Crazy Town

Picture the future 100 years from now. What do you imagine? Flying cars? Space colonies? AI talking toasters? But if we can’t sustain an endlessly growing economy - even with a transition to green energy - what does a realistic and positive future look like? Alex Leff of the Human Nature Odyssey podcast joins Jason, Rob, and Asher to imagine life in the 22nd century: walking from our family farms into communal villages, living off the land in a low-energy lifestyle, taming our pet donkeys, and resisting our local warlords. It’s not the future the movies told us to expect. But it might be a future we enjoy living in. Sources/Links/Notes: Human Nature Odyssey podcast

What does a livable future look like 100 years from now? If we unlocked unlimited green energy, what would we actually do with it? And are our dreams of a renewable-energy utopia sometimes just as delusional as the old fossil-fueled, drill-baby-drill mentality? Alex Leff of the Human Nature Odyssey podcast hosts this special Crazy Town highlights compilation. Alex revisits some of the most thought-provoking moments from Crazy Town, weaving in new commentary and context. Together, we explore energy literacy, the promises and pitfalls of a renewable-energy transition, and why toasting a simple slice of bread is much harder than you might think. Along the way, we meet an Olympic athlete trying to toast bread with nothing but a bicycle. We also step inside a billionaire’s latest invention—a time-travel device designed to fling us one hundred years into the future. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we take the full leap into the time machine and imagine what life a century from now could really look like in a post high-energy future. Sources/Links/Notes: The Toaster Challenge, Olympic Cyclist Vs. Toaster: Can He Power It? , 2015 Tom Murphy, Galactic-Scale Energy , Do the Math, 2011. Tom Murphy, Limits to Economic Growth , Nature Physics , August, 2022. Solar Freakin' Roadways , Indiegogo , 2014 Human Nature Odyssey podcast Related episode(s) of Crazy Town : Episode 3 "1.21 Jigawatts: Energy Literacy and the Real Scoop on Fossil Fuels" Episode 5 "Solar Freakin' Roadways: How Technological Optimism Undermines Sustainability" Episode 106 "Blinded by the Light - Facing Reality with Renewable Energy" ADDITIONAL MUSIC Modified version of "Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30" by Strauss, from classicals.de — licensed under CC BY 4.0

There’s the book club, the Rotary Club, the Mickey Mouse Club, and the club sandwich. Whatever your preference, you might want to think about joining a club. Social clubs, fraternal orders, and the like have had a storied and critical role in public life. That is, until government programs and technology gave us an out from having to deal with each other. But with modernity failing, will clubs and community organizations make a huge comeback? In this episode we explore club life – past, present, and future, if there is one. Originally recorded on 11/6/25. Sources/Links/Notes: Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community , Simon & Schuster, 2000. John Michael Greer, " Secret Handshakes ," The Archdruid Report , January 21, 2010. Related episode(s) of Crazy Town : Episode 65 , "Why the Polycrisis Is a Statistical Anomaly: The Willful Delusions of the World’s Leading Pseudointellectual"

Frog and Toad Are Friends, at least according to a venerable children’s book. And so are Jason (Crazy Town’s resident biology nerd) and conservationist brothers, Kyle and Trevor Ritland, authors of The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species. The three eco-explorers connect over wondrous habitats and critters in Costa Rica's cloud forest and swap stories that cover Lazarus species, global pandemics, self-taught naturalists, birding, and even pregnancy tests. Spliced into the nostalgia and stories are reflections on how to cope in a world where biodiversity is declining and how to regain the connections that modernity has severed between humanity and wild nature. Originally recorded on 10/9/25. Sources/Links/Notes: Kyle and Trevor Ritland, The Golden Toad: An Ecological Mystery and the Search for a Lost Species , Diversion Books, 2025. Adventure Term , Kyle and Trevor's nonprofit experiential learning initiative Related episode(s) of Crazy Town: Episode 40 , "Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or… the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion" Episode 49 , "A Day at the Zoo Is No Walk in the Park: Humanity’s Overexploitation of Animals and Nature"

Some key understandings in Crazy Town: the Earth is finite; the economy cannot grow forever; people can harm ecosystems and cause global warming; physics, chemistry, and biology are real; inequality hurts everyone; healthy humans need community, and it’s more fun to laugh than to cry. But where did principles like these originate? In this episode, Jason, Asher, and Rob use the format of a fantasy football draft to pick the pundits who most influenced their thinking on sustainability, resilience, community, science, economics, and politics. Like starry-eyed fanboys (but hopefully a bit more articulate) they gush over their heroes and tell behind-the-scenes stories about how they came to be influenced. And they ask listeners to share their top picks for influencers (in the best sense of the term). Originally recorded on 9/29/25. Visit Crazy Town on the web.

