Ashes Ashes

Episode 28 - "Debt End" This episode is all about debt. Where does debt come from? Why is the concept of borrowing and lending mired in moral confusion and contradiction? What is the purpose of debt and who ultimately pays? To get to the heart of all these questions, one has to navigate through economic myth, blood and ultimately the human soul. Join us as we travel back through time and explore the systems that led to this tool that shapes our world for better and for worse. Chapters 04:43 Consumer Foundation of Economy Driven by Debt 07:46 Origin of Money 13:00 War and the Need for Currency 20:33 South Africa 31:30 International Development 35:20 Blood Runs in Rivers 38:33 Violence and Economics 42:44 Haitian Independence Debt 51:23 Debt at the Individual Level 53:24 Moral Contradiction: Who Has to Pay? 59:16 Moral Contradiction: Industrious Poor 1:00:51 Why Intererst? 1:04:05 Going Forward 1:07:27 Jubilee A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more)

Episode 27 - "The Robot Is In" By 2030 over 800 million jobs could be automated globally. While in the past, increased productivity from innovation tracked positively with wage increases and employment, these trends have parted ways. The integration of information tech, precision manufacturing, and machine learning place us on the precipice of a rapidly changing economy - and an end to work as we know it. Can we adapt to the incoming automation wave, or will we be left out in the cold as the robots take our jobs, our world, and our very ability to survive? Chapters 06:47 Obstacles to Total Manual Automation 10:14 Automation Economics 11:36 Wages 14:31 Job Creation 23:34 Unemployment 24:11 De-Skill 30:29 Minimum Wage 32:40 White Collar Jobs 45:15 Education Can Save Us? 52:30 Jobs that Lack Meaning 1:01:58 Who Paid for Technology? 1:04:06 Universal Basic Income? 1:09:12 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.

Episode 26 - "Barrier to Growth" There seems to be a perfect storm of factors that threaten to completely reshape who owns farmland here in the US and globally. 400 million acres of farmland in the US alone will change hands in the next 20 years, farmers are retiring and there is a much smaller generation of young farmers to replace them, and global investment for agriculture land is on the rise, which will push family farmers off the land in favor of industrial consolidation. Beyond that, farmland is being lost to competing land uses. In the United States, that's between 1 and 3 acres of farmland lost every minute. To help navigate some of these issues, and as an example of solutions that are being developed and implmented to fight against these trends, we are joined by Ian McSweeney, organizational director of Agrarian Trust. Chapters 00:18 Panama 04:14 Theft As Policy 07:52 M28,Farming is Hard 14:45 "Ian McSweeney, Agrarian Trust" 17:48 Early Work in Real Estate 20:25 Where Did a Passion for Farmland

Episode 25 - "Heat Death" As climate change accelerates, much of the media attention is given to effects like rising seas, super storms, and increased weather variability. Often overlooked is the temperature itself and the direct impact warmer temperatures will have on our ability to maintain infrastructure, agricultural effects, our health, and even the very ability to live in much of the world. As the temperature rises, so does the risk that the very fabric of modern society simply evaporates. Maybe it's time to ask the question, "How hot is too hot?" Chapters 08:58 How will Modern Infrastructure Adapt to Heat? 10:18 Transportation 17:45 Energy 22:56 Renewable Energy 25:24 Animals and Crops 32:50 Human Health 44:20 Pakistan and India 46:24 Wet-Bulb 52:41 Future Temperatures 1:01:23 Variable Benchmarks 1:02:53 What Can We Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and l

Episode 24 - "Suspect Science" The depiction of forensic science in popular entertainment is ubiquitous. We might be lead to believe that the field utilizes actual scientific methods of crime scene analysis to bring criminals to justice with irrefutable evidence, but a closer look reveals a very different story. This week we draw a magnifying glass over this industry rife with broken incentives, subjective guesswork, and willful negligence. Our entire justice system will need a massive restructuring if there can be any hope of preventing innocent people from being sent to prison - or worse. Can law and order be saved or is the system and its methods rotten to the core? Chapters A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast. CC BY-SA 4.0

Episode 23 - "The Best of Times..." We frequently hear that this is the greatest time in human history, that we've never had it this good before. And actually that's absolutely true - if you're one of the wealthy few that can take advantage of the system. But for the rest of humanity, and make no mistake it's the vast majority of the earth's population, things are rough and frequently getting worse. Join us this week as we scratch the surface of this story of two worlds, of the haves and havenots. Chapters 03:33 Work Hours 05:52 Quality of Life 06:51 Poverty 09:40 $2 A Day 10:57 Well Being 13:01 Debt 18:39 The Debt and Prison Pipeline 25:24 Inequality 30:12 Health Trends 35:58 Work Kills 43:53 Modern Violence 48:14 The Needs that Drive Us 50:38 Disconnected: Modern Slavery 54:26 Life Built on Human Suffering 55:51 The Purpose 57:41 Wrap Up A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information along with relevan

