Reality Studies

Reality Studies

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Urgent Futures with Jesse Damiani

Welcome to the Urgent Futures Podcast, the show that finds signal in the noise. Each episode, I sit down with leading thinkers for dialogues that clarify the chaos, from culture to the cosmos.
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Explaining Polycrisis and Metacrisis
 • Jesse Damiani
2
Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve & Crypto Stockpile: Innovation or the Ultimate Grift? What are the Long-Term Implications?
 • Jesse Damiani
The Los Angeles Fires, Polycrisis, & How to Live in Collapse | Urgent Futures Rapid Response #2
 • Jesse Damiani
2
What Ted Chiang’s New Yorker Essay Gets Wrong About Art and AI—and Why It Matters
 • Jesse Damiani
7
Ecological Resilience: What Does it Mean for an Ecosystem to Be Resilient?
Understand ecological resilience: its definition, why it's crucial for climate adaptation, & the 7 principles to build thriving, resilient ecosystems…
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Jesse Damiani
Hot Planet Update: Swiss Village Buried by Glacier Collapse, COP30 Chief Warns of 'Economic Denial,' Historic Climate Lawsuit, Europe's…
A roundup of what happened, why it matters, and key context for climate change news during the week of May 26-June 1.
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Jesse Damiani
Hot Planet Update: Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Guts Climate Funding, EPA Scraps Power Plant Rules, 'Above-Average' Hurricane Season…
A roundup of what happened, why it matters, and key context for climate change news during the week of May 19-25.
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Jesse Damiani
How Many Americans Are Preppers? 2025 Stats & Trends
How many Americans are preppers in 2025? See the numbers, percentages, state hot-spots, demographics, and market size behind the booming preparedness…
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Jesse Damiani
Lefty Preppers: Sustainable & Community-Focused Preparedness in 2025
Explore the world of lefty prepping—discover how progressive values like community, sustainability, and mutual aid shape preparedness for a resilient…
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Jesse Damiani

Polycrisis & Postreality

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What is Accelerationism? A Primer on the Defining Philosophy of Our Time, Including Effective Accelerationism (e/acc), the Dark…
A beginner’s deep dive into the theory, history, key thinkers, subfields, critiques, and implications of accelerationism.
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Jesse Damiani
4
What is Post-Growth Economics? Rethinking Prosperity Beyond GDP Growth
Is post-growth economics a viable alternative to the modern economy? This primer breaks down the post-growth movement, its history, how it compares to…
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Jesse Damiani
1
Reading List: 9 Books to Understand Post-Growth Economics
Curious to learn more about the post-growth movement? Check out the following subject overviews, textbooks, manifestos, and more.
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Jesse Damiani
1
Hodor is the Hero Archetype We Need Now
From climate change to rising authoritarianism, we need to 'hold the door' for collective problem-solving in the polycrisis—and we should valorize those…
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Jesse Damiani
Explaining the Degrowth Movement. Is Degrowth Economics Possible?
A primer on degrowth as an alternative economic model to current late capitalism. Plus: unpacking terms like degrowth communism, ecological economics…
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Jesse Damiani
3
Join the community!
Emergency Water Disinfection: Boiling, Bleach & Filters (2025 Guide)
Learn essential methods to disinfect water in any emergency. This 2025 guide covers boiling, bleach drops, filtration, and other vital techniques to…
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Jesse Damiani
What Food Should a Prepper Buy? | 2025 Smart-Storage Guide
What food should a prepper buy? See the 2025 list of best, longest-lasting foods to stockpile, safety tips on 40-yr cans, and 10 core emergency-kit…
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Jesse Damiani
Community Prepping: Build a Resilient Neighborhood & Thrive in Any Emergency
Learn how community prepping transforms neighbors into a powerful, self-reliant network for disasters. Discover steps to build mutual aid, share…
Professional Resilience: Training, Retreats, and Leadership for a Thriving Career
Understand professional resilience, its core components, and how training and retreats foster well-being. Explore the critical role of resilience in…
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Jesse Damiani
What Is a Prepper? Meaning, Mindset & Myths Debunked (2025)
Discover what a prepper is, how their philosophy differs from survivalism and hoarding, core beliefs, and typical preparedness timeframes. Get clear…
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Jesse Damiani
2
The Prepper FAQ: Practical Answers to Top Emergency Prep Questions
Discover what preppers do, which foods and gear to stockpile, how much cash to keep at home, and U.S. preparedness stats—all in one guide for families…
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Jesse Damiani
Why I'm Reclaiming Prepping & You Should Too | Rapid Response #8
Uncomfortable conversations for uncomfortable times.
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Jesse Damiani
10:16
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Urgent Futures with Jesse Damiani
Why I'm Reclaiming Prepping & You Should Too | Rapid Response #8
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Hot Planet Update (Weekly)

