So there I was, sitting in a Turkish barbershop in Vienna, conducting an invisible orchestra with my hands while trying to explain how I wanted my hair cut. Twenty minutes later, I walked out looking like I'd lost a fight with a lawnmower – and that's when it hit me: we're approaching this whole universal language communication thing completely backwards. Here I am, a non-native English speaker hosting a podcast about building a better world... in English. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a linguistic knife, but it perfectly illustrates the trap we're all stuck in.

This episode dives deep into why English became the global lingua franca (spoiler: it wasn't because of superior grammar), how universal language communication could actually work through constructed international auxiliary languages, and why the future might need its own tongue. We're talking about power, oppression, connection, and the beautiful chaos of linguistic diversity – because if a simple haircut can turn into a communication disaster in multicultural Vienna, imagine what's happening in boardrooms, hospitals, and diplomatic meetings around the world. The goal isn't to replace languages but to create a universal second language that belongs to no one and everyone, designed for equity rather than empire.

This is the article the episode is based on: https://iandebay.com/the-good-system/why-we-need-a-universal-language/

These are my YouTube channels:

This is the link to my newsletter: https://iandebay.substack.com

Picture this: You're stuck behind a Karen in an SUV honking at a crosswalk because people are actually walking across the street. Meanwhile, the solution to our city nightmares isn't flying cars or hyperloops—it's something so ridiculously simple we've convinced ourselves it's impossible. In this episode, I confess my double life as "The Walking Dad" and reveal how walking—this thing humans have been doing for literally millions of years—has become an act of rebellion. From discovering hidden parks that are invisible from car level to nearly getting my son run down on a crosswalk by a reversing SUV, I share the personal stories that made me realize walkable cities aren't just better for our health and environment—they're the secret weapon for building communities that actually work.

But here's the plot twist: Walking was murdered, and it wasn't an accident. We've created urban environments so hostile to human beings that parents drive their kids to school not because they're lazy, but because they're genuinely afraid their children might die on infrastructure supposedly designed for them. From construction sites that prioritize car traffic over children's safety to the linguistic programming that makes us call them "sidewalks" (as if pedestrians are just sidekicks), I dive into the economic conspiracy that killed walking and why the 15-minute city concept is actually punk rock transportation. This isn't utopian fantasy—it's remembering how successful cities worked for thousands of years before we decided to organize human settlements around the convenience of automobiles.

• Walking is economic dynamite we're ignoring - Pedestrians are shopping ninjas who stop, browse, and buy, while drivers zip past businesses at 50km/h contributing zero dollars to local economies except when desperately searching for parking

• The 15-minute city isn't a conspiracy, it's how cities worked for millennia - Everything you need for daily life accessible within a 15-minute walk isn't some New World Order plot—it's literally how human settlements functioned before we decided metal boxes were more important than people

• Making walking cool again requires cultural hacking - We need walking influencers, Instagram-worthy urban exploration, and apps that gamify discovery instead of just guilt-tripping you about step counts, because cycling has cool gear while walking just has comfortable shoes

Links:

This is the article the episode is based on: https://iandebay.com/the-good-system/why-walkable-cities-are-my-secret-obsession/

These are my YouTube channels:

This is the link to my newsletter: https://iandebay.substack.com

Picture this: it's 2035, you wake up at noon with literally nothing to do because your AI assistant has organized your life, your robot cleaned your house, and your job doesn't exist anymore. Oh, and your bank account is empty because while machines took over your work, nobody figured out how you're supposed to survive. Welcome to the AI revolution we're building right now, whether we want to or not. This isn't another AI panic podcast about robot overlords - this is about the much weirder and more immediate reality of how artificial intelligence is about to completely reshape society as we know it.

We're standing at the edge of the biggest transformation humanity has ever seen, and we're sleepwalking into it like we're heading to brunch on a Sunday morning. While AI companies paint beautiful pictures of a future where you'll have time to pursue pottery and write novels, they conveniently skip over the tiny logistical issue of our entire economic system collapsing. When 40-70% of jobs disappear over just a few years, where exactly will governments get tax revenue? And why are the people making these decisions - the ones who'll own the robots - sitting in front row seats at inaugurations while the rest of us figure out how to survive the biggest wealth transfer in human history?

