Rachel Donald

How can we include viewers as active participants of storytelling? In this week's brilliant episode, writer and filmmaker Matt Golding explores ways of telling stories that energise viewers into put together the puzzle pieces of narratives that hint towards real change.

@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org

In this brilliant episode from the archives, co-founder of Civic Square Immy Kaur speaks about community resilience. Given access to tools and knowledge of how to use them, communities can organise in their own neighbourhoods to build 'better, more creative, loving ways for us to live.'

Rachel Donald reposted

Simon Evans

3 Aug

🧵Right-leaning newspapers are trying to blame Europe's raging wildfires on everything EXCEPT fossil fuels 1. The Wall Street Journal Frontpage story: "Greece fights wildfires as Europe crisis spreads" WSJ editorial: "How green policies fuel fires in Europe"

15 June

Invasive species management has little to do with ecology and everything to do with economics Which is exactly why some introduced species, like 'cattle', are not treated as invasive while anything that harms it is Full ep with @clarefollmann.bsky.social: www.planetcritical.com/clare-follmann/

This morning on @therestpolitics.bsky.social, @rory-stewart.bsky.social said my position on a.i not being an inevitability was "essentially wrong". He compared the development of a.i. to the industrial revolution, and made subsequent comparisons between the technology and energy: wind, steam etc.

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planetcritical.comOne of the biggest data centres in the world is being planned on Scottish soil. The plans for it are so obviously bullshit the developers must think we're fools.Locals are rallying against the CATO, an allegedly "net zero", "zero waste" data centre which will "harvest rainwater" while providing "data sovereignty".

I'm grateful @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social reads my work, and extremely grateful he drew attention to the outrageous proposal for a data centre on Scottish soil: www.planetcritical.com/plans-for-ma...

Hopefully his cohost will be more amenable in future to dialoguing about a.i. rather than insisting that there is no debate to be had about the technology's deployment—this seems an unusual position from someone who built their public reputation as an elected representative of the people.

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The only "science" behind the inevitability of a.i. is the slick propagandist narratives which are manufacturing consent for its development at the expense of our communities, job security, natural resources and democracies.

You know what is a science? All of the academic work warning us about our natural resource depletion, rapidly changing climactic conditions, and geopolitical insecurity, each worsened by much of Silicon Valley's technologies, and certainly the political habits of the tech billionaires.

These are false comparisons. A.i. is not an energy source (wind), nor an energy converter (steam). Instead, a.i. is a huge energy and materials consumer. This is what makes it economically valuable—and vulnerable. A.i. adds to GDP because of how it consumes, not what it produces.

Stewart said the global markets are betting on a.i. On this we agree: the bubble is keeping the global economy afloat as investors pour money into these loss-making companies in the vain hope this energy and materials-intensive technology will one day turn a profit—because betting is not a science.

One of the world's biggest data centres is being proposed five miles from where I grew up. The planning proposal is total nonsense—but they're not fooling any locals. I attended the public meeting against the centre. Read my report: www.planetcritical.com/plans-for-ma...

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These centres are anti-democratic, anti-ecological, and anti-independence. Not only do they undermine local public infrastructure and damage local ecosystems, they deepen the pockets of some of the most dangerous men in the world.

Scotland has no need of a technology which is only causing massive lay-offs, widening the wealth gap, and perpetuating racist and sexist biases. The locals want no part in it. Help them resist it now. www.planetcritical.com/plans-for-ma...

This data centre will dwarf the neighbouring village of Auchtertool in Fife. It's being proposed by a renewable energy developer who allegedly have a habit of building national infrastructure and selling it off to the highest foreign bidder.

4 June

Within the context of a globally extractive system, no matter the intention, all developments eventually lead down a path of further exploitation, explains @jeremylent.bsky.social, author of 'Eco-Civilization: Making a World That Works For All' out now. Full Ep: www.planetcritical.com/jeremy-lent/

planetcritical.comFor Goodness To GrowOn becoming humus

26 May

I wrote a love letter www.planetcritical.com/for-goodness...

