Nature Detachment and Ecocide, or… the Story of the Marauding Mountain Lion (Episode 40 of Crazy Town)

The more we wall ourselves off from nature, the more likely we are to continue on the path of climate chaos and extinction. Join Asher, Rob, and Jason on their search for how to reconnect with nature.

The Myth of Progress and Limits to Growth, or… the Story of the World’s Largest Shovel (Episode 39 of Crazy Town)

But what, exactly, is progress, and is humanity preordained to achieve it? What if the modern concept of progress costs more than it’s worth and turns out to be a harmful myth?

Complexity and Armageddon, or… the Story of the Hemp Microphone (Episode 38 of Crazy Town)

Society has become so complex that all the complexity begets more complexity. And if that’s not complex enough for you, jobs have become so specialized that hardly anyone knows how anything is made or works.

Discounting the Future and Climate Chaos, or… the Story of the Dueling Economists (Episode 37 of Crazy Town)

Jason, Rob, and Asher explore why the discount rate, and discounting the future more broadly, is so deadly important, and why the number 0 is what our kids and grandkids deserve.

Conspiracy Theories and Collapse, or… the Story of UFOs and Free Energy (Episode 36 of Crazy Town)

Are we experiencing a spike in conspiracy theories akin to the days of the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials? What’s the role of science and technology in spreading such theories? Have lizard people infiltrated the government in order to hide the truth about how flat the Earth really is?

Fear of Death and Climate Denial, or… the Story of Wolverine and the Screaming Mole of Doom (Episode 34 of Crazy Town)

What can we learn about death from the X-Men, small screaming rodents, and unwitting college students in psychology experiments? It turns out that the fear of death (or death anxiety) affects human behavior in all sorts of surprising and deeply troubling ways.

Relative Status and Environmental Breakdown, or… the Story of Bartenders and Bird Feathers (Episode 33 of Crazy Town)

How can the climate disaster and humanity’s overall sustainability crisis be explained by 80s sitcom characters, birdbrained hats from the late 1800s, and a dubious new use for scratch-and-sniff technology?

A Time to Speak up, but Also a Time to Shut up: White Privilege in America (Episode 30 of Crazy Town)

Is there anything crazier than the people in our towns, who are sworn to protect and serve, instead coldly taking the lives of our neighbors? Given this moment in American history marked by outrage, sadness, and massive protest, we discuss the need to address institutional racism and white privilege.