Society featured

The Things We Take for Granted

By Nate Hagens, originally published by The Great Simplification

January 13, 2026

Nate with his dogs

Recorded on: Jan 6, 2026

Description

In this week’s Frankly, Nate shares reflections on what we take for granted in life at multiple scales: from personal health to meaningful work to relative ecological stability. The things that keep our everyday lives functioning often go unnoticed until they’re needed or suddenly absent, suggesting that real wealth might come in the form of reliability rather than material gain. Nate also considers what has happened to our attention in an age of constantly-available stimulation, reflecting on how moving towards a quieter and slower lifestyle (whether by choice or by external circumstances) might engage us with small joys that have been forgotten in pursuit of quick dopamine.

When do you most acutely notice the (mostly) invisible supports that make our lives feel effortless, if ever? How has constant access to dopamine and stimulation shaped how your mind conceptualizes and responds to rest or relief? Finally, what does it mean to live freely and with autonomy in systems that increasingly shape our behavior without requiring consent or awareness?

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

Download transcript

The TGS team puts together these brief references and show notes for the learning and convenience of our listeners. However, most of the points made in episodes hold more nuance than one link can address, and we encourage you to dig deeper into any of these topics and come to your own informed conclusions.

00:18 – About recent actions between U.S. and Venezuela

12:17 – Anna Lembke on TGS, Anna Lembke’s article with The Washington Post

16:57 – 7 of 9 planetary boundaries now breached

17:05 – 2024 marked the largest increase of CO2 within one year

Teaser image credit: Author supplied.
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.

Safety in NIMBers: Why cities can’t save nature from destruction

By Tom Murphy, Do the Math

Frequent exposure to roadkill prompts my wife to say that this is why we should all live in cities. Leave the hinterlands to wild creatures.

September 14, 2026

Confronting climate failure in a summer of steaming oceans and devastated villages – Part 1

By Patrick Mazza, The Raven

Humanity is faced with the greatest failure in its long existence. What can we do about it?

September 14, 2026

Planting mangroves in Mombasa

Healing the earth, one community at a time: Highlighting ERC’s global impact

By Ecosystem Restoration Communities Staff, Ecosystem Restoration Communities

Eight years ago, the Ecosystem Restoration Communities movement began with a simple but powerful belief: that everyday people everywhere could restore the land and, in doing so, restore hope for our shared future.

September 14, 2026

Comments

Welcome to the new Resillience commenting system!

We have moved from the former Disqus commenting system to a new system as of September 10, 2026.

  • Your past comments have not disappeared.
  • You can log in with your old Disqus credentials, as well as Gmail credentials or a Resilience account (formerly Resilience+). Login with Facebook and other credentials is coming soon.

We made this change because of privacy concerns regarding Disqus. It's also part of a set of changes to bring more services to the Resilience community under a single login: commenting, (coming September 2026), and online courses (coming 2027). Unfortunately, your old Disqus comments may not reliably link to your account in this new system. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted