In debates about social ecological transformation, most conversations focus on what governments, corporations, orinternational bodies should do. But beneath these big policy debates, there’s another story unfolding: one of ordinary people taking action in their communities. Across the world, citizens are creating local solutions to global problems: developing local energy projects, repair cafés, community-supported agriculture and cooperative housing. These efforts may seem small, but they reflect the very principles social ecological economics stands for: sufficiency, conviviality, cooperation, and care instead of competition and endless growth. Hosted by Matilda Gettins. Edited by Aidan Knox.

One of the departures from mainstream economics in ecological economics is the way ecological economists tend to value nature for more than its pure anthropocentric, utilitarian value. So in this episode, we’ll be talking aboutprotecting some nature that gets pretty bad press: sharks! We interview award-winning conservation scientist and practitioner Dr Hollie Booth, who runs an NGO focusing on shark conservation in Indonesia whilst also running randomised controlled trials to evaluate their effectiveness. So here we get a deep dive on the economics of shark declines, and the real-world challenges of running large ecological economics field experiments in the wild. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Transitioning into an economy that respects planetary boundaries inevitably requires downscaling of production of certain kinds and causes major shifts within and between industries. However, it is unclear whether a truly regenerativeeconomy would demand more or less labour. What we can predict is that both the way we think about work and the types of jobs available to us will have to change. But can we create a safety net throughout these tectonic changes?  Our guest today, Charles Stevenson argues that a job guarantee is not only possible but also desirable. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Ecological economics is founded on the criticism of the current economic system but while some of its representatives believe that things can changewithout completely dismantling capitalism, many say that capitalism by definition will never be able to respect planetary boundaries. How we may perceive this question is strongly influenced by what we know and think of the already tested alternatives and their failures. In the first episode of Season 5, with today’s guest, Hungarian sociologist, economist and historian, Attila Melegh we will discuss just what kind of socialism we have ever tested. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox.

It is blatantly clear that if we ever want a good life for all within planetary boundaries, we need to tackle the question of distribution and redistribution. On the one hand, we must make sure that all can live in sufficiency and dignity and on the other that those who have an enormously unequal share of the resources are forced to make do with less. In today’s episode with Marlies Glasius, we look at the possibilities to tax the superrich in a world where they seem to have most of the political as well as the economic power. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Ecological economics teaches that the human economy is a subset of the biosphere, and that every single transaction occurring in the human economy implies some kind of physical work, an energy transformation or the use and transformation of resources. Thinking about the world in this way has radical implications for lifestyles, policy, practice, and the future of society. Our main discipline for tracking the flows of energy and matter through the economy is industrial ecology. In this episode we’re lucky to have leading industrial ecologist Prof Paul Behrens onto the show to give us a brilliant overview of industrial ecology. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

A lot of ecological economists believe that one of the fundamental drivers of nature destruction is the historical creation of the human-nature dichotomy, and we often draw inspiration from cultures who don’t view people as distinct from nature. But what lessons can we draw in countries in the global North where that human-nature dichotomy is taken to its extreme, where the overwhelming policy pressure is towards the commodification of nature? We’ll dive into some of these discussions today with Prof Julia Martin-Ortega and Dr Josh Cohen, focusing on humanity’s relationship with rivers. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

What if we accepted that human prosperity was about health rather than wealth? What if instead of growth, the economy would concern itself with care? In his new book Tim Jackson argues that our careless economy is jeopardising our physicaland mental health as well as the natural environment and the wellbeing of other species. The organising principle of the economy should therefore be centred on care. But what is care? And how can our growth-fetishist patriarchal societiesshift towards embracing a holistic understanding of care?

To achieve global biodiversity and climate policy goalswe have to restore nature at a massive scale. There’s a huge debate in ecological economics about what the correct policy approach is, and in a way different approaches represent very different visions of the future; some believe these should be driven by governments, others see a major role for private finance and corporations, others in empowering civil society and local communities and more decentralised approaches to nature recovery. We’ll diveinto some of these discussions today with Dr Tim Lamont, discussing the role of large businesses in biosphere stewardship. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Achieving planetary sustainability cannot be achieved using the same practices and reasoning that has induced the problems in the first place. Diverse indigenous and local knowledge has proven to be much better steward to localecological systems than the globalised culture that drives current mainstream economic and political decisions and is currently at the forefront of protection struggles. Our guest today, Victoria Reyes-Garcia explains why this is the case, how this knowledge differs and what can be done to promote its inclusion into collective decision-making processes. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox.