The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens explores money, energy, economy, and the environment with world experts and leaders to understand how everything fits together, and where we go from here.
(Recorded February 12th, 2025)
Deception and self-interest seem to be increasingly prevalent in our modern cultural reality. From the highest levels of power to the cultural metrics of what is considered ‘success’ for individual humans: the Dark Triad traits of Narcissism, Sociopathy, and Machiavellianism have become disturbingly normalized. But is there an antidote? Could an opposing “Light...
(Conversation recorded on November 12th, 2024)
In today’s modern era, the overwhelming flood of information that constantly flows our way can leave us feeling disoriented, lost, and powerless. Even science – our most trusted source of truth – can be taken out of context to fuel division and distort the reality around us. In the midst of this confusion, how can we learn to ground ourselves ...
(Conversation recorded on January 21st, 2025)
Many of us are familiar with the problem of plastics as a distant issue in the ocean, primarily affecting fish and sea turtles. While these environmental effects are critical, the full scope of plastic’s repercussions on human health and well-being is largely unknown by most people, even as the research shows alarming – and growing – adverse effects. What do ...
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(Conversation recorded on November 6th, 2024)
The vision of a carbon-free, net-zero society is often framed around the promise of transitioning away from fossil fuels. But what can we learn from past “energy transitions” that might inform how feasible – or unrealistic – this vision actually is?
Today, Nate is joined by energy and technology historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz for...
(Recorded January 27th, 2025)
We live in an era where artificial intelligence increasingly dominates the headlines with promises of revolutionary advances - from medical breakthroughs to productivity gains. Yet, while society fixates on these micro-level innovations, a deeper macro story remains largely untold: how AI may fundamentally reshape the relationship between humanity, technology, a...
(Conversation recorded on October 30th, 2024)
Human consumption of fossil fuels - especially oil - is a topic filled with complexity, tension, and uncertainty. Understanding this issue requires accounting for a wide range of factors - from dynamic global markets and widely dispersed reserves to ongoing innovation and geopolitical conflicts. Attempting to navigate this intricate landscape i...
(Recorded January 20th, 2025)
We are alive at a critical juncture for human civilization, and the biosphere, where the pursuit and accumulation of power - accelerated by technology and AI - increasingly threatens the support systems of the diversity and majesty of complex life on Earth. These high stakes of our times require a radical reimagination and commitment to who we are capable of becoming as homo s...
(Conversation recorded on December 18th, 2024)
With the increase in geopolitical conflicts, supply chain challenges, and unprecedented natural disasters, there is more need than ever for international humanitarian organizations that transcend political and national allegiances. How will such organizations grow and evolve to become a central component to humanity’s adaptation to the coming ...
(Conversation recorded on December 11th, 2024)
The past century has been marked by the rise of globalization in every sense of the word - through production, culture, agriculture, consumption and more. This trend has brought great wealth and opportunities to many people - but what have we lost and forgotten through this process?
In this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by m...
(Conversation recorded on December 4th, 2024)
It is an unfortunate reality that the countries least responsible for the climate and ecological crises we face are often the ones most vulnerable to their effects today and in the future. India – with its population of 1.4 billion, rapidly rising temperatures, and limited resources compared to many developed nations – finds itself at the crossroads of these challenges....
(Conversation recorded on November 25th, 2024)
The crises that our world is facing seem to be constantly growing, leading to enormous and devastating systemic effects across the globe. Yet, the ripples of the human predicament are also reaching our personal lives in unexpected ways – through chronic loneliness, loss of coherence to reality, and a widespread feeling of insignificance.
This year on The Great Simplification, we heard from 54 guests, 18 Reality Roundtable panelists, and Nate shared his thoughts across 31 Frankly episodes. But even after releasing 300+ hours of conversations and reflections since this show began, we are only just beginning to connect all the moving parts that make up The Human Predicament.
As 2025 approaches, we invite you to reflect on this compilation of ...
(Recorded December 16, 2024)
As we wrap up another year of thought-provoking discussions on The Great Simplification, Nate takes us on an imaginative journey in this week’s Frankly - exploring a potential movie script idea that blends systems, science and fiction. What if someone who deeply understood the challenges of today's global economic Superorganism could travel back in time? Armed wi...
(Conversation recorded on November 7th, 2024)
Long-time listeners of The Great Simplification may have a good grasp of the many impending crises that humanity faces. But once we understand the scope of this predicament, what changes could we make to prepare in our own communities right now?
Today, Nate is joined by local organizer and activist Christian Sawyer, to discuss how...
(Recorded December 5, 2024)
It’s not everyday that a stranger thanks you for ‘ruining their life’. In this heartfelt Frankly, Nate reflects on a powerful encounter with a venture capitalist whose life was upended - and ultimately enriched - after immersing himself in the full content of The Great Simplification podcast. This man’s journey from techno-optimism to a deeper understanding of the...
(Conversation recorded on November 5th, 2024)
It is no secret that population dynamics significantly impact global stability. But what’s really behind today’s shifting global birth trends, the increased need for medically-assisted pregnancy, and the changing age demographics of industrialized nations? Furthermore, what are the implications of these shifts for future economic security?
(Conversation recorded on December 2nd, 2024)
One of the central ecological challenges of our time is addressing the plastic and petrochemical pollution that has exploded over the past several decades. This global issue will require the cooperation of all nations. But based on the disintegration of UN negotiations for a treaty on plastic pollution last Sunday, this is easier said than done.
...(Recorded November 26, 2024)
As we piece together the different facets of our reality, the systems synthesis which emerges confronts us with some uncomfortable truths. These are the advanced inferences rooted in the logic of The Great Simplification. They have important implications for our expectations about the future and how we should respond in...
(Conversation recorded on October 22nd, 2024)
The human system as we know it today – which powers our economies, global supply chains, and social contracts – is a fragile network based on innumerable complex components. Yet we rarely stop to recognize its many vulnerabilities, instead taking for granted that it will continue to securely operate indefinitely. But if we take a more careful l...
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