Episode 22 - "Fashion Victims" What does it take to make a shirt? That question might seem simple at first glance, but as we explored the fashion industry, we discovered a world of environmental destruction, exploitation, and human suffering on a staggering scale. Hidden just out of sight from the cheap clothes we find in our closets and strip malls is a story centuries in the making of struggles that continue through today. Join us this week as we explore the ins and outs of this dirty industry. Chapters 01:53 Scope of the Industry 05:23 Shift in the Industry 13:13 Labor 16:26 Slavery in our Modern World 20:39 Supply Chain: Raw Materials 29:30 Supply Chain: Manufacture 33:59 Labor 34:24 Police in Fashion? 37:55 Pink 39:52 Supply Chain: End of Life 41:55 Bloody History of the Textile Industry 45:07 The Triangle Factory 47:22 Can We Have The World We Want? 57:38 What Can we Do? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Fi

Episode 21 - "Clima Ex Machina" The global climate is in bad shape and quickly getting worse. The debate as to how or why is long over (from both data and irrelevance) and the conversation is now turning to "Well what now?" The IPCC has set down an ambitious plan to get us off our fossil fuel fix, but it involves a lot of unproven technologies to help us stay under 2C. Further, many researchers believe this won't be enough and are proposing their own megascale engineering projects to try and keep Earth from slowly cooking us. This week on Ashes Ashes we tackle the world of geoengineering, exploring what's realistic, what's likely, and just how much trouble are we really in. Chapters 09:26 Cloud Seeding 11:28 Albedo 13:29 Stratospheric Aerosol Injection 15:10 Cirrus Cloud Thinning 19:48 Accidental Cloud Seeding 24:15 Moral Hazard 27:03 Halting Ice Melt 30:24 Simulate Ice? 31:17 Addressing the Underlying Problem 32:08 Ocean Iron Fertilization 36:07 Colonize Mars 40:16 Reforestation & Afforestation

Episode 20 - "Irresistible" Around the world, pathogens of all types are showing resistance to standard treatment. Failure among so called "drugs of last resort," a decline of disease prevention programs, and shifting climate all present ominous signs for the risk of global infectious disease. Joining us this week are three professors from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. All three have experience in antimicrobial resistance and the connection between humans, animals, the environment, and the pathogens that move among us all. Chapters 03:07 Modern Medicine at Risk? 05:54 What is an Antibiotic? 06:39 Resistance: a Response to Attacks 10:12 Resistance to Last Resort Drugs 12:25 Risk of Global Pandemic 18:08 Resistance to Drugs of Last Resort 20:08 Pandemics: Multi-Faceted Problem 20:37 Pandemics: Climate 25:42 Pandemics: Industrial Agriculture and Food Animals 28:09 Interview: Dr Credille 45:05 Interview: Dr Sanchez & Dr. Louge 1:10:28 China 1:11:53 Pandemics: Environm

Episode 19 - "Life in Plastic" Despite what you might have heard, our life in plastic is less than fantastic. Plastic is everywhere and enables our modern standard of living, but it turns out that this comes at a cost. Recent discoveries have found plastic in the oceans, in our soil, in the food we eat, and even the air we breathe. The health and environmental effects of all this plastic are just beginning to be understood - and it's not looking good. Join us this week as explore the world of plastics and microplastics and speak with environmental attorney John Parker about this growing threat. Chapters 4:48 Where Does it All Go? 5:11 Great Pacific Garbage Patch 6:12 What are Microplastics 7:23 Where do Microplastics Come From? 12:04 What Are the Environmental and Health Implications? 12:30 In our Water? 15:04 In our Bodies 15:59 Marine Food Chain Impacts 18:02 We Breathe Plastic? 18:54 Affects of Plastic on Health and Environment 23:43 Chemicals In Our World 28:53 Externalities and Pofitibility 36:09 Th

Episode 18 - "Scripted" What happens when you can't trust anything anymore? That's the question we'll be exploring this week as we look into the world of half truths, lies, bots, manipulation, and our rapidly approaching post truth world. Everything from voice to video to our very sense of self is at stake in this rapidly changing world where the ability to manipulate becomes easier than ever. What does that mean for law, politics, sex, and our culture? Listen in to find out. Chapters 05:39 Weird Tech Incoming 10:30 Reality and Politics 12:18 Political Armies 14:08 David Ruined Net Neutrality 15:44 Erosion of Trust in Truth 17:23 Centralized Media? 18:23 Apathy 19:01 Conspiracy 23:46 Apathy Benefits Oppression 26:14 The Role of Bad News 27:14 Fake Porn 32:28 Forgery 33:52 Scamming the Elderly 34:51 Laser Phishing 38:20 Perfect You 42:04 Evidence, Courts, Legal Systems 45:19 A Silver Lining? 47:16 Economic Incentives 48:17 Fake Reviews 50:19 Commdifying Us 52:05 What Can We Do? 55:33 Don't Ask What but Why

