Human Nature Odyssey

Today Hajar Tazi joins us on our odyssey. Hajar is a poet, writer, facilitator, and self-described "ecosystem weaver." Our conversation is part of a new five-episode miniseries from Resilience that I'm hosting in collaboration with the Omega Resilience Awards. It's called In the Rising Tide and it brings together conversations with five people from around the world, exploring the interconnected unfolding crises of our time—and how each of them is responding within their own communities. Across the series, I speak with a chef and farmer from the Philippines, an Indigenous water defender in Chile, a young organizer in Uganda resisting mega oil projects, and a narrative practitioner in India. I wanted to include this conversation with Hajar here on Human Nature Odyssey because it touches many of the themes we've been exploring here on the podcast. Hajar has been deeply influenced by the scholar and activist Joanna Macy, and facilitates something called the "Great Weaving Game," which draws on Macy's framework of the Great Unraveling and the Great Turning to help people imagine new possibilities for the future. If you want to learn more about Joanna Macy's work, you can check out the recent Human Nature Odyssey episode with Jess Serrante. Today, Hajar and I explore many things: neurodivergence, eco-villages, the IMF and World Bank, surfing, political polarization, and the art of coming home. In The Rising Tide was made with support from a grant from Omega Resilience Awards, a project of the nonprofit Commonweal. Find out more at ORAwards.org You can learn more from Hajar at her substack Remembering the Future. If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes.

This is the first 30 minutes of a longer conversation. The full conversation is available on the Human Nature Odyssey Patreon. === Jake Marquez and Maren Morgan are fellow podcasters, filmmakers, and new friends. Starting today, the three of us are joining forces to create monthly bonus episodes where we'll seek to better understanding this self-destructive civilizational 10,000 year predicament we find ourselves in. In this episode we discuss artificial intelligence. We found that despite all our philosophical overlap we were advocating two different approaches when it came to AI. I was exploring the idea of a cautious adoption, Maren argued for more of an abstinence policy. I've said it before and I'll say it again, every good conversation ends with the same conclusion: oh yeah, balance. We find ourselves there eventually. But the road we take is filled with insights, questions, and jokes. If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast

Breaking news: The Soviet Union has collapsed! The Berlin Wall has crumbled! Communism has fallen! Capitalism wins! USA! USA! But wait… what's this? Russia has been overtaken by oligarchs and an authoritarian dictator. Oh no… Well, at least that could never happen in the United States. Right? This is the climactic Part Three of our three-part series on the history of the left/right political spectrum. After the youth protests of the 1960s failed to topple governments, left-wing radicalism shifted its focus—from revolution to championing social equality through pop culture. But as culture wars raged, neoliberalism—liberalism and capitalism's love child—conquered the globe, fueling deregulation, rising corporate power, and deepening economic divides that hollowed out democracy itself. Just three decades after the Cold War, the old adversaries—Russia and the U.S.—found themselves on eerily parallel paths, ushering in a new era of oligarchy and a return to right-wing rule—like the one the French Revolution fought against all those years ago. Join us as we trace how the world drifted from dreams of liberation to authoritarian control—and how a new generation began planting the seeds of liberty and equality once again. If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast CITATIONS "Vietnam War." Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics." National Archives. Thatcher, Margaret. Speech to the Conservative Women's Conference. May 21, 1980. Wong, Edward. "China's Black Cat, White Cat Diplomacy." Foreign Policy, July 10, 2009. Reagan, Ronald. Speech at Reagan-Bush Rally in Warren, Michigan. October 10, 1984. "Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989." Federal Reserve. Davidson, Amy. "Exploring Occupy Wall Street's Adbusters Origins." NPR, October 20, 2011. "Youth Voting in 2016 Primaries and Caucuses." CIRCLE, Tufts University. Kestenbaum, David. "How Shock Therapy Created Russian Oligarchs and Paved the Path for Putin." NPR, March 22, 2022. Steele, Jonathan. "How Football Conquered Russia." The Guardian, July 2, 2003. Harding, Luke. "Roman Abramovich: The Billionaire Oligarch with a Backstory Shrouded in Secrecy." The Guardian, March 21, 2022. Keats, Jonathon. "Design of Dissent." Forbes, October 28, 2019. Birnbaum, Michael. "Occupy Wall Street Protests Go Global." The Washington Post, October 15, 2011. Jojo Rabbit. 2019. Directed by Taika Waititi. Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI All rights reserved.

