Topic: Wealth

[ Episode #89 // How on Earth ]

Today's textbook notions of business were developed during an unprecedented global economic expansion - a cultural condition that faces diminishing returns in today’s world. Can we build enterprises for a post-growth future that thrive among challenges of the next century? By reversing the process that privatizes profits, would unsustainable trends and drivers of inequality be subverted? Can a modern media and journalism industry flourish within a not-for-profit framework?

In Extraenvironmentalist #89 we first speak with Donnie Maclurcan of the Post Growth Institute about their organization's upcoming book, How On Earth: Flourishing in a Not-for-Profit World by 2050. Donnie explains ways that organizing business activities under the framework of not-for-profit enterprises can make meaningful change in the face of a seemingly intractable situation wrought by immense private wealth accumulation and slowing global growth.

In the second half of the show, we talk to Chris Nelder, host of the Energy Transition Show - the first regular podcast on the forthcoming XE Audio Network! We ask Chris about the ongoing contraction in US shale oil production during 2015 and the deteriorating financial condition of the industry in the face of a global deflationary undertow. The conversation is Episode #0 of the Energy Transition Show, which launches with Episode #1 beginning September 23.

 

Bonus Segment

// Links and News Items

The Energy Transition Show - launching September 23rd

As We Lay Dying -
Stephen Jenkinson On How We Deny Our Mortality

// Books

How On Earth: Flourishing in a Not-for-Profit World by 2050 by Donnie Maclurcan and Jennifer Hilton

// Music (in order of appearance)

Lazy Knuckles - Polyglot via Soundcloud
Eric Clapton - Change the World (Mac DeMarco Cover) via IndieShuffle
Freddie Frank - This Old Rig (1961)
Cavaliers of Fun - Wiki via Tracasseur
Tube & Berger - Disarray Feat. J.U.D.G.E

// Production Credits and Notes

Our editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

Episode #89 was supported by donations from the following generous listeners:

Stephanie in North Carolina
Wally in North Carolina
Stephen from Australia

(more…)

[ Episode #79 // Money System Mayhem? ]

Over the last hundred years, the international money system has unraveled every few decades with surprising regularity. With the current US-based system reaching the end of its useful life for newly rising economic powers, will campaigns of financial warfare push countries to abandon the dollar denominated financial regime? How does human nature and behavioral psychology drive reactions to episodes of financial euphoria and fear?

In Extraenvironmentalist #79 we first speak with Jim Rickards about his new book, The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System. We ask Jim about how a potential failure of the US dollar based international financial system would play out. Jim describes how previous money system failures may shape expectations and reactions to the next crisis. Then, we discuss the neuroscience of bubbles with behavioral economist Colin Camerer. Colin tells us about his recent research that maps the human brain as financial bubbles form and crash.

// Books

The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System by Jim Rickards

// Links and News Items

Firefly 2014 video on timber frame construction
Video from CommonBound 2014 hosted by the New Economy Coalition

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 26m

Christine Lagarde on money & the pending global reset
US dollar losing hold as world's reserve currency
Paul Krugman: We need $8 trillion to $10 trillion of QE
World Bank whistleblower: Dollar valueless, about to crash
Inside financial warfare
Jim Rogers on US dollar collapse
Paul Krugman: Fiat money is backed by men with guns

[End]

Finnish comedian Ismo Leikola on Debt

// Music (in order of appearance)

Lowell - I Love You Money via Pigeons & Planes
Snakehips - Days With You ft. Sinead Harnett via Gorilla vs. Bear
Dick Boyell and Orchestra w/ Don Shelton - Oh Sweet Bubbles, You Make Me Feel So Good via WFMU Beware of the Blog
The Lightning Seeds - Blowing Bubbles via Editor Kevin
Mungo's Hi Fi - Serious Time ft. YT
Seun Kuti - IMF

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

Episode #79 was supported by donations from the following generous listeners:

Glen and Barbara in New Zealand
Randall in the noosphere
Steve in BC
Ninh in Idaho
Scott in Alberta
Patrick in North Carolina
Nancy in Colorado

(more…)

[ Episode #77 // Locally Invested ]

As trust is lost in the global financial system and its intermediaries, surplus investment capital seems stranded in ever more risky international asset flows. Are there ways of re-routing investments towards local processes that rebuild communities and food systems? Will alternative investment strategies develop in time to challenge the failing narrative of a standard approach to retirement savings?

On Extraenvironmentalist #77 we talk about developing an investment paradigm for the future that's rooted in local business and healthy food, first with Michael Shuman of Cutting Edge Capital and author of Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity. We ask Michael about ways to invest locally that have the potential for better returns on capital and community cohesion while getting thoughts on the coming revolution in crowdfunding. Then, we speak with Carol Peppe Hewitt about the idea of Slow Money and ways that it can rebuild our foodsheds as detailed in her book Financing Our Foodshed: Growing Local Food with Slow Money. 

