Urgent Futures with Jesse Damiani
Welcome to the Urgent Futures Podcast, the show that finds signal in the noise. Each episode, I sit down with leading thinkers for dialogues that clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.
Episodes
The Future of Free Speech & Censorship - Karen Attiah | Rapid Response #30
In September, then-Washington Post Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah was fired from the Washington Post for expressing her opinions about gun violence. What has happened since is the real story.Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MU
On 'Withnessing': Storytelling, Spirituality, & Healing Toward Freedom - Maytha Alhassen | Rapid Response #29
I love when a conversation on Urgent Futures feels truly hybrid—that my guest has an irrepressibly curious mind and expansive practice. This is one such conversation. Dr. Alhassen weaves together her committed practices as a writer, historian, activist, academic, and somatic teacher (among others…see her bio). To try to sum this up in a pithy context paragraph would be a fool’s errand, so please j
The Geopolitical Crisis Hasn’t Even Started Yet - Adames Global (Juanita Adames & Michelle Sucameli) | Rapid Response #28
What does Strait of Hormuz Crisis fallout mean for you? What does the Donroe Doctrine means for the emerging world order? American soft power on the decline & more from former USAID Project Directors, Adames Global.Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIA
How to Live Fully in the Face of Collapse - Sarah Wilson | Rapid Response #27
A lot of writing about collapse ends up feeling abstract—like the authors are writing from a remove about an alien species. But today's guest, Sarah Wilson, has written a collapse book that does something incredibly rare. Listen on to find out, and of course:Grab your copy of I Eat The Stars now!Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55%
Decoding Systems of Power & Meaning: Military AI, Epstein, Necropolitics...& Backrooms - Cy Canterel | Rapid Response #26
I was lucky to meet today's guest, Cy Canterel, a few years ago during the downslope of hype around NFTs and web3—a moment we actually dive into during the episode—fully aware of the ways many people will hear those terms an instantly tune out. My hope here isn’t to valorize the aforementioned (though we do discuss how there were seeds of something meaningful that were drowned out by all the grift
Apocalypse Early Warning System? Track the Oligarchs. Creative Tech as Crisis Intervention - Kyle McDonald | Rapid Response #25
How can art—especially new media art—be used to intervene in polycrisis? Across projects like Apocalypse Early Warning System, ICEspy, & more, artist Kyle McDonald charts a path.Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off sta
How Storytelling & Comedy Expose Corruption & Depict Climate Collapse - Adam McKay | #73
From comedies like Anchorman and Step Brothers to The Big Short, Vice, and 2C—a forthcoming film about climate apocalypse—Adam McKay's evolution as a storyteller and public figure epitomizes the journey we will need many other creative folks to undertake if we're going to survive what's coming. We get into all of it (including teasers about forthcoming projects).Support the show by checking out: P
From Palantir Employee to Digital Rights Advocacy: Starting a People’s Movement Against AI Risks - Juan Sebastián Pinto | Rapid Response #24
By now, the company Palantir has probably entered your field of view—but many still don’t quite get the scope and scale of what they’re building and why. Juan, today's guest, formerly worked at Palantir and other AI companies, and has now emerged as leading advocate for a people’s movement to regulate AI and promote liberatory futures. So listen/watch on to understand into the invisible dangers of
The Most Consequential Story in Earth's History - Peter Brannen | #72
If you spend enough time learning about climate change, you come to regard the molecule carbon dioxide—abbreivated to CO2—with fear and frustration. After all, the long accumulation of CO2 is behind roughly 75% of Earth’s warming. Leaving aside the fact that we’re the species that put all that CO2 in the air, we’re also not viewing the bigger picture. That bigger picture is the subject of today's
Extreme Heat: What City-Dwellers Need to Understand - Vivek Shandas | #71
When you think of threats from heat, your mind probably goes to wildfire threats. And don’t get me wrong, having lived through wildfires firsthand, they’re not to be underestimated! But the headline-grabbing nature of fires might overshadow the fact that plain old heat can be a real threat to your health. In fact, extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S.; more than h
Prepper Camp, But Make it Fun & Community-Focused - Sam Bloch (DoomsDaddy) | #70
