Human Nature Odyssey

Alex Leff

Human Nature Odyssey explores the myths, systems, and stories shaping our unraveling world. Blending history, mythology, philosophy, ecology, and cinematic audio storytelling, the show uses the past to better understand the present — and the possible futures we're creating. You are living the latest chapter in a 10,000-year human story. Join documentary filmmaker and storyteller Alex Leff on a cinematic audio journey through civilization, collapse, meaning, and myth, in search of clearer ways to experience the incredible, terrifying, and ridiculous world we inhabit. A narrative audio documentary for anyone asking how we got here — and what comes next.

  1. 19 - Modern Myths: Flat Earth, Space Colonization, and the Stories We Tell to Escape Reality

    22 JAN

    19 - Modern Myths: Flat Earth, Space Colonization, and the Stories We Tell to Escape Reality

    At first glance, believing the earth is flat and dreams of colonizing Mars couldn't seem further apart. But both are built on the same story — that reality can be escaped if we just think big enough. This episode looks at two beliefs that seem opposite — flat earth and space colonization — and asks what they reveal about our urge to escape reality rather than reckon with it. One is the belief that humans could, and should, live in space: that we're destined to leave our planet behind and colonize the stars. The other is the belief that we're not on a planet at all—that the Earth is actually… flat. While one is held by fringe figures and the other by some of the most powerful men on the planet, both rest on the premise that humans are exceptional, unbound by limits, or somehow separate from the earth. To explore these modern myths, we're joined by two guests: astrophysicist Tom Murphy and documentary filmmaker Daniel J. Clark, whose film Behind the Curve follows prominent figures in the fringe—but growing—flat Earth movement. Together, we'll examine the stories we tell ourselves about the world we inhabit, how we determine what's real or possible, and what kind of world these stories create.   CITATIONS Do The Math [blog]  Behind the Curve [film] (2018) Return to Space [film] by (2022)   If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast   Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI  All rights reserved.

    1 hr
  2. 17 - Time Machine 2126 (Part 1): Has Green Energy Saved Us Yet?

    04/12/2025

    17 - Time Machine 2126 (Part 1): Has Green Energy Saved Us Yet?

    What does a livable future look like 100 years from now? If we unlocked unlimited green energy, what would we actually do with it? And are our dreams of a renewable-energy utopia sometimes just as delusional as the fossil-fueled drill baby drill mentality? In this two-part series, Alex is joined by the hosts of Crazy Town—Jason Bradford, Rob Dietz, and Asher Miller—a research biologist, ecological economist, and Executive Director of the Post Carbon Institute, who bring a depth of knowledge as well as dad jokes. Together, they explore the implications of exponential energy growth on a finite planet, the hard truths behind a renewable-energy future, and which expectations we need to rethink as we chart a path forward. Along the way, we encounter an Olympic athlete attempting to toast bread using a bicycle. We also step inside a billionaire's latest invention: a time-travel device promising to fling us ahead one hundred years. Will the future be a gleaming techno-utopia powered by infinite green energy? A scorched wasteland of collapse? Or something else entirely—a lower-energy world that future generations might actually enjoy living in? Stay tuned for Part 2 where we take the full leap into the time machine and imagine what life a century from now could really look like in a post high-energy future.   CITATIONS The Toaster Challenge, Olympic Cyclist Vs. Toaster: Can He Power It?, 2015 Tom Murphy, Galactic-Scale Energy, Do the Math, 2011. Tom Murphy, Limits to Economic Growth, Nature Physics, August, 2022. Solar Freakin' Roadways, Indiegogo, 2014 Crazy Town podcast   ADDITIONAL MUSIC Modified version of "Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30" by Strauss, from classicals.de — licensed under CC BY 4.0   If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast   Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI  All rights reserved.

    38 min
  3. 15 - Are Hunter-Gatherers Liberals or Conservatives?

    25/09/2025

    15 - Are Hunter-Gatherers Liberals or Conservatives?

    What insights can our ancient past shine on our political future? Were hunter-gatherers the ultimate traditionalists—or proto-communists?  Is it possible hunter-gatherers lived with greater equality and more political freedom than most societies today? And why do both communism and capitalism, despite being sworn enemies, rest on the same assumption of endless growth? Psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that humans are wired with both liberal and conservative tendencies—and that societies function best when those forces stay in balance. Where can we find the liberal and conservative elements in our hunter-gatherer past? And how might it reframe our political future? In The King Is Dead, Now What? we explored modern political history. Now we zoom out, connecting  the dots to a much broader civilizational story. Plus, we're debuting a new segment: The State of Civilization, featuring our up-and-coming optimistic reporter Jeff Opolis, reporting on the fantastic news coming from civilization right now. Everything is great! Or… is it?   If you'd like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and join us on Patreon for exclusive audio extras, writings, and notes. For full episode transcripts, essays, and additional context, visit: resilience.org/human-nature-odyssey-podcast   CITATIONS Haidt, Jonathan. "The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives." TED, 2008. Fiddler on the Roof. Directed by Norman Jewison, United Artists, 1971. "Net Energy and Sustainability, or… The Story of the Overstuffed Strongman." Crazy Town podcast, Post Carbon Institute, 2021. Ryan, Christopher. Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress. Avid Reader Press, 2019. "Ken Burns." The Joe Rogan Experience, episode 1745, Spotify, 2022. Cronon, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. Hill and Wang, 1983. Marx, Karl. Critique of the Gotha Programme, 1875. Hyde, Lewis. The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property. Vintage, 1983. Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013. Norberg-Hodge, Helena. Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh. Sierra Club Books, 1991. Ho, Fred. A World Where Many Worlds Fit. Big Red Media, 2008. World Health Organization. (2024, July 24). Hunger numbers stubbornly high for three consecutive years as global crises deepen. Colquhoun, P. A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis.  Elhacham, Emily, et al. "Global Human-Made Mass Exceeds All Living Biomass." Nature, vol. 588, no. 7838, 2020, pp. 442–444.   Additional music for this episode by Adam Tell, from the albums Peripheries, This Time With Feeling, and Object Impermanence. Courtesy of Adam Tell. All rights reserved.    Music: Celestial Soda Pop By: Ray Lynch From the album: Deep Breakfast Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI  All rights reserved.

    54 min

About

Human Nature Odyssey explores the myths, systems, and stories shaping our unraveling world. Blending history, mythology, philosophy, ecology, and cinematic audio storytelling, the show uses the past to better understand the present — and the possible futures we're creating. You are living the latest chapter in a 10,000-year human story. Join documentary filmmaker and storyteller Alex Leff on a cinematic audio journey through civilization, collapse, meaning, and myth, in search of clearer ways to experience the incredible, terrifying, and ridiculous world we inhabit. A narrative audio documentary for anyone asking how we got here — and what comes next.