Episode 17 - "For Better or For Worse #1" One of our hosts is out of town, so we take this week to explore updates to many of the subjects we've discussed so far. Guest host Moriah King helps us explore everything from the power grid to pensions, state surveillance to sea level rise, and so much more. Strap in this week: it's a few months of bad news all at once (with a little good news thrown in), but we hope you'll be as motivated by it as we are to start working towards something better. Chapters 02:33 Infrastructure 09:44 Power Grid 14:43 Preparing for Infrastructure Failure 17:08 Communites and Death Spirals 20:10 Pension Systems 28:15 What is Community? 31:33 Where Does the Retirement Burden Fall? 34:02 Government Surveillance 54:56 Corporate Tracking 1:06:09 Sea Level Rise 1:08:21 Facebook 1:09:13 Agriculture 1:09:49 Good News? 1:10:54 Close out A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org. Find more information alo

Episode 16 - "What We Reap" Global topsoil is being lost at terrifying rates. So much so that many experts predict less than 60 years left of agricultural yields before the global food system collapses. Add to this questionable chemical inputs, monoculture, and other large-scale industrial practices as well as the dangers climate change introduces to disrupt traditionally fertile regions (decreasing yields further and impacting food nutrition) and we've got a perfect storm on the horizon. We are joined by Chris D'Alessandro of Harvest Moon Garden & Orchard to discuss organic farming techniques, what it means to form a regenerative relationship with the soil, and hopefully how we can avoid this coming tragedy. Chapters 04:51 Unsustainability 06:25 Can Anyone Farm? 08:17 What is Topsoil? 13:12 Soil: Bacteria 13:54 Soil: Fungus 16:15 Pear Tree from the Ashes 18:17 Chemical Revolution 20:42 Soil: Nitrogen 26:30 Overshoot and Carrying Capacity 29:45 Industrial Agriculture 34:23 Debt Cycle of Fear 36:50 Fi

Episode 15 - "Terms of Service" Facebook has entered nearly every part of our internet connected lives. Most of us aren't happy with this, but tolerate it as a part of modern day living. But as we dig deeper into this social media and advertising juggernaut, we start to learn that maybe we shouldn't trust Zuckerberg and crew with so much of our world and our own lives. Join us as we explore psychological experiments, obscene image work farms, revenge porn, and so much more in this episode all about Facebook. Chapters 01:17 A Purpose? 02:42 Why Facebook? 04:58 Evolution 08:42 VPN 10:50 Facebook in Business4 13:11 Unfairly Crushing Competition 17:06 Providing Internet 22:01 The Internet as a Right? 24:03 News Feed Algorithms 35:22 Psychological Experiments 39:52 Think of the CHILDREN 41:39 Ethics 43:06 Slaves to Offensive Pictures 45:17 Revenge Porn 48:18 Trust and Security 49:12 Facebook and Intelligence 52:55 Censorship 56:12 Elections 1:00:03 'Don't use it' 1:01:38 Ghost Profiles 1:02:45 Real Life 1:04

Episode 14 - "Sweet Release" It's natural, it's delicious, it's everywhere, and it may be killing us. For years, sugar has been overlooked as a serious detriment to our health because of the manipulations of the sugar industry in both science and politics, but the lies are coming to light as the diseases caused by that deadly white powder threaten to overwhelm the health systems of the world. Can we wake up to the danger this major health risk is posing in time or are we too addicted to that sweet release? Join us this week as we explore the how and why of sugar. Chapters 00:20 Progress in the 21st Century 04:45The Scam 13:06 "Pure, White, and Deadly" 14:06 Ancel Keys 15:11 Seven Countries Study 17:10 Coca-cola continues the scam in 2015 19:54 The Start of Nutrition 24:18 Pendulum Swings 27:26 The Failure of the Scientific Method and Industry Infiltration 30:37 "This is Objective Science" 33:24 Publication Bias 36:43 Failure of Politics 38:52 Local Political Manipulation 39:52 What Can We Do? 41:12 Food

