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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•2 hr 50 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•2 hr 52 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•2 hr 39 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with Ecological Economist, John Gowdy. Gowdy explores the revolution in biology and its significance in society. How do different cultures manifest human nature? What role has agriculture, and specific crops, played in how societies developed? Further, Gowdy discusses the relationship between capitalism, surplus, and The Superorganism. Does human agency matter to the Superorganism? What role do blind evolutionary mechanisms play in the development of our society? About J...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with Executive Director of the Flow Genome Project, Jamie Wheal. Jamie discusses the evolutionary importance of music as a coping mechanism, how the United States’ university system fails to prepare students for the crises of the coming decades, and how to find hope in this time of tumult. About Jamie Wheal: Jamie Wheal is the Executive Director of Flow Genome Project. His work ranges from Fortune 500 companies, leading business schools, Young Presidents' Organization (Y...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with Professor Emeritus of Systems Management and author, Dennis Meadows. Meadows revisits Limits to Growth 50 years after it was published. Looking back, how does Meadows view the book? How much of the response to his description of overshoot was based in fear? Meadows offers advice to current leaders based on the models he developed in Limits to Growth. Why is it important to develop success indicators, and how can they be clearly communicated to the public? Further, M...
Mar 30, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with ecologist, writer, and Greenpeace cofounder, Rex Weyler. Weyler explains how the ecology movement was hijacked by the environmental movement. How is climate change one of many issues that has a root cause of overshoot? Weyler also explores the dangers of relying on hope as a strategy. Why must we be careful about virtual signaling in the environmental movement, and how can we “sharpen the sword” as individuals? About Rex Weyler Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. ...
Mar 22, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast An important dialogue with Chuck Watson on: 1) Why the U.S. public is naïve about what nuclear war means 2) The mechanics on how nuclear war with Russia could actually happen 3) How bad would nuclear war short and long term effects be? For Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-02-are-americans-willing-to-risk-nuclear-war To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3LhvVyB_qo...
Mar 18, 2022•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with award-winning filmmaker, writer, educator, and President of the International Bateson Institute, Nora Bateson. Nora brings us beyond the descriptions of the physical science that underpins our predicament to the nuance and perception of the complexity that we live within. How can we improve our relationships with others, as well as the broader world? Nora helps us understand how systems dynamics inform our predicament. How does an ecosystem develop and mature throug...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast In addition to regular Wednesday longform podcasts, this video is #1 of new series of short takes, "Frankly" which are framings and context on current world events. Today, I riff on longer term implications of Ukraine/Russia especially with energy and global systems. For Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-1-what-war-in-the-ukraine-means-for-energy-and-money To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gLIP9odpVs...
Mar 12, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast The second part of The Great Simplification Animated Series is now available! Visit http://thegreatsimplification.com to view now.
Mar 09, 2022•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with Professor Emeritus of Population Studies at Stanford University and author of The Population Bomb , Paul Ehrlich. Ehrlich discusses what has happened with the human population situation in the decades since he published The Population Bomb . Why has humanity not responded to our long-term sustainability challenges? How would Ehrlich frame contemporary discussions about population? In a wide-ranging conversation spanning stories about his appearances on The Tonight S...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with author and paleobiologist Peter Ward. Ward helps us catalogue the various risks facing Earth’s oceans, how the Atlantic Ocean’s currents are slowing due to warming, what happened in Earths history when ocean currents stopped, and why a reduction in elephant poaching is contributing to the destruction of coral reefs. About Peter Ward: Peter Ward is a Professor of Biology and Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington. He is author of over a dozen books ...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode we meet with ecological economist and Professor in Community Development & Applied Economics and Public Administration, Josh Farley. Farley explores the importance of human cooperation in a modern superstructure that incentivizes competition. What role will cooperation play in helping us solve our largest existential problems? Farley explains the critical social dilemma humans face: How can we grapple with the paradox that individuals are better served to act selfishly, but coope...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast The first part of The Great Simplification's animated series is now available! Visit thegreatsimplification.com to view now.
Feb 09, 2022•1 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we meet with ecological economist and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, Herman Daly. Daly discusses the biophysical underpinnings of human economies, and how a social system that is more tethered to our ecological reality might come into being. Daly explains how the transformation from classical economics to neoclassical economics created an understanding of the world that prioritized utility and money above all else. How did neoclassical economics contribute to ...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode we meet with founding member of The Consilience Project, Daniel Schmachtenberger. In the first of a five-part series, Nate and Daniel outline the macro risks and pathways for civilization to 'bend' and avoid 'breaking' in coming decades. In the Part 1 of 5 conversation, Schmachtenberger flips the script to interview Nate about the urgent problems his research and work on energy, money, and growth confront. Nate explains how we can come to understand energy blindness and the overl...
Jan 26, 2022•2 hr 34 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode we meet with risk expert and consultant, Chuck Watson. Watson analyzes the types of risk we face in the modern world - from climate change to nuclear arms - and how the decisions of experts help us from plunging into the abyss. How do humans manage our instincts to over-react to risks we recently experienced with high-consequence, low-probability situations? Further, Watson explores the role of human agency in risk analysis. How are humans smart enough to build dangerous systems,...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode we meet with petroleum geologist and expert in U.S. shale, Arthur Berman. In the discussion, Berman explains oil from the ground-up. What is oil? How is oil formed? How did we become dependent on fossil fuels? How much human labor is equal to the amount of energy in one barrel of oil? Where do the majority of carbon emissions come from, and what role can we humans play in helping us reduce emissions? How much oil is left and what are future prospects for oil production and the ec...
Jan 12, 2022•54 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode we meet with one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists, Dr. Shanna Swan. Dr. Swan discusses how chemicals in our environment threaten human hormones, male sperm count, and ultimately, human reproduction. How do endocrine-disrupting hormones disrupt pregnancy? Further, she explains “The 1% Effect,” which accounts for the 1 percent annual decrease in human fertility and related functions. To combat the urgent threats facing human reproduction, Dr. Sw...
Jan 12, 2022•43 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode we welcome the Honorable Richard A. Gephardt to explore the challenges and opportunities present in our modern democracy. In his first-ever podcast appearance, Leader Gephardt details what he believes to be the primary challenges facing the United States today. He explains the conflict of interest between the business plans of social media platforms, civil society, and functioning democracy. He contrasts 9/11 and the Iraq war to current polarization and Jan 6 episode, as well as ...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens is a podcast that explores money, energy, economy, and the environment with world experts and leaders to understand how everything fits together, and where we go from here. As we reach peak fossil fuel use, we’ll need to adapt new, simpler ways of living. The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens explores the problems facing humans, helps us understand how we got here, and looks ahead to where we go. Featuring conversations with world-class experts inclu...
Jan 10, 2022•45 sec•Transcript available on Metacast 