What happens when a veteran humanitarian and disaster relief specialist founds a camp for building resilience and community? Listen on...Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off starter kits), 1Password (simplify your life
Orbán’s Loss is a Big Deal. Explaining the Future of Hungary, the EU, & Geopolitics - Eric Czuleger | Rapid Response #23
Viktor Orbán is widely regarded as having written the playbook for 'illiberal democracy' that has been used by those aspiring to turn democracies into autocracies—including Donald Trump. But last week, he lost the election—and miraculously, actually stepped down. What should we make of all this? What does it mean for Hungary, the EU, and the world? I chat with friend of the pod Eric Czuleger to fi
How Solar Power Could Change Everything - Lee Buck | #69
I don't think people fully understand how incredible solar power has gotten—and what it would mean for the future of our planet (and species) if we pursued an aggressive solar effort.Today's guest, Lee Buck, explains what solar futures might hold—and why we should be doing everything we can to bring them about.Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the
Enshittification: The Rot at the Heart of Big Tech - Cory Doctorow | #68
Remember when the Internet was a fun place, not where you were hypersurveilled while doomscrolling?Enshittification. It’s a word that captures what's happened to the Internet—and critically, why. It has taken the world by storm, dubbed the 2023 Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society and the 2024 Word of the Year by the Macquarie Dictionary. It’s a delicious word—playfully naughty and pie
Quantum Computing 101 - Dr. Bob Sutor | #67
Over the years, you’ve probably heard many references to quantum computing. In geopolitics and tech matters, it’s considered an area of extreme interest, and yet it remains a subject that many don’t fully understand (even within the tech commentariat). What is it, how does it work, and what are the implications of a world suffused with this technology?Today's guest, Dr. Bob Sutor, breaks it down.S
Attacks on Section 230 & ‘Age Verification’ Laws Are Critical Threats to Internet Privacy & Security - Noelle Perdue | Rapid Response #22
This marks Noelle’s—count it!—fourth time on Urgent Futures, and I continue to be grateful to have her as a dialogue partner on all things Internet freedoms. This conversation most directly builds on our Aug. 2025 episode, which focused foremost on the threats to privacy and security smuggled in with ‘age verification’ laws. That conversation is as timely and relevant today, so if you want to lear
The Most Dangerous Technology in the World? - Wim Carton | #66
Geoengineering might sound nice in theory, but the consequences could be disastrous. Today's guest, Wim Carton, co-wrote The Long Heat with Andreas Malm, which helps paint the full picture.Grab your copy of The Long Heat here!Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code:
The Next Civil War, Mark Carney's Davos Speech, & Canada's View of the US - Stephen Marche | RR #21
My guest this week is Stephen Marche. Stephen is the author of The Next Civil War and On Writing and Failure. He frequently experiments with literary AI.Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off starter kits), 1Password (si
Biodiversity on the Brink: Ecological Rhythms & Human Urgency - Jonathan Tonkin | Rapid Response #20
For as much as I bemoan the attention fracture that occurs on social media, there are times I’m so grateful for it; I discovered the work of Jonathan Tonkin through a Substack Note about ecosystem services—the financial value that the natural world provides, which is vast and yet is barely ever accounted for under capitalist economics (on that note: please be sure to bookmark my conversation with
When, How, & Why Complex Societies Collapse - Joseph Tainter | #65
Having researched the topic of collapse for more than half a decade, I can say with some confidence that interest in it has increased over the past few years. And it makes sense—wherever you look, be it politics, climate change, the economy, tech accelerationism, or otherwise, we’re getting a lot of scary signals. But collapse is a slippery word—what exactly does it mean? And what exactly qualifie
Criticizing the Democratic Party, Resisting ICE & Fascism, Lessons from Minneapolis, the 'Wrong Kind of Muslim' & More - Qasim Rashid | Rapid Response #19
Is it okay for folks on the left to criticize the Democratic Party? Qasim Rashid lost thousands of followers because he did. What are our responsibilities as Americans who believe in democracy and resisting fascism? What strategies can we use? Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact o