Billionaires. They should be objects of scorn rather than envy. While they ride around in their super-yachts and private jets, producing the climate-damaging pollution of entire nations, they’re doing things to extract even more wealth, harm your health, diminish democracy, and rig the whole system in their favor. How did this happen? Why do we tolerate it? How can we stop the billionaires? And can we get a hold of our own super-yacht for Crazy Town pleasure cruises? Chuck Collins returns to Crazy Town to offer insights from his new book, Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet . Originally recorded on 10/3/25. Sources/Links/Notes: Chuck Collins, Burned by Billionaires : How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet , The New Press, October 2025. Chuck Collins, Born on Third Base : A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good , Chelsea Green Publishing, September 2016. Chuck Collins, The Wealth Hoarders : How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions , Polity, January 2022. Related episode(s) of Crazy Town : Episode 10 , "Tackling Inequality, One Pair of Lederhosen at a Time" Episode 43 , "Overproduction of Elites and Political Upheaval, or... the Story of Rich People Doing Stupid Things"

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. Originally recorded on May 6, 2021. Sources/Links/Notes: Richard Heinberg’s book is Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival . John DeLong’s definition of the maximum power principle is that biological systems organize to increase power whenever the system constraints allow. DeLong also wrote: “ The maximum power principle predicts the outcomes of two-species competition experiments “. Statistics on the Bagger 293 bucket-wheel excavator Dams powered airplane and ship building in the Pacific Northwest (Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams). The cross-Atlantic sailing voyage of Greta Thunberg Short comic with the story of reindeer on St. Matthew Island Episode of the Radiolab podcast with a wild story about mTOR Support the show

Maximize profits, exploit nature, hoard money, and, like Buzz Lightyear, grow the economy to infinity and beyond ! That’s the modern economic playbook. But for decades, one renegade country has taken a contrarian stance that actually cares about people’s wellbeing and environmental health: the Himalayan nation of Bhutan. When Bhutan embraced “Gross National Happiness” and a sane notion of progress, environmentalists and social reformers rejoiced. They spotlighted Bhutan as an example of how we can build a better economy. But now it seems that no one can escape the gravity field of techno-capitalism’s black hole of cryptocurrency and bullshit investments. In today’s episode, we explore Bhutan’s dark turn and go on the hunt for other examples of nations doing things to curb overexploitation of people and the planet. Originally recorded on 7/21/25. Visit Crazy Town on the web. Sources/Links/Notes: To be fair, Bhutan is still working on Gross National Happiness . In fact, there's a Global GNH Forum being staged November 7-12, 2025 in Dungkar Dzong, Paro, Bhutan. Steven Anderson, " Bhutan Uses Bitcoin to Boost Salaries and Curb Brain Drain ," The Currency Analytics , April 15, 2025. The creation of Nunavut Related episode(s) of Crazy Town : Episode 37 , "Discounting the Future and Climate Chaos" Support the show

In this episode we travel in time to the year 2125, to visit the Crazy Town museum, which showcases today’s world of wanton consumption and profligate waste. How will humans in 2125 – if there are any of us left – judge the things everyone sees as normal today? Jason, Rob, and Asher take turns serving as expert curators of this future museum, nominating items that best encapsulate how foolish and environmentally ruinous our priorities are. At the end we call on you, dear listener, to share what you would include in the museum. Originally recorded on 7/11/25. Visit Crazy Town on the web. (Spoiler Alert) View Artifacts in the Museum: Sportscar hopping from skyscraper to skyscraper (from the movie Furious 7 ) " Ronnie Fieg Has Mastered The Art Of Collecting " in Haute Magazine Echo PB-9010T backpack leaf blower SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inaugural address Barbie Pool Party Playset The world's biggest landfill in Las Vegas, Nevada The world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas Jimmy Dean blueberry pancakes and sausage on a stick Support the show

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. Originally recorded on April 10, 2021. Support the show