// Books

Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity by Michael Shuman
Financing Our Foodshed: Growing Local Food with Slow Money by Carol Peppe Hewitt

// Links and News Items

60 Minutes: Is the Stock Market Rigged?

NYT: Can a Pop-Up Service Fix It? Probably

Extraenvironmentalist Youtube Channel

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 21m

Forget gold, buy farmland
Jim Rogers on commodities, the agriculture boom and perilous times ahead
As Farmers Age, Japan Rethinks Relationship With Food, Fields
BBC Report on Farmland Investment in the Ukraine

[End]

Jeb Brugmann - from the upcoming XE miniseries on the built environment

// Music (in order of appearance)

Cuz - Tamatebako via god is in the tv
Robin Schulz - Shyer (Bootleg)
Paperwhite - Got Me Goin (Robotaki Remix) via The Burning Ear
Ghetto Brothers - There Is Something In My Heart (Spanish Gold Cover) via IndieShuffle
MSMR - Hurricane (Goldroom Remix) via Dancing Astronaut
Pharrell - Happy (NEUS Remix // Bobby C Sound TV edit)

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

Episode #77 was supported by donations from the following generous listeners:

Sarah in North Carolina
Hadi in British Columbia
Raul in Illinois
Feargal in Ireland

// Send us a BTC tip for #77

Even .0001 BTC goes a long way!

Donate Bitcoins

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[ Episode #76 // Energy Slaves ]

Our command of energy resources has created amazing technologies and social systems at a grand scale, but at what cost? Where past societies shackled human muscle with force and subjugation to create an energy surplus, beginning in the late 19th century we have used coal, oil & gas to create an unprecedented energy abundance. As the era of surplus energy comes to an end, how will our systems reliant on energy slaves for mechanical and cognitive work adapt? How is the energy transition moving forward?

In Extraenvironmentalist #76 we discuss our global energy systems with Andrew Nikiforuk as we discuss his new book, The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitude. Andrew discusses ways of understanding our use and abuse of cheap energy. Then, Chris Nelder joins us to talk about the ongoing energy transition and how it is reaching a tipping point through the recognition of a financial carbon bubble, the German Energiewende and the decline of the traditional oil majors.

As Terence McKenna once said, "Reason, and science, and the practice of unbridled capitalism, have not delivered us into an angelic realm. Quite the contrary: they’ve delivered 3% of us into an angelic realm, completely overshadowed by guilt about what’s happening to the other 97% of us who are eating it!"

// Books

The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitudeby Andrew Nikiforuk

// Links and News Items

News Item #1. NPR: US Commuters Ditch Cars For Public Transit In Record Numbers

News Item #2. Fukushima’s “crisis of manpower”: Unskilled and destitute workers have taken over the cleanup process

Stephen Kopits Presentation on Energy Supply Forecasting

[jwplayer mediaid="3532"]

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[First Break] - 35m

Shell energy scenarios to 2050
RT: Running on Empty
"Peak Oil Debunked"
Canadian Tar Sands Ad

[Second Break] - 85m

Earth 2050 - How Much Energy Will We Need
Stephen Kopits on Energy Forecasting

[End]

From the XE Youtube Channel: Richard Heinberg on Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future

// Music (in Order of Appearance)

Henry Green - Electric Feel (Kygo Remix)
Camera2 - Appetite via KCRW Today's Top Tune
Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine (Rare Monk Cover)
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman (Paddy McAloon Cover)
No Nukes - Power
Porter Robinson - Sea of Voices (RAC Remix)
Great Good Fine Ok - Not Going Home

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel
Mr. Nelder for music suggestions

Episode #76 was supported by donations from the following generous listeners:

Derek in CA
Jay in WA
Linus in Sweden
Simon in Norway
Kim in Quebec City

// Send us a BTC tip for #76

Even .0001 BTC goes a long way!

Donate Bitcoins

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[ Episode #75 // Positive Money ]

Critics of quantitative easing highlight the absurdity of creating money from nothing to paper over terrible investment decisions. Yet, what about all of the money created by banks before 2008? Incorrect narratives of money have misdirected and befuddled our thinking on finance and currency, limiting our responses to the global financial crisis. Can we learn about the internal dynamics of financial and monetary regimes in enough time to develop a positive response to the next financial crisis?

In Extraenvironmentalist #75 we discuss our global systems of money and finance with Ben Dyson of Positive Money UK and the themes in his new book Modernizing Money: Why Our Monetary System is Broken and How it Can be Fixed. Ben tells us why journalists, academics, economists and citizens have so much difficulty talking in an intelligent way about our money system. Then, Brett Scott joins us to describe the ways he was able to apply an anthropologist's approach to work as a derivatives trader. Brett discusses his book, The  Heretic's Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money as he describes leverage points where activists can disrupt global financial flows to support ecological and social initiatives.