Rachel Donald reposted

David Farrier

@david-farrier.bsky.social

22 May

It was such a pleasure to talk to @racheldonald.bsky.social for the Planet Critical podcast!

Rachel Donald@racheldonald.bsky.social

What is the role of art in any crisis? To understand what is, and to imagine what could be. This is the message of @david-farrier.bsky.social, professor in literature and the author of 'Nature's Genius: Evolutions Lessons for a Changing Planet'. Full Episode: www.planetcritical.com/david-farrier/

22 May

14 May

We've been sold a lie that our purchasing power can somehow change the world And we believe it because, as @michaelmaniates.bsky.social explains, we are yearning for solutions, and this gives us a sense of control over our impact on the planet Full Ep: www.planetcritical.com/michael-maniates/

11 May

More women at the top isn't going to be good enough. The feminism movement must strive to change the system, not just women's place within it. For the full episode with @natashawalter.bsky.social, whose latest book 'Feminism for a World on Fire' hit shelves last week, go to: lnkd.in/dQu_yXg3

4 May

@realwhitneywebb.bsky.social Would love to interview you! Please reach out: rachel [at] planetcritical.com

planetcritical.comWhen the world "collapses"What we need to recover ourselves.

4 May

Most of my corner of the internet is screaming about the collapse of global society. I returned to the land that raised me and learned that whatever we're living through has been going on a very, very long time. www.planetcritical.com/when-the-wor...

planetcritical.comOil and VinegarOn land, loss and peace

27 Apr

We know what happens to a people when they are removed from their land. But what happens to their culture? It cannot be maintained without practice, without relationship. It cannot exist separate to those who materialise it, without the soil and the flesh. www.planetcritical.com/oil-and-vine...

23 Apr

We don't have a choice. Big industry is working with the state to impose overconsumption and dependence on their products. Explains Julia Steinberger - @jksteinberger.bsky.social Professor of ecological economics at Lausanne University. Full episode: www.planetcritical.com/julia-steinberger/

17 Apr

Incredible energy demands from AI data centres are threatening attempts to ween our societies off of fossil fuels. @parismarx.com, journalist and host of Tech Won't Save us, explains the influence of AI on our energy mix. Full episode: planetcritical.com

planetcritical.comRevolutionary ImpotenceWe can't tear down the conditions of our oppression because we don't know who we would be without them.

14 Apr

Why aren't we rioting? Because we don't know who we would be without the conditions of our own oppression. www.planetcritical.com/revolutionar...

3 Apr

When was the last time society was this unequal? Probably under the Pharaohs, says former Minister of Finance, Andrés Velasco. There's one point we didn't disagree on throughout this episode. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/andres-velasco/

2 Apr

Do we need growth? Andrés Velasco, Chile's former Minister of Finance, insists we do. He calls for reform—not revolution. But can these institutions be reformed? Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/andres-velasco/

planetcritical.comFreedom, at the end of the worldWe are nearing the limits of resources, international politics, and war. Can we be free if we do not overcome them?

31 Mar

What does it mean to be free when our freedoms are curtailed? What does it mean to be free when our nature is limited? What does it mean to be free at all? Huge thanks to @alybatt.bsky.social whose book Free Gifts inspired this meditation. www.planetcritical.com/freedom-at-t...

26 Mar

The Founding Fathers were legal revolutionaries. But over two centuries on, the world needs an update. The Founding Mothers is a movement dedicated to universal dignity, human rights, peace and ending war—through empowering women. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/laura-george/

19 Mar

Mexicans built a popular movement over a century of organising—and now they're using state power to finance revolutionary politics. This is how Mexico City is building utopia. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/ashwin-ravikumar/

17 Mar

We're looking at global food shortages in coming weeks due to Trump's illegal war on Iran and their retaliation by derailing traffic through the strait of hormuz. This is about so much more than oil. It's about how we feed the future. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/feeding-the-...

planetcritical.comHow to make this senseless world make senseIt's all too much for any of us to handle alone

16 Mar

That feeling in your chest that threatens to crush your bones to dust? That's the fear and horror of billions of us. And it's why you can't make any of this singular moment of global unravelling make sense. www.planetcritical.com/how-to-make-...

planetcritical.comThin, shaved and infantile: What the Epstein Files reveal about the misogyny shaping political powerCharacterising Epstein’s world as "paedophilic" misses how patriarchy fears women’s empowerment

9 Mar

I've read numerous articles characterising Epstein’s world as "paedophilic". But this analysis neglects how patriarchy actively works to undermine women’s empowerment in order to protect capital accumulation. I discuss the connection in this week's newsletter: www.planetcritical.com/thin-shaved-...

