Crazy Town: Daily Summaries Delivered

The Hypocrite’s Guide to the Galaxy: Muddling Toward a Sustainable Footprint

Is hypocrisy the one thing that can grow infinitely on our finite planet? When you learn that humanity’s fossil fuel burning, including your own, is contributing to climate chaos, what can you do? When you understand that economic growth and consumption are causing habitat loss and the sixth mass extinction, can you opt out? As long as you are embedded in an unsustainable society, it’s hard not to be a hypocrite. At the same time, dropping out seems isolating and ineffective, if you can even do it. Join Jason, Asher, and Rob as they hit the confessional to examine the challenges and psychology of hypocrisy. Originally recorded on 4/23/26.Sources & LinksHassan FathyA Short History of Endurance by Charlotte Del SignoreBeing the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution by Peter KalmusNature’s Best Hope by Doug TallamyHomegrown National Park"What Is the Window of Tolerance, and Why Is It So Important?" Psychology Today, May 23, 2022.Asher recommends taking 20 minutes to sit down with this worksheet to better understand triggers/signs for when you’re either in hyperarousal (fight/flight) or hypoarousal (freeze).Related EpisodesEpisode 16, “The 10,000-Mile Cod and Insane Global Trade”CreditsProduction and editing by Alex Leff. Editorial assistance and transcripts by Taylor Antal.Theme music is “Way Huge” and “Don’t Give Up” by Midnight Shipwrecks, used with permission.Thanks to all the Crazy Townies, our listeners who are trying to understand humanity's overshoot predicament and do something about it.

The Lighter Side of Dark Ages with Chris Smaje

Chris Smaje visits Crazy Town for some farmer-to-farmer straight talk with Jason Bradford. Are these two long lost cousins? Both dropped out of academia years ago to become philosophizing farmers (can we call them “pharmers” with a “ph,” as in PhD?!?). Chris’s latest book, Finding Lights in a Dark Age: Sharing Land, Work and Craft explores how we can move from modernity’s unsustainable political economy toward a re-organization of society, driven by communities and local food systems. In this wide-ranging conversation, Chris and Jason cover everything from Viking raids to agrarian populism, from societal collapse to the practicalities of making your way in a failed state. And they can’t get away from the shop talk of gardens, livestock, and home economics. Originally recorded on 4/2/26.Sources & LinksChris Smaje’s BlogFinding Lights in a Dark Age by Chris SmajeExcerpt of the book on ResilienceSecond excerpt on ResilienceReview: Saying NO to Ecomodermism. Smaje Versus Monbiot, It’s No ContestRelated EpisodesEpisode 98, “Bargaining With Collapse: A Superabundance of Lab Grown Meat and Dryer Balls”CreditsProduction and editing by Alex Leff. Editorial assistance and transcripts by Taylor Antal.Theme music is “Way Huge” and “Don’t Give Up” by Midnight Shipwrecks, used with permission.Thanks to all the Crazy Townies, our listeners who are trying to understand humanity's overshoot predicament and do something about it.

Take Me to the River: Getting Rid of Deadbeat Dams

People REALLY love their impervious surfaces. Concrete structures practically permeate human-built landscapes. Rather than layering ever more concrete on top of living soils, in waterways, and all over the countryside, what if we re-established our connection with natural ecosystems and put a stop to the concrete madness? One of the most inspiring developments of environmental and cultural restoration involves the cleanup of tons and tons of concrete. We’re talking dam removal today. So grab a sledge hammer, a few sticks of dynamite, and a wrecking ball, and come along as we explore the battle between concrete placement and concrete removal. And don’t miss our interview with Tara Lohan, author of Undammed: Freeing Rivers and Bringing Communities to Life. Originally recorded on 3/17/26.Sources/Links/Notes:The Reef Line“Underwater ‘traffic jam’ off Miami beach, CBS News, November 3, 2025Miami Beach’s New Traffic Jam Frolics With the Fishes, New York Times, December 1, 2025We Finally Know Why Ancient Roman Concrete Stood The Test of Time, Science Alert by Michelle Starr, October 29, 2025L“Concrete: From Ancient Origins to a Problematic Future” by Mary Soderstrom. University of Regina Press, 2020. “Concrete: From the Ground Up” by Larissa Theule. Candlewick Press, 2022.“This is the total weight of everything humans have created since 1990” World Economic Forum, December 6, 2021“Global human-made mass exceeds all living biomass” Nature.com, December 9, 2020“Undammed: Freeing Rivers and Bringing Communities to Life” by Tara Lohan. Princeton University Press, 2025Map of U.S. Dams Removed Since 1912“Ten years after Oregon’s largest dam removal” Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2017“‘Salmon Everywhere’ One Year After Klamath Dam Removal” California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2025Undammed: The Klamath River Story podcast“First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath River after the largest dam removal in U.S. history” Oregon Public BroadcastingCar Free AllianceAuto MatTransportation Action Network“Stop this destructive, car-centric development” Hindustan Times, December 22, 2025Ridges to RifflesRivernetwork Member DirectoryDepave.orgRelated episode(s) of Crazy Town:Episode 48, “<a href="h

Mailbag: The Crazy Townies Speak!

It’s really refreshing to hear from you, our listeners and fellow strugglers living in high-energy modernity (affectionately known as Crazy Townies). This mailbag episode offers the element of surprise, as it gives Jason, Rob, and Asher a chance to respond with delight and spontaneity to your questions and comments. Join the guys as they apply their dubious intellectual powers, subpar comedic talents, and underwhelming insights to your Crazy Townie queries. Originally recorded on 3/6/26.Sources/Links/Notes:Tradable Energy QuotasCarfree City AllianceBraver AngelsMaclean Art Blog Related episode(s) of Crazy Town:Episode 19, “I Can’t Drive… 35! The Rationale for Rationing”Episode 45, “Feedback Loops and Climate Catastrophe, or… the Story of the Baseball Bloodbath”

Birdbrained: When Nature and Technology Collide

What happens when technology and competition start to invade our experiences in nature? For example, what if you’re so focused on documenting a bird sighting in your iPhone app that you fail to appreciate the majestic songs of the bushtit or dickcissel on the branch in front of you? In this episode, Jason, Rob, and Asher explore the world of competitive birding, the relationship between those who love nature and the technology they use to connect to it, and how even the most gentle of shared passions can get corrupted by status-fueled competition. Bear with us through the maddening tech and over-the-top competition as we rediscover how to observe and just exist within our home ecosystems. Originally recorded on 3/5/26.Sources/Links/Notes:Holding the FireOwen Reiser, Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching, 2025David Frankel, The Big Year, 2011 filmNature photographer Hannah Seilhan

Being Team Human in Crazy Town

You Ain’t Gonna Live Forever: The Dos and Don’ts of Legacy Building

Crazy Town Classics - Terror Management Theory