The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

We were reminded this week of how precarious and dangerous the ongoing NATO/Russia situation is. An errant missile in Poland on Tuesday nearly started World War III (thankfully - cooler heads prevailed). The situation in Ukraine is horribly complex - but are people in the USA even paying attention? Many naively believe getting rid of Putin or ‘winning’ militarily vs Russia are valid and reasonable goals. But from a systems vantage there is more going on here than the mainstream narrative - we are in the liminal space between a unipolar and multipolar world order - a time fraught with various risks.  Our collective understanding/response is vital to livable futures.     For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/17-russia-be-careful-what-we-wish-for To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jY3QpjxiPk

On this episode, Nate is joined by Sustainability Science and Policy Professor Jon Erickson. He and Nate dive into Jon’s new book The Progress Illusion: Reclaiming our Future from the Fairytale of Economics, which covers the economic myths that have shaped our modern reality. How can we reshape the narrative and shift the paradigm towards different economic systems that promote human and ecological well-being over material consumption?  About Jon Erickson: Jon Erickson is the David Blittersdorf Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy at the University of Vermont. He has published widely on energy and climate change policy, land conservation, watershed planning, environmental public health, and the theory and practice of ecological economics.  He advised presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on economics and energy issues.

In the midst of the COP27 in Egypt and one of the warmest Wisconsin Novembers on record, this week’s Frankly is a reflection on the boundaries with which humans use to think about the threat of climate change. The past 26 Climate Conferences have attempted to use the same framing to solve an issue that is both systemic in nature and larger than any one nation or economy. How can we begin to solve such an existential challenge without understanding the scope of the problem and who it will affect most? How do YOU think about climate and the future? For Show Notes visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/16-7-boundaries-of-climate-concern To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwwKV3Izm5A  

On this episode, petroleum geologist Arthur Berman returns to discuss recent diesel shortages and go into depth on the importance of diesel and the complexity of getting it and other products from a barrel of crude oil. He and Nate also talk about the nuances of the global oil market as it shifts from the effects of the Russian/Ukraine war. Is the USA really a net exporter of petroleum and energy independent? And would making every car and truck on the road electric powered free us from needing crude oil?  About Arthur Berman: 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/44-art-berman

This podcast explores the challenges awaiting the United States, including rising national debt and declining oil production. It delves into environmental concerns, social issues, and economic disparities. The current financial situation is analyzed, highlighting wealth disparity and the need for a new form of governance focused on localized approaches.

In this episode, Nate is joined by environmental and social activist Betsy Taylor. She and Nate have a wide ranging conversation about climate, consumption, culture, nuclear war, agriculture and the future. How has the environmental movement evolved over the past couple decades and how has it interacted with other social change movements? Why is reconstructing our food system more important now than ever? About Betsy Taylor:  Betsy Taylor has long been an icon in the environmental and culture change fields. She founded the climate network 1Sky, which established the domestic base and ultimately merged with 350.org. She ran the Center for a New American Dream and more recently Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions. Recently, Betsy has moved to supporting the field of regenerative agriculture, promoting the potential of our lands to sequester carbon pollution while boosting food security and habitat protection. For Episode Show Notes and Transcript: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/43-betsy-taylor

Its nigh Halloween. Monsters (in costume) and revelry. As humans - we each possess a rational, caring ‘Dr. Jekyll’ and an atavistic, emotional, reactive ‘Mr. Hyde’. This brief (15 minute) reflection shows 7 areas of our life where Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde interact and suggests ways for a stable (and more sustainable) integration might occur. For Show Notes, Transcript, and more visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/14-7-shades-of-jekyll-and-hyde To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU8-SOzUcOs

In this fourth installment of conversations with Daniel Schmachtenberger, we dive deeper into the nuances of humans using energy, materials and technology. Human’s ability to develop and use tools is one of our greatest strengths - yet has also led to increasing destruction of the natural world. How does technology intensify the binding effects of a world order based on growth? Is there any way out - or could global solutions just make the problem worse? 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/42-daniel-schmachtenberger

Of all the challenges facing our culture, the fact that humans use social sorting mechanisms to solve physical world problems looms as perhaps the greatest. This Frankly is a reflection on the possibility of sharing a socially unpalatable message to a large percentage of citizens and leaders. Our vertical and horizontal social infrastructure isn’t built to process, share and address challenges of this magnitude - but instead to ignore, water down, and mitigate. Will the quiet part be spread out loud to large amounts of humans as The Great Simplification becomes more obvious? Or will the quiet part be socially squashed a la George Orwell? Of course I have particular interest in this question, and its resolution. Time is moving very fast… For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/13-the-quiet-part-out-loud To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK02HnurhM8

On this episode, Nate is joined by Marty Kearns, a civic organizer and networking specialist. He and Marty discuss why both networks and communities will be critical to the coming challenges we face. How will the social ties we form now influence the outcome of power, peace and new social organization? How can we organize ourselves in order to best meet the future that is coming? About Marty Kearns:Marty Kearns is the Executive Director of Netcentric Campaigns, leading product design, project oversight, evaluation, development of advocacy network theory and strategic business planning. Prior to that Marty developed communication tools with Green Media Toolshed to help environmental activists. He has also created and organized numerous mass volunteer projects from data collection to wildlife preservation. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/41-marty-kearns