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Crazy Town — Earth Sciences
Crazy Town

With equal parts humor and in-depth analysis, Asher, Rob, and Jason safeguard their sanity while probing crazy-making topics like climate change, overshoot, runaway capitalism, and why we’re all deluding ourselves.

Copyright: © 2022 Crazy Town

Latest Episodes:

Shotgunning Hedwig: The Dilemma of Invasives and the Bizarre Decision to Slaughter Barred Owls Dec 18, 2024

The US Fish and Wildlife Service decided to "manage" barred owls by shooting half a million of them over the next three decades. Jason, Rob, and Asher (along with the postal workers at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) are upset about this plan for addressing the predicament of invasive species. Surely there's a finer tool than a double-barreled shotgun for conserving ecosystems and protecting the species that inhabit them.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Bill Lucia, "Plan Finalized to Kill Thousands of Barred Owls around Northwest," Washington State Standard, August 28, 2024.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Final Barred Owl Management Strategy, August 2024.
"Killing barred owls to save northern spotted owls: Rethinking American wildlife conservation," On Point, WBUR, 9/5/2024.
Avram Hiller, Jay Odenbaugh, and Yasha Rohwer, "A Dystopian Effort Is Underway in the Pacific Northwest to Pick Ecological Winners and Losers," New York Times, August 8, 2024.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, "Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program."
Robert Dietz and Brian Czech, "Conservation Deficits for the Continental United States: an Ecosystem Gap Analysis," Conservation Biology, August 16, 2005.
Tom Murphy, "Metastatic Modernity #12: Human Supremacy," Metastatic Modernity Video Series, August 9, 2024.

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Breaking News: Crazy Town Joins the Newly Formed Department of Entropy Nov 27, 2024

Rob, Jason, and Asher talk about joining the new Trump Administration, at least until Elon Musk eradicates it. They explore the implications of Trump 2.0 through three reality-bending lenses – shifting baselines, entropy, and the upside of down – and three ways of responding: resistance, resilience, and regeneration. They decided they couldn’t stomach a fourth R – respect.

We’ve added something new to this and future episodes: VIDEO! If you’d like to feel even more like you’re in the room with the Crazy Town gang, please check out the video and let us know what you think.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Daniel Pauly’s 1995 article, Anecdotes and the Shifting Baseline Syndrome of Fisheries
Randy Olson’s op-ed in the LA Times, Slow-Motion Disaster Below the Waves
Video of Howard Dean’s speech with the infamous “Dean Scream”
NASA’s description of the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy law (Be sure to read it before the incoming US administration repeals the laws of thermodynamics!)
Thomas Homer-Dixon’s book The Upside of Down

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Bonus: Human Nature Odyssey Jul 31, 2024

Sometimes you just wanna hear from someone else. In this bonus episode, Alex Leff enters Crazy Town to introduce his podcast, Human Nature Odyssey. Before playing the first episode of the podcast, Jason, Rob, and Asher find lots of laughs with Alex as they contemplate environmental destruction, gorilla suits, the fate of civilization, tandem bike rides, imaginary games, and how to make a podcast. If you need a little more encouragement to check out Human Nature Odyssey, our friend Tom Murphy (author of the Do the Math blog) gives it his highest recommendation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Human Nature Odyssey on Apple Podcasts
The work and philosophy of Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Alex Leff’s Patreon page for Human Nature Odyssey

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Escaping Escapism: What a Bizarre Rodent Ritual Can Teach Us About Navigating a World We Can't Really Escape Jun 19, 2024

After a full season of trying to escape more than a dozen evil -isms (fun things like capitalism, industrialism, extremism, and otherism), Rob, Jason, and Asher come to one conclusion: there is no true escape -- at least not for those of us who want to help their communities collapse and re-emerge gracefully. Join the boys as they explore what the cult classic Groundhog Day has to teach us about navigating the endlessly insane world of modernity and reflect on key lessons and actionable steps we can all take to navigate the Great Unraveling of environmental and social systems.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Trailer for the cult classic Groundhog Day
Article: "Harold Ramis didn't intend 'Groundhog Day' to be Buddhist, but it's a dharma classic" by Perry Garfinkel in Lion's Roar
Article: "Was Modernity Inevitable?" by Tom Murphy in Do the Math
Article: "Hospicing Modernity: Not a new idea" by Eliza Daley in Resilience
Article: "Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System" by Donella Meadows, published by the Donella Meadows Project
Multisolving Institute
Book: A Darwinian Survival Guide: Hope for the Twenty-First Century by Daniel R. Brooks and Salvatore J. Agosta, published by MIT Press

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Escaping Otherism: Why Dr. Seuss Could Never Find a Rhyme for Genocide Jun 12, 2024

The drive to belong to an in-group and the tendency to observe differences in others are core parts of the human condition. But differentiating can (and often does) turn deadly when it morphs into othering. Jason, Rob, and Asher try not to other one another as they explore the roots and consequences of othering, and the ins and outs of belonging as a key organizing principle of society.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Wes Tank rapping Fox in Socks
The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss
Definition of othering from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Stereotype Content Model
Susceptibility to othering
Othering and Belonging Institute
Book by john a. powell and Stephen Menendian - Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World
Crazy Town episode 51 on colonization and the mindset of extraction
Seeing White podcast
Racial Equity Institute
Colonial roots and other drivers of genocide in Rwanda
Trump’s reprehensible remarks about immigrants and about liberals
The dystopian, othering politics of Balaji Srinivasan (article by Gil Duran in The New Republic)
Christian Picciolini’s Ted Talk about how he stopped othering and helps more people do the same
Marnita’s Table
Needham Resilience Network

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Escaping Extremism: Slap Fighting Our Way to a More Civil Society Jun 05, 2024

The forces of media, technology, and even the wiring of our own brains seem aligned to draw people toward extremism. But never fear: Asher, Jason, and Rob unpack why we're so susceptible to wackadoodle viewpoints and offer ways to tamp down extremist thinking and behavior in ourselves, our communities, and across society. Along the way, they tour the worlds of extreme sports, extreme politics, and extreme yogurt. They even question their own decidedly non-mainstream views on the environment and the economy.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Kevin Roose’s article in the New York Times “A QAnon ‘Digital Soldier’ Marches On, Undeterred by Theory’s Unraveling”Definition of extremism from the Anti-Defamation League
Concepts of “malignant bonding” and “scarcity mind” in the article “Widening the ‘We’” by Colin Greer and Eric Laursen
Zeynep Tufecki’s 2018 article in the New York Times “YouTube, the Great Radicalizer”
Kari Paul’s 2021 article in the Guardian “‘It let white supremacists organize’: the toxic legacy of Facebook’s Groups”
Peter D. Kvam et al., “Rational inference strategies and the genesis of polarization and extremism,” Nature, May 5, 2022.
Statistics on rising levels of hate crime in the United States
Statistics on domestic terrorism in the United States
Statistics on antisemitism around the world
Crazy Town episode 78, which includes the six questions Megan Phelps-Roper developed to challenge her entrenched beliefs.
Rapoport’s Rules for constructive criticism
Post Carbon Institute’s Deep Dive on Building Emotional Resilience
Diane Benscoter’s nonprofit, Antidote.ngo, which runs recovery groups for people caught up in disinformation.
Thought reform consultation
Crazy Town episode 89 on escaping individualism, in which we discussed mutual aid networks
Lawsuit to allow social media users to control their algorithms
Ranked choice voting

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Escaping Humanocentrism: Why a Slime Mold Will Be President in 2028 May 29, 2024

The myth of human dominion and exceptionalism is as old as the Bible and as unquestioned as gravity, at least in "modern" society. Rob, Asher, and Jason explore the ways that humanocentrism has come to dominate the planet and our minds, while pointing to ancient and newly emerging ways that the more-than-human world is respected and protected, even the dung beetle.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Eileen Crist defines (and critiques) anthropocentrism.
Global biomass of wild mammals
Global human-made mass exceeds all living biomass.
Decline of pollinators
Decline of flying insect biomass
Daniel Quinn’s book Ishmael
Human Nature Odyssey podcast with Alex Leff
Tom Murphy’s journey of understanding the pitfalls of human exceptionalism
Two-thirds of the world’s longest rivers have been dammed.
Declining wild bird populations in North America
Ed Yong’s book An Immense World
Yellowstone to Yukon conservation initiative
Restor
Douglas Tallamy’s book Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard
Story of mining permit revocation in Panama
Timeline of expansion of the rights of nature that was compiled by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights
Stop Ecocide International
Crazy Town episode with Danielle Celermajer on multispecies justice
Robin Wall-Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass
Prominence of nature in the Tuvan language
Holding the Fire episode with Anne Poelina
Quote by Kenneth Brink of the Karuk Tribe
Quote by Sammy Gensaw II

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Escaping Individualism: Why Rickey Don't Like It When Rickey Feels Lonely May 22, 2024

The epidemic of loneliness isn't just a product of technology or even capitalism -- it has its roots in the same fertile ground as the founding of the United States. And it may just be the most important "ism" of all to escape as we enter the Great Unraveling of social and environmental systems.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Definition of individualism from the American Psychological Association
Article in Opumo magazine - "Super singles: 10 coolest one seater cars"
U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 report: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation
BBC Loneliness Experiment
Robert Putnam's classic book - Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Country comparison tool for exploring Hofstede's Individualism Index
Part 1 of Post Carbon Institute's webinar on mutual aid; Part 2
Donna M. Butts and Shannon E. Jarrott, "The Power of Proximity: Co-Locating Childcare and Eldercare Programs," Stanford Social Innovation Review, April 2021
Pets for the Elderly
Dean Spade's book - Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)
History of the free breakfast movement of the Black Panther Party
Teju Ravilochan, "The Blackfoot Wisdom that Inspired Maslow's Hierarchy"
City of Knoxville program guide: Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Plan

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Escaping Imperialism: Where Does Darth Vader Get His Lithium? May 15, 2024

Perhaps no community has undergone more versions of imperialism than the tiny island nation of Nauru, which has morphed from being "Pleasant Island" to the mined-out home of offshore banks, discarded refugees, and deep sea mining interests. Jason, Rob, and Asher take a bad trip to wrap their heads around Nauru, the topic of "psychedelic imperialism," and imperialism's new frontier - the clean energy transition.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:

"A Dark History of the World's Smallest Island Nation" tells the tale of Nauru.
S.J. Gale, "Lies and misdemeanours: Nauru, phosphate and global geopolitics," The Extractive Industries and Society, vol 6, July 2019.
FAQs of the Metals Company
Eric Lipton's New York Times article about imperialistic mining of the Pacific Ocean floor.
Mining Watch Canada questions the claims of the Metals Company.
Elham Shabahat's article in Hakai Magazine, "Why Nauru Is Pushing the World Toward Deep-Sea Mining"
Definition of imperialism from the Cornell Law School
J.A. Hobson's book Imperialism: A Study
Jason Hickel et al., "Imperialist appropriation in the world economy: Drain from the global South through unequal exchange, 1990-2015," Global Environmental Change, vol 73, March 2022.
Critique of lithium extraction in the Atacama Desert
Indigenous people's response to lithium mining in Nevada
How the Sami people are protesting Sweden's "green transformation"
Episode 3 of the Holding the Fire podcast, featuring Sami leader Aslak Holmberg
Cobus van Staden on "Green Energy's Dirty Secret: Its Hunger for African Resources"
Jim Robbins in Yale Environment 360 on "How Returning Lands to Native Tribes Is Helping Protect Nature"
"Indigenous Land Return Announcement by Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and Movement Generation!" -- article by Ines Ixierda
"

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Escaping Capitalism: How to Replace the "Logic" of Psychopaths, Pharma Bros, and Private Prisons May 08, 2024

Capitalism ruins SO many things, from key sectors like college sports all the way down to novelties like people's health and the environment. Jason, Rob, and Asher rely on their keen insight and otherworldly investigative talents to somehow unearth a few flaws of capitalism. But rather than wallow in the world of profiteering and privatization, they explore the solidarity economy and other alternatives to the "greed is good" way of running things.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Wikipedia page “Nike and the University of Oregon”
Joshua Hunt book: University of Nike: How Corporate Cash Bought American Higher Education.
Erik Olin Wright, How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century, Verso 2019.
Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty First Century, Harvard University Press 2014.
Robert Heilbroner, The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers.
Jeffrey Sachs, “Twentieth-Century Political Economy: A Brief History of Global Capitalism,” Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Vol. 15, No. 4.
Summary of End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act
David Bollier, The Commoner’s Catalog for Changemaking
Lobbying to defeat bills that prohibit private prisons
More lobbying in support of private prisons
Incredible drug price increase after hedge fund manager acquires it
Annual report of Weaver Street Market
Donnie Maclurcan's explanation of not-for-profit enterprises
Ranking of the world's happiest countries
Boston Ujima Project
Alfie Kohn, No Contest: The Case Against Competition, Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
B Corps and B Lab
Definition of the solidarity economy from the New Economy Coalition

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Escaping Growthism: Wendigo Economics, Mystery Houses, and Becoming the Bear May 01, 2024