// Books

Modernizing Money: Why Our Monetary System is Broken and How it Can be Fixed by Andrew Jackson & Ben Dyson
Where Does Money Come From by Positive Money UK
The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money by Brett Scott

// Links and News Items

News Item #1. "Global riot epidemic due to demise of cheap fossil fuels" http://bit.ly/NgG4qD  /via @NafeezAhmed

News Item #2. India's economic growth set to reach near decade-low

News Item #3: Chinese cities outstripping whole countries in infrastructure debt

#4. Richard Heinberg video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIAFRzaHnb4&list=UUTcsCH5wXNwGKTM_tLG8zrQ&feature=share

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 23m

George Magnus - The Next Financial Crisis Has Already Begun
Argentina Inflation
China's Suntech Default
China's LDK Solar Default
Debt and Overcapacity in China
Jim Rogers on RT
Venezuelans Struggle with Inflation

[End]

Documentary:How China Fooled the World

// Music (in Order of Appearance)

Why don't you do right - Cab Canavaral feat. Nina K Lucas (Skeewiff Remix)
DEFKLINE & RED POLO VS DANCEFLOOR - Spinning Wheels
JUNGLE. - Busy Earnin' via Stereogum
Colvin Quarmby - Men in the Grey Flanneled Suit via Russell Hill's Country Music Show
Sam Smith - Money on My Mind (Chris Montana Edit)
Bugseed - Puzzlement (en tokyo - four)

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

Episode #75 was supported by donations from the following generous listeners:

Deric in WA
Freddie in MA
Natalie in BC
Nancy in CO

// Send us a BTC tip for #75

Even .0001 BTC goes a long way!

Donate Bitcoins

(more…)

[ Episode #73B // Regarding Revolutions ]

Extraenvironmentalist #73 is a two part episode. This is the post for SIDE B on Egypt's revolution and education with David Blacker. The link for SIDE A featuring our interview on a contractionary revolution with Frank Rotering is here.

The mainstream environmental movement has been unable to stop the ongoing ecological crisis. Are environmentalists willing to acknowledge the deep contradictions between the logic of capitalism and environmental health? Will revolutions like those in Egypt lead to a true alternative or merely perpetuate the failed dynamics of the past?

In Extraenvironmentalist #73 we talk about the prospect for a series of revolutions that establish a post-capitalist world with Frank Rotering. We discuss Frank's newest book Contractionary Revolution and cover the reformist solutions put forward by an environmental movement unwilling to face practical notions of society's power relationships which block effective attempts at a sustainable civilization. Then, we hear from David Blacker on his recent experience in post-revolutionary Egypt and the ideas in his new book The Falling Rate of Learning.

// Books

Contractionary Revolution by Frank Rotering
The Falling Rate of Learning by David Blacker

// Links and News Items

#1 - Do What You Love - Bad For Work? via our listener Jason on the XE Facebook page

#2 - Why the Rich Are Freaking Out

#3 - Financial World Deaths

Link to event video for Richard Heinberg event on February 25th

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Part A Break] - 44m

Paxman Interviews Brand on Revolution
Max Keiser on Revolution
American Revolution Has Begun

[Part B Break] - 34m

Clinton on Education
Bush on Education
Obama on Education
Clips from Waiting for Superman

[End]
Terence McKenna on Revolution

// Music (in Order of Appearance)

Tracy Chapman - Talkin Bout a Revolution (Kiddcat Edit)
Cut Copy - Blink and You'll Miss the Revolution (remakereverb electro remix)
Beatles - Revolution (Cover)
Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian (Seeley Sketch Remix)
Lovelife - Dying to Start Again via Lower Frequencies
Bombay Bicycle Club - Home By Now via Consequence of Sound
Tobtok - Savannah via Tracasseur

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

Episode #73 was supported by donations from the following generous listeners:

Clive in Georgia
Jeff in Colorado
Matt in British Columbia

// Send us a BTC tip for #73

Even .0001 BTC goes a long way!

Donate Bitcoins

(more…)

[ Episode #73A // Regarding Revolutions ]

Extraenvironmentalist #73 is a two part episode. This is the post for SIDE A - featuring our interview on a contractionary revolution with Frank Rotering. The link for SIDE B on Egypt's revolution and education with David Blacker is here.

The mainstream environmental movement has been unable to stop the ongoing ecological crisis. Are environmentalists willing to acknowledge the deep contradictions between the logic of capitalism and environmental health? Will revolutions like those in Egypt lead to a true alternative or merely perpetuate the failed dynamics of the past?

In Extraenvironmentalist #73 we talk about the prospect for a series of revolutions that establish a post-capitalist world with Frank Rotering. We discuss Frank's newest book Contractionary Revolution and cover the reformist solutions put forward by an environmental movement unwilling to face practical notions of society's power relationships which block effective attempts at a sustainable civilization. Then, we hear from David Blacker on his recent experience in post-revolutionary Egypt and the ideas in his new book The Falling Rate of Learning.

// Books

Contractionary Revolution by Frank Rotering
The Falling Rate of Learning by David Blacker

// Links and News Items

#1 - Do What You Love - Bad For Work? via our listener Jason on the XE Facebook page

#2 - Why the Rich Are Freaking Out

#3 - Financial World Deaths

Link to event video for Richard Heinberg event on February 25th

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Part A Break] - 44m

Paxman Interviews Brand on Revolution
Max Keiser on Revolution
American Revolution Has Begun

[Part B Break] - 34m

Clinton on Education
Bush on Education
Obama on Education
Clips from Waiting for Superman

[End]
Terence McKenna on Revolution

// Music (in Order of Appearance)

Tracy Chapman - Talkin Bout a Revolution (Kiddcat Edit)
Cut Copy - Blink and You'll Miss the Revolution (remakereverb electro remix)
Beatles - Revolution (Cover)
Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian (Seeley Sketch Remix)
Lovelife - Dying to Start Again via Lower Frequencies
Bombay Bicycle Club - Home By Now via Consequence of Sound
Tobtok - Savannah via Tracasseur

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

Episode #73 was supported by donations from the following generous listeners:

Clive in Georgia
Jeff in Colorado
Matt in British Columbia

// Send us a BTC tip for #73

Even .0001 BTC goes a long way!

