Planet: Critical

Wars have repeatedly shown us over the last few years how fragile our global supply chains are. But while we can live without semiconductors, collapses in our food supply systems are extremelhy dangerous. And this is only one of the problems of depending on a heavily industrialised food industry, an industry which harms Earth's body as much as our own. So: How can we feed the future sustainably? Nicole Negowetti is a lawyer, author of Feeding The Future, and founder of Food For Us. She joins me to discuss the fragility embedded in our industrialised processes, how our diets are making us sick, the food infrastructure we need to ensure localised food security, and the importance of working with existing landowners and farmers to achieve all this. We also discuss the cultural variances which affect this conversation, with Nicole insisting that food is the most intimate way we can express our relationship with Earth. 🌎 Subscribe to support Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com 🟢 Land Liberators film: https://www.planetcoordinate.com/land-liberators-popayan-colombia/

For over a decade, an autonomous zone in the Middle East founded on the principles of women's liberation has controlled and sustained a territory the size of Lebanon. Rojava is a beacon of possibility and hope, and a fierce exercise in self-determination for the Kurdish people at the heart of it. At its core, it is a self defence movement against imperialist forces, religious extremism and exploitation. It has successfully fought off ISIS and the former Assad government. But in just the past six weeks, with the United States backing a former jihadist to take over the Syrian government, the fate of this feminist, anarchist resistance has changed and is now threatening to collapse. Matt Broomfield is a freelance journalist, PhD researcher, co-founder of the Rojava Information Center and the author of Hope Without Hope: Rojava and Revolutionary Commitment. In this extraordinary episode, Matt reveals how Rojava came to be, the contradictions and compromises that they had to make in order to retain their autonomy, and the lessons the Western Left can learn from this remarkable political project. Above all, he commends the vision of the Kurds to exercise their self-determination in the strident belief that, against all odds, new worlds are possible—a defence and determination which has kept the movement alive against imperial onslaughts from all sides for years. 🌎 Subscribe to support Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com

At the end of last year, I received a stunning book in the post: Architecture is Climate delivers an uncompromising review of the state of human and more-than-human affairs. Written by MOULD, a research collective of academics and architects, the book targets the architecture industry specifically for its role in engendering the crisis, asking not what architecture can do for climate breakdown, but what does climate breakdown to do architecture? MOULD architects, Tatjana Schneider and Jeremy Till, join me to discuss exactly that: the exploitation of space. We explore spatial relations as social relations, examining architecture as a nervous system which can tell us how to live.  We discuss what space is, how we understand space, how we move in space, and how we can live through what we live in. In this moving episode, both Tatjana and Jeremy tell wonderful stories about projects reimagining the role of architecture from an industry which perfects objects, to an effort which designs spaces that facilitate living and community and collaboration. 🌎 Subscribe to support Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com

Trump's expansionist grabs at Venezuela and Greenland are not the moves of a madman. Whether we like it or not, they're coherent strategies to secure the USA economy and power in a world where resources are running low and China's ascent is inevitable. This is the message of world-renowned energy expert, Art Berman. We are living in a new world of Putin, Xi and Trump, all of whom are engaging in very similar plays to control as much of Earth's resources and international markets as they can. Art thinks the only possible outcome for this new cold war is a replay of the first: a partition between the East and West, one dominated by China and the other by the USA. In the age of critical materials, I'm calling it the copper curtain. We discuss all this and more, including the rave to the bottom, peak growth, which resources in particular are running low, and the fragility of renewable-based economies. This is Art's second time on the show. I highly recommend his first episode, Energy Wars, too. 🌎 Subscribe to support Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com  

In the age of the energy transition, Lithium is our miracle mineral, the key to carbon-free energy storage and unlimited, cheap, harmless power. This belief has prompted a massive mining boom all over the world, destabilising ecosystems, communities, and even governance. But this is nothing new. In fact, the history of Lithium tells the same tale over and over again: the solution to our world problems is always more mining.  Javiera Barandiaran, associate professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara and author of Living Minerals: Nature, Trade and Power in the Race for Lithium, researches the history of critical minerals and how resource rushes to secure them have shaped political discourse and economic policy. On this episode, she explains the surprising history of lithium, the narrative of Lithium as a cure-all, the reality of Lithium mining in Latin America and its devastating effects and how communities are fighting back. Finally, we discuss the possibility of sustainable mining, with Javiera insisting we have always mined, the problem is that no matter how much mining we do, we're never going to find the dream of unlimited, free power we are desperately clinging onto. 🌎 Subscribe to support Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com  

