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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

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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01:30:01

Titanic Oceans: Daniel Pauly, Antonio Turiel, Peter...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/09/10

On this Reality Roundtable, marine biologist Daniel Pauly, ocean physicist Antonio Turiel, and paleobiologist Peter Ward join Nate to discuss the numerous oft-overlooked threats to the Earth’s great oceans. From overfishing and plastic pollution to climate change and acidification, the human system is assaulting one of the most important regulators for our climate and the largest habitat for life - anywhere. What early indicators of climate impacts are these great bodies of water showing us as we

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20:47

The Many Shapes of the Carbon Pulse | Frankly #44

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/09/08

In this Frankly, Nate describes the Carbon Pulse - a one time massive consumption of fossil hydrocarbons at a pace millions of times faster than they were created. He outlines the many shapes that this pulse could take, as well as some shapes it will never take. Compared to previous carbon pulses that led to mass and minor extinctions, how does the modern pulse compare? What can what we know about ecology and human behavior tell us about the most likely paths into descent? Can thinking about these

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01:04:50

Graham Palmer: "Energy Storage and Civilization: A...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/09/06

On this episode, Nate is joined by Graham Palmer, a scholar and engineer in the field of energy. While this show frequently covers the importance of energy itself, this discussion focuses on how the ability to store and access energy has critically shaped societies. From agriculture, to wood, to coal, to oil, each transition has marked a new way for humans to interact with the world around them. What would it mean for economic growth if we no longer have access to these storable energies? What does

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13:26

Fossil Energy Subsidies: The Bottom Line | Frankly #43

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/09/01

In this week’s Frankly, Nate reacts to recent analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) critical of 2022 subsidies to fossil fuel. These subsidies - by IMF math totalling $7+ trillion - are not what they seem, resulting in widespread confusion on what is really going on. By peeling back the layers of the onion on these oft-misunderstood benefits - Nate outlines what comprises these fossil fuel subsidies, who receives them, the purpose they serve, and who benefits from them (spoiler alert -

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01:21:23

Lisi Krall: "Agriculture, Surplus, and the Economic...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/30

On this episode, ‘Superorganisms’ converge as Nate is joined by economist and anthropologist Lisi Krall to discuss the evolutionary origins of our current systemic predicament. Starting with the Agricultural Revolution, the evolutionary conditions of surplus and ultrasociality have combined to shape the way humans interact with their environment, ultimately leading to our current out of control global economy. Is this global system an inevitable emergent phenomenon of the human condition? Does

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14:45

Running the 'Systems Discourse' Gauntlet | Frankly #42

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/25

In this week’s Frankly, Nate considers 7 different continuums of perspectives people use when taking part in a “systems” discourse, such as The Great Simplification podcast is attempting. In such complex and often controversial discussions, each of us has a point of view that stems from our own personal experiences, knowledge and identity - yet how we channel that point of view into the larger discourse matters. How does understanding our own perspectives potentially help us side-step mental

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01:53:49

Iain McGilchrist: “Wisdom, Nature, and the Brain”

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/23

On this episode, literary scholar and psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist joins Nate to discuss the way modern culture teaches and encourages us to use - and not use - the two lobes of our brains. While most functions require the use of both sides of our brains, each side is specially attuned to see and interact with the world in certain ways: the left side acts as a narrow problem solving executor, while the right side is a broadly open contextualizer. What happens when we humans - in aggregate - become

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01:27:01

Jean-Marc Jancovici: "Our Global Energy Predicament"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/16

On this episode, Nate is joined by well-known French educator Jean-Marc Jancovici to discuss the critical importance of energy to modern economies. Together, Nate and Jean-Marc break down the fundamentals of our complex, growth dependent global economic system. How much of the stereotypical Western lifestyle is centered around access to cheap, surplus fossil energy? What would it mean for societies to lose this stable, cheap and abundant supply - and how would the people who have become used to it

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01:42:18

Unlearning Economics: Jon Erickson, Josh Farley,...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/13

On this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by Jon Erickson, Josh Farley, Steve Keen, and Kate Raworth - all of whom are leading thinkers and educators in the field of heterodox economics. In this lively discussion, each guest begins by sharing one fundamental aspect of what conventional economics gets wrong and how it could be improved in our education system. What basic assumptions about humans have led to a misunderstanding of the average person’s decision-making? What areas has economics turned a

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26:05

Just Stop Oil !? Part 4 - The Intersection | Frankly #41

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/11

In Part 4 of this Frankly mini-series, Nate concludes the deep dive into the nexus between “just stopping oil” and “just pumping oil” with 10 guideposts which might help us to navigate through the intersection of the Four Horsemen of the 2020s and the shrinking Web of Life….together known as The Great Simplification. From decomplexifying at various scales to a change of consciousness arising from more humans focused on "Inner Tech", there are many ways we as individuals and as a part of the greater

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01:42:19

Doomberg: "Our Fragile Energy Economy"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/09

On this episode, Nate is joined by Doomberg - the anonymous energy/finance analyst team (visually presenting as a talking chicken icon) who uses an energy lens to analyze global trends in the economy, with so far some remarkable accuracy. In this wide ranging discussion, Doomberg and Nate cover the interactions between geopolitics, debt, climate policy, and - of course - energy. How have the narratives created around different types of energy - from renewables to nuclear - affected current policy

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28:02

Just Stop Oil !? Part 3 - 10 Pathways to Post-Growth...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/04

In Part 3 of this Frankly Series, Nate (just after watching the movie Oppenheimer!) breaks down the logic of how we COULD arrive at a post-growth future. Our global situation is complex and not static - IF we somehow are able to shrink the global economic output (which would imply significantly less oil use) we first have to navigate ‘the 4 Horsemen of the 2020s’. Nate outlines 10 possible avenues for how this could happen, not as a prescription but as a description of various possible scenarios

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01:28:00

Kevin Anderson: "The Uncomfortable Link between...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/08/02

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate scientist Kevin Anderson to discuss the possible paths of averting severe climate outcomes and how this is interconnected with equity. As nations plan their climate goals and coordinate with each other, it’s clear that extreme actions would be needed from everyone to meet the goal of keeping the global average temperature increase below 2ºC - if this is even possible. At the same time, there are wide disparities in the greenhouse gas emissions between the

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