Grow or die. It's the governing principle of companies, investment portfolios, national economies, and even philanthropic foundations. Oh, and cancer. Asher, Jason, and Rob lay bare the stats on everything from human population, energy consumption, global GDP, greenhouse gas emissions, and the size of cars and cruise ships, before concluding that the global economy should be named after the Wendigo from Algonquian folklore. They turn to the natural world for examples of self-regulation, along with promising new economic frameworks and on-the-ground models, for how to end Wendigo economics before it ends us.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Timeline of Sarah Winchester's story
Timeline of the largest passenger boats
Parks and Rec clip on soda sizes
Kaitlin Smith, "More Than Monsters: The Deeper Significance of Wendigo Stories"
Winona LaDuke discusses Wendigo economics in a Yes! Magazine online conversation.
Hannah and Kevin Salwen, The Power of Half: One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back
CBS news story about a family giving away half their income
SparkToro, an unusual tech company that doesn't believe bigger is better
Report: Resilient Biocultural Heritage Landscapes for Sustainable Mountain Development, which contains information about Peru's Potato Park
Krystyna Swiderska, "Here's why Indigenous economics is the key to saving nature"
Al Bartlett lecturing on exponential growth

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Escaping Globalism: Rebuilding the Local Economy One Pig Thyroid at a Time Apr 24, 2024

From the top of a skyscraper in Dubai, Jason, Rob, and Asher chug margaritas made from the purest Greenland glacier ice as they cover the "merits" of globalism. International trade brings so many things, like murder hornets, piles of plastic tchotchkes, and deadly supply chain disruptions. The opposite of globalism is localism -- learn how to build a secure local economy that can keep Asher alive, hopefully at least through the end of the season.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Guardian article about shipping Greenland glacier ice to Dubai
Wired article that tells the story of the Ever Given and all the supply chain problems that ensued
The Observatory of Economic Complexity compiles statistics on global economic activity with interesting graphics, including this profile of China's trade.
Michael Carolan's book Cheaponomics: The High Cost of Low Prices, and his follow-up book The Real Cost of Cheap Food
Vasilis Kostakis's article on cosmolocalism
Vicki Robin's book Blessing the Hands that Feed Us
Website for Fibershed
Molly Scott Cato's book The Bioregional Economy: Land, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

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Escaping Technologyism: Dreams of AI Sheep and the Deadliest Word in Film History Apr 17, 2024

Modern humans have a Stockholm Syndrome relationship to technology, which has kidnapped us while convincing us it has our best interests in mind. But when one looks back at the history of plastics or the current frenzy around AI, it isn't hard to see the insanity of doubling down on new technology to save us from previous technology. Find out what a person or society can actually do to develop a healthy, non-abusive relationship with technology, aside from joining an Amish community or going "full Kaczynski."
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Moriah McDonald reports on the big underestimates of Greenland ice loss in Inside Climate News.
Typical article about how AI can solve climate change
Another such article about the "magic" of AI
And another -- sheesh (no wonder Jason was so upset)!
Report on the future of petrochemicals from the International Energy Agency
Kelly Oakes of the BBC asks, "What would happen if we stopped using plastic?"
Website of The Ocean Cleanup
Low Tech Magazine
Low Technology Institute's 10-Mile Building Challenge
Sulan Chen writes for UNDP, "A global treaty to end plastic pollution is in sight."
BBC reporting on the EU's efforts to regulate AI

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Escaping Speedism: How to Slow Down and Enjoy the Collapse Apr 10, 2024

Consult your inner tortoise to find novel ways of slowing down and living the good life. In a world haunted by just-in-time delivery, hyperactive business, accelerating environmental calamities, and metric tons of stress, Jason, Rob, and Asher work at a fast and furious pace to savor the moments, because there aren't many left.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Top 10 most unrealistic car crashes in movies
Clip from the movie The Blues Brothers
Clip from the movie Speed
Clip from the movie Live Free or Die Hard
Clip from the movie Furious 7
Definition of high frequency trading
Graphical representation of the Great Acceleration
Interview with Hartmut Rosa
Bart Zantvoort's article about Harmut Rosa's work
Article about social acceleration by Bettina Hollstein and Hartmut Rosa in the Journal of Business Ethics
Podcast episode about shrinking attention spans (episode 225 of Speaking of Psychology)
Article about technology and perception of time by Fiona MacDonald in ScienceAlert

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Escaping Urbanism: Green Acres, Climate Migration, and the End of the Megacity Apr 03, 2024

Did a whimsical 1960s TV sitcom presage climate migration and a reversal of urban growth? We're not calling for a Godzilla-esque teardown of cities, but climate change is forcing a serious urban rethink. Jason, Rob, and Asher offer visions of better infrastructure, policies, and culture that you can embrace, even if your home is in the city.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Wikipedia page for Paul Henning, creative force behind the spate of 1960s rural sitcoms.
The Rural Climate Dialogues: A Community-Driven Roadmap for Climate Action in Rural Minnesota is a report by Tara Ritter with good summary statistics on the rural U.S.
“Total and urban population” in UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2023.
United Nations prediction about urban migration.
“Out-of-Towners Head to ‘Climate-Proof Duluth,’” article by Debra Kamin in the New York Times.
“Indonesia Is Moving its Capital to a Futuristic, Green City,” article by Katherine McLaughlin in Architectural Digest.
Anthropogenic mass – the weight of everything humanity has built, statistics from the World Economic Forum..
Analysis of transportation-related energy consumption and urban density, published in “U.S. Cities Factsheet” from the University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems.
The 15-Minute City
Retrosuburbia: The Downshifter’s Guide to a Resilient Future, book by David Holmgren.
Global Ecovillage Network
Daily Acts
StoveTeam International
One Planet Council

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Escaping Consumerism: Why Crocheted Codpieces Are the Perfect Antidote to Fast Fashion Mar 27, 2024

If American consumers ever come up for air under the pile of crap in their storage units, they find themselves face to face with a materialistic hellscape of megastores, McMansions, endless fleets of delivery trucks, and evil hordes of targeted ads. But help is on the way. Jason, Rob, and Asher present ideas for shaping up a world beyond consumerism.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

The original (and both catchy and annoying) Toys “R” Us theme song
The melancholy remake of the theme song for a bankrupt Toys “R” Us, performed by Chase Holfelder
U.S. Material Use Factsheet
United Nations statistics on material footprint
Self storage industry trends
The environmental costs of fast fashion
Story by Beth Porter, “What Really Happens to Unwanted Clothes?”
Forbes list of billionaires
George Carlin’s classic comedic bit about “stuff”
Sandra Goldmark’s book Fixation: How to Have Stuff without Breaking the Planet

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Escaping Industrialism: How to Avoid Pancakes on a Stick and Other "Miracles" of the Industrial Age Mar 20, 2024

Jason, Rob, and Asher take a tour of New Caledonia, California's Central Valley, Bhutan, and Cuba to uncover the ins and outs of industrialism, especially as it has been applied to agriculture. Along the way they riff on how the hell we can escape from an -ism that completely engulfs us.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Tom Murphy “does the math” on declining wild mammal mass.
Understanding the primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors of the economy.
USDA graphic and statistics on the scale of family farms.
Our World in Data: “Farm Size and Productivity”.
Video clip from Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.
Hossain, S., Jami, A.T. (2023). “Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainable Development and Governance in South Asia: Case Study of Bhutan.” In: Wu, HH., Liu, WY., Huang, M.C. (eds) Moving Toward Net-Zero Carbon Society. Springer Climate.
Arch Ritter, “Can Cuba Recover from its De-Industrialization?”.
Julia Wright, “The Little-Studied Success Story of Post-Crisis Food Security in Cuba: Does Lack of International Interest Signify Lack of Political Will?” International Journal of Cuban Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, 2012, pp. 130–53.

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Escape Routes: Let's Get the F**k out of Crazy Town Mar 13, 2024

Escape Routes! That's the theme of the sixth season of Crazy Town. We're exploring how to escape industrialism, consumerism, globalism, capitalism, and all the other -isms that are causing a polycrisis of environmental and social breakdown. Most of all, Jason, Rob, and Asher are looking to maintain their sense of humor while escaping fatalism and finding meaningful ways to avoid collapse.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

Sources/Links/Notes:

Wikipedia article on China’s Mango Cult
France’s Dancing Plague of 1518
Geoffrey Cohen, Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides, W. W. Norton, 2022
Asch line experiment
Bystander Intervention Tip Sheet
Summary of Marvin Harris’s work on cultural materialism
Research that extends Asch’s conformity experiments and highlights the personality trait of openness as a key to resisting the behavior of conforming.
Big Five Personality Assessment
Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley

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Crazy Town Season 6 Trailer Mar 06, 2024

Join us on March 13, 2024 for the launch of our sixth season, in which Jason, Rob, and Asher explore escape routes from industrialism, capitalism, consumerism, and a bunch of other "-isms" that are causing the polycrisis of environmental and social breakdown.

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Bonus: Grief and Making Connections with LaUra Schmidt Feb 15, 2024

LaUra Schmidt visits Crazy Town to discuss her work with the Good Grief Network and her book, How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet. Along the way, she shares wisdom and insights on courage, taking meaningful action, terror management theory, and practices for processing the strong emotions that accompany facing climate change and other aspects of the polycrisis.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:

LaUra's book, How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet
The Good Grief Network's 10 Step Program
LaUra mentioned Bayo Akomolafe and his work on "questioning our questions."
Joanna Macy and The Work That Reconnects
Video of Dr. Andrew Weil's 4-7-8 breathing technique
David Graeber's book Bullshit Jobs
Crazy Town episode 34, "Fear of Death and Climate Denial, or... the Story of Wolverine and the Screaming Mole of Doom"
Fiftieth anniversary book review in the New York Times: Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death
Ayisha Siddiqa's poem "On Another Panel about Climate, They Ask Me to Sell the Future and All I've Got Is a Love Poem"

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Bonus: New Year's Dissolutions Jan 17, 2024

Asher, Jason, and Rob reflect on 2023 – a year filled to the brim with Crazy Townisms like the COP climate conference being held in Dubai, an anti-aging nutbag who parasitizes his own son, and the hijinks of the world’s dumbest billionaires. After a few predictions (all with money-back guarantees), they turn to some personal resolutions that might even help you cope with what’s coming in 2024.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
References:

183 regional and local conflicts around the world
Zuckerberg’s tragically misguided Hawaiian bunker
Anti-aging nutter
When do we get to use the guns?
The 10-step program of the Good Grief Network

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Bonus: Vanilla Andreessen, Pygmy Marmosets, and Hi-Tech Delusions Dec 13, 2023

The most vomit-inducing document of 2023 has to be the "Techno-Optimist Manifesto," written (oh so obviously) by a billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Join Jason, Rob, and Asher if you feel like sharing in some outrage and learning about a WAY better manifesto that just so happens to focus on the world's smallest monkeys.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
References:

Marc Andreessen's horrifying "Techno-Optimist Manifesto"
Peer-reviewed paper featuring Jason's far superior "Dehumanist Manifesto"
Description of the pygmy marmoset
The idea of Beth Sawin's Multisolving Institute
The dark triad -- narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy
The original paper on the taxonomy of Phalse Prophets
Article by Richard Heinberg about free will.

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Bonus: Bundyville and Stories that Need to Be Told with Leah Sottile Nov 15, 2023

Investigative journalist Leah Sottile writes articles teeming with insights, and she produces and hosts podcasts filled with ah-ha moments. Rob tries not to sound like too much of a fanboy as he interviews Leah about political extremism, environmentalism, and the craft of storytelling during the Great Unraveling.
Resources:

Leah's website
Leah's Substack page, titled "The Truth Does not Change According to Our Ability to Stomach It"
Article in The High Country News "The 90-foot sentinel of Butte, Montana"
Bundyville: The Remnant, a must-listen podcast about the patriot movement and right-wing extremism
Burn Wild, another must-listen podcast about the Earth Liberation Front and left-wing extremism

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Bonus Riff: Infinite, Unlimited, Forever - Water in the Desert Oct 19, 2023

Just how much has the extractivist growth mindset come to dominate Phoenix and other cities in the desert Southwest of the United States? Prepare to turn your indignation meter up to 11 as Jason, Rob, and Asher consider desalination, pipelines, and the folly of pursuing infinite growth in a dry climate.

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Bonus: Holding the Fire - Indigenous Voices on the Great Unraveling Oct 16, 2023

We are pleased to share the new podcast from Post Carbon Institute, Holding the Fire. Award-winning journalist and author Dahr Jamail hosts in-depth interviews with leaders from around the world to uncover Indigenous ways of reckoning with environmental and societal breakdown.

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Bonus: Going Wild with Rae Wynn-Grant Sep 20, 2023

Wildlife ecologist and communicator extraordinaire Rae Wynn-Grant visits Crazy Town to talk human-wildlife interactions, the social side of environmentalism, diversity and equity in the sciences, and ideas for young people (don't worry if you're older—the ideas apply to you, too). Rae is the host of the PBS Nature podcast "Going Wild" and will soon be appearing as the cohost of Wild Kingdom, a reboot of the ultra-classic tv nature show. Listen to the end of the episode to catch Rae’s thoughts on the most important stories people need to hear (and tell) to make a transition to sustainable and just society.

