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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

13:11

What I Want to Want for the Future | Frankly 101

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/07/11

In today’s Frankly, Nate imagines that he’s looking back from an unspecified point in the future (even from beyond his lifetime), and ponders the core things he would want during his time on Earth. Breaking from what our culture steers us to seek out, Nate examines what a bedrock of human experiences might include — the things in our lives that keep us grounded and experiencing life to the fullest extent. While naming some of the things he values in his own life, from experiencing full spectrum love

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01:18:25

Moving from Apathy to Action: How Facing Grief Can...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/07/09

When facing the realities of our world, the urge to drown in grief or shut down into apathy is becoming more and more common. As we are flooded with information and global predicaments outside of our control, overwhelm can set in, affecting our energy, efficacy, and even our ability to care. But what if facing our grief is actually the pathway to increasing our capacity to stay connected to and work on the things that matter most to us? What tools, practices, or rituals could we use to help us begin

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01:37:47

Algorithmic Cancer: Why AI Development Is Not What...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/06/25

Recently, the risks about Artificial Intelligence and the need for ‘alignment’ have been flooding our cultural discourse – with Artificial Super Intelligence acting as both the most promising goal and most pressing threat. But amid the moral debate, there’s been surprisingly little attention paid to a basic question: do we even have the technical capability to guide where any of this is headed? And if not, should we slow the pace of innovation until we better understand how these complex systems

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43:23

The 10 Core Myths Still Taught in Business Schools |...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/06/20

Economics departments around the world teach a narrow boundary story of the way our world works. A narrative of infinite growth driven by consumption and money, which has dominated our culture and unknowingly shaped the way we live. But does this story really reflect our biophysical reality – or the full scope of humanity’s role within it? In this week’s Frankly, Nate identifies 10 myths being taught in business schools today, and the massive implications these misconceptions hold for society. From

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01:51

The Systems Science Behind Our Global Crises: How...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/06/13

👉 WATCH THE MOVIE HERE 👈 Three years ago, my team and I created a 30-minute movie that provides a comprehensive systems analysis of the human predicament—spanning energy, economics, ecology, and behavioral psychology. This beautifully animated film aims to help viewers understand the interconnected crises defining our era. When we first released this film, our podcast was just beginning and our community was much smaller. Today, more than 100,000 people have joined the conversation; and with

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01:18:34

Globalization End Game: How Localization Builds...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/06/11

Over the last few decades, humanity has globalized everything – from food production and supply chains to communication and information systems – making countries, businesses, and individuals more connected and reliant on each other than ever before. Yet, with this increased interconnectedness comes more complexity and fragility. What have we lost through the globalization process, and how might we fortify our communities by investing in local economies? In this episode, Nate is joined by Helena

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20:21

10 Qualities That Could Change the Future: The Seeds...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/06/06

Living in a period increasingly fraught by various crises and risks, it is more necessary than ever to be able to metabolize anxiety into something useful. But what about at a cultural level? The behaviors that the current economic superstructure rewards cannot form the basis of what emerges from its ashes…we require new ways of thinking and living that put us in closer relationship to one another and the planet around us. In a system structured to serve as a dissipative structure, how do we plant

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01:49:55

AI’s Unseen Risks: How Artificial Intelligence Could...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/06/04

While most industries are embracing artificial intelligence, citing profit and efficiency, the tech industry is pushing AI into education under the guise of ‘inevitability’. But the focus on its potential benefits for academia eclipses the pressing (and often invisible) risks that AI poses to children – including the decline of critical thinking, the inability to connect with other humans, and even addiction. With the use of AI becoming more ubiquitous by the day, we must ask ourselves: can our

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13:01

The 8 Faces of AI: Who Will You Become As AI...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/05/23

In a world increasingly mediated by machines, the boundaries between human identity and artificial intelligence are beginning to blur. While some embrace the tools of the future, others quietly resist, preserving ways of being that have endured for millennia. What happens when AI becomes not just a tool but a mirror? In this week’s Frankly, Nate introduces a new typology of how AI may shape human behavior in the years ahead. He outlines eight archetypes reflecting our varied relationships to

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14:31

The Parent and the Pendulum | Frankly 95

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/05/16

In a culture driven by achievement, autonomy, and digital distraction, our sense of identity is often shaped by performance and external validation. Yet beneath this surface, many carry unseen psychological imprints from childhood and culture alike. What happens when we begin to examine these layers and imagine healthier ones? In this week’s Frankly, Nate explores the themes of attention, awareness, and the psychological impacts of modern life. Through poetry and reflection, he examines the pull

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01:11:59

No Economies Without Biodiversity: Why Our Markets...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/05/14

There is only one known planet in the universe capable of meeting humanity's needs – Earth. And yet, our understanding and appreciation of the underlying complexity that makes it function remains limited. If we were able to grasp the transformative potential of biodiversity – specifically how it relates to biocomplexity – how might we change our behavior? In this episode, Nate is joined by ecologist Thomas Crowther to discuss the critical importance of biodiversity as an intricate web of life that

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27:49

Artificial Intelligence - In Service of Life? |...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/04/25

What if the most powerful tool humanity has ever created could either help heal the Earth — or accelerate its unraveling? In this special Earth Week edition of Frankly, Nate delves into what it truly means for a technology or project to be “in service of Life,” using the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence as an example. Like any other tool that humanity has created, AI has the potential to either mitigate humanity’s impact on our planetary home or deepen the ecological crises we

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01:24:04

The Neuroscience of Good Journalism: How Constructive...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/04/23

The psychological effects of media consumption and keeping up with the 24-hour news cycle are vast. It can sometimes feel impossible to stay educated on current events without also feeling hopeless, disempowered, or even enraged. Worse, the incentives and structures of modern media outlets seem more and more geared towards capturing our attention at any cost… including our mental health, trust in one another, and even open societies themselves. Given this, is there a way to get back to a form of

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01:16:24

Planetary Surveillance: How Satellites Could...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/04/16

When we are able to see the full scope of a problem, rather than a fragment, it changes how we respond. Throughout history, comprehensive data has catalyzed transformative change—from the measurements that spurred the halting of ozone depletion to the coral reef monitoring networks that revealed the devastating impacts of ocean acidification. Yet, the average person remains disconnected from visualizing their lifestyle’s impact on Earth's systems, leaving an incomplete perception of our collective

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30:25

Living the Change: How TGS Viewers are Transforming...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/04/11

A few months ago, we invited viewers to share the projects, initiatives, and lifestyle changes they've embraced after becoming aware of the global challenges facing humanity. In this special compilation episode, we're featuring just a few of the many inspiring videos that were submitted. The responses were diverse and surprising, ranging from community education and regenerative projects to small-scale repair shops and off-grid living. We hope these examples serve as inspiration for the kinds of

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01:12:45

Living Without Fossil Fuels: How Living Energy Farm...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/04/09

As we deepen our understanding of the existential challenges facing humanity, the path from our industrialized lifestyles to ones that respect planetary boundaries can often feel unclear and overwhelming. However, there are already individuals and communities who have transformed their way of life to do just that. What are the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and how might we use them to transform our own lives? Today, Nate is joined by Alexis Zeigler, a founding member of the cooperative

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01:24:41

Digital Democracy: Moving Beyond ‘Big Tech’ to Save...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/03/26

As the world is increasingly shaped by the dominance of ‘Big Tech’ – including the race for Artificial Intelligence – the outsized impact on our democratic and information systems has left many with fears and confusion about the path forward. But what if we could use technology as a tool that helps preserve the values of democracy and increases civic engagement, rather than eroding them? Furthermore, what sorts of people, projects, and policies are already paving the way? Today Nate is joined by

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10:03

Thinking and Feeling | Frankly 89

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/03/21

The human brain has proven to be particularly good at breaking down all sorts of things into categories and dichotomies - even our perception of the world itself is often split between ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling,’ shaped by the sensory input we receive. It seems that our values, beliefs, opportunities – even how we define ourselves as individuals – are limited to opposing and polarized options. Yet, does this binary mindset only lead us toward more blind-spots? In this Frankly, Nate unpacks the

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01:25:45

Threats to U.S. Security: Aging Infrastructure,...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/03/19

The threats facing the United States’ stability seem to be escalating daily - from aging electric grids and deteriorating infrastructure to rising information warfare from domestic and international sources. How are some of the leaders within our institutions approaching these risks to respond with resilience and strengthen our national security? Today, Nate is joined by national and homeland security authority Dan O’Connor to discuss what he sees as the most pressing risks for the stability and

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01:38:03

The Lost Art of Grieving: Grief as Ritual,...

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens ·

2025/03/12

Western culture, particularly in the United States, is often characterized by a profound discomfort and suppression of grief. Without healthy outlets to process loss and pain – especially in communal settings – many of us end up caught in cycles of loneliness and emotional distress. How might incorporating intentional spaces and rituals to process our grief regularly help us navigate the more systemic challenges we face? In this conversation, Nate is joined by psychotherapist Francis Weller to

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