Planet: Critical Folgen

What do W.E.I.R.D countries have in common? Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic. The citizens of these countries exhibit markedly more extreme psychological characteristics than those of non-WEIRD nations. One of the weirdest characteristics is a belief in a fixed “self’ which will behave in a reliable and predictable manner no matter the environment. The belief in this unchanging self is what makes it very difficult for us to change our minds—and even concoct wild rationalisations to justify our behaviour. Welcome to the age of cognitive dissonance.Sarah Stein Lubrano, a researcher at Oxford University, joins me to explain the cognitive dissonance phenomenon, its roots in the alleged security granted to us by a fixed sense of self, and why it’s so hard to change our beliefs. She then reveals what neurophilosophy tells us about how to help others change our minds, the power of storytelling, and the importance of social infrastructure for creating cohesive, fluid and non-judgemental communities. It is these brave communities which dare examine themselves, their beliefs about the world—and change their maladaptive behaviours. This is an episode about how to dare change our minds.© Rachel DonaldPlanet: Critical investigates why the world is in crisis—and what to do about it. Support the project with a paid subscription. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit planetcritical.substack.com

Did you know the government doesn’t spend your taxes?Welcome to the world of Modern Monetary Theory, a revolutionary way of decoding our monetary systems—and making them work better for us. I’m joined by Steven Hail, economist and lecturer, who explains, using MMT, what we get wrong about money, taxes, inflation and even currency. Steven reveals how the notion of states not being able to afford certain necessities—like education, health, the green transition—is nonsense, explaining how the supply of resources impacts our economy, not running a deficit. Alongside debunking a range of money myths, he also reveals the fascinating history of taxation as a means to create a citizenry and their dependence on a centralised state.This is a technical episode, but Steven’s explanations are clear and concise, and we successfully cover a lot of ground to uncover the real relationships between governments, markets and the monetary system they swear by.Episodes referenced include my interviews with Fadhel Kaboub, Jason Hickel and Kate Raworth.© Rachel DonaldPlanet: Critical investigates why the world is in crisis—and what to do about it. Support the project with a paid subscription. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit planetcritical.substack.com

Neoliberalism is the disease which keeps on killing.But did you know the neoliberal economic gospel we live under today is a deliberate misinterpretation of the original theory? In her new book, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market, historian of science Naomi Oreskes shows how a group of American plutocrats distorted the the conservative teachings of Friedrich van Hayek’s theory of neoliberalism in order to plunder the world’s resource, unleash the markets, and undermine federal power. Naomi joins me today to give an incisive and brutal summary of why our world is in crisis, detailing the criminal avarice of these plutocrats; how institutions, lobbyists and corporations continue to undermine democracy; and why a renewable world threatens the powers that be. This phenomenal explanation shows why the climate crisis is not a scientific problem, but a political, economic and social issue, with Naomi revealing tactics civilians used throughout history against the destructive elite.© Rachel DonaldPlanet: Critical investigates why the world is in crisis—and what to do about it. Support the project with a paid subscription.‘It’s Not the End of the World’ book assumptions & omissions spark debateCheck out my latest episode on Mongabay’s Newscast in Hannah Ritchie and I go head-to-head about her book, It’s Not the End of the World, and the data omissions which paint a far rosier picture of the polycrisis than her backer, Bill Gates, would have us believe. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit planetcritical.substack.com