Notes and Resources:

Rae’s website
The podcast: Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
Rae discussed how Ayana Elizabeth Johnson influenced her.
Rae also highlighted the work of Leah Thomas on intersectional environmentalism.
Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program
National Geographic HBCU Media Scholarship
Article about the reboot of the Wild Kingdom television series

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Bonus: Bagdhad Bob Visits Climate Town Aug 30, 2023

What do Saddam Hussein’s information minister and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board have in common? Hint: it starts with a “d,” ends with “enial,” and isn’t just a river in Egypt. A new and virulent strain of climate denial could be called “doomer shaming.” Instead of acknowledging how logical it is to be distressed about the state of the climate (and the pitiful worldwide political response), delusional boosters of the status quo would rather belittle people who worry about rising temperatures, wildfires, super-storms, and ecosystem breakdown. Jason, Rob, Asher, and Melody consider how to manage climate anxiety and use it in service of caring for planet Earth.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
References:

Video of Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahhaf, aka Baghdad Bob
Allysia Finley wrote this Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “Climate Change Obsession Is a Real Mental Disorder”
Nature article dismissed by Finley
Lancet article dismissed by Finley
Rebuttal written by PCI Advisor Leslie Davenport and published in the Wall Street Journal
Rebecca Solnit’s article in The Guardian, “We Can’t Afford to Be Climate Doomers.”
Survey on climate distress by the Yale Program on Climate Communication
Gen Dread newsletter on climate distress
Climate Psychology Alliance
Good Grief Network

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Bonus: Choose Your Own Adventure in the Great Unraveling Aug 09, 2023

After hearing a story of woe on the streets of Portland, Oregon, Jason, Rob, and Asher cover the four critical ways of cultivating personal resilience to navigate the Great Unraveling. The report we reference several times is Welcome to the Great Unraveling: Navigating the Polycrisis of Environmental and Social Breakdown.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

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The Surest Paths to a Hard Collapse: The Delusional Doctrines of the Phalse Prophethood (Season Wrap-up) Jun 21, 2023

Asher, Rob, and Jason explore the lessons and dangers of the brotherhood of Phalse Prophets and consider better ways to achieve a sustainable and equitable society. Along the way, they examine how to start a cult, turn the insufferability index on themselves, respond to listener feedback, and repeatedly mispronounce amygdala. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.

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The Elon Musk Episode about Elon Musk Brought to You by Elon Musk Jun 14, 2023

Meet Elon Musk, the Muskian mogul who Elon Musks his way to the pinnacle of Muskitude. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Prepare to be wowed by the Musk Foundation website.
Luc Olinga, "Errol Musk, Elon's Dad, Prompts a New Controversy," TheStreet (2022).
Musk's attack on Jane Goodall
Cade Metz and Neal E. Boudette, "Inside Tesla as Elon Musk Pushed an Unflinching Vision for Self-Driving Cars," The New York Times (2021).
Andrew J. Hawkins and Umar Shakir, "Elon Musk unveils a new Master Plan, a path to sustainable energy future, but no new cars," The Verge (2023).
Adam Kovacs and Adam Westbrook, "Elon Musk Has Some bad Ideas for Mass Transit. We Have Solutions," The New York Times (2022).
Adam Something, "Elon Musk’s Loop is a Bizarrely Stupid Idea," YouTube (2021).
Ted Mann and Julie Bykowicz, "Elon Musk’s Boring Company Ghosts Cities Across America," The Wall Street Journal (2022).
Nikki McCann Ramirez, "Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Theory Trends on Twitter After Elon Musk Pushes It," Rolling Stone (2022).
Ted McCormick, "The billionaire space race reflects a colonial mindset that fails to imagine a different world," The Conversation (2021).
Marina Koren, "The War in Ukraine is Testing the Myth of Elon Musk," The Atlantic (2022).
Radhika Viswanathan, "Elon Musk’s plan to bring a mini-submarine to rescue the Thai boys," Vox (2018).
A podcast episode from Backpacker that describes the amazing Thai cave rescue
Zoe Schiffer and Casey Newton, "Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first," Platformer (2023)
Emile P. Torres, "How Elon Musk sees the future: His bizarre sci-fi vision should con

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How to Fast-Track Collapse: Manipulating the Masses While Massaging Megalomaniacs Jun 07, 2023

Meet Steve Bannon, the Molotov mixologist who wants to light the world on fire. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Video: Mutual Aid in the Great Unraveling, Part 1 with Daniel P Aldrich, Amira Odeh, and Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute, November 2022.
Video: Mutual Aid in the Great Unraveling, Part 2 with Dean Spade, Joanna Swan, and Aliza Tuttle, Post Carbon Institute, November 2022.
Dean Spade, "Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)," Verso Books, October 2020.
"Democracy Rising" essay series on deliberative democracy
Global Tapestry of Alternatives
Eliana Johnson and Eli Stokols, "What Steve Bannon Wants You to Read," Politico, February 7, 2017.
Lisa Marshall, "Inside Steve Bannon's 'War for Eternity'," CU Boulder Today, April 22, 2020.
Joshua Green, "Inside the Secret, Strange Origins of Steve Bannon’s Nationalist Fantasia," Vanity Fair, July 17, 2017.
David Breitenbeck, "A Brief Summary of Traditionalism," The Imaginative Conservative, March 21, 2019.
Generation Zero, Bannon's poorly reviewed documentary
Guo Wengui's video for his song, "Take Down the CCP," -- the third best comedy yacht video of all time.
Douglas Rushkoff, "How to Avoid Becoming a Fascist: Why I turned down an appearance on Steve Bannon's podcast," Medium, October 21, 2021.
Olivia Goldhill, "The neo-fascist philosophy that underpins both the alt-right and Silicon Valley technophiles," Quartz, June 18, 2017.
Philip Rucker and Robert Costa, "Bannon vows a daily fight for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’," The Washington Post, February 23, 2017.

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How to Lose Friends and Demoralize People: The Science (sic!) of Near-Term Extinction May 31, 2023

Meet Guy McPherson, the extinction enthusiast who undermines legitimate climate concerns by predicting we’re all going to die yesterday. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Guy McPherson, "Near-Term Extinction blog post," Nature Bats Last (last updated 2016).
Scott Johnson, "How Guy McPherson gets it wrong," Fractal Planet, 2014.
Michael Tobis, "McPherson’s Evidence That Doom Doom Doom," Planet 3.0, 2014.
Nathan Curry, "Humanity Is Getting Verrrrrrry Close to Extinction," Vice, 2013.
BizNewsTV, "'Humans will be extinct by 2026' - 'doom and gloom prophet' Prof McPherson on abrupt climate change," January 19, 2023.
Shannon Osaka, "Why climate 'doomers' are replacing climate 'deniers',” Washington Post, March 24, 2023.
Jerome Roos, "We Don’t Know What Will Happen Next," New York Times, April 18, 2023.
List of McPherson predictions

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Prepping for the Apocalypse: Elites' Foolish Fantasies for Surviving a Collapse of Their Own Creation May 24, 2023

Meet Barrett Moore, the bunker-building bullshit artist who helps capitalists survive the apocalypse with beans, bullets, and bravado. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

History of the Kelly Butte Civil Defense Center
Article on Kelly Butte in the Atlas Obscura
A Day Called X -- video of a dramatized atomic evacuation of Portland, Oregon
Donald Fagen's "New Frontier"
Sam Biddle, "The Rise and Fall of the Ultimate Doomsday Prepper," The Intercept, July 5, 2021.
"Three Robots: Exit Strategies" -- episode 1 of season 3 of the Netflix series Love, Death & Robots.
National Geographic produced the popular video series Doomsday Preppers.
Molly Redden, "The American Elite Are Planning Their Escape — And It Starts With Paying For Passports," Huffington Post, March 19, 2023.
John Ramey, "New statistics on modern prepper demographics from FEMA and Cornell," theprepared.com August 4, 2021.
Bradley Garrett, "Living with bunker builders: doomsday prepping in the age of coronavirus,"The Conversation, May 14, 2020.
Interview about Bradley Garrett's study of prepping
J. Oliver Conroy, "We mocked preppers and survivalists – until the pandemic hit," The Guardian, April 30, 2020.
Walter Karp, "When Bunkers Last in the Backyard Bloom-d," American Heritage, February/March 1980.
Red Cross’s Preparedness Checklist
FEMA’s 12 Ways to Prepare
Tom Prugh, "Democracy Rising 1 Introduction: Idiots R Us," Resilience, October 27, 2021.
Jana Reiss, "For today’s Latter-day Saints, it’s food storage light," The Salt Lake Tribune, January 27, 2023.

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Announcement: 2023 Crazy Town Hall May 18, 2023

How would you like to hang out with Asher, Rob, and Jason (well, virtually anyway)? Your chance is coming up at the fourth annual Crazy Town Hall. The town hall is our most fun event of the year, where you can ask questions, play games, get insider information on the podcast, and share plenty of laughs. It’s a special online event for the most dedicated Crazy Townies out there, and it’s coming up on June 6, 2023, from 10 to 11:15 AM U.S. Pacific time.

To get an invitation, make a donation of any size. Go to https://www.postcarbon.org/supportcrazytown/. When you make a donation, we’ll email you an exclusive link to join the Crazy Town Hall. If you're already a donor, we'll be sure to send you the invitation as well.

If we get enough donations, maybe we can hire some decent hosts! Join us at the town hall on June 6th, 2023. Again to get your invitation, go to https://www.postcarbon.org/supportcrazytown/.

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How Longtermism Became the Most Dangerous Philosophy You’ve Never Heard of May 17, 2023

Meet William MacAskill, the puerile professor who helps crypto capitalists justify sociopathy today for a universe of transhuman colonization tomorrow. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Andrew Anthony, "William MacAskill: 'There are 80 trillion people yet to come. They need us to start protecting them'," The Guardian, August 21, 2022.
Guiding Principles of the Centre for Effective Altruism
Peter Singer, "Famine, Affluence and Morality," givingwhatwecan.org.
Sarah Pessin, "Political Spiral Logics," sarahpessin.com.
Eliezer Yudkowsky, "Pausing AI Developments Isn't Enough. We Need to Shut it All Down," Time, March 29, 2023.
Emile Torres explains the acronym TESCREAL in a Twitter thread.
Benjamin Todd and William MacAskill, "Is it ever OK to take a harmful job in order to do more good? An in-depth analysis," 80,000 Hours, March 26, 2023.
William MacAskill, "The Case for Longtermism," The New York Times, August 5,2022.
Emile P. Torres, "Understanding “longertermism”: Why this suddenly influential philosophy is so toxic," Salon, August 20, 2022.
Nick Bostrom, "Existential Risks," Journal of Evolution and Technology (2002).
Nick Bostrom, "Astronomical Waste: The Opportunity Cost of Delayed Technological Development," Utilitas (2003).
Emile P. Torres, "How Elon Musk sees the future: His bizarre sci-fi visions should concern us all," Salon, July 17, 2022.

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Sucking CO2 and Electrifying Everything: The Climate Movement's Desperate Dependence on Tenuous Technologies May 10, 2023

Meet Mark Jacobson and David Keith, the leading techno-fixologists who overpromise overhyped “solutions” to the climate conundrum. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

The Solutions Project
Carbon Engineering
David W. Keith et al., "A Process for Capturing CO2 from the Atmosphere," Joule, August 15, 2018.
Christopher T. M. Clack et al., "Evaluation of a proposal for reliable low-cost grid power with 100% wind, water, and solar," PNAS, June 19, 2017.
Natanael Bolson, P. Prieto, and T. Patzek, "Capacity factors for electrical power generation from renewable and nonrenewable sources," PNAS, December 20, 2022.
Simon Michaux's website
Richard Heinberg, "Can Civilization Survive? These Studies Might Tell Us," Resilience, December 19, 2022.
Average household electricity consumption
David Fridley and Richard Heinberg, "Can Climate Change Be Stopped by Turning Air Into Gasoline?," Renewable Energy World, June 19, 2018.
Mark Jacobson on Late Night with David Letterman
James R. Martin, "Energy Transition & the Luxury Economy," Resilience, October 31, 2022.
Yamina Saheb, Kai Kuhnhenn, and Juliane Schumacher, "It’s a Very Western Vision of the World," Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung.
Mark Z. Jacobson et al., "Low-cost solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy insecurity for 145 countries," Energy & Environmental Science (2022).
Nicole Jewell, "Leading Stanford climate scientist builds incredible net zero home, complete with Tesla Powerwall," In Habitat (2017).
Raymond Pierrehumbert, "The trouble with geoengineers 'hacking the planet'," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2017).