 Roger Hallam is one of the most prominent climate activists in the United Kingdom. Roger helped co-found Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and other radical organisations. He has repeatedly put his body on the line through act of civil disobedience and been arrested countless times. In July, 2024, Roger was sentenced to five years in jail for participating in a Zoom call, which caused shockwaves around the world. On this episode, we discuss his theory of change, his commitment to non-violence, and how to spark mass mobilisation. We frequently disagree, and I'm grateful for his willingness to have a detailed back and forth about these things that he has dedicated his life to. While I am publicly wary of theories which propound mathematical certainty about social phenomena, and movements which lean to heavily on the cult of the individual–both of which we discuss–I am indebted to Roger just as I am every environmental defender for his commitment to Life.   🌎 Subscribe to support Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com 🟢 Get the transcript: www.planetcritical.com/roger-hallam/

You may have noticed that billionaires have come out in force over the past year to discredit Universal Basic Income. But here's an idea they hate even more: Universal Basic Services. I'm joined by Andrew Percy whose research at the Institute for Global Prosperity proves unequivocally that not only can we afford to unconditionally provide healthcare, education, housing, transport, food and other services to our entire societies, but doing so would dramatically improve people's ability to contribute to that society. He explains the myths surrounding UBS which make both politicians and the public wary, the maths which proves it is sound financial policy, and the experiments going on around the UK and Europe which prove UBS changes not only the lives of individuals, but also the very social fabric of a community. A.I chatbot for UK residents to discover how their lives would change with UBS: https://properchange.uk/policy-analyst/   🌎 Subscribe to support Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com

What is climate coloniality? What is climate apartheid? How does our exploitation of the more-than-human world feed into the oppression of people? And what are the real pathways towards decolonising? Interdisciplinary scholar and editor of Confronting Climate Coloniality: Decolonizing Pathways for Climate Justice, Farhana Sultana, addresses all these questions and more on today's episode, explaining how reality is formed by these ideologies, and why we cannot begin to get to the roots of the eco-crisis without first grasping the soil they were planted in.   We also have a nuanced discussion on the matrix of power upholding supremacist, extractive regimes around the world, pointing out that such ideologies are no longer contained within certain borders or upheld by certain groups, but rather the dominant logic of capitalism playing out across the world in real time.   Subscribe to support Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com

We're kicking off the year with a very special interview about how present-day literature is reflecting the crisis we're collectively experiencing—and why some of the novels published today fail to grasp both the intensity and complexity of our world. Heather Milligan is a literature scholar specialising in the relatively recent genre of eco-gothic. She joins me to explain what defines climate literature, from cli-fi and apocalyptic narratives to eco-gothic tales, revealing the key differences between these two genres, and which tends to subtly reflect the same hubris by which humanity continues to believe itself the solution to Earth's emergency. This is a beautiful episode, filled with references to wonderful novels and key insights into why we turn to literature in times of crisis. 

Welcome to 2026, and this special episode of Planet: Critical where I discuss hope, collapse, effective action and what may yet be in store for us all.    Here are the questions I chose this year: What would be your trigger for a more drastic exit from society in preparation for collapse?  How are you planning to (or have already thus far) prepared for the coming collapse of western industrialised globalised economy? After the collapse when healthier, egalitarian groups are forming, there will be remnants in the form of warlord bands. How can we defeat this phenomenon? How do you avoid not pivoting most conversations to some form "the system will fail sooner rather than later" when talking to people that are not collapse aware? How do stay hopeful when collapse is moving so fast and it feels like progress (or the shifting of human consciousness) is moving so slow? Given the intensity and inherent heaviness of your work, the painful realities you interrogate, how do you answer the call to joy? What nourishes you? What form of protest could be the most effective/efficient in halting capitalism and ushering in a new economy all at once? Assuming government or big business does not provide us with solutions, what are you doing personally in as far as your own adaptation to a changing world, governance, and climate?  What do you believe have been some of the most effective things (images, ideas, experiences, stories) that have gotten people to wake up to AND take action that moves us toward community sufficiency?  Is it time to pull back from the echo chamber of much of the internet and social media, and focus as much as possible at our localities and effect as much change as we can here?  How can humanity quickly get out of the financial, economic, and military competition to properly deal with the climate and environmental crisis that's threatening all life on this planet? I think we're all wary of people peddling solutions, but do you think there are levers that could push us towards a better future? Is there a single most strategic leverage point (cognitively, institutionally or socially) that would accelerate meaningful and widespread transformation rather than incremental reform? What positive stories of resistance from around the world can we take inspiration from going into 2026? How will AI impact us during a time of climate breakdown? How does one acknowledge the past but at the same time not become an apologist for its continuation in the same way going forward? And conversely how do you simultaneously acknowledge the past, acknowledge its cruelties and not sound like you wished it had never happened? We had and have the answers in the cultures that were conquered by colonisation and extraction. Why doesn’t the alternative which has always existed in human history of preserving and respecting our Earth have to be reinvented by Western narratives?  While "prediction is difficult, especially if it's about the future" (to cite Niels Bohr), what future seems most likely to you for the world of 2050 and 2100?