"We All Know What We're Fighting Against, but There's a Deafening Silence Every Time we Ask What We're Fighting for"—On Hannah Arendt & Loving the World in Dark Times - Roger Berkowitz | #64
If you’re looking for historical thinkers who can help you navigate authoritarianism, fascism, totalitarianism, and questions of human rights, you’d do worse than to start with Hannah Arendt, one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. I’ve found myself returning to her words repeatedly over the past few years for exactly this reason. You’re perhaps already familiar with t
From 'Prepper' to 'Resilient Citizen' - Chris Ellis | #63
Folks who have followed the channel will know that the subject of preparedness—what you colloquially hear referred to as “prepping”—is a subject of great importance to me. For a while now, I’ve felt like it was necessary for us to reclaim, normalize, and broaden the notion of prepping away from the stranglehold that the lone survivalist has on the prepper stereotype.The world that is fast emerging
We Must Decarbonize...but How? On Methods, Challenges, & the 'Physics of Capitalism' - Erald Kolasi | Rapid Response #18
We all know that we have to end our addiction to fossil fuels, but how do we actually do that in practice?Today's guest, Erald Kolasi, breaks it down.Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off starter kits), 1Password (simpl
How Does AI Actually Work, & How is it Changing Our World? On 'Understanding AI' - Timothy B. Lee | #62
If there are two letters in the English language you’ve been unable to escape over the past four years, it’s A and I.Artificial intelligence has emerged as the buzziest tech category since the metaverse and NFTs, but unlike those, AI has managed to reach a level of market dominance that almost defies imagination—so whether you like it or not, it's in your best interest to understand how it actuall
Capitalism Doesn't Value Nature Because It Can't—Understanding 'Free Gifts' - Alyssa Battistoni | #61
Why is capitalism incapable of valuing the more-than-human world?This question might sound obvious, but it's at the heart of the polycrisis. If our dominant economic system literally cannot place value on nature, we're destined to live out of alignment with it.This is the subject of Alyssa Battistoni's superb new book, Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature. We dive into it in today's c
Rewiring the Global Economy, AI, the Cringiness of Big Tech Oligarchs, MMT, Stablecoins, & 'Releisure' - Brett Scott | Rapid Response #17
Capitalism is a problem. How exactly do we address it? First we have to cut through the noise.Today's guest, Brett Scott, is one of those special transdisciplinary thinkers—rooted in deep understandings of economics and finance—that I absolutely love to host conversations with. In this case, it was prompted by a shared frustration with how transhumanists believe about life-extension and immortalit
Empathy is Hard Work—But It Can Save Us - Katie Bogen & Hani Chaabo (Super Humanizer) | #60
How do we bridge divides that seem impossible? It sounds so simple, but the basic answer is empathy. Of course, genuine empathy is no small feat. On the Super Humanizer podcast, today's guests hosts conversations about some of the thorniest topics related to Gaza and Zionism, so I brought them onto Urgent Futures to explain their perspectives and what they've learned through their work on the show
"Democracy is No Longer Expanding Agency"—Reimagining Governance, the Human, & Intelligence in the Machine Age - Indy Johar | #59
I talk a lot about transdisciplinarity on this channel because I think it’s one of the most vital approaches to perceiving, asking, and knowing. It’s something that I believe is not only important but necessary for making our way through these—ahem—urgent futures.As you’ll instantly find here, today's guest, Indy Johar, is a truly transdisciplinary mind. It makes sense to me that he’s trained as a
Rewilding Reality in the Age of Deepfakes, AI, & Epistemic Collapse - Michael Garfield | Rapid Response #16
How can we think differently about what AI means?Today's guest, Michael Garfield, is somebody I’ve learned a lot from over the years—primarily through his tireless work with the podcast formerly known as Future Fossils—now Humans On The Loop—but also through his own writings on life, the universe, and everything. One thing we bonded over early on was media ecology, specifically how reality was bei
"Almost Everybody's Incompetent"—Why Fossil Fuels & Fascism Dominate - David Roberts | #58
I thought this was going to be a conversation about solar energy, decarbonization, ClimateTech, grid infrastructure—I wasn't quite prepared for an in-depth analysis of Pete Hegseth's psychology. Hopefully that gives you a quick sense of what you're in for in this episode!Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo).
