Breaking Down: Collapse

I'm out on vacation, but thought I'd try something new - we'll be replaying the first 8 episodes of the podcast over the next week, and then I'll go through one by one and revisit them - giving commentary on my thoughts on what's changed since. Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A discussion on Christopher Ketcham's article describing the idea of Solastalgia, as we head towards a world that could lose 2-4 billion people, just from climate change by 2050 (according to actuarial scientists). Two Billion Dead at 2C Warming? - CounterPunch.org planetary-solvency-risks-and-recommendations.pdf (PDF Download) Global economy could face 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 from climate shocks, say actuaries | Climate crisis | The Guardian Letter: CCC letter to Minister Hardy - advice on the UK's adaptation objectives - Climate Change Committee Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first 15 minutes or so of my episode with Abbie, who spoke with me about their decision to move outside of the US with their partner. Join us Patreon to hear the full episode! Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What responsibilities do scientists have to be blunt about the reality of climate change? Is it better to keep society calm and not explore worst case scenarios, or is it their duty to scare people? I explore that question, and dive into new research done by two scientific societies that lies outside of socially acceptable scientific consensus. Why Isn't Everybody Panicking? Scientific Reticence and the Duty to Scare People - The Prindle Institute for Ethics Global Warming At 3 °C By 2050? What's Behind The New German Climate Warning - Worldcrunch Gemeinsamer Aufruf der DMG und der DPG — DPG (Translate to English on your browser) Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm out of town this week, so episodes are prerecorded (no episodes Thursday 11th to Wednesday 17th). Enjoy another week of fascism... Former Trump lawyer: ‘The Constitution is not adequate to deal with a president White House Scraps DOGE: The Bizarre Subscriptions and Weird Overseas Contracts Draining Public Funds DOJ Staff Rip Donald Trump and Pam Bondi’s ‘Irreversible Damage’ Kristi Noem made decision to continue deportation flights to El Salvador despite judge’s order, DOJ acknowledges Supreme Court blocks lower court order on Texas redistricting Georgia prosecutor kills the historic election interference case against Trump and allies Epstein Files: New FBI Emails Detail Review, 'Special Redaction Project Trump Guts Federal Protections for Whistleblowers | The New Republic Trump Cancels Release of Crucial Economic Report to Hide His Failures Trump vows to freeze migration from ‘Third World Countries’ after D.C. attack Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces resignation from Congress Federal judge dismisses indictments against Letitia James and James Comey, Trump goes on late-night social media rant demanding Democrats Pentagon launches 'thorough review' into Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over video to troops White House Declares All of Trump’s Orders to Military Are Lega Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The EPA has just signed off on 10 new pesticides, which contain PFAS Forever Chemicals. This, after Trump campaigned on the promise to clamp down on polluting and harmful pesticides. Maybe it has something to do with the $70M+ spent in lobbying from PFAS companies this year? Trump Embraces Pesticides After Previously Promising Crackdown - Newsweek The EPA Approved a New PFAS Pesticide — Will It Show Up in Your Produce? The EPA Approved a New PFAS Pesticide — Will It Show Up in Your Produce? As Trump Attacks PFAS Water Safety Rules, New Analysis Shows Massive Industry Lobbying Influence | Food & Water Watch California farms applied millions of pounds of Pfas to key crops, study finds | Pfas | The Guardian Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scientists are researching "Natural Geoengineering" - one method of which involves mutating algae en masse to convert and store more carbon. Nothing could go wrong, right? https://phys.org/news/2025-11-microbes-tackle-climate-safely.html Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trump administration is on course to overextend use of the military in another messy war. Will he pull the trigger, and what's there to gain? Either way, it's yet another sign of a declining empire gasping for breath. Analysis: Trump’s threats bring war with Venezuela closer as contradictions and legal fears mount | CNN Politics US lawmakers demand answers over Hegseth Venezuela boat strike reports https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/us/politics/trump-venezuela-maduro-airspace.html Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America is undergoing a rapid demographic shift, which also happens to be combining with a tumultuous tie in the home health industry. Will we be able to care for the soon-to-be tripled amount of population that requires health care at home? The U.S. Will Need 9.3 Million Home Healthcare Workers. Without Immigrants, Who’s Going To Care For Our Aging Parents? Ultra-processed food linked to harm in every major human organ, study finds | Ultra-processed foods | The Guardian California farms applied