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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

02:08:56

Nate Hagens: "Episode 100 - The Great Simplification”...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/12/06

On this special 100th episode, Nate is interviewed by his friend and colleague in the metacrisis space, Kate Raworth. The conversation is a reflection on the past two years of podcasting – and how Nate’s worldview has evolved because of it. What fundamental concepts could help us better understand the trends happening around us and the potential futures they point to? With so many moving pieces, how can we begin to create a coherent story of the world around us and - even more difficult - start

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02:20:31

Jeremy Grantham: "Pollution, Population & Purpose”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/11/29

On this episode, Nate is joined by co-founder of GMO Financial Holdings, Jeremy Grantham, to discuss how finance, human population, ecology, and pollution interact to shape current trends and what they could tell us about the future. Mr. Grantham unpacks why the expectations of perpetual growth - in the economy, standards of living, and finance - are not so likely and that when looking at the system holistically we should expect large paradigm shifts in the coming decades. What can the pattern of

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17:29

Artificial Intelligence vs Real Ecology | Frankly #49

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/11/17

In this Frankly, a follow up to “One Ring to Rule Them All”, Nate unpacks the common misconception that AI is the answer to all our energy and ecological problems, specifically climate change. As the development of AI continues to accelerate, many propose that we are entering the ‘Exponential Age’, yet what’s ignored is that we’ve just lived through an age of exponential impact on Earth’s systems. Under this same ‘operating system’, AI can at best act as a more powerful tool for the continuation of

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02:00:30

Helen Thompson: "The Complex History of Energy &...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/11/15

On this episode, political economist Helen Thompson and Nate discuss how energy and geopolitics have interconnected over the past century, building to the entangled political relationships we see around us today. The dynamics of power on a global scale are complex - stemming from access to energy, financial control, military strength, credibility/trust, and much more - yet we can understand these a bit better by learning the history that shaped them. How have geologic provinces of energy dense

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01:31:18

Fossil Free Food Systems: Jason Bradford, Andrew...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/11/12

Show Summary: On this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by small-scale farmer Jason Bradford, permaculturist and documentarian Andrew Millison, regenerative agriculture activist Vandana Shiva, and regenerative farmer and educator Daniel Zetah to discuss the feasibility of a food system fully or mostly independent of fossil fuel inputs. While a non-industrialized agriculture system is certainly possible (it was the norm for the majority of human history), what that will look like and how we even

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56:47

Chuck Watson: "The Nuclear Wild West"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/11/08

(Conversation recorded on November 2nd, 2023) Show Summary: On this episode, Nate is re-joined by risk expert Chuck Watson for a candid discussion of recent news regarding the nuclear developments between Russia and the United States. As the world’s attention is focused on the events in the Middle East, US testing and development of new nuclear weapons and Russia’s decision to pull out of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty last week have been overlooked and underreported by major media. Yet, in the

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17:23

The Biophysical Taxman Cometh | Frankly #48

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/11/03

Recorded October 31 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate expands on our conventional definition of “taxes” to highlight nine other categories that will ‘tax’ our modern lifestyles. Traditionally, when we think of net and gross income, we only think of direct government taxes that subtract from what we take home. What are other taxes - resulting from our system's ecology - which will factor into the way society can pay for the goods and services we’ve become used to? As converging global crises

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01:40:17

David Holmgren: "Small and Slow Solutions -...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/11/01

On this episode, Nate is joined by ‘permaculture’ author and educator David Holmgren to discuss his experience within the movement and what it might look like for more systems to be designed using permaculture in the future. While often thought to be an agricultural tool, permaculture thinking is meant for designing human systems to be embedded in nature - an important principle for a future where societies will need to re-synchronize with natural flows. What does it mean for permaculture design to

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16:46

Frankly Re: Franklys | Frankly #47

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/27

Recorded October 27 2023 Description In this forty-seventh Frankly, Nate reflects on…..Franklys. As real time global events move faster and faster, they alter the timing (and content!) of planned Frankly reflections on aspects of our global discourse. In light of this, Nate offers a raw take on events in Israel (and financial markets) and a growing list of upcoming topics relevant to the unfolding human predicament. The purpose of these Franklys is not to provide real time intel or analysis but

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01:50:01

Sir David King: "Global Heating: The Science and the...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/25

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate scientist and policy ambassador Sir David King to unpack the current situation regarding Earth’s climate system and human response (or lack thereof) to the accelerating heating of the atmosphere. While there are many uncertainties this field still grapples with, the fundamentals of the rising average global temperature as a response to increasing man-made greenhouse emissions are widely recognized by the global scientific community. Yet - especially in the

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01:13:56

Chuck Watson: "War, Rumours of War, and Governance”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/20

On this Special episode Nate speaks once again with risk expert Chuck Watson for a critical assessment of the unfolding situation around Israel which adds to the rapidly escalating dangers of our current geopolitical landscape. As tensions rise, the potential risks that geopolitical confrontation in the Middle East poses could spill over into energy, economic systems, and our social fabric - Chuck lends his deep expertise and decades of experience to shed light on these complex dynamics. How do our

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01:06:40

Joris van der Schot: "Oil Refining 101 and Other...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/18

On this episode, Nate is joined by energy industry professional Joris van der Schot to explain the basics of oil refineries, their limitations, and other cultural narratives about energy. Oil is the lifeblood of our economies, yet most of us know so little about how it actually becomes all the different final products that we use. Just how massive is the scale of our energy consumption? How flexible and resilient are oil refineries to shifting oil demand? Can we keep an open mind to realistic and

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01:28:21

Food & Community in the Ruins: Dougald Hine, Chris...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/15

On this Reality Roundtable, philosopher and writer Dougald Hine, social scientist and farmer Chris Smaje, and ecologist and farmer Pella Thiel join Nate to discuss the future of food and community. Our disconnected relationship to agriculture and our neighbors have been shaped by a modern industrial society fueled by surplus hydrocarbon energy. What will these relationships look like in a lower energy future, where we need to once again work with each other and the land, rather than in isolation

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10:44

The Middle East: Stormwatch | Frankly #46

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/13

In this Frankly, Nate shares his perspective on the recent events in the Middle East and how they could lead to a shortening of the timeline to The Great Simplification. For those fortunate to live outside the direct impacts of these conflicts, many feel pressure to stay informed about this turbulent, global landscape. Is it possible to also remain grounded in the present realities of our daily lives? How do individual responses to this past week’s geopolitical events vary depending on the

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01:32:00

Arthur Berman: "BRICS+, Strategic Petroleum Reserve &...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/11

On this episode, Art Berman returns to give a broad update on the state of global oil - from BRICS+ and shale oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and oil investment. As Art says, ‘oil is the economy’ and understanding the complex dynamics of the oil market provides insight into the entire economic system. How do geological luck and foreign policy create the global stage for oil markets? What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, have we been misusing it, and does it matter in comparison to larger

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16:44

One Ring to Rule Them All | Frankly #45

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/06

In this Frankly, Nate refers to a favorite timeless book series, The Lord of the Rings, to describe ‘the nine rings for mortal men’ - behavioral tendencies that are common among humans based on our evolutionary nature but become counterproductive within modern culture. These traits drive the growth of the Superorganism through ‘one ring to rule them all’, the amassing of power and the synergy of agricultural surplus, fossil energy, money, and Artificial Intelligence. Can this out of control power

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01:31:16

Luke Gromen: "Peak Cheap Oil and the Global Reserve...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/10/04

On this episode, financial analyst Luke Gromen joins Nate to discuss how the availability of cheap energy has underpinned our current financial architecture and expectations - and what peak cheap oil implies for the future. A central part of this story is the rise of the US dollar as a global reserve currency tightly linked with the ability to purchase oil - subsequently leading to the US becoming a major exporter of debt. How have countries with economies based on natural resources and

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01:26:18

Nick Haddad: "Insects - A Silent Extinction”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/09/27

On this episode, Nate is joined by Professor Nick Haddad, a conservation scientist with a focus on butterflies and other insects. Nick unpacks what decades of research have indicated about the declining state of insect populations, which act as the foundation of critical ecosystem functions. The overlooked degradation of butterflies, beetles, bees, ants, ladybugs, and countless other species have huge ripple effects across our local and global ecological functions - from a loss of bird populations

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01:15:43

Sian Sutherland: "Innovating the Business of Plastics”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/09/20

On this episode, Nate is joined by Sian Sutherland, a leader in the movement towards reducing the overconsumption of plastic and its waste. The modern era is dependent on fossil fuels for many reasons - one of the most covertly ubiquitous ones being plastic. Everyday we are surrounded by it - encasing our food, woven in the threads of our clothes, and even permeating into the water that we drink. How do we begin to break off this addiction to the convenience and utility of plastics? How does this

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01:57:54

Robert Sapolsky: "The Brain, Determinism, and...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/09/13

On this episode, neuroscientist and author Robert Sapolsky joins Nate to discuss the structure of the human brain and its implication on behavior and our ability to change. Dr. Sapolsky also unpacks how the innate quality of a biological organism shaped by evolution and the surrounding environment - meaning all animals, including humans - leads him to believe that there is no such thing as free will, at least how we think about it today. How do our past and present hormone levels, hunger, stress,

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278 results

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