The Atlas Project

In this spoken-word essay, Chris offers three big questions to help stimulate your brain to imagine wider futures: 1/ How open is the future? 2/ How optional is new technology? 3/ How likely are new forms of organization and society? Read the essay and join the conversation at neuegeo.org (https://www.neuegeo.org).

If you're looking for original conversation-starters for your holiday party or feast, here's our Top 3. What would you add to the list? 1/ How far out IS the future? This month: COVID? this decade: Climate Change? this century: China? Are we horizon makers or horizon takers? 2/ Who is the "WE"? My political tribe? My nation? My human race? What challenges am I facing alone, and what challenges are you facing with me? 3/ Can we make blessings powerful too? We've now got great tools to sling mud and turn crypto-hype into gold. What about spreading goodwill? Can we work good magic on each other? 4/ [Reserved for listeners!] 5/ WDYT?... scottkentjones@gmail.com christopher.kutarna@gmail.com @scottkentjones @ChrisKutarna We look forward to hearing from you. Happy Holidays! Follow (https://twitter.com/ChrisKutarna) Chris on Twitter @ChrisKutarna (https://twitter.com/ChrisKutarna) Follow (https://twitter.com/ScottKentJones) Scott on Twitter @ScottKentJones (https://twitter.com/ScottKentJones) The Atlas Project is a publication of the Neue Geographical Society. Find out more about the global Society to think differently and see "neue" things. www.neuegeo.org (https://www.neuegeo.org)

Summary Hosts Scott Jones and Chris Kutarna ask: who are the innovators in our strained society? Building on Merton’s Strain Theory, Scott and Chris explore our relationships to the mainstream from climate to cryptocurrency. The Hosts Chris Kutarna is an author, speaker, facilitator and founder of basecamp (@onecampfire) and the Neue Geographical Society (@braveneueways). He challenges the world to brave new ways, breaking old maps and making new ones towards a shared horizon of a better world. Scott Jones is a podcaster (Give & Take), speaker, theologian and consultant. He weaves his knowledge of religion, current events, and pop culture to bring listeners on a conversational journey to something entertaining, informative, and oftentimes enlightening. Navigate [00:00] - Introduction [6:50] - The strain currently on climate & society [10:15] - Making sense of strain then and now [14:00] - Insight from unsettling truths / Merton’s Strain Theory [25:00] - Chris wants to be a rebel [34:40] - Our relationship with the mainstream [37:50] - We’re all necessary to improvement [45:50] - What should the goals be? [49:15] - Alternative labels for Merton’s boxes [56:00] - Cryptocurrency in 1 () minute [1:00:35] - Cryptocurrency & Merton’s boxes [1:03:45] - Typologies as maps & closing the conversation Explore Merton’s Theory Check out the show links to find Merton’s (1938) Strain Theory paper & the model Scott and Chris used in the episode. What to do next? Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse: Scott loves Clubhouse. A lot. Subscribe & don’t miss an episode. And, consider the outputs: Ask yourself the questions Scott & Chris found in the conversation. Start a conversation with your family, friends, or colleagues. Life is a team sport. The Socials basecamp @onecampfire The Neue Geographical Society @braveneueways Chris @ChrisKutarna chris@journeytobasecamp.com Scott @ScottKentJones scottkentjones@gmail.com

