The Human Survival Podcast

Global poverty isn't just a result of history - it's an active system designed to extract resources from developing countries while keeping them in debt. Former economic hitman John Perkins reveals how corporations and wealthy nations impoverish the places with the most resources, and why this threatens humanity's survival. We explore the connections between inequality, environmental destruction, and our global economic system, plus what each of us can do to transform the "death economy" into a "life economy."

John Perkins spent decades as chief economist at a major consulting firm, advising the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Fortune 500 corporations on projects around the world. But he was actually functioning as an "economic hitman" - engineering massive debt that allows corporations to control developing countries' resources.

Before that life, he lived in the Amazon rainforest studying with shamans, and he's continued that work alongside his career as an author, speaker and activist. His bestselling book "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" exposed how the global economy really works. His other books include “Shapeshifting”, "Touching the Jaguar", and most recently, the novel "Message from Pleiades." And he's a founder of the Pachamama Alliance, working with indigenous people to protect the Amazon rainforest and all of Earth’s ecosystems.

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ABOUT THE HUMAN SURVIVAL PROJECT:

The Human Survival Project combines two essential truths: humanity faces existential threats to our civilization, and these global threats require global management through a redesigned and much stronger United Nations.

We're building what's never existed before—a global grassroots movement that creates the citizen pressure needed to transform global governance. While others develop policy solutions, we mobilize the public support to implement them.

Connect with us:

This work is urgent. This moment in history demands action. Thank you for being part of this movement to protect humanity's future.

RESOURCES:

John Perkins’ website

John’s latest book, "Message From Pleiades"

Pachamama Alliance

Dream Change

The Divide, by Jason Hickel

TIMESTAMPS:

The 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:

We need some big solutions.  And luckily, there are ways to grow food in harmony with nature and climate.  Many smart people are figuring this out.  One of them is today’s guest.

Miranda Mertes is a final semester master’s student studying Agroecology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.  She earned her bachelor’s degrees in Animal Science and Sustainable Food and Farming from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and focuses her current work on sustainable livestock systems.  She is passionate about regenerative agriculture and food systems justice, among other agroecological topics.

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The Human Survival Podcast is hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats. We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org **

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect

This show is also on YouTube.  You can watch this episode here:

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show.

Find us on social media:

RESOURCES:

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Agroecology Fund - What Is Agroecology?

Global Alliance For The Future Of Food - May 2024

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Agroecology Coalition

United Nations

Our World In Data

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Intro

1:15 Welcome Miranda.

4:30 How Miranda got into sustainable agriculture.

6:30 The large scale of agriculture-related environmental concerns.

8:00 Regenerative agriculture.  Soil health.  

9:20 Climate emissions - fertilizer, machinery, methane

10:15 Runoff, nutrient leaching, dead zones in waterways

11:20 Erosion, loss of topsoil, soil degradation

14:05 Let’s talk about solutions!!

15:50 What is agroecology?

19:55 Farmers’ interaction with industry, economy, governments, etc.

20:55 Attitudes about “conventional” farmers.  Farmers’ struggles.

24:00 Corporatization of agriculture

27:15 Science-driven policymaking vs lobbyist-driven policymaking

31:20 How is agricultural policy handled globally?

33:45 Agriculture practice and policy in developing countries

39:50 Support for farmers

44:10 Agroforestry

46:30 More farming without killing forests

48:50 Challenges of transitioning to new farming methods

51:30 Most people disconnected from where their food comes from

54:15 Individual responsibility vs public policy solutions

As 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 new approaches to these mental health issues.

One of them is today’s guest, Eva Jahn. She is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice, and is also co-founder and executive director of the Climate Emotional Resilience Institute. CERI is a group of climate-aware psychotherapists, psychologists and other helping professionals around the world working at the intersection of mental health and our planetary crisis.

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats. We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org **

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect

This show is also on YouTube.  You can watch this episode here:

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show.

Find us on social media:

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RESOURCES:

Climate Emotional Resilience Institute (CERI)

Eva’s website

CERI Climate Cafes -

CERI's Thicket Course -

Climate Psychology Alliance North America -

Good Grief Network

Psychology for a Safe Climate (Australia)

Resilience and Acceptance in the Face of Collapse

350.org

New York Times Magazine

How to Find Joy in Climate Action | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson | TED

Jem Bendell

TIMESTAMPS:

In 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 solve humanity’s existential threats and strengthen our society.

