Accidental Gods

We all know that our economic system is broken - that the ways we share value are skewed so that the super-rich grow richer while the rest of the people and planet suffer. But if we're to replace the dollar as an international currency, what will work, how will it work, how can we make the transition to a genuinely equitable, regenerative currency?  What does a Regenerative Renaissance look like? Rieki Cordon of SEEDS has an answer. First part of two. Rieki Cordon, one of the facilitators of SEEDS regenerative currency, describes the necessary regenerative renaissance as follows: "We need it (the renaissance) to be regenerative; if not, humanity is not going to be able to continue this experiment called civilization because our planetary ecosystem services will fail. That’s one side. The other side is we can build the most beautiful world and civilization the world has ever known. And why not? Why not make all of our rivers drinkable again? Why not live in forests full of food?"  And why not create a currency that grows out of, through and alongside community so that never again do we enter into the bizarre transactional nightmare of debt and compound interest where, beyond a certain threshold, money is a self-replicating extractor, sucking value and life from people and planet. SEEDS currency is built on the blockchain, but it's not Bitcoin: the principles that govern its creation and exchange are built on the values of a genuinely regenerative renaissance. In this first part of two podcasts, Reiki describes how SEEDS arose and what it can do. SEEDS: https://joinseeds.earthThrutopia Masterclass: https://thrutopia.life

It's long been said that it's easier to imagine the total extinction of humanity than it is to imagine an end to capitalism.  But Charles Eisenstein's Sacred Economics blew that away.  An updated version has been released on the tenth anniversary of publication.  Here, Della Duncan talks to Charles and his son Jimi about life, capitalism and building the more beautiful future our hearts know is possible.For over a decade, Charles Eisenstein has been a pillar of the movement to a regenerative future.  His book is essential reading, his blogs and podcasts are always thoughtful interventions that offer insight at crucial junctures of our progress towards a more conscious evolution.  He dares to go where others either fear to tread or just don't have the insight, and he leads by example: his life is based on compassion and the gift economy. He's one of the few people who lives as far as possible outside predatory capitalism.  His son, Jimi, is a transformative animator whose clear, clever art explains complex regenerative principles in ways that everyone can understand.  He, too, explores the edges of our being and lives them into reality. Here, these two remarkable people speak with Della Duncan of the Upstream podcast, celebrating the tenth anniversary edition of Charles's book, but also exploring the delicate and transformative moment in which we live, shining lights on ways we can live the change we need to see. As we head into Thrutopia, we are delighted to be able to bring you this as an introduction to thinking - and being - the transition. Sacred Economics: Money, Gift and Society in the Age of Transition: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/sacred-economics-money-gift-and-society-in-the-age-of-transition/9781623175764Jimi's You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6IIFtrrKH_J3555XGJkl1AMusical Chairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZ-WGnZMXMRegenerative Agriculture: https://youtu.be/fSEtiixgRJICharles Eisenstein's website: https://charleseisenstein.orgCharles Eisenstein's Substack: https://charleseisenstein.substack.comThrutopia Masterclass: https://thrutopia.life