Summary Hosts Scott Jones and Chris Kutarna have a frank conversation about work and play. From sports to the Marvel Universe, Scott and Chris chat about what play can tell us about society and ourselves. The Hosts Chris Kutarna is an author, speaker, facilitator and founder of basecamp (@onecampfire) and the Neue Geographical Society (@braveneueways). He challenges the world to brave new ways, breaking old maps and making new ones towards a shared horizon of a better world. Scott Jones is a podcaster (Give & Take), speaker, theologian and consultant. He weaves his knowledge of religion, current events, and pop culture to bring listeners on a conversational journey to something entertaining, informative, and oftentimes enlightening. Navigate [00:00] - Wimbledon, weather, and suffering [12:00] - The pandemic & mental health [16:30] - Dungeons & Dragons [24:25] - Superhero alignments [38:45] - Play is insightful [46:45] - Our (honest) alignments [54:50] - Let’s align politicians [1:02:16] - “Wanting to be one of the good guys” The Timeless Outputs Chris really doesn’t know anything about golf, but he can hold his own in the MCU. We are all profoundly different now than we were 18 months ago. The pandemic experience has changed us, and we’re not bouncing back. By eliminating so many opportunities to play during the pandemic, we refocused our energy on work productivity. And, we’ve lost how we grow and discover through play. What’s the consequence? Dungeons & Dragons’ alignment paradigm can give us great insight into how we could look at good and evil in our own world. Where good and evil can be divorced from law and crime. For example, we tend to hold people in society to a “lawful good” standard. In a DND game - who wants to be “lawful good”? We are all so much more complicated and compromised than we can admit in polite company. Because we all like to think of ourselves as good people. What to do next? Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse: Scott loves Clubhouse. A lot. Subscribe & don’t miss an episode: If you join June 14’s Brave New Thinking Clubhouse, you might get a mention. Watch Westworld (the movie or TV show) to see an imagining of our moral and societal alignments in story. And, consider the outputs: Ask yourself the questions Scott & Chris found in the conversation. Start a conversation with your family, friends, or colleagues. Life is a team sport. The Socials basecamp @onecampfire The Neue Geographical Society @braveneueways Chris @ChrisKutarna chris@journeytobasecamp.com Scott @ScottKentJones scottkentjones@gmail.com

Summary Hosts Scott Jones and Chris Kutarna explore the timeless question: “What’s the nature of equality?” In the context of the tax rate revelations from Pro Publica, Scott and Chris explore the history of equality and what it means today. The Hosts Chris Kutarna is an author, speaker, facilitator and founder of basecamp (@onecampfire) and the Neue Geographical Society (@braveneueways). He challenges the world to brave new ways, breaking old maps and making new ones towards a shared horizon of a better world. Scott Jones is a podcaster (Give & Take), speaker, theologian and consultant. He weaves his knowledge of religion, current events, and pop culture to bring listeners on a conversational journey to something entertaining, informative, and oftentimes enlightening. Navigate [00:00] - Intro [05:15] - The leap to Pro-Publica [07:35] - What is the nature of inequality? [11:28] - Fairness & Economic Inequality [17:50] - What about communism? [19:25] - Wealth inequality is a drag on an economy [23:20] - Systemic social inequality [28:35] - Imago dei: dignity & material inequality [35:32] - The pandemic & global inequality [40:30] - Dysfunctional inequalities [47:21] - Marx got it wrong? [53:18] - TLDR; We need new maps The Timeless Outputs The more money they have, the more people can go beyond the “Veil of Ignorance” and actually advance their political interests with that money. And, the way society rewards wealth via decreased taxation has depleted the once rare, vibrant middle class in the US. It doesn’t stop at the wealthy, but despite the highest corporate tax rates in the world the taxation loopholes in the US mean that large corporations pay hardly any taxes at all. All of this to further concentrate wealth among the most wealthy. When wealth is hoarded by the wealthy, it becomes stagnant. When wealth is more equally distributed, it moves through economies. For example, when money is in the hands of people who don’t yet have houses, they buy houses and that money flows through the economy creating jobs and stimulating growth. Whereas the wealthiest of the world have large pools of money sitting in accounts, removed from local economies. It seems like the difference between economic and social inequality is that there’s a dominant understanding that a little bit of economic inequality will always be present. Whereas, social inequalities are more clearly unacceptable even in small amounts. So, economic inequality has become a slippery slope - accepting little by little until we’ve landed to today’s deep inequality. What to do next? Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse: Scott loves Clubhouse. A lot. Subscribe & don’t miss an episode: If you join June 14’s Brave New Thinking Clubhouse, you might get a mention. Definitely watch Snowpiercer: It’s a Netflix Original. Just, do it. And, consider the outputs: Ask yourself the questions Scott & Chris found in the conversation. Start a conversation with your family, friends, or colleagues. Life is a team sport. The Socials basecamp @onecampfire The Neue Geographical Society @braveneueways Chris @ChrisKutarna chris@journeytobasecamp.com Scott @ScottKentJones scottkentjones@gmail.com

