Human Nature Odyssey, Episode 24. Stories That Create or Destroy: Myth, Death, and Animism with Sophie Strand

Poet and author Sophie Strand joins Human Nature Odyssey for a wide-ranging conversation about stories, illness, ecology, and transformation. Drawing from her own experience living with chronic illness, Sophie explores how the stories we inherit shape our relationship to the living world.

Better than to-go: How Italy avoided the coffee cup waste crisis before it even started

While coffee chains across North America generate mountains of disposable cups and lids every day, Italy’s traditional café culture offers a different model. By serving coffee in reusable cups and encouraging customers to stay rather than rush away, Italian bars show that convenience and sustainability do not have to be at odds.

Sovereignty and rising sea levels: Climate change is reshaping the meaning of nationhood

As rising sea levels threaten low-lying island nations, questions once confined to legal theory are becoming urgent realities. From Tuvalu to the Maldives, climate change is forcing governments and communities to reconsider what sovereignty and nationhood mean when territory itself is disappearing.

Why this age of polycrisis demands a new kind of peace

As wars escalate, ecological systems collapse, and inequality deepens, traditional, nation-centered ideas of security and peace are no longer sufficient. “Planetary peace” links peace with ecological balance, regenerative economics, social justice, and planetary cooperation in this new human era.