Put on your best polyester pants, grab a bunch of gleaming mylar balloons, and crack open a case of bottled water. In today's episode, we're entering the plastic world of plastic pollution in all its glorious plasticity. We're on the hunt for microplastics – and we won’t have to go very far, as they're present everywhere – in the soil, in the water, in the air, and in our bodies. We'll be looking for systemic solutions and talking with Matt Simon, author of the book A Poison Like No Other . Originally recorded on 7/10/25. Visit Crazy Town on the web. Sources/Links/Notes: Matt Simon, A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies , Island Press, October 27, 2022. Katie Okamoto, " Microplastics Are Everywhere. Here’s How to Avoid Eating Them. " New York Times , April 21, 2025. Ocean Cleanup (large organization with a popular, but frustrating, ecomodernist approach to plastic pollution). Jen Fela, " Global Plastics Treaty Delayed, but Not Defeated ," Earth Island Journal , December 11, 2024. Related episode(s) of Crazy Town : Episode 84 , "Escaping Technologyism" Support the show

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). Originally recorded on 2/10/22. Sources/Links/Notes: The oddity of the queen’s ownership of swans More about the swans An Act Concerning Swans (1482) Simon Fairlie wrote the article “ A Short History of Enclosure in Britain ” in The Land (2009) . Briony McDonagh and Carl Griffin wrote “ Occupy! Historical geographies of property, protest and the commons, 1500-1850 ,” Journal of Historical Geography (2016). Stephen Knight of the University of Melbourne writes about Robin Hood and the Forest Laws . Stephen Quilley & Katharine Zywert wrote the article “ Livelihood, Market and State: What Does a Political Economy Predicated on the ‘Individual-in-Group-in-Place’ Actually Look Like?, ” Sustainability , MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-23, July 2019. Munro Fraser and Thomas Mande wrote a report called The Commons in a Wellbeing Economy , a briefing paper published by the Wellbeing Economy Alliance. David Bollier wrote the outstanding and super-readable book The Commoner’s Catalog for Changemaking: Tools for the Transitions Ahead . On the Commons has been helping to build a commons movement since 2001. Peter Barnes has written many articles and books about property rights and the commons. “ Elinor Ostrom’s 8 rules for managing the commons ” based on Derek Wall’s book Elinor Ostrom’s Rules for Radicals Support the show

As Trump’s tariffs kick in, the Republican party is suddenly spouting anti-consumerist rhetoric that would make the Lorax smile. Should we cheer on this accidental experiment in economic shrinkage, or will this ham-fisted set of trade policies cause a backlash against the proponents of degrowth? As political confusion reigns, we offer eco-localism as the no-regrets way to build community resilience in the face of unprecedented ineptitude that probably won’t go away anytime soon. Originally recorded on 6/16/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance , Avid Reader Press, March 2025. UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion addresses the damage of ‘fast fashion’ Kelsey Piper, " Trump’s bizarre new push to make us poorer, " Vox , February 7, 2025. Kenneth Pucker, " Lessons From Trump’s Degrowth Experiment, " Business of Fashion , May 9, 2025. Kenneth Bradsher, " China’s Chokehold on This Obscure Mineral Threatens the West’s Militaries, " New York Times , June 9, 2025. Adam Tooze, " Trump's futurism: Elon's rockets and fewer dolls for "baby girl, " Chartbook , May 6, 2025. " The End of Fast Fashion?, " The Daily , May 15, 2025. Kurt Cobb, " Trade war vise grip: China is squeezing rare earth supply and it’s hurting, " Resilience , June 8, 2025. " Derek Thompson: Trump's War on Dolls, " The Bulwark , May 2, 2025. Richard Heinberg, " How Eco-Localism Differs from Tariff Terrorism, " Resilience , April 17, 2025. Related episode(s) of Crazy Town : Episode 86 , "Escaping Growthism" Episode 94 , “Breaking News: Crazy Town joins the newly formed Department of Entropy” Support the show