Summary Hosts Scott Jones and Chris Kutarna explore the timeless question of money & value. In this episode, they dig into: “What does money mean now?” In the context of record-breaking federal budgets, crypto currency, meme stocks and more, Scott and Chris explore money and value from the 6th century Hebrew prophets to Chris’ childhood allowance. The Hosts Chris Kutarna is an author, speaker, facilitator and founder of basecamp (@onecampfire) and the Neue Geographical Society (@braveneueways). He challenges the world to brave new ways, breaking old maps and making new ones towards a shared horizon of a better world. Scott Jones is a podcaster (Give & Take), speaker, theologian and consultant. He weaves his knowledge of religion, current events, and pop culture to bring listeners on a conversational journey to something entertaining, informative, and oftentimes enlightening. Navigate [00:00] - Intro [06:17] - The question: What does money mean now? [08:45] - Scott’s spectrum of money - Monopoly money to Crypto currencies. [10:35] - A brief history of money to cryptocurrencies [Europe] [16:40] - A bit of modern monetary theory [19:14] - Is balancing the budget responsible? Or fool hardy? [24:30] - How does government money work? What are taxes for? [26:32] - Purchasing power goes digital [32:34] - Is money freedom-giving? [36:48] - Star Trek and futurism, or The Walking Dead and post-apocalyptic economies [41:22] - Barter economy in China [43:35] - What do we value? [50:10] - Money enables impersonal relationships [55:30] - Scott brings in Jesus (our wants) [59:28] - Does protestantism create capitalism? [1:02:20] - Money can drive innovation [1:05:49] - Money is a really good tool for asking good questions [1:10:05] - Non monetary wealth does have value in society [1:13:00] - Wrap up The Timeless Outputs Money is intrinsically worthless - it’s human’s willingness to accept it that gives it value. Asking people “what is money?” really is asking people what they value. Money can convert our wants and needs into freedom to attain those things. Money was created by cultures as this tool for exchange, but now the tool has become an animating principle of our culture. We have to completely rethink the fundamental concepts of government money like debt and deficits and taxation to get a handle on what money really does and is in late modernity. The only thing you have to worry about with spending is inflation. Deficits are actually fine to “juice economic growth,” and some modern economists agree that if a country isn’t operating at a deficit they’re not doing their job. A country is not a household. The roots of our trouble with economy is that we value the money put into production differently than the labour. Capital investments into production are rewarded accordingly with more monetary gain the better the product or service performs in the marketplace. Labour investments (workers) are not rewarded beyond the smallest amount workers are willing to take. We’ve decided investment means money. And labour is a like a material input rather than a human input - find its lowest price in the market and buy it there. This is where the class and geographical inequities are, and why the disparity keeps growing. BONUS Chris reports back after the London Design Biennale. From EU eliminating single use plastic utensils to the microplastics coming from our tires everyday - it was dull, but some things were interesting. What to do next? Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse: Scott loves Clubhouse. A lot. And, we’re hosting a debrief of this episode and workshop for the next one in Clubhouse on Monday, June 14 at 9:00pm GMT. Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse to join. Subscribe & don’t miss an episode: If you join June 14’s Brave New Thinking Clubhouse, you might get a mention. And, consider the outputs: Ask yourself the questions Scott & Chris found in the conversation. What does money mean to me? What does that mean about what I value?...

