The Great Simplification
@tgspodcast.bsky.social
A podcast exploring money, energy, economy, and the environment with world experts and leaders to understand how everything fits together, and where we go from here. Hosted by @natehagens.bsky.social.
thegreatsimplification.com
thegreatsimplification.com
Today, Nate is joined by Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, a Peruvian chemical biologist with Andean-Amazonian indigenous roots, to discuss how she is actively merging modern science and indigenous knowledge through innovative research in the Amazon Rainforest.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/201-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/201-...
November 19, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Today, Nate is joined by Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, a Peruvian chemical biologist with Andean-Amazonian indigenous roots, to discuss how she is actively merging modern science and indigenous knowledge through innovative research in the Amazon Rainforest.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/201-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/201-...
What began years ago as an investigation into oil has morphed into a deep lifelong journey into the complex web of energy, psychology, evolution, and systems that drive today’s society.
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
November 14, 2025 at 3:45 PM
What began years ago as an investigation into oil has morphed into a deep lifelong journey into the complex web of energy, psychology, evolution, and systems that drive today’s society.
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
In this episode, Nate interviews Professor Ted Parson about solar geoengineering (specifically stratospheric aerosol injection) as a potential response to severe climate risks.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/200-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/200-...
November 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
In this episode, Nate interviews Professor Ted Parson about solar geoengineering (specifically stratospheric aerosol injection) as a potential response to severe climate risks.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/200-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/200-...
Our efforts to cope with mortality are at the core of culture, religion, the desire for wealth, and even many of today’s societal crises. How might a deeper understanding of our implicit reactions to mortality help us turn towards responses that are more supportive of our species and planet?
November 10, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Our efforts to cope with mortality are at the core of culture, religion, the desire for wealth, and even many of today’s societal crises. How might a deeper understanding of our implicit reactions to mortality help us turn towards responses that are more supportive of our species and planet?
In this episode, Nate is joined by @norabateson.bsky.social and Zak Stein to explore the multifaceted ways that AI is designed to exploit our deepest social vulnerabilities, and the risks this poses to human relationships, cognition, and society.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/real...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/real...
November 5, 2025 at 7:37 PM
In this episode, Nate is joined by @norabateson.bsky.social and Zak Stein to explore the multifaceted ways that AI is designed to exploit our deepest social vulnerabilities, and the risks this poses to human relationships, cognition, and society.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/real...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/real...
In this week’s Frankly, Nate outlines four bifurcations that are likely to underpin the human experience in the near future. These divergences, and the ways we cope with them, contribute to increasing incoherence as a species.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
October 31, 2025 at 2:35 PM
In this week’s Frankly, Nate outlines four bifurcations that are likely to underpin the human experience in the near future. These divergences, and the ways we cope with them, contribute to increasing incoherence as a species.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
Somewhere along the way, the U.S. moved away from its revolutionary roots of decentralization and started pushing the idea that bigger is better. Economic writer and strategist @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social explains how and when this shift occurred.
October 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Somewhere along the way, the U.S. moved away from its revolutionary roots of decentralization and started pushing the idea that bigger is better. Economic writer and strategist @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social explains how and when this shift occurred.
In this episode, Nate is joined by Sheldon Solomon, a psychologist and co-developer of Terror Management Theory, which posits that while all living beings strive to survive, humans are unique in knowing that death is unavoidable.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/199-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/199-...
October 29, 2025 at 4:20 PM
In this episode, Nate is joined by Sheldon Solomon, a psychologist and co-developer of Terror Management Theory, which posits that while all living beings strive to survive, humans are unique in knowing that death is unavoidable.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/199-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/199-...
When we optimize for efficiency and growth, we risk the stability of the entire system. Economic writer and strategist @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social explains.
October 24, 2025 at 4:34 PM
When we optimize for efficiency and growth, we risk the stability of the entire system. Economic writer and strategist @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social explains.
In this week’s Frankly, Nate considers the ways in which our social species overvalues false-confidence rather than the more honest and inquisitive response of “I don’t know.”
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
October 24, 2025 at 2:33 PM
In this week’s Frankly, Nate considers the ways in which our social species overvalues false-confidence rather than the more honest and inquisitive response of “I don’t know.”
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
Watch/listen:
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
In this episode, Nate is joined by economic writer and strategist @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social to explore how concentrated economic power shapes the health of towns and cities – from economic resilience to social connectedness.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/198-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/198-...
October 22, 2025 at 3:13 PM
In this episode, Nate is joined by economic writer and strategist @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social to explore how concentrated economic power shapes the health of towns and cities – from economic resilience to social connectedness.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/198-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/198-...
