What if I told you that one of the most accurate predictions about the state of America today came not from a politician or a pundit, but from an astronomer. Nearly thirty years ago, Carl Sagan, the brilliant mind behind Cosmos, warned of a future America drowning in misinformation, stripped of critical thinking, and ruled by the powerful few, while the public clung to superstition over science. In his book The Demon Haunted World, Sagan didn't just anticipate our political division
and scientific literacy. He nailed it. And yet, despite his warnings on climate change, we largely ignored him. In this video, I'll summarize how Carl Sagan's words still echo in our headlines today and why a renewed commitment to skepticism, reason, and collective action is more urgent than ever. And when I met we, when I said me, I really met me. We as in everybody right here. And also, so this story actually comes from scoop Upworthy by Vannie Coker on
July seventh, twenty twenty five. So, Cindy, I'm coming to you. You know you talked about reading about this distract from the Demon Hunter World and you said you feel a little conflicted. Tell us about your conflict.
Yes, my conflict is that On one hand, I think Carl Sagen was a really brilliant man. I loved his show Costmos, which is available on YouTube right now, and I suggest everyone to watch it.
It's brilliant.
He's a fabulous communicator, and he explains things in a way that they are understandable even by me, by you and me, by everyone. It's even complicated things. So yeah, he's brilliant. On the other hand, the thing he describes in this in his book, which was published in ninetety six, I think they were already very well.
On the way when he wrote it.
So like corporation, they were moving their factories to China. Studying in the eighties, the trickle low on economy that was supposed to be miraculous to everyone started.
Twenty years ago.
Compared to his quote, inequalities had already started to increase. Because of that, the attacks on public schools studied at the same period, which is it sounds like a coincidence, But it all began with one man. I would say, so, yes, everything he says is true because it started already twenty years before he said it, and it kept on going
because of the political makeup of the United States. But what people in the US feel when reading this is the same feeling that the rest of the world is feeling right now watching the US turning fascist.
He's going to rub it in a little is going to He's going to rub it in.
Yeah, thanks a lot.
We know, we know what's happening.
Yeah, we kind of do.
I'm just saying yeah.
But my point is I'm not trying to be mean here. I'm just saying that this this this feeling that we have on the outside right now seeing this thing happening, and we know why it happens, we know what's going to happen, and we've been saying it for a decade and it's still happening. I'm pretty sure it's very close from what Carl Seiga was feeling at the time, and that's the reason why he wrote this back then.
That's that's my point.
Yeah, we we we're picking up what you're putting down, Cindy and and everyone. We have a new podcaster who has joined us as host. Everybody say hello to Raa Hi, say hi, Rah, Okay, very good. Do you want to talk about doctor Sagan. Okay, what do you got what you have to say about doctor Sagan? He's he did live in the house. Yeah, and he even he even testified in front of the House of Representatives. Did he didn't he about climate change? Yeah?
I know. Yeah, smart n knows a lot about Carl Sagan.
He does.
He knows way more than me.
He has a pretty good you know source. But you know, Tracy, I wanted you to talk about doctor Sagan and how he was. You know, can you talk a little bit more about that.
Well, I mean, I think Cindy pretty well laid it out. He seemed to have just been a guy who was really well plugged into what was going on economically in society around him at the time. He had to have been, in order of in order to have made a prediction that that, you know, came true. But thanks to Cindy, I now know that it's kind of like, uh yeah, duh, that was already going on. It was sort of like the wars and rumors of wars thing. It's like, yeah,
that's yeah, clearly, good job. There's gonna be weather today. Oh wow, wonderful prediction. I'm a lot less impressed with him, thank you for disillusioning me, Cindy, I'm sorry. You know I'm not being No, thank you for disillusioning me. I love I love being disillusioned because I thought it was pretty impressive. But now that you pointed that out, that it was already all going.
On, Yeah, all right. I wasn't born yet. I couldn't have made that call.
So, you know, just.
