Topic: Financialization

[ Episode #62 // Land Grabs ]

A financial sector built on a foundation of continuous material expansion is seeking returns in a slowing global economy. Will investments in global farmland be able to provide the returns expected by pension funds, endowments and future financial claims? Why are investors suddenly emphasizing the same data and charts that environmentalists have been pointing towards for decades?

In Extraenvironmentalist #62 we discuss the global race for farmland with Fred Pearce as detailed in his recent book: The Land Grabbers. We hear about his journey around the world to uncover the secret deals being signed by governments at the expense of their people. Then we speak with Gregor Macdonald about the global energy trends driving this search for innovative returns. Gregor describes why the age of nuclear power is ending as complexity overwhelms large systems and how the global economy has changed dramatically since conventional oil reached its plateau.

// Books

Fred Pearce // The Land Grabbers
Gregor Macdonald // Solar's Rise, Nuclear's Demise - June Issue of Terrajoule

// News and Other Items Discussed

One year away from global riots (from 9 months ago)
6.2% Food Inflation in Saudi Arabia
With electricity and water in short supply, Egyptians grow tense

XE Video with Dennis McKenna
XE Video with Nate Hagens

New Economics Institute ReRoute Summit - July 19th-21st

Beatboxin' Rick Wolff

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 23m

Michael Hudson from an upcoming episode of the Extraenvironmentalist
Glen Gary & Ross - A Film About Land Grabs
Jack Alpert from Extraenvironmentalist #11
Brazil - Protests of Discontent

[End]

A clip from our recent video with Nate Hagens

// Music (in Order of Appearance)

Bugseed - Thinking of You via Soundcloud
Shine 2009 - Eurozone (CFCF Remix) via Gorilla vs. Bear
Cosmo Sheldrake - Rich ft. Ana Roo via Pigeons and Planes
Daft Punk - Get Lucky (Beats Antique Cover)
Blackstreet - No Diggity (Bondax Remix) via The Music Ninja

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

Episode #62 was supported by donations from one of our generous listeners: Beccy in Australia

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[ Episode #59 // Financialized Education ]

The amount of college debt is skyrocketing in the United States while job opportunities sought by graduates are dwindling. Costly undergrad and graduate degrees used to be the passport to a middle class lifestyle but are now leading to a growing number of indebted youth who are bitter about their time in higher ed. Have modern ideas of higher education been so deeply shaped by the logic of the financial sector that we won't find an alternative? What methods of self-learning can we use to gain skills while avoiding the debt burden of a university education?

In Extraenvironmentalist #59 we speak with critical theorist Max Haiven about the financialization of higher education and how it has limited our imagination. Max discusses the Edufactory Collective and how we can't separate the university from the transformations underway in global capitalism. Then, we talk to Kio Stark about her recent book Don't Go Back to School: A Handbook for Learning Anything to discuss how successful self-learners were able to master skills without going through institutions of higher education.

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 32m20s

Michael M'Gonigle - Montreal Degrowth Conference
Generation Jobless: Spain's Disenchanted Youth
Charles Eisenstein on Higher Ed as interviewed in Vancouver

[End]

Bill Hicks on the University of Houston

// Music (in Order of Appearance)
Beat Connection - Saola (ODESZA Remix) via Soundcloud
MSMR - Fantasy (NICITA Remix) via The Orange Press
Steel Train - You Are Dangerous (RAC Remix) via Caveman Sound
Jeff Spec ft. NaRai - Stop via Bandcamp
Airbird & Napolian - In the Zone via Gorilla vs. Bear
Travelling Day - Smoking Dog via Soundcloud

// Production Credits

Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

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