Beyond Survival: Sustaining Human Agency in Challenging Times – Graham Leicester

In this podcast, Katherine Fulton, Graham Leicester, and Commonweal’s executive director Oren Slozberg explore how individuals, communities, and institutions can cultivate a fully human response to the polycrisis. The conversation reflects on why framing the polycrisis in abstract or intellectual terms tends to produce resignation rather than agency, and argues instead for approaching it as a lived condition requiring frameworks, community, and a movement toward wholeness rather than cure. The discussion highlights the importance of community, intergenerational learning, and adaptive capacities such as hope, compassion, and transformative presence in navigating uncertainty. It argues that effective responses require both practical action and shifts in mindset, including embracing complexity, acting with humility, and fostering local, flexible, and relational approaches to healing and resilience.