Sam Sammane envisions a world where the rapid advancements in AI and technology are harnessed for the greater good, leading to a new age of global prosperity.  He is a seasoned entrepreneur and has co-founded and led multiple successful companies in the life sciences, IT and real estate industries.

He earned a Bachelor's and Master's in Applied Physics, a Master's in Digital Circuit Design, and a Ph.D. in Nanotechnology, and has authored several articles on high-order logic, symbolic simulation, and automatic theorem proving. 

He is the author of the upcoming book, "The Singularity of Hope”, which aims to guide readers through the challenges and opportunities of the AI era, advocating for a harmonious fusion of human intelligence and machine capabilities.

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats.  We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/ ** 

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect  

This show is also on YouTube.  Watch this episode here:

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

Find us on social media:

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RESOURCES:

Sam’s website:

Buy Sam’s book, The Singularity of Hope

80,000 Hours Podcast

The Human Survival Podcast

The Human Survival Podcast

Immigration 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 that.  Most people are just spewing anger at each other, without much problem solving.

The Human Survival Project works to promote solutions to migration, among other issues, and prides itself on explaining complicated issues in ways that everyone can understand.  So in this episode, we get beyond the angry soundbites to address some misunderstandings about immigration, and offer real solutions that might actually work.

This episode is based on a LOT of research.  We want you to see the resources we used, to verify what we’ve offered in this talk, and to support you in learning more.  You can find all these resources on our website here:  

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats.  We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/ ** 

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect 

This show is also on YouTube.  You can watch this episode here:

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

Find us on social media:

Thanks for listening!

People 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, VP of Policy and Communications with The Borgen Project, a fantastic advocacy organization urging wealthier nations to address global poverty.

Related to this topic, you may enjoy these previous episodes:

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats. We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/ ** 

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect 

This show is also on YouTube. 

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

Find us on social media:

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RESOURCES:

The Borgen Project

For 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.

Our guest today teaches us how this system of hidden wealth works, how wealth is used to influence politics and society, and how wealth can be redirected toward humanity’s important needs.

Chuck Collins is Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he co-edits Inequality.org.  He is an expert on U.S. inequality, authoring over ten books and dozens of reports covering climate disruption, philanthropy, the racial wealth divide, affordable housing, and billionaire wealth dynasties.  He is a founding member of the Patriotic Millionaires, and in 1995, he co-founded United for a Fair Economy (UFE) to organize, educate, and shift narratives to fight inequality.  Collins’ newest book is a novel, Altar to an Erupting Sun (Green Writers Press), a near-future story of one community facing climate disruption in the critical decade ahead.  His other titles include The Wealth Hoarders, Born on Third Base, Wealth and Our Commonwealth (co-authored with the late Bill Gates Sr.), and The Moral Measure of the Economy (co-authored with Mary Wright).

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats. We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/ ** 

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect 

This show is also on YouTube.

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

Find us on social media:

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RESOURCES:

Chuck Collins’ website

Institute for Policy Studies

https://inequality.org/

Patriotic Millionaires

In 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 technology. Wendell is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he co-directs the AI and Equality Initiative (AIEI). He is also a senior advisor to the Hastings Center and a scholar at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, where he has chaired Technology and Ethics studies for 11 years. Wendell has written several books on how to avoid misusing technology and the moral considerations that factor into those actions.

By improving our governance systems, we humans can be more thoughtful, forward-looking, organized and international in our management of technology. In truth, the consequences of mismanaging technology are already here. But it’s not too late for positive change. If we act quickly and collaboratively, we can shape our future for the better.

#technology #artificialintelligence #existentialthreats #ai #bioethics #governance #TechGovernance #EthicalInnovation #EthicalTech #FutureLeaders #CollaborativeChange #FutureReadiness

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/ ** 

This show is also on YouTube.  Watch this episode here:

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

Find us on social media:

RESOURCES:

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs:

Wendell Wallach Bio:

AI & Equality Podcast:

Article - A Framework for the International Governance of AI:

A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond Our Control by Wendell Wallach

Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong by Wendell Wallach

TIMESTAMPS:

After 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 National Geographic. His 18 books include two on pandemics. “Spillover,” in 2012, accurately predicted a major pandemic could happen soon. In 2022, “Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus” thoroughly analyzed the world’s reaction to COVID-19. Quammen has traveled the world extensively, allowing him to contribute to today’s conversation with his personal experiences in third-world countries and what he’s seen in the availability of resources for those communities.