Unpacking ‘Fascist Fitness’ & Reclaiming Gym Culture from the Far Right - Colin Davis | Rapid Response #15
In many ways, the big story in the aftermath of the 2024 election in the U.S. was: young men. Mainstream media was aflurry in conversations about how the Dems lost boys, how the manosphere and male-centric podcasters swung the election in favor of Donald Trump. Correlated to this phenomenon was the fact that gym culture, weightlifting in particular, because an online vector through which young men
Can Media Depict Reality in the Age of AI? Did It Ever, Really? Discussing the Interplay of Fact & Fiction in ‘Reality Frictions’ - Steve Anderson | #57
A couple plot twists to note with this episode!First: instead of my usual intro, you’ll notice we’re showing a clip from Steve’s new feature-length video essay/doc Reality Frictions. So I’d strongly recommend that you watch at least the first few minutes on Substack or YouTube. My hope is that doing it this way gives you the best context for what he and I dive into in our conversation. Moreover, I
Understanding Wet-Bulb Temperature, Climate Extremes, & Systemic Risk—& How We Build Resilience - Colin Raymond | #56
The unfortunate reality is that, in a warming world, we're going to be learning about 'wet-bulb temperature' (WBT) the hard way more and more. These are temperatures at which it is hot enough to cause the human body heat stress and humid enough to prevent it from cooling off through sweat. So today's guest, Colin Raymond, joins me to dig into what they are & what we can do to stay safe & build res
How AI Futures, Authoritarianism, & Behavioral Science Fit Together - Jacob Ward | #55
Where to begin with this conversation? First I’ll say, it’s an absolute pleasure to speak with polymaths. I try to do it as much as I can on the show, and Jake is an exemplar, able to dance across topics with depth and nuance. As such, you’ll notice that we move from questions about the futures of AI in society to contemporary politics to that conversation between Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates.W
Protecting Your Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Amid Polycrisis, Responding to ICE, 'Bullying Bari Weiss,' & The Futures of Journalism - Anya Kamenetz | Rapid Response #14
If you’re paying attention at all, everything feels topsy-turvy at best, more likely outright depressing. Unidentified masked ICE agents are still brutalizing and snatching people off the street, free speech protections are being violated with abandon, the government shutdown continues to wreak havoc, most visible with recent news that SNAP benefits, relied on by 40 million Americans, are set to e
U.S. Information Warfare, AI, Censorship, & Why Disinformation is Still—Still!—A Major Issue - Nina Jankowicz | Rapid Response #13
You may have noticed that the quality of your digital life has been on the decline—in tandem with the ongoing attacks on (whatever’s left of) democratic function in the United States. It’s important to remember that this is not something that has simply happened, like the weather. These are systems that have been designed, albeit by many different people across many different industries (and with
Grace Byron: 'Herculine,' Haunting, & Being Trans in America | Riffs & Speculations #2
Imagine this: an all-trans girl commune in the middle of the woods in the midwest. Also imagine that people can be literally haunted by demons, who prey on trauma. Imagine that those two ideas live in the same world, and are woven into a broader story that also manages to hold within it star-crossed romance; biting analysis of the contemporary creative scene in New York City; revealing moments of
How to Tell Strategic Stories that Clarify Climate Crisis - Megan Mayhew-Bergman | Rapid Response #12
Climate change is an issue that already impacts everyone, and is poised to disrupt everything about life as we understand it. And yet it still so often manages to be presented as a niche issue. What gives? Why can’t we get it together?Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangove
Goliath's Curse: How & Why Societies Collapse, & What We Can Do About It - Luke Kemp | #54
“Collapse” is one of those words that’s bandied about a lot—especially with conversations about the future of the United States and U.S. hegemony—and is therefore prone to debate, misconceptions, and a variety of uses. Today's guest, Luke Kemp is the author of the spectacular and necessary new book, Goliath's Curse. In it, he cuts through the noise to make the case that collapse isn’t just a sensa
Andy Hines: How to Imagine 'After Capitalism'—and Why We Must | #53
The subjects of degrowth and post-growth are near-and-dear to my heart. I view these overlapping topics as absolutely critical for our continued survival on this planet; it is imperative that we humans bring our species back into alignment with the planet. No doubt that this is going to be difficult and costly, but far less so than continuing on as usual, which will entail ever more extreme measur
Danny Snelson: The Little Database vs. Large AI Models | #52
I’ve talked about AI a good deal in past episodes—and I continue to believe it’s a subject of critical discourse, even (and perhaps especially) as it’s ever more riddled with outstated hype. That’s why you’ll notice I’ve framed today’s conversation in the title as a contrast between large AI models and the little database, a term coined by today’s guest, Danny Snelson—but this conversation is so m
