The Great Simplification is a podcast that explores the systems science underpinning the human predicament. Through conversations with experts and leaders hosted by Dr. Nate Hagens, we explore topics spanning ecology, economics, energy, geopolitics, human behavior, and monetary/financial systems. Our goal is to provide a simple educational resource for the complex energetic, physical, and social constraints ahead, and to inspire people to play a role in our collective future. Ultimately, we aim to normalize these conversations and, in doing so, change the initial conditions of future events.
379 episodes transcribedEconomics departments around the world teach a narrow boundary story of the way our world works. A narrative of infinite growth driven by consumption...
National security concerns have been the invisible hand guiding governance throughout recorded history. In the 20th century, it was defined by a count...
👉 WATCH THE MOVIE HERE 👈 Three years ago, my team and I created a 30-minute movie that provides a comprehensive systems analysis of the human pred...
Over the last few decades, humanity has globalized everything – from food production and supply chains to communication and information systems – maki...
Living in a period increasingly fraught by various crises and risks, it is more necessary than ever to be able to metabolize anxiety into something us...
While most industries are embracing artificial intelligence, citing profit and efficiency, the tech industry is pushing AI into education under the gu...
In a world grappling with converging crises, we often look outward – for new tech, new markets, new distractions. But the deeper issue lies within: ou...
For all of human history, the oceans and the life within them have remained a stable and fundamental part of Earth as we know it. Yet, for the past fe...
In a world increasingly mediated by machines, the boundaries between human identity and artificial intelligence are beginning to blur. While some embr...
It's no secret that massive change is needed to restore our planet's vital ecosystems. Permaculture offers practices to restore local environments by...
In a culture driven by achievement, autonomy, and digital distraction, our sense of identity is often shaped by performance and external validation. Y...
There is only one known planet in the universe capable of meeting humanity's needs – Earth. And yet, our understanding and appreciation of the underl...
With more people on the planet than ever before – with most having constant digital access to one another – there is an abundance of potential relatio...
Last week, Europe experienced its worst blackout in living memory, which plunged tens of millions of people across Spain and Portugal into darkness fo...
Each morning, people around the world wake up to more troubling headlines – from power outages in Spain and Portugal to intensifying drone attacks in...
As economic, political, and environmental pressures continue to reshape our daily choices, it's becoming increasingly clear that the era of hyper-cons...
What if the most powerful tool humanity has ever created could either help heal the Earth — or accelerate its unraveling? In this special Earth Week e...
The psychological effects of media consumption and keeping up with the 24-hour news cycle are vast. It can sometimes feel impossible to stay educated...
As current events continue to accelerate around us, there is no better time to pause and view the rapid changes unfolding around us through a broader,...
When we are able to see the full scope of a problem, rather than a fragment, it changes how we respond. Throughout history, comprehensive data has cat...