@jonathanlarsen.bsky.social

5 Mar

The feminist political project in the heart of the Middle East, Rojava, is a fierce assertion that other worlds are possible. They have defended their right to self-determination—for all our sakes. Journalist Matt Broomfield has spent years there. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/rojava-the-f...

Rachel Donald reposted

Jonathan Larsen

3 Mar

EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been “inundated” with more than 110 complaints. One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus…

jonathanlarsen.substack.comU.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of JesusAdvocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military

planetcritical.comThe Enemy of Your Enemy is Not Your FriendThe history of the Iranian regime shows just how closely political adversaries can work together to advance their own interests. Meanwhile, on the Left, criticising that regime makes you a political t...

2 Mar

Today I saw a Leftist publicly criticise another Leftist for mentioning Iran's reputation in a post expressing solidarity with the Iranian people. We are never going to win ANY ground if it is more fashionable to take aim at each other than murderous regimes. www.planetcritical.com/the-enemy-of...

2 Mar

I wrote about this Leftist phenomenon, and the history of Iran's oil politics, because this illegal conflict is going to be much longer than the last and we need to know the history to know where criticism is due. (Clue: Not at each other.) Read it now: www.planetcritical.com/the-enemy-of...

27 Feb

How do we design liveable futures? Architects @jeremytill.bsky.social and Tatiana Schneider on how "sustainable architecture" is not just falling short, but even contributing to the intersecting social, economic and climate crises. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/designing-li...

@alybatt.bsky.social — I would love to interview you on the relationship between nature, reproductive labour and capitalism, and Free Gifts more broadly! DMs open!

Rachel Donald reposted

Don Moynihan

@donmoyn.bsky.social

Replying to @donmoyn.bsky.social

The SAVE Act requires citizenship ID to vote. It may be that some Republicans truly believe that lots of non-citizens are voting, but that is just not the reality. So who will the law impact? People without ID docs and people whose ID docs are not current - which is mostly women.

INDEPENDENT JOURNOS & CLIMATE PEOPLE ON GHOST: I want to simulate Substack's brilliant recommendation ecosystem. Please drop me your URL and let's recommend each other's sites. READERS: Same goes for the newsletters you love most!

This also goes for EX-SUBSTACKERS across all genres who left Substack for ethical reasons. The transition away from that recommendation ecosystem is *tough*. Let's build our own!

planetcritical.comFemales vs CitizensI'm having a baby this summer. I believe the roots of the tense relationship between motherhood and feminism shine a light on how to liberate Earth from Man's violence.

I'm having a baby this summer. I believe the roots of the tense relationship between motherhood and feminism shine a light on how to liberate Earth from Man's violence. www.planetcritical.com/females-vs-c...

12 Feb

Lithium is branded as the cure-all to our fossil fuel dependence. But its history tells another story: that the solution to the world's problems is always more mining. Make time for this astounding episode with history of science scholar Javiera Barandarian: www.planetcritical.com/javiera-bara...

planetcritical.comEpstein's Inner Circle Normalised His Sex Crimes — Because They're All Guilty of AbuseThe Epstein Files reveal how sexual abuse sits hand in glove with capitalist exploitation

9 Feb

The Epstein Files reveal how sexual abuse sits hand in glove with capitalist exploitation. www.planetcritical.com/epsteins-inn...

5 Feb

In my conversation with XR co-founder Roger Hallam, I asked him about his advising Palestinians to commit to non-violence in the face of genocide. His response really surprised me. Full episode out now: www.planetcritical.com/roger-hallam/