Coronavirus has brought the economies of the world to a grinding halt. There is a small, but rising chorus of hopeful speculation that the increasingly apparent deficiencies of our growth-obsessed economic system make it ripe for this crisis to shock it onto a more sustainable path.

On a full planet, where human civilization is already in overshoot and in the process of crippling life-supporting ecosystems, it’s unfortunately not possible for the world’s poor, en masse, to rise out of poverty and live as richly as the even the average family in the industrialized world. There’s not enough biocapacity for 8 billion people to live high on the hog, and technology has not changed that. But “reputable” economists and technology Pollyanna’s like Andrew McAfee routinely fail to recognize this.

There may be beer in your fridge when you open it, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t in the early stages of climate catastrophe. The crisis is now, this is a present threat, not a future threat, according to our guest on this episode, Jeff Nesbit. Is Nesbit predicting the end of the world? Listen to this episode to find out.

What’s the soundtrack of human civilization’s time on Earth? If we were to put ten songs into a time capsule to help historians in the future piece together what the hell humankind was doing as the planet crumbled beneath our feet, the ten songs in this episode would tell half the story.

When you’ve had a tough day and need some comfort, do you go for a long hike and commune with nature, or do you get on Amazon? What gives us joy, yet what do we strive to achieve? Are we in dominion over nature, or are we part of nature? Suez Jacobson (believe it or not, an economics professor) shares why she produced the film Wild Hope, which premieres February 23, 2019 at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival.

The film includes Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, George Monbiot and several other luminaries, including Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario.

Host Dave Gardner also engages Jacobson in a fascinating conversation about the shortcomings of college-level economics education. She also shares how she has begun teaching economics. . . .