Donate Bitcoins

(more…)

[ Episode #71 // Supply Shock ]

When the profession of economics began to think that land and capital were equivalent and interchangeable, the roots of real estate speculation and environmental crisis were established. Because the origins of neoclassical economics became deeply influenced by the interests of early 20th century land barons, a new economic paradigm will have to challenge the assumptions of powerful landowners.  Will a world in search of economic growth embrace a steady state that properly analyzes the role of land in economic life? Can the rampant real estate speculation across the planet be tamed with an overhaul of our tax system?

In Extraenvironmentalist #71 we discuss implications of the steady-state economy with Brian Czech along with his new book Supply Shock: Economic Growth at the Crossroads and the Steady State Solution. Brian explains how the economics profession was corrupted in the early 20th century by the interests of land barons and how this distorts analysis of ecological issues. Then, Karl Fitzgerald of the Renegade Economists joins us to talk about Henry George, land bubbles and real estate speculation. We ask Karl about rental backed securities and the outrageous housing prices of Australia. At the end of the show, we recap 2013 with a short clip collage and thank our listeners for an incredible year.

// Books

Supply Shock: Economic Growth at the Crossroads and the Steady State Solution by Brian Czech
The Corruption of Economics by Mason Gaffney and Fred Harrison

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[First Break] - 25m

Jeffrey Sachs on Economic Growth
Has the US Economy Entered a Permanent Slump?
Krugman's Idea to Spur Economic Growth
Bernanke: Hoping Economic Growth Will Continue
Obama Weekly Address: Working With Both Parties to Keep the Economy Moving Forward
Founder of Adbusters on CNN

[Second Break] - 1h40m

Real Estate 4 Ransom
Jimmy Macmillan on The Extraenvironmentalist

[End]

Charles Eisenstein - A Pattern to the Maze

// Music (in Order of Appearance)

Kaligraph E - Milkyears
Bart & Baker Feat Philou - Baby Dont You Cry (Skeewiff Remix)
Ayer - Circle Down (Keljet Remix) via Indieshuffle
Lincoln Jesser - Tops via The Burning Ear
Snowmine - Columbus via Lower Frequencies

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

This show was supported by donations from our generous listeners:

Anders in Sweden
Wayne in Washington
Christian in Germany
Bill in NY
Bruce
Dana

// Send us a BTC tip for #71

Even .0001 BTC goes a long way!

Donate Bitcoins

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[ Episode #65 // Restoring Function ]

A fundamental flaw in our economy drives the consumption of our ecosystems until they enter terminal dysfunction. This logical error has eroded numerous civilizations and landscapes. Can our species cooperate to restore large-scale degraded ecosystems across the planet before terminal collapse?

In Extraenvironmentalist #65 we speak with John D. Liu about his experience documenting the restoration of China's Loess Plateau from desert into functional ecosystem.  John describes how the project could be applied to desertifying land across the planet to sequester carbon while providing meaningful livelihoods for billions. Then, we share our thoughts on three years of Extraenvironmentalist podcasts before taking on RadioLab.

// News and Other Items Discussed

Green Gold on John D Liu.
Images of the Loess Plateau

Declaration of Interdependence

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 35m

Green Gold with John D Liu

[End]

Louis CK on Environmentalists

// Music (in Order of Appearance)

Active Child - She Cut Me via Earmilk
The M Machine - A King Alone (Robotaki Remix) via Daily Beat
The Royal Concept – On Our Way (Oliver Nelson Remix) via Starting to Feel It
MS MR - Think of You (RAC Remix) via Pigeons and Planes

// Production Credits

Our correspondent and editor Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel
Production Assistance via Simon JM

RadioJab - Voice Acting: Olga K, KMO, Glen G. and Jane R

This show was supported by donations from our generous listeners:

Linda in Canada
Simon in Norway
David in Boulder, Colorado
Robin in Vancouver, British Columbia
Josh in Raleigh, North Carolina
Bill and Cindy on Gabriola Island, British Columbia
Brandon in the Noosphere

(more…)

[ Episode #56 // So Much Magic ]

// Duncan's Photos From His Canalers Adventures
[nggallery id=2 width=400]

Maintaining the complexity of our civilization requires a consistent input of net energy and a stable climate. We've already experienced the first few years of a long emergency through economic stagnation and contraction, financial fraud and a lack of meaningful political momentum. Can we expect advances in technology to make a useful contribution to solving modern challenges or are we headed for a technological time out? Are we approaching a magic moment when those oppressed by debt refuse to pay?