Summary Hosts Scott Jones and Chris Kutarna explore the timeless question of sustainability. Scott and Chris ask, “Are we part of nature?” In the context of Ford’s big announcement about it’s move to electric for the classic F150 (and Biden’s excitement after a test drive), Scott and Chris explore the environment and our relationship to it through politics, philosophy, religion, and pop culture references. The Hosts Chris Kutarna is an author, speaker, facilitator and founder of basecamp (@onecampfire) and the Neue Geographical Society (@braveneueways). He challenges the world to brave new ways, breaking old maps and making new ones towards a shared horizon of a better world. Scott Jones is a podcaster (Give & Take), speaker, theologian and consultant. He weaves his knowledge of religion, current events, and pop culture to bring listeners on a conversational journey to something entertaining, informative, and oftentimes enlightening. Navigate [00:00] - Intro [04:50] - The question in context: Are we part of nature? [10:51] - Political diversity & going ‘green’ [15:35] - Planet of the Apes (spoiler alert) & humanity is separate from nature [20:30] - Trying to integrate an understanding of nature (Socrates) [23:50] - Creation stories & philosophy [27:53] - Reframing sustainability & introducing "The Paper" [32:00] - The economy, society, and environment [37:58] - Nature doesn’t seem fragile & nature’s contributions to people (NCP) [41:55] - Why isn’t this frame obvious? [47:10] - The frame IS obvious, but it is NOT our present paradigm -- and that’s why changing it is profound. [50:25] - Scott’s favourite hymn: “All Creatures of Our God and King” [53:52] - The question that sets us forth [55:05] - We are nature’s storytellers [58:25] - Go watch _Star Trek 4 _(spoiler alert) [1:00:27] - Chris loves Whale Songs. [1:03:24] - The close The Timeless Outputs The Nature Positive paradigm facilitates a much deeper and more complex narrative to explore sustainability. The Paper (https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/4783129/Nature%20Positive%20The%20Global%20Goal%20for%20Nature%20paper.pdf) suggests we reject the venn diagram of economy, society, and environment (https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsustainabilityadvantage.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F07%2FBlog-07-20-10-Slide-4.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsustainabilityadvantage.com%2F2010%2F07%2F20%2F3-sustainability-models%2F&tbnid=ifSUWpUqcpr7HM&vet=12ahUKEwizjuCuzPLwAhVxN30KHQnJDEEQMygAegUIARDNAQ..i&docid=ESfes6GmPdpS6M&w=960&h=720&itg=1&q=sustainability%20model&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwizjuCuzPLwAhVxN30KHQnJDEEQMygAegUIARDNAQ) as equally important components with competing interests. Instead, the model should be nested circles (https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsustainabilityadvantage.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F07%2FBlog-07-20-10-Slide-3.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsustainabilityadvantage.com%2F2010%2F07%2F20%2F3-sustainability-models%2F&tbnid=qflv_96o-g7joM&vet=12ahUKEwizjuCuzPLwAhVxN30KHQnJDEEQMygGegUIARDZAQ..i&docid=ESfes6GmPdpS6M&w=960&h=720&itg=1&q=sustainability%20model&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwizjuCuzPLwAhVxN30KHQnJDEEQMygGegUIARDZAQ) - environment the largest, with society nested within and economy within society. These are not competing interests, they are a hierarchy. Economy happens in the context of society, and society happens in the context of the environment. Scott & Chris have lots of questions: How can we navigate our conception of infinity and our radical finitude? How did we depart from the prehistoric understanding of oneness with nature? Is the electric F150 signalling a shift away from climate change as political fodder? “The gift of being human is that we can tell the story of nature, and be nature’s mouthpiece.” Maybe the solution to the climate crisis starts with recognizing - however obvious - nature’s fragility. What to do next? Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse: Scott loves Clubhouse. A lot. And,...

The Hosts Chris Kutarna is an author, speaker, facilitator and founder of basecamp (@onecampfire) and the Neue Geographical Society (@braveneueways). He challenges the world to brave new ways, breaking old maps and making new ones towards a shared horizon of a better world. Follow @ChrisKutarna on all social media. Scott Jones is a podcaster (Give & Take), speaker, theologian and consultant. He weaves his knowledge of religion, current events, and pop culture to bring listeners on a conversational journey to something entertaining, informative, and oftentimes enlightening. Follow @ScottKentJones on all social media. Navigate [00:37] - Introduction [02:12] - What’s up on Clubhouse? [04:35] - Religion in the escalating Israel/Palestine conflict. [10:15] - “Religion is at its best when it’s deapocalyptizing things.” [13:25] - The culture war in the US is fueled by religion. [20:11] - Religion is one of many ideological tools of culture. [26:08] - The personal habit of religious practice. [31:05] - Democracy and the ethnostate of Israel. [41:21] - Is religion oppressive? It depends on its role in society. [45:14] - The phenomenon of religious innovation in the US. [51:27] - Is the weight of religion too great? [55:38] - What do we take from all of this? [1:02:36] - Ask yourself: Where is the evidence of religion in our lives? [1:11:11] - Scott gets emotional about The Crown. [1:13:02] - Closing The Timeless Outputs Religion is a given. It is, despite its critics, part of human culture. We hunger for transcendence. So the question becomes not how do we get rid of religion, but how do we navigate its role in our societies? Acknowledging that religion - including and especially secular religion - is a part of our lives and maybe our greatest defence from its oppression. Maybe religion is most oppressive when it’s silent. Religion is at its best when it is deapocalypticizing the world. And, when it is doing the work of creating more equitable societies. So then, how can religion become a tool for people to engage in and be helpful to a democratic society, rather than a barrier to them? Let’s ask ourselves and others: what is religion for in our communities? Sources / Read more Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (https://rabbisacks.org/about-us/) Paul Tillich (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich) Christopher Hitchens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens) A Brief History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/a-brief-and-simple-history-of-the-israel-palestine-conflict-d4a7c4094bfb) Protestant Catholic Jew by Will Herberg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/952399.Protestant_Catholic_Jew) Seculosity by David Zahl (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42818638-seculosity) The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11324722-the-righteous-mind) What to do next? Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse: Scott loves Clubhouse. A lot. And, we’re hosting a debrief of this episode and workshop for the next on (Is China right?) in Clubhouse on Monday, May 24th at 9:00pm GMT. Follow the Brave New Thinking Clubhouse to join. Subscribe & don’t miss an episode: Next week, Scott & Chris take on China, or rather the question “Is China right?” (If you join May 24th’s Brave New Thinking Clubhouse, you might get a mention.) And, consider the outputs: Ask yourself the questions Scott & Chris found in the conversation. Start a conversation with your family, friends, or colleagues. The Socials basecamp @onecampfire The Neue Geographical Society @braveneueways Chris @ChrisKutarna Scott @ScottKentJones

