Jem Bendell (collapse “poster kid”, academic) wrote the paper that launched the “Deep Adaptation” movement and spawned Extinction Rebellion. That was in 2018. The paper argued that societal collapse was unavoidable and would happen in our lifetimes, probably before the end of the 2030s, and it went very, very viral.

The University of Cumbria Emeritus Professor and co-founder of the International Scholars’ Warning on Societal Disruption and Collapse has now released a new book, Breaking Together: A Freedom-Loving Response to Collapse, which confirms the worst, but also provides, as per the subtitle, a path for a despairing soul to live beautifully beyond the doom.

This conversation is confronting and Jem’s honesty is brutal. He warns of food collapse in the next three years and that the economy could go (and our savings rendered worthless) any moment. But he also explains how we can use this reckoning to live a courageous, kind, noble life. For anyone on the collapse awareness journey, this is a crucial listen.

SHOW NOTES

You might want to follow my book serialisation on Substack where we are doing the collapse awareness journey together, one step at a time.

You can catch Jem in Sydney at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas on 24-25 August, more details here.

Jem offers a couple of online courses a year, on the topic of Leading Through Collapse.

Here is the post he wrote about Talking to Relatives About Collapse we mentioned

Want to know more, you can engage with Jem via the following:

Find Emotional Support

Visit the Deep Adaptation Forum

Watch some of Jem’s talks

Read his key ideas on collapse

Read his book Breaking Together

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If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page

For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!

Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life

Let’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8

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Jean Twenge (psychologist; professor at San Diego State University) is regarded as the world expert on “generations”. She famously described millennials as “Generation Me” (also the name of her 2006 book) and first made the (controversial) connection back in 2017 between smartphones and the sharp uptick in anxiety and depression among Gen Z teens, which has since become one of our culture’s top talking points. In her recent book, Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future she explains how themes such as narcissism, individualism, fear and tech addiction play out between the generations (including the Boomers, Xers, and the latest cohort, “the Polars”).

In this chat we cover…Do millennials actually have it harder? Why do 60% of Gen Z girls have mental health problems? Why aren’t young people aren't getting their driver's licenses? Is modern parenting setting kids up for failure? As well as the “slow life” phenomenon.

You can catch Jean in Sydney at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas on 24-25 August, speaking at the following talks.

• The Machines Killing Our Kids
• The Generation Gulf
• Contagious Realities

SHOW NOTES

Subscribe to Jean's Substack​, Generation Tech

Here’s the teen mental health post I wrote on Substack

And here’s the Substack post about the difference in young men's and women’s political leanings

Learn more about the Festival of Dangerous Ideas here

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If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page

For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!

Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life

Let’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I asked fellow substacker Anya Kamenetz to help me answer the above question. Anya is a parent and climate activist, a former NPR journalist and she has written five books loosely related to the mental health of young people in the face of difficulty. She is also the producer of Joanna Macy’s incredible podcast with Jess Serrante, We Are The Great Turning.

This question - How to parent in the face of collapse and crisis? - comes up often on my Substack and there was a particularly moving thread that opened up last week that spoke to this concern that so many parents have. Here it is, if you would like to read it. The gist is that while we (the adults) might be able to accept what is happening to the world on one level, when we reflect on the kids in our lives an incredible emotional dissonance kicks in. Anya and I talk about how to talk about the crises in front of kids, how to help them with their emotions, why prioritising enjoying the world is key and “parenting as activism”.

SHOW NOTES

Watch the video and join the conversation over on Substack

Subscribe to Anya's Substack

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If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page

For more such conversations subscribe to my Substack newsletter, it’s where I interact the most!

Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life

Let’s connect on Instagram and WeAre8

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.