Luckily, the threat of viral outbreaks is rooted in something we can change: our actions. By regulating humans’ contact with animals, overconsumption of animal-based products, and the distribution of vaccines and education, we can act proactively on our planet. To save human and non-human creatures, we must adopt a future-oriented approach and find solutions now. If the next pandemic is tomorrow, we can be prepared.

#virus #outbreak #pandemic #pandemicawareness #protectourplanet #publichealth #existentialthreats #grassroots #globalcommunity #unitednations #diseaseprevention #coronavirus #outbreak #overconsumption #biodiversityloss #vaccine

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats.  We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/ ** 

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect

You can watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/slmCOt5na3Y 

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

Find us on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/thehumansurvivalproject/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thehumansurvivalproject

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-human-survival-project/

RESOURCES:

David Quammen’s Website

https://davidquammen.com/ 

New York Times - 12/19/23

Mystery Amid an Anthrax Outbreak in Africa

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/health/anthrax-africa.html?smid=url-share

Grist - 4/27/20

Deadly Leaps: These scientists saw the coronavirus coming. Now, they're trying to stop the next pandemic before it starts.

https://bit.ly/3ecYmIJ

Vox - 610/20

The meat we eat is a pandemic risk, too

https://bit.ly/3xH2Qz3 

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:20 - Description of David Quammen.

5:38 - What is the size of this risk, and what drives it?

8:00 - The three big human-caused problems (“three rivers of woe”) on Earth.

9:07 - Human contact with animals leads to most diseases.

14:30 - Dangers of wet markets.

16:24 - Domesticated meat production and its risks.

21:01 - Leaks of diseases from labs.

24:36 - Adopting a future-oriented approach to find solutions.

26:16 - Communication of information and public trust in science.

28:57 - Science is a gradual and self-correcting process.

32:15 - The next pandemic could be tomorrow (and worse than COVID-19).

38:36 - Rapid development of successful vaccines.

40:41 - Making vaccines and disease education available to ALL countries.

44:12 - Public/private funding and partnerships.

46:45 - Proactive surveillance, containing outbreaks and predictions of viruses.

52:00 - Lack of capacity and resources in hospitals.

55:13 - What is the state of the World Health Organization?

57:19 - Inspecting labs and hospitals would be valuable.

1:00:16 - We need to have more conversations on these issues.

1:01:10 - Pandemic threats and biodiversity loss are co-equal to climate change.

1:03:06 - Losing the world’s creatures.

How 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 global movement that aims to abolish the institution of war. The organization currently has signatories to their two-sentence peace pledge in 194 countries. John has had many firsthand experiences with violent conflict as a retired emergency physician and has spent decades examining the benefits of nonviolence.

In this episode, we discuss ways to manage conflict on a global scale, including the enforcement of gradual disarmament, incentivization for countries, reallocation of military budgets, and the removal of nuclear weaponry. The dangers of war continue to grow with the advancement of artificial technology; this means that humans have the power to regulate our systems and weaponry to redesign our world for a better and more peaceful future.

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The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.

This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats.  We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.

** Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/ ** 

Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect 

This show is also available on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/PUdAysiU4_s

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

Find us on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/thehumansurvivalproject/

https://www.tiktok.com/@thehumansurvivalproject

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-human-survival-project/ 

Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show. 

RESOURCES:

World BEYOND War’s Website

https://worldbeyondwar.org/ 

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Introduction.

4:26 - What is World BEYOND War? How does it work? What are its goals?

8:28 - War is not inevitable or “natural” for humans.

10:51 - Nonviolence and the Golden Rule.

13:49 - War/violence mainly keeps the powerful in control.

16:40 - Manipulation of citizens’ and soldiers’ perspectives in the Russia-Ukraine war.

19:45 - What would happen if we didn’t fight? Civil resistance.

28:03 - Enforcing nonviolent approaches.

32:35 - Redesigning the United Nations.

38:38 - Cultural violence to empower the people.

40:39 - Humanity making decisions for humanity.

41:14 - Making war illegal and gradually disarming everyone.

44:37 - Difficulties of having a representative voice in government.

45:50 - Disarmament in peace policies.

47:33 - Redirecting the military budget to non-military purposes.

48:59 - How do we help countries feel safe enough to disarm?

52:47 - Transparency in policies is a choice.

55:03 - Nuclear weapons and incentivization for disarmament.

1:00:08 - International courts.

1:02:37 - To what extent is warfare economic?

1:05:05 - Humans built nuclear weapons. Humans can take them apart.

1:08:26 - World BEYOND War’s peace pledge.