Earthbound Episodes

Bridging the Gap and Finding Agency in a Complex World What can one person actually do about problems as vast as climate change, racism, or inequality? For most of us, the honest answer feels like: not much. That sense of powerlessness is exactly what philosophers Michael Brownstein and Alex Madva set out to dismantle. In this episode, Tom talks with the co-authors of Somebody Should Do Something (written with Daniel Kelly) about the trap of either/or thinking, the false choice between fixing ...

More Than Enough Light What is more addictive than fentanyl, cocaine, or heroin? Evan Jaqua’s answer is power. And once people have it, they will do almost anything to keep it. This is a solo episode, a short essay built around the ideas of Evan Jaqua and the Solutions Party, the political reform organization he founded. The interview tape didn’t meet the bar for broadcast, so I took his thinking and ran it through my own. I hope to have Evan back for a clean recording. For now, it’s just ...

What if the problem with climate communication isn’t the message, but the messenger’s assumptions? A conversation with David Beckmeyer, a researcher and host of the podcast and Substack Outrage Overload. We explore the psychology behind our tribal fears and how the modern media environment exploits our primal neurological circuitry to stoke fear, distrust, and division. David explains how we can take agency and reclaim our brains.

In her debut novel, They Could Be Saviors, Diana Colleen explores psychedelic therapy as a means to relieve “billionaire-ism” and the extractive, taker mentality. Can billionaires reclaim their humanity?

Lee Schneider's Utopia Engine Trilogy explores the near future in a world of climate change, AI, mind control, misinformation, and how we can find liberation.

An in-depth conversation with Bridget Lyons, author of Entwined: Dispatches From the Intersection of Species.

A review of Peter Solomon’s near-term sci-fi novel 100 Years to Extinction. Gen Z takes on colonizing Mars and creating a better world here on Earth.

What does it mean to build a civilization on extraction and call it moral? That’s the question at the heart of this episode of Earthbound, a podcast about what it means to be human on a warming planet. This episode draws on the work of neurophilosopher Patricia Churchland, who argues that human morality is rooted not in religion or ideology, but in biology. Care for kin, for community, and for something beyond ourselves is the evolutionary foundation of what makes us human. Fossil fuels pull us away from that foundation, locking us into a Faustian bargain of wealth, destruction, and shortsightedness. This is not an argument for deprivation. It’s an argument for honesty about who we are and what we’re capable of becoming.

A short audio essay on climate, peace, and lessons from the siege of Minneapolis in early 2026 by ICE.

In this conversation with Bill McKibben, a world-renowned author, climate change advocate, and founder of 350.org, we discuss his latest book, “Here Comes the Sun.” We explore how the cost of renewable energy, especially solar power, has decreased to the point where it is now cheaper than fossil fuels. Additionally, we examine the reasons why solar energy has surpassed fossil fuels in terms of new power production.

In a world of either-or thinking, where you’re expected to choose between hugging trees or hugging flags, Katherine Lacefield offers a refreshing alternative. The founder of Just Be Cause Consulting and host of the Just Be Cause Podcast joins us to dismantle the false binaries that plague environmental and animal rights movements. With candor and hard-won wisdom, she shares her journey from "crazy vegan" activism to a more nuanced understanding of how we create lasting change. Katherine reminds ...