millions of pounds of Pfas to key crops, study finds | Pfas | The Guardian Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iceland officially declares AMOC collapse a national security threat, and the first human case of a different strain of bird flu in Washington state. A crucial system of ocean currents may be on course to collapse. This country just declared it a national security threat | CNN 1st US human bird flu case in 9 months confirmed with strain only seen in animals before - ABC News Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Government data used to be the go-to for measuring the health of the economy. Now that we can't trust that data - where do we go for answers? A Weakening Economy, and a Drastically Cut Economic Support System | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Even if you can’t trust the data, these 13 warning signs will tell you the economy is in trouble | Fortune https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/28/business/economy-tense-nightcap Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Colorado river is on a crash course, as the amount of water being used is much higher than it can sustain. After Winter Year 2026, it's expected that the reservoir levels could be so low that hydroelectric dams cease to function. Study looks at 'realistically available' water in Lake Mead, Lake Powell a year from now Colorado River deadline passes without an agreement Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find sources below for the week in fascism: Senate unanimously approves bill to force release of Jeffrey Epstein files Reporter: Mr. President, why wait for congress to release the Epstein files? Thomas Massie: They're part of the coverup. Speaker Johnson's press conference shows he's unrepentent. Trump says he’s asking Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s ties to slew of high-profile figures | CNN Politics How the White House Intervened in an Investigation of Andrew Tate — ProPublica ‘Americans Should Be Enraged’: Reports Expose Unprecedented Corruption at Trump DOJ | Common Dreams Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction - POLITICO Trump Diagnoses Seth Meyers With ‘Incurable Case’ of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ After Epstein Barbs Trump Administration Removes Report on Missing and Murdered Native Americans, Calling It DEI Content Only 16 of over 600 detained by ICE in Chicago area have criminal histories, records show - CBS Chicago Judges block Texas from using new US House map in 2026 | AP News Judge scolds Justice Department in Comey case | AP News Why it matters that Trump’s DOJ got caught by a judge blatantly lying—again. Military personnel seek legal advice on whether Trump-ordered missions are lawful | PBS News Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A follow up on the episode over a month ago regarding the water crisis in Tehran, which hits an unofficial day 0 this week. Tehran taps run dry as water crisis deepens across Iran | Reuters ‘We may have to evacuate Tehran’: The catastrophe threatening Iran How Cape Town Avoided Day Zero, and What We Can Learn Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A quick episode today to explore a video by Paul Beckwith, in which he explains a research paper that highlights the weakness of climate modeling. The Southern Ocean is outgassing Co2 at a rate 40% higher than previously believed. Unexpected Outgassing of C02 in Southern Ocean means Carbon Sink is LESS than we Thought… Substantially underestimated winter CO2 sources of the Southern Ocean Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catabolic collapse is often a mechanism of choices we make as a society to cut out parts of the system. In authoritarian regimes, this is accelerated, as the individuals in power to make those choices don't seek the input of society at large. The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands | The New Yorker The Strongman’s Folly: How Authoritarian Ambition Accelerates Civilizational Collapse | Collapse of Industrial Civilization Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of our Patrons - Kelly - made some dramatic changes in her life to help better align her actions with her beliefs regarding collapse. It was inspiring to hear where she's at on her journey to "find what is hers to do". This is the first 18 minutes or so of that interview, and the rest can be found on the Patreon channel: Kory | creating a podcast | Patreon Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well would you look at that... fascism happened again this week. ‘Schumer is no longer effective’: Dems outraged over shutdown deal - POLITICO Why did Democrats cave on the shutdown? New funding bill that will reopen the US government will specifically pay out 9 congressmembers over $1mil each : r/law Government shutdown impasse stretches on as Senate Republicans reject Democrats' health care offer Exclusive: Trump administration holds Situation Room meeting over House effort to force release of all of DOJ’s Epstein files | CNN Politics Ghislaine Maxwell plans to ask Trump to commute prison sentence, House Democrats say - CBS News 2025-11-09-raskin-to-trump-wh-re-maxwell.pdf Trump issues pardons for Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others involved in 2020 fake elector scheme | The