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How Ecomodernists Hijacked the Environmental Movement: Technotopian Bullshit and a Raging Case of God Complex. May 03, 2023

Meet Stewart Brand and his band of merry dematerialists, the Silicon Valley salesmen who undermined environmentalism with planet-saving fantasies that reek of technofetishism. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

John Markoff, Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand, 2022.
Anna Wiener, "The Complicated Legacy of Stewart Brand’s 'Whole Earth Catalog'," The New Yorker, November 16, 2018.
Wolf Tivy and Matt Ellison, "'Life Goes On' With Stewart Brand," Palladium, September 14, 2022.
"Ecomodernist Manifesto"
Timothee Parrique, "A response to Paul Krugman: Growth is not as green as you might think," Resilience, February 28, 2023.
Low-Tech Magazine
The Long Now Foundation
Revive & Restore

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Kinder, Gentler Colonialism: Bungling Billionaires and Their Arrogant Adventures in "Saving the World" Apr 26, 2023

Meet Bill Gates, the philandering philanthropist who attempts to remake the world's operating system in his own image. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Bill Gates, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, 2021.
Alan Guebert, "Given What We Don't Know, Why Do We Act Like We Do Know?," Food and Farm File, September 25, 2022.
Gates Foundation, "Bill and Melinda Gates Pledge $10 Billion in Call for Decade of Vaccines," January 2010.
Bill Gates TED Talk, "The next outbreak? We're not ready," 2015.
Erin Banco, Ashleigh Furlong, and Lennart Pfahler, "How Bill Gates and partners used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight," Politico, September 14, 2022.
Anand Giridharadas, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, October 1, 2019.
Timothy A. Wise "Failing Africa’s Farmers: An Impact Assessment of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa," Tufts University, July 2020.
Anmar Frangoul, "Bill Gates on why he'll carry on using private jets and campaigning on climate change," CNBC, February 7, 2023.
Alnoor Ladha and Lynn Murphy, Post Capitalist Philanthropy: Healing Wealth In The Time Of Collapse, October 17, 2022.

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Hot, Flat, and Totally Phucking Wrong: The Perilous Platitudes of a Pulitzer-Prize-Winning Propagandist Apr 19, 2023

Meet Tom Friedman, the mustachioed metaphor maven who thinks we can have our cake and listen to it too. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Thomas Friedman, "Foreign Affairs Big Mac I," The New York Times, December 8, 1996.
Matt Taibbi's critique of Hot, Flat, and Crowded -- "Flathead" Strauss Media, November 21, 2014.
Jason Hickel et al., "Imperialist appropriation in the world economy: Drain from the global South through unequal exchange, 1990–2015," Global Environmental Change, March 2022.
Thomas Friedman, "The Earth Is Full," The New York Times, June 7, 2011.
Thomas Friedman, "Something's Happening Here," The New York Times, October 11, 2011.
Thomas Friedman, "Want to Save the Earth? We Need a Lot More Elon Musks.," The New York Times, November 16, 2021.
Thomas Friedman, "How We Broke the World," The New York Times, May 30, 2020.
Belen Fernandez, The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at Work, November 1, 2011.
Here's the archive of Global Citizen columns by Donella Meadows.
Ian Parker, "The Bright Side: The relentless optimism of Thomas Friedman," The New Yorker, November 2, 2008.
Thomas Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, 1999.
Thomas Friedman The World Is Flat, YouTube video of Yale University Lecture, 2009.
Garrett Graff, "Thomas Friedman is On Top of the World," Washingtonian Magazine, July 1, 2006.

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How Boomer Politicians Found a Third Way to Phuck Over the Working Class Apr 12, 2023

Meet Bill Clinton, who converted the Democratic Party into slightly less loathsome neoliberals. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Lily Geismer wrote an outstanding and comprehensive book, published in 2022, on Clinton and the legacy of neoliberal policies called Left Behind: The Democrats’ Failed Attempt to Solve Inequality.
Lily Geismer, "How the Third Way Made Neoliberal Politics Seem Inevitable," The Nation, December 13, 2022.
Alex Parnee, “The Disastrous Legacy of the New Democrats,” The New Republic, May 16, 2022.
Michael Pierce, “How Bill Clinton Remade the Democratic Party by Abandoning Unions” The Labor and Working-Class History Association, November 23, 2016.

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How to Become the Winningest Winner Who Wins: The Twisted Logic of the World’s Greatest CEO Apr 05, 2023

Meet Jack Welch, celebrated wrecker of real jobs and leading light of Wall Street wankers. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

David Gelles, The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of America—and How to Undo His Legacy(2022).
David Gelles, "How Jack Welch’s Reign at G.E. Gave Us Elon Musk’s Twitter Feed," New York Times (2022).
Malcolm Gladwell, "Was Jack Welch the Greatest C.E.O. of His Day--Or the Worst?," The New Yorker (2022).
Geoff Colvin, "The Ultimate Manager," Fortune (1999).
Matthew J. Belvedere, "Jack Welch says Obama’s ‘wacky’ climate-change agenda hurts the US economy," CNBC (2016).
"Jack Welch Fast Facts," CNN (2020).
Scott Tong, "This is how shareholders got to be first in line for profits," Business Insider (2016).
James B. Stewart, "Did the Jack Welch Model Sow Seeds of G.E.’s Decline?," New York Times (2017).
Jack & Suzy Welch Winning (2005).
Geoff Gloeckler, "Jack Welch Launches Online MBA," Bloomberg Businessweek (2009).
Della Bradshaw, "Jack Welch on the executive MBA he created in his own image," Financial Times (2014).
Jack Welch Management Institute.
Oxfam "Top 1% grab twice as much new wealth as everyone else combined".
Economic Policy Institute “CEO pay has skyrocketed".

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How to Have Sex with Yourself: The Bizarre Cult of the Singularity Mar 29, 2023

Meet Ray Kurzweil, who combines Moore’s Law with nanobots in a faux recipe to cheat death. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

Ray Kurzweil's 2005 book checks in at 672 pages -- it's called The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology.
Kurzweil's sequel from 2022 is called The Singularity Is Nearer.
Brian O'Keefe, "The smartest (or the nuttiest) futurist on Earth," Fortune, May 2, 2007.
David Hochman, "Reinvent Yourself," Playboy, April 19, 2016.
Episode of Doug Henning's World of Magic, 1980.
Society for Cryobiology
Singularity University
Sarah Begley, "The Future of Food: Experts Predict How Our Plates Will Change," Time, October 9, 2014.
Alan Thompson, "Dr Ray Kurzweil: 2022-2023 Updates," LifeArchitect.ai
Eric Brende wrote a book that counteracts some of Kurzweil's absurdities. It's called Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology.
The Simplicity Collective is a good organization for exploring voluntary simplicity.

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Why the Polycrisis Is a Statistical Anomaly: The Willful Delusions of the World’s Leading Pseudointellectual Mar 22, 2023

Meet Steven Pinker whose denial of limits increases the likelihood of his worst fear: the end of the Enlightenment. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

David Marchese, "Steven Pinker Thinks Your Sense of Imminent Doom Is Wrong" in The New York Times Magazine (2021).
The Work that Reconnects Network
Good Grief Network
Three relevant past episodes of Crazy Town are episode 39 on the myth of progress, episode 35 on self-domestication, and episode 34 on terror management theory.
"Steven Pinker: The Mind Reader" in The Guardian (1999).
Robert Wright, "The 2004 Time 100" in Time Magazine (2004).
Nick Gillespie, "Steven Pinker Loves the Enlightenment" in Reason Magazine (2018).
David A. Bell, "Waiting for Steven Pinker’s enlightenment" in The Nation (2018).
Emile Torres, "Steven Pinker’s fake enlightenment" in Salon (2019).
Robert Epstein, "Book Review: The Better Angels of Our Nature" in Scientific American (2011).
Tyler Cowen, "Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence," Mercatus Center (2016).
Mike Freiheit and Lyta Gold, "Comic: Steven Pinker--Certified Grief Counselor" in Current Affairs 2018).
George Monbiot, "Contrary to Reason" in The Guardian (2018).
Alex Blasdel, "Pinker's progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars" in The Guardian (2021).

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What the Phuck Is a Phalse Prophet? Mar 15, 2023

Meet the unelected leaders of Crazy Town, who keep our collective heads in the sand while the planet burns. Please share this episode to your friends and start a conversation.
For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD.
Sources/Links/Notes:

"Bundyville: The Remnant" -- long-form article and podcast by Leah Sottile.
Five topic categories of the Phalse Prophets season: progress myth, neoliberalism, ecomodernism, effective altruism, and doomerism.
Story of Bruce's Beach.
Yes! Magazine article on land justice.

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Bonus: Drawing Insights with Stuart McMillen Feb 22, 2023

Stuart McMillen is a systems thinker disguised as a cartoonist. His long-form comics condense important academic topics into understandable and entertaining works of art. Stuart tackles topics in the fields of ecology, economics, psychology, and sociology. With original drawings, thought-provoking narration, and expertly paced storytelling, he introduces readers to critical ideas that are often under-reported and underappreciated, including energy slaves, property rights, peak oil, and the war on drugs. Go behind the scenes with Stuart to learn how he crafts his comics, from his philosophy to the nitty gritty of how he makes a living. And be sure to explore his work at stuartmcmillen.com.

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Bonus: An Inconvenient Apocalypse with Bob Jensen Jan 11, 2023

Bob Jensen has written a book with Wes Jackson titled An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity. With a title like that, Jason and Bob have lots of heavy ground to cover, including overshoot, the limits to growth, and the cascading environmental and social crises of our times. They conclude that there are no easy answers or silver-bullet solutions, but by focusing on sustainable size of the human population, appropriate scale of social organization, optimal scope of human competence for managing high-energy modernity, and required speed of taking action to avoid catastrophe, they home in on some strategic responses to the crises.

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Bonus: Human Rights and Multispecies Justice with Danielle Celermajer Dec 14, 2022

Asher is joined in Crazy Town by Danielle Celermajer, author and professor at University of Sydney, for a far-ranging conversation about human rights and the more-than-human world. Dany shares how her personal relationship with the Shoah (Holocaust) set her on a path of human rights work and impacted her experience of the devastating Black Summer Fires that swept through Australia in 2019-2020. They discuss her journey towards scholarship and activism for the more-than-human world, the intersection of human rights and multispecies justice, and the way that individuals and groups of people have stepped up to care for the billions of non-human lives impacted by the fires and floods that have ravaged Australia in recent years. Finally, Dany shares ideas for how listeners can (re)connect with the more-than-human world. For more information, please visit our website.

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Bonus: A Climate Scientist Goes to Jail with Peter Kalmus Nov 09, 2022

Climate scientist and activist Peter Kalmus returns to Crazy Town, but this time with a green badge of courage. Earlier this year, he locked himself to the entrance of the JP Morgan Chase building in downtown Los Angeles to protest their ongoing investment in the fossil fuel industry. As you would expect, he was arrested for his troubles. It was an experience he describes (paradoxically) as "scary as f**k," but also opening and wonderful. In this wide-ranging interview, Rob and Peter cover civil disobedience, climate denial, activism, ego management, and coping strategies for anxiety about climate disaster and collapse. It makes you wonder why we can't arrest the executives at JP Morgan Chase, ExxonMobil, and all the other truly radical corporations that appear to be on an ecocidal mission from hell! For more information, please visit our website.

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Bonus: Tech Bros on Acid with Douglas Rushkoff Nov 02, 2022

Douglas Rushkoff revisits Crazy Town, where he and Asher discuss why so many billionaires, academic institutions, and "serious" people are drawn to longtermism - the view that our top priority should be ensuring that humanity can spread its wings throughout the physical and virtual universe. What's the suffering of a few billion people in the here and now, when there's quadrillions, no quintillions, of potential future people to worry about? Sure, the climate crisis is bad. But is it really an existential threat? Douglas explains why, when you take a tech bro to drink Ayahuasca in the Amazon, he still comes back a tech bro. And why, when you hear buzzwords like longtermism, effective altruism, and transhumanism, all you need to ask is: Does it perpetuate capitalism? Asher and Douglas riff on why longtermism is denialism – denial of death, denial of the body, and denial of responsibility – and why the antithesis is living in the here and now, with our neighbors. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Bonus: Angry Birds and Hairbrained Humans with Mary Roach Oct 12, 2022

In her latest book "Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law," Mary Roach approaches the topic of human-wildlife conflict with entertaining stories, scientific insight, and a healthy dose of wit and humor. There are plenty of animal stories in this episode, from marauding mountain lions to bothersome bears, from macaques who are jerks to gulls who are dicks, and of course that most meddlesome of all species – the human being. The phrase "going out clubbing" takes on a decidedly macabre meaning when the context is U.S. military attempts to control albatrosses living their lives near an air base. And find out if a scenario seemingly cribbed from an unaired "Breaking Bad" script portends the collapse of civilization. Hiding amidst all the stories and fun are big implications for ecosystems, biodiversity conservation, and human society. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Announcement: Power Podcast with Richard Heinberg Sep 22, 2022

Please check out our newest podcast, Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival featuring Richard Heinberg. How have humans become powerful enough to disrupt the world's climate, trigger the sixth mass extinction, and cause serious harm to the biosphere? And with all the abilities and technologies we've accrued, why do we so often oppress instead of uplift one another? Join us as we explore the hidden driver behind the converging crises of the 21st century. It all comes down to power - our pursuit of it, overuse of it, and abuse of it. Learn how different forms of power arose, what they mean for us today, and why giving up power just might save us.

