Shows
The Human Survival PodcastFeeding Ourselves While Protecting The Planet: Miranda Mertes, Agroecology Researcher & AdvocateThe current ways we grow food for 8 billion humans are damaging the planet - and it’s harder to grow food on a damaged planet. Industrial farming methods produce plentiful food, but also contribute to climate change, deforestation, pollution, soil degradation and water depletion. Ironically, the systems that have brought affordable food to so many people around the world could lead to high food costs and starvation, as farmers try to grow food amid the unraveling of planetary systems.
Some facts:
Humans have replaced half of all Nature with agriculture. 80% of that agricultural land is used to gr...
2025-04-301h 00The Human Survival PodcastMaintaining Sanity As The World Falls Apart: Eva Jahn, Climate Emotional Resilience InstituteAs we face the polycrisis of existential threats like climate change, nuclear weapons, pandemics and more, it’s common to feel difficult emotions like fear, anxiety, depression, guilt and anger. These feelings can make day-to-day life difficult, and can also keep our society from mobilizing public policies to solve these problems. Psychotherapists have seen a dramatic increase in clients struggling to cope with the state of the world. As more and more people face these issues, it could overwhelm traditional mental health systems and require new forms of peer support. Fortunately, there is a growing network of professionals innovating ne...
2025-01-011h 28The Human Survival PodcastCan We Have A Successful A.I. Future?: Sam Samanne, author and tech entrepreneurIn public conversations about artificial intelligence, we hear how AI will solve all of our problems and make us all happy and prosperous, or how it will destroy society or make humans extinct. How do we balance these extremes, and figure out how to manage AI properly?
Here on The Human Survival Podcast we have usually expressed alarm about the potential dangers of AI and other technology, and urged strong public policy to manage them. But in this episode, we speak to someone with a more optimistic view on AI, and explore many ways AI could help so...
2024-11-201h 38The Human Survival PodcastIMMIGRATION - What We’re Not Talking About: Shelby Mertes, The Human Survival ProjectImmigration seems to be the biggest issue discussed in this year’s U.S. presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The United States (and the world) is struggling to handle the large migrations of people due to poverty, war, political turmoil and environmental catastrophe. Trump and other Republicans are calling immigrants murderers, rapists, drug dealers and pet eaters. Democrats are calling Republicans racists, and not really addressing their concerns about crime, jobs, housing and economic impacts. And neither party is talking about the dramatic increases in migration that are likely in the coming years, and how to manage...
2024-10-091h 04The Human Survival PodcastWhy Solving Global Poverty Helps Wealthy Countries: Kim Thelwell, The Borgen ProjectPeople in wealthier countries often see helping poorer countries as an act of charity, of “doing the right thing”. Of course it’s good. But overcoming poverty around the world should be seen as an act of self-preservation for all of us. It’s a smart move to keep our global civilization from crumbling, since poverty keeps us from solving climate change, the destruction of nature, pandemics, war, and massive destabilizing migration. Overcoming inequality is not just an issue of morality - we have no choice if we want to survive.
To help us unpack this is Kim Thelwell...
2024-09-011h 03The Human Survival PodcastWhere Is the Money To Save Humanity? Wealthy People Have It: Chuck Collins, Institute for Policy StudiesFor years, politicians have told us we cannot afford important investments in solving climate change, poverty, pandemics and many other problems - even on issues that are critical to the survival of human civilization. But it’s not true. Wealthy people have Trillions of dollars (not billions, Trillions) that could be redirected toward solving our existential threats. They even have Trillions of dollars that have not been counted because they’re hidden in offshore accounts and complex, opaque financial instruments in order to avoid taxation. To save humanity, our society needs to use these resources in more helpful ways.
Ou...
2024-07-101h 21The Human Survival PodcastKeeping Technology from Breaking Society: Wendell Wallach - Carnegie Council for Ethics in International AffairsIn today’s world, there is so much technology at our fingertips that we don’t know how to manage it all. Technologies like artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, nanotech and chemicals have important benefits, but they could also destabilize society, destroy democracy, crash the economy, create the next pandemic or ruin the environment. And competition between companies and countries is driving advancement SO FAST. How can we reap the benefits of technology, while seriously managing the risks? And who should have the power to make these decisions?
Wendell Wallach offers promising approaches to regulating humans’ use of techno...
2024-05-161h 31The Human Survival PodcastPreparing for the Next Pandemic: David Quammen - Author and JournalistAfter the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to think we won’t face another global outbreak in the next century. But viruses don’t have a schedule — the next pandemic could be tomorrow. And it could be much more fatal than COVID-19. So, how do we prepare ourselves?
With us to explain the best ways to both prevent and face these outbreaks is David Quammen, an award-winning author, and journalist on science and humans’ relationship with the natural world. He regularly contributes to many distinguished news sources, including the New York Times, the NY Times Book Review, and Nation...
2024-04-031h 07The Human Survival PodcastHow to END War: John Reuwer - World BEYOND WarHow to END War: John Reuwer - World BEYOND War
Historically, war has seemed natural for humans. It is everywhere. However, at its core, conflict always comes down to a choice. When making these decisions, we need to understand the right tools to respond to all conflict levels, from neighborly disputes to global warfare.
With the help of expert John Reuwer, we learn the value of settling wars with nonviolence and civil resistance. John is the treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors at World BEYOND War (WBW), a gl...
2024-03-071h 13The Human Survival PodcastBuilding the AI Pause Button: Joep Meindertsma - Pause AIRecently, the development of artificial intelligence has become exponential. As more programs like ChatGPT have been released to the public, many people see benefits of continuing investment in this growth. Some believe it might even help solve our existential threats.