• AI job displacement timeline - We're looking at 40-70% of jobs disappearing over years, not decades, creating an unprecedented economic disruption

• The tax revenue crisis - Our entire system depends on people working and paying taxes; AI job displacement threatens the foundation of how we fund society

• Digital feudalism emergence - A handful of tech companies are building the infrastructure to replace human labor, creating a new aristocracy that owns algorithms instead of land

• Environmental impact reality check - While AI uses massive energy and water resources, the impact is manageable compared to livestock farming and could be solved with better renewable energy and heat recycling

• AI warfare concerns - Automated weapons and AI-powered conflicts remove human barriers to starting wars, potentially making conflicts more frequent and devastating

• Thomas Piketty's thesis on steroids - Just like historical aristocrats, those who own capital (now algorithms and robots) see wealth grow exponentially faster than workers can achieve

• Marx's relevance in the AI age - Marx's vision of workers benefiting from their labor could actually be achievable with AI doing the dangerous, boring work

• Universal Basic Income necessity - With traditional work disappearing, UBI becomes essential infrastructure, not radical socialism

• The power concentration problem - Major AI companies had front row seats at political events while orchestrating the transfer of economic power

• Hope for better systems - This future isn't inevitable; we can build public AI, redesign tax systems, and create technology that serves humanity instead of replacing it

Links and Resources:

This is the article the episode is based on: https://iandebay.com/the-good-system/how-ai-will-reshape-society-the-future-were-building-right-now/

Thomas Piketty Capital & Ideology as Graphic Novel ✱Affiliate Link

Thomas Piketty Capital in the 21st Century ✱Affiliate Link

Karl Marx The Communist Manifesto: A Graphic Novel ✱Affiliate Link

The episode of Solving Climate mentioned in this episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mark-bjornsgaard-the-free-heat-revolution/id1776500195?i=1000677699363

Simon Clarks video about AI: https://youtu.be/5sFBySzNIX0?si=HDo8rVZKVgdYZx5G

These are my YouTube channels:

This is the link to my newsletter: https://iandebay.substack.com

The internet is optimized for machines, not humans anymore. If you aren't found on Google, if aren't on page one even, you do not exist.

So we end up with the ever same blog articles, that are readable for Google but not for humans.

While this may work for informational pieces, finding good art via Google is nearly impossible.

With AI, it will get worse. Now machines write for machines. We will end up in an endless vortex of mediocre SEO content.

In this episode, I talk about all this, and why I still think humans will be winning this game.

Be part of the challenge humans against Google. Share this episode to find out, if we have still more power than the search engines.

This episode is based on this article: https://iandebay.com/thoughts/this-post-is-not-optimized/

Ian’s YouTube Channels:

Subscribe to Ian’s Newsletter: https://iandebay.substack.com

I tried meeting a friend downtown and realized there's literally nowhere to go without spending money. Every café wanted 7 euros for apple juice, park benches were designed to torture your spine, and the library was closed because "no one wants to work anymore." Welcome to late-stage capitalism's war on third places!

In this episode, I break down how we've systematically eliminated the spaces where people can gather, connect, and exist without opening their wallets. Third places aren't your home or workplace – they're the coffee shops, parks, libraries, and community spaces that make society actually function.

I explore why third places are disappearing (spoiler: it's always about profit), how this isolation is literally killing us, and what we can do to fight back. From Barcelona's car-free superblocks to Vienna's lingering coffee culture, I share examples of places getting it right. Because honestly, shouldn't we be able to exist in public without justifying it through consumption?

