The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

Recently, the risks about Artificial Intelligence and the need for ‘alignment’ have been flooding our cultural discourse – with Artificial Super Intelligence acting as both the most promising goal and most pressing threat. But amid the moral debate, there’s been surprisingly little attention paid to a basic question: do we even have the technical capability to guide where any of this is headed? And if not, should we sl...

Economics departments around the world teach a narrow boundary story of the way our world works. A narrative of infinite growth driven by consumption and money, which has dominated our culture and unknowingly shaped the way we live. But does this story really reflect our biophysical reality – or the full scope of humanity’s role within it?

In this week’s Frankly, Nate identifies 10 myths being taught in bu...

National security concerns have been the invisible hand guiding governance throughout recorded history. In the 20th century, it was defined by a country versus country dynamic: whichever nation was the strongest and most strategic was also the safest. But today, our biggest national security threats don’t come from opposing nations – they are “actorless threats” that emerge from the breakdown of the complex systems we ...

👉 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 predicament—spanning energy, economics, ecology, and behavioral psychology. This beautifully animated film aims to help viewers understand the interconnected crises defining our era.

When we fi...

Over the last few decades, humanity has globalized everything – from food production and supply chains to communication and information systems – making countries, businesses, and individuals more connected and reliant on each other than ever before. Yet, with this increased interconnectedness comes more complexity and fragility. What have we lost through the globalization process, and how might we fortify our communit...

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 useful. But what about at a cultural level? The behaviors that the current economic superstructure rewards cannot form the basis of what emerges from its ashes…we require new ways of thinking and living that put us in closer relationship to one another and the planet around...

While most industries are embracing artificial intelligence, citing profit and efficiency, the tech industry is pushing AI into education under the guise of ‘inevitability’. But the focus on its potential benefits for academia eclipses the pressing (and often invisible) risks that AI poses to children – including the decline of critical thinking, the inability to connect with other humans, and even addiction. With the ...

In a world grappling with converging crises, we often look outward – for new tech, new markets, new distractions. But the deeper issue lies within: our relationship with energy, nature, and each other. What if we step back far enough to see human civilization itself as an organism that is growing without a plan?

In this week’s Frankly — adapted from a recent TED talk like presentation (called Ignite) — Nat...

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 few decades, fisheries and scientists alike have observed massive migrations in marine ecosystems unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed. What is driving these unprecedented movements, and how are they rippling out to affect every aspect of life

In this conversat...

In a world increasingly mediated by machines, the boundaries between human identity and artificial intelligence are beginning to blur. While some embrace the tools of the future, others quietly resist, preserving ways of being that have endured for millennia. What happens when AI becomes not just a tool but a mirror?

In this week’s Frankly, Nate introduces a new typology of how AI may shape human behavior ...

It’s no secret that massive change is needed to restore our planet’s vital ecosystems. Permaculture offers practices to restore local environments by focusing on creating sustainable agricultural systems that mimic patterns found in nature. But how might permaculture initiatives go beyond agriculture to transform some of our largest-scale problems, such as social cohesion, climate stabilization, and even human migratio...

In a culture driven by achievement, autonomy, and digital distraction, our sense of identity is often shaped by performance and external validation. Yet beneath this surface, many carry unseen psychological imprints from childhood and culture alike. What happens when we begin to examine these layers and imagine healthier ones?

In this week’s Frankly, Nate explores the themes of attention, awareness, and th...

There is only one known planet in the universe capable of meeting humanity's needs – Earth.  And yet, our understanding and appreciation of the underlying complexity that makes it function remains limited. If we were able to grasp the transformative potential of biodiversity – specifically how it relates to biocomplexity – how might we change our behavior?

In this episode, Nate is joined by ecologist Thoma...

With more people on the planet than ever before – with most having constant digital access to one another – there is an abundance of potential relationships available to us. Despite this, there is also an increasing loneliness crisis across global society. What can evolutionary psychology teach us about this lack of meaningful relationships at a time of hyper-connectivity?

In this week’s Frankly, Nate refl...

Last week, Europe experienced its worst blackout in living memory, which plunged tens of millions of people across Spain and Portugal into darkness for up to 18 hours. Life screeched to a halt, with trains, traffic lights, ATMs, phone connections, and internet access failing. In the aftermath, many important questions have arisen, including: what caused such a widespread grid failure, and how can Europe and other natio...

Each morning, people around the world wake up to more troubling headlines – from power outages in Spain and Portugal to intensifying drone attacks in Ukraine. For some people, diving into the facts and data behind these types of crises provides an increase in knowledge resulting in agency and response.

On the other hand, a growing number of people feel overloaded with the constant stream of information abo...

As economic, political, and environmental pressures continue to reshape our daily choices, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the era of hyper-consumption that defined the past century is no longer sustainable. Recognizing and adapting to this reality represents one of the most profound cultural shifts of our time – requiring collective reflection and cooperation. But just as importantly, how can we recalibrate our ...

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 edition of Frankly, Nate delves into what it truly means for a technology or project to be “in service of Life,” using the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence as an example. Like any other tool that humanity has created, AI has the potential ...

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 on current events without also feeling hopeless, disempowered, or even enraged. Worse, the incentives and structures of modern media outlets seem more and more geared towards capturing our attention at any cost… including our mental health, trust in one another, and even ...