Climate Crisis, Biosphere & Societal Collapse

In this powerhouse episode, Mark Lynas is joined by long-time friend and environmental journalist George Monbiot for a brutally honest conversation on where we are — and how we fight back. Together they challenge the idea that environmental progress is automatic or guaranteed, and instead delve into the deep political, economic, and social forces that shape our chances for a better future. Monbiot argues that unless we confront power, capitalism, and the failure of incrementalism, we’re simply sleepwalking into authoritarianism and ecological collapse. From colonialism to neoliberalism, from fascism to the failures of the left, this is a sweeping conversation on what went wrong — and how we can make things right, through a positive politics of belonging. This one pulls no punches.

🧠 Topics Discussed:

🏛️ Why environmentalism fails without confronting power

🛑 The myth of inevitable progress — and how it can be reversed

⚡ Technology is not enough: the limits of "techno-fix" thinking

💰 A crash course in the real origins of capitalism

📉 Why incremental change is a losing strategy

📢 What neoliberalism really is — and how it disempowers citizens

🧱 Private sufficiency, public luxury: a new vision for the future

🧠 Why the left keeps losing — and what must change

🎯 Popper’s paradox, politics of belonging, and how to counter fascism

📲 How social media is supercharging authoritarianism

😤 Can we still win? Yes — but only if we act boldly