Fuzzy Logic Science Show

Of Violence and Redemption

If there were a single invention of humanity that you remove, what would that be? In this episode we revisit a personal story broadcast on Radio National in 2006.

This is part of our series, Rethinking Sustainability.

 

'That' conversation

So it's okay to clear the Amazon jungle?

Almost certainly you disagree with that statement, but how do you respond when someone says that to you? In this episode we think about 'that' conversation. How do you convince somebody that they're wrong?

But first, is it even worth even trying?

You'll find a summary of Fran Peavey's Strategic Questioning at commonslibrary.org/strategic-questioning

and the full PDF commonslibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/strat_questioning_manual.pdf.

From our series Rethinking Sustainbility.

Fernando's dichotomy

When somebody makes a statement that is foreign to your thinking, how do you react? In this episode, Rod Taylor recounts a conversation with the Brazillian, Fernando. What does it mean to raze the Amazon jungle, why should somebody like him care? Why should anybody care?

The answer of course, is that it this cannot be sustained. While we hear that word thrown around so often, we should remember the end point of something that is unsustainable - is literally - the end.

Growth and the Parasitic Economy

Today's episode should prompt us to ask, how should we measure the success of our society?

Is it the growth, consumption, GDP and the size of our armies? Or perhaps it should be about  opportunity, the strength of our communities and how we care for people less well off.

Michael Bayliss from Sustainable Population Australia looks at what growth is really doing to social equality.

 

Michael invites you to sign the Position Statement on Population.

 

 

If you would like to contribute to these podcasts, please get in touch.

Deep Listening to Nature

As Andrew Skeoch says in this episode, there is much we can learn from Nature, if only we sit quietly and listen. Andrew takes that a step further by recording the beautiful songs of birds around the world. And, as he says, it's more than simply enjoying the aesthetics because the birds use their song to build relationships and navigate a shared environment.

Andrew is author of Deep Listening to Nature. 

 

This podcast is part of the Rethinking Sustainability series.

 

The Joy of Shopping?

On page 2 of the newspaper there's a story about melting icecaps. On page 3 there's a full page ad for this week's bargains. Somewhere here there's a disconnect. Meanwhile, shopping is - literally - sold to us as something we should do more of. But does it really make us feel better?

Artist and thinker Jeremy Barrett ponders these things as he wanders through his local shopping maul.

 

Jeremy's exhibition of paintings & mono prints is at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 2 February - 28 March. The opening Talk & Tea will be Tuesday 13 February, 12 — 1pm

 

This podcast is part of the Rethinking Sustainability series.

Coping with Crisis

It seems every day we're hit with more bad news. War in the Ukraine, floods, droughts and melting ice caps. In this episode, Rod Taylor mulls over how we cope. Do we give up and fall into a pit of despair, or do we carry on regardless?

 

 

This episode is part of the Rethinking Sustainability series.

Can we afford it?

The standard line is that governments* are always short of money and must balance their budgets. But what if that's not true? It changes everything if government money is not the contraint we're told it is.
In this episode, Stephen Williams describes a way of thinking about economics that should revolutionise our approach.

* Federal governments of monetary sovereign countries.

Stephen Williams and Rod Taylor are editors of Sustainability and the New Economics.

To learn more about MMT, we highly recommend the Modern Money Lab and Stephanie Kelton's film, Finding the Money.

 

Do we need unemployment?

What could happen when people decide to do something about unemployment in their community?

In this episode of our new series, Rethinking Sustainability, Robin Krabbe describes an initiative of Live Well Tasmania. 

Intelligence and Wisdom

In 2024 we have smart phones, smart cars and even smart washing machines. We also have climate change.

So are we intelligent but not wise? These are questions Sue Ferris ponders as part of our new series Rethinking Sustainability.

Sue Ferris is the author of Let’s Not Lose Them