Asher, Jason, and Rob reflect on 2023 – a year filled to the brim with Crazy Townisms like the COP climate conference being held in Dubai, an anti-aging nutbag who parasitizes his own son, and the hijinks of the world’s dumbest billionaires. After a few predictions (all with money-back guarantees), they turn to some personal resolutions that might even help you cope with what’s coming in 2024.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

References:

• 183 regional and local conflicts around the world
• Zuckerberg’s tragically misguided Hawaiian bunker
• Anti-aging nutter
• When do we get to use the guns?
• The 10-step program of the Good Grief Network

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The most vomit-inducing document of 2023 has to be the "Techno-Optimist Manifesto," written (oh so obviously) by a billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Join Jason, Rob, and Asher if you feel like sharing in some outrage and learning about a WAY better manifesto that just so happens to focus on the world's smallest monkeys.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

References:

• Marc Andreessen's horrifying "Techno-Optimist Manifesto" 
• Peer-reviewed paper featuring Jason's far superior "Dehumanist Manifesto"
• Description of the pygmy marmoset
• The idea of Beth Sawin's Multisolving Institute
• The dark triad -- narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy
• The original paper on the taxonomy of Phalse Prophets
• Article by Richard Heinberg about free will.

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Investigative journalist Leah Sottile writes articles teeming with insights, and she produces and hosts podcasts filled with ah-ha moments. Rob tries not to sound like too much of a fanboy as he interviews Leah about political extremism, environmentalism, and the craft of storytelling during the Great Unraveling.

Resources:

• Leah's website
• Leah's Substack page, titled "The Truth Does not Change According to Our Ability to Stomach It"
• Article in The High Country News "The 90-foot sentinel of Butte, Montana"
• Bundyville: The Remnant, a must-listen podcast about the patriot movement and right-wing extremism
• Burn Wild, another must-listen podcast about the Earth Liberation Front and left-wing extremism

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Just how much has the extractivist growth mindset come to dominate Phoenix and other cities in the desert Southwest of the United States? Prepare to turn your indignation meter up to 11 as Jason, Rob, and Asher consider desalination, pipelines, and the folly of pursuing infinite growth in a dry climate.

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We are pleased to share the new podcast from Post Carbon Institute, Holding the Fire. Award-winning journalist and author Dahr Jamail hosts in-depth interviews with leaders from around the world to uncover Indigenous ways of reckoning with environmental and societal breakdown.

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Wildlife ecologist and communicator extraordinaire Rae Wynn-Grant visits Crazy Town to talk human-wildlife interactions, the social side of environmentalism, diversity and equity in the sciences, and ideas for young people (don't worry if you're older—the ideas apply to you, too). Rae is the host of the PBS Nature podcast "Going Wild" and will soon be appearing as the cohost of Wild Kingdom, a reboot of the ultra-classic tv nature show. Listen to the end of the episode to catch Rae’s thoughts on the most important stories people need to hear (and tell) to make a transition to sustainable and just society.

 Notes and Resources:

• Rae’s website
• The podcast: Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
• Rae discussed how Ayana Elizabeth Johnson influenced her.
• Rae also highlighted the work of Leah Thomas on intersectional environmentalism.
• Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program
• National Geographic HBCU Media Scholarship
• Article about the reboot of the Wild Kingdom television series

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What do Saddam Hussein’s information minister and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board have in common? Hint: it starts with a “d,” ends with “enial,” and isn’t just a river in Egypt. A new and virulent strain of climate denial could be called “doomer shaming.” Instead of acknowledging how logical it is to be distressed about the state of the climate (and the pitiful worldwide political response), delusional boosters of the status quo would rather belittle people who worry about rising temperatures, wildfires, super-storms, and ecosystem breakdown. Jason, Rob, Asher, and Melody consider how to manage climate anxiety and use it in service of caring for planet Earth.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
References:

• Video of Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahhaf, aka Baghdad Bob
• Allysia Finley wrote this Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “Climate Change Obsession Is a Real Mental Disorder”
• Nature article dismissed by Finley
• Lancet article dismissed by Finley
• Rebuttal written by PCI Advisor Leslie Davenport and published in the Wall Street Journal
• Rebecca Solnit’s article in The Guardian, “We Can’t Afford to Be Climate Doomers.”
• Survey on climate distress by the Yale Program on Climate Communication
• Gen Dread newsletter on climate distress
• Climate Psychology Alliance
• Good Grief Network

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After hearing a story of woe on the streets of Portland, Oregon, Jason, Rob, and Asher cover the four critical ways of cultivating personal resilience to navigate the Great Unraveling. The report we reference several times is Welcome to the Great Unraveling: Navigating the Polycrisis of Environmental and Social Breakdown.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

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Asher, Rob, and Jason explore the lessons and dangers of the brotherhood of Phalse Prophets and consider better ways to achieve a sustainable and equitable society. Along the way, they examine how to start a cult, turn the insufferability index on themselves, respond to listener feedback, and repeatedly mispronounce amygdala. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD. 

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Meet Elon Musk, the Muskian mogul who Elon Musks his way to the pinnacle of Muskitude. Please share this episode with your friends and start a conversation.

Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.

For an entertaining deep dive into the theme of season five (Phalse Prophets), read the definitive peer-reviewed taxonomic analysis from our very own Jason Bradford, PhD. 

Sources/Links/Notes:

• Prepare to be wowed by the Musk Foundation website.
• Luc Olinga, "Errol Musk, Elon's Dad, Prompts a New Controversy," TheStreet (2022).
• Musk's attack on Jane Goodall
• Cade Metz and Neal E. Boudette, "Inside Tesla as Elon Musk Pushed an Unflinching Vision for Self-Driving Cars," The New York Times (2021).
• Andrew J. Hawkins and Umar Shakir, "Elon Musk unveils a new Master Plan, a path to sustainable energy future, but no new cars," The Verge (2023).
• Adam Kovacs and Adam Westbrook, "Elon Musk Has Some bad Ideas for Mass Transit. We Have Solutions," The New York Times (2022).
• Adam Something, "Elon Musk’s Loop is a Bizarrely Stupid Idea," YouTube (2021).
• Ted Mann and Julie Bykowicz, "Elon Musk’s Boring Company Ghosts Cities Across America," The Wall Street Journal (2022).
• Nikki McCann Ramirez, "Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Theory Trends on Twitter After Elon Musk Pushes It," Rolling Stone (2022).
• Ted McCormick, "The billionaire space race reflects a colonial mindset that fails to imagine a different world," The Conversation (2021).
• Marina Koren, "The War in Ukraine is Testing the Myth of Elon Musk," The Atlantic (2022).
• Radhika Viswanathan, "Elon Musk’s plan to bring a mini-submarine to rescue the Thai boys," Vox (2018).
• A podcast episode from Backpacker that describes the amazing Thai cave rescue
• Zoe Schiffer and Casey Newton, "Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first," Platformer (2023)
• Emile P. Torres, "How Elon Musk sees the future: His bizarre sci-fi vision should concern us all," Salon, July 17, 2022.

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