Urgent Futures Podcast

N. Katherine Hayles: A New Theory of Mind, from 'Bacteria to AI' | #46 A conversation with intellectual hero N. Katherine Hayles about her new book 'Bacteria to AI,' machine cognition, ecological relationality, posthumanism, chatbots, AI aesthetics & poetry, & more.

The ongoing devastation of the biosphere & the current trajectory of AI are rooted in the same phenomenon: anthropocentrism.

In her latest book, the legendary N. Katherine Hayles proposes a new theory of cognition that seeks to decenter the human.

More via the latest @urgentfutures.bsky.social:

Psychological Resilience and the Benefits of Resilience Counseling Understanding the meaning of mental resilience, strategies individuals can use to improve psychological resilience, and the role of resilience counseling.

Psychological resilience is critical given *gestures at everything*

And importantly, psychological resilience is something that can be developed. This @realitystudies.bsky.social primer explains strategies for building resilience & points to the potential benefits of resilience counseling.

What is Post-Growth Economics? Rethinking Prosperity Beyond GDP Growth Is post-growth economics a viable alternative to the modern economy? This primer breaks down the post-growth movement, its history, how it compares to degrowth and green growth, key critiques, & more.

What is Post-Growth Economics? Rethinking Prosperity Beyond GDP Growth via @realitystudies.bsky.social
www.realitystudies.co/p/what-is-po...

“We treat the physical world as a mine and a dump, as we pray for our afterlife.”

On the latest @urgentfutures.bsky.social, Carl Safina breaks down how Plato set the stage for the polycrisis by fostering particular values & beliefs about life on Earth.

www.realitystudies.co/p/carl-safin...

“We treat the physical world as a mine and a dump, as we pray for our afterlife.” —Carl Safina on @urgentfutures.bsky.social

youtu.be/oIuS_muBPhA?...

How Bad Will it Get? Thrutopias and the Need for Transformative Adaptation - Rupert Read | #41 My guest today is Rupert Read (@RupertReadClimate)EPISODE PAGE + TRANSCRIPT:https://www.realitystudies.co/p/rupert-read-transformative-adaptation-thrutopias-...

“Let nobody think there is any spectator sport here, this is a fully participatory engagement and endeavour; our future.”

I joined @jessedamiani.bsky.social on his podcast to talk about transformative adaptation and how we can ALL be involved. Watch now.

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani Why is the World in Crisis? And What Can We Do About It? - Rachel Donald (Planet: Critical) | #40

Why is the World in Crisis—& What Can We Do About It?

A real privilege to sit down with @racheldonald.bsky.social on the latest @urgentfutures.bsky.social. We talked polycrisis, power, violence, systems, and much more:

youtu.be/o2jEi2Ez0O8

As more and more terrible things happen, it’s critical to remember that we do have agency (it’s something I keep reminding myself).

Transformative adaptation is a framework that allows us to imagine and realize ‘thrutopias’ in which we continue to live meaningful lives amid collapse.

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani Climate Trauma: Mental Health & Resilience After the LA Wildfires - Jyoti Mishra | Rapid Response #4

Video episode here: youtu.be/lddQNIJYOTw?...

Climate Trauma & Fire Brain: Understanding the Mental Health Impacts of the LA Wildfires & Developing Resilience - Jyoti Mishra | Rapid Response #4 Los Angeles: have you been doomscrolling & unable to concentrate? There's a reason, & it has to do with how our brains respond to trauma. I spoke with a leading neuroscientist to make sense of it.

LA: find yourself doomscrolling & unable to concentrate during the LA wildfires? There’s a reason: climate trauma & ‘fire brain’

I was lucky to to discuss both + what you can do with @neatneuro.bsky.social on the latest Urgent Futures Rapid Response:

www.realitystudies.co/p/climate-tr...

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani Overshoot & Climate Breakdown - Wim Carton & Andreas Malm | #39

We talked about Overshoot with @jessedamiani.bsky.social over at the Urgent Futures podcast before Christmas - and the episode is now online. I enjoyed this one - thanks for having us on Jesse!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV0u...

Wim Carton & Andreas Malm: Overshoot & Climate Breakdown | Urgent Futures #39 🎙 Jesse sits down with 'Overshoot' co-authors to discuss the climate politics, philosophies, and strategies that are destroying the biosphere and putting us all at risk.

An immense privilege to speak with @wimcarton.bsky.social & Andreas Malm on the latest @urgentfutures.bsky.social!

We dive into their superb, devastating recent book, 'Overshoot,' which charts the political philosophy that is driving us toward collapse.
www.realitystudies.co/p/overshoot-...

Los Angeles Air is the 'Disaster After the Disaster' and AQI is Unreliable. How to Stay Safe - Jane Williams | Urgent Futures Rapid Response #3 Listen now | I sat down with California Communities Against Toxics Executive Director to discuss the extremely toxic pollutants still in the air, ground, and water in Los Angeles.

What are we breathing? There remains a lot of anxiety & confusion about the air in LA County, the “disaster after the disaster.” 😷
Exec. Director of CCAT spells it all out to @jessedamiani.bsky.social in the latest @urgentfutures.bsky.social episode www.realitystudies.co/p/los-angele...

