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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 DayArticle: "Harold Ramis didn't intend 'Groundhog Day' to be Buddhist, but it's a dharma classic" by Perry Garfinkel in Lion's RoarArticle: "Was Modernity Inevitable?" by Tom Murphy in Do the MathArticle: "Hospicing Modernity: Not a new idea" by Eliza Daley in ResilienceArticle: "Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System" by Donella Meadows, published by the Donella Meadows ProjectMultisolving InstituteBook: A Darwinian Survival Guide: Hope for the Twenty-First Century by Daniel R. Brooks and Salvatore J. Agosta, published by MIT PressSupport the Show.
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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 SocksThe Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. SeussDefinition of othering from the Canadian Museum for Human RightsStereotype Content ModelSusceptibility to otheringOthering and Belonging InstituteBook by john a. powell and Stephen Menendian - Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the WorldCrazy Town episode 51 on colonization and the mindset of extractionSeeing White podcastRacial Equity InstituteColonial roots and other drivers of genocide in RwandaTrump’s reprehensible remarks about immigrants and about liberalsThe 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 sameMarnita’s TableNeedham Resilience NetworkSupport the Show.
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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.
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 LeagueConcepts of “malignant bonding” and “scarcity mind” in the article “Widening the ‘We’” by Colin Greer and Eric LaursenZeynep 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 StatesStatistics on domestic terrorism in the United StatesStatistics on antisemitism around the worldCrazy Town episode 78, which includes the six questions Megan Phelps-Roper developed to challenge her entrenched beliefs.Rapoport’s Rules for constructive criticismPost Carbon Institute’s Deep Dive on Building Emotional ResilienceDiane Benscoter’s nonprofit, Antidote.ngo, which runs recovery groups for people caught up in disinformation.Thought reform consultationCrazy Town episode 89 on escaping individualism, in which we discussed mutual aid networksLawsuit to allow social media users to control their algorithmsRanked choice voting
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:Support the Show.
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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.
Eileen Crist defines (and critiques) anthropocentrism.Global biomass of wild mammalsGlobal human-made mass exceeds all living biomass.Decline of pollinatorsDecline of flying insect biomassDaniel Quinn’s book IshmaelHuman Nature Odyssey podcast with Alex LeffTom Murphy’s journey of understanding the pitfalls of human exceptionalismTwo-thirds of the world’s longest rivers have been dammed.Declining wild bird populations in North AmericaEd Yong’s book An Immense WorldYellowstone to Yukon conservation initiativeRestorDouglas Tallamy’s book Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your YardStory of mining permit revocation in PanamaTimeline of expansion of the rights of nature that was compiled by the Community Environmental Legal Defense FundCenter for Democratic and Environmental RightsStop Ecocide InternationalCrazy Town episode with Danielle Celermajer on multispecies justiceRobin Wall-Kimmerer’s book Braiding SweetgrassProminence of nature in the Tuvan languageHolding the Fire episode with Anne PoelinaQuote by Kenneth Brink of the Karuk TribeQuote by Sammy Gensaw III of the Yurok Tribe
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:Support the Show.
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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.
Definition of individualism from the American Psychological AssociationArticle in Opumo magazine - "Super singles: 10 coolest one seater cars"U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 report: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and IsolationBBC Loneliness ExperimentRobert Putnam's classic book - Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American CommunityCountry comparison tool for exploring Hofstede's Individualism IndexPart 1 of Post Carbon Institute's webinar on mutual aid; Part 2Donna M. Butts and Shannon E. Jarrott, "The Power of Proximity: Co-Locating Childcare and Eldercare Programs," Stanford Social Innovation Review, April 2021Pets for the ElderlyDean Spade's book - Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)History of the free breakfast movement of the Black Panther PartyTeju Ravilochan, "The Blackfoot Wisdom that Inspired Maslow's Hierarchy"City of Knoxville program guide: Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Plan
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:Support the Show.
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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.
"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 CompanyEric 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 SchoolJ.A. Hobson's book Imperialism: A StudyJason 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 DesertIndigenous people's response to lithium mining in NevadaHow the Sami people are protesting Sweden's "green transformation"Episode 3 of the Holding the Fire podcast, featuring Sami leader Aslak HolmbergCobus 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"New Zealands's Maori fought for reparations -- and won
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:Support the Show.
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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 ActDavid Bollier, The Commoner’s Catalog for ChangemakingLobbying to defeat bills that prohibit private prisonsMore lobbying in support of private prisonsIncredible drug price increase after hedge fund manager acquires itAnnual report of Weaver Street MarketDonnie Maclurcan's explanation of not-for-profit enterprisesRanking of the world's happiest countriesBoston Ujima ProjectAlfie Kohn, No Contest: The Case Against Competition, Houghton Mifflin, 1992.B Corps and B LabDefinition of the solidarity economy from the New Economy CoalitionSupport the Show.
