In this mini-series, journalist Anthony Bartaway explores the concept of the current polycrisis. He examines its potential causes, including the collapse of the international community, the spread of disinformation, and escalating environmental issues. In the first episode, Bartaway focuses on the rise in the number of wars worldwide, using this trend to illustrate how overlapping […]
The Polycrisis Part I: War Read More »
In this episode, Ajay Gambhir, Director of Systemic Risk Assessment at ASRA, explores the concept of polycrisis, showing how climate change is deeply interconnected with other global challenges across social, economic, and political systems. He highlights how crises reinforce one another, creating complex feedbacks that demand integrated solutions. A central theme is inequality, which shapes
Navigating Systemic Risk in the Age of Polycrisis Read More »
In this Cascade Institute Speaker Series episode, Dr. Nate Hagens, presents a compelling framework for understanding our world as a complex, energy-dependent “Superorganism” operating far from equilibrium. He analyzes potential future scenarios that humanity may be heading toward and introduces the idea that small, focused efforts can elevate entire systems to a higher order. This
The Price of Power: Navigating the Great Simplification Read More »
In this podcast, David Runciman talks to historian Gary Gerstle about how the idea of the polycrisis was originally conceived, what its current popularity reveals about our times, and whether we are truly experiencing a polycrisis or something else entirely. They also explore questions such as: Why is it comforting to think that the crises
The History of Bad Ideas: Polycrisis Read More »
In this webinar, historian Daniel Hoyer examines the concept of the polycrisis through a historical lens. He explores the lessons past societies offer for understanding today’s complex global challenges and discusses the critical role of youth in shaping responses to the current polycrisis.
Youth in the Polycrisis Read More »
This session showcases how governments are evolving their approach to risk in the age of polycrisis, incorporating systems thinking, and recognizing the critical role that local stakeholders and community members play in advancing our understanding of risk.
TS1-1: Understanding systemic risk in the age of polycrisis Read More »
In this webinar, Simon Buckingham Shum explores how generative AI intersects with the escalating global polycrisis, discussing how AI is both part of the problem and potentially part of the solution in addressing systemic challenges, while showcasing emerging examples particularly relevant to higher education.
Generative AI as intellectual augmentation for the polycrisis/metacrisis Read More »
One year after the call for papers for the Polycrisis in the Anthropocene special issue, 13 articles have been published, with more contributions forthcoming. This webinar features five authors from the first set of papers in the Global Sustainability special issue “Polycrisis in the Anthropocene.” It explores a range of efforts to deepen our understanding
Polycrisis in the Anthropocene – A Global Sustainability Webinar Read More »
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 »