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Bonus: Boys and Oil with Taylor Brorby Sep 14, 2022

Taylor Brorby has written one hell of a memoir. It covers many critical topics that come up in Crazy Town, from fracking to civil disobedience to that most inept of policies: aiming for infinite economic growth on a finite planet. Taylor shares both thought-provoking ideas (e.g., the intimidating width of prairies versus the intimidating height of mountains) and lessons learned from growing up gay within the construct of an extractive economy. Two "bonus" topics in this episode: writing and wrestling! But don't worry, the "Macho Man" Randy Savage impersonations remain mercifully brief. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Bonus: The Stench of Neoliberalism with Noam Chomsky Aug 10, 2022

As a follow-up to Episode 61 of the Crazy Town podcast, Noam Chomsky, the well-known linguist, author, and social critic, joins Asher Miller in Crazy Town to discuss the failures and dominance of neoliberalism -- which Chomsky describes as "class war" -- since delivery of the Powell Memo 50 years ago. Chomsky responds to George Monbiot's critique of the political center and left for not, in Monbiot's view, developing viable alternatives to neoliberalism. Disagreeing with Monbiot's (and admittedly Post Carbon Institute's own) views about the limits of Keynesian "green growth" economic policies, Chomsky discusses proposals developed by places like the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) that he believes would meet the needs of the poor and working classes while tackling the climate crisis. Noam's emphasis on community power, going back to his childhood experiences, strongly resonates with "Do the Opposite" themes explored in Season 4 of Crazy Town.

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Skyrocketing Population and Carbon Dioxide: Watershed Moments Wrap-up Jul 06, 2022

The astute listener will recognize the trends in population and greenhouse gas emissions over the course of our chronologically arranged episodes on watershed moments in history. Describing these trends in one word: growth. In two words: massive growth! And in three words: What the WTF? In recapping the season and considering what we learned, we hit on some common themes in Crazy Town: cognitive bias, energy literacy (really, illiteracy), human supremacy, disconnection from nature, and misplaced faith in technology. But we also share some uncommon themes: a prom night that should be featured in a Stephen King novel, a tale of boy meets spider monkey, and finding history in one’s own backyard. Plus we’ve got some takeaway lessons, like this gem: the more money you lose and the more exhausted you are at the end of the day, the more you know you’re winning. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Buying and Dying: How Online Shopping Grew from a Small Weed Deal into a Global Environmental and Societal Disaster Jun 29, 2022

Talk about cascading consequences: when a few nerds wanted to get high and orchestrated a small exchange of cannabis, they kicked off the age of ecommerce. Now that online shopping and the technology supporting it have ramped up commercialization and supercharged consumerism, we're facing existential crises. Exactly what nefarious internet innovation might lead Jason to unbox a trebuchet? Why would Asher consider having an Amazon truck deliver his kid to school? What's the most efficient way for Rob to get his plastic packaging to the ocean so it can choke the most marine mammals? Get online, order a must-have product (perhaps that pair of fentanyl-laced blue jeans you've been eyeing), and take part in the end times of capitalism. Or consider canceling that Amazon Prime account, shutting off the computer for a spell, and getting busy prioritizing community over consumption. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Greed over Need: Why Neoliberalism Sucks and How It Sabotages Community Jun 22, 2022

Free trade, private property, and limited government – these policies might seem well-intentioned and even benign. But when a couple of colluding, power-tripping, wealthy blockheads packaged them into a political system that would become known as neoliberalism, it was like putting capitalist exploitation on steroids. Pollution and other environmental problems? Just a minor cost of doing business. Inequality and lack of opportunities for workers? Just wait for all the surplus to trickle down from the upper crust. Concerned about government overreach? Just hand over operations to Halliburton, Philip Morris, and all the other "trustworthy" corporations. Sheesh! It's time for something entirely different to replace neoliberalism – maybe "paleoprogressivism?" Calling all wordsmiths! For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Chillin' and Killin': How Air Conditioning Has Altered Human Behavior and the Environment Jun 15, 2022

For such tame technology, air conditioning really packs a punch when it comes to enabling environmental obscenities, indefensible infrastructure, and shortsighted settlement patterns. In the story of how A/C came to underpin human overshoot, you couldn't make up a better bad guy. Perhaps the most Batmanesque villain we've encountered would make a good candidate for mayor of Crazy Town (teaser: he's been called "the scientist who almost destroyed the planet"). Join Asher, Rob, and Jason as they turn up the heat on air conditioning and contemplate how to stay cool in the days of heat waves, heat domes, and global heating. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Throwing Superman through a Cigarette Truck: The Insidious Manipulation of Advertising Jun 08, 2022

Are shameless product placements keeping you from enjoying your movie-viewing experience? Have you ever felt assaulted by pop-up ads and sidebars while trying to read something on the internet? These are some of the less insidious advertising techniques deployed to manipulate you into buying stuff you never knew you needed. Take a tour through the history of advertising, and explore the escalation of mind games and marketing mania that has fueled consumerism and the capitalist conflagration, leaving us on the brink of a climate meltdown. But not to worry, we’ve seen plenty of ads for products to ease your anxiety about the environment or any existential threat you might encounter. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Highway to Hell: How Road Infrastructure Traps Us in an Unsustainable Nightmare Jun 01, 2022

Don't you wish we could power daily life on road rage, frustration, and righteous indignation? If that were possible, the U.S. highway system would be the best investment of all time. As it stands, the unintended consequences (e.g., pollution, habitat fragmentation, discrimination, town wrecking, dependency on unsustainable infrastructure, and the uglification of America) reveal how badly highways miss the mark. What a stupendous misallocation of resources! Fortunately we have some ideas about how to get from point A to point B and provision ourselves without relying on 18-wheelers and endless miles of asphalt. So get your motor runnin' and head out on the highway for an adventure in transforming the transportation system. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Hippos in the Bayou: Human Hubris and the Ecological Mayhem of Introduced Species May 25, 2022

What kind of thinking leads to the unleashing of exotic species on unsuspecting ecosystems? Hint: it's certainly not systems thinking or critical thinking – in fact, thinking may not be involved at all! Learn about three charter members of the Weirdo Hall of Fame who wanted you to eat tasty McHippo bacon burgers for breakfast. Influenced by the illusion of control and brainwashed by the industrial mindset, people have recklessly released plants and animals into environments where they cause colossal carnage. Perhaps you should think twice (first time in systems, second time critically) before accepting membership into the Society for the Acclimatization of Animals, Birds, Fishes, Insects and Vegetables.

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The Stopwatch of Doom: How the Cult of Productivity Torpedoes Sustainability and Equity May 18, 2022

Welcome to the dehumanizing world of scientific management, where business gurus and middle managers view workers as resources, and where a cult-like devotion to productivity has invaded almost all facets of daily life. From fairy tales about strapping steel workers who put CrossFit champions to shame, to the plight of Amazon warehouse workers who can't even get a bathroom break, we've got stories that expose the dark side of the efficiency fetish. Grab your stopwatch and a pee bottle so you can listen to this episode as efficiently as possible! For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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It’s the End of the World’s Fair as We Know It: Why Technology Won’t Save Us May 11, 2022

Back in the day, the World's Fair was a global showcase of innovation and a peerless cultural event where visitors envisioned a neon future filled with technological wonders. These international expos featured miracle inventions and opportunities to explore new ideas, but also on display were useless gizmos, silly stunts (who's ready for a game of topless donkey ping pong?), and some of the most unattractive towers people have ever built. Worse yet, a dismal thread of racism runs through the history of fairs, and in recent times, faux sustainability has become a recurring theme. Explore the diminishing marginal returns of both World's Fairs and technology in general, and consider what's next as dreams of a high-tech utopia go the way of the animatronic dinosaurs. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Colonizing the Sky: The Untold Environmental Toll of Skyscrapers May 04, 2022

Skyscrapers have sprouted like mushrooms in our urban landscapes. But in an environmentally depleted, energy-pinched era, we need to take a closer look at the downsides of movin' on up to the sky. We especially need to pay attention to embodied energy and all the features required to keep skyscrapers standing: uninterrupted supplies of electricity, reliable water treatment systems, functional waste removal, and mechanized transport. It’s time to question the quixotic quest to build ever higher, consider alternatives for sustainable landscapes, and take precautions to prevent tragic instances of accidental self defenestration. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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The Bright Side Through Rose-Tinted Glasses: How Positive Thinking Undermines Sustainability Apr 27, 2022

Welcome to the seductive, but regrettable world of unquestioned positive thinking, where faith healers, BS slingers, pseudoscientists, and get-rich-quick schemers all peddle the same basic message: think positively, and it’ll all work out. The problem: there’s no room for critical thinking and no call to do the hard work of finding real responses to climate change, injustice, biodiversity loss, and planetary overshoot. Sure, a rosy outlook can be useful in some situations, but it’s no way to address our collective sustainability crisis. On the plus side, some of the gurus out there say some really funny stuff. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Lord of the Swans: The Tragedy of the Enclosure of the Commons Apr 20, 2022

The “tragedy of the commons” is an idea that has so thoroughly seeped into culture and law that it seems normal for people and corporations to own land, water, and even whole ecosystems. But there’s a BIG problem: the “tragedy” part of it has been debunked – it really should be the triumph of the commons. Learn the origin story of privatization and explore the true meaning of commons and how to manage them for sustainability and equity. Also check out our suggestions for championing the commons (beyond Robin Hood’s strategy of stabbing the aristocracy). For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Bonus: The Legal Legacy of Colonization with Sherri Mitchell Apr 13, 2022

Indigenous rights lawyer, leader, and author Sherri Mitchell describes how the Christian Doctrines of Discovery made their way from 15th-century European religious leaders into the U.S. legal system. She elaborates on how the U.S. government justified centuries of colonization and dispossession of Indigenous lands, with implications for social justice and environmental health. And Sherri offers important ideas for decolonizing the mind and healing the gaping wound that runs right through the middle of the U.S. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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A Load of Papal Bull: Greenlighting Colonization and the Mindset of Extraction Apr 06, 2022

In 1493 the most corrupt (and orgy-throwing) pope of all time gave the nod of approval for wealth-seeking Europeans to trample the rest of the world. As seafaring colonizers divvied up the world and justified their actions using the Doctrine of Discovery, the era of land-grabbing imperialism led to outrageous exploitation of Indigenous peoples and ecosystems. Learn why the main ingredients in the recipe for souffle in Noumea are colonization, extraction, and globalization. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Injustice for All: The Invention of Racism to Justify a Putrid Power Hierarchy Mar 30, 2022

When greedy power-trippers perpetrate unspeakable acts of exploitation, they often rationalize their loathsome acts after the fact. Such is the case with the Atlantic slave trade. European kidnappers of African people used racism to justify slavery and enforce a shameful system of forced labor and a disgraceful social hierarchy. Learn how the ideas of 15th-century Europe have reverberated through the centuries and catch up on some of the hopeful antiracist things happening to overcome the tragic legacies of racism and slavery. Special guest appearances by Lord and Lady Douchebag and the Six Million Dollar Man. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Bonus: Patriarchy and the Cultural Roots of the Climate Crisis with Amy Westervelt Mar 23, 2022

Investigative journalist and podcaster Amy Westervelt talks with Asher about the cultural roots of the climate crisis. Their wide-ranging conversation covers many stop-and-make-you-think ideas about sustainability, racial and gender equality, economic systems, the social contract, and philosophy over a long sweep of history. Stick around for the conclusion in which Amy considers the mismatch between the need for immediate action on climate change versus the slower-moving cultural and behavioral shifts that can propel such change.

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A Day at the Zoo Is No Walk in the Park: Overexploitation of Animals and Nature Mar 16, 2022

Michael Jackson had a private zoo with elephants, lions, tigers, orangutans, and more. Michael Vick bankrolled and organized a dog fighting ring. But you don’t have to be named “Michael” to have an exploitative relationship with animals. Going back thousands of years, humans have exhibited a sordid history of abusing animals (and by extension, nature and the environment) often just for the purpose of showing off. The types and depths of exploitation have changed over time, and now we’re at a crossroads where we need to learn how to be part of the ecosystem, rather than trying to dominate it. Join Asher, Rob, and Jason as they sort through some terrible human behavior, suggest encouraging ways to change our views and habits regarding our fellow Earthlings, and try to figure out what the hell “estimativa” is (hint: it’s not a new wonder drug or a strain of cannabis). Warning: animal cruelty is discussed at length. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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The Taming of the Slough: Humanity's History of Trying to Control Water Mar 09, 2022

People have a long history of trying to control water, like when the Roman emperor Plumpus Crackus built the Cloaca Maxima (only one of those names is made up) to transfer sewage into the Tiber River. From irrigating fields to building canals to damming waterways to bringing water into our buildings, we've engineered more and more complex ways to tame water. And in so doing, we've changed the environment, both aquatic and terrestrial, and we've changed the course of human history. What we do with water matters even more in the era of global warming. Can we learn to treat this most precious of resources in a way that achieves sustainability? Beware of severe pun overshoot in this episode.