But with its unregulated advancements, AI itself could be an existential threat to our world. From cybersecurity risks to autonomous weapons, artificial intelligence poses countless threats to the safety of humankind. How should we regulate AI development?
With us to talk about managing our uses of artificial intelligence is Joep Meindertsma, founder of Pause AI...
2024-02-131h 35The Human Survival PodcastIsrael-Palestine & Other Wars: A New International Approach | Ben Gavin & Sarmad Wali KhanWe are all horrified by the wars in Israel-Palestine, and Ukraine. And those are just the conflicts we hear about. There are 21 wars in the world right now - most of them barely make the news. We tend to feel hopeless as we watch the death and suffering. But what if we didn’t have to feel helpless? What if the world had ways to actually DO something, and SOLVE wars?
The Human Survival Project proposes redesigning and strengthening the United Nations, so humanity can have the global tools to manage violence, and the many other existential threats...
2023-12-241h 55The Human Survival PodcastChanging Our Approach to Climate Change: James Jylkka - Natural Resource SpecialistWith the growing conversation on climate change, many people are now helping the planet and trying to get rid of the damaging policies and products that are worsening climate change - which is great. But we need to widen our focus from not only getting rid of the bad, but to also pushing for the good. Our response to saving our world from this existential threat needs to pick up the pace, and in order to do that, we have to be more strategic about where we’re directing our time and resources. How can we change our approach to...
2023-07-251h 18The Human Survival PodcastSmart Agriculture to Save Humanity and the Planet: Miranda Mertes - Sustainable Farming AdvocateHumans have become good enough at agriculture to feed the world’s 8 billion people, which is amazing - but we're destroying our planet doing it. Farming uses an enormous amount of land, crowding out nature and driving extinctions. It contributes to climate change, soil degradation and pollution of waterways. And farming uses a lot of fossil fuels and other resources. But we all need to eat. How can we feed ourselves without destroying the planet we live on?
With us to discuss all this is Miranda Mertes. She recently earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Massa...
2023-03-231h 02The Human Survival PodcastU.S. Military Spending: Protection or Danger?The United States spends an astronomical amount of money on its military - more than any other nation. In fact, more than the next 8 nations combined. It helps fund 750 military bases in 80 countries. It has quite an impact on the world.
Last week, the U.S. Congress and President Biden enacted the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023, which increased military spending to the largest level since the end of World War II, even adjusted for inflation.
Increasing technology makes war more dangerous. And growing conflict between the United States, China and Russia (and of course Ukra...
2022-12-2923 minThe Human Survival PodcastCan Inflation Help Save The World?: Mike Jordan - The Human Survival ProjectThere’s a ton of conversation lately about inflation, and its effects on the economy and on people’s personal finances. Lots of people are concerned. BUT, could inflation actually be helpful?
We are in a climate and environmental crisis that could ruin just about everything if we don’t get it under control - including the entire economy. The planet is being ruined by people buying stuff, and when stuff is expensive, people buy less. Could higher prices help us get our overconsumption under control?
Further, as we destroy the climate and nature, there will be sh...
2022-12-191h 07The Human Survival PodcastPlease, Humanity Needs You To Be More PositiveBeing positive is a good part of happiness and mental health. And being supportive is nice and friendly. But amid catastrophic threats to humanity, being positive and supportive is not just about being happy and friendly – it’s how we rally support for the ambitious policies that are bold enough to reduce death and suffering of billions of people. Productive criticism is fine, but we can’t afford negativity anymore. Today, I unpack some psychology of why it makes rational sense to be positive in these dangerous times.
“Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt th...
2022-12-0116 minThe Human Survival PodcastDesigning Effective Climate Activism: Dave Johnson – Stanford Law/Design, Author, Lawyer, ActivistAfter decades of hard work, climate change activists have finally put the issue in the mainstream of public discourse and policy discussions. But, the world’s response to this critical threat to humanity is far too slow. We all need to be even better activists. What can we improve?
Dave Johnson has good ideas for us, brought from the field of design. He is a teacher, lawyer, author and activist. He teaches at the Stanford Law School and at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (a/k/a “the d.school”). He has extensive legal experience in litigation...
2022-11-261h 23The Human Survival PodcastEconomic Sanctions to Enforce Climate Policies, Not Vague PromisesAs nations of the world meet at COP27 in Egypt to negotiate next steps to address climate change, we desperately need to improve this international process. Instead of vague promises that might be broken, we need enforcement systems to build trust between countries, so we can be sure everyone will follow through on their commitments. Economic sanctions used against Russia after their invasion of Ukraine taught us a lot about what’s possible. Now we need to apply what the world has learned. Today, I explain. Thanks for listening.
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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shel...
2022-11-1519 minThe Human Survival PodcastOvercoming Climate Anger and Fear of the FutureIt can be difficult watching climate change and the destruction of nature. It’s easy to fall into despair and worry about the future of humanity, and all the other species. The Human Survival Podcast fell into hibernation, as I’ve struggled the past few months with anger, fear and hopelessness. After wrestling with these feelings, I’ve emerged stronger and more motivated to keep doing the work of saving humanity (and everything else). And this experience has taught me some lessons about effective public communication about these important issues. In this episode, I’ll share with you what I went throug...
2022-11-0953 minThe Human Survival PodcastWelcome to The Human Survival PodcastMeet Shelby and learn what the show is all about.
The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes
** Connect and learn more at https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org **
2022-07-0804 minThe Human Survival PodcastThe Name Of This Show Is Changing To ”The Human Survival Podcast”The name of the show is changing from "The Joy of Saving the Human Race" to "The Human Survival Podcast." Here's why...
The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes
** Connect and learn more at https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org **
2022-07-0103 min