This Week's Learnings: Gold Holdings, Political Divides, and the DOE Climate Report | Frankly 107

This Week's Learnings: Gold Holdings, Political Divides, and the DOE Climate Report | Frankly 107

In this week's Frankly, in a continuation of his 'This Week's Learnings' series, Nate updates viewers on things he learned in the past week, and the implications for our sociocultural trajectory. This edition focuses on recent financial and political headlines – global gold holdings, shifting geopolitical energy deals, and new U.S. Department of Energy reports – and explains their relevance to our biophysical reality and broader geopolitical landscape. Through this exercise, Nate invites podcast viewers to use a systems lens to integrate the wide array of news we are bombarded with into the large evolving story of The Human Predicament.

Why does it matter that central banks now hold more gold than the U.S. treasuries? How might expanding energy collaborations between Russia and China shift the global political power of the United States and Europe? How do current economic and political incentives affect the nature of energy science, and what we consider to be 'truth' itself?

(Recorded September 9th, 2025)

Show Notes and More


Watch this video episode on YouTube

Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.

---

Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future

Join our Substack newsletter

Join our Hylo channel and connect with other listeners

Jaksot(373)

"Islands" | Frankly #19

"Islands" | Frankly #19

There are some pretty amazing things that can be tracked via analytics on Youtube and other podcast servers - including from where the people tuning into a podcast are watching. For whatever reason, t...

2 Joulu 202210min

Patrick Ophuls: "Energy, Politics, and The Future"

Patrick Ophuls: "Energy, Politics, and The Future"

Today, ecologist, political scientist, and author Patrick Ophuls joins Nate to discuss his new book, The Tragedy of Industrial Civilization and The Future of Politics. As he's been doing for his lifet...

30 Marras 20221h 9min

Energy Gratitude | Frankly #18

Energy Gratitude | Frankly #18

This week, most of the United States celebrates Thanksgiving. As we think about the things we are grateful for - family, food, football, dogs etc. - we don't often remember to recognize energy's role...

24 Marras 20226min

Vandana Shiva: "Agroecology and The Great Simplification"

Vandana Shiva: "Agroecology and The Great Simplification"

Today, ecology activist and regenerative agriculture advocate Vandana Shiva joins me to discuss how her lifetime of work has shaped the way she sees the world. From chaining herself to trees to winnin...

23 Marras 20221h 10min

Russia - Be Careful What We Wish For | Frankly #17

Russia - Be Careful What We Wish For | Frankly #17

We were reminded this week of how precarious and dangerous the ongoing NATO/Russia situation is. An errant missile in Poland on Tuesday nearly started World War III (thankfully - cooler heads prevaile...

18 Marras 202211min

Jon Erickson: "Illusions, Power and the Political Economy"

Jon Erickson: "Illusions, Power and the Political Economy"

On this episode, Nate is joined by Sustainability Science and Policy Professor Jon Erickson. He and Nate dive into Jon's new book The Progress Illusion: Reclaiming our Future from the Fairytale of Eco...

16 Marras 20221h 22min

7 Boundaries of Climate Concern | Frankly #16

7 Boundaries of Climate Concern | Frankly #16

In the midst of the COP27 in Egypt and one of the warmest Wisconsin Novembers on record, this week's Frankly is a reflection on the boundaries with which humans use to think about the threat of climat...

11 Marras 202213min

Arthur Berman: "The Devil is in the Diesel"

Arthur Berman: "The Devil is in the Diesel"

On this episode, petroleum geologist Arthur Berman returns to discuss recent diesel shortages and go into depth on the importance of diesel and the complexity of getting it and other products from a b...

9 Marras 20221h 15min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

tiedekulma-podcast
rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
rss-poliisin-mieli
rss-duodecim-lehti
docemilia
mielipaivakirja
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-metsantuntijat-podcast
rss-ylistys-elaimille
university-of-eastern-finland
utelias-mieli
radio-antro
rss-bios-podcast
rss-ranskaa-raakana
rss-astetta-parempi-elama-podcast
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
rss-luontopodi-samuel-glassar-tutkii-luonnon-ihmeita
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast
rss-sosiopodi