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PODCAST

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

The Great Simplification is a podcast that explores the systems science underpinning the human predicament. Through conversations with experts and leaders hosted by Dr. Nate Hagens, we explore topics spanning ecology, economics, energy, geopolitics, human behavior, and monetary/financial systems. Our goal is to provide a simple educational resource for the complex energetic, physical, and social constraints ahead, and to inspire people to play a role in our collective future. Ultimately, we aim to

science earth sciences

All Episodes

01:49:31

Michael Every: "The Many -Isms of the Metacrisis”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/04/10

On this episode, Nate is joined by financial analyst Michael Every to discuss global macro trends in economics, politics, and social movements. By taking a wide-view lens of current events, we can better see how seemingly isolated events interconnect and what mainstream economic theories tend to miss. What do rising political tensions and dissatisfaction around the globe amidst increasing GDP tell us about the accuracy of our economic measures? How much are geopolitical conflicts and supply chain

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01:40:27

Lyn Alden: "The Myth of Frictionless Finance"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/03/13

On this episode, Nate is joined by investment strategist Lyn Alden to discuss how energy and technology have shaped our monetary system and current financial trends. While more people are becoming aware of energy’s foundational role in our global systems, it is still widely overlooked, especially among those working in finance. In contrast, Lyn’s biophysically rooted analysis of macroeconomic patterns expose the cyclical dysfunction of the world’s economy. How has increasing energy availability and

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27:30

7 Key Interventions for the Future | Frankly #55

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/03/01

Recorded February 26 2024 Description In this Frankly, Nate shares insights on his personal/organizational priorities as a lead up to outlining 7 global interventions that he sees as being most impactful in preparing for a resource constrained future. As global stability deteriorates and the various macro-crises converge, how we invest our time and resources now can have a big impact for the various scenarios coming our way. Can we as individuals and communities place health and wellness at the

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01:26:16

Sandra Faber: "The Universe and Our Place in It”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/02/28

On this episode, astrophysicist Sandra Faber joins Nate for a wideview cosmological conversation on the development of the known-universe and the moral implications for humanity’s role within it. We are the first generation with the ability to truly understand the history of the universe and the extreme bottlenecks that Earth and life as we know it had to endure over the last billions of years. This understanding of where we come from gives us insight into who we are - and could perhaps give purpose

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01:51:30

John Robb: "Networked Tribalism, AI, and Asteroids"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/02/21

On this episode, Nate is joined by author and technology analyst John Robb to discuss how geopolitics, information warfare, and technology are shaping how we understand the world and interact with each other. With the recent rise in global tensions and violence, plus an escalating threat of catastrophic scenarios, more and more people sense that the system is unstable. Coupled with accelerating developments in artificial intelligence, we live in an environment where interpretation and sensemaking -

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12:49

Reflections From India | Frankly #54

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/02/16

Recorded February 13 2024 Description Returning from his first visit to India for a six-week limbic reset, Nate shares insights on both his personal experiences in the country and how its history, culture, and role as a rising economic power intermingle to create a unique position into the coming decades. Despite India’s history of avoiding globalization and industrialization, westernized patterns are emerging, including an expanding reliance on fossil fuels - and resultant convenience and

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01:05:59

Ashley Hodgson: "The New Enlightenment and Behavioral...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/02/14

On this episode, Nate is joined by Ashley Hodgson, a professor in behavioral economics, where she offers a perspective on the superorganism and what she calls ‘The New Enlightenment’. By taking a wide-lens look at the way our human systems work, we can see the incentives and structures that push power towards consumptive, short-sighted, and destructive pathways. How could we ‘rejigger’ these systems to be more aligned with values and goals conducive to supporting humans long into the future? What

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01:32:41

Steve Keen: "On the Origins of Energy Blindness”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/02/07

On this episode, economist Steve Keen offers a deep forensic history of why modern economic theory has neglected the role of energy in productivity - and why this “Energy Blindness” is now a major blindspot in how our culture views the present - and the future. The massive, temporary carbon surplus we’ve extracted over the last few centuries has resulted in an exponential increase in the standard of living for many. This explosion of global economic growth also happened to coincide with the

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01:23:52

Mario Giampietro: "Models with Meaning - Changing...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/01/31

On this episode, Nate is joined by biophysical analyst Mario Giampietro to unpack his decades of research on a wide-lens view of the challenges facing the human system. With current metrics that only optimize for one variable, increasingly reductionist academic fields, and scientific communication consistently falling short, researchers who look at how all the pieces of our predicament fit together and most effectively help others understand will become more essential. How does the scope with which

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01:44:07

Alexa Firmenich: "Biodiversity, Beauty, and Being”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/01/24