How many people are happy with the way society is headed? There seems to be a general consensus - maybe the one thing we all agree on - that things are not right. But our different opinions on what's wrong and what directions could be better too often fall on either side of a left vs right political spectrum. Where did we get this idea of a left wing and a right wing anyway? How is it in a world of such diversity of languages and traditions and religions there's just two freakin' wings? What are we, a bird? Well, it all started… during the French Revolution. And if we want to expand our map and chart a better direction, that's where our story needs to begin. In this episode, we journey back to the French Revolution, where revolutionaries and monarchists first split into left and right wings—and the world has never been the same. Out of the chaos emerged ideals of liberty, the terror in the streets, and a fierce battle of ideas that spread across Europe, sparking revolutions from Sicily to Poland. The 1848 uprisings shook monarchies to their core, as liberals, conservatives, and radicals fought over society's future. Most of the revolutions were crushed—but none left the world unchanged. Join us for a deep dive into political ideologies, French accents, guillotines, and the struggle for democracy. If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast CITATIONS Websites and Articles Britannica. France: Peasant Insurgencies. Yale University Library. French Revolution Political Cartoons: The Guillotine. Fine Dining Lovers. 2022. "Dining with King Louis XVI." Chastain, James. The Two Sicilies. Ohio University. Statista. 2024. Global Elections in 2024. Hincks, Joseph. 2024. "More Voters Than Ever Will Vote in 2024." TIME. Reuters. 2024. "What Are the Key Issues in Mozambique's 2024 Elections?" World History Encyclopedia. French Republican Calendar. Britannica. Reign of Terror. Prothero, Stephen. 2016. "Culture War Is an American Tradition." Los Angeles Times, February 14. Chastain, James. The European Revolutions of 1848 and 1989: A Comparative Analysis. Tocqueville, Alexis de. "Speech to the French Chamber of Deputies, January 29, 1848." Speeches USA. Books Arasse, Daniel. 1987. The Guillotine and the Terror. Bussiek, Dagmar. 2002. Mit Gott für König und Vaterland: Die Neue Preußische Zeitung (Kreuzzeitung) 1848–1892. Münster: LIT Verlag, p. 18. Clark, Christopher. 2023. Revolutionary Spring: Europe Aflame and the Fight for a New World. Kirchner, Emil J. 1988. Liberal Parties in Western Europe. Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. 1848. The Communist Manifesto. Terwecoren, Edouard. 1870. Collection de Précis historiques. J. Vandereydt, p. 31. Podcasts and YouTube The Rest Is History. 2023. "The Year of Revolutions: 1848." Podcast audio, April 30, 2023. Duncan, Mike. Revolutions podcast season 7 Green, John. Crash Course: European History #26. YouTube playlist. Additional Music Track: Symphony no. 41 in C 'Jupiter', K. 551 - I. Allegro vivace Music provided by Classical Music Copyright Free [https://tinyurl.com/visit-cmcf] Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI All rights reserved. 1. Amazon: Celestial Soda Pop https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B000QQXURI 2. iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/celestial-soda-pop/3242445?i=3242425 3. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2THDVIVytLuGX7S7UghuC1?si=20ea63807bba401f