In Extraenvironmentalist #56 we speak with James Howard Kunstler about his recent book, Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology and the Fate of the Nation. Jim talks about how the magnitude of corruption in our financial system revealed since 2008 has been even greater than he could have imagined. We ask Jim about his views on the rapidly changing landscape of higher education and how to think about its future. Then, Duncan Crary tells us about his years of podcasting on the Kunstlercast and his new podcast A Small American City. Duncan tells us about life on the inland waterways of New York and about pioneering a new American way of life in the small towns abandoned over the second half of the 20th century.

// Music (in order of appearance)

Aretha Franklin - One Step Ahead (DiscoTech Edit) via The Burning Ear
Django Django - Default (Mr Mitsuhirato Edit) via Soundisstyle
Harry Belafonte - Jump In The Line (John Bourke's Bmore Remix) via Et Musique Pour Tous
The Killers - Runaway (RAC Mix) via Soundcloud
Spin Doctors - Two Princes (G Templeton & Branded James Remix) via Youtube

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 40m
Paul Krugman: We Are on The Brink of a Technology Revolution That Will Transform Our Economy
The Superbowl Blackout
US Hides Real Debt, In Worse Shape than Greece

[Additional Resources]

A Small American City Podcast

Canalers
New Economy Summit at The University of British Columbia, April 5th and 6th

// Production Credits

Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

(more…)

[ Episode #50 // Markets By Other Means ]

Developed nations find themselves stuck in economic quicksand as the status quo is maintained through debts on sovereign balance sheets. Over the last few decades of rapid economic expansion, each country bet on the continued story of globalization that narrates Tom Friedman's dreams each night. As the developing world sees our folly, will they choose a different path? Do their informal markets signal a true alternative to centrally planned economies? Or is the System D economy a symptom of complexity collapse in a world where seven billion humans are fighting for basic necessities?

In Extraenvironmentalist #50, Robert Neuwirth tells us how supply meets demand in the informal markets employing as many as 2/3 of the world's population. Does this System D economy provide the blueprint for an economic system that could exist in developed nations as governments breakdown from debt overhangs and peak complexity? Robert tells us about his journeys through the global trade networks of System D as he wrote the Stealth of Nations in Paraguay, Nigeria, China and more. Then, international business man of mystery Simon Black [1h 11m] joins us to talk about his travels to as many as 60 nations each year. He updates us on the breakdown of Europe and the United States while describing the economic optimism he's seeing in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. Last of all, John Michael Greer [2h 03m] takes a break from his hiatus on The Archdruid Report to answer your questions.

You can follow Robert's writings online @robertneuwirth and his blogs on Squatter Cities and the System D economy.

// Music (in order of appearance)

Civil Twilight - River (Ra Ra Riot Remix) via The Music Ninja
Bob Seger - Night Moves (Niko Pusch Bootleg Remix) via Soundcloud
Michael Jackson - We're Almost There (DJ Spinna Remix) via Et Musique Pour Tous
Elle Goulding - Anything Could Happen (Blood Diamonds Remix) via Salacious Sound
Van She - Idea of Happiness (Robotaki Remix) via Too Many Sebastians

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)

[Break] - 30m
Robert Neuwirth reads fromThe Stealth of Nations

// Production Credits
Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel
Chris Hehn // Graphics Work

(more…)

[ Episode #48 // Urban Minds ]

Human populations have lived a rural lifestyle through most of history, depending on agriculture or hunting and gathering. As abundant oil reserves fueled the rise of modern civilization, urban life grew along with it. In 1800 only 3% of the world's population lived in cities, in 1900 that number reached 14% which increased to 30% in 1950. The majority of our species became urban in 2008 as more than half of humans are now living in cities. Because of petroleum powered agriculture we've supplanted increasingly more humans from food production into other activities. With the exhaustion of our biosphere and the end of cheap oil can we draw on examples from cities of the past to shape the human population centers of the future? Will lessons before economic growth provide a context for life after growth?

In Extraenvironmentalist #48 we speak with archaeologist Paul Sinclair about the Urban Mind project. Paul discusses a new field of archaeological research that is discovering the role of urban gardening throughout history and during wartime in ancient cities. We ask Paul about the role of cities in shaping the way humans think and he tells us how he survived a food crisis in Mozambique. After discussing a world before economic growth, Donnie Maclurcan of the Post Growth Institute tells us how we can start building a post-growth world [1h 14m]. Donnie describes the benefits of asset mapping your community and why you should participate in Free Money Day on September 15th. Last of all, John Michael Greer joins us [1h 58m] to answer listener questions and to talk about David Korowicz's FEASTA study, Trade Off: A Study in Global Systemic Collapse which details how a cascading collapse could lead to rapid end for the global supply chain.


// Music (in order of appearance)
Agnes Obel - Katie Cruel (Feltman & Badutski Remix) via Et Musique Pour Tous
Stevie Wonder - Living for the City (Reflex Stems Revision) via Bandcamp
The Vaccines - The Winner Takes It All (Abba Cover)
via The Pop Sucker
Visitor - Coming Home (Lifelike Remix) via Harder Blogger Faster
Abba - Money, Money (Sebastian Sas Remode) via Soundcloud
Neil Young - Old Man (Sound Remedy Remix) via Et Musique Pour Tous

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
[Break] - 32m
Bill Rees speaking at the Vancouver Urban Forum
Ed Glaeser speaking at the Vancouver Urban Forum

[End]
Peter Victor at the Montreal Degrowth Conference

// Production Credits
Kevin M. via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

(more…)

[ Episode #45 // Opening Money ]

By failing to question our money system, we've accepted an understanding of finance and fiat that's showing its flaws greater than ever. This globalized currency system draws money out of localities and into the hands of corrupt financial institutions. Can we start recapturing these flows of money to build resilient communities? If the Federal Reserve can print money, why can't we?

