This week’s Frankly is a reflection in response to (and support of) Gerardo Ceballos’ new project Creatures United , launching this week at Stanford University.. The Earth is in the middle of a massive biodiversity and population loss - on the verge of a 6th Mass Extinction. Though most conversations and actions will revolve around the economy, poverty, finance, and geopolitics, the other creatures we share the planet with do not have a voice. This short video reflection is a reminder that the n...
Sep 24, 2022•14 min
On this episode, Professor of environmental chemistry Martin Sheringer joins Nate. Together, they discuss Sheringer’s most recent paper on PFAS - the ‘forever chemicals, their ubiquity in waterways all over the globe, and their numerous critical health effects. More broadly, they outline the risks and scenarios of plastic pollution to planetary futures - and what we might do about it. Is it possible to live in a (mostly) plastic free world, and do we really have any other option? About Martin Sh...
Sep 21, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 37
On this segment of Frankly, Nate responds to the predicament of increased use of forests, especially in Europe, for heating fuel in the face of declining availability of Natural Gas and other fossil fuels. Will this be a ‘Terminal Deforestation Event’? What does this mean for the future of climate and accuracy of models? The importance of trees cannot be underestimated as we approach the end of cheap energy. Recorded September 14, 2022 For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsim...
Sep 17, 2022•13 min
On this episode, Author and Professor Douglas Rushkoff joins Nate to discuss how human behavior interacts with technology and how we have arrived at a place with enormous wealth and income inequality just as society is rapidly approaching biophysical limits. Rushkoff unpacks parts of his new book, Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, on the need to collectively break away from a top-down mindset to embrace circularity and resiliency. About Douglas Rushkoff: Named o...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 36
Earlier this week there was a livestream debate highlighting the key points of the Green Growth and DeGrowth perspectives - this week's Frankly adds a 3rd 'growth critical' perspective - that modern society has a metabolism and momentum and will grow - in non-green ways - until we can't. This is a critical third category that should be included in these discussions, despite its 'tougher sell'. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-07...
Sep 09, 2022•23 min
On this episode, Climate Scientist Steve Vavrus joins Nate to discuss the Arctic and its critical impact on climate science. Why are the effects of warming so extreme in the Arctic, and what are the implications for weather events and average temperatures on the rest of the planet? Do runaway arctic feedback loops mean disaster ‘Blue Ocean’ scenarios? Steve explains why the answers to these questions aren’t as simple as they may seem and talks about the challenges and hopes he sees for the futur...
Sep 07, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 35
On this episode, we meet with legendary financial icon Kiril Sokoloff to take a bird’s eye view of the global energy/financial situation. Why is the financial community so complacent about peak oil and the relationship between increasing energy scale and growth? Can we make predictions about the future by looking back at history? Kiril shares his professional experiences with scenario planning, disruption, and investing as well as his passion for history and the practice of Buddhism to influence...
Aug 31, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 34
On this segment of Frankly, Nate opines on the significance of French President Macron’s statement we are nearing the “ end of an era of abundance ’. Nate shares what this watershed moment in the global political narrative means for Europe, the U.S. and the world - as we rapidly become less “energy-blind”. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-06-the-end-of-abundance To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5NuN0rqV6s...
Aug 30, 2022•9 min
On this episode, we meet with inventor, researcher and author Kris De Decker to understand the concept of “low tech” and its relevance in a high tech society and growth-driven economy. How does low tech differ from high tech and what does it feel like to live a low tech lifestyle? Why do we assume high tech will always be the solution, and could low tech be a feasible path for a sustainable and fulfilling future? De Decker shares his personal experiences as a low tech advocate and researcher in ...
Aug 24, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 33
On this episode, we meet with social scientist and researcher at the School of Economics and Management of Lund University, Timothée Parrique. What is degrowth, and how will it help define our future? Parrique explains how the path to societal degrowth might unfold and the social and physical obstacles we may encounter on our way there. About Timothée Parrique: Timothée Parrique is a social scientist, originally from Versailles, France. He is currently a researcher at the School of Economics and...