You've heard of energy—but do you have any idea what exergy is? On today's astounding episode of Planet: Critical, scholar Tânia Sousa explains the concept of exergy—the quality of energy—and why it is critical to understanding our energy systems, our economies, and energy transitions. She explains energy degradation, energy efficiency, and the how differences in available energy actually create the necessary gradients for life to happen. What this means, however, is that the pockets of high quality energy deposits around the world are a gift—and when we go through them, by burning all the oil or mining all the mines, then we will find ourselves in a world where we are capable of doing much less useful work. Planet: Critical is approaching its five year anniversary, and yet this conversation felt like the very beginning of this journey, when every episode was a revelation. And so it feels important to end the year with this mind-blowing hour. Happy festivities to one and all. See you in 2026.   🌎 Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.planetcritical.com/ 🌎 Follow Rachel: https://bsky.app/profile/racheldonald.bsky.social

Obviously, the world is not on an inevitable upward trajectory. But witnessing the degradation of our environment, democracies and information has come as a shock to many of us who were raised on the belief that human history is a long arc towards perfection (with just a few blips along the way). This is the myth of progress we were all sold. Astonishingly, it predates even our oldest religions.  Samuel Miller McDonald is a geographer and the author of PROGRESS: A History of Humanity's Worst Idea. He joins me today to discuss his startling research which shows how this very inextricably this myth is tied to expansionism, extractivism and centralisation. Taking us over 5,000 years, Samuel explains how that same myth has been recycled through the Holy Books, colonial legislation, international development, and even technological innovation. Exploring some counter-arguments, Samuel criticises political pundits who claim we can view the world through rosy lenses by merely examining "unbiased" data, and offers pointers on how to navigate the information cesspool of today's discourse to interpret what is really going on in the world.  P.S. The argument we reference that I had with Hannah Ritchie can be listened to here on Mongabay's podcast. Support Planet: Critical

Who's going to grow your food when our complex supply chains fail? Chris Smaje, academic turned small-hold farmer, is an advocate for hyper-local agrarianism—because that's going to be our future whether we like it or not. Chris returns to Planet: Critical to discuss his third book, Finding Lights in a Dark Age, which details the history of land expropriation, the inefficiency of modern, industrial farming, and the benefits to body, mind and spirit when we all muck in together and get our hands dirty. We cover all this and more, getting into the critiques and fears people hold around small-scale farming, with Chris explaining the racist and colonial ideologies that still underpin our attitudes towards farming in the Western world. And as he reiterates over and over again, making the choice today to get involved in your own community sufficiency is one of the best ways we can prepare for the inevitable fall-out of hyper-exploitation, hyper-consumption and hyper inequality.   Support Planet: Critical

Before European invaders sought to control every inch of Earth's territory, human beings organised themselves in radically different ways throughout the world. Entire cultures and knowledges were put to the sword, alongside millions of human bodies. This deliberate attack on the cultures and ideologies with which communities understood their histories, bodies, roles and people was part of what made colonialism such a successful and enduring project. And it lives on today, in our very minds, when we uncritically accept the racial and gender categories which stem from that colonial conquest, argues Feminist philosopher, Jules Falquet. We discuss the reality—or not—of gender differences, the history of racial categorisation, and the production of children through the lens of capitalist logic, with Jules insisting that none of these particular ways of thinking or being are "natural" but rather learned processes which prevent us from escaping the shackles of our colonial history. We do not always agree on the finer details, but certainly the resounding message in this episode is that our perception of absolute differences between people and our more-than-human kin are a critical component in the volume of senseless violence we live through today.   Support Planet: Critical

Just five years ago, two scientists in white coats threw red paint on the Royal Society HQ to protest against the damage being done to Earth. Their action sparked the Scientist Rebellion movement all around the world, where those who know the worst of what is to come took to the streets because to merely study it in their labs was not enough to prevent disaster. Then came the sudden rise of authoritarianism that proved peaceful demands will not be met, and the realisation we our tactics must evolve with the new political climate.    Natural Scientist Fernando Racimo documented the movement and his own involvement in his book, Science in Resistance: The Scientist Rebellion for Climate Justice. He joins me today to discuss what works, what doesn't, and how deep the rot of complicity goes in universities. We discuss the efficacy of disruptive action and the importance of generative action, with Fernando calling for academics to focus on localised, community-based work, insisting we must embody the changes we wish to see in everything we do—because nobody is going to build a new world for us.    Support Planet: Critical.

The best intentions of mice and men... aft never leave the conference centre, according to this week's guest, Dave Snowden. Founder of The Cynefin Company, Dave is a management consultant and complexity scientist who has worked for governments and institutions around the world to help them better understand what populations need, and how to deliver it to them. He joins me today to explain why solutions fail, why populism is on the rise, and why the middle class' penchant for what he calls "talking therapy" will never deliver real change—because it ignores the stories on the street. This is a conversation which explores geo-engineering, putting oil companies to good use, The Troubles and even Obama's first term, with Dave insisting that it is impossible to change people's minds—we can only facilitate different interactions with the world.   Support Planet: Critical by subscribing at PlanetCritical.com

Nations are rushing to secure resources within their own borders.  Globalisation is over.  Colonialism and mining have always gone hand in hand. But now that the Global South has more political muscle as a bloc, and now that resources are running low, wealthy countries which have historically secured and polluted elsewhere are opening up extractive frontiers within their own territories. This is a tectonic shift in international politics, creating new fault lines, exacerbating inequalities, and causing conflict. Thea Riofrancos is an associate professor of political science at Providence College, and the author of Extraction: the Frontiers of Green capitalism. Thea joins me to explain the history of extractivism and its relationship to colonialism, the extractive frontiers that are now being opened up in the global north, the conflict these create within populations, and  the economic interventions that are currently transforming how resources are being extracted. She also details the wave of resistance that is surging to meet these colonial forces as people around the world arm themselves with knowledge and skills to prevent their homelands being torn up and fed to corporate industries. 

Geopolitics is shifting with the supply of critical raw materials. Necessary for the so-called “green transition” these materials have created another resource rush, triggering a mining boom all over the world, which is leaving conflict, environmental devastation and political instability in its wake. In this episode, researcher and climate analyst Nina Djukanović explains her recently published research into the  competitiveness, security, and socio environmental issues of critical raw materials around the world. Her paper, Material Dependencies, was produced for Czech think tank, the  Association for International Affairs, and she explains we simply do not have enough materials to transition to a green economy within an extractivist and growth model. She explains all this and more, revealing how the green transition is being dangerously interwoven with militarism and digitisation, leaving a political vacuum that the far Right is exploiting, particularly in the EU and USA. Nina's paper: https://www.amo.cz/en/climate-team/material-dependencies-competitivness-security-and-socio-environmental-issues-of-critical-raw-materials-2/   Support the show at PlanetCritical.com

Hi everyone, I’ve designed the new Planet: Critical website and I want your feedback. If there’s any sections, groupings, design changes that you’d like to see—or flaws you notice—I’ll spend the next week incorporating what I can. So please go and play around on the new site here and then comment on this article Substack to let me know what you think. The new site allows for a lot more flexibility. I’ve created newspaper-like sections dividing the posts into topics. Currently, the sections are: Energy Crisis, Economic Crisis, Ecological Crisis, Political Crisis, Human Crisis, Inconvenient Truths, Good Ideas. I’ve also created a page for people new to the topics covered on the site, linking the three most important episodes in each section. I hope this will be a helpful onboarding for new readers/listeners as the archive now, after almost five years, is pretty daunting. I want to know what you think! Sadly, I’ve got no clue how to code (I’d love to add in sign up graphics between each section on the homepage, or some info cards, just to break it up) but I’ll do what I can with your suggestions! Here’s the temporary URL again. Let me know what you think by commenting below! P:C will be back to regular scheduling before the end of the month. Thank you for your patience! Rachel Get full access to Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com/subscribe

Doctors are tasked with an impossible job: Keep our bodies healthy while Earth’s collapses. Our healthcare systems are already under-funded and over-stretched, and that’s before we throw in the drastic changes in disease and mortality that warming temperatures are unleashing around the world. That all this falls on the shoulders of healthcare workers is another symptom of the madness of modernity. Each and every policy is responsible for our healthcare, not just the industry itself. Sharon Friel is a Professor of Health Equity at Australia National University, researching how planetary health and human health intersect. She joins me to explain the state of health in the coming decades, which institutional policies are already preventing effective treatment, and how our atomistic relationship to cause and effect with regards to climate change is reflected in the biomedical paradigm itself. We discuss how medical curricula around the world can and must change, the necessary integration of different epistemologies, and Sharon reveals what is sending the medical insurance industry into a panic—revealing just high Earth’s fever is climbing. Get full access to Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com/subscribe