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Bonus: Climate Sabotage with Tim DeChristopher Feb 24, 2022

Tim DeChristopher gained international attention (and a 21-month prison sentence) for sabotaging an auction of oil and gas leases on public lands back in 2008, and has supported nonviolent direct climate actions ever since. He joins Asher in Crazy Town to talk about a different kind of sabotage — the destruction of property and infrastructure that are fueling the climate crisis. Tim and Asher discuss why sabotage has not been a tactic of the climate movement to date, why some activists like Andreas Malm are now championing it, and why the climate community needs to reckon with the likelihood that climate sabotage — and possibly even violence — is inevitable.

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Season 4 Announcement Feb 17, 2022

Season 4 of Crazy Town starts March 9, 2022. Climate change, collapse, sarcasm, and silliness are still on the menu, but we've got a new through-line for the season: watershed moments in history that have have ricocheted through time to push humanity into overshoot. Catch up with Jason, Rob, and Asher as they explain why they're so excited about the new season of Crazy Town.

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Bonus: Stop Saving the Planet with Jenny Price Jan 26, 2022

Jenny Price has written an environmental manifesto that's angry, funny, and short. In it she asks, "Why should I give a frick about Exxon's LEED-certified building?" And goes on to explain that we need to care about what they're doing inside that building. Jenny and Rob rant about green consumerism, the lack of systems thinking, and "regulatory capture" in the environmental movement, and they conclude that no one over 40 should be allowed to make climate policy.

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Bonus: Holiday Guide for the Perplexed Dec 15, 2021

No need to stress during the holidays! The "sponsors" of Crazy Town have all of your consumerist needs covered. This season you could be walking in a warming wonderland, singing the 12 Days of Overshoot, and hanging out with Frosty the Melted Snowman. Act fast, supplies are limited!

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Bonus: It's All Paradox with Douglas Rushkoff Nov 24, 2021

Douglas Rushkoff is a prolific author, documentarian, and podcaster with a delightful sense of humor. He joins the gang in Crazy Town to ponder paradoxical questions such as: Why would homes on Miami Beach be selling for millions of dollars if that property were really going to be underwater in a decade? Why would so much of the world be business-as-usual if climate change were real? Why is the stock market going up during a global plague? Coping in a world that no longer makes sense requires finding community in the real world and getting comfortable with uncertainty and cognitive dissonance. Find more from Douglas on his podcast Team Human.

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Bonus: Oceans of Knowledge with Sylvia Earle Oct 27, 2021

Sylvia Earle is a legend in ocean exploration and conservation. She comes ashore in Crazy Town to discuss some of her experiences in the depths, the state of the world's oceans and marine biodiversity, the limits to growth, the wonders and disappointments of technology, and her belief in the accumulation of knowledge as a pathway for change. Sylvia's new book is called Ocean: A Global Odyssey.

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Bonus: What Could Possibly Go Right with Vicki Robin Sep 29, 2021

What happens when two equal and opposite forces collide? It's a tag-team match of empathy and optimism versus existential crisis and poop jokes! In this mashup of Crazy Town and our sister podcast, What Could Possibly Go Right?, we collaborate with Vicki Robin to cover some heavy stuff, including climate change, the stages of grief, and collapse. You'll get your daily dose of doom and gloom (or as we like to call it, your reality check), but there's also plenty of inspiring ideas about how to navigate today's challenges and prepare for the future.

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Bonus: Galactic-Scale Energy with Tom Murphy Aug 25, 2021

Take it from astrophysicist Tom Murphy. Sure, lightsabers, dilithium crystal warp drives, and Mars colonies are a lot of fun to consider. But a physics-based perspective on energy tells us that we need to accept the limits to growth, stop chasing sci-fi fantasies, and get to work building a steady-state economy that works for people and the planet. Instead of focusing on growth, maybe we should focus on growing up.

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Bonus: Climate Craziness with Peter Kalmus Jul 28, 2021

Peter Kalmus is a climate scientist, activist, and author. He has some gnarly things to say about climate change, extreme weather, and the myth of progress. But Peter gets past the doom and gloom to make positive recommendations for changing behavior and policy. Please check out his book Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution.

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Hidden Drivers Wrap-up, or... the Story of the Throbbing Amygdala Jun 23, 2021

It's the end of the world as we know it. OK, maybe not just yet, but it is the end of Crazy Town's third season. If you've been able to look past some of the more absurd parts of the podcast, perhaps you've noticed a pattern. In examining hidden drivers behind humanity's sustainability predicament, we grouped the drivers into three categories: human behavior, social constructs, and features of biophysical reality. Given our penchant for covering anxiety-inducing topics, we take you on a sobering tour through these categories. But we also offer a sweet suite of pro-social, environmentally sound ideas to help keep your amygdala happy. For best results, start thinking in systems, and listen to this episode in the shade of a leafy tree. When you finish, feel free to give that tree a hug -- it could probably use one right about now.

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Maximum Power and Scarcity, or... the Story of the Birdbrained Backhoe on the Beach Jun 16, 2021

The "maximum power principle" may sound like the doctrine of an evil supervillain, but it actually applies to all living creatures. The principle states that biological systems organize to increase power whenever constraints allow. Given the way humans adhere to this principle, especially by overexploiting fossil fuels, we often do behave like supervillains, wielding power in wildly irresponsible ways and triggering climate change, biodiversity loss, and other aspects of our sustainability predicament. Sometimes it seems like we're using a backhoe to dig our own grave. Fortunately, once you understand efficiency and its different flavors, you can see opportunities to optimize power rather than maximize it. While considering the outlook for humanity, the Crazy Townies ponder a weird question: are we smarter than reindeer? Richard Heinberg, author of Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival, joins the team to share his research on how people can optimize power.

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Feedback Loops and Climate Catastrophe, or... the Story of the Baseball Bloodbath Jun 09, 2021

Did you ever think a baseball melee could effectively explain nuanced topics like cybernetics and systems dynamics? This episode examines the fascinating world of positive feedback loops, which play an outsized role in the not-so-positive phenomena of climate change, biodiversity loss, and political polarization. In addition to basebrawls, you’ll hear how these feedback loops produce a variety of outcomes, from the mundane (e.g., restaurant acoustics and family squabbles) to the horrendous (e.g., ecosystem annihilation and nuclear meltdowns). To ensure safety, none of the podcast hosts were allowed to bring baseball bats into the recording studio. Beth Sawin, co-founder and co-director of Climate Interactive, joins the program to explain how reinforcing feedback loops can catalyze social and environmental transformations.

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Net Energy and Sustainability, or… the Story of the Overstuffed Strongman Jun 02, 2021

All of humanity's feats, whether a record-setting deadlift by the world's strongest man or the construction of a gleaming city by a technologically advanced economy, originate from a single hidden source: positive net energy. Having surplus energy in the form of thirteen pounds of food per day enables a very big man, Hafthor Bjornsson, to lift very big objects. Similarly, having surplus energy in the form of fossil fuel enables very big societies to build and trade very big piles of stuff. Maybe Hafthor has a rock-solid plan for keeping his dinner plate well stocked, but no society seems ready to have a mature conversation about how our sprawling cities and nations will manage as net energy declines. Calling our conversation "mature" might be a stretch, but at least we're willing to address climate change, sustainability, and the rest of the net energy conundrum head on. Alice Friedemann, author of Life after Fossil Fuels, joins the conversation.

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Overproduction of Elites and Political Upheaval, or... the Story of Rich People Doing Stupid Things May 26, 2021

Imagine a factory assembly line running at full steam, but instead of spitting out car parts or plastic trinkets, the conveyor belt is loaded down with Jeff Bezos wannabes. That's a disconcerting image, but an accurate picture of what's happening: society is producing too many elite people, and their decisions are causing extreme inequality, which is one of the key components of today's sustainability crisis. Join Asher, Rob, and Jason as they struggle with elite words and phrases (who's up for some cliodynamics?) and try to exorcise the demons of their own elitism. You'll also hear how elites may have formulated the plot of the next Spike Lee movie, "Do the Wrong Thing." Chuck Collins, author of The Wealth Hoarders, provides additional insights on how we can work toward a more equitable society.

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Runaway Money and Overconsumption, or... the Story of Monetary Mischief in Madagascar May 19, 2021

Way back when money consisted of iron pieces, if you wanted to buy a horse or some spices to season your horse meat, you practically had to carry an olympic weightlifting set with you. Early bankers figured out how to clear that obstacle (and prevent a lot of hernias and back injuries) when they invented paper money. Over time all-too-clever financiers cleared more and more obstacles that kept people from accessing and spending money. Today’s world of online purchases, easy credit, and cryptocurrency represents a huge ramp-up in the speed and ease of economic transactions. Yes, some of the inconveniences of yesteryear are gone, but this ramp-up is partly to blame for our problems with overconsumption, climate change, and habitat loss. Join the Crazy Townies as they swap stories around the virtual fire about spending virtual money in the virtual world. And get advice on how to do the opposite from Nate Hagens, expert on energy, ecological economics, and finance.

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The Attention Economy and Nature Depletion, or… the Story of Einstein Watching Cat Videos May 12, 2021

There's an insidious feature of modern life: as the economy and technology continue to grow, attention becomes ever more scarce. Nowadays footage from Russian dash cams and the latest "wisdom" issued on social media by people who are good at kicking balls compete to grab our attention and suck up our time. This state of affairs could be laughed off except that it keeps most people from focusing on climate change and other existential crises of the 21st century. If all goes well, by the end of this episode, you'll feel inspired to shut down your electronic devices, stow your earbuds, and go outside to scan the skies, dig in the dirt, watch the wildlife, or find some other healthy way to pay attention to the natural world. Artist/writer Jenny Odell joins in the fun to discuss how to resist the attention economy.

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Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or... the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion May 05, 2021

Velcro pants and legs. Booster rockets and spacecraft. Humans and nature. What do these three pairs have in common? They're all things that are detached from one another. That's right, we modern humans seem hellbent on detaching ourselves from nature, despite the obvious fact that we evolved to spend our days and nights in natural habitats. The more we wall ourselves off from nature, the more likely we are to continue on the path of climate chaos and extinction. Join Asher, Rob, and Jason on their search for how to reconnect with nature. Along the way, they share plenty of useful ideas (even if they do get sidetracked by a few less-than-useful ideas, like enticing a mountain lion to attack you and huffing turpentine). Kathleen Dean Moore visits to share wisdom from her book Earth’s Wild Music and her work in environmental philosophy.

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The Myth of Progress and Limits to Growth, or... the Story of the World's Largest Shovel Apr 28, 2021

Who in their right mind is against the idea of progress? You'd be hard-pressed to find a candidate for public office with a platform of maintaining the status quo or regressing to days of yore (as bad as the Democratic and Republican Parties are, there's no support for a Yesteryear Party). But what, exactly, is progress, and is humanity preordained to achieve it? What if the modern concept of progress costs more than it's worth and turns out to be a harmful myth? Join Asher, Rob, and Jason as they slide down some chutes (of “Chutes and Ladders” fame) to get to the bottom of how faith in progress is pushing humanity into a deeper sustainability crisis. Additional insights come from Tyson Yunkaporta, author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World.

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Complexity and Armageddon, or… the Story of the Hemp Microphone Apr 21, 2021

Society has become so complex that all the complexity begets more complexity. And if that’s not complex enough for you, jobs have become so specialized that hardly anyone knows how anything is made or works. Join Jason, Rob, and Asher as they contemplate how to make a microphone from scratch, break down the tertiary jobs in a pirate economy (parrot tenders and eyepatch makers), and explain the Lloyd Dobler hypothesis. They also explore a conundrum: even though the industrialized economy is bumping into the limits to growth and risking environmental meltdown, most people remain locked into their specialized jobs and continue to propagate the unsustainable economy. The Do-the-Opposite segment features a healthy dose of simplification and a fascinating interview with Marcin Jakubowski, the founder of Open Source Ecology and the Global Village Construction Set.

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Discounting the Future and Climate Chaos, or... the Story of the Duelling Economists Apr 14, 2021

An argument between economists is usually as exciting as reading the phone book (what's that?), especially about something as boring-sounding as the discount rate. But it's an argument that underlies how governments and businesses solve (or don't solve) climate change. So, literally life and death stuff. Jason, Rob, and Asher explore why the discount rate, and discounting the future more broadly, is so deadly important, and why the number 0 is what our kids and grandkids deserve. In our Do-the-Opposite segment, catch up with Jane Davidson and her ideas for establishing better governance and a livable environment. The interview with Jane was conducted by Vicki Robin in episode #16 of the excellent podcast What Could Possibly Go Right?

