Hidden Drivers Wrap-up, or… the Story of the Throbbing Amygdala (Episode 47 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Rob Dietz
It’s the end of the world as we know it. OK, maybe not just yet, but it is the end of Crazy Town’s third season. If you’ve been able to look past some of the more absurd parts of...
Playing with FIRE
In 2017, I was on the speaking circuit for the FIRE (financial independence retire early) vast community of super smart, spreadsheet literate people working towards early retirement. Few understood the inner dimensions of the path they were on, and...
Maximum Power and Scarcity, or… the Story of the Birdbrained Backhoe on the Beach (Episode 46 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Richard Heinberg Rob Dietz
The “maximum power principle” may sound like the doctrine of an evil supervillain, but it actually applies to all living creatures. The principle states that biological systems organize to increase power whenever constraints allow. Given the way humans adhere...
Feedback Loops and Climate Catastrophe, or… the Story of the Baseball Bloodbath (Episode 45 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Rob Dietz
Did you ever think a baseball melee could effectively explain nuanced topics like cybernetics and systems dynamics? This episode examines the fascinating world of positive feedback loops, which play an outsized role in the not-so-positive phenomena of climate change,...
Too Much Power
This article, the third in a series, is based on the author’s forthcoming book, POWER: LIMITS AND PROSPECTS FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL. You can read the first article in the series here, and the second here. For information about the book and...
Net Energy and Sustainability, or… the Story of the Overstuffed Strongman (Episode 44 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Rob Dietz
All of humanity’s feats, whether a record-setting deadlift by the world’s strongest man or the construction of a gleaming city by a technologically advanced economy, originate from a single hidden source: positive net energy. Having surplus energy in the...
Overproduction of Elites and Political Upheaval, or… the Story of Rich People Doing Stupid Things (Episode 43 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Rob Dietz
Imagine a factory assembly line running at full steam, but instead of spitting out car parts or plastic trinkets, the conveyor belt is loaded down with Jeff Bezos wannabes. That’s a disconcerting image, but it’s an accurate picture of...
Family Offices: Trillion Dollar Pools of Unregulated Capital You Haven’t Heard About
Don’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of a family office as they fly below the radar. I explore the role of family offices in the larger “wealth defense industry” in my new book, The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Pay...
Runaway Money and Overconsumption, or… the Story of Monetary Mischief in Madagascar (Episode 42 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Rob Dietz
Way back when money consisted of iron pieces, if you wanted to buy a horse or some spices to season your horse meat, you practically had to carry an olympic weightlifting set with you. Early bankers figured out how...
The Most Colossal Planning Failure in Human History
A couple of days ago I happened to pick up an old book gathering dust on one of my office shelves—Palmer Putnam’s Energy in the Future, published in 1953. Here was a time capsule of energy concerns from nearly...