In this week’s Frankly, Nate shares a handful of things he’s learned in the past few days that have implications for the Great Simplification. Nate covers a wide range of topics in this edition, from the connections between corn sweat and wet bulb temperatures to a timeline of coral reef bleaching events.

Our culture is marked by information overload, which has been expanded intensely by technology. This makes it difficult to absorb the data, narratives, and headlines we are presented—let alone sort through them and examine what is relevant for the Great Simplification scenario. This will perhaps be the first of a regular series where Nate outlines what he has learned recently, and what it means for this work and our lives.

What does it mean to have a “climate-induced credit crunch” across the financial sector? What’s up with the recent tariffs on copper, and what connotations does this hold for the Great Simplification?  Why are mental health issues currently more prevalent for liberal-minded individuals, particularly women?

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

01:19 – GMO Corn

01:41 – Corn Sweat

02:14 – Dew Point

02:36 – Wet Bulb Temperature

03:49 – Günther Thallinger

04:32 – Economic Value of Fire-Prone Regions

05:37 – Economic Superorganism (“Economics for the Future – Beyond the Superorganism”)

05:58 – July 4, 2025 Texas Flood, 2024 Florida Hurricane, 2024 California Wildfires, 2024 North Carolina Flooding

06:27 – Copper Tariffs

06:40 – Cost of Copper

07:01 – Copper in Renewables

07:07 – Copper in EVs

07:38 – Bend vs Break (TGS Ep 42 Daniel Schmachtenberger)

07:43 – U.S. Administration and Tariffs

08:41 – International Conference on Tipping Points

08:57 – Amazon Dieback

09:14 – Johan Rockström (TGS Ep 134 Johan Rockström)

09:18 – Coral Reef Bleaching, Coral Reef Tipping Point

09:37 – Ocean Food Web

09:44 – Canary in the Coal Mine

10:03 – Global Coral Bleaching Events

10:46 – World Passed 1.5C

10:54 – Planetary Boundaries

11:30 – Mental Health for People Under 40 in the U.S.

12:07 – Mental Health by Political Ideology and Sex

13:19 – Discount Rate

13:41 – 6th Mass Extinction

13:48 – Animals Feeling to the Poles for More Oxygen

14:23 – Dark Triad, Psychopathy

Teaser image credit: Ancient Mesoamerican relief sculpture of maize, National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico. By Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81224187