Nate Hagens

Nate Hagens

Nate Hagens is the Director of The Institute for the Study of Energy & Our Future (ISEOF) an organization focused on educating and preparing society for the coming cultural transition. Allied with leading ecologists, energy experts, politicians and systems thinkers ISEOF assembles road-maps and off-ramps for how human societies can adapt to lower throughput lifestyles.

Nate holds a Masters Degree in Finance with Honors from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. He teaches an Honors course, Reality 101, at the University of Minnesota.

Earth torn open for minerals

Could the West Lose the Resource Wars? AI, Rare Earths, and Economic Statecraft

In this episode, Nate is joined by financial and economic analysts, Craig Tindale and Michael Every, to discuss the widespread implications of growing geopolitical tensions over scarce resources and the rapidly changing foreign policy and economic statecraft that countries are implementing in response.

March 5, 2026

Ultra-processed information

Ultra-Processed Information: AI and the Coming Deluge of Noise

In this week’s Frankly, Nate explores the growing sense that many people feel disoriented and overwhelmed in a world increasingly saturated with digital content.

March 3, 2026

misinformation

Why Science Communication Fails: How to Break Down Misleading Arguments and Inoculate Against Misinformation

In this episode, Nate is joined by John Cook, a researcher who has spent nearly two decades studying science communication and the psychology of misinformation. John shares his journey from creating the education website Skeptical Science in 2007 to his shocking discovery that his well-intentioned debunking efforts might have been counterproductive.

February 27, 2026

Episode 127

Wide Boundary News: Biodiversity Depletion, Iran & the Strait of Hormuz, and the Green Wedge

This week’s Frankly is another edition of Nate’s Wide Boundary News series, where he invites listeners to view the constant churn of headlines through a wider-boundary lens. Today’s edition features reflections on renewable energy and CO2 emission trends, updates on species adaptability, and a discussion about nuclear treaties and Iran.

February 24, 2026

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Humanity as Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: The Symptoms, Patterns, and Drivers

In this week’s Frankly, Nate looks at how aggregate human behavior changes as groups scale from small tribes to large and complex societies. He uses the framing of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde throughout the episode to illustrate how traits that once helped small groups survive can serve to destabilize complex societies when expanded globally.

February 23, 2026

Jason Bradford episode

The Future is Rural: Reclaiming Food Sovereignty through Farming Clubs?

In this episode, Nate is joined by biologist and farmer Jason Bradford, to discuss his ‘Farming Club,’ which offers hands-on learning for ecologically based agriculture, where members also get to take home food and build a relationship with the land.

February 19, 2026

Load More

Leave a Comment