Crazy Town

• Will Trump's Tariffs Fuel or Foil the Degrowth Movement?

  As Trump’s tariffs kick in, the Republican party is suddenly spouting anti-consumerist rhetoric that would make the Lorax smile. Should we cheer on this accidental experiment in economic shrinkage, or will this ham-fisted set of trade policies cause a backlash against the proponents of degrowth? As political confusion reigns, we offer eco-localism as the no-regrets way to build community resilience in the face of unprecedented ineptitude that probably won’t go away anytime soon. Originally recorded on 6/16/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance, Avid Reader Press, March 2025.UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion addresses the damage of ‘fast fashion’Kelsey Piper, "Trump’s bizarre new push to make us poorer," Vox, February 7, 2025.Kenneth Pucker, "Lessons From Trump’s Degrowth Experiment," Business of Fashion, May 9, 2025.Kenneth Bradsher, "China’s Chokehold on This Obscure Mineral Threatens the West’s Militaries," New York Times, June 9, 2025.Adam Tooze, "Trump's futurism: Elon's rockets and fewer dolls for "baby girl," Chartbook, May 6, 2025."The End of Fast Fashion?," The Daily, May 15, 2025.Kurt Cobb, "Trade war vise grip: China is squeezing rare earth supply and it’s hurting," Resilience, June 8, 2025."Derek Thompson: Trump's War on Dolls," The Bulwark, May 2, 2025.Richard Heinberg, "How Eco-Localism Differs from Tariff Terrorism," Resilience, April 17, 2025.Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:Episode 86, "Escaping Growthism"Episode 94, “Breaking News: Crazy Town joins the newly formed Department of Entropy”Support the show

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• Blinded by the Light - Facing Reality with Renewable Energy

  Solar panels and other modern energy technologies can be really useful, but the belief that we can technologize our way to a bigger and better society powered by clean energy is tragically flawed. Asher, Rob, and Jason dig into the up-and-down story of the Ivanpah concentrated solar power plant, review the Harry Potteresque thinking behind complex, centralized power plants, and expose the truth of the energy transition. After they finish making fun of concentrated solar/golf course/outlet mall complexes in the desert, they discuss how to make real progress on energy and sustainability. Originally recorded on 6/5/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Michael R. Blood, “11 years after a celebrated opening, massive solar plant faces a bleak future in the Mojave Desert,” AP News, January 30, 2025.Laura Paddison, "This alien-like field of mirrors in the desert was once the future of solar energy. It’s closing after just 11 years," CNN, February 13, 2025.Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, More and More and More: An All-Consuming History of Energy, January 1, 2024.Rachel Donald, “The ‘Energy Transition’ is a Pipe Dream | Jean-Baptiste Fressoz,” Planet: Critical podcast, March 19, 2025.Drax Power StationU.S. Department of Energy, Facts about IvanpahEnergy Monitor report on the opening of IvanpahLouis Sahagun, "This Mojave Desert solar plant kills 6,000 birds a year. Here’s why that won’t change any time soon," Los Angeles Times, September 2, 2016.Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions worldwide from 1940 to 2024Resources for conservation and local solar power:Solar United Neighbors2,000-Watt SocietyPeter Kalmus, Being the Change, New Society Publishers, July 10, 2017.Kris De Decker, "How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel," Resilience, October 21, 2021.Coop PowerSeeds for the SolThe Institute for Local Self-Resilience has a community solar program.Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:Episode 45 on feedback loopsEpisode 60 on air conditioningSupport the show

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• Who Can Fix the Housing Crisis - NYT Pundits, German Shepherds, or Bilbo Baggins?