We all know the current system of politics and governance is utterly dysfunctional. But what will it look like - what will it feel like - to organise ourselves so that everyone has a voice, so that we come together as co-creators and build networks and movements based on our common visions and values?  With Indra Adnan of The Alternative Global, author of The Politics of Waking Up. Indra Adnan is a psychosocial therapist, founder of The Alternative Global and author of The Politics of Waking up: Power and possibility in the fractal age.  She has been a journalist, a director of a political think tank and a community organiser. She is always an activist. Her passion is the creation of methods of connection that allow everyone to be fully themselves, to find the place from which meaning and purpose arise and to act from there.  She gave up her job at the think tank on the day the British MP Jo Cox was murdered in the run up to the 2016 Brexit Referendum, and has spent the time since then considering and creating ways to bring about the change we need to see if we're going to address the climate, ecological and cultural chaos of our time. In this conversation, we delve deep into the ways we might do things differently - how does a different kind of politics and governance work? How does it feel? What are the logistics and how might we bring it about?  On the way, we consider the creation of an alternative media system - one that brings people together instead of splitting them apart - and the ways that local citizens action networks (CANs) can join together to create a movement of movements with unstoppable momentum.  Indra's Book: https://systems-souls-society.com/insight/perspectiva-press/the-politics-of-waking-up-power-and-possibility-in-the-fractal-age/The Alternative Global: https://www.thealternative.org.ukSimon Anholt: The Good Country: https://www.goodcountry.org/simon-anholtDavid Wood: London Futurists: https://londonfuturists.com/Trust The People: https://www.trustthepeople.earthMarge Piercy: The Low Road: https://thechangeagency.org/testimonials/marge-piercy/Thrutopia: https://thrutopia.life

We all know that methane is a far more dangerous greenhouse gas than CO2.  But what if we could harness it and put it to good use?  What if it we could power our cars and heat our homes on waste food? Will Llewellyn of Red Kite Management explains the potential and how to apply it.  Will Llewellyn has worked in the renewables industry for decades.  Now a co-director of Red Kite Management, he advises individuals and firms on the use of food waste, animal slurry and human effluent as feedstocks for biodigesters which can both reduce the leakage of fugitive methane into the atmosphere where it acts as a greenhouse gas and provide a power source for vehicles, a heating source for buildings and a potential baseline load filler in power generation.Will on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-llewellyn-31aa0420/ Waga Energy www.waga-energy.comCNG Fuels: https://cngfuels.comGeneco Biomethane: https://www.geneco.uk.com/our-services/biomethane

In a world in existential crisis, deep within what Joanna Macy called The Deep Unravelling, we have a critical need for road maps to help us navigate a way forward to a future we can't yet imagine.  Rupert Read, originator of the Thrutopia concept, discusses how he came to coin the term, what it means - and, crucially, how we get there.Nobody can doubt now that we're in the midst of the climate and ecological emergency: doom scrolling is now a national sport.  But if we think about doom, that's what we'll get and most of us would prefer that we had a way through to a future we'd be proud to leave behind. It's up to us to make this happen and Professor Rupert Read, with his long history of climate action through the Green Party, Extinction Rebellion and his writing, is well placed to make this happen. He's also the originator of the name, 'Thrutopia' - laying out the need for a Thrutopian genre in the Huffington Post back in 2017.  As we head towards the Thrutopia Masterclass and endeavour to make this happen, Rupert and Manda discuss the need for this genre and how it might look and feel. Thrutopia Masterclass: https://thrutopia.life Rupert's Website: https://rupertread.netRupert's Paper: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rupert-read/thrutopia-why-neither-dys_b_18372090.html/IPCC report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdfUrsula le Guin: The Dispossessed: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-dispossessed/9781473228412Lawyers for net zero https://www.lawyersfornetzero.comClimate Emergency Centres network https://climateemergencycentre.co.ukMothership https://mothership.sg/2021/09/climate-crisis-halimah/Guardian article on fish: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/17/trawling-for-fish-releases-as-much-carbon-as-air-travel-report-finds-climate-crisis

