Crazy Town

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes: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"Support the show

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.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.References: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 NetworkSupport the show

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.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.References: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.Support the show

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.Resources: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 extremismSupport the show

Just how much has the extractivist growth mindset come to dominate Phoenix and other cities in the desert Southwest of the United States? Prepare to turn your indignation meter up to 11 as Jason, Rob, and Asher consider desalination, pipelines, and the folly of pursuing infinite growth in a dry climate.Support the show

We are pleased to share the new podcast from Post Carbon Institute, Holding the Fire. Award-winning journalist and author Dahr Jamail hosts in-depth interviews with leaders from around the world to uncover Indigenous ways of reckoning with environmental and societal breakdown.Support the show

Wildlife ecologist and communicator extraordinaire Rae Wynn-Grant visits Crazy Town to talk human-wildlife interactions, the social side of environmentalism, diversity and equity in the sciences, and ideas for young people (don't worry if you're older—the ideas apply to you, too). Rae is the host of the PBS Nature podcast "Going Wild" and will soon be appearing as the cohost of Wild Kingdom, a reboot of the ultra-classic tv nature show. Listen to the end of the episode to catch Rae’s thoughts on the most important stories people need to hear (and tell) to make a transition to sustainable and just society. Notes and Resources:Rae’s websiteThe podcast: Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-GrantRae discussed how Ayana Elizabeth Johnson influenced her.Rae also highlighted the work of Leah Thomas on intersectional environmentalism.Doris Duke Conservation Scholars ProgramNational Geographic HBCU Media ScholarshipArticle about the reboot of the Wild Kingdom television seriesSupport the show

What do Saddam Hussein’s information minister and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board have in common? Hint: it starts with a “d,” ends with “enial,” and isn’t just a river in Egypt. A new and virulent strain of climate denial could be called “doomer shaming.” Instead of acknowledging how logical it is to be distressed about the state of the climate (and the pitiful worldwide political response), delusional boosters of the status quo would rather belittle people who worry about rising temperatures, wildfires, super-storms, and ecosystem breakdown. Jason, Rob, Asher, and Melody consider how to manage climate anxiety and use it in service of caring for planet Earth.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.References:Video of Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahhaf, aka Baghdad BobAllysia Finley wrote this Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “Climate Change Obsession Is a Real Mental Disorder”Nature article dismissed by FinleyLancet article dismissed by FinleyRebuttal written by PCI Advisor Leslie Davenport and published in the Wall Street JournalRebecca Solnit’s article in The Guardian, “We Can’t Afford to Be Climate Doomers.”Survey on climate distress by the Yale Program on Climate CommunicationGen Dread newsletter on climate distressClimate Psychology AllianceGood Grief NetworkSupport the show

After hearing a story of woe on the streets of Portland, Oregon, Jason, Rob, and Asher cover the four critical ways of cultivating personal resilience to navigate the Great Unraveling. The report we reference several times is Welcome to the Great Unraveling: Navigating the Polycrisis of Environmental and Social Breakdown.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Support the show

Asher, Rob, and Jason explore the lessons and dangers of the brotherhood of Phalse Prophets and consider better ways to achieve a sustainable and equitable society. Along the way, they examine how to start a cult, turn the insufferability index on themselves, respond to listener feedback, and repeatedly mispronounce amygdala. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD. Support the show

