In this episode, Sarah Wilson delves into the concept of societal collapse, exploring its roots and possible responses. She weaves together Western and Indigenous perspectives, discussing theories such as Moloch theory, the influence of the Church, and critiques of technological elitism. The conversation emphasizes viewing crises as opportunities for transformation, advocating for the spread of […]
Collapse: What It Is — And What To Do Read More »
In this episode, Thomas Homer-Dixon, Executive Director of the Cascade Institute, and Manjana Milkoreit, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo, explore the growing risks of global polycrisis. Through the lens of complexity science, Homer-Dixon explains how tightly coupled human and Earth systems are increasingly vulnerable to self-amplifying cascades—interlinked crises driven by energy use, environmental
Planet in Polycrisis Read More »
The authors examine how financial markets amplify the cascading socio-economic impacts of global food and energy trade disruptions. Applying their methodology to the Russia-Ukraine war, they reveal regionally diverse effects, including rising energy prices, market volatility, and worsening food affordability. Their findings underscore the need to address cascading risks to strengthen economic and food system
The author explores the growing body of scientific and scholarly work on human extinction and existential risks, focusing on the question: “What could kill everyone, and how likely is it to happen?” This review provides an overview of plausible causes of human extinction identified in current academic literature, includes expert judgments on their likelihood, and
Extinction of the human species: What could cause it and how likely is it to occur? Read More »
The author explores the concepts of systemic risk, polycrisis, and catastrophic risk, explaining how interconnected failures can cascade across diverse systems, threatening global stability. He emphasizes how systemic risk and polycrisis expose both the vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities of our global systems. The article illustrates that while a single failure can trigger widespread collapse, history
Systemic Risk and the Polycrisis Read More »
The authors argue for a more integrated framework to understand existential risks by bridging two dominant paradigms: Planetary Boundaries and Global Catastrophic Risks. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, the authors analyze how pandemics reveal the interconnectedness of public health, environmental degradation, and global systems. They critique the fragmentation between the Planetary Boundaries
The report presents a global risk management framework to address climate-related challenges and introduces the Planetary Solvency risk dashboard, providing policymakers with actionable insights to guide human activity within the planet’s finite resources.
Planetary Solvency – finding our balance with nature Read More »
The Global Risks Report 2025 presents insights from the Global Risks Perception Survey 2024-2025, which gathered input from over 900 experts worldwide. The report analyzes global risks across three timeframes—immediate (2025), short-to medium-term (2027), and long-term (2035)—to help decision-makers navigate current and future challenges.
The Global Risks Report 2025 Read More »
Jesse Damiani analyzes the Los Angeles fires, emphasizing their devastating impact on the city’s infrastructure and communities. He argues that these types of unprecedented weather events are symptoms of a broader “ecological overshoot,” which he identifies as the primary driver of a state of collapse. Damiani also explores strategies for resilience and adaptation to navigate
Andrew Busch examines the top global disaster risks for 2025, highlighting their interconnected nature, the compounding effects they may have, and potential strategies for effective risk management.
Top 10 2025 Global Disaster Risks Read More »