  Jason, Rob, and Asher are taking out a huge, unaffordable mortgage on the housing crisis. What’s behind the shortage in housing? Why is it that no one, except canine Tik Tok influencers with billion-dollar bank accounts, can afford to own a home? While mainstream pundits press for an energy-blind buildout of desert sprawl and gleaming towers of glass and steel, we propose a surprising change of course inspired by little people with hairy feet. Originally recorded on 5/21/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:The story of Gunther, the world's most moneyed canine.You can't make this stuff up: Gunther offers to buy Nicholas Cage's island.David Wessel, "Where do the estimates of a 'housing shortage' come from?," Brookings Institute, October 21, 2024.Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng, "Americans' average daily travel distance, mapped," Axios, March 24, 2024.Jon Gertner, "America Is on Fire, Says One Climate Writer. Should You Flee?," New York Times, March 22, 2024.U.S. News and World Report, "Fastest-Growing Places in the U.S. in 2025-2026."Good Ideas for Addressing the Housing Crisis:Jason Bradford, "Growing the Shire, Not the 'Burb: Facing the Housing Crisis with Ecological Sanity," Resilience, May 27, 2025.Global Ecovillage NetworkNate Hagens, "Alexis Zeigler —  Living Without Fossil Fuels: How Living Energy Farm Created a Comfortable Off-Grid Lifestyle," The Great Simplification, April 9, 2025.Energy-Blind Non-Solutions for the Housing Crisis:Conor Dougherty, "Why America Should Sprawl," New York Times, April 10, 2025.Binyamin Applebaum, "Build Homes on Federal Land," New York Times, April 15, 2025.Ezra Klein, "Abundance and the Left," The Ezra Klein Show, April 29, 2025.Samuel Moyn, "Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again?," New York Times, March 18, 2025.Tyler Cowen, "Ezra Klein on the Abundance Agenda (Ep. 236)" Conversations with Tyler, March 7, 2025.Related Episode(s) of Crazy Town:Episode 37. Discounting the Future and Climate Chaos, or… the Story of the Dueling EconomistsSupport the show

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• Bunkers, Bazookas, and Bespoke Moats: How to Be Safe in an Unsafe World

  The world has gone bunking mad. The bespoke security industry is burying bunkers stocked with arsenals of automatic rifles and surrounded by flaming moats. Is there a better way to prepare for the polycrisis, the zombie apocalypse, or whatever hard times are on the horizon? Jason, Rob, and Asher have some fun at the expense of the bunker builders before examining the positive aspects of peasanthood and stressing the need to build community.Originally recorded on 5/5/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Coralie Kraft, "The 'Panic Industry' Boom," New York Times Magazine, April 10, 2025.The SAFE company offers "bespoke, fortified residences" and other silly signs of our times. Aaron Gell, "'All of his guns will do nothing for him': lefty preppers are taking a different approach to doomsday," The Guardian, April 17, 2025.Will Petersen, "Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is again living a good life back in Serbia," Denver Sports, June 20, 2023.Related Episodes of Crazy Town:Episode 73. How Longtermism Became the Most Dangerous Philosophy You’ve Never Heard ofEpisode 34. Fear of Death and Climate Denial, or… the Story of Wolverine and the Screaming Mole of DoomEpisode 100. A Temporary Techno Stunt: Tom Murphy on Falling out of Love with ModernitySupport the show

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• It Was Never Your Democracy Anyway: Thomas Linzey on Rethinking the Constitution

  Democracy and environmental protection have two things in common: (1) they’re both supposed to be enshrined in the laws of the United States and (2) they’re both under severe attack right now. Asher speaks with Thomas Linzey of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights to uncover how the source code of the U.S. Constitution and the body of environmental laws that follow it are actually designed to allow corporations to override the will of the people. After pinpointing the problem, Thomas explains what can be done, especially at the local level, to reach sustainable and just outcomes that provide wellbeing for people and ecosystems.Originally recorded on 4/2/25.Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.Sources/Links/Notes:Bio for Thomas LinzeyCenter for Democratic and Environmental RightsMatt Wuerker's cartoon: "The Closed-Door Constitutional Convention"Support the show

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