In Extraenvironmentalist #45 we speak to Michael Linton, developer of LETS and the Community Way currency system about how to open up our money to emphasize positive aspects of human nature . Michael describes how local currencies can help to overcome the feeling of scarcity imposed by a centralized national currency. We ask Michael if our federal dollars should be replaced or if we should be looking to compliment them through local money. Then, we speak with Jordan Bober who is launching the Seedstock in Vancouver, BC based on Michael's Community Way model.


// Music (in order of appearance)
Chick Bullock - Are You Making Any Money?  via Youtube
Gold Diggers of 1933 - We're in the Money via Youtube
Matt and Kim - Let's Go via Consequence of Sound
The Beatles x Carlos Santana x Griz x Gramatik – Don’t Let Me Change (Ego Mashup) via The Music Ninja

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
[Break]
FT - Libor scandal rocks banking
Max Keiser - How Tom Cruise Stole Libor
Michael Hudson - Summit MMT in Italy

[End]
Michael Hudson - Summit MMT in Italy

// Production Credits
Production Assistance  | Kevin at the Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel

(more…)

[ Episode #39 // Debunking Economics ]

Roughly 90% of the world's economics professionals failed to see the current economic crisis forming on the horizon of the early 21st century. Many of them are now striving for stability through policies of refinancing and quantitative easing. While this class of economic thinkers have driven the planet's policies for decades, their faulty logic is being exposed by structurally high unemployment and failing banks. Ben Bernanke and Mario Draghi are using central bank policies to prop up a system that's imploding due to heavy debt burdens by using national deficits for attempts to accelerate private debt accumulation once again. Could one of the few economists that predicted the current financial crash outline a path forward for educating the next round of economists while providing an alternative to austerity?

In Extraenvironmentalist #39 we speak with Steve Keen about how neoclassical economics controls the ways our governments think. Steve draws on themes from the second edition of his book that exposes neoclassical economics and its faulty logic, Debunking Economics. In the first half of the interview, we draw on a technical understanding of where neoclassical economics has gone wrong and where the economies of the Eurozone are headed through following the path of austerity. In the second half, we talk about modern debt jubilees and retooling economics education. After which, Jennifer Baichwal joins us at the 95' mark to talk about her newest film, Payback, based on Margaret Atwood's book about debt and debtor relationships. Last of all, Seth and I recall our recent gig at Jackson Hole.


 

// Music (in order of appearance)
Vacationer - Good as New via The Swill Merchants
Niia - Mad World via The Music Ninja
Mark Foster, Kimbra, A-Trak - Warrior via Hard Candy
Dragonette - Let It Go (The Knocks Remix) via KickKickSnare
Ibrahim Ferrer - Ay Candela (Henry Krinkle Remix) via International Beat Forum

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
[First Break] - 35'40"
Austerity Suicides
Greeks in Despair
This is War: Italy Burns Paintings to Protest Austerity
Greek Town Develops Alternative Currency
[Second Break] - 67'40"
Bernanke Impresses Students at GWU
Steve Keen on Ponzi Schemes
Krugman Knocked Out of Neoclassical Orbit by Steve Keen
[End]
Michael Hudson - INET Talk on the Politics and Economics of Restructuring

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[ Episode #38 // Hard Times ]

Debt is placing a stranglehold on the global economy, restricting the ability for growth to occur at a rate fast enough to prevent the monetary system from unraveling. To delay a massive deleveraging, governments are turning on the central bank taps to fill the system with liquidity. With severe structural issues that continue to avoid inclusion in the political discourse, can ordinary people prepare to maintain control over their assets to ensure success of future decentralization initiatives? How is preparing for this world different for our generation than for our parents?

In Extraenvironmentalist #38 we talk about living in hard times with Nicole Foss of The Automatic Earth. Nicole tells us about the Canadian housing bubble and why the initial collapse might just be faster than the one America experienced in 2005. Seth and I ask about what life was like in the Great Depression and how the process of labor exploitation may continue into the near future. We ask Nicole if misunderstandings about economic collapse could have us preparing for the wrong thing.

Also, we get to meet our blog editor Louisa Clarence-Smith who tells us about WWOOFing and her experiences working on farms in Scotland and Italy.

For more from The Automatic Earth, check out our interview with TAE writer Ashvin Pandurangi back in XE #13.


