The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

• How Water Shapes Our Planet: The Undervalued Resource that Supports Everything We Do | Reality Roundtable 18

  Water has always been a fundamental force shaping our planet – both in sustaining life across ecosystems and in guiding the organization and survival of human societies. Yet, many of us are unaware of how intertwined our lives are with the water cycle, much less of the ways we  deplete and degrade the water resources that we and other living creatures rely upon for our very existence. What might change if we had a deeper understanding of global and regional hydrological cycles? On this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by Heather Cooley, Zach Weiss, and Mike Joy to discuss the importance of water and hydrology and the complex ways they impact our planet. Together, they unpack how we are disrupting global water systems through global heating and pollution, resulting in increases in droughts and flooding across the globe. Additionally, each expert offers their perspective on the action required to heal our water systems – including ecosystem restoration, regional watershed planning, and national policies to reduce industrial and agricultural pollution. If we continue with our same patterns of agriculture, industrial production, and consumption, what will the availability of clean and affordable water be like just decades from now? Are we already beginning to see the signs of destabilized hydrological cycles in our planetary system? And could fostering a better relationship and understanding of the water cycle lead to a broader recognition of our interdependence with all systems that support rich, complex life on Earth? (Conversation recorded on June 11th, 2025)   About Heather Cooley: Heather Cooley is the Director of the Pacific Institute’s Water Program. She conducts and oversees research on an array of water issues, such as the connections between water and energy, sustainable water use and management, and the hydrologic impacts of climate change.     About Mike Joy: Mike Joy is a leading freshwater ecologist and an advocate for the conservation of our waterways. He has been working for two decades at the interface of science and policy with a goal of addressing agriculture's polluting impacts on New Zealand’s waterways.   About Zach Weiss:  Zachary Weiss is the founder of Elemental Ecosystems, an ecological development company specializing in watershed restoration and ecosystem regeneration, and has worked in over 25 countries across 6 continents. After 10 years, Zach also founded Water Stories as a way to train others in the same work through his watershed restoration expertise.    Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube   Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.   ---   Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future   Join our Substack newsletter   Join our Hylo group and connect with other listeners  

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• Where Will Humanity Move When the World Gets Too Hot? Mass Climate Migration & The Rise of Uninhabitable Regions with Sunil Amrith

  In the next 25 years, the International Organization for Migration estimates that one billion people will be displaced from their homes due to climate-related events. From island nations underwater to inland areas too hot and extreme to sustain life, the individuals and communities in these areas will need somewhere new to live. Where will these people go, and how will this mass migration add further pressure to the stability of nations and the world?  In this episode, Nate is joined by environmental and migration historian, Sunil Amrith, to explore the complex history of human movement – and what it reveals about the looming wave of climate-driven migration. Sunil explains how the historical record shows migration has always been a defining feature of human life, not an exception. Together, they examine projections for future migration trends and the urgent need for acceptance, planning, and infrastructure to support the integration of new communities. What lessons can we draw from past environmental crises that forced people to move, and how do today’s challenges overlap or differ? How have countries historically responded to large-scale migration, and what long-term impacts did those choices have on their stability and prosperity? Ultimately, how might a more open and welcoming mindset help us face the unprecedented migrations ahead, as well as transform them into opportunities for survival, resilience, and shared thriving? (Conversation recorded on August 14th, 2025)     About Sunil Amrith: Sunil Amrith is the Renu and Anand Dhawan Professor of History at Yale University, with a secondary appointment as Professor at the Yale School of the Environment. He is the current Henry R. Luce Director of the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale. Sunil’s research focuses on the movements of people and the ecological processes that have connected South and Southeast Asia, and has expanded to encompass global environmental history. He has published in the fields of environmental history, the history of migration, and the history of public health. Sunil’s most recent book The Burning Earth, an environmental history of the modern world that foregrounds the experiences of the Global South, was named a 2024 “essential read” by The New Yorker, and a “book we love” 2024 by NPR. Additionally, Sunil’s four previous books include Unruly Waters and Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants.    Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube   Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.   ---   Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future Join our Substack newsletter Join our Hylo channel and connect with other listeners  

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• Key Blindspots of the “Walrus” Movement | Frankly 105

  In this week’s Frankly, Nate unpacks some key blindspots of “the walrus movement”—a placeholder label that's a gentle nod to those championing bold social and ecological ideals. While mostly well-intentioned, this "movement" can miss the stark limits of our planet’s unfolding biophysical reality. What happens when lofty goals sidestep ecological and energetic realities? How might we incorporate these oversights to drive clear, purposeful action towards a (more) sustainable future? And how do we ground ourselves in biophysical truths while envisioning a system that better serves the planet and its people? (Recorded August 11, 2025)   Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube   Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.   ---   Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future   Join our Substack newsletter   Join our Hylo channel and connect with other listeners

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• How Do You Become Who You Want to Be?: The Science Behind Identity, Purpose, and Motivation with Taylor Guthrie

  Our personal concept of identity shapes every decision we make – ranging from life-altering choices to our smallest daily preferences. Identity influences our values, the relationships we build, and how we respond to an increasingly unpredictable world, whether in constructive or destructive ways. But how are these identities formed, and how might we take a more deliberate role in cultivating a healthy sense of self – and therefore a healthier way of relating to the world? In this episode, Nate is joined by social neuroscientist Taylor Guthrie to delve into the neuroscience of identity, exploring how the brain constructs a sense of self and the implications for our modern societal challenges. They discuss the role of values and personal narrative in identity formation, the impact of technology and consumerism on self-perception, and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they relate to purpose and success.  How is today’s consumer culture undermining our ability to actively participate in the development of our own identities? Could a better understanding of how we think about ourselves be key to fostering better relationships with others? Ultimately, how could purposeful reflection – about who we are and who we want to be – lead to lives that are richer in connection, community, and fulfillment?  (Conversation recorded on June 24th, 2025)     About Taylor Guthrie: Taylor D. Guthrie, PhD, is a social cognitive neuroscientist who studies how the human brain constructs a sense of self, both individually and in relationship with others. Taylor’s work bridges neuroscience, psychology, and culture. He investigates how attention and value systems interact with brain networks to form narrative identity – and how modern cultural forces like social media, status-seeking, and consumerism can hijack this process.  Additionally, Taylor has earned the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Oregon. He also creates public-facing content, including The Cellular Republic, a lecture series that demystifies cognitive and social neuroscience. Now preparing for a postdoctoral fellowship in the Netherlands, Guthrie continues to explore how identity transformation – at both individual and collective levels – could support meaningful responses to today’s ecological, psychological, and cultural challenges.   Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube   Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.   ---   Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future Join our Substack newsletter Join our Discord channel and connect with other listeners  

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• Ducks and Blueberries: A Reflection on Price, Cost and Value

  In this week’s Frankly, Nate shares an excerpt from his daily life that mirrors a larger observation on the human predicament. A grocery shopping trip turns into a reflection on value vs cost, and how consumption in our society is driven by the perception of value that’s presented to us.  What is the difference in value that our minds create between a $5 container of blueberries, and a $1 container? What is the difference between price, cost and value? What things in our lives do we treat as disposable when they are cheap, but treat as treasure when they are pricey? What would it look like if the things we consume were priced to account for both the value and the cost of that item? How do we approach our lives with a more critical and systems-lens eye?  Among the in-video questions for viewers: Have you had a “blueberry moment” in the buying and reflecting of things? (Recorded August 13, 2025)   Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube   Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.   ---   Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future   Join our Substack newsletter   Join our Discord channel and connect with other listeners

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