Solar panels and other modern energy technologies can be really useful, but the belief that we can technologize our way to a bigger and better society powered by clean energy is tragically flawed. Asher, Rob, and Jason dig into the up-and-down story of the Ivanpah concentrated solar power plant, review the Harry Potteresque thinking behind complex, centralized power plants, and expose the truth of the energy transition. After they finish making fun of concentrated solar/golf course/outlet mall complexes in the desert, they discuss how to make real progress on energy and sustainability. Originally recorded on 6/5/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Michael R. Blood, “ 11 years after a celebrated opening, massive solar plant faces a bleak future in the Mojave Desert ,” AP News , January 30, 2025. Laura Paddison, " This alien-like field of mirrors in the desert was once the future of solar energy. It’s closing after just 11 years ," CNN, February 13, 2025. Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, More and More and More: An All-Consuming History of Energy , January 1, 2024. Rachel Donald, “ The ‘Energy Transition’ is a Pipe Dream | Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, ” Planet: Critical podcast, March 19, 2025. Drax Power Station U.S. Department of Energy, Facts about Ivanpah Energy Monitor report on the opening of Ivanpah Louis Sahagun, " This Mojave Desert solar plant kills 6,000 birds a year. Here’s why that won’t change any time soon ," Los Angeles Times , September 2, 2016. Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions worldwide from 1940 to 2024 Resources for conservation and local solar power: Solar United Neighbors 2,000-Watt Society Peter Kalmus, Being the Change , New Society Publishers, July 10, 2017. Kris De Decker, " How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel ," Resilience , October 21, 2021. Coop Power Seeds for the Sol The Institute for Local Self-Resilience has <a href="https://ilsr.org/energy/community-solar/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Jason, Rob, and Asher are taking out a huge, unaffordable mortgage on the housing crisis. What’s behind the shortage in housing? Why is it that no one, except canine Tik Tok influencers with billion-dollar bank accounts, can afford to own a home? While mainstream pundits press for an energy-blind buildout of desert sprawl and gleaming towers of glass and steel, we propose a surprising change of course inspired by little people with hairy feet. Originally recorded on 5/21/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: The story of Gunther , the world's most moneyed canine. You can't make this stuff up: Gunther offers to buy Nicholas Cage's island . David Wessel, " Where do the estimates of a 'housing shortage' come from? ," Brookings Institute, October 21, 2024. Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng, " Americans' average daily travel distance, mapped ," Axios , March 24, 2024. Jon Gertner, " America Is on Fire, Says One Climate Writer. Should You Flee? ," New York Times , March 22, 2024. U.S. News and World Report, " Fastest-Growing Places in the U.S. in 2025-2026. " Good Ideas for Addressing the Housing Crisis: Jason Bradford, " Growing the Shire, Not the 'Burb: Facing the Housing Crisis with Ecological Sanity ," Resilience , May 27, 2025. Global Ecovillage Network Nate Hagens, " Alexis Zeigler — Living Without Fossil Fuels: How Living Energy Farm Created a Comfortable Off-Grid Lifestyle ," The Great Simplification, April 9, 2025. Energy-Blind Non-Solutions for the Housing Crisis: Conor Dougherty, " Why America Should Sprawl ," New York Times , April 10, 2025. Binyamin Applebaum, " Build Homes on Federal Land ," New York Times , April 15, 2025. Ezra Klein, " Abundance and the Left ," The Ezra Klein Show , April 29, 2025. Samuel Moyn, " Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again? ," New York Times , March 18, 2025. Tyler Cowen, " Ezra Klein on...

The world has gone bunking mad. The bespoke security industry is burying bunkers stocked with arsenals of automatic rifles and surrounded by flaming moats. Is there a better way to prepare for the polycrisis, the zombie apocalypse, or whatever hard times are on the horizon? Jason, Rob, and Asher have some fun at the expense of the bunker builders before examining the positive aspects of peasanthood and stressing the need to build community. Originally recorded on 5/5/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Coralie Kraft, "The 'Panic Industry' Boom," New York Times Magazine , April 10, 2025. The SAFE company offers "bespoke, fortified residences" and other silly signs of our times. Aaron Gell, "'All of his guns will do nothing for him': lefty preppers are taking a different approach to doomsday," The Guardian , April 17, 2025. Will Petersen, "Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is again living a good life back in Serbia," Denver Sports , June 20, 2023. Related Episodes of Crazy Town : Episode 73. How Longtermism Became the Most Dangerous Philosophy You’ve Never Heard of Episode 34. Fear of Death and Climate Denial, or… the Story of Wolverine and the Screaming Mole of Doom Episode 100. A Temporary Techno Stunt: Tom Murphy on Falling out of Love with Modernity Support the show

Democracy and environmental protection have two things in common: (1) they’re both supposed to be enshrined in the laws of the United States and (2) they’re both under severe attack right now. Asher speaks with Thomas Linzey of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights to uncover how the source code of the U.S. Constitution and the body of environmental laws that follow it are actually designed to allow corporations to override the will of the people. After pinpointing the problem, Thomas explains what can be done, especially at the local level, to reach sustainable and just outcomes that provide wellbeing for people and ecosystems. Originally recorded on 4/2/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Bio for Thomas Linzey Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights Matt Wuerker's cartoon: " The Closed-Door Constitutional Convention " Support the show