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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 storyTimeline of the largest passenger boatsParks and Rec clip on soda sizesKaitlin 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 BackCBS news story about a family giving away half their incomeSparkToro, an unusual tech company that doesn't believe bigger is betterReport: Resilient Biocultural Heritage Landscapes for Sustainable Mountain Development, which contains information about Peru's Potato ParkKrystyna Swiderska, "Here's why Indigenous economics is the key to saving nature"Al Bartlett lecturing on exponential growthSupport the Show.
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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 DubaiWired article that tells the story of the Ever Given and all the supply chain problems that ensuedThe 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 FoodVasilis Kostakis's article on cosmolocalismVicki Robin's book Blessing the Hands that Feed UsWebsite for FibershedMolly Scott Cato's book The Bioregional Economy: Land, Liberty, and the Pursuit of HappinessSupport the Show.
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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 changeAnother such article about the "magic" of AIAnd another -- sheesh (no wonder Jason was so upset)!Report on the future of petrochemicals from the International Energy AgencyKelly Oakes of the BBC asks, "What would happen if we stopped using plastic?"Website of The Ocean CleanupLow Tech MagazineLow Technology Institute's 10-Mile Building ChallengeSulan Chen writes for UNDP, "A global treaty to end plastic pollution is in sight."BBC reporting on the EU's efforts to regulate AISupport the Show.
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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 moviesClip from the movie The Blues BrothersClip from the movie SpeedClip from the movie Live Free or Die HardClip from the movie Furious 7Definition of high frequency tradingGraphical representation of the Great AccelerationInterview with Hartmut RosaBart Zantvoort's article about Harmut Rosa's workArticle about social acceleration by Bettina Hollstein and Hartmut Rosa in the Journal of Business EthicsPodcast episode about shrinking attention spans (episode 225 of Speaking of Psychology)Article about technology and perception of time by Fiona MacDonald in ScienceAlertSupport the Show.
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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 CityRetrosuburbia: The Downshifter’s Guide to a Resilient Future, book by David Holmgren.Global Ecovillage NetworkDaily ActsStoveTeam InternationalOne Planet CouncilSupport the Show.
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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 songThe melancholy remake of the theme song for a bankrupt Toys “R” Us, performed by Chase HolfelderU.S. Material Use FactsheetUnited Nations statistics on material footprintSelf storage industry trendsThe environmental costs of fast fashionStory by Beth Porter, “What Really Happens to Unwanted Clothes?”Forbes list of billionairesGeorge Carlin’s classic comedic bit about “stuff”Sandra Goldmark’s book Fixation: How to Have Stuff without Breaking the PlanetSupport the Show.
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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.Support the Show.
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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 CultFrance’s Dancing Plague of 1518Geoffrey Cohen, Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides, W. W. Norton, 2022Asch line experimentBystander Intervention Tip SheetSummary of Marvin Harris’s work on cultural materialismResearch 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 AssessmentOthering and Belonging Institute at the University of California, BerkeleySupport the Show.
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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.
Support the Show.
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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.
LaUra's book, How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our PlanetThe Good Grief Network's 10 Step ProgramLaUra mentioned Bayo Akomolafe and his work on "questioning our questions."Joanna Macy and The Work That ReconnectsVideo of Dr. Andrew Weil's 4-7-8 breathing techniqueDavid Graeber's book Bullshit JobsCrazy 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 DeathAyisha Siddiqa's poem "On Another Panel about Climate, They Ask Me to Sell the Future and All I've Got Is a Love Poem"
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:Support the Show.
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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.
183 regional and local conflicts around the worldZuckerberg’s tragically misguided Hawaiian bunkerAnti-aging nutterWhen do we get to use the guns?The 10-step program of the Good Grief Network
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
References:Support the Show.
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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.
Marc Andreessen's horrifying "Techno-Optimist Manifesto" Peer-reviewed paper featuring Jason's far superior "Dehumanist Manifesto"Description of the pygmy marmosetThe idea of Beth Sawin's Multisolving InstituteThe dark triad -- narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathyThe original paper on the taxonomy of Phalse ProphetsArticle by Richard Heinberg about free will.
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
References:Support the Show.
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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.
Leah's websiteLeah'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 extremismBurn Wild, another must-listen podcast about the Earth Liberation Front and left-wing extremism
Resources:Support the Show.
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