• Third places are dying because our economic system treats every space as wasted potential unless it's generating profit – parks become parking lots, community spaces become luxury condos

• Social isolation from losing third places literally kills people: elderly adults without community connection face health impacts equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day

• We've created a world where teenagers have nowhere to exist – malls kick them out, cafés demand constant consumption, and hanging out on streets attracts police attention

• Libraries are our last true public third places, serving as community centers, job resources, and safe spaces while constantly fighting budget cuts and reduced hours

• Cities like Barcelona prove another way is possible with car-free "superblocks" that transform streets into community living rooms where kids play and neighbors connect

This episode is based on this article: https://iandebay.com/the-good-system/third-places-crucial-for-society/

Referenced episode: https://iandebay.com/podcast/why-cars-are-bad/

Ian's YouTube Channels:

Subscribe to Ian's Newsletter: https://iandebay.substack.com

In this brutally honest episode, Ian DeBay exposes the greatest environmental misdirection of our time: your individual carbon footprint. Spoiler alert: your reusable bamboo straw isn't saving the polar bears.

You've gone plastic-free, switched to cold showers, and calculated the carbon footprint of every breath you take. Congratulations on your perfectly sustainable lifestyle! Too bad, it's completely f***ing pointless. The climate is still changing.

In this eye-opening episode, Ian reveals how the concept of a "personal carbon footprint" was actually created by BP (yes, the oil company) as a brilliant marketing strategy to shift responsibility from corporations to individuals. It's like if cigarette companies created lung cancer awareness campaigns focused exclusively on not standing near smokers rather than, you know, not producing cigarettes.

Living sustainably isn't bad—being vegan is healthier, walking is good for you, and using less energy saves money. But don't fool yourself into thinking your reusable water bottle will stop climate change. It won't—not as long as the system remains unchanged.

So what should you do?

Remember: While one person changing their lifestyle barely registers on the global carbon scale, millions of people demanding systemic change can move mountains—like climate change moves glaciers.

Your individual carbon footprint is a concept created by BP. The system needs to change, not just you.

Do you feel lonely? Then dive with me deep into the bizarre world of hyperindividualism—a system that's turned us into perfectly unique snowflakes, each one isolated and meticulously customized, yet paradoxically identical in our loneliness.

I am trying to unpack the hidden mechanisms of modern isolation, offering practical strategies for combating hyperindividualism and reconnecting with real human experiences.

Key Takeaways:

Read the blog post to this podcast episode: The Ironic Loneliness of Being Extremely Unique: A Guide to Combating Hyperindividualism

Subscribe to my newsletter: https://iandebay.substack.com

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Ian_DeBay_Podcast

In this episode of The Good System, I tackle a surprisingly heated question: should you feel guilty about having kids in the climate crisis? Spoiler alert — it’s not your toddler’s fault the planet’s on fire.

I unpack the real reasons emissions keep rising (hint: it’s not diapers or birthday parties), and take a hard look at how blaming personal choices — like having children — lets the system off the hook. From billionaire emissions to baked-in fossil fuel infrastructure, we follow the trail of CO₂ and ask: who’s really driving the climate bus?

Highlights include:

Whether you're a parent, future parent, or happily childfree, this episode reframes the conversation and invites you to stop blaming yourself — and start questioning the system.

This episode is based on this blog article: https://iandebay.com/thoughts/kids-are-not-sustainable/

Is Overpopulation Really the Problem? Rethinking Climate Blame

City vs Country: What is more sustainable

For more information about the podcast and me: iandebay.com

Summary:

I also talk about the fear of crowded spaces, the myth of “too many mouths,” and why even in a world with more people, we might actually need more babies (yes, really). If you’ve ever wondered whether humanity is the problem or just bad planning, this episode is for you.

What’s Inside:

Links:

Can we laugh our way through the climate apocalypse?

We explore how comedy can cut through despair, inspire action, and maybe even help us cope with our slow march toward doom. From gallows humor to Greta jokes, this episode tackles the question: Is climate change humor even allowed? (Spoiler: yes, and it’s necessary.)

🔥 In this episode, we cover:

Whether you're a climate activist, a concerned citizen, or someone who just needs a laugh before the next IPCC report drops, this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now and discover how humor might just save your climate sanity.

📰 Or read the full blog article, if you don't like my voice.

📼 Or watch the episode on YouTube

🗝️ Keywords: climate change humor, climate crisis comedy, eco-anxiety coping, funny climate podcast, dark humor environment, laughing through climate change