The great simplification
… and an invitation to explore it with me
Years ago, I found Nate Hagens1 online. I have no idea how or why or when, but he was making these simple videos, talking about what was happening in the world and inviting his listeners to do more than just read about it. He wanted us to think about what he was sharing because he believes that, when we do, we’ll want to do something about it, too. And so he began making these videos in his basement, sometimes with his beloved dogs offering a quiet presence in the background.
TGS: The Great Simplification
Nate recognizes that the period we’re living through is a time of incredible change that is happening across innumerable systems, both in the real world and in the world of ideas. That’s why he began the podcast he titled “The Great Simplification,” creating an opportunity for we - who, mostly, do not spend all our days exploring the truth about what is going on in the world - to familiarize ourselves with reality in manageable, bite-sized chunks. Even so, the material can be downright disturbing. Nate simply puts it out there for us to ponder and, if we’re able and up for it, to respond.
I used to watch Nate’s videos regularly. It often fed my work at West Hill United, providing the background that allowed me to give voice to the environmental realities we were unleashing on ourselves. It has been some time since I’ve connected with his explorations of our choices, their impact, and his vision for how we can navigate the future. But as my own heart gets more and more stressed about what’s happening in our world, what we, in fact, are imposing upon it, Nate’s is one of the voices I want to listen to, one of the voices I want to hear, and his work something I need to engage with more deeply. He’s someone I can walk alongside (virually), absorbing the facts shared by his steady voice and calm demeanour as he explains the devastations we’re imposing upon our only home.
Whenever Nate shares another reality, it is always, in part, an invitation, a laying before us of the possibility of our own engagement. He invites and then allows us to find a way to do what we can, make whatever difference is ours to undertake, even if we’ve only the energy to last a day. His knowledge is vast and he lays it before us: a request to engage, offered with humility backed by the compelling truths we must have the courage to hear.
It happens that, as I returned to Nate’s work, he is just beginning a new project, which he refers to as a “Guide to Staying Human”. It is also being featured on Resilience.org. From their website’s introduction to the project:
Nate begins a new series called “Staying Human,” which focuses on what he sees as a precondition for everything else: recovering a sense of personal agency. He opens against the backdrop of Operation Epic Fury and the broader turbulence of 2026, but rather than offering geopolitical analysis, he turns inward toward a question that has been reshaping his theory of change: why does growing awareness of the more-than-human predicament so often produce paralysis rather than action?
Let’s explore together
And so, because of my deep respect for Nate’s mind and the rich engagement he can provide, I am wondering if some of you might like to take this journey with me. My thought is a scheduled Zoom gathering a few days after Nate posts each new piece. The Zoom call would offer an opportunity to talk about the things Nate brings up in each of his subsequent Guides to Staying Human. (Info on how you can sign up to participate is below the video.)
In order to decide if you wish to do this, you’ll want to watch this, the first episode of the series, now posted to Youtube. Note that, on the Great Simplification website’s page for this video, and for all Nate’s videos, you can find a link to download the transcript if you wish to read what he’s sharing, and a link to listen to it as a podcast if that is your preference. Nate’s ideas are important; that he shares them in several formats is proof that he knows how critical and timely our engagement with this information is right now. Not next year. Not when things get rough. Now. I hope you agree and look forward to hearing from you.
How to sign up
If you wish to participate, just send me an email and let me know. I’ll set a date for the first engagement when I’ve heard from those of you interested in participating and I’ll post that notice in an update to this post. Anyone who wishes to engage will need to share their email address with me in order to receive the Zoom link. Please don’t post your email address here as this forum is public. If you wish to take part in this engagement, just send me that email (gretta / dot / vosper / “at” / pm / another dot / me) and let me know. If you already have an email address, please feel comfortable using it; all former addresses redirect to this new one.
I find it astonishing that Wikipedia has no page for Nate so here’s his bio page and his The Great Simplification website.