Happy Earth Day! There are two concepts that every person should understand to be a better Earthling: entropy and self-organization. It seems like a paradox, but systems on Earth are simultaneously breaking down into disorder and arranging themselves into complex superorganisms. Everything on Earth (well, really in the whole universe) is subject to the second law of thermodynamics, which means it all dies and decays. But with access to steady flows of energy, organisms, ecosystems, and human societies can hold back the death and decay for a spell. After dropping the kids off at the pool, Asher, Rob, and Jason cover the interplay of entropy and self-organization and contemplate how to manage the inevitability of entropy with elegance (beyond morphing into a lizard person). Originally recorded on 4/8/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Geoffrey West, Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies , Penguin Books, 2018. Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World , Scribner, 2024. William Rees, “ End game: the economy as eco-catastrophe and what needs to change ,” Real-World Economics Review , 2019. The laws of thermodynamics , as explained by the website “Physics for Idiots" " Telegraph Road " - song by Dire Straits David Owen, " Green Manhattan ," The New Yorker , October 10, 2004. Other Crazy Town episodes you might like: Crazy Town 100 - A Temporary Techno Stunt: Tom Murphy on Falling out or Love with Modernity Crazy Town 35 - Self Domestication and Overshoot, or… the Story of Foxes and Russian Melodrama Crazy Town Bonus Riff - Vanilla Andreessen, Pygmy Marmosets, and Hi-Tech Delusions Support the show

Who knew that the breakthrough moment of AI sentience would come from interacting with an annoying neo-Luddite? After failing to raise a single dollar for PCI’s newest initiative — the $350 billion Transdisciplinary Institute for Phalse Prophet Studies and Education (TIPPSE) — Jason, Rob, and Asher devise the only profitable pitch for raising capital: using AI technology to cure the loneliness that technology itself causes. The only problem is that AI chatbots won’t talk to us, as evidenced by Asher’s experience of being blocked by an AI “friend.” So Asher turns to the flesh-and-blood author of Blood in the Machine , Brian Merchant, to discuss the rise of the neo-Luddite movement — the only people who might be able to stand your humble Crazy Town hosts. Brian Merchant is a writer, reporter, and author. He is currently reporter in residence at the AI Now Institute and publishes his own newsletter, Blood in the Machine , which has the same title as his 2023 book. Previously, Brian was the technology columnist at the Los Angeles Times and a senior editor at Motherboard . Originally recorded on 1/3/25 (warm-up conversation) and 3/24/25 (interview with Brian). Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Press Release announcing closure of TIPPSE Funding for Friend Screenshot of Asher’s conversation with Friend’s bot , Faith Lyrics to “Not Going to Mars ” by Pyrrhon Brian Merchant’s Substack, Blood in the Machine Brian’s book, Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech New York Times article on the Luddite Club: “‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes” Crazy Town Episode 72: Sucking CO2 and Electrifying Everything: The Climate Movement’s Desperate Dependence on Tenuous Technologies Brian’s essay in The Atlantic , “ The New Luddites Aren’t Backing Down ” Support the show

Recovering technology booster Tom Murphy visits Crazy Town to discuss his journey from shooting lasers at the moon, to trying to "solve" the energy predicament, to falling out of love with modernity itself. Asher, Jason, Rob, and Tom discuss the roots and short-lived nature of modernity, which has not only shaped the world we inhabit but conquered our very imaginations. They reminisce about aspects of hi-tech society that have already fallen away in its hubristic march towards mastering (or should we say undermining?) nature. They close by contemplating what it means to detach from humanocentric delusions of grandeur and make peace with living with one foot in and one foot out of the modern world. Originally recorded on 3/4/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: " Acceptance and Agency at the End of Modernity ," a live online Resilience event on April 1, 2025 featuring Vanessa Andreotti and Dougald Hine Tom Murphy's Do the Math Support the show

