Show Notes
With the churn of daily news growing more apocalyptic by the headline, and with earth scientists competing ferociously for the title of “gloomiest doomer,” it’s time for some fun (or at least making fun) with a new fantasy-football-style draft. This time, Jason, Rob, and Asher are making their way through their top 3 signs of civilizational collapse, in 3 categories: Earth systems, pop culture, and politics. But they refuse to remain mired in the muck. Each draft pick has to be accompanied by a countervailing force, a real-world example of people facing reality and building resilience together. Originally recorded on 5/22/26.
Sources & Links The 'Doomsday' Glacier's Giant Ice Shelf by Alison George, New Scientist, May 18, 2026 Thwaites glacier in Antarctica Antarctica’s ‘doomsday glacier’ by Hope Nguyen, Yahoo! News, May 20, 2026 Plastic-Eating Microbe by Hafsa Aslam, UC Davis, Apr 7, 2025 Gardening google search trend Advances in AI will boost productivity, by Mark A. Wynne and Lillian Derr, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, June 24, 205 Dallas Fed Chart 3 Possible AI Futures by Rudo Chakrabarti, Yahoo! Finance, May 9, 2026 Local governments oases of compromise by Alexandra Marquez, NBC News, Oct 23, 2024 North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre collapse by Laurie Laybourn, IPPR.org, Oct 9, 2024 Global Tipping Points: Atlantic Circulation The most pro-business Supreme Court ever by Felix Salmon, Axios, Aug 4, 2022 Voting Rights Decision, New York Times, May 28, 2026 Planetary Boundaries framework Land System Change Willamette Valley Wet Prairie Willamette Valley Upland Prairie and Savanna Maps of Crazy Town: Mar de Plastico by Rob Dietz, Resilience, Sep 4, 2025 The Land Trust Alliance Community Land Trusts How F1 Became the Fastest Growing Sport in the U.S. by Douglas Jase, Complex, May 6, 2026 Fatalities in F1 racing Explainer: What’s happening with gerrymandering in the United States—and who will “win” the redistricting battle? Harvard Kennedy School, May 4, 2026 Democracy was never designed to work — but something better is emerging by Jeremy Lent, Resilience, May 6, 2026
Related Episodes Episode 96, “The Frequent Flyer Tree: Losing the Last Bit of Sense in the Climate Emergency” Episode 103, “It Was Never Your Democracy Anyway: Thomas Linzey on Rethinking the Constitution”
Credits Production and editing by Alex Leff. Editorial assistance and transcripts by Taylor Antal. Theme music is “Way Huge” and “Don’t Give Up” by Midnight Shipwrecks, used with permission. Thanks to all the Crazy Townies, our listeners who are trying to understand humanity's overshoot predicament and do something about it.
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