 

// Music (in order of appearance)
St. Lucia - All Eyes on You via Soundcloud
Cody ChestnuTT - Under the Spell of the Handout via Indieshuffle
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (Cosmo Black Remix)  via Hard Candy
Alpine - Hands (Goldroom Remix) via Fader
ANDREYA TRIANA – Lost Where I Belong (Banks Remix) via Aerial Noise

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
[First Break]
Sunshine and Eclipse
Rioting Across America During the Great Depression
Stories From the Great Depression
[Second Break]
Making a Difference: Rebuilding From a Tornado
Bill McKibben: Rebuilding Community
[End]
Jiddu Krishnamurti - Fear

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[ Episode #29 // Creating Wealth ]

Occupy Wall Street has directed our attention to the extreme concentration of wealth resulting from decades of policy designed to trickle down prosperity. Through using a single type of bank debt currency, we allocate our labor and resources to benefit a global elite instead of our communities. Can we engage our local leaders and municipal governments to break this currency monoculture? Can global examples of currency ecology provide a map for improving educational experiences, enhancing the arts and building resilience to the fragility of central bank finance mechanisms?

In Extraenvironmentalist #29 we speak with Gwendolyn Hallsmith and Bernard Lietaer about Creating Wealth: Growing Local Economies with Local Currencies, their recent book on how to implement complimentary currency systems while creating intentional cities with money ecosystems. We cover examples of complimentary currencies in Brazil (saber), the United States (time banking), Switzerland (WIR), Belgium, Lithuania and Uruguay (C3) to demonstrate how alternative forms of money can help to enhance our education, business and sense of community. Could the WIR be the reason for Switzerland's stability? Are there ways to retool education funding that could help us realize our dreams?

Note: Justin's poor understanding of French led to him mis-speaking Bernard's last name, it should be said Liet-ya instead of Liet-air


 

// Music (in order of appearance)
John Lee Hooker - (Money) That's What I Want
The J's - The Sound of Money via WFMU's Beware of the Blog
Sharon Jones - Money via This is Real Music
The Drums - Money (Chad Valley Remix) via Niteversions
Mr. Little Jeans - The Suburbs (Cry Wolf Remix) via The Music Ninja

// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
Debt Diets and Riots: Euro Lose Lose via RT
Greeks Abandon Cash Resort to Bartering via RT
Annie Leonard - Story of Broke
Enslaved to banks US students drawn to join Occupy
Chris Hedges Speaking at OWS

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[ Episode #26 // The Four Horsemen ]

Is capitalism failing or is it producing an intended outcome? There are a group of people privy to the internal mechanisms of our global economic rationale who are willing to share a vision of how the system really works. Though their original intent was to serve what appeared to be a beautiful machinery of supply and demand, they soon realized how greatly the assumptions of our economy are disconnected from reality. Is economics labeled as the dismal science only because of the way we currently practice it?

In Extraenvironmentalist #26 we speak with Ross Ashcroft about his upcoming film The Four Horsemen which explains how the world really works through interviews with 23 of our planet's leading alternative economists, Wall Street insiders and economic thinkers. Ross describes how his desire to become a farmer led him to understand the problems of international finance and how a career in the film industry provided the catalyst to create a documentary about the global economic system. Ross talks about what he learned from interviewing such a well accomplished group of economic experts and what it was like to be in the same room, talking one-on-one with Noam Chomsky. Will our economy collapse because it is being orchestrated to do so or will finance fall apart because it is based on junk science?


 

// Music (in order of appearance)
TV Girl - Benny and the Jets via Break on a Cloud
Penguin Prison - Don't Fuck With My Money via Hard Candy
Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up in Flames) via Quit Mumbling
Shotgun Radio - A Bad Place ft. Mimi Page (Minnesota Remix) via Big Green Beats
Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans (PatrickReza Dubstep Remix) via Movements and Nonsense

// Extended Clips
Tarek El Diwany on Financial Fallout via Renegade Economist
US Jobless Epidemic Masked by Statistical Shenanigans via RT
USA Might Face a Potentially Violent Revolution via RT
Elizabeth Warren on Fair Taxation via American Spectator

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[ Episode #24 // Redesigning Business ]

Are we truly free or has our search for freedom led to entrapment by dysfunctional organizations? As the global monetary paradigm fails, it takes the internationl business structure along with it. This dynamic allows for the application of design principles to the foundations of the new organizations replacing corporations in meeting our human needs. How much power truly rests at the top of the megalithic corporations around us and how much is dictated by the demands of fiat currency and compounding interest? In this new age of austerity, can even the lowest on the societal hierarchy spark the change needed for a new society?

In Extraenvironmentalist #24 we speak with reformed lawyer, business thinker and blogger Patrick Andrews about how the failure of business to understand our ecological reality presents an opportunity to introduce new business structures that can prevent groupthink and allow responsible stewardship.  We discuss how businesses that seek only profit are failing to actualize the power that business transactions have to transform our world. Can the failure of our economy allow us to reimagine business?