CDC Chaos & Covid-19 Vaccines with Dr. Lucy McBride | Rapid Response #11
Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds {signals} in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.Amid CDC upheaval under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., there's a lot of medical mis- and disinformation flying around—especially about the Covid-19 vaccines. It felt critical to have a conversat
Morgan Phillips & Manda Scott: How We Make it 'Thru'—Transformative Adaptation & Thrutopian Flourishing | #51
It is well-documented that the polycrisis is intensifying across scales. It’s also well-documented that humanity is not doing nearly enough to preserve the habitability of our planet. It will be demanded of us to engage in extensive mitigation in order to rise to the stakes of this crisis, but mitigation alone isn’t enough. We also have to adapt—in ways across the scales of micro to macro, from a
The (Department of) War on American Cities, Ukraine, Gaza, and the Imperial Boomerang | Rapid Response #10
Over the weekend, I published a post outlining how Trump’s rebranding of the Department of Defense to the Department of War ties in with a phenomenon known as the "Imperial Boomerang." This is the podcast episode version. If you’d prefer to read the piece, find that here. If you'd prefer to watch, check out the video on YouTube (and subscribe while you're at it! Your support is vital in helping th
Liam Young: A Texas-Sized City for 10 Billion People? Rewilding the Globe with 'Planet City' | #50
Today’s guest has ideas that are going to be a jolt for many of you. An easy example? His ongoing worldbuilding project, Planet City, which proposes that one response to climate change and biodiversity loss would be to compress the entire future global population of 10 billion people into a contiguous “planet city” roughly the size of the state of Texas—thereby letting the rest of the world rewild
Age Verification Laws: Surveillance in Disguise? - Noelle Perdue | Rapid Response #9
Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds {signals} in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! I’m happy to share the video here, as it continues to (unfortunately!) be a subject of critical importance for Internet freedoms. But i
Nora N. Khan: Language for Technology | #49
What language should we use for our experience of the technological? There’s so much chatter about AI, and yet so often it’s framed by a language inherited from science and technology. Given technology’s cultural and societal implications, we need thoughtful folks in the arts and humanities creating linguistic interventions and modes of understandingWhich is why I was so delighted to host Nora—a w
Why I'm Reclaiming Prepping & You Should Too | Rapid Response #8
I’ve been called a prepper more times over the past few weeks than I have in my entire life. In this Rapid Response episode, I want to explain why. And moreover, I want to explain why I believe we should appropriate, normalize, and broaden the notion of prepping.Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off starter kits)
Mike Pepi: Are Platforms Ruining the Internet? | #48
Once upon a time, the Internet was heralded as a great open space, the utopian dream of free information flow. Obviously those ideas were misguided (at best); the Internet we experience today is a far cry from what Silicon Valley promised us. What went wrong?Today’s guest argues that it's because we’ve boxed ourselves—or maybe more accurately, been boxed into—platforms.The Internet as we understan
Brett Christophers: The Real Reason Renewables Aren't Replacing Fossil Fuels at Scale | #47
As soon as the cost of renewable energy drops to or below fossil fuel levels, we'll easily make the transition away from fossil fuels, right?...Unfortunately, that's just not how things are playing out in practice. Even though wind and solar energy have seen remarkable innovation and rollouts around the world, fossil fuels remain dominant. What gives?Today's guest, Brett Christophers, believes it'
Explaining Trump Tariffs, Insider Trading, & Crypto Scams—Emerging Economic Realities with Michael Mezzatesta | Rapid Response #7
Bit of a different episode this week! It’s a recording of my Substack Live with Better Future w/ Michael Mezz, where we dive into all the topics listed in the title, plus a few surprises.It was a fun little experiment that ends up packing a punch—all thanks to Michael’s ability to sensemake such volatile, complex topics. He’s also a past guest of the show, and our conversation is a fantastic intro
N. Katherine Hayles: A New Theory of Mind, from 'Bacteria to AI' | #46
What if the ongoing devastation of the biosphere and the ascendancy of complex AI are rooted in the same anthropocentrism? What if there were a new theory of mind that incorporated our biological kin and AI? What if such a theory foregrounded ecological relationality and a broadening of our idea of what cognition is—and what can be a cognizer?Today's guest, N. Katherine Hayles, proposes such a the
Minna Salami: Can Feminism Be African? | #45
Can feminism be African? The more you sit with this question, the more its complexities reveal themselves; as you emphasize different aspects of the question, new subtexts and assumptions come into view.This question is also the title of a new book by Minna Salami, today's guest. It's a remarkable read—I encourage you to pick up your copy now!Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease im
