Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
These are the three keys to a sovereign Algeria. Without control over our resources, without care for our soils, and without independence of thought, there can be neither lasting prosperity nor real autonomy. Sovereignty is not decreed — it is built every day, in our fields, our workshops, and our schools.
In today’s episode, Nate is joined once more by Lyn Alden for a deeper exploration of the intricate relationships between fiscal dominance, rising levels of debt, and the role of energy in shaping our current financial realities.
While many spiders use their webs to catch prey, they have also evolved unusual ways to use their silk, from wrapping their eggs to acting as safety lines that catch them when they fall.
There is a temptation to view rooftop farming as a novelty or a lifestyle trend, especially in middle-class contexts. But Living Greens work resists that narrative. It regrounds urban farming in the needs of ordinary people; farmers looking for dignified work, households seeking healthier food, and communities preparing for climate disruption.
In an era when climate breakdown demands radical alternatives to endless growth, we might find unexpected wisdom in a largely forgotten experiment from the periphery of Europe’s recent past. For over four decades (1945-1991), Yugoslavia pioneered a unique form of economic democracy that shifted power from political elites to working people – anticipating many principles that today’s degrowth and post-growth movements advocate.
Pull Einstein out of his artificial context and plop him (with colleagues, sure) into a wild place and you’ll quickly find out who the real geniuses are. Humans are certainly capable of such genius survival, but only if loaded with the appropriate cultural software—as vanishingly few are today. Not genius.
With cities across the world on the frontlines of escalating wildfires, floods, and political instability, driven by a global economy still hooked on fossil fuels, GDP growth, and failed neoliberal dogma, Daly’s work provides the moral and intellectual grounds for a new economic direction that is rooted in sustainability, justice, and ecological balance.
Renewable energy will overtake coal to become the world’s top source of electricity “by 2026 at the latest”, according to new forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In this conversation, Nate is joined by Stephen Jenkinson, a cultural activist and author on the topic of grief, loss, and dying, to discuss his extensive work on grief literacy and the shortcomings of the dominant cultural attitudes towards death.
Emily Donovan has a mission: “Make the polluters pay.” The mother of twins took on the role of activist when she started fighting for her North Carolina community in 2017. Her main target: PFAS “forever chemicals,” which do not degrade and at even low levels have been linked to a wide range of human health risks, including fertility issues, immune interactions, cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, asthma, and more.
I think that GDP as a measure has many flaws. I still believe, however, that the GDP as a measure of economic activity has some relevance and as I am exploring the link between the economy, the human ecology and the resource throughput, I find it interesting to get a grip on it.
Before I begin let me say that I think much of the global livestock industry is a horror show, and it’d be great to bring the curtain down on a lot of it. Also that cutting down wild forests or ploughing up wild grasslands are terrible ideas. And that there are a lot of good reasons to opt for veganism. That’s not what this is about.
