escape Chronic Food Insecurity Amid Climate Change (imf.org)Putting Africans at the Heart of Food Security and Climate Resilience (worldbank.org)The top 10 crises the world can't ignore in 2022 | International Rescue Committee (IRC)Fed’s Interest Rate Hikes in 2022 - What the December Raise Means for You (moneycrashers.com)Compare Current Mortgage Rates – Forbes AdvisorWHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard | WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard With Vaccination DataWeekly confirmed COVID-19 deaths, Dec 20, 2022 (ourworldindata.org)What can explain the excess mortality in the U.S. and Europe in 2022? - Health Feedback'Tripledemic' Data Shows Cold and Flu Season Is Already Among the Worst on Record - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (noaa.gov)U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and AnalysisMass shootings in the US: 2022 could be the second-highest year | CNNSupport the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In dire times, such as these, it is more important than ever to have empathetic leaders who strive to do the right thing for their people. So why do we keep electing narcissists?Learn More:Narcissism: 5 Signs to Help You Spot Narcissistic Behavior (webmd.com)Narcissistic personality disorder - Symptoms and causes - Mayo ClinicThe Rich Have Higher Level of Narcissism, Study Shows | TIME.comPsychology study indicates that narcissists are more involved in politics than the rest of us (psypost.org)Narcissism: Why It's So Rampant in Politics | Psychology TodayThe Narcissism Of Politicians - Mental Health Matters Cofe (mentalhealthmatters-cofe.org)The Narcissists Are Running Amok: Many Politicians Are Narcissists -- And Many of Their Followers Are, Too - Alternet.orgProfessions With the Most Psychopaths (businessinsider.com)https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-disorders/narcissistic-personality-disorder.htmhttps://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/how-narcissistic-leaders-destroy-withinhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00773/fullhttps://bigthink.com/neuropsych/narcissistic-traits-leadership/https://www.psypost.org/2021/02/narcissists-make-their-way-to-ceo-positions-faster-than-their-counterparts-study-finds-59517#:~:text=A%20main%20finding%20that%20has,a%20propensity%20for%20manipulative%20behavior.Support the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Relevant in the news recently have been the multiple attempts at railroad strikes by unions. What is the cause of these strikes, what impact would they have, and will they continue?Learn More:The Averted National Rail Strike Is a Parable of Contemporary American Capitalism | The New YorkerHouse passes bills to stop railroad strike, give rail workers more paid sick leave - YouTubeRail Strike Ahead? Why These Workers Rejected The Contract Deal - YouTubeRail Strike: Why The Railroads Won’t Give In on Paid Leave (nymag.com)https://www.up.com/customers/track-record/tr120120-freight-rail-how-much-ships-by-rail.htmhttps://www.aar.org/topic/industries-we-support/https://www.aar.org/facts-figureshttps://www.fb.org/market-intel/farmers-and-ranchers-feel-crunch-of-railway-supply-chain-shortfallshttps://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/9745Support the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Infrastructure is the glue that holds our supply chain and economy together. The Army Corps of Engineers rates our roads at a grade of D, and our Public Transport at a D-. 43% of US roads are considered to be in poor or mediocre condition.With a growing backlog ($786 million) of repairs and upgrades needed, it's no mystery that our infrastructure is in a freefall of decay.  This episode helps make the case for why a feedback loop of decaying infrastructure leads to collapse.Learn More:Transportation Infrastructure | ASCE's 2021 Infrastructure Report CardRoad Infrastructure | ASCE's 2021 Infrastructure Report CardThe State of America’s Roads | Busbud bloghttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-08/why-building-roads-and-transit-costs-more-in-the-u-shttps://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter3/transportation-and-economic-development/https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter3/transportation-and-economic-development/https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/21079-failure-to-address-infrastructure-could-cost-the-10-trillion-in-gdp-report-says/https://www.motortrend.com/features/american-roads-bridges-need-repairs-now/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2021/commute-calculator-pandemic/https://www.history.com/news/8-ways-roads-helped-rome-rule-the-ancient-worldhttps://www.valuepenguin.com/highway-spending-studySupport the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know that sea level rise is a real and accelerating threat - but what are nations doing to respond to it? In this episode, we talk about adaptation plans for two different Pacific Island nations: Fiji and Tuvalu.Learn More:https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/08/how-to-move-a-country-fiji-radical-plan-escape-rising-seas-climate-crisishttps://www.greenbiz.com/article/what-world-can-learn-fijis-national-climate-strategyhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/travel/fiji-global-warming.amp.htmlTuvalu unveils Long-Term Adaptation Plan at COP27, a vision for a safe, climate-resilient future — Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project (tcap.tv)COP 27: Tuvalu announces stronger climate targets for 2050 | The Pacific Community (spc.int)Tuvalu Turns to the Metaverse as Rising Seas Threaten Existence (usnews.com)Support the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shaun Chamberlin is an author and activist who has been exploring collapse and possible responses for over twenty years.  He is the editor of 'Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy' and his late mentor David Fleming’s 'Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It', as well as executive producer of 2020 film 'The Sequel: What Will Follow Our Troubled Civilisation?'He puts the theory into practice as one of the custodians of Ireland’s legendary free pub ‘The Happy Pig’ and was involved with the Transition Towns movement since its inception, co-founding Transition Town Kingston and authoring the movement’s second book, 'The Transition Timeline', back in 2009.  He was also one of the first Extinction Rebellion arrestees, in 2018, and now leads Sterling College’s online program ‘Surviving the Future: Conversations for Our Time’.Shaun’s website: http://darkoptimism.org‘Surviving the Future: Conversations for Our Times’ courses/community: http://ce.sterlingcollege.edu/surviving-the-future…David Fleming’s books: http://flemingpolicycentre.org.uk/books/Free access to David Fleming’s Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It: http://leanlogic.onlineSupport the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greenland and Antarctica combine to hold a potential 225 feet of sea level rise. How much of that will be unlocked, and over what time frame? We discuss the knowns, the unknowns, and the newest research coming out.Learn More:https://sealevel.nasa.gov/faq/11/how-much-rise-should-we-expect-from-greenland-and-antarctica/https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/04/study-says-antarctic-ice-sheet-melt-to-lift-sea-level-higher-than-thought/https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/14/world/antarctica-larsen-c-ice-shelf-atmospheric-rivers-climate-intl/index.htmlhttps://www.wired.com/story/scientists-are-uncovering-ominous-waters-under-antarctic-ice/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/81214/arctic-amplificationhttps://insideclimatenews.org/news/15082020/greenland-ice-sheet-melt-climate-change/?gclid=CjwKCAiAvK2bBhB8EiwAZUbP1AepBilfkaUmc3dx0kRyr6MPerYpZQDXKpCkrb7flaWN4xpENIzUPhoC9u4QAvD_BwEhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/melting-greenland-ice-sheet-will-cause-at-least-ten-inches-of-sea-level-rise-study-finds-180980675/https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/rain-fell-for-first-time-greenland-s-summit-here-s-why-it-mattershttps://www.cnn.com/2021/08/19/weather/greenland-summit-rain-climate-changeSupport the showPlease join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.