On this episode, Nate is joined by Alexa Firmenich, whose work spans biodiversity advocacy, ESG investing, wilderness excursion facilitating, and podcasting/creative writing. Together, they philosophize on the importance of developing a connection to nature and understanding the - often overlooked - but critical function of biodiversity to the climate and other natural systems. Alexa also delves into her thinking about new economic and cultural models on human systems that could work within the

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14:39

The Haves & The Have-Nots | Frankly #53

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/01/19

Recorded December 18 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate follows up the recent Reality Roundtable on poverty with a wider perspective on the different types of "wealth" in our society that go beyond the material. At the same time that the power dynamic of the economic superorganism leads us to a hyperfocus on the pursuit of growth and monetary wealth, other forms of poverty increase: relationships, skills, health, and behavioral deficits. How do our assumptions and societal expectations

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01:24:54

Leon Simons: "Aerosol Demasking & Global Heating”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/01/17

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate researcher Leon Simons to unpack recent trends in global heating during 2023 and potential explanations and subsequent projections for the coming year. While the connection between human emitted greenhouse gasses and global warming is scientifically agreed upon, the other complexities and feedbacks of our climate system are still just beginning to be understood. Today, Leon theorizes on the intensity of aerosol masking from particulates such as sulfur,

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01:19:51

Jane Muncke: "Perils of Plastic Packaging”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/01/10

On this episode, toxicology scientist Dr. Jane Muncke joins Nate to discuss the current state of food production and the effects of ultra processed foods and their packaging on our health. Over the last century processed food has taken over our supermarkets and our diets, and at the same time the containers they’re sold in have evolved as well - to be more eye-catching and keep food ‘good’ for longer. But what have we sacrificed in exchange for efficiency, ease, and convenience? How do the chemicals

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18:11

The Behavioral Stack | Frankly #52

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/01/05

Recorded December 18 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate offers a personal reflection on his learnings about ‘awareness’ vs ‘focus’ and how this knowledge could be used as a guide toward more thoughtful behaviors. The human body’s system has evolved through time and the layers were built sequentially, each interacting and reacting to the systems below it. By becoming aware of this and attempting to balance them from the bottom up, we could move away from the reactionary tendencies that many

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01:42:22

Peter Brannen: "Deep Time, Mass Extinctions, and Today”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2024/01/03

On this episode, Nate is joined by Peter Brannen, science journalist and author specializing in Earth’s prior mass extinctions, to unpack our planet’s geologic history and what it can tell us about our current climate situation. Humans have become very good at uncovering the history of our planetary home - revealing distinct periods during billions of years of deep time that have disturbing similarities to our own present time. How is the carbon cycle the foundation of our biosphere - and how have

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01:19:44

Bill McKibben: "Climate, Movements, and Power”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/12/20

On this episode, environmental activist and author Bill McKibben joins Nate for a reflection on the last few decades of climate education and movements – and the possibilities and challenges that we’ll face ahead. Among a system that is dependent on growth and embedded in a biosphere full of limits (which we continue to surpass), working towards shifting our societies to be ecologically balanced is potentially the most important mission to which an individual can contribute - yet this is much easier

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14:46

Systemic Themes for 2024 | Frankly #51

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/12/18

Recorded December 17 2023 Description In this final Frankly of 2023, Nate outlines some global themes that are worth keeping an eye on in 2024. From climate change to domestic and global politics to an unstable financial system, world events continue to converge. How will the social fabric of our society respond as changes to our current way of life continue to grow? How do these seemingly isolated events interconnect and enhance each other? How will governments, businesses, and individuals

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01:30:27

Arthur Berman: "Shale Oil and the Slurping Sound”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/12/13

On this episode, Arthur Berman returns to unpack the complexity underpinning the oil trends of the last 75 years and what new data can tell us about availability in the coming years. After decades of declining oil production in the United States, the past decade of rising oil extraction has eased many worries about peak oil. But the past few years of continued growth have been obtained by using “a larger straw”, merely delaying the inevitability of the depletion of a finite resource. Art presents

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01:22:57

Stephanie Hoopes, Peter Kilde, Marc Perry, Dalitso...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/12/10

On this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by four professionals with decades of experience working with low-income communities, Stephanie Hoopes, Peter Kilde, Marc Perry, and Dalitso Sulamoyo to discuss the state of poverty in the United States. Even in the wealthiest country in the world, poverty is a pernicious problem - and in a future that is more resource constrained it will only get worse. Do the current official measurements of poverty accurately portray the living standards of most

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12:56

COP 28 and the Smoke Under the Door | Frankly #50

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/12/08

In this week’s Frankly, we join Nate in a fascinating thought experiment imagining participants in this week’s COP 28 in Dubai are liberated from the usual social sorting mechanisms which constrain real, forthright, challenging conversation around solving our most dire issues. What questions might participants ask at COP28 if there were no fear of losing social status and how might this liberation change the conversation around global heating? As social primates, there is a stainless steel

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278 results

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