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Conspiracy Theories and Collapse, or… the Story of UFOs and Free Energy Apr 07, 2021

First things first, we try not to confuse ourselves or our listeners as we distinguish between conspiracy theories and actual conspiracies. Then we unpack a bunch of questions about why people (even some of the smart ones) are so easily suckered by conspiracy theories. Are we experiencing a spike in conspiracy theories akin to the days of the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials? What's the role of science and technology in spreading such theories? Have lizard people infiltrated the government in order to hide the truth about how flat the Earth really is? Find answers and learn how conspiracy theories have us chasing our own tails, squashing our ability to think critically, and distracting us from dealing with systemic problems like climate change. Tanya Basu, senior reporter at MIT Technology Review, joins the gang to suggest healthier ways to communicate with conspiracy theorists.

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Self Domestication and Overshoot, or… the Story of Foxes and Russian Melodrama Mar 31, 2021

Self domestication, the process by which humans became a more cooperative and less aggressive species, paradoxically contributes to humanity's overshoot predicament. While trying to wrap their heads around that nugget, Asher, Jason, and Rob geek out on evolutionary biology, 80s professional wrestling characters, and a certain comedic song about foxes. Don't miss Jason's entertaining pronunciations of the names of Russian scientists and politicians as he tells the story of a groundbreaking experiment that took place in the hinterlands of Siberia. In the Do-the-Opposite segment, we struggle with the conundrum of how to maintain the benefits of cooperative behavior and avoid violence during economic relocalization, all while trying to figure out what the hell a fief is.

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Fear of Death and Climate Denial, or… the Story of Wolverine and the Screaming Mole of Doom Mar 24, 2021

What can we learn about death from the X-Men, small screaming rodents, and unwitting college students in psychology experiments? It turns out that the fear of death (or death anxiety) affects human behavior in all sorts of surprising and deeply troubling ways. Especially disconcerting is the way such fear entices people to cling to cultural beliefs so tightly that they will attack anything or anyone they perceive as a threat to their beliefs. And extra-super-duper disconcerting is how unaware most of us are that we are susceptible to such bad behavior when we’re reminded that one day we’ll die. Follow Jason, Rob, and Asher as they try not to deny climate change, vilify any out-groups, or assault one another while diving into the topic of death. In the Do-the-Opposite segment, Michael Hebb (author of Let’s Talk about Death over Dinner) shares wisdom for developing a healthier relationship with death. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Crazy Town Trailer Mar 17, 2021

With equal parts humor and in-depth analysis, Asher, Rob, and Jason safeguard their sanity while probing crazy-making topics like climate change, overshoot, runaway capitalism, and why we’re all deluding ourselves.

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Relative Status and Environmental Breakdown, or... the Story of Bartenders and Bird Feathers Mar 17, 2021

How can the climate disaster and humanity’s overall sustainability crisis be explained by 80s sitcom characters, birdbrained hats from the late 1800s, and a dubious new use for scratch-and-sniff technology? Go for a ride to discover the hidden driver of status-seeking behavior. You can always expect a topsy-turvy, twisty-turny journey when Jason, Rob, and Asher dissect the downsides of human nature. Along the way, they tour status-signaling show-offs, the historic meeting between the Yankton Sioux and the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the reptilian brain we’re all stuck with. In the Do-the-Opposite segment, they unpack how to tamp down the penchant for status competition and talk with Sandra Goldmark, author of Fixation: How to Have Good Stuff without Breaking the Planet. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Cognitive Bias and Global Warming, or... the Story of Cattle Prods and Ice Cream Shops Mar 10, 2021

If only we were as rational as we think we are! It turns out that we’re all subject to cognitive biases, those errors in thinking that influence how we process the complex information we encounter in daily life. Jason, Rob, and Asher take a tour of ice cream shops, Scandanavian DMVs, and the chess team to explain such cognitive biases as the Dunning-Kruger effect, confirmation bias, default effect, and sunk cost bias. Listen as your hosts try to overcome their own biases and uncover how human irrationality has driven us into a sustainability crisis where climate change meets overshoot. Super-brainy brain scientist Dr. Peter Whybrow joins the program to shed light on why we behave the way we do and to propose ways to work with our reflexive side, restructure some of our institutions, and act with an eye toward the long term. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Season 3 Announcement Jan 13, 2021

Climate change, collapse, sarcasm, and silliness are still on the menu, but we've got a special theme for the third season of Crazy Town: hidden drivers that have pushed humanity into overshoot. Catch up with Jason, Rob, and Asher as they explain the architecture of the upcoming season, and look for new episodes to drop in March.

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Bonus: Green Dreamer with Jason Bradford Sep 14, 2020

Kamea Chayne is the host of Green Dreamer, an excellent podcast that features interviews with thought leaders about ecology, sustainability, and wellbeing. In this episode, Kamea's thought leader is our very own Jason Bradford, cohost of Crazy Town and author of the report The Future Is Rural. Jason explains his systemic perspective on energy, food systems, resilience, and the future of human society.

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Bonus: The Practical Stoic with Richard Heinberg Aug 10, 2020

Simon Drew is the host of The Practical Stoic, an outstanding podcast that explores philosophy and the human predicament. In this episode, Simon invites Richard Heinberg, senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute, for a lively and wide-ranging conversation about consumerism, sustainability, and the coming corrections across society.

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Bonus: Decolonizing the Mind with Sherri Mitchell Jul 13, 2020

PCI Executive Director Asher Miller speaks with Sherri Mitchell (Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset) on the long history of colonization and conquest -- upon which our legal, religious, and educational structures continue to be based -- and how the coronavirus pandemic and the growing recognition of white privilege present a unique opportunity to decolonize our society, minds, and hearts. Sherri Mitchell is a lawyer, educator, writer, speaker, and organizer who has been actively involved with Indigenous rights and environmental justice work for more than 25 years.

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Tis but a Scratch: the Insanity of Getting the Economy "Back to Normal" Jun 17, 2020

You know you're in for a bumpy ride when societal institutions start behaving like the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In one of the most famous comedic movie scenes of all time, the delusional knight believes he can keep fighting ("It's just a flesh wound.") as geysers of blood spurt from his severed limbs. Similarly communities, corporations, and entire nations are clamoring for a return to normal after months of corona-induced quarantines, even though business as usual was already chopping the limbs off of planetary life-support systems and unjustly drawing blood from people in need all over the world. In the season finale of Crazy Town during this upside down year of 2020, it's only fitting that a return to "normal" actually means a return to "crazy." For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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A Time to Speak up, but Also a Time to Shut up: White Privilege and Systemic Racism Jun 10, 2020

We had planned to record and release our season finale this week, but felt compelled to address the unfolding battle over police violence and systemic racism in our country which has come to a boil with the murder of George Floyd. Is there anything crazier than the people in our towns, who are sworn to protect and serve, instead coldly taking the lives of our neighbors? Given this moment in American history marked by outrage, sadness, and massive protest, we discuss the need to address institutional racism and white privilege. This is a short episode, because, although it's important to speak up, it's also important for white people to shut up and listen. As is customary in Crazy Town, we consider inequality and racism using the lenses of systems thinking and resilience science. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Mailbag: Dark Humor and Sustainability from Listeners around the World May 27, 2020

Heathens, kooks, and fertilizer for corn and bean fields: these are a few of the names applied to your humble hosts here in Crazy Town. We set ourselves up for abuse in this special mailbag episode, and our listeners didn't disappoint. Despite the occasional (and well deserved) insult, we love our listeners and find them to be some of the most intelligent, caring, and committed people in the world. Learn how they're working toward sustainable transportation, healthy farms, infrastructure repurposing, and community resilience, all while keeping a good sense of humor. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Breaking the Brady Vase: Coronavirus and Fault Lines in American Politics May 20, 2020

Besides lessons in ethics (and in Asher's case, lessons in the English language), the Brady Bunch offers up a metaphor about the fault lines in American politics -- fault lines that include the undermining of government, extreme individualism, race and class divides, and capitalist and corporate excesses. Blood pressures soar, especially when Jason contemplates the Dunning-Kruger effect, but your intrepid hosts release the tension by suggesting some pathways out of political malaise. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Poked by a Porcupine: the Politics of Contraction as We Encounter the Limits to Growth May 13, 2020

Before you heap praise on someone's cooking, even for something as delicious as porcupine pot pie, you might want to consider the effects of ego inflation and the downsides of a hyper-individualistic culture. In this episode Asher, Rob, and Jason wonder if individualism (not to mention all those other "-isms"... capitalism, socialism, communism) is simply the product of a relatively short period of expansionism, and what of our values must be kept or discarded as we enter a new era of contraction and bureaucratic breakdown. While expressing a profound desire to retain the progress humanity has made on numerous fronts (don't sleep on 21st-century dentistry), they make sure to insult one another just enough for proper ego containment. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Doors and Deck Chairs on the Titanic: Reimagining Lifeboat Ethics in the Age of Overshoot May 10, 2020

As we continue heading toward planetary disaster, like the Titanic steaming toward its rendezvous with a big freakin' iceberg, we might want to figure out how to prepare and manage our lifeboats. In environmentalism’s seedy past, a famous ecologist used the metaphor of lifeboats getting swamped to argue for a "screw the poor and non-whites" strategy to deal with the limits to growth. In search of better ideas and better leadership, Asher, Rob, and Jason discuss how we can reinvent lifeboat ethics and find prosocial ways to manage humanity's shared crises. Bonus: find out what to do if you should find that the soles of your feet have fallen off. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Koala Butts Ablaze: Growth, Conservation, and Collapse in the Adaptive Cycle May 06, 2020

In the disorienting days of corona quarantine, wouldn't it be dope to have a model that can help you make sense of the world? Enter the adaptive cycle from the field of systems ecology -- arguably the most important framework you never heard of. Join Asher, Rob, and Jason as they give a guided tour of the growth, conservation, collapse, and reorganization phases of the cycle, and hash out how it can be applied to the modern world. By the end of the tour, besides having a useful lens for interpreting humanity's predicament, you'll be quite confident in assessing which phase is represented by a koala with a flaming fanny. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Announcement: Luciferian Mailbag Call May 03, 2020

We want to hear your Crazy Town stories and questions. Please send email to crazytown@postcarbon.org, and if your message strikes the right chord (kinda like the voicemail we dissect in this announcement), we'll discuss it in our upcoming mailbag episode.

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Banana Town: Where Michael Moore Stokes Controversy over Renewable Energy Apr 29, 2020

Paying attention to the buzz around Planet of the Humans, the new film by Michael Moore, is like standing in the middle of a three-ring circus. In ring #1 are the filmmakers, who raise critical questions about how renewable sources can power industrial society, but do so with questionable facts and mean-spirited attacks. In ring #2 are the left-wing enviros, who are barfing out lazy accusations of ecofascism and doing all they can to avoid addressing the film’s legitimate questions about population and consumption. In ring #3 are the oil-soaked, right-wing libertarians who think this film will help them keep earning and burning their way to the bank at the end of Armageddon Road. Asher, Rob, and Jason grapple with the cacophony, hash out the good and bad of the film and the response to it, and argue for an honest, messy-middle approach to the transition away from fossil fuels. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Mayor McCheese & Modern Medicine: Squandering Energy and Rethinking Technology Apr 22, 2020

Some anthropologists argue that we're living in an anomalous historical period called High Energy Modernity, which will end sooner than we might like because of declining 'net energy.' It's an era of contradictions in which we've acquired unbelievable technology but put it to some of the most frivolous uses. In this episode, Rob, Asher, and Jason ask themselves, "If High Energy Modernity is on the way out, what will we miss most, and what will we be glad to see go?" And they ponder appropriate technology and whether the digging stick is primed for a comeback. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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An Ecofascist and a Social Justice Warrior Walk into a Bar: Extremist Politics and Censorship Apr 19, 2020

We've seen a frightening rise in recent years of violence and violent rhetoric by so-called ecofascists, who use environmental and resource limits arguments to justify hateful views around immigration and population. But does that mean those of us who are concerned about ecological limits should keep our mouths shut? Rob, Jason, and Asher explore why squelching discussions about limits might actually backfire and fuel ecofascist views instead, while wrestling with some of the skeletons in the environmental movement's closet. Speaking of skeletons, wait until you hear our "theories" about Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Foreclosing on the Frackers: Coronavirus and the Future of Energy Apr 15, 2020

In the last episode Asher, Rob, and Jason discussed the danger of political denial and delusion limiting how well we respond to the climate crisis. This week we address the risk that another "d"--distraction--will keep us from recognizing the huge threats and opportunities the pandemic presents for our energy future. The lads also take a few minutes to pat themselves on the back (virtually, of course) for how much recent episodes, though recorded before the %@#*$^ virus hit, apply to our new pandemic reality, before exploring some absurdities of social distancing in Quarantine Corner. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Delusion to the Left, Denial to the Right, and the Environmental Reality Caught in the Middle Apr 08, 2020

How much of a stretch is it to compare autoimmune disease to the politics of climate change? Let's just say your hosts at Crazy Town were able to do it without any need for medical intervention. In this episode, Asher, Rob, and Jason examine how both ends of the political spectrum are getting it wrong and propose how you can start a new conversation. And it doesn't even have to involve your family disease history! Bonus: if you stay to the very end of the episode, you'll hear a "solution" to the toilet paper hoarding madness of 2020. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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I Can't Drive 35: the Politics of Rationing and its Potential to Shift the Economy Apr 05, 2020

If you ask a hundred people what they want to do about climate change or other crises in the age of overshoot, approximately zero of them will enthusiastically call for rationing. But is rationing all that bad? If your grocery store is out of toilet paper thanks to pandemic-induced hoarding, maybe not so much. And considering our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels, maybe it's time to up the ante and establish a rationing program for oil and other sources of energy. Drop the hoarding mentality, break out your coupon book, and engage your sense of fairness as Crazy Town explores the rationale behind rationing. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and be sure to sign up for our newsletter.