In this episode we talk about our stories and who owns them. In the age of big tech and social media, who has ownership of the stories we tell on the platforms they provide? How does telling our story in a digital world shape our identities and inform what it means to be human?

In this episode we keep reflecting on the frames that shape how we see the world. This will be the theme for our upcoming Basecamp meeting on March 21st. For more information about Basecamp and our March meeting, you can go here: https://www.journeytobasecamp.com/event/march-2021-basecamp-campfire/.

In this episode we talk about frames and what they allow us or prevent us from seeing. It will be the topic for the March Basecamp meeting. For more information about Basecamp and our March meeting, you can go here: https://www.journeytobasecamp.com/event/march-2021-basecamp-campfire/.

In this episode we look back at the most recent Basecamp conversation. The theme was Build, Back, Better. Click here for information about Basecamp: https://www.journeytobasecamp.com.

In this episode we talk about this month's Basecamp theme: Build Back Better. To find out more about Basecamp click here: https://www.journeytobasecamp.com/#basecampevents.

We recorded this episode right after the January Basecamp meeting. We took the time to unpack the same question all of our campers grappled with together. It was a really fun, engaging, and revealing conversation. We hope you enjoy it!

In this episode we ask about the enduring power of western style democracy. Does it have a long shelf life? What threat does China pose to it's claims to being a healthy, robust structure for social order and human flourishing?

In this episode we return from our summer break to consider what it means to live in "the new normal." Is the idea of a new normal even helpful or is it misleading?

In this episode we talk about what we've had to give up in the midst of the Covid Pandemic. Then we ask, what would we be willing to give up in the future to make the world a better place?

In this episode we talk about risk. When there's a pandemic and you have choices of what to do and where to go, how do you make them? Are we good at assessing risk? What kind of factors influence what kind of risks we're willing to take? Can we be trusted to make good decisions in the age of Covid-19? Our conversation was inspired by a piece in the Atlantic written by Tess Wilkinson-Ryan. You can find it here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/reopening-psychological-morass/613858/.

In this episode we talk about the Us/Them dynamic in the world right now amidst a pandemic and racial and societal unrest.

We live in intense times right now. How do we negotiate pandemics, systemic racism, police brutality and a host of other important and urgent issues? Does call out culture stop constructive conversation too quickly? Inspired by a piece from Andrew Sullivan we talk about the nature of the public square in a liberal society. What ideas get boxed out of the conversation and why? How do we listen to the voices of the marginal and acknowledge the effects of racism in the public square at the same time allowing for robust debate about those same systemic realities? Can the liberal democratic handle all of this, or is liberalism ready to be put on the dust bin of history? You can find the Andrew Sullivan piece here: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/andrew-sullivan-is-there-still-room-for-debate.html.