As our world balances on the edge of transformation, how do we rewild ourselves and our inner cities?  How do we build communities of place and of purpose that work, that give us resilience, life, hope - and a deep, enduring, magical connection to the earth?  Jamie Quince-Starkey and Ross Nicholson of Down to Earth Derby describe the utterly inspiring work they are doing to achieve exactly this. Jamie Quince-Starkey has worked with planes, trains and automobiles, but he found himself most at at home in himself, and at peace with the world when he had his hands in the soil, growing thing to eat. Many of us might resonate with this, but Jamie took it a step further and set up Down to Earth Derby, a life-changing project that, as he says, "is an idea born out of conflict; the conflict of living life in the modern-day and the realisation of the negative impact we have on this planet. The challenge is making a difference whilst also being realistic and having an understanding of how life is for the average person; I know we can’t just jump ship and move to an off-grid community (imagine if the problem was that simple)!" It's not simple, and he was working full time and had recently become a dad, but even so, he set up the project and threw himself into its mission:- to work for our communities empowering everyone to be part of making Derby a world leader in nature-based urban regeneration.  - to make living with nature a part of our everyday lives.- to create a movement with the people of Derby through a series of nature-based engagement projects and promoting the new city social.- to promote and contribute to a thriving sustainable-regenerative economy for everyone, making Derby a blueprint for world-class nature-based urban regeneration.Jamie was mentored by Tim Smit of the Eden Project, who introduced him to another Derby resident, Ross Nicholson. Ross is co-founder of Neo, an international network of 15,000+ individuals and companies across over 100 countries across the sustainable futures space which 'makes vital human connections to get stuff done.'  And getting stuff done is what Down to Earth Derby is all about - this is about creating real change in a real city for real people, working on real regenerative principles.   It's an idea that's evolving in real time and is replicable anywhere in the world.  Making change from the ground up and the inside out. "DTE Derby is about growing people, connecting with nature and the importance of creating community."If you enjoy this, check them out - and see what you can do in your local community. Down to Earth Derby https://www.dtederby.orgEden Project https://www.edenproject.comRoss Nicholson's websitehttps://neojourneys.ioTim Gill Book https://uk.bookshop.org/books/urban-playground-how-child-friendly-planning-and-design-can-save-cities/9781859469293

Our current economy is based on idiocy, selfishness and bizarre ideologies. What happens if we completely replace it with a different, better system?  How would it work? What would the world feel like?  Professor Steve Keen, Honorary Research Associate with the Institute for Strategy, Resilience and Security at the University College London, was one of the handful of economists to realize that a serious economic crisis was imminent, and to publicly warn of it from as early as December 2005 (http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/15892/). This, and his pioneering work on modelling debt-deflation, resulted in his winning the Revere Award from the Real World Economics Review (http://rwer.wordpress.com/) for being the economist whose work is most likely to prevent a future financial crisis. He is author of Debunking Economics, which explains in detail why the orthodox economic theory is not only wrong, but more of a threat to the survival of humanity and the more recent: New Economics: A Manifesto, which gives ideas of how we can shift to a new system of exchanging value.He is co-creator of the Minsky App  and of the Ecocore Universal Carbon Credits. In this episode, we explore some of the wilder falsehoods of the currently orthodox model of economics, and dive into the ways we could structure a model that could work differently. Debunking Economics Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/debunking-economics-the-podcast/id1484374606?i=1000552938203Patreon Site: https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeenUniversal Carbon Credits: https://ecocore.org/proposal/

If we are to create a regenerative future we'd be proud to leave to the generations that come after us, how can we shift the extractive, profit-based business model that imprisons our industries?  What would happen if we unleashed the creative potential of those who are caught in a model that is no longer fit for purpose?  Insights from Garry Turner, industrialist, businessman, thought leader - and change agent.   Garry Turner has spent most of his professional life as an international product manager looking after £20m of business within a £3bn business within the chemical industry.  Until 2018, he was locked into the life of job/mortgage/car/KPIs and all that goes with external validation.  And then he woke up - and realised that any sense of meaning and purpose was missing.   His journey since then is one of opening and awakening taken in the most grounded way, so that he can express fully what it means to be human at this time of total transformation.  He still works in the same job in the same industry, but now he runs a podcast dedicated to human transformation, and describes himself as a 'strategic advisor and thinking partner', offering coaching to others on the same path. He spends his days working towards a generative future we'd be proud to leave behind. In this profoundly moving conversation, we delve deeply into his journey, from his surgery for testicular cancer, through a growing awareness of the change he can make in the world, to a place now where he is actively engaging in many different ways with people and ideas that can bring about the transformation we need to see.  Garry's Website:https://www.garryturner.life/who-is-garry-turner/ Garry's podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/activating-consciousness-from-hexo-change/id1551686556?i=1000553135392 Garry's LinkedIn profilehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/garryturnerstrategicadvisor/Thrutopia https://thrutopia.life

