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PODCAST

Human Nature Odyssey

Human Nature Odyssey explores the myths, systems, and stories shaping our unraveling world. Blending history, mythology, philosophy, ecology, and cinematic audio storytelling, the show uses the past to better understand the present — and the possible futures we"re creating. You are living the latest chapter in a 10,000-year human story. Join documentary filmmaker and storyteller Alex Leff on a cinematic audio journey through civilization, collapse, meaning, and myth, in search of clearer ways to

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

41:45

REWIND - Against Leviathan: An Anarchist Fairytale of...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/10/01

This episode originally aired in October of 2024. Gather around the campfire for a ghost story about the most destructive monster in history: civilization itself. In this episode, we delve into the countercultural writings of Fredy Perlman, whose strange 1983 book "Against His-Story, Against-Leviathan"—riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings—blends myth and history to explore the nature of power, subjugation, and the struggle between the rulers and the ruled. Our journey takes us back to

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57:54

26 - Can Games Save The World From Bureaucracy? With...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/09/03

How did humans go from living in small-scale communities where everyone knew each other to building a massive civilization filled with billions of strangers? And what the heck holds those societies together? In this episode, philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, author of The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game, joins the odyssey to explore the strange relationship between games, bureaucracy, and large-scale society. We explore why bureaucracies are so inescapably powerful, what they can—and

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29:21

25 - The Forest and the Forager

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/08/06

You might think that you are not a forager. But what if no matter our lifestyle or job title, we are forever hunter gatherers in this world: of food, of love, of meaning. In this immersive episode, join Alex on a walk through an ancient forest as you explore what it means to live life as a forager. It's a journey through the garden of eden grocery story, a wrestling with the gods, and a coming home to feast and famine. CITATIONS Changes in the Landscape by William Cronon If you'd like to

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59:49

24 - Stories That Create or Destroy: Myth, Death, and...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/07/09

What if the crises of our time are not just ecological or political, but also mythological? Poet and author Sophie Strand joins Human Nature Odyssey for a wide-ranging conversation about stories, illness, ecology, and transformation. Drawing from mythology, religion, folklore, and her own experience living with chronic illness, Sophie explores how the stories we inherit shape our relationship to the living world—and what happens when those stories no longer serve us. Together, we discuss death and

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30:26

23 - What Is Human Nature Odyssey?

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/06/04

You, me, and everyone we know were born on the Titanic. Some are warning of icebergs. Some are shoveling coal into the furnaces. Some are jamming out while the band plays louder than ever. In this special episode beginning Year Four of Human Nature Odyssey, Alex gathers friends together in a living room for a live-recorded podcast potluck conversation exploring civilization, collapse, climate change, community, and the strange experience of trying to live a meaningful life while the world feels

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01:20:38

Hajar Tazi: Weaving Our Way Back Home

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/05/14

Today Hajar Tazi joins us on our odyssey. Hajar is a poet, writer, facilitator, and self-described "ecosystem weaver." Our conversation is part of a new five-episode miniseries from Resilience that I'm hosting in collaboration with the Omega Resilience Awards. It's called In the Rising Tide and it brings together conversations with five people from around the world, exploring the interconnected unfolding crises of our time—and how each of them is responding within their own communities. Across the

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53:03

22 - Earth Abides (Part 2): Future Animists

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/04/23

Okay, it's been fifty years since the sudden collapse of civilization - why isn't everything back up and running already? In the 1949 sci-fi novel Earth Abides, Isherwood Williams tries and tries to teach the next generation about law, economics, and geometry but these dang kids would rather explore the streams that flow over abandoned boulevards and overgrown shopping malls. In Part 2 of this two-part series, Alex and astrophysicist Tom Murphy explore the unexpected evolution of life after the

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49:04

Earth Abides (Part 1): Life After Civilization

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/04/09

You ever go on a little trip, to just get away from it all — only to come home and find all of civilization collapsed while you were gone and you might be the last person left on earth? Well then you could totally relate to George R. Stewart's 1949 science-fiction novel, Earth Abides. Earth Abides is not your typical post-apocalyptic tale. It challenges some of our core notions on progress, human happiness, and civilization itself. It's a study of how our built infrastructure crumbles in our

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58:21

20 - Joanna Macy & The Great Turning — with Jess...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/03/05

How do we live through wild times? Legendary scholar, activist, and systems thinker Joanna Macy named the moment we are living through the Great Unraveling—a time when our ecological, political, economic, and social systems destabilize to the point of no return. And yet, she also insisted that we stand on the threshold of a Great Turning: a profound transition toward a more just and sustainable world. Before Joanna's death in 2025, climate activist Jess Serrante recorded a series of intimate and

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01:00:00

19 - Modern Myths: If the Earth Is Flat, Can We Still...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/01/22

Are we open to changing our beliefs? What assumptions are we willing to let go of if the evidence suggests otherwise? That openness is at the heart of the scientific process. To be human is to dream and to question. But when do our dreams turn into delusions, and our questions harden into conspiracies? This episode explores two powerful beliefs—and the increasingly popular movements behind them. One is the belief that humans could, and should, live in space: that we're destined to leave our planet

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25:41

28 Years Later: Embracing Zombies, Death, and Gilmore...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2026/01/08

This is the first 30 minutes of a longer conversation. The full conversation is available on the Human Nature Odyssey Patreon. === 28 years after the Rage Virus spread across the UK, the British Isles have been completely quarantined from the rest of the world. Zombies roam the forests and countryside while the survivors huntwith bows and arrows and make do in their fortified village. But for 12-year-old Spike, this is all normal. 28 Years Later is director Danny Boyle's sequel to the classic

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56:22

18 - Time Machine 2126 (Part 2): Techno-Utopia Or...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/12/18

Picture the future 100 years from now. What do you imagine? Flying cars? Space colonies? AI talking toasters? But if we can't sustain an endlessly growing economy - even with a transition to green energy - what does a realistic and positive future look like? Alex joins the hosts of Crazy Town to imagine life in the 22nd century: walking from our family farms into communal villages, living off the land in a low-energy lifestyle, taming our pet donkeys, and resisting our local warlords. It's not the

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38:26

17 - Time Machine 2126 (Part 1): Has Green Energy...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/12/04

What does a livable future look like 100 years from now? If we unlocked unlimited green energy, what would we actually do with it? And are our dreams of a renewable-energy utopia sometimes just as delusional as the fossil-fueled drill baby drill mentality? In this two-part series, Alex is joined by the hosts of Crazy Town—Jason Bradford, Rob Dietz, and Asher Miller—a research biologist, ecological economist, and Executive Director of the Post Carbon Institute, who bring a depth of knowledge as well

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31:00

Starting a Cosmic Commune: Inside Spaceship Earth and...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/11/20

This is the first 30 minutes of a longer conversation. The full conversation is available on the Human Nature Odyssey Patreon. === In 1991, a group of artists, inventors, and visionaries set out to live inside a sealed desert enclosure for two years—a bold experiment to see if humans could survive in a self-contained environment. The project made headlines, sparked controversy, and became a cultural sensation. Spaceship Earth is the riveting documentary that tells the nuanced story of the people

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43:22

16 - How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/10/30

A horrific zombie apocalypse has ravaged the world—but hardly anyone seems to notice. One lone podcast sets out to interview those navigating this strange new reality: from people attending mindful zombie retreats and binging zombie media, to those stockpiling shotguns and fortifying bunkers, to others disappearing into the woods to build something entirely new. CREDITS This is an original script written by Alex Leff VOICE ACTING CREDITS Jason Bradford Rob Dietz Jake Gibson Maia Kinney-Petrucha

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35:02

Andor, Star Wars, Rebellion, and the Reality of Our...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/10/16

This is the first 30 minutes of a longer conversation. The full conversation is available on the Human Nature Odyssey Patreon. === A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was an old Republic that, out of fear of a phantom menace, voted to consolidate authoritarian power—unknowingly sealing its own demise. It transformed into an Empire, bent on wielding its weapons of mass destruction to conquer all who dared resist. But don’t worry—this is just a story. It has nothing to do with us. After

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54:20

15 - Are Hunter-Gatherers Liberals or Conservatives?

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/09/25

Were hunter-gatherers the ultimate traditionalists—or proto-communists? Is it possible hunter-gatherers lived with greater equality and more political freedom than most societies today? And why do both communism and capitalism, despite being sworn enemies, rest on the same assumption of endless growth? Psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that humans are wired with both liberal and conservative tendencies—and that societies function best when those forces stay in balance. Where can we find the

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31:56

And On The Eighth Day God Created AI

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/09/11

This is the first 30 minutes of a longer conversation. The full conversation is available on the Human Nature Odyssey Patreon. === Jake Marquez and Maren Morgan are fellow podcasters, filmmakers, and new friends. Starting today, the three of us are joining forces to create monthly bonus episodes where we’ll seek to better understanding this self-destructive civilizational 10,000 year predicament we find ourselves in. In this episode we discuss artificial intelligence. We found that despite all our

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01:12:16

Sex at Dawn, Civilized to Death, and Tangentially...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/08/28

Christopher Ryan joins the odyssey to discuss human nature - shouldn’t be surprising - it’s in the name! What’s universal, what’s cultural, and what’s personal? Can we really change the culture we live in? And are some societies better suited to human well-being than others? Christopher Ryan is the New York Times bestselling author of Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships as well as the book Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress. He also hosts the

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01:02:30

14 - The King Is Dead, Now What? The 250-Year...

Human Nature Odyssey ·

2025/07/24

Breaking news: The Soviet Union has collapsed! The Berlin Wall has crumbled! Communism has fallen! Capitalism wins! USA! USA! But wait… what’s this? Russia has been overtaken by oligarchs and an authoritarian dictator. Oh no… Well, at least that could never happen in the United States. Right? This is the climactic Part Three of our three-part series on the history of the left/right political spectrum. After the youth protests of the 1960s failed to topple governments, left-wing radicalism shifted

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