 

// Music (in order of appearance)
Active Child - Hanging On via Gorilla vs. Bear
Phaeleh - Afterglow feat. Soundmouse viaIndieShuffle
Young the Giant - Islands (Polaris at Noon Remix) via SoundCloud
Figure - Wonderwall (Finger Drumstep Edit) via Club Tunes

// Extended Clips
David McNally - Global Slump and the Age of Austerity on WORT
The Coming Collapse: We Can Buy Time, We Can't Change the Outcome via Yahoo Finance
Godfrey Bloom: Euro Christmas Fail via RT

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[ Episode #20 // Debt Unmasked ]

Rapidly rising and falling global markets are throwing the world into turmoil. The instability our societies were supposed to control has risen to the forefront. Will the incredible debt piles sitting underneath the flags of Western economies rip social fabrics into fits of unrest like the current riots in London? Before the first major financial shock of the Great Contraction in 2007, the US Government ran an annual budget deficit of only $200 billion per year. During the economic stagnation of years since that deficit is now at $1.4 trillion and quickly rising with more economic decline on the way. What happens when interest payments on this debt overtake federal income in the next few years? Are we all satisfied with sacrificing for an economic system that merely reinforces the status quo of power and greed?

In Extraenvironmentalist #20 we speak with economist Manfred Max-Neef about his career in economics during which he created development models based on fundamental human needs as opposed to power and greed. Manfred recently published Economics Unmasked: From Power and Greed to Compassion and the Common Good which leads us to discuss how universities are failing in their ability distribute a model of the world that can provide for human needs during and after the failure of capitalism. We discuss Manfred's concern that the US is sitting on a ticking time bomb of civil unrest as economic circumstances become rapidly more dire for its inhabitants. How can the American public recognize the possibilities of a debt collapse the rest of the world is actively discussing if our media is steering the collective conversation towards trivia? After we decide to put off a bank run for now, machines end up declaring their intention for the American Presidency in 2012, though with a terrible record of job creation.


 

// Music (in order of appearance)
Gauntlet Hair - Top Bunk via The Music Ninja
Yin Yang Twins - Shake (Celebration Mash Up) via Youtube
M83 - Midnight City (Christian Strobe Remix) via Too Many Sebastians
Vacationer - Trip via Everybody Taste
Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar (Cee-Roo Mix) via SoundCloud
Star Wars - Imperial March (TA Dubstep Mix) via Youtube

// Extended Clips
Who Killed Economic Growth? via @postcarbon

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[ Episode #17 // Economics of Sustainability ]

The interplay between energy and money will be the underlying factor behind the biggest stories of the next decade. While easily accessible energy has created a massive financial bubble on the way up Hubbert's curve, the primary agent on the way down will be unraveling financial complexities built up over the last 60 years. Surviving in this new world will require a radically different idea about how money can operate in localized units of economic exchange. Can ideas like liquidity networks help us survive in this new age of emergency?

In Extraenvironmentalist #17 we speak with Richard Douthwaite about the collection of essays he co-edited on the coming financial storm, Fleeing Vesuvius. Richard is an author of many books on the fallacies of economic growth, co-founder of the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability (FEASTA) and a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute.  Richard explains how his educational background in economics stifled his worldview for a many years and the effect The Limits to Growth had on changing his mind about the ways in which modern economics are practiced.  We discuss why entrepreneurs are worshiped by economic leaders, the promise of liquidity networks for reforming currency dynamics, the ability for energy bonds to revolutionize community energy projects and the effect of introducing new technologies into an economic system.

Also in XE #17 we respond to listener feedback, play a fantastic voicemail from a dedicated listener on ethanol subsidies and throw our endorsement behind an upcoming film about youth fighting for climate justice: you can support Just Do It via their IndieGoGo project.

 

// Music (in order of appearance)
Mr. Little Jeans - The Suburbs (Arcade Fire Cover) via The Music Ninja
ceo - Halo (Beyonce Cover) viaPretty Much Amazing
Daytona Beach - Loud Valley via Zen Tapes
Toro y Moi - New Beat (Fare Soldi "Canatu" Remix) via Harder Blogger Faster
inc - Swear
viaGorilla vs. Bear

Corrections //

Justin incorrectly refers to Richard Blume, he means David Blume's alcohol economy

Original post on July 1st had the wrong audio file

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[ Episode #5 // Phantom Wealth ]

Now is the season of spirits. Together we face the most horrifying of all poltergeists: the ghost of phantom wealth.

Numbers representing the money in our bank account are very different from real wealth. While the focus is on gaining and creating money, this very process sublimates a methodology of destruction and wealth extraction from communities, nature and humanity. Society has confused money for wealth and in doing so transmutes the use of potentially valuable financial instruments into implements of degradation.

In Extraenvironmentalist #5 we share a talk on the economy and money Justin recorded at University of British Columbia by David Korten based on his recent book, Agenda for a New Economy. The story of money is mystified by design and so on rare occasions like this we can explore the relationship between our physical world and the financial world with clear elucidation. David uses his background as a Stanford Business School professor and an international economist to develop philosophies for a new economy serving humans instead of accountants.

 

// Media Links
News | Mitsubishi plans to profit from Bluefin Tuna
Poem | Keeping Things Whole by Mark Strand via Arthur Magazine
Youtube | Economic Hitmen ft. John Perkins

// Music (in order of appearance)
Fools Gold - Nadine via IndieShuffle
Zero 7 - Futures (ft. Jose Gonzalez) via IndieShuffle
Syl Johnson - I'm Talkin' About Freedom via Earmilk
Bedouin Soundclash - Brutal Hearts (ft. Coeur de Pirate) via The Music Ninja

// Corrections and Blunders

- Please do call or email us with corrections if you find something we've said to be factually inaccurate -

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