Noelle Perdue: The Three Types of Eroticism, The Trevails of a Foot-Fetish Fetishist, Homoflexibility, Looners, Self-Labeling, & More | Riffs & Speculations #1
What are the three types of eroticism? What is it like being someone who fetishizes foot fetishists? What is it like writing the script for an adult video in this genre? Speaking of fetishes, were you aware of the balloon ("looner") fetish?All that and more in this freewheeling conversation with today's guest, Noelle Perdue. A doubly fun episode because it marks the official launch of my "Riffs &
Carl Safina: How Plato Created Hell | #44
Plato is among the most famous thinkers in all of Western philosophy. What if his notion of transcendence—of there being a reality "out there" that's "higher" than our earthly plane—underlies everything that's broken about modernity.If you can believe it, that's a core argument of an otherwise touching book about one ecologist's experience raising and ultimately freeing an orphaned screen owl. Tha
David Guignion: The History of Conspiracy Theories, Making Philosophy Accessible to the Public, Activism, & More | #43
Conspiracy theories are all over the place, but...what are they, exactly? How do they work and what's their history? Who is susceptible to them? What do they tell us about the human condition?These are just a few of the questions that today's guest, David Guignion, examines in his research. He's also the founder of the popular Theory & Philosophy channel and podcast, so he knows a thing or two abo
Everything Has Changed & You're Not Thinking Big Enough | Rapid Response #6
The Dark Gothic MAGA oligarchs are going for everything at breakneck speed. We are playing defense and cleanup—and badly. It's time for a switch-up.Let's talk about Canada—and the prospect of Blue States joining it.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 dig
Avriel Epps: AI, Transformative Justice, & How to Teach Kids About Algorithmic Bias | #42
AI continues to be a major subject of debate—and for good reason. It’s a technology that holds incredible potential to shape and reshape power. This is why we have to remain more vigilant than ever to how AI models are built, who builds them, what their motivations and value systems are, and what we collectively demand from builders—and how we regulate them as a society. As with any emerging techn
Rupert Read: How Bad Will it Get? On Thrutopias, Transformative Adaptation, & the Other World(s) Still Just Possible | Urgent Futures #41
How bad is it going to get?This is the provocation today's guest Rupert Read makes in a recent keynote—and one that I found to be an excellent way to jump into our conversation—though it’s a bit of a decoy. It gives way to a deeper, more nuanced conversation about how we ultimately survive and even thrive in complex emerging realities. Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of
LA Wildfire Recovery: Ecological Remediation to Heal Contaminated Sites - Danielle Stevenson | Rapid Response #5
Decontaminating the air, soil, and water in Los Angeles in the wake of the wildfires is going to be a long road. But Centre for Applied Ecological Remediation Founder and President Danielle Stevenson has spent more than a decade refining her research in "ecological remediation"—integrated social and environmental practices that could be crucial in not only healing LA, but better aligning it with t
Rachel Donald: Why is the World in Crisis—& What Can We Do About It? | Urgent Futures #40
Why is the world in crisis? How can we get a view of the bigger picture?My guest this week is Rachel Donald—and she's something of an expert in these questions.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
Climate Trauma & Fire Brain: Understanding the Mental Health Impacts of the LA Wildfires & Developing Resilience - Jyoti Mishra | Rapid Response #4
Los Angeles: have you been doomscrolling and unable to concentrate? There's a reason, & it has to do with how our brains respond to trauma. I spoke with Dr. Jyoti Mishra, a leading neuroscientist to make sense of it.If you appreciate the work I'm doing, make sure to subscribe here so you never miss an episode! Urgent Futures is also a video podcast, available on YouTube.Support the show by checkin
Wim Carton & Andreas Malm: Overshoot & Climate Breakdown | Urgent Futures #39
Wim Carton and Andreas Malm are the co-authors of the superb, devastating new book Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown. Here’s a quote to give you a sense of its argument:"And when the third decade of the millennium dawned, the relationship remained firmly in place: the warmer the globe became, the more fossil fuels were poured on the fire. The higher the temperatures, the la
"The Disaster After the Disaster": LA Air Quality & Public Health - Jane Williams | Urgent Futures Rapid Response #3
If you live in Los Angeles, I urge you to listen to this and share it with everyone you care about right now—especially if you/they live in or near ash zones. Even though the AQI is low again, the impacts of wildfire smoke are still here. Loads of nasty pollutants like asbestos, formaldehyde, lead, and other heavy metals, plastics, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are still in the air and ash