Aug 17, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 32
On this episode we meet with founding member of The Consilience Project, Daniel Schmachtenberger. In Part 3 of their series, Schmachtenberger and Hagens explore metanarratives. Why are they threatening to various sections of society? Further, Schmachtenberger helps us understand how we can take in the systemic metacrisis facing humanity in ways that grant us agency, rather than despair. About Daniel Schmachtenberger: Daniel Schmachtenberger is a founding member of The Consilience Project, aimed ...
Aug 10, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 31
On this episode, we meet with Economist, Author, and Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategy, Resilience, and Security at University College in London, Steve Keen. Keen discusses how mainstream economics misses the centrality of energy to our economy and to our futures, the naive treatment to the risks of money and debt creation, and the disconnect economic theory has to climate change risks. About Steve Keen: Steve Keen is an economist, author of Debunking Economics and The New Economics:...
Aug 03, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 30
Show Summary: On this episode we meet with ecological economist and Professor in Community Development & Applied Economics and Public Administration, Josh Farley. Money. What is it? Where does it come from? How is it created? How is it tethered to our biophysical balance sheet? What is on the horizon with our monetary system? How might we create and use money differently in the future during a source and sink contained system? Josh Farley explains it all - and explains how the links between mone...
Jul 27, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 29
On this segment of Frankly, Nate’s former student Lizzy curates and asks some of the most frequently asked questions sent in by listeners during The Great Simplification episodes 1-25. How should we be educating people on energy? What types of fossil alternatives are really feasible? Is a climate disaster the most pertinent and existential risk that we face? Nate gives his answers to these questions, and more. (A trial format for an AMA or live broadcast in future?) For Show Notes and Transcript...
Jul 23, 2022•55 min
On this episode we meet with Executive Director of Stanford University’s Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere, Joan Diamond. Diamond helps us imagine the future in an uncertain time. How can we create robust strategies to help us plan? How can we avoid thinking only of worst-case scenarios? Further, Diamond offers suggestions for how people can handle their hopelessness and rage following recent Supreme Court rulings. What options exist for people to change systems? About Joan Diam...
Jul 20, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 28
On this episode we meet with archaeologist, historian, and Professor at Utah State University, Joe Tainter. What are the key differences between complicated and complex? How can we better understand energy and society through these key distinctions? Tainter explains our current predicament based on decades of research and offers pathways for our collective future. About Joe Tainter Joe Tainter has been a professor at Utah State University in the Environment and Society Department since 2007, ser...
Jul 13, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 27
On this episode we meet with psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author Peter Whybrow. Whybrow gives us an overview of why humans tend to consume excessively in resource-abundant societies. Why is it difficult for humans to change our ways? Additionally, Whybrow shares pathways for humans to move toward having a well-tuned brain. About Peter Whybrow: Peter C. Whybrow, M.D. is Director Emeritus of the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California...
Jul 06, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 26
In this Frankly, Nate unpacks the choice of the podcast title “The Great Simplification”, and how he thinks about responses - rather than solutions - to the challenges we face in the decade ahead of us. He lays out the framework for the scale and degrees for how we can elevate the chances for a positive future. He also reflects about what he’s learned while hosting The Great Simplification and where he hopes to move forward in the future for the podcast. For Transcript visit: https://www.thegrea...
Jul 02, 2022•22 min
On this episode, we meet with ecologist and conservationist Dr. Gerardo Ceballos. Ceballos discusses animal populations, the sixth mass extinction, his new project, Creatures United, and how we can better care about and protect Earth’s remaining biodiversity. About Gerardo Ceballos: Dr. Gerardo Ceballos is an ecologist and conservationist very well-known for his theoretical and empirical work on animal ecology and conservation. He is particularly recognized by his influential work on global patt...
Jun 29, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 25
On this episode, Jason Bradford, who is an author, activist, farmer, and teacher, talks about the energy intensity of our modern industrial agriculture system. How do we feed billions of people with depleting energy systems? How do we also protect existing biodiversity and ecosystem health? We also discuss what makes for healthy soil, why we’re losing it, and how small farms can help get it back - while creating higher yields of healthier foods for fewer inputs. About Jason Bradford: Jason Bradf...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 24
Nate explains how our culture is "energy blind" and the implications. The YouTube video, featuring charts and graphs, of this podcast is available now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVjhb8Nu1Sk For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-03-energy-blindness...
