Crazy Town
Post Carbon Institute
With equal parts humor and in-depth analysis, Asher, Rob, and Jason safeguard their sanity while probing crazy-making topics like climate change, overshoot, runaway capitalism, and why we’re all deluding ourselves. Each fortnightly episode helps you understand the “Great Unraveling” of our environmental and social systems and describes how we can make the transition to a sustainable and equitable world. If you’re someone who questions the trajectory of society and struggles to understand why most people would rather eat nachos on the deck of the “SS Denial” than face reality, you’ll find community and plenty of laughs in Crazy Town.Brought to you by https://www.resilience.org/ and the unconventional minds at Post Carbon Institute, a nonprofit think tank that builds awareness of the polycrisis and prescribes community resilience-building as the most appropriate response.Your hosts:Asher Miller - Nonprofit executive director by day, apocalypse comedian by night. Feels most at home exploring insanity-inducing topics while trying not to spill coffee on his keyboard as he convulses over the latest ecomodernist fantasy. In danger of losing his mind every time he encounters someone using a gas-powered blower to move leaves from one spot to another.Rob Dietz - Jack-of-all-trades environmental scientist, conservation biologist, and ecological economist with a penchant for relating planetary overshoot to the catalog of movie scenes that play on a continuous loop in his colonized brain. Known for inserting random ecological facts into casual conversation, often in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice. His friends call him “pessimistically hilarious.”Jason Bradford - Activist farmer and former encyclopedia salesman with a PhD in plant ecology who gets genuinely excited discussing soil microbes and societal collapse in the same breath. Morally opposed to doomsday prepping, but predisposed toward sharing everything he keeps in his bunker, er root cellar, including potatoes, wine, and a 47-month supply of scientific esoterica and embarrassing anecdotes.These guys are the Three Stooges of sustainability podcasting, although they tend toward scientific analysis, righteous outrage, and self-deprecation rather than beating each other up with hand tools. How can they have this much fun while contemplating collapse and navigating the Great Unraveling?Heartfelt thanks to the team at Post Carbon Institute, our volunteers, and all our fellow Crazy Townies out there who help bring this podcast to life.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 20, 2025 • 51min
Going #2: The Dueling Rules of Nature That Every Good Earthling Needs to Know
This lively discussion dives into the intriguing balance between entropy and self-organization in nature. The hosts share humorous stories while highlighting the need for sustainable practices that echo natural processes. They explore the advantages of living fences over traditional methods and suggest rethinking urban infrastructure to embrace nature. The conversation also emphasizes community self-organization and the benefits of simplicity in both life and business, all while inspiring listeners to connect more deeply with their environment.
Apr 2, 2025 • 1h 10min
Even AI Chatbots Hate Us: The Rise of the New Luddites, with Brian Merchant
Who knew that the breakthrough moment of AI sentience would come from interacting with an annoying neo-Luddite?After failing to raise a single dollar for PCI’s newest initiative — the $350 billion Transdisciplinary Institute for Phalse Prophet Studies and Education (TIPPSE) — Jason, Rob, and Asher devise the only profitable pitch for raising capital: using AI technology to cure the loneliness that technology itself causes. The only problem is that AI chatbots won’t talk to us, as evidenced by Asher’s experience of being blocked by an AI “friend.” So Asher turns to the flesh-and-blood author of Blood in the Machine, Brian Merchant, to discuss the rise of the neo-Luddite movement — the only people who might be able to stand your humble Crazy Town hosts. Brian Merchant is a writer, reporter, and author. He is currently reporter in residence at the AI Now Institute and publishes his own newsletter, Blood in the Machine, which has the same title as his 2023 book. Previously, Brian was the technology columnist at the Los Angeles Times and a senior editor at Motherboard.Originally recorded on 1/3/25 (warm-up conversation) and 3/24/25 (interview with Brian).Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Press Release announcing closure of TIPPSEFunding for FriendScreenshot of Asher’s conversation with Friend’s bot, FaithLyrics to “Not Going to Mars” by PyrrhonBrian Merchant’s Substack, Blood in the MachineBrian’s book, Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech New York Times article on the Luddite Club: “‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes”Crazy Town Episode 72: Sucking CO2 and Electrifying Everything: The Climate Movement’s Desperate Dependence on Tenuous TechnologiesBrian’s essay in The Atlantic, “The New Luddites Aren’t Backing Down”Support the show
Mar 19, 2025 • 54min