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Coronavirus and the Three Bears: the Right-Sized Crisis for a Transition to Sustainability? Apr 01, 2020

First of all, f*ck this virus. We don't want anyone to experience pain and suffering from coronavirus, but maybe there's a lesson to learn. In fact, even a simple story like Goldilocks and the Three Bears may have something valuable to teach us. Here at Crazy Town headquarters, we've been calling for pretty drastic changes to the economy to make it fair, resilient, and sustainable. But changes don't materialize just because you want them--usually you need a crisis to get people thinking and acting differently. And when it comes to crisis, size matters: too big (think asteroids and nuclear missiles) and all of civilization is at risk, too small and nothing happens. Is there such a thing as a "just right" Goldilocks crisis? Grab a bowl and spoon and pull up a chair (not too hard and not too soft) as we talk porridge and pandemic. Bonus: join Asher, Rob, and Jason in Quarantine Corner, where you’ll appreciate the lighter side of social distancing. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Our Naked Emperors Catch Coronavirus: How to Think about Collapse with Nafeez Ahmed Mar 29, 2020

Asher goes for a deep dive in his interview with investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed about how the novel coronavirus is rippling through the systems that make up modern society. To set the stage, they cover some heady territory, including Thomas Homer-Dixon’s “synchronous failure,” Joseph Tainter’s analysis of collapse and the diminishing marginal returns of complexity, C.S. Holling’s “adaptive cycle,” and Naomi Klein’s “shock doctrine.” With these frameworks of systems thinking in mind, they explore how we can make progress toward re-envisioning a prosocial, equitable, and environmentally sound society. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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Announcement: Keeping up with Coronavirus Mar 27, 2020

Asher explains the changes to Crazy Town's schedule as we try to keep up with new developments during the coronavirus pandemic.

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The 10,000-Mile Cod, Insane Global Trade, and the Path to a Resilient Local Economy Mar 25, 2020

What do Scottish cod, rubber duckies, rock phosphate, and shipping containers have in common? They all ride the oceans in really big boats as part of the insanity of today’s global trade. Trade seems like it should be a simple thing. I give you something, you give me something else in return, and we’re both better off. But our capitalism-on-steroids society has converted the simple into a Rube Goldberg machine of criss-crossing cargo ships, vulnerable supply chains, and just-in-time delivery, all so we can save some bucks while exploiting workers and habitats around the world. We’ve gone batshit crazy! Seriously, check out the history of trade in bat guano. With coronavirus prompting a slowdown in global trade, it’s all the more critical to find a different way forward. Thankfully, Asher, Rob, and Jason have a few ideas about how to have fun while building a resilient local economy. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter.

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The Long and Shart of Extreme Travel as Climate Chaos Reigns Mar 18, 2020

Coronavirus has put the kibosh on frivolous travel for the moment, but we might want to do some reflecting before returning to business as usual. Prior to the outbreak, you were constantly told to put on your traveling shoes, cue up some good music for a journey (no, not the band Journey), and pack your bags. As long as costs stay down, we can fly to any destination for any purpose. Is your third cousin’s niece performing in a school play in Omaha? Wanna see the Great Barrier Reef before climate change bleaches it into oblivion? Do you feel like crashing the party at an away game where your favorite pro sports team is playing? No problem. Hop aboard a jumbo jet, and, like Dr. Seuss, people cheer, “Oh the places you’ll go!” That’s the story of extreme travel in Crazy Town. But maybe this is the perfect time to start a new conversation about travel and begin aligning our actions with our values. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and be sure to sign up for our newsletter.

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The Adventures of Bill and Lou: the Obscene Politics of Climate Change and Overshoot Mar 11, 2020

It’s easy to picture a group of social justice and environmental activists gathering in a circle. But these days, instead of holding hands and singing songs, they’re loading weapons and taking aim. Ahhhhh, the carnage! Why are progressives so eager to join a circular firing squad? Maybe this isn’t our best bet for solving climate change and the other wicked problems of the 21st century. Wouldn’t it be smarter to jettison the holier-than-thou act and find ways to collaborate? Asher, Rob, and Jason uncover lessons from the misadventures of an oxen team, a $10 million lawsuit, and an avalanche of emails about thorium, hemp, and overpopulation. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website and sign up for the newsletter.

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Band-Aid Town and the Psychology of Climate Change May 29, 2019

Pop quiz! A friend of yours has just had an unfortunate chainsaw accident and cut a femoral artery: do you (a) make a tourniquet with your t-shirt, or (b) stick a Band-Aid on the wound? If you picked (b), congratulations! You've followed the instruction manual for humanity’s pathetic response to climate change. In this final episode of season 1, Asher, Rob, and Jason consider the psychology behind both inaction and effective action in these times of crisis. And for the very practical-minded, they also cover when to prescribe tobacco poultices and whiskey shots -- good fun for the whole family. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Helicopters and Kick the Can: Money in the Real World of Energy and the Environment May 22, 2019

Have you ever wondered how dolphins feel about quantitative easing? OK, probably not, but it is important to consider the effects that money and monetary policy have on the real world of energy, society, and the environment. Nate Hagens joins Asher, Rob, and Jason to discuss said dolphins, a never-ending Grateful Dead concert, and the prospects of two mature solar panels giving birth to a little bitty baby solar panel. Oh, and Nate also offers coherent comments on how money works, how our economic system is likely to perform in the coming years, and how individuals can respond appropriately to humanity’s overshoot predicament (spoiler alert: it doesn’t involve stockpiling guns, gold, and beans). For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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My Dinner Is Stuck in Traffic: Fossil Fuels and the Food Transition May 15, 2019

You know what drives Jason really crazy about auto traffic? No, it’s not the 42 hours per year that the average commuter wastes stuck in it or even the global warming pollution spewed, it’s the 3 BILLION (with a B people!) gallons of fuel that are wasted instead of helping with the transition of our food system. In this episode, Rob, Asher, and Jason talk about why fossil fuels are so embedded in our food system and how changes in the way we grow food might change where all of us live. This episode is designed especially for people who like to eat food and hope to continue doing so. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Tackling Inequality in the Economy, One Pair of Lederhosen at a Time May 08, 2019

Chuck Collins joins Asher, Rob, and Jason in Crazy Town to describe his startling journey from undercover trust fund kid to tireless campaigner for economic equality. Together they examine why Richie Rich, Donald Trump, Scrooge McDuck, and Jeff Bezos keep getting richer (hint: it might have something to do with the rigged economic system). And they discuss what it means to address inequality on a finite planet. Is FDR’s New Deal still the best playbook? For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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They'll Think of Somethingisms: Is Technology Really the Answer to Overshoot? May 01, 2019

The threats of overshoot and climate chaos loom larger by the day, but it’s all going to work out just fine. At least that’s what you hear from starry-eyed techno-optimists, hemp enthusiasts, and the output of ultra-hypothetical computer models. The silver bullet could come from outer space (e.g., mining asteroids or colonizing other worlds), it could come from the sky (turning air into carbon-sequestering rocks), or it could come from beneath our feet (building infrastructure out of hemp).

Maybe we should stop grasping at these (carbon nanotube) straws, and look for alternatives to the politically expedient worship of technology? Warning: we employ some math to get at the answer. Get out your abacus. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Mosquito-Flavored Popcorn: When Climate Scientists and Economists Go off the Rails Apr 24, 2019

Did you know that we can lose half our food supply and it won’t matter? That’s because agriculture is only 3% of GDP, so there’s no need to worry about the effects of climate change on farming. Or so says the latest genius to win the Nobel Prize in economics. This “logic” is pretty darn disturbing on its own, but what happens when such muddled thinking comes to infest climate models? Besides causing Jason, Asher, and Rob to lose their minds (and their cool), it can lead to unrealistic optimism surrounding the Green New Deal and other worthwhile policies for dealing with climate change. Well, maybe we can use cryptocurrencies to purchase information about food for our virtual bellies when we run into problems on the farm. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Deer Sinew and Beetle Biscuits: Raising Kids in the Age of Climate Chaos Apr 17, 2019

What do we want our children to do in the waning days of the fossil fuel frenzy and the early days of climate chaos? Being a good parent is hard enough under the best of circumstances, but it’s really difficult to know how much we should expose our kids to the realities of environmental meltdown and social injustice. In this episode Asher, Rob, and Jason explore what we could be teaching kids these days and debate which is the more valuable skill: being comfortable eating beetles or understanding how to deal with difficult people. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Zombies, Magic Rocks, Collapse, and Other Fun Sustainability Stories Apr 10, 2019

Apocalypse is upon us, at least in movies, television shows, books, and even podcasts. Teen characters in youth literature are more likely to solve their differences by bow-hunting one another rather than hugging it out in the school hallways. In this episode, Asher, Rob, and Jason search for reasons why the movie theater is so obsessed with Armageddon and the political theater offers empty promises of infinite progress, when the reality is likely to be somewhere in the messy middle. For listeners interested in culinary topics, this is your chance to explore cannibalism-lite cuisine. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Solar Freakin' Roadways: How Technological Optimism Undermines Sustainability Apr 03, 2019

We’re GOING to make the transition to renewable sources of energy. There is no scenario outside the dark mind of Dick Cheney where we continue to use depleting and polluting fossil fuels over the long run to power society. So how exactly are we going to make the transition? In this episode, Jason, Rob, and Asher talk about some of the magical “solutions” that are being peddled out on the streets of Crazy Town (solar roadways, anyone?!?) and why we’re so quick to jump at technological fixes that ignore math, physics, and ecology. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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My Car Is Bigger than Yours: Consumerist Dreams and Environmental Nightmares Mar 27, 2019

If you jam on the brakes for just a minute and take a look at cars and car culture, you just might find something stinky (maybe even as stinky as the black plume of diesel exhaust emanating from that souped-up pickup truck you’re stuck behind). Yes, there are some upsides to cars and driving, but those are overshadowed by the unbelievable downsides. Do you know how many deaths -- of people and animals -- can be attributed to the automobile? How about cars’ contribution to total greenhouse gas emissions? Have you ever thought deeply about how car culture can diminish the quality of ordinary life experiences? Luckily, there’s a straightforward (albeit not as straight and forward as the typical section of interstate highway) way to improve how we get ourselves from place to place. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.
Visit postcarbon.org/crazytown for more notes, resources, and to sign up for updates.

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1.21 Jigawatts: Energy Literacy and the Real Scoop on Fossil Fuels Mar 20, 2019

What would we do without energy? The short answer is, “Nothing, absolutely nothing.” And sadly, most people know next to nothing about energy and its fundamental role in society and life itself. If you’ve ever tried to push a car a small distance down a street, then maybe you have some understanding. But do you know how many hours of human labor are contained in a barrel of oil? Or how much it would cost for people to do the work of a fossil-fueled machine? Or how hard a world champion cyclist has to pedal a bike to toast a single slice of Wonder Bread? In this episode of Crazy Town, Asher, Rob, and Jason look for answers as they tour the insane asylum where our energy habits reside. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Punching Ronnie in the Mouth: Limits to Growth and Economic Lies Mar 13, 2019

In his 2nd inaugural address, Ronald Reagan said, "There are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams." First impression: that's a nice-sounding sentiment -- way to stay positive, Ronnie! Second impression: what a load of crap (and a horrible foundation for economic policy in the age of overshoot)! This episode focuses on the limits to growth, including the growth imperatives built into our economic institutions, and explores how the economy could make a shift toward sustainability. Along the way, Asher, Rob, and Jason take some potshots at Ronnie and his cohort of math-challenged wishful thinkers. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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Orangutans and Santa Suits: Who's Crazy When It Comes to Climate Change? Mar 13, 2019

Can you imagine putting on a Santa Claus suit, not to pull a fast one on the kids and deliver Christmas presents, but to protest Big Oil and climate change in front of your local gas station? That may sound insane, but given what's at stake, it might be the sanest thing you could do on Christmas Eve (plus it's kinda funny). In this first episode, Asher, Rob, and Jason explore how tough it can be to keep from going crazy as our society rushes headlong toward the cliff edge of environmental and social meltdown. Welcome to Crazy Town, where most of the inhabitants just want you to keep contributing to an economy already in overshoot, keep distracting yourself from the most important stories, and (most of all) keep your mouth shut. For episode notes and more information, please visit our website.

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