It seems that the modern world is in its isolation era, leaving us craving the easy comfort of irl camaraderie. Ideally, the kind that comes without the need to buy a ticket or split a bill. Because becoming a villager isn't just a salve for loneliness, it's a rebellion against consumerism.

After a whole season of following the money, we're wrapping up our finale contemplating how we can create community without it. We're hearing from our community about how they show up as villagers, and how they start their own villages. Turns out you don't need to bean extrovert, have a huge group chat, or be a pillar in your community. You just have to show up.

These relationships we make with our community create bonds that strengthen our ability to adapt in climate disasters, financial instability, and even supply chain woes. And getting started is easier than you think.

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🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.

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📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Nick Blocha, Elena Demireva, Tavia, Camila Bronson, Jen Horn, Lena
• Research: Makenna McBrierty
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

When data centers come to town, power bills go up, the water supply gets squeezed, and emissions start to rise. It's no wonder seven in ten Americans don't want one in their backyard. In the midst of this AI gold rush, many tech companies are taking advantage of communities, health, wealth, and safety for promises of a better future. But communities aren't taking the bait.

In this episode, we talk about the real life effects of AI infrastructure and hear how it's affecting folks in our community. We get the stats on this booming industry and what's at stake. We hear from Abre' Connor, the civil rights attorney leading the NAACP's lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI — a data center that's now running 59 methane gas turbines in a Mississippi community, breaking a law that's been on the books since the 1970s.

And we ask the uncomfortable question: could all this energy hunger actually accelerate the renewable transition? Is the AI revolution happening to us or for us? And what can we do about it?

Episode rundown:

• (00:53) - On thing we can agree on
• (09:14) - The ripple effects of the AI boom
• (14:35) - The NAACP Lawyer Taking Elon Musk's xAI
• (27:59) - Can the Grid Save Us?
• (43:52) - Keep Making Noise

📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .

🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.

📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Artie Sadahiro, Birdie Peelman, Amanda Doughty
• Research: Makenna McBrierty
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

You don't have to look much further than your grocery receipt to see how climate change can affect our food supply chain. But some of the key drivers of climate change are sitting right in our carts. It's a chicken-or-egg debacle that we're happy to explore on this episode if it means understanding how we can create a more adaptable, equitable food supply chain.

Farms are dealing with historic heat waves slashing wheat and maize yields, record rainfall collapsing corn harvests, sea level rise swallowing farmland on the East Coast, and disappearing pollinators that one-third of our food supply depends on. And we're paying the price. We hear from our community about how the rising price of groceries has meant making sustainability tradeoffs on what they buy at the store.

Food insecurity and the climate crisis are also intertwined. Maggie Baird, founder of Support and Feed, helps us understand how the animal agriculture industry is at the center of many climate (and health woes), challenging us to rethink food traditions rooted in culture and family identity. To better understand how we got here, Commons founder Sanchali Seth Pal follows the money through animal agriculture subsidies.

Episode rundown:

• (00:54) - How our food choices and the climate crisis feed each other
• (02:30) - How climate change is affecting food prices
• (04:41) - When sustainable food becomes a luxury you can't afford
• (09:07) - Animal agriculture, culinary tradition, and food inequity with Maggie Baird
• (27:49) - Our tax dollars are making meat cheaper?
• (33:59) - Changing what we eat can change the climate

📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .

🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.

📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Sophia Anderson, Jeanne, Mary Klene, Molly Barton, Katherine, Dom Altomari
• Research : Makenna McBrierty
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham