Breaking Down: Collapse

This week we interview David Skrbina, an author and professor who writes about his anti-technology philosphy. David has written a book with Ted Kazynski (the Unabomber) who holds a similar philosophy. In the interview, we discuss David's philosophy, his vision for the future, as well as his book with Ted Kazynski. You can find his books here: Confronting Technology , Metaphysics of Technology...

Climate change deniers often ask "How can you possibly know what happened 10,000 years ago?". Paleoclimatology is a fascinating field of study that gives us insights into the past, in order to help us model the future. https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/proxies/paleoclimate.html#:~:text=Paleoclimatology%20is%20the%20study%20of,serve%20as%20useful%20climate%20proxies . https://w...

"The collapse of education is the collapse of the nation" - maybe Nelson Mandela, maybe not. Either way, it's true, and we'll explain it here! Learn more: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/global-education-at-risk-save-the-children-report/ https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/06/lost-generation-education-in-quarter-of-countries-at-risk-of-collapse-stud...

In this second episode on infectious diseases, we discuss the increasing trend in zoonotic diseases, as well as the potential dangers of prion diseases. Learn More: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/06/888077232/u-n-predicts-rise-in-diseases-that-jump-from-animals-to-humans https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/statements/preventing-next-pandemic-zoonotic-diseases-and-h...

You've probably heard a considerable amount of conflicting information when it comes to recycling? What's the truth and what's fiction? Is recycling THE answer, is it all bogus, or is it somewhere in between?  In this episode we try and take a nuanced view of the good and bad when it comes to recycling.  Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join...

Communication is key to building relationships and resilient communities. The world is full of differing opinions, lifestyles, choices, etc. These differences are had within the collapse-aware community as much as outside of it. This episode focuses on ways to communicate effectively with those who have opinions that differ from our own. Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus...

This week we got to speak with Richard Heinberg about his new book "Power".  Richard Heinberg is Senior Fellow of Post Carbon Institute and author of 14 books on energy and the environment, including Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival, The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality, and, with David Fridley, Our Renewable Future. He’s won an award for excellence in en...

An interview with one of our listeners, who has a unique perspective as someone with multiple degrees and experience in permaculture and horticulture, building sustainable communities, "teaching hippies how to shoot guns", and is currently using his combat medic experience on  the frontlines in Ukraine. Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our D...

Everyone knows that we should be making efforts to slow and stop fossil fuel emissions, but not as many are aware of the paradox of global dimming, which is that as we stop emitting fossil fuels temperatures may actually rise as a direct result. Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

We've spent 76 episodes discussing the fact that industrialized society will collapse. Most of these episodes have focused on the idea that collapse will be forced upon us. This episode is meant as a very introductory look into the idea that society could hypothetically choose a less painful collapse through voluntary degrowth. Learn More: https://youtu.be/1-fuJYvJ7Sk https://www.kateraworth....

Every week we release a bonus episode for our Patrons, and every so often we release one on the main podcast. In this episode we discuss the newest info from the IPCC report, and catch up on the Ukraine/Russia war. You can receive these weekly bonus episodes and help support the podcast here . Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Ho...

Continuing our sub-series on coping with collapse, in this episode we talk about a few strategies for confronting fear and anxiety about the future. Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we discuss the ongoing and worsening mental health crisis taking place globally. Learn More: https://www.mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/16/well/mental-health-crisis-america-covid.html https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/mental-health-america-crisis https://www.projecthope.org/the-global-mental-health-crisis-10-number...

Margaret Killjoy joins us on the podcast to dicsuss community and individual preparedness.  Margaret is a transfeminine author, musician, and podcaster living in the Appalachian mountains. She is the author of A Country of Ghosts as well as Danielle Cain series of novellas and is the host of the community and individual preparedness podcast Live Like the World is Dying. Support the show Please joi...

There are two technologies that techno-optimists love to tout as our saviors, that which will save us in the future: Carbon Capture and Geoengineering. While Geoengineering has been covered previously in this podcast, this episode focuses on the current state of carbon capture and why it's not the answer to all our problems. Learn More: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/book-excerpt-the...

Kellan and I were pleased to interview Dr. Joseph Tainter. The conversation revolved around his widely known book "The Collapse of Complex Societies". Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most concerning consequences of the future is mass migration. Mass migration is both a cause and consequence of collapse, creating a positive feedback loop of escalating problems. Support the show Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we had the opportunity to speak with Daniel J Kim, AKA The Pop Mythologist, about the role that pop culture and works of fiction play when it comes to learning about, coping with, and educting on collapse. The Pop Mythologist is the founder and editor of the pop culture blog, PopMythology.com . In his "Hero Wisdom" column he uses pop culture to discuss important real-life issue...

In this second installment of our new Why We're Wrong (or so they say) subseries, we're exploring why they say we're wrong about Climate Change. the conversation is lengthy, so we made it a two-parter! This is part 2, which covers the remainder of the arguments made against climate change.  Please forgive the audio issues with this week (and last week's episode), we had a mic m...

In this second installment of our new Why We're Wrong (or so they say) subseries, we're exploring why they say we're wrong about Climate Change. the conversation is lengthy, so we made it a two-parter! We also discuss at length the new movie "Don't Look Up", and it's relevancy to this conversation! Please forgive the audio issues with this week (and next week&apo...

This year we start an annual tradition of discussing how collapse has played out during the year, as well as discussing predictions for the next year. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/siberia-us-wildfires-broke-emissions-records-this-year-2021-12-06/ https://www.space.com/2021-record-wildfire-season-from-space https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arctic-record-siberia-100-degree-heat-climate-...

This week we were pleased to interview Haven Scott McVarish, who is the founder and director of the non-profit organizations Common Sense Democracy and 5Journeys. He has been a community organizer, a strategist for local political campaigns, a union leader, and the founder of one of the most successful immigration law firms in Los Angeles. He is a former congressional candidate, a frequent progres...

When it comes to greenhouse gasses, C02 typically takes center stage. In this episode we take on the 2nd most prolific greenhouse gas, methane, which is comparatively a much more powerful gas when it comes to global warming. There are many theories that exist regarding the future of methane, and we try to take a balanced look at those here. Learn More: https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-a-new-...

Previously (episode 45), we talked about the weaknesses in global infrastructure from a very high level, with the promise to touch deeper on different aspects of infrastructure later on. In this episode we focus on dams and bridges, two very critical aspects of our physical infrastructure, and each with their own unique battles to fight now and in the coming decades. Learn more: https://www.nature...

This podcast, and the exploration of collapse itself, can be a bit of an echo chamber. In this sub-series we want to take an honest look at the counter-arguments that exist which try to explain why collapse won't happen. In this episode, we take a look at the arguments against resource scarcity.  Learn More: https://interstem.us/2021/07/10/will-the-earth-ever-run-out-of-resources https://www....