The Meaning Crisis: Wisdom, Purpose, and AI in 2025 and Beyond - John Vervaeke | #38
Is the Western world in the midst of a crisis of meaning? If so, how did we get here, and what can we do about it? What should we be thinking about as we develop artificial intelligence? These are just a few of the many questions I dive into with my guest this week, John Vervaeke.Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43%
The Los Angeles Fires, Polycrisis, & How to Live in Collapse | Urgent Futures Rapid Response #2
The Los Angeles Fires—most notably the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire—are the most destructive in California history. They are horrific, and they are teaching us hard lessons.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,
Art Berman: Oil, How the Economics of Energy Impacts Global Populism, & the Huge Problem We Must Address | #37
Oil defines our lives, but we actually understand so little about it—and moreover, so little about its role in driving what we call “progress.” The flip side of that, of course, is that we don’t grasp how utterly dependent modern civilization is on oil. Without it, everything we take for granted about energy, the economy, technology, agriculture, and medicine would change. We are, as this week's g
Peter Brannen: What You Need to Know About the Five Mass Extinctions (to Understand the Sixth Extinction) | #36
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 th
Phoebe Barnard: The Human Behavioral Crisis is the Coordination Problem Underlying Overshoot and Climate Crisis | #35
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
Rodolfo Dirzo: Understanding Mass Extinctions, The Gift of Biodiversity, Plant-Animal Relationships, and 'Defaunation' | #34
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),
Harry Yeff (Reeps100): The Future of the Voice—Human, Machine, & Otherwise | #33
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 yoursel
Simon Michaux: Is the Green Transition Doomed? Why We Need the 'Purple Transition' Instead | #32
Transitioning off of fossil fuels is critical for our survival, but what if the solutions we're racing to develop (solar, wind, etc.) aren't actually sustainable? What happens if we don't have enough minerals to service the energy demand our current projections say we'll need to?My guest today is Simon Michaux, and his proposal is that we ditch the 'Green Transition' in favor of the 'Purple Transi
Trump's Election, the End of the World Order as We Know It, & Where We Go From Here | Urgent Futures Rapid Response #1
What does the election of Donald Trump mean for America and the world? And what can we do about it?This is not the post-election episode I’d hoped to do. I imagined I’d be doing an episode where I talked through the progressive ideals that didn’t make their way into the Harris campaign, and strategies + tactics we could use to hold the Harris administration accountable to them. Alas.There are so m
Bradley Rydholm: Why Nature is Metal—and Why it's Not | #31
How can humans deepen our relationship(s) with nature without anthropomorphizing or flattening it? Seeing the natural world in all its messiness, contradictions, & wonder.Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds {signals} in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.My guest this we
Renée DiResta: The Evolution of Propaganda & its 'Invisible Rulers': Influencers, Algorithms, & Crowds | #30
Propaganda and the game of influence have evolved with the rise of social media. Who's winning that game—and who is losing?Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds {signals} in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.My guest this week is Renée DiResta.Support the show by checking
Philip V. McHarris: A World Beyond Police—Utopia? | #29
Imagine a world without police. Would we be safe?Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds {signals} in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.My guest this week is Professor Philip V. McHarris.Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDA
Taryn Southern: The Peril & Promise of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), Generative AI, and Spatial Computing | #28
How close are brain-computer interfaces? And how big of a deal is AI, really?Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds {signals} in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.My guest this week is Taryn Southern.Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers.
Nora Bateson: Warm Data, 'Combining,' and "Who Can You Be When You Are With Me?" | Urgent Futures #27
What if our interpersonal relationships and the polycrisis have a lot more to do with each other than we might initially think?Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds {signals} in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.My guest this week is Nora Bateson.Pick up your copy of Nora
Al Hassan Elwan: Edgelording a New Avant-garde (POSTPOSTPOST™ Admin Reveal!) | #26
Welcome to the Urgent Futures podcast, the show that finds signals in the noise. Each week, I sit down with leading thinkers whose research, concepts, and questions clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.My guest this week is Al Hassan Elwan.Support the show by checking out: ZBiotics (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR (43% off starter kits), 1Password (s
