Released: July 12, 2012

JHK discusses his newly published nonfiction book Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation, (Altantic Monthly Press, 2012). Kunstler considers Magic to be an update on his 2005 book “The Long Emergency.” He says it was time to issue a reality testing report from reality central.

Direct Download:

KunstlerCast_210.mp3

( 13 MB | 16:32 mins.)

JHK Reads from Too Much Magic

The author reads his work


“Kingdom Come”
(Chapter 1 pp, 19 – 22)
KunstlerCast_TMM_01.mp3

“The Futility of Party Politics in The Long Emergency”
(Chapter 5 pp. 85 – 86)
KunstlerCast_TMM_02.mp3

“Social Relations and the Dilemmas of Difference”
(Chapter 9 pp. 216 -221)
KunstlerCast_TMM_03.mp3

“The Multicultural Dilemma”
(Chapter 9 pp. 237-239)
KunstlerCast_TMM_04.mp3

“A Systematic Misunderstanding of Reality”
(Coda pp. 241-243)
KunstlerCast_TMM_05.mp3

JHK & Duncan at Union College Humanities Seminar

Released: April 26, 2012

James Howard Kunstler and Duncan Crary record a podcast before a live student audience at Union College, in Schenectady, N.Y. As part of a Humanities Super Seminar on liberal arts and activism, the students read The KunstlerCast book. In this segment, students ask questions out the future of the Internet, concentrating poverty and wealth in New York City and how individuals can face the enormous issue of rearranging how we live in our human habitat.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_203.mp3
(32 MB | 31:24 mins.)

Listener Caller Line:
1-(866) 924-9499 toll-free

Sponsor:

“The Heirloom,” by Richard Davies, explores a post peak world where a group of Native Americans comes to terms with a dangerous and chaotic world. Guy McPherson, of Nature Bats Last, says, “Ultimately, The Heirloom is a wide-ranging tale about the human experience. It is about life, love, death, honor, and people struggling to make their way in a world not of their choosing.”

Part one of a trilogy, “The Heirloom” is available through Amazon in both paperback and eBook. The second book in the trilogy will be available late Summer 2012. Visit: http://theheirloom.blogspot.com/

JHK & Duncan at Union College Humanities Seminar

Released: April 19, 2012

James Howard Kunstler and Duncan Crary record a podcast before a live student audience at Union College, in Schenectady, N.Y. As part of a Humanities Super Seminar on liberal arts and activism, the students read The KunstlerCast book. During the podcast Jim and Duncan riff on college architecture and the Union campus before opening up the discussion to questions from the class. Topics include: the value of a liberal arts education in The Long Emergency, monocultures concentrating poverty in the built environment, the prospects for restoring passenger rail in North America and more. Along the way Jim also delivers a call to millennial students to renounce their student loans.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_202.mp3
(32 MB | 50:15 mins.)

Listener Caller Line:
1-(866) 924-9499 toll-free

Sponsor:

“The Heirloom,” by Richard Davies, explores a post peak world where a group of Native Americans comes to terms with a dangerous and chaotic world. Guy McPherson, of Nature Bats Last, says, “Ultimately, The Heirloom is a wide-ranging tale about the human experience. It is about life, love, death, honor, and people struggling to make their way in a world not of their choosing.”

Part one of a trilogy, “The Heirloom” is available through Amazon in both paperback and eBook. The second book in the trilogy will be available late Summer 2012. Visit: http://theheirloom.blogspot.com/

Light Pollution, the Printed Page v. the Screen & More

Released: April 12, 2012

JHK fields listeners calls about the healthcare industry and its future in the Long Emergency, the validity of peak oil, cognitive ability to retain information from a computer screen vs. the printed page, and light pollution.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_201.mp3
(25 MB | 25:36 mins.)

Listener Caller Line:
1-(866) 924-9499 toll-free

Sponsor:

“The Heirloom,” by Richard Davies, explores a post peak world where a group of Native Americans comes to terms with a dangerous and chaotic world. Guy McPherson, of Nature Bats Last, says, “Ultimately, The Heirloom is a wide-ranging tale about the human experience. It is about life, love, death, honor, and people struggling to make their way in a world not of their choosing.”

Part one of a trilogy, “The Heirloom” is available through Amazon in both paperback and eBook. The second book in the trilogy will be available late Summer 2012. Visit: http://theheirloom.blogspot.com/

Magical Thinking and Fracking

Released: Feb. 2, 2012

Arthur E. Berman

Links:

Petroleum Truth Report (Arthur E. Berman’s blog)

Sponsor:

Join CNU in West Palm Beach, FL this year May 9-12, for the 20th anniversary event of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Confirmed speakers include Richard Florida, Sprawl Repair Manual author Galina Tachieva, retail guru Robert Gibbs, Fighting Traffic author Peter Norton, Peter Calthorpe, Lizz Plater-Zyberk, Jaime Correa, Andres Duany and many more speakers being added every day.

Go to www.cnu20.org and register now to take advantage of early registration rates.

Rising Pessimism & Crony Capitalism in America

Released: Jan. 26, 2012

James Howard Kunstler comments