Looking for a game to play over the holidays? Why not try the real world global economy? Too late, you're already playing it! Have you ever noticed how the most popular board games just so happen to reflect core components of our civilization? Settlers of Catan involves the extraction of raw materials. Risk is the imperialism and war between nations. Monopoly demonstrates the pitfalls of capitalism. Now in the real world, I rarely celebrate resource extraction, imperialism, or capitalism. But the board game versions are so much fun. Maybe that's why we're all playing it at a global level. As horrible as the side effects of these things are, enough people are having so much fun playing. And not just those winning. Sure, winning is awesome. But don't count out how much fun it is to be down just enough to think if you keep trying you can get back in it. Your competitiveness takes over and you can't put the game down. And then for even more people, they have no choice in the matter, they have to play, even though there's no hope for winning, they're just trying to survive and stay in the game. At this point, most of the world has been roped into this game of conquering, exploitation, and finance. We're so convinced this is just normal life, most people don't even think they're playing a game. But unlike most board games, it doesn't come with an instruction manual. That is… until now. In this episode, we use sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein's seminal text, World-Systems Analysis, as our instruction manual to the game of colonization and exploitation. We explore how dominant countries rise and fall, the dance between capitalism and the state, and the unexpected truth about what real power looks like. Join us for a deep dive into empires, markets, mafias, and everyone's favorite Monopoly piece: the thimble. Macro-economics has never been this entertaining and fun for the whole family. If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast CREDITS Additional Writer ... Weslie Lechner Voice Acting ... Patrick Boylan and Weslie Lechner CITATIONS World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction [book] by Immanuel Wallerstein (2004) The Emergence of France [article] by Gabriel Fournier and John Frederick Drinkwater (2024) The secret history of Monopoly: the capitalist board game's leftwing origins [article] by Mary Pilon (2015) Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI All rights reserved. 1. Amazon: Celestial Soda Pop https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B000QQXURI 2. iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/celestial-soda-pop/3242445?i=3242425 3. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2THDVIVytLuGX7S7UghuC1?si=20ea63807bba401f

In the spring of 1992, twenty-four-year-old Christopher McCandless left society behind, hitchhiking 3,000 miles into the Alaskan wilderness. Two years earlier, Chris had donated his entire life savings to Oxfam, burned his social security card, and headed west seeking life on his own terms - without telling a soul, particularly his parents. In this episode, we delve into Into the Wild's larger cultural implications, exploring the conflict between self and society, community and solitude. Philosophers like Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and John Locke will weigh in. As well as George Carlin and Malcolm and the Middle. We'll investigate the concept of "wilderness" - how Euro-American settlers viewed it versus their Native American counterparts. And for those of us who dream of escaping the troubles of society, we'll explore McCandless as an inspiration and cautionary tale. If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast CITATIONS Into the Wild [book] by Jon Krakauer (1996) Into the Wild [film] directed by Sean Penn (2007) George Carlin's appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1996) Malcolm in the Middle [sitcom] (2000-2007) How Chris McCandless Died [article] by Jon Krakauer (2016) Myths of Wilderness in Contemporary Narrative [book] by Kylie Crane (2012) Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI All rights reserved. 1. Amazon: Celestial Soda Pop https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B000QQXURI 2. iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/celestial-soda-pop/3242445?i=3242425 3. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2THDVIVytLuGX7S7UghuC1?si=20ea63807bba401f

What death is required for life to grow? In our culture's resistance to death we seem to have caused so much of it. And what if humans aren't inherently a destructive force on the planet? How might we actually be another symbiotic part of our ecosystems? Jake Marquez and Maren Morgan are the hosts of Death in the Garden, a podcast exploring the complex intersection between myth, civilization, climate change. Mandy Magill is a regenerative agriculture educator and cofounder of the Earth Regeneration Alliance. In this episode we're sharing exerpts from both these conversations to explore our culture's aversion to death, how food is the nexus of civilization, and alternatives to conventional farming that can regenerate ecosystems and recreate our relationship with nature. If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI All rights reserved. 1. Amazon: Celestial Soda Pop https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B000QQXURI 2. iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/celestial-soda-pop/3242445?i=3242425 3. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2THDVIVytLuGX7S7UghuC1?si=20ea63807bba401f