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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

10:10

Reflections on 'Beyond Growth' | Frankly #31

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/05/19

On this Frankly, Nate reflects on the Beyond Growth Conference held at the European Parliament, including the stunning public acknowledgement by EU President that a growth model based on fossil fuels is now obsolete. In the context of this growing and relevant conversation, Nate unpacks what the degrowth movement is getting right, but also what is missing from the conversation. Is it possible to purposely navigate from our current system to one with lower energy and material wealth? How does a large

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03:12:47

Daniel Schmachtenberger: "Artificial Intelligence and...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/05/17

On this episode, Daniel Schmachtenberger returns to discuss a surprisingly overlooked risk to our global systems and planetary stability: artificial intelligence. Through a systems perspective, Daniel and Nate piece together the biophysical history that has led humans to this point, heading towards (and beyond) numerous planetary boundaries and facing geopolitical risks all with existential consequences. How does artificial intelligence, not only add to these risks, but accelerate the entire dynamic

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14:21

Missing Words | Frankly #30

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/05/12

Last Friday we released Nate's annual Earth Day presentation for 2023: a reflection on ~3 dozen common English words which are semantically disconnected from what they really mean - paired alongside more biophysically accurate terms. Building on that theme, this week’s Frankly is a thought experiment of which ecological and systems concepts do not exist in the English language - but perhaps should. All of this is to say, the semantics and connotations of our language are extremely powerful and have

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50:15

John Kitzhaber: "What Makes a Healthy Society?"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/05/10

On this episode, former Governor of Oregon and ER Doctor John Kitzhaber joins Nate to discuss the shortcomings of the medical system in the United States. With health outcomes below average compared to other developed nations and healthcare spending at nearly 20% of GDP, creating medical systems that are less costly while also keeping people healthier is critical to the well-being of the country and its citizens. Dr. Kitzhaber’s hands-on experience working in medicine and systemic perspective as a

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40:19

The Words of Our Lives | Earth Day 2023

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/05/08

For this year’s Earth Day presentation, I highlight common terms in the English language - the meanings of which we've come to take for granted. These words semantically imbue our understanding, perspective, and even behavior but have become untethered from the systemic reality they attempt to describe. Words have power. What we call things and how we describe things matters. This presentation is recommended to be viewed on Youtube with the accompanying visuals, but can still be listened to and

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01:27:32

Robert Lustig: "Processed Food, Metabolism, and The...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/05/03

In this episode, Dr. Robert Lustig joins Nate to dive into the metabolism of the micro level of human systems - the humans ourselves. Over the last century, accompanying the transformation of our energy systems, our food and consumption patterns have been massively transformed. One of the biggest areas of change is the dramatic increase in sugar consumption. But are our bodies adapted to eating such high sugar, processed foods? What are the health effects connected to this way of eating? And, writ

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01:15:22

Simon Michaux: "The Arcadian Blueprint"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/04/26

In this episode, Simon Michaux returns to discuss his new paper “A Resource Balanced Economy”, which outlines an alternative economic and social system. This conversation builds off of his two previous episodes on The Great Simplification, unpacking the ideas and tools that will be helpful in planning for an unknown future with more energy and material constraints. How can we be more intentional about the design of our technology to make products that are longer lasting and easier to reuse? How can

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01:45:07

Edward Chancellor: "The Price of Time"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/04/19

On this episode, financial historian Edward Chancellor joins Nate to give a meta-history of interest rates and human societies. With recent news of global financial turmoil in response to rising interest rates, taking a look at our history could help us interpret our present and plan for the future. How deeply entangled is this financial predicament that we’ve gotten ourselves into? Can we learn from the past to reshape a more stable monetary policy in the future, or are inflating financial bubbles

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22:39

Reality, Probability, and Perception | Frankly #29

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/04/14

Recorded April 10, 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate explains how he views the future from a probability perspective - a tool frequently used in industries such as finance, retirement planning, and by e.g. gamblers. While there will be only one eventual outcome, the possible paths to that future fall in a distribution, with some results much more likely than others. We can shift these results with our actions in the present. However, no one person can know this distribution perfectly, only

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01:24:31

Kim Stanley Robinson: "Climate, Fiction, and The Future"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/04/12

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson to discuss how he contributes to the discussion of climate and pro-social changemaking through writing. There have been many calls to improve the communication of scientists to the general public in hopes it will help people understand the severity of the various global threats we face. A key component to such communication comes from art and literature. Even further, the humanities help us think about the type of

