#1596 Building a positive future by first envisioning it and then designing it

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Air Date 12/5/2023

It's important to focus on positive visions and not only get stuck in doom cycles of complaining about what's going wrong. So, we're looking at a variety of positive visions including rethinking human nature, reimagining our relationship with consumerism, considering how design can work with nature instead of against it, and understanding why cooperation is better than individualistic competition from an evolutionary point of view.

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Transcript

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: What We Get Wrong About Human Nature - Andrewism - Air Date 1-11-23

What does it mean to be human? Join me as I explore the many interpretations of human nature across various philosophies and delve into the true breadth of human possibilities.

Ch. 2: Gabor Maté on Illness, Human Nature, Capitalism, and Socialism - Against the Grain - Air Date 5-30-23

North Americans are sick, stressed, and alienated, a state of affairs accentuated in recent years by Covid. Gabor Maté argues that capitalism engenders illness, while the medical system blindly ignores the lives of its patients.

Ch. 3: Imagining a Solarpunk Education - Human Restoration Project - Air Date 5-11-23

Do we have the willingness to challenge the predominant social, economic, & political structures & systems that need to be challenged? To change the very nature of humanity's relationship to the planet? What role does education play in all of this?

Ch. 4: What science fiction teaches us about imagining a better world - The New Humanitarian - Air Date 1-11-23

Time and again, guests on this season of Rethinking Humanitarianism have called for systemic changes to the humanitarian system and global governance – from alternatives to the UN to revolutionized global climate financing.

Ch. 5: Elon Musk Has Become the Very Thing He Hates Most - The New Abnormal - Air Date 11-20-23

A conversation with award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor about her transformational Africanfuturism and the importance of inclusive visions of science fiction.

Ch. 6: How We Can Build A Solarpunk Future Right Now (ft. @Andrewism) - Our Changing Climate - Air Date 4-20-22

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at ways in which we can build a Solarpunk future right now. Solarpunk envisions a world in which nature and humanity are seamlessly intertwined

Ch. 7: The Race to Cooperation - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 2-2-23

David Sloan Wilson's work shows that humans can and have chosen values like cooperation, altruism and group success – versus individual competition and selfishness

MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: The Race to Cooperation - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 2-2-23

VOICEMAILS

Ch. 9: Geoengineering concerns - Bud from Idaho

FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 10: Final comments clarifying some details about using Solar Radiation Management as a geoengineering strategy

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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