Just one thing I'd like to point out about critical about climate change. In the late seventies, there was a big meeting, international, international meeting between big powers, and they knew back then that climate change was starting to be an issue. The problem is, at the time there was also the Ozonnayer problem, and so the powers that be decided that it would be too much for the public to handle both issues, so they decided to focus on one and they pretty much solved it. We have to
be honest with that. The ozon layer is now almost one hundred percent back and that problem has been almost solved. But it was at the detriment of climate change, and so when people say it's a new thing, it's definitely not. It was already a thing in the seventies.
Listen, let me tell you, let me talk to you. All about something if you are not a person that watches like old episodes of Doctor Who. Yes, I'm about to get into my Hoovian life there. Yeah, I'm moving out right now. There was an episode that actually had a professor on it that talked about and protested different companies in the UK, in the UK and the UK
that were contributing to the in the ozone layer. And so since they were talking about also all these particular issues that were happening with global warming and climate change m h. And so since this was the case, we know that this is not a new topic, right. Okay, it's not a new topic, right, It's not it's not a new topic, right. So basically, you know, Carl Sagan was they was talking about a lot of the different things that was happening at that particular time. Is this
particular right exactly? You know. And so since we we know this is the case, we know that we had people who happened to be in power that would actually try to turn to something else in order for us not to talk about these things, right, And so now we are in this place where we have climate change deniers, correct, climate change deniers, right, ro Yeah, exactly, Yeah, it's and it's a problem, isn't it raw? Yeah, yeah, it's it's
a problem. And now that we are dealing with what we're dealing with now, even though, like I know that Carl Sagan was necessarily a profit but he definitely could read the times. So I want to ask you both, what would a serious human centered approach to an existential threat like climate change actually look like? And why has the political will to act remained weak despite decades of morning Tracy, I want to start with you, and then Cindy, I want you to follow up.
All right, what would what would a human centered approach to an existential threat like climate change look like?
Jen?
From my understanding, what a good, strong, human centered approach, what it would have been would have been to cut our emissions drastically some number of decades ago. I think that there is stuff that we can do, but I've heard a lot and once again, I'm very not educated on the ins and outs of climate change, but I mean there's always a certain amount we can do, right,
we can cut back on whatever we can. But my understanding is that we have kind of abused our atmosphere in such a way and abused the earth in such a way that we've kind of hit a point of no return along several different axes, Like we're never going to get all of the plastic out of the world that we've dumped into it, and that is a problem.
But for the weather, for the climate change, I don't know what the current experts are saying would be the best course of action, but I think maybe just listening to them instead of ignoring them and saying it's more important to chase after money.
And that's how we got to this point.
A lot of it was chasing after money, things were too expensive to do at a certain time, and and things of that nature. But what did you have to say, Cindy, You have probably a much smarter thing to say that I did.
I don't think we want to have a human centered approach to fight climate change because humans are not the only ones impacted by climate change.
Uh.
We need to take into account all the the entire ecosystem of the earth. Uh and and and any any attempt at solution that would be human centered, in my opinion, would be incomplete.
But yeah, and Tracey said, it's it's you.
You can't solve the issue when, uh, the source of the issue is capitalism.
It's it's it's that simple.
The conception society that's the source of half of the issue. Lobbys decided decide pretty much everything that happens in the world. Well, that's the source of the problem. Until we solve this, we won't be able to solve climate change.
Yeah, even though like I understand that, you know, it's not just like human beings that's impacted by climate change or even like that's impacted by any of the policies that we're dealing with as an electorate. Now, you know, it's still going to take you know, people who happen to be in the seats that make the decisions to
actually have that mindset. And I know that there's a lot of organizing on the ground that is pushing for policy change and also it's pushing for a new direction when it comes to how we handle what we're dealing with right now, because like, unfortunately, capitalism is not just driving like how America is responding to climate change, it's also driving how we are putting other policies into effect, and how it's also affecting the people who happen to
be around us, right and unfortunately, here we have an uphill battle. We have an uphill battle because right now, the more that we have people who deny, deny, deny, deny, climate change is a thing, and deny, deny, deny that some of the other policies that have come out as
of late are harmful. We're going to constantly deal with the same thing over and over and oh yeah, I don't know what the thorough road is, but I know that we can't deal with what we're dealing with, like there's going to be a breaking point and how that looks and how it's how it's going to you know, show up. I'm concerned. I mean, especially since we have
our co host right here. Unfortunately, he's going to be one of the ones and the generations that's going to inherit the issues that we are dealing with over because of you know, what's in front of us right now.
