Episode 78 – Labor & Leisure – The First Strike & A Depression-Era Prediction

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The strength of the labor movement has become undeniable in the last few years, with everyone from Starbucks employees to UPS drivers to Hollywood writers and actors making headlines with their demands. But what does this have to do with climate change? Turns out, a lot.

In this Labor Day episode, Olivia brings us through a brief history of general strikes in the US and how they have changed the game for current workers.

Then Elise guides us through foundational macroeconomist John Maynard Keynes’ prophetic 1930 essay, where he describes his vision for his grandchildren and the people alive in 2030. (Spoiler: He wants us to chill out.)

Other topics include blending fantasy and reality, the karma of success, and what we’d do with all our free time.

Story #1: The First General Strike (Olivia)

Workers Rights Activists And the History of Labor Day, PBS, September 2, 2022
5 wins for UPS workers that could influence pay and standards for others, Washington Post, August 20, 2023
General Trades Union Strike (1835), Philadelphia Encyclopedia
1835 Philadelphia general strike, Wikipedia
The Working People of Philadelphia from Colonial Times to the General Strike of 1835, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
History of Labor Day, Department of Labor

More on the intersection of climate and labor:
The Intersectionality of Climate Change and Labor, On Labor, December 27, 2021
Why Environmentalists and the Labor Movement Must Work Together to End the Climate Crisis, Sierra Club, September 2, 2021
Young Workers Are Bridging the Climate and Labor Movements, Teen Vogue, July 25, 2022
Labor and Climate Issues Are Two Sides of the Same Coin, speech by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, April 23, 2022

Story #2: A Keynesian Prediction of 2030 (Elise)

The essay in question: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes, 1930

Additional sources:
How working less could solve all our problems. Really., TED, April 2017
The Productivity–Pay Gap, Economic Policy Institute, Oct 2022
Reduced Work Hours as a Means of Slowing Climate Change, Center For Economic And Policy Research, Feb 2013
How do people across the world spend their time and what does this tell us about living conditions?, Our World In Data, Dec 2020
Can We Have Prosperity Without Growth?, The New Yorker, Feb 2020
Degrowth – what’s behind the economic theory and why does it matter right now?, World Economic Forum, June 2022

The Dump

In this episode we mentioned reading/loving The Karma of Success by Liz Tran, Sarah J Maas series, Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson.

We’re listening to books on Libby, and we’re keeping track of our reading on Storygraph.

The World Is Burning bookshop is live! Help us come up with book list titles and bulk up our reading list.

Our World is Burning themed playlist is on Spotify.

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Thanks for listening!

Ep. 82 – Cheese Caves and Banana Republics – World Is Burning

We’re digging into America’s deepest darkest secrets — when it comes to food, that is. Elise tells us how one president’s cheese became the next president’s problem, which might lead you to Google “American government 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in caves.” We explore how the cheese caves of yesteryear became the weird milk ads of our present. Then Olivia gives us a brief history of bananas, which involves quite a lot of railroad tycoons, bare minimum union demands, and good old American capitalism. Plus, our theory as to why slipping on banana peels was more common a century ago, and our next book club pick. Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos. World Is Burning is hosted by Olivia Hamilton and Elise Nye. Our theme music is by Kaycie Satterfield, and our logo was made by Sonja Katanic.

1. Ep. 82 – Cheese Caves and Banana Republics 01:10:23
2. Ep. 81 – Navigating Anger & Disinformation in Times of Conflict 01:16:42
3. Ep. 80 – Something in the Water – Hurricane Sandy & Flint Michigan 01:12:13
4. Ep. 79 – Disability & Climate: Greyhound fights the ADA and Lyme Disease 01:26:05
5. Ep. 78 – Labor & Leisure – The First Strike & A Depression-Era Prediction 01:29:24