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Hot Planet Update: Swiss Village Buried by Glacier Collapse, COP30 Chief Warns of 'Economic Denial,' Historic Climate Lawsuit, Europe's…
A roundup of what happened, why it matters, and key context for climate change news during the week of May 26-June 1.
 • 
Jesse Damiani
Hot Planet Update: Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Guts Climate Funding, EPA Scraps Power Plant Rules, 'Above-Average' Hurricane Season…
A roundup of what happened, why it matters, and key context for climate change news during the week of May 19-25.
 • 
Jesse Damiani
Hot Planet Update: Deadly Floods in Africa, Trump Takes on Climate Lawsuits, Research at 'Tipping Point,' Bananas Endangered, Methane…
A roundup of what happened, why it matters, and key context for climate change news during the week of May 11-18.
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Jesse Damiani
[Now FREE for all subscriber tiers] Hot Planet Update: Australia's Pro-Climate Election, EU to Ban Russian Gas, NOAA Stops Tracking…
A roundup of what happened, why it matters, and key context for climate change news during the week of May 3-10.
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Jesse Damiani
Hot Planet Update: DOJ Attacks States, EPA Gutted, Canada's Early Wildfire Season, Climate Disasters Projected to Cost $145B in 2025, 'Early…
A roundup of what happened, why it matters, and key context for climate change news during the week of April 27-May 3.
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Jesse Damiani

Tech Analysis (AI, QC, Blockchain)

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Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve & Crypto Stockpile: Innovation or the Ultimate Grift? What are the Long-Term Implications?
Is President Trump’s pro-crypto play a fast-path to corruption or an overdue embrace of a maligned technology? Here's a full breakdown, including…
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Jesse Damiani
What You Need to Know About Trump's 'U.S. Crypto Reserve'
Why Trump announced this reserve, why he chose the cryptocurrencies he did, and what that means for the global economy (and everyday people).
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Jesse Damiani
What Ted Chiang’s New Yorker Essay Gets Wrong About Art and AI—and Why It Matters
3 responses to the legendary writer's recent claim that AI will never make art.
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Jesse Damiani
7
The Drake-Kendrick Beef and Musings on the Future of AI-Generated Content
As one of the world's biggest popstars, Drake AI "covers" have proliferated since last year. Last week he turned the tables, signaling how we'll…
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Jesse Damiani
AI at the Intersection of Instinct, Intuition, and Feelings
'SMALL V01CE' opens in Los Angeles this weekend. It's an exhibition full of questions about the ecologies of AI.
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Jesse Damiani
More Liquid, More Solid: Generative AI and The Future of Genre Under Postreality
Through generative AI, the role of genre in creative canon(s) is simultaneously liquifying and solidifying—softening genre boundaries while reasserting…
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Jesse Damiani
How Future Histories Of ‘Other Intelligences’ Clarify Today’s AI
In The Institute for Other Intelligences, Mashinka Firunts Hakopian combines speculative fiction and media theory to propose equitable futures for…
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Jesse Damiani
Critical Readings in AI: The Bigger Picture, vol. 2
A new series focused on AI literacy outside the hype-doom binary. For the second installment, Reality Studies looks at the future of health and medicine…
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Jesse Damiani
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