When was the last time society was this unequal? Probably under the Pharaohs, says former Minister of Finance, Andrés Velasco. There's one point we didn't disagree on throughout this episode. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/andres-velasco/

Do we need growth? Andrés Velasco, Chile's former Minister of Finance, insists we do. He calls for reform—not revolution. But can these institutions be reformed? Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/andres-velasco/

What does it mean to be free when our freedoms are curtailed? What does it mean to be free when our nature is limited? What does it mean to be free at all? Huge thanks to @alybatt.bsky.social whose book Free Gifts inspired this meditation. www.planetcritical.com/freedom-at-t...

The Founding Fathers were legal revolutionaries. But over two centuries on, the world needs an update. The Founding Mothers is a movement dedicated to universal dignity, human rights, peace and ending war—through empowering women. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/laura-george/

Mexicans built a popular movement over a century of organising—and now they're using state power to finance revolutionary politics. This is how Mexico City is building utopia. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/ashwin-ravikumar/

We're looking at global food shortages in coming weeks due to Trump's illegal war on Iran and their retaliation by derailing traffic through the strait of hormuz. This is about so much more than oil. It's about how we feed the future. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/feeding-the-...

That feeling in your chest that threatens to crush your bones to dust? That's the fear and horror of billions of us. And it's why you can't make any of this singular moment of global unravelling make sense. www.planetcritical.com/how-to-make-...

I've read numerous articles characterising Epstein’s world as "paedophilic". But this analysis neglects how patriarchy actively works to undermine women’s empowerment in order to protect capital accumulation. I discuss the connection in this week's newsletter: www.planetcritical.com/thin-shaved-...

The feminist political project in the heart of the Middle East, Rojava, is a fierce assertion that other worlds are possible. They have defended their right to self-determination—for all our sakes. Journalist Matt Broomfield has spent years there. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/rojava-the-f...

EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been “inundated” with more than 110 complaints. One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus…

Today I saw a Leftist publicly criticise another Leftist for mentioning Iran's reputation in a post expressing solidarity with the Iranian people. We are never going to win ANY ground if it is more fashionable to take aim at each other than murderous regimes. www.planetcritical.com/the-enemy-of...

How do we design liveable futures? Architects @jeremytill.bsky.social and Tatiana Schneider on how "sustainable architecture" is not just falling short, but even contributing to the intersecting social, economic and climate crises. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/designing-li...

@alybatt.bsky.social — I would love to interview you on the relationship between nature, reproductive labour and capitalism, and Free Gifts more broadly! DMs open!

The SAVE Act requires citizenship ID to vote. It may be that some Republicans truly believe that lots of non-citizens are voting, but that is just not the reality. So who will the law impact? People without ID docs and people whose ID docs are not current - which is mostly women.

INDEPENDENT JOURNOS & CLIMATE PEOPLE ON GHOST: I want to simulate Substack's brilliant recommendation ecosystem. Please drop me your URL and let's recommend each other's sites. READERS: Same goes for the newsletters you love most!

I'm having a baby this summer. I believe the roots of the tense relationship between motherhood and feminism shine a light on how to liberate Earth from Man's violence. www.planetcritical.com/females-vs-c...

Lithium is branded as the cure-all to our fossil fuel dependence. But its history tells another story: that the solution to the world's problems is always more mining. Make time for this astounding episode with history of science scholar Javiera Barandarian: www.planetcritical.com/javiera-bara...

The Epstein Files reveal how sexual abuse sits hand in glove with capitalist exploitation. www.planetcritical.com/epsteins-inn...

In my conversation with XR co-founder Roger Hallam, I asked him about his advising Palestinians to commit to non-violence in the face of genocide. His response really surprised me. Full episode out now: www.planetcritical.com/roger-hallam/

OUT NOW: I interviewed Roger Hallam, cofounder of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, about his vision of activism. Roger is convinced of his methodologies and strategies. I am not. I end up asking him if he has a Messiah complex. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/roger-hallam/

We can afford to unconditionally provide healthcare, education, housing, transport, food and more to everyone – and doing so would dramatically improve people's ability to contribute to society. Universal Basic Services could change everything. Learn how: www.planetcritical.com/andrew-percy/

@climatehuman.bsky.social Would love to interview you about your recent post, 'Get Organized'. I believe my DMs are open!

From storm-battered Cornwall to the highest hill in Paris, last week I learned all about how the best place to change the world is right where you already are: www.planetcritical.com/how-to-chang...

Two things to learn from this. 1. The rightwing newspapers are lobby groups whose purpose is to advance the class interest of their proprietors. 2. Lobbyists for the rich and powerful lose their jobs if they are not prepared to lie. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-...