Independent The Bombshell Inside Trump’s $1.3 Billion Pardon Market | by Chris Armitage | Nov, 2025 | Medium Conservative Warning To Judges: Get On Board With Trump's Agenda Or Get Impeached - Above the Law Prominent conservative Judge resigns, calling Trump 'uniquely dangerous' - PBS NewsHour : r/law Confirmed: ICE Is Arresting American Citizens—and Lying About It | The New Republic Lawrence O’Donnell Quotes Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett to Highlight the Beating Trump’s Trade Policies Took at the Supreme Court: “The tariffs are a tax and that’s a core power of Congress.” : r/law Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wealthy are continuing to advocate for radical geoengineering measures to "fix climate change". I talk about some new research that makes it less feasible. Engineering and logistical concerns add practical limitations to stratospheric aerosol injection strategies | Scientific Reports Elon Musk Wants to Block Out the Sun Company's plan to launch 4,000 massive space mirrors alarms scientists | Space Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discussion of a recent thread on r/collapse (Reddit) regarding what personality traits makes a person more likely to be collapse aware. On the personality traits and lived experiences of collapse-aware individuals : collapse Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every Friday we talk about what the Trump administration has done. Today, let's talk about what I really hope they don't do. Exclusive | House Republicans exploring ways to prevent Mamdani from being sworn i Mamdani tells Trump that New York is ready to fight after president’s threats fail to thwart voters Zohran Mamdani: Can Trump deport Zohran Mamdani? What Can Mayor-Elect Mamdani Do if Trump Sends… Senate sinks measure to block military action against Venezuela - Live Updates Amid rising violence, Nigeria rejects Trump’s claim of targeted Christian persecution Inside Trump's Fight With Venezuela - The Atlantic Q: Trump wrote that SNAP benefits will only be given when Democrats reopen the government. DOJ Gives Judge Heads Up They Have Zero Plan To Actually Listen To Him Major cases involving Trump before the US Supreme Court | Reuters When does President Donald Trump’s defiance of courts in deportation case Donald Trump’s Plan to Subvert the Midterms Is Already Under Way - The Atlantic A reporter outlines Trump's options to subvert the 2026 midterm elections : NPR Supreme Court allows Trump to enforce passport restrictions targeting transgender people Trump’s Orders Targeting Anti-Fascism Aim to Criminalize Opposition | Brennan Center for Justice Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The investment thus far in AI will not be without consequences - it's just a question of whether it will be due to the bubble popping and the economic fallout, or the successful creation of an AI monster. 75% of gains, 80% of profits, 90% of capex—AI’s grip on the S&P is total and Morgan Stanley's top analyst is 'very concerned' | Fortune Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta results overshadowed by growing fears of AI bubble | Science, Climate & Tech News | Sky News Are AI Stocks In A Bubble? Here's What The Data Says. | Investor's Business Daily Catch-22 While the AI bubble is currently supporting the US economy, economic destruction is guaranteed if the technology meets expectations. : r/collapse Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we winning yet? Trump Administration Defies Court Orders FBI raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago uncovered Donald Trump Claims It’s ‘Illegal’ for Late-Night “Now if we do what I’m saying, they’ll never… (1) Aaron Rupar on X: "Trump on President Xi: Pentagon Admits It Has No Idea Who’s on “Drug Boats” Assessing the Facts and Legal Questions About the U.S. Strikes Trump tells military to plan for 'action' over his claim that Nigeria FBI Ousts Leader as Patel Fumes Over Attention to Agency Jet Use Michigan lawyer disputes that the FBI foiled a terror plot on Halloween San Jose Unanimously Passes Ordinance Requiring Federal FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves | WIRED ICE Plans Cash Rewards for Bounty Hunters to Locate Immigrants National Guard members train for civil unrest missions in U.S. cities Exclusive | House Republicans exploring ways to prevent Mamdani from Trump slams California redistricting vote, says votes under 'review' | Reuters White House is working on executive order on elections, press secretary says | Reuters Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a growing trend of apathy regarding Climate Change. From researchers to the media, from voters to politicians - people are not talking about it as much as they used to. Why Democrats aren't talking about climate change much anymore | Grist SoCA Report_Final_10.21.2025.pdf ‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head | Climate crisis | The Guardian Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Antonio Guterrez is perhaps the first relevant leader to admit the world can no longer avoid passing 1.5C. ‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head | Climate crisis | The Guardian Please join us on Patreon for weekly bonus content and to join our Discord community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.