Information Burnout: Are We Past Peak Sensemaking?
Frankly #93
Each morning, people around the world wake up to more troubling headlines – from power outages in Spain and Portugal to intensifying drone attacks in Ukraine. For some people, diving into the facts and data behind these types of crises provides an increase in knowledge resulting in agency and response.
On the other hand, a growing number of people feel overloaded with the constant stream of information about the multitude of threats in our world. How can people on this second arc of sensemaking still engage with these issues by grounding themselves in individual and community initiatives?
In this week’s Frankly, I reflect on the increasingly wide variability in people’s ability to consume and metabolize information on the converging crises actively playing out in our world. I reflect on my own ways of making sense of it all, and what that means for the kind of educational work still needed to address our shared Human Predicament.
How can we remain motivated to pursue meaningful work in times when we feel overwhelmed with the fragile state of the world? What is the role of information (and podcasts) in a landscape inundated with heavy news? And how might we draw on past sensemaking in order to move forward with building a future that is ‘better than the default’?
In case you missed it…
This week, I was joined by energy expert and educator Jean-Marc Jancovici, who shared insights from his ongoing work advising governments and the public on the limits of our economic systems amid growing energy and ecological constraints. Together, we discussed the evolving geopolitical landscape between the U.S. and Europe, the distinction between energy sobriété and poverty, and the role of the elite in leading societal change towards more practical consumption levels.
If you appreciate The Great Simplification podcast…
Be sure to leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! Leaving reviews helps the podcast grow, which helps spread awareness of our systemic situation from experts in ecology, energy, policy, economics, technology, and community building so that we can better understand - and respond to - the challenges of the coming decade.
The Great Simplification podcast is produced by The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future (ISEOF), a 501(c)(3) organization. We want to keep all content completely free to view globally and without ads. If you’d like to support ISEOF and its content via donation, please use the link below.
I think I'm going to make a flyer of your podcast and put it up in our coffee shops and Co-op. If you already have one with a QR, that would save some time.
I, for one, value your podcast and all the guests.
As a mom and grandmother I think it's important to me to pass these discussions to my receptive kids. I don't force things. I let them grow, like seeds. A podcast flyer would be like a seed or a graft of a grape vine of information fruit.
Blessings to you Nate. Maybe I'll see you out hiking the Driftless area someday? If so, I'd like to shake your hand.
I've learned so much from your podcast and am thrilled you're shifting your focus to what we can do. Thank you.