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12:55

The Real Global Macro | Frankly #28

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/04/06

Recorded April 4, 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate shares his early Wall Street experience of ‘squawkboxes’ summarizing the daily financial Global Macro events and compares it to present day, where we find ourselves faced with the real Global Macro news - the systemic nexus of economic, environmental, and geopolitical risks and realities. From sea surface temperatures at all-time recorded highs, to the threat of nuclear war, to failing nation-states - how does a single person make sense of

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01:42:12

Antonio Turiel: "Deep Challenges: Oceans, Scarcity...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/04/05

On this episode, physicist Antonio Turiel joins me for a wide-ranging discussion from oceans and climate to energy and culture. Oceans are one of the most important factors regulating the Earth’s climate, and yet they receive relatively little attention from the climate community. There are numerous critical risk factors to unpack regarding just the oceans alone - and still so much that we don’t know. This conversation also delves into the complexity of an economic system requiring continuous growth

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08:41

USA! (But wait, There’s More) | Frankly #27

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/31

Recorded March 29, 2023 Description In this Frankly, Nate reflects on the varying perspectives from which people perceive the meta-crisis relative to their own circumstances. This extends to the countries we live in and the particular economic/social situations we are part of. But each of these is part of a wider systems lens that we should at least keep in mind and respect - even if it doesn’t feel like our central cause. The challenging times ahead will have huge implications for the social

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01:24:40

Andrew Millison: "Geomorphology, Permaculture, and...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/29

On this episode, permaculture expert and educator Andrew Millison joins us to unpack how we can better design our societal infrastructure and agriculture to be more attuned with the water, solar, and “geomorphic” conditions of our surroundings. When critical resources become scarce, it is more important than ever that communities learn to do more with less. By focusing on resiliency and stability through systems thinking, permaculture is a design system which does just that. In a world that often

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01:21:09

Paul Martin: "Hydrogen - The Decarbonization Problem"

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/22

On this episode, chemical engineer Paul Martin joins The Great Simplification to talk about all things hydrogen. There are many ‘Fuels of the Future’ about which the media likes to create hopeful and seamless narratives, one of the currently popular of these being hydrogen. Where does hydrogen come from and what do we already depend on hydrogen for - is it as ‘clean’ as the media leads us to believe? How can we think about hydrogen from a systems perspective to determine if it is really an energy

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13:42

A Bigger Boat | Frankly #26

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/16

In this Frankly, Nate shares some context about how he thinks about the recent global banking and financial market news. How do the catalysts triggering the SVB collapse compare to the 2008 financial crisis? What might world financial market reactions indicate as we move closer to The Great Simplification? What can we learn and proactively plan for by taking a balanced, comprehensive view of the global financial system and banking? One thing to be sure of: world governments and central banks “are

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01:03:42

Jodi Archambault: "Relationships, Reciprocity and...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/15

On this episode, Jodi Archambault, a member of the Hunkpapa and Oglala Lakota tribes, joins the podcast to share her experiences as an activist, government official, and someone who has lived amidst many cultures. While this podcast is primarily dominated by a western and US point of view, there is a huge variety of perspectives and social models we neglect and can learn from. The many different indigenous tribes within the North American continent each have a unique viewpoint and are widely

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10:36

Loss Aversion | Frankly #25

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/10

On this Frankly, Nate reflects on his experiences in the financial industry with the cognitive bias Loss Aversion and the ways it may manifest to the coming material throughput declines during The Great Simplification. Why do losses feel so much stronger to us than gains - even when we have an overabundance of wealth? Can being aware of this evolved psychological trait diffuse its intensity? How does this affect our ability to perceive and plan for the reality of less available energy and resources

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01:12:22

Gareth Roberts: "Geology, Optimism, & Something...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/08

On this episode, geologist and entrepreneur Gareth Roberts joins Nate on the podcast to discuss the geological science behind how we find, extract, and deplete fossil hydrocarbons. Gareth and Nate also unpack how financial policy, government, and an energy transition interact with an aging hydrocarbon-based grid. What does all of this mean for our energy future? How can we use humor to process and make sense of these societal challenges? How do scientists, communicators, and planners come together

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01:23:26

Nina Simons: "Dancing With Contradictions - A Systems...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2023/03/01

On this episode, author and social entrepreneur Nina Simons reminds us that in a fact driven culture, sometimes it’s important to return to the emotional, physical, and even spiritual in order to balance the conversation. In a world full of 8 billion unique individuals, how can we learn to listen to each person’s unique experience and perspective? Can we integrate the rational with our intuitions, and embody some of the shifts we’d like to see in the world? About Nina Simons: Nina Simons is the

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