How will we feed people living in the megacities of the 21st century, especially while confronting climate chaos and the depletion of fossil fuels and fossil water? According to the mainstream media: ecomodernism! Massive deployment of technology on factory farms and an extreme ramp-up of industrialization will save the day – right? RIGHT?!? If you read the New York Times , you might think that supermarket shelves will forever overflow with 3D-printed fish sticks, mylar bags full of genetically modified cheesy poofs, and faux corn dogs that ooze out of laboratory vats. Jason, Rob, and Asher question the wisdom of doubling down on industrialization in food and farming. It’s no surprise they recommend paying attention to nature and ecological limits. Stick around for ideas you can use in your community to support a healthy, regenerative food system (and keep on eating). Originally recorded on 1/21/25. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Jason Bradford, The Future Is Rural , 2/19/19. Eliza Barclay, " What to Eat on a Burning Planet ," The New York Times , 7/29/24. David Wallace-Wells, " Food as You Know It Is About to Change ," The New York Times , 7/28/24. Andrew Nikiforuk, " A Reality Check on Our 'Energy Transition' ," Resilience , 1/6/25. Michael Grunwald, " Sorry, but This Is the Future of Food ," The New York Times , 12/13/24. " Changing How We Grow Our Food: Readers disagree with an essay about factory farms ," The New York Times, 1/4/25. Jay Famiglietti, " Will We Have to Pump the Great Lakes to California to Feed the Nation? " The New York Times , 8/5/24. Clip of the Hydrologist in Chief "explaining" the oh-so-simple solution to water shortages. Support the show

Do you contemplate topics like climate change, biodiversity loss, and the risk of civilizational collapse? If so, then you probably understand something about bargaining – a psychological defense mechanism that’s one of the five stages of grief. With just a wee bit of embarrassment, Asher, Jason, and Rob reveal damning episodes of bargaining from their personal histories (involving green consumerism and cult-like devotion to technology). Having admitted their sins, they discuss the allure of false solutions to our environmental predicaments and how even veteran environmental journalists can be susceptible to it. Stay to the end for thoughts on how to avoid getting hoodwinked by the horde of ecomodernist tech bros who continuously shove unworkable "solutions" down our throats. Originally recorded on January 16, 2025. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Julia Musto, " The end of the world as we know it? Theorist warns humanity is teetering between collapse and advancement, " Independent , January 13, 2025 (about Nahfeez Ahmed's take on superabundance versus collapse). Rob Dietz, " Chris Smaje Vs. George Monbiot and the Debate on the Future of Farming, " Resilience , October 27, 2023. Crazy Town episode 32 on cognitive bias Megan Phelps-Roper's six questions Crazy Town episode 45 on feedback loops , featuring an interview with Beth Sawin Post Carbon Institute's Deep Dive on building emotional resilience Support the show

Peter Kalmus, climate scientist and returning friend of Crazy Town , used to live in Altadena, California, where one of the disastrous Los Angeles wildfires struck on January 7th. Having learned that his former house had burned, Peter penned an emotional article for the New York Times about his family&apos;s decision to leave LA two years prior, out of safety concerns about frequent heat waves, drought, and just the sort of tragic conflagration that has reduced parts of LA to ashes. Get Peter&apos;s take on this historic wildfire, what nature is trying to teach us, and how to think about unnatural disasters now and in the future. Note: this interview was recorded on January 24, 2025. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Peter Kalmus’s article in the New York Times from January 10, 2025: “ As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles ” Peter’s book, Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution News story about the huge Bobcat Fire that struck Los Angeles County in 2020 Article in Science about the damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton Peter mentioned the Clausius-Clapeyron equation , which relates vapor pressure to temperature. FeedSpot ranked Crazy Town as the #1 environmental economics podcast. Support the show

In the world of college sports, money talks and the volleyball team walks, er, flies 33,000 miles to play games. The NCAA, like almost everyone else, is playing games with Mother Nature. What do we expect student-athletes to gain from ignoring the climate emergency (not to mention putting their health at risk)? Who cares, as long as we can wring a few more dollars out of the TV deals -- am I right?!? Jason, Rob, and Asher propose a new plan for college sports and for taking the climate emergency seriously. On a happy note: FeedSpot ranked Crazy Town as the #1 environmental economics podcast. Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language. Sources/Links/Notes: Jeff Eisenberg, &quot; Conference realignment has redefined &apos;travel ball&apos; ,&quot; yahoo!sports , September 11, 2024. Stanford University&apos;s Woods Institute for the Environment and Doerr School of Sustainability Stanford has the most winning NCAA program , counting all sports. (2nd and 3rd are UCLA and USC, by far!) Support the show

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