Jun 21, 2022•24 min
On this episode, we meet with author, social scientist, policy researcher, and mental health advocate Tim Watkins. Watkins gives us a bird’s eye view of how energy, the economy, the environment, and mental health fit together. How important will mental health be to help us navigate uncertain times? About Tim Watkins: Tim Watkins is the author Consciousness of Sheep, social scientist, policy researcher, and mental health advocate. Watkins has authored a range of books, including numerous books an...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 23
On this episode, we meet with cofounder of the Earth Species Project, cofounder of the Center for Humane Technology, and cohost of the podcast Your Undivided Attention, Aza Raskin. Raskin gives us a general overview of what artificial intelligence is, how it’s about to become more deeply embedded in our lives, and how he and his team plan to use AI as a Rosetta Stone to translate the languages of other species to - hopefully - expand human consciousness, empathy, and awareness of the other being...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 22
Show Summary: On this episode, we meet with social innovator, writer, and speaker, Vicki Robin. Robin unpacks how the machine of community begins. How does being vulnerable, sharing, and being obligated to others create a system that allows everyone to contribute? Why do we need to learn to begin asking for help? Further, Robin shares how we can begin to take steps toward food resiliency. Robin shares the story of how she only ate food that was produced within a 10-mile radius of her home for 30...
Jun 01, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 21
On this episode we meet with founding member of The Consilience Project, Daniel Schmachtenberger. In the second of a four-part series, Nate and Daniel explore the relationship between energy, information, technology, the Superorganism, and the maximum power principle. How can we maximize returns on agency? Nate and Daniel explain the importance of hyper agents: those humans who have an outsized influence on what’s happening in the world. About Daniel Schmachtenberger: Daniel Schmachtenberger is ...
May 25, 2022•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 20
On this episode, we meet with Associate Professor of Geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland, Dr. Simon Michaux. Why do humans ignore important mineral and material limits that will affect human futures? Dr. Michaux reveals how we are “minerals blind” — and the consequences of this myopia. To shed light on the effects of our minerals blindness, Dr. Michaux explores the disconnect between experts in renewable energy and economic and government leaders. Dr. Michaux offers individual stra...
May 18, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 19
On this episode, we meet with Professor of Physics at UCSD and the Associate Director of CASS, the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Tom Murphy. Murphy shows us how continued growth and energy use is an impossibility if continued at our current trajectory. How does physics constrain our planetary ambitions? Murphy helps us do the math. To help us align with a post-growth trajectory, Murphy offers suggestions for how humans can begin to treat nature as well as we treat ourselves — and w...
May 11, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 18
Show Summary: On this episode, we meet again with risk expert Chuck Watson. How can we avoid a nuclear conflict? Watson gives a primer on how to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict and the measures we can take to mitigate nuclear exchange as individuals, a nation, and the world. Further, Watson explains the potential pathways to nuclear escalation. This episode was recorded thanks to the valuable feedback from listeners of The Great Simplification , who expressed a desire to dive deeper into thi...
May 04, 2022•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 17
On this episode, we meet with Co-Founder of the Center for Humane Technology and co-host of Your Undivided Attention Podcast , Tristan Harris. Harris explores the intersection of society and social media technology. How does modern social media pose an existential risk for society? How can we create a healthier, sustainable relationship between our social technology and culture? Harris explains how privacy, liability, and antitrust could contribute to a healthier tech ecosystem. Why is it not en...
Apr 27, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 16
On this episode, we meet with Professor at the University of British Columbia and Founder of Sea Around Us, Dr. Daniel Pauly. Dr. Pauly shares the role warming sea water plays in fish migration. How do warming temperatures affect water oxygen levels and fish behavior? Dr. Pauly explains that the world has passed peak fish, and why contemporary metrics do not always paint a complete picture of our dire situation. About Daniel Pauly Dr. Daniel Pauly is a Killam Professor at the University of Briti...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 15