Meet Elon Musk, the Muskian mogul who Elon Musks his way to the pinnacle of Muskitude. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD. Sources/Links/Notes:Prepare to be wowed by the Musk Foundation website.Luc Olinga, "Errol Musk, Elon's Dad, Prompts a New Controversy," TheStreet (2022).Musk's attack on Jane GoodallCade Metz and Neal E. Boudette, "Inside Tesla as Elon Musk Pushed an Unflinching Vision for Self-Driving Cars," The New York Times (2021).Andrew J. Hawkins and Umar Shakir, "Elon Musk unveils a new Master Plan, a path to sustainable energy future, but no new cars," The Verge (2023).Adam Kovacs and Adam Westbrook, "Elon Musk Has Some bad Ideas for Mass Transit. We Have Solutions," The New York Times (2022).Adam Something, "Elon Musk’s Loop is a Bizarrely Stupid Idea," YouTube (2021).Ted Mann and Julie Bykowicz, "Elon Musk’s Boring Company Ghosts Cities Across America," The Wall Street Journal (2022).Nikki McCann Ramirez, "Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Theory Trends on Twitter After Elon Musk Pushes It," Rolling Stone (2022).Ted McCormick, "The billionaire space race reflects a colonial mindset that fails to imagine a different world," The Conversation (2021).Marina Koren, "The War in Ukraine is Testing the Myth of Elon Musk," The Atlantic (2022).Radhika Viswanathan, "Elon Musk’s plan to bring a mini-submarine to rescue the Thai boys," Vox (2018).A podcast episode from Backpacker that describes the amazing Thai cave rescueZoe Schiffer and Casey Newton, "Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first," Platformer (2023)Emile P. Torres, "How Elon Musk sees the future: His bizarre sci-fi vision should concern us all," Salon, July 17, 2022.Support the show

Meet Steve Bannon, the Molotov mixologist who wants to light the world on fire. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD. Sources/Links/Notes:Video: Mutual Aid in the Great Unraveling, Part 1 with Daniel P Aldrich, Amira Odeh, and Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute, November 2022.Video: Mutual Aid in the Great Unraveling, Part 2 with Dean Spade, Joanna Swan, and Aliza Tuttle, Post Carbon Institute, November 2022.Dean Spade, "Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next),"  Verso Books, October 2020."Democracy Rising" essay series on deliberative democracyGlobal Tapestry of AlternativesEliana Johnson and Eli Stokols, "What Steve Bannon Wants You to Read," Politico, February 7, 2017.Lisa Marshall, "Inside Steve Bannon's 'War for Eternity'," CU Boulder Today, April 22, 2020.Joshua Green, "Inside the Secret, Strange Origins of Steve Bannon’s Nationalist Fantasia," Vanity Fair, July 17, 2017.David Breitenbeck, "A Brief Summary of Traditionalism," The Imaginative Conservative, March 21, 2019.Generation Zero, Bannon's poorly reviewed documentaryGuo Wengui's video for his song, "Take Down the CCP," -- the third best comedy yacht video of all time.Douglas Rushkoff, "How to Avoid Becoming a Fascist: Why I turned down an appearance on Steve Bannon's podcast," Medium, October 21, 2021.Olivia Goldhill, "The neo-fascist philosophy that underpins both the alt-right and Silicon Valley technophiles," Quartz, June 18, 2017.Philip Rucker and Robert Costa, "Bannon vows a daily fight for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’," The Washington Post, February 23, 2017.Support the show

Meet Guy McPherson, the extinction enthusiast who undermines legitimate climate concerns by predicting we’re all going to die yesterday. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD. Sources/Links/Notes:Guy McPherson, "Near-Term Extinction blog post," Nature Bats Last (last updated 2016).Scott Johnson, "How Guy McPherson gets it wrong," Fractal Planet, 2014.Michael Tobis, "McPherson’s Evidence That Doom Doom Doom," Planet 3.0, 2014.Nathan Curry, "Humanity Is Getting Verrrrrrry Close to Extinction," Vice, 2013.BizNewsTV, "'Humans will be extinct by 2026' - 'doom and gloom prophet' Prof McPherson on abrupt climate change," January 19, 2023.Shannon Osaka, "Why climate 'doomers' are replacing climate 'deniers',” Washington Post, March 24, 2023.Jerome Roos, "We Don’t Know What Will Happen Next," New York Times, April 18, 2023.List of McPherson predictionsSupport the show