I'm just just hoping, because I just keep on going back to this about you know, the importance of critical thinking and skepticism and also the importance of making sure these particular thinking patterns are in our kids, because you know, without you know, sounding you know cliche that you know, you know, with Whitney Houston saying that she believes the
children are our future. They are they're the future leaders, and it's an incumbent on all of us to really, like, you know, be that person that's in front of them, that's actually teaching them that, hey, thinking is a thing and questioning is a thing, and just because somebody is over authority over you and they want to not deny basically like you know, don't who you're gonna believe me or your line notes, I yeah, my eyes are not lying,
you know. It has to be that to that particular point where you know, we're telling our kids and we're telling our future that you know, we need to be more leaning on empiricism and skepticism and critical thinking and also being able to say to the ones who happened to be above us, know, what you're saying is wrong and how you're doing it is incorrect, and we need
to change course. I wish I knew what's the best way to confront these myths, but the only thing that I can really think of is just making sure that we're teaching those who happen to be under us how to spot them. What are your thoughts on that, Tracy? I want to start with you and then sendy you.
I think you're right. It's too long of a battle.
It's far too long of a battle to be solved in my lifetime, probably in our little co host's lifetime, even. I mean, it'd be great, be great if so. I'm just that's not where I'm putting my money. We need to keep passing on the value of such things and just hope that it continues to be.
Passed on in that fashion.
I don't have, don't have much else.
What do you got to say, Sandy?
So last week friends decided to end the well to allow again the use of some pesticides that were not permitted to use since I think it's twenty twenty. And so when the congress people were interviewed that, I remember specifically one who was asked, well, you know, scientists say that those products, nicotinoids, they are killing all the bees and all the insects, and they're also bring cancer to people. And the congressman said, yeah, no, no, that that's not true.
That's not proven. We don't know that. And the guy who was interviewed in said, no, we have quite a lot of social studies and and and and and we have evidence of this. Scientists are pretty clear on this, and and the guys, oh scientists, you know, like yeah, we we know what scientists say. They always you know, uh, bring fear to people.
That's that's what what it was.
So that there's there's a world of difference between the French democracy and the US democracy, and yet we still end up with this, uh, with these kind of problems here. So it's it's a global issue, it's a global phenomenon.
It's uh.
I I don't know how we can fight it, because if you if you fight it incrementally, like if if you try to create a source of power, like like a party that would follow some and and skepticism and and start from the bottom and go your where your way up, it would take fifty years to change things. On the other hand, the only way to change this is to topple the billionaires that are in charge and make sure that no change ever happens. But how can you do that because they have all the money, all
the power. So yeah, I agree, it's going to be a very feel bottom.
You know. My final reflection, guys, I would say that Karl Sagen wasn't a prophet. He was a scientist's arm with reason. History and a deep concern for humanity. His predictions weren't mystical revelations, but the results of clear eye observation of where we were headed. If we continue to abandon critical thinking and civic responsibility today, we face the very real crisis he warned about, climate inaction, and crisis of truth and widening gaps between power and people. But
unlike superstition, humanism doesn't offer false comforts. No, it does not offer false comfort, now, does it? No, it doesn't. It costs for us to think harder, act wiser, and care deeper, and for the planets and each other. The future is not foretold, it's forged, and it's ours to shape our with reason, compassion and courage. And if you have courage, if you have courage, If you have courage. Though, do you have courage? Are you brave? I'm courage right,