A Temporary Techno Stunt: Tom Murphy on Falling out of Love with Modernity
Recovering technology booster Tom Murphy visits Crazy Town to discuss his journey from shooting lasers at the moon, to trying to "solve" the energy predicament, to falling out of love with modernity itself. Asher, Jason, Rob, and Tom discuss the roots and short-lived nature of modernity, which has not only shaped the world we inhabit but conquered our very imaginations. They reminisce about aspects of hi-tech society that have already fallen away in its hubristic march towards mastering (or should we say undermining?) nature. They close by contemplating what it means to detach from humanocentric delusions of grandeur and make peace with living with one foot in and one foot out of the modern world. Originally recorded on 3/4/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:"Acceptance and Agency at the End of Modernity," a live online Resilience event on April 1, 2025 featuring Vanessa Andreotti and Dougald HineTom Murphy's Do the MathSupport the show
Mar 5, 2025 • 47min
Eating the Future: The NY Times Goes Full Ecomodernist on Food and Farming
How will we feed people living in the megacities of the 21st century, especially while confronting climate chaos and the depletion of fossil fuels and fossil water? According to the mainstream media: ecomodernism! Massive deployment of technology on factory farms and an extreme ramp-up of industrialization will save the day – right? RIGHT?!? If you read the New York Times, you might think that supermarket shelves will forever overflow with 3D-printed fish sticks, mylar bags full of genetically modified cheesy poofs, and faux corn dogs that ooze out of laboratory vats. Jason, Rob, and Asher question the wisdom of doubling down on industrialization in food and farming. It’s no surprise they recommend paying attention to nature and ecological limits. Stick around for ideas you can use in your community to support a healthy, regenerative food system (and keep on eating). Originally recorded on 1/21/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Jason Bradford, The Future Is Rural, 2/19/19.Eliza Barclay, "What to Eat on a Burning Planet," The New York Times, 7/29/24.David Wallace-Wells, "Food as You Know It Is About to Change," The New York Times, 7/28/24.Andrew Nikiforuk, "A Reality Check on Our 'Energy Transition'," Resilience, 1/6/25.Michael Grunwald, "Sorry, but This Is the Future of Food," The New York Times, 12/13/24."Changing How We Grow Our Food: Readers disagree with an essay about factory farms," The New York Times, 1/4/25.Jay Famiglietti, "Will We Have to Pump the Great Lakes to California to Feed the Nation?" The New York Times, 8/5/24.Clip of the Hydrologist in Chief "explaining" the oh-so-simple solution to water shortages.Support the show
Feb 13, 2025 • 38min
Bargaining With Collapse: A Superabundance of Lab Grown Meat and Dryer Balls
Do you contemplate topics like climate change, biodiversity loss, and the risk of civilizational collapse? If so, then you probably understand something about bargaining – a psychological defense mechanism that’s one of the five stages of grief. With just a wee bit of embarrassment, Asher, Jason, and Rob reveal damning episodes of bargaining from their personal histories (involving green consumerism and cult-like devotion to technology). Having admitted their sins, they discuss the allure of false solutions to our environmental predicaments and how even veteran environmental journalists can be susceptible to it. Stay to the end for thoughts on how to avoid getting hoodwinked by the horde of ecomodernist tech bros who continuously shove unworkable "solutions" down our throats. Originally recorded on January 16, 2025.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Julia Musto, "The end of the world as we know it? Theorist warns humanity is teetering between collapse and advancement," Independent, January 13, 2025 (about Nahfeez Ahmed's take on superabundance versus collapse).Rob Dietz, "Chris Smaje Vs. George Monbiot and the Debate on the Future of Farming," Resilience, October 27, 2023.Crazy Town episode 32 on cognitive biasMegan Phelps-Roper's six questionsCrazy Town episode 45 on feedback loops, featuring an interview with Beth SawinPost Carbon Institute's Deep Dive on building emotional resilienceSupport the show
Feb 3, 2025 • 54min
The House Is Quite Literally on Fire: Peter Kalmus on the Climate Emergency Hitting Home
Peter Kalmus, climate scientist and returning friend of Crazy Town, used to live in Altadena, California, where one of the disastrous Los Angeles wildfires struck on January 7th. Having learned that his former house had burned, Peter penned an emotional article for the New York Times about his family's decision to leave LA two years prior, out of safety concerns about frequent heat waves, drought, and just the sort of tragic conflagration that has reduced parts of LA to ashes. Get Peter's take on this historic wildfire, what nature is trying to teach us, and how to think about unnatural disasters now and in the future. Note: this interview was recorded on January 24, 2025.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Peter Kalmus’s article in the New York Times from January 10, 2025: “As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles”Peter’s book, Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate RevolutionNews story about the huge Bobcat Fire that struck Los Angeles County in 2020Article in Science about the damage from Hurricanes Helene and MiltonPeter mentioned the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, which relates vapor pressure to temperature.FeedSpot ranked Crazy Town as the #1 environmental economics podcast.Support the show