What can you do if you want to be a gentle, careful, strategic activist? The kind who catalyses change in empathic ways, who strives to understand people in power and who uses the magic of hand-crafts to connect at the level where (r)evolution happens?  Sarah Corbett of the Craftivist Collective does exactly this and empowers others to join her.At the age of three years old, Sarah Corbett occupied social housing to keep it standing (it's still up), and from then on, was a committed activist at the local, national and international level, first with her parents, and then later, as part of wider activist movements.  But as an introvert, and a deep strategic thinker, she wanted to make change in ways that were gentle, but powerful,  harnessing the power of connection, rather than outrage and confrontation. Founder the Craftivist Collective, she has spend the past fifteen years empowering crafts-people around the world to harness the power of their creativity, their clear intent, and their capacity to connect with lawmakers at all levels from the C-Suite of major retailers to MPs and civil servants - finding their humanity, and becoming a critical friend rather than another source of outraged triggers.Sarah’s work has helped change government laws, business policies as well as hearts and minds through her unique ‘Gentle Protest’ methodology. She works across the arts sector, charity sector and academia, as well as with unusual allies to reach people nervous of activism in an attractive and empowering way. Corbett regularly gives talks, events and happenings around the world. Her book “How To Be A Craftivist: the art of gentle protest” is now available in paperback. Her talk ‘Activism Needs Introverts’ was chosen as a TED Talk of the Day and has over a million views. In this episode, she talks us through from the beginnings of the Craftivist Collective with a letter to an MP embroidered on a handkerchief, to the summer-long campaign of the Canary Craftivists, focusing on the goals and ideals that bring people together from grandmothers to grand daughters, to seasoned WI campaigners, to first time activists finding a voice for their climate concern that doesn't involve banners, chants and confrontation with the security forces.  Craftivist Collective Websitehttps://craftivist-collective.comBecome a Patronhttps://craftivist-collective.com/adopt-a-craftivistSarah's Manualhttps://unbound.com/books/craftivist/Pre-Order Sarah's new book https://unbound.com/books/craftivist-collective-handbook/

What's our economy for? Does it have to keep growing at the expense of all we hold dear; the things that make life worth living? Or can we re-imagine a new way of doing things that would value what matters most to us, and keep people and planet healthy? Yannick Beaudoin is Director-General for Ontario and Northern Canada with the David Suzuki Foundation and Director for Innovation and forOntario with the Wellbeing Economies Alliance for Canada and the Sovereign Indigenous Nations.  He brings a ‘new economics for transition’ lens to the organisation to enable the transformation of Canada towards social and ecological sustainability.  He has a background in marine geology, was former Chief Scientist with GRID-Arendal, a United Nations Environment Programme collaborating centre - and has a Masters from Schumacher college in Economics for Transition. We talk with him this week in his role in the Wellbeing Economies Alliance for Canada - and as part of the greater Alliance, which incorporates nations as far apart as Scotland and New Zealand, and organisations across the globe.  David brings his sense of scope and place and humanity to the huge questions of today: What's our economy for? And if it's not fit for purpose, how can we shift the system to something which would bring people and planet into balance and harmony. David Suzuki Foundation: https://davidsuzuki.orgWellbeing Economies Alliancehttps://weall.org/Weall Canadahttps://weallcanada.org/Theory Uhttps://www.toolshero.com/leadership/theory-u-scharmer/Three Horizons Modelhttps://resources.h3uni.org/tutorial/three-horizons/Thrutopiahttps://thrutopia.life