The winds are picking up in LA again today. Please, please listen to/watch/read this @urgentfutures.bsky.social interview with Jane Williams, and share it with friends & family. The stuff in the air is truly horrific.

Phoebe Barnard: The Human Behavioral Crisis is the Coordination Problem Underlying Overshoot and Climate Crisis | #35 🎙 Jesse sits down with legendary polymath to discuss environmental futures, civilizational shift, regeneration & restoration, and the role of media and marketing in fostering systems change.

Fun to be called 'legendary polymath' by anyone as fun & astute as Jesse Damiani of @urgentfutures.bsky.social podcast - especially since early in my career, polymaths were not in vogue at all. Lab tutors covered my reports with red ink: 'too many adjectives.' www.realitystudies.co/p/phoebe-bar...

Los Angeles Air is the 'Disaster After the Disaster' and AQI is Unreliable. How to Stay Safe - Jane Williams | Urgent Futures Rapid Response #3 Listen now | I sat down with California Communities Against Toxics Executive Director to discuss the extremely toxic pollutants still in the air, ground, and water in Los Angeles.

The LA fires aren’t raging as they were last week, but we are in the “disaster after the disaster”: the air & ash. They contain harmful, potentially lethal pollutants that AQI doesn’t measure.

If you or loved ones are in LA, please listen to this & share it.
www.realitystudies.co/p/los-angele...

The Los Angeles Fires, Polycrisis, & How to Live in Collapse | Urgent Futures Rapid Response #2 Time to get real about our futures—which are "already here, just not evenly distributed."

"If you’re paying attention, you recognize that all of this—the unprecedented “hurricanes” of fire, our inability to prepare for them, the systemic failures of our government, the exploitation for political disinformation—are symptoms of collapse in polycrisis."
www.realitystudies.co/p/los-angele...

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani The Human Behavioral Crisis Underlying Climate Change—& How to Respond - Phoebe Barnard | #35

Any comments on this fun podcast conversation with @jessedamiani.bsky.social of @urgentfutures.bsky.social? I was on shoot in the field, filming our documentary series - no time (clearly, alas) to brush my hair, so he kindly inserted a somewhat more flattering thumbnail 😉

youtu.be/vc0BAemxRPo?...

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani Mass Extinctions Explained, & How to Avoid the Sixth Mass Extinction - Peter Brannen | #36

Had fun talking to @jessedamiani.bsky.social about ancient apocalypses, and soft launching an ill-considered mustache www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUar...

Please support the mustache by checking out this conversation!

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani The Human Behavioral Crisis Underlying Climate Change—& How to Respond - Phoebe Barnard | #35

I wish I had the grace, equanimity and wisdom of Phoebe Barnard.

This is one of my favourite podcasts: @urgentfutures.bsky.social by @jessedamiani.bsky.social

#EcologicalOvershoot
#HumanBehaviour
#ClimateChange

#PhoebeBarnard
#JesseDamiani
#UrgentFutures

A true privilege to speak with @phoebebarnard.bsky.social on @urgentfutures.bsky.social! Phoebe is a critical voice advocating for civilizational shift—and the means to do so.

Thank you @greymaven.bsky.social for sharing!

Opinion | Trump Kicks Down the Guardrails Anne Applebaum on how to think about autocracy and authoritarianism in a second Trump term.

"[M]ost democracies nowadays...don’t fail because of a coup d’état ... What usually happens is that an elected, legitimate leader enters office w a goal of taking over the state, of changing the nature of its institutions...so that he doesn’t lose the election next time" - @anneapplebaum.bsky.social

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani Why Disinformation Is Still a Critical Issue for Democracy - Nina Jankowicz | Urgent Futures #24

How information spreads—& who shapes it—remains a vital issue for democracy.

@ninajankowicz.com has been helping make sense of all this for years, & continues to do so through the American Sunlight Project. We get into all of it in this episode of @urgentfutures.bsky.social
youtu.be/REU_-PX-W9Y?...

Reading ‘Overshoot’ by @wimcarton.bsky.social & Andreas Malm right now, which supports so much of what’s said in this excellent thread (btw you should pick up a copy of the book, it’s vital)

YouTube video by Jesse Damiani The Evolution of Propaganda & the 'Invisible Rulers' of Social Media - Renée DiResta | #30

Given *gestures at everything,* it seems like the perfect time to listen to this interview with @noupside.bsky.social, where we dig into her vital book ‘Invisible Rulers,’ the evolution of propaganda, and more.

youtu.be/3w6w-mr8OKY?...

If you knew nothing about what COP was, and evaluated carbon emissions across the years it’s been running, it’d be perfectly reasonable for you to assume COP had been designed to *accelerate* fossil fuel use based on the data.

The joke is quite literally on us

Big oil firms knew of dire effects of fossil fuels as early as 1950s, memos show Newly unearthed documents contain warning from head of Air Pollution Foundation, founded in 1953 by oil interests

"Newly unearthed documents contain warning from head of Air Pollution Foundation, founded in 1953 by oil interests"

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Status quo economics is breaking down.

I made a Starter Pack of folks who are progressing ideas, philosophies, & strategies for systems change, including ecological economics, degrowth, post-growth, post-/anti-capitalism, ecosocialism, Modern Monetary Theory, Doughnut Economics
go.bsky.app/So5vwTn