Human Exceptionalism: How rethinking our place in the web of life could change our global crises

In this episode, Nate speaks with primatologist and author Dr. Christine Webb about human exceptionalism – the deeply embedded belief that humans are separate from and superior to the rest of nature. Webb argues this worldview is not a universal human trait but rather a product of a few dominant cultures, and that it lies at the root of many of our most pressing global challenges.

Beyond Growth: Building a wellbeing economy can help us avoid collapse

As the planet strains under endless GDP growth, econometrician Gaya Herrington makes the case for a “wellbeing economy” that trades our obsession with more for a future of enough: redirecting innovation, work and policy toward human flourishing and healthy ecosystems within the Earth’s limits.

The Ag Coop that Shares More than Machinery

What if, instead of going into debt to invest in their farms, farmers came together to pool equipment? What if, instead of struggling to run a small farm alone, there was extra help at hand? What if new entrants could draw on the experience of more established farmers in their local area? It may sound too good to be true, but this is the reality with France’s network of Agricultural Machinery Cooperatives (CUMA).

Scale Raises the Ceiling, but Fiscal Foundations Determine Whether Autocracy or Democracy Prevails

Understanding this deeper history widens our conception of political possibility. It reminds us that democracy has emerged through multiple pathways and has sustained under diverse historical conditions—and that its durability has depended not just on shared norms or formal institutions, but on the fiscal systems that underwrite them.