Jan 15, 2025 • 30min
The Frequent Flyer Tree: Losing the Last Bit of Sense in the Climate Emergency
In the world of college sports, money talks and the volleyball team walks, er, flies 33,000 miles to play games. The NCAA, like almost everyone else, is playing games with Mother Nature. What do we expect student-athletes to gain from ignoring the climate emergency (not to mention putting their health at risk)? Who cares, as long as we can wring a few more dollars out of the TV deals -- am I right?!? Jason, Rob, and Asher propose a new plan for college sports and for taking the climate emergency seriously.On a happy note: FeedSpot ranked Crazy Town as the #1 environmental economics podcast.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Jeff Eisenberg, "Conference realignment has redefined 'travel ball'," yahoo!sports, September 11, 2024.Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment and Doerr School of SustainabilityStanford has the most winning NCAA program, counting all sports. (2nd and 3rd are UCLA and USC, by far!)Support the show
Dec 18, 2024 • 34min
Shotgunning Hedwig: The Dilemma of Invasives and the Bizarre Decision to Slaughter Barred Owls
The US Fish and Wildlife Service decided to "manage" barred owls by shooting half a million of them over the next three decades. Jason, Rob, and Asher (along with the postal workers at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) are upset about this plan for addressing the predicament of invasive species. Surely there's a finer tool than a double-barreled shotgun for conserving ecosystems and protecting the species that inhabit them.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Bill Lucia, "Plan Finalized to Kill Thousands of Barred Owls around Northwest," Washington State Standard, August 28, 2024.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Final Barred Owl Management Strategy, August 2024."Killing barred owls to save northern spotted owls: Rethinking American wildlife conservation," On Point, WBUR, 9/5/2024.Avram Hiller, Jay Odenbaugh, and Yasha Rohwer, "A Dystopian Effort Is Underway in the Pacific Northwest to Pick Ecological Winners and Losers," New York Times, August 8, 2024.Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, "Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program."Robert Dietz and Brian Czech, "Conservation Deficits for the Continental United States: an Ecosystem Gap Analysis," Conservation Biology, August 16, 2005.Tom Murphy, "Metastatic Modernity #12: Human Supremacy," Metastatic Modernity Video Series, August 9, 2024.Support the show
Nov 27, 2024 • 45min
Breaking News: Crazy Town Joins the Newly Formed Department of Entropy
Rob, Jason, and Asher talk about joining the new Trump Administration, at least until Elon Musk eradicates it. They explore the implications of Trump 2.0 through three reality-bending lenses – shifting baselines, entropy, and the upside of down – and three ways of responding: resistance, resilience, and regeneration. They decided they couldn’t stomach a fourth R – respect.We’ve added something new to this and future episodes: VIDEO! If you’d like to feel even more like you’re in the room with the Crazy Town gang, please check out the video and let us know what you think. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Daniel Pauly’s 1995 article, Anecdotes and the Shifting Baseline Syndrome of FisheriesRandy Olson’s op-ed in the LA Times, Slow-Motion Disaster Below the WavesVideo of Howard Dean’s speech with the infamous “Dean Scream”NASA’s description of the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy law (Be sure to read it before the incoming US administration repeals the laws of thermodynamics!)Thomas Homer-Dixon’s book The Upside of DownSupport the show
Jul 31, 2024 • 40min
Bonus: Human Nature Odyssey
Sometimes you just wanna hear from someone else. In this bonus episode, Alex Leff enters Crazy Town to introduce his podcast, Human Nature Odyssey. Before playing the first episode of the podcast, Jason, Rob, and Asher find lots of laughs with Alex as they contemplate environmental destruction, gorilla suits, the fate of civilization, tandem bike rides, imaginary games, and how to make a podcast. If you need a little more encouragement to check out Human Nature Odyssey, our friend Tom Murphy (author of the Do the Math blog) gives it his highest recommendation.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Human Nature Odyssey on Apple PodcastsThe work and philosophy of Daniel Quinn, author of IshmaelRobin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of PlantsAlex Leff’s Patreon page for Human Nature OdysseySupport the show