Sometimes it feels like we hear the same warnings year after year. But in systems as complex as Earth's ecosystems, collapse is always just around the corner.
October 20, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Sometimes it feels like we hear the same warnings year after year. But in systems as complex as Earth's ecosystems, collapse is always just around the corner.
Renewables might be able to help power a human civilization in the future, just not this one.
October 17, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Renewables might be able to help power a human civilization in the future, just not this one.
25 years ago, a landmark paper warned that coral reefs could vanish by 2050. Today, I'm joined by the marine biologist who made this prediction for an update on the health of coral reefs and the primary ecological stressors driving their decline.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/197-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/197-...
October 15, 2025 at 3:17 PM
25 years ago, a landmark paper warned that coral reefs could vanish by 2050. Today, I'm joined by the marine biologist who made this prediction for an update on the health of coral reefs and the primary ecological stressors driving their decline.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/197-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/197-...
Meredith Angwin is an expert on the U.S. energy grid. While she's not against renewable sources of energy, she highlights how the idea that a transition to them will be cheap, quick, and easy is misleading.
October 14, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Meredith Angwin is an expert on the U.S. energy grid. While she's not against renewable sources of energy, she highlights how the idea that a transition to them will be cheap, quick, and easy is misleading.
We can't have our cake and eat it too. Getting rid of fossil fuels would reduce much more than just C02 emissions. We all have some soul-searching to do, not just the CEOs and politicians.
October 10, 2025 at 8:52 PM
We can't have our cake and eat it too. Getting rid of fossil fuels would reduce much more than just C02 emissions. We all have some soul-searching to do, not just the CEOs and politicians.
In an effort to reduce inefficiencies, the U.S. unintentionally prioritized low energy prices over energy reliability. Author of Shorting the Grid, Meredith Angwin, explains how this policy shift in the 1990s has led to the continued deterioration of American energy infrastructure.
October 9, 2025 at 8:15 PM
In an effort to reduce inefficiencies, the U.S. unintentionally prioritized low energy prices over energy reliability. Author of Shorting the Grid, Meredith Angwin, explains how this policy shift in the 1990s has led to the continued deterioration of American energy infrastructure.
The only hope is some sort of a meta-political response. A systems-informed, trans-political commitment to resisting control from any direction.
October 8, 2025 at 8:52 PM
The only hope is some sort of a meta-political response. A systems-informed, trans-political commitment to resisting control from any direction.
In this episode, Nate is joined by Meredith Angwin for an in-depth overview of the U.S. electrical grid system, its history, and the need for accountability in energy governance.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/196-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/196-...
October 8, 2025 at 2:28 PM
In this episode, Nate is joined by Meredith Angwin for an in-depth overview of the U.S. electrical grid system, its history, and the need for accountability in energy governance.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/196-...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/196-...
Forensic psychologist Dr. Reid Meloy is a widely cited authority on psychopathy, personality disorders, and targeted violence. He knows a thing or two about what we do with these "dark triad" individuals.
October 6, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Forensic psychologist Dr. Reid Meloy is a widely cited authority on psychopathy, personality disorders, and targeted violence. He knows a thing or two about what we do with these "dark triad" individuals.
Rutger Bregman, co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition, had some simple words of advice to all of the young followers of The Great Simplification podcast, who so often feel overwhelmed by the never-ending stream of bad news happening across the planet.
October 3, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Rutger Bregman, co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition, had some simple words of advice to all of the young followers of The Great Simplification podcast, who so often feel overwhelmed by the never-ending stream of bad news happening across the planet.
As much as we might hate to admit it, capitalism is simply a product of a natural biological drive seen across all living species. We can't get rid of this drive, but could we set limits to keep us from devouring the planet?
October 3, 2025 at 6:35 PM
As much as we might hate to admit it, capitalism is simply a product of a natural biological drive seen across all living species. We can't get rid of this drive, but could we set limits to keep us from devouring the planet?
In this week’s Frankly, Nate returns from New York City Climate Week with fresh reflections on the disconnect between our economic narratives and biophysical realities.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
October 3, 2025 at 4:04 PM
In this week’s Frankly, Nate returns from New York City Climate Week with fresh reflections on the disconnect between our economic narratives and biophysical realities.
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-orig...
Psychoanalyst Nancy McWilliams explains how our tools for identifying dark triad traits (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) leave much to be desired.
October 2, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Psychoanalyst Nancy McWilliams explains how our tools for identifying dark triad traits (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) leave much to be desired.