Episode 13 - "Lights Out" What do airports, water treatment facilities, gas stations, and espresso machines all have in common? A dependence on a reliable and stable network of power generation and distribution. In America, and around the world, our electrical grids are aged, stressed, and increasingly at risk of attack. Worse, the centralization and increased interdependence of these grids mean the risk for large-scale failure has never been greater. If we don't act quickly, the next time the lights go out, they may not turn on again. Chapters 00:00 Preshow 00:45 What is the Grid? 01:58 Some History 03:53 The Grid Today 05:27 Foliage 07:45 Renewable: Difficulties 09:40 Renewables: Subsidies 12:06 Energy Storage 14:37 Transformers: Ageing 16:25 Transformers: Raw Materials 17:19 Transformers: Lead Time 19:53 Critical Substations 21:04 Physical Threats 21:29 Physical Threats: Liberty 22:54 Physical Threats: Metcalf 27:33 Transformers: Spares in Reserves? 29:47 Cyber Threats 31:42 Ukraine Cyber Attack 35:0

Episode 12 - "Up in Smoke" In forests, grasslands, and landscapes around the world, poor wildland management and climate change have combined to produce some of the most explosive fires ever seen. This trend is getting worse, and as we continue to push development into these areas, the need to extinguish fires that threaten human life and property rises. But paradoxically, fighting fires is a big piece of the puzzle in how we got here in the first place. We are joined by Tommy Nease and Tyler Marlow, both with professional Forest Service experience, to help make sense of this frightening trend. Chapters 00:00 The Great Fire 02:59 Intro 06:48 The Forest Service 09:38 Hurry Up and Wait? 10:26 Engine Work 12:05 Dangers 13:44 Hand Crews vs Engine Crews 14:42 Setting Fires? 15:39 Prescribed Fires 16:59 Fire is Unpredictable 20:16 Too Much Development? 23:21 What Should People do? 25:45 Fire as a Natural Disaster 26:18 Education? 27:24 Rescuing the Governor 28:23 Send in the Calvary? 30:59 Why Should We Care?

Episode 11 - "Designing Deception" What do suffragettes, cigarettes, Sigmund Freud, bacon and eggs with breakfast, bananas, and a coup in Guatemala all have in common? We'll explore the answer to that question in this week as we look at the lessons from an important man and contemplate the extraordinary effects he had (and continues to have) on our society. It's propaganda, public relations, advertising and more on this episode of Ashes Ashes. Chapters 00:00 Preshow 00:30 This is Bananas 09:09 The Man They Hired 12:26 Mozart Pianos 16:03 Torches of Freedom 17:19 Appropriating Social Movements 18:33 Millienials Love Social Change...I Think 20:06 Subconcious Associations 24:56 Manipulating the Media and Press 27:10 "I'm not affected by advertising" 27:37 Influencers 34:12 What Alternatives? 35:21 Needs to Desires 37:13 A Diamond is Forever 38:49 Modern Advertising 39:53 Business Casual 44:56 It's Okay to Question 45:58 How Does This Relate? A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and s

Episode 10 - "Broken Promises" Pensions have long been considered to be the gold standard of retirement, the treasured benefit of public service and big company jobs. But because of changing demographics, evolving financial environments, and poor accounting practices, these once sure things may soon become a liability. With a reckoning soon approaching, will retirement, the markets, and all of us as a whole be able to survive this ticking time bomb? Chapters 00:00 Preshow 01:52 The Idea of Retirement is Centuries Old 02:26 History of Pensions in the US 04:46 Decline of Pensions 06:13 Crisis Looming; Dallas Case Study 08:58 Short Term Promises With No Long-Term Sustainability 11:10 Musuem Tower 14:40 What is a Pension Anyway? 17:24 Risky Investments 18:32 CalPERS 21:36 Public Pensions vs Risk Free Investing 23:35 The Individuals 25:23 Wall Street 28:14 Private Pensions Foreshadow Doom 31:07 Where Will the Money Come From? 36:22 Inequality and Discrimination 39:43 A Better Future 40:38 Wrap Up A full trans

Episode 09 - "Nothing Left to Hide" The relationship between government intelligence, the military-industrial complex, and big business goes deep. In technology hubs around the world, complex surveillance products are developed and sold to governments that deploy the tech on journalists, lawyers, academics, and their own citizens. How are these technologies spreading and what effects do they have on society and us as individuals? Join us this week as we explore one of the most heavily surveilled places on earth and ask ourselves how to respond as these technologies increasingly come home to be deployed right here in America. Chapters 01:55 A History of Spying 07:09 Surveillance as Business 09:03 Ethiopia 12:35 Mexico 15:14 Name and Shame 16:02 Where Does this Money Come From? 18:06 China 23:19 Surveillance at Home 28:25 Affecting our Right to Protest 32:22 Terrorist or Enemy of the State? 43:49 Predictive Policing 49:24 Chicago 51:37 How Data Could Be Used to Reduce Crime 56:57 Nothing to Hide A full