"Non-violence is a posture which demands witnesses. Self defence is a response which demands participation. Only one can protect us in life or death situations." www.planetcritical.com/can-non-viol...

"Non-violence is a posture which demands witnesses. Self defence is a response which demands participation. Only one can protect us in life or death situations." www.planetcritical.com/can-non-viol...

Worth remembering when looking at the horrific scenes in the US right now that both Reform and the Tories have pledged to bring in ICE-style organisations to the UK if they win power

The killings will continue until you give us the state voter rolls

The threatening and fascistic dictates of the Trump administration met a series of stumbling blocks over the weekend. From Minnesota to Denmark, and from protesters to politicians, people have had enough. www.planetcritical.com/and-the-worl...

big thanks to the brilliant @racheldonald.bsky.social for the opportunity to chat on Planet: Critical we kicked off the new year by asking: what's up with climate fiction? www.planetcritical.com/heather-mill...

Something a little different from me today, but racing around my mind all weekend. www.planetcritical.com/europe-must-...

Thank you @racheldonald.bsky.social on your extremely humane and thoughtful latest episode of Planet Critical. It's what I needed today. www.planetcritical.com/for-the-futu...

Alex Kleytman was just a child when he survived the Holocaust. To have been killed by anti-semitic hatred 80 years after the end of WWII is like being crushed under the wheel of time. It should take the breath out of all of us. www.planetcritical.com/an-unmistaka...

Organisations like Our World in Data and folk like Steven Pinker would have us believe that everything is getting better because lines are travelling a certain way on charts. This week's guest @smillermcdonald.bsky.social thoroughly debunks that. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...

Geographer @smillermcdonald.bsky.social on the myth of progress — a delusion that's been following us for 5000 years and justified endless wars, genocides and ecological destruction. Full episode out now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...

I read the White House National Security Plan so you don't have to. It's bad btw. www.planetcritical.com/trumps-natio...

A pleasure to talk with Rachel Donald again on Planet Critical about hyper-local futures and my new book 'Finding Lights in a Dark Age' www.planetcritical.com/hyper-local-...

As a journalist, my mother knew the horrors that human beings can inflict on one another. She knew that things don't get better unless people push for justice. But she still believed, then, that justice was possible. Her outlook is different today. www.planetcritical.com/today-my-mot...

Should You Have Kids? Choosing whether or not to have children has been a critical component of cultures around the world for millennia, and the choosing not to has always been as important as the choosing to. Read the full piece now on Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com/should-you-h...

Natural Scientist Fernando Racimo, author of Science in Resistance: The Scientist Rebellion for Climate Justice, joins Planet Critical podcast to discuss what works/ doesn't in climate activism; how deep complicity rot goes in universities, & much more www.planetcritical.com/fernando-rac...

Planet: Critical has left Substack! Find out why visiting Samoa and Crete made me discover something "achingly human" which encouraged me to get away from the noise. www.planetcritical.com/into-the-woo...

Such a brilliant @racheldonald.bsky.social conversation with Nina Djukanovic on critical raw materials -- from the energy transition to political violence to #degrwoth: www.planetcritical.com/material-dep...

“Individuals on the ground sent a message that reached us Monday morning that 1,200 were dead,” Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, said. “By that evening, they said 10,000. By Tuesday, we couldn’t reach them anymore. We assume our ground contacts are dead.”

New site: www.planetcritical.com I've switched over to Ghost and would love your feedback now that I've been able to customise my design. Comment below!

NEED A SOURCE: Community, I'm looking for an academic source showing the linear relationship between material footprint and GDP (I've heard they're tied 1:1 but can't find such a paper.) Please help!

"Were our justice system capable of justice, those who furnish their own lives at the expense of others would be held accountable for their actions long before they face threats to their lives." www.planetcritical.com/p/free-speec...

The climate crisis is causing an invisible health crisis: brain health. On this ep, neuroscientist and environmental reporter @compatibilism.bsky.social reveals how the climate crisis intersects with our psychological, mental and brain health. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/p/how-the-ec...

Canadian mining companies are 'getting away with atrocities' in South America and across the globe, says Brandi Morin. She shares the details with @racheldonald.bsky.social on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast. Listen now @mongabay.com

The three most damning paras in the UN Report alleging that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza: Siege starvation, attacks on health care, direct targeting of children as patterns that cannot be explained except if group destruction is one animating purpose.

"Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds" The UN joins other experts including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Holocaust historians, and multitudes of lawyers in concluding this is genocide. www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...