Urgent Futures with Jesse Damiani

What are the most extreme extinction events in Earth's history? And what should we learn from them to avoid a similar fate? Today's guest, Peter Brannen, is an expert in these extinctions, having written one of the key books on the topic, The Ends of the World.It’s an invigorating read, in part because you really confront the raw power and volatility of this planet—and because you can then more thoroughly appreciate the blissful window of relative stability that humanity has evolved within. You then must confront the fact that techno-industrial civilization is undertaking many of the same processes that brought about past mass extinctions...Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off starter kits), 1Password (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email), NordVPN (the simplest way to protect yourself online, 74% off 2-year plans).My guest this week is Peter Brannen.Peter Brannen is a science journalist and contributing writer at The Atlantic. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Guardian among other publications. His book, The Ends of the World, about the five major mass extinctions in Earth's history, was published in 2017 by Ecco. He was most recently a visiting scholar at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, and is an affiliate at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado-Boulder.CREDITS: This podcast is edited and produced by Adam Labrie and me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also directed, shot, and edited the video version of the podcast, which is available on YouTube. The podcast is presented by Reality Studies. If you appreciate the work I’m doing, please subscribe and share it with someone you think would enjoy it.Find video episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe

Humanity is in a state of ecological overshoot—put simply: we use more than the Earth can support. In many ways, this is the primary problem of modern human civilization. But driving this problem is a fundamental 'human behavioral crisis.' Understanding this is critical—and Phoebe Barnard, today's guest, can explain why.Support the show by checking out these Black Friday Deals: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (50% off starter kits), 1Password (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—40% by using the code found at that link), NordVPN (the simplest way to protect yourself online, 74% off 2-year plans).Internationally awarded global change and biodiversity scientist, filmmaker, public policy and communications strategist, mentor and professor to young professionals across Africa and the world, Phoebe Barnard has a fire in her belly for profoundly transformative sustainability change.She convenes leaders from cultures around the world to collaborate in establishing a future kinder, wiser, humbler and much more sustainable civilization.Member of the Club of Rome’s Planetary Emergency Partnership, and author or coauthor of seven of the world scientists’ warnings on the state of the climate, planet and society, Phoebe is also impatient to convert warnings into social change action on the ground.She is: founding CEO of Stable Planet Alliance, co-founder and convenor of the Global Restoration Collaborative, affiliate full professor of environmental futures and conservation science at the University of Washington, honorary research associate of climate, biodiversity and development at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and co-producer of the forthcoming documentary series The Climate Restorers and other movies on aspects of civilizational shift.It’s easy to get caught up in the abstractions inherent in talking about systems, but what distinguishes Phoebe’s practice is her commitment to social justice and feminist approaches to change. She doesn’t lose sight of the fact that its people at the center of these issues. As monumental as these challenges may feel, they are ultimately coordination problems—ones we might solve if we can reframe our understanding and responses to them. Her latest work on the documentary series The Climate Restorers is the latest such example, which shares the stories of climate and ecosystem restoration efforts to return the climate to a state in which all life can thrive.CREDITS: This podcast is edited and produced by Adam Labrie and me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also directed, shot, and edited the video version of the podcast, which is available on YouTube. The podcast is presented by Reality Studies. If you appreciate the work I’m doing, please subscribe and share it with someone you think would enjoy it.Find video episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe

We all know extinctions are bad—but extinctions aren't a yes or no question, they're a spectrum. That's why we need to understand the idea of 'defaunation,' a term coined by today's guest, legendary conservation scientist Rodolfo Dirzo.Support the show by checking out these Black Friday Deals: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (50% off starter kits), 1Password (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—40% by using the code found at that link), NordVPN (the simplest way to protect yourself online, 74% off 2-year plans).A few months ago, I hosted Gerardo Ceballos and Paul R. Ehrlich, two of the authors of Before They Vanish—a book outlining why biodiversity is so critical to life on Earth, how it’s imperiled, and what we can do about it. I had originally hoped to have all 3 authors in the mix, but one of them—Rodolfo Dirzo—was, fittingly, out in the field. Fortunately, we were able to get some time to chat after he’d returned. We spoke extensively about his background in ecology, the tragedy of biodiversity loss, and in particular: defaunation. It’s a term he coined to describe the loss of animals (fauna) across all the various forms that can take: ranging from extinction and extirpation to local population declines. You’re probably familiar with the term “deforestation”—think of defaunation as a sort of counterpart.As a lover of words, I think having the right word for the concept is critical in communicating necessary ideas. In this case, defaunation gives us a means to understand animal loss on a spectrum. Think of it this way. Even though a species might not have been totally eradicated, a dramatic drop in its numbers might have a whole host of knock-on effects, throwing an ecosystem out of whack. If our only metric for “caring” about animal populations and biodiversity is extinction, we’re missing critical danger signs that an ecosystem has been imperiled. Defaunation, then, allows us to understand the notion of animal loss in a more ecological sense—and measure for it.CREDITS: This podcast is edited and produced by Adam Labrie and me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also directed, shot, and edited the video version of the podcast, which is available on YouTube. The podcast is presented by Reality Studies. If you appreciate the work I’m doing, please subscribe and share it with someone you think would enjoy it.Find video episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe

What is the future of voice? Where does AI fit in? Listen on!Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off starter kits), 1Password (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email), NordVPN (the simplest way to protect yourself online, 72% off 2-year plans).My guest this week is Harry Yeff, aka Reeps100.Harry Yeff, aka Reeps100, is a London-born neurodivergent artist and technologist specializing in voice, AI, and tech-based performance art. Yeff emerged from a working-class background, dedicating his life to art and concept. He has been visualizing the voice for 15 years and is globally celebrated as a leader in a new wave of voice technology-focused experimentation despite a very nontraditional pathway into fine art and new media. He continues to build on his skillset by utilizing an almost inhuman vocal range to drive his works. Yeff rose to fame in the early 2010s as a beatboxer. His inhuman-natured vocal ability opened up a slew of voice, technology and academic collaborations, leading him to amass a global following, rendering over 100 million views online. Notable academic partnerships include three separate Harvard residencies, the last of which was followed quickly by a collaboration with Leipzig Opera House in Germany, where Yeff produced and directed the world's first-ever AI ballet.What I so appreciate about Harry's practice is how he’s asking us to return to perhaps our most basic technology: our voices. Oftentimes when folks invoke the voice it’s in service of language or meaning. What Harry highlights is the voice itself—its raw capabilities, how precious each individual voice is. Every time I speak to Harry, I’m left with a renewed excitement for the possibilities of voice—and I’m sure you’ll feel the same.CREDITS: This podcast is edited and produced by Adam Labrie and me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also directed, shot, and edited the video version of the podcast, which is available on YouTube. The podcast is presented by Reality Studies. If you appreciate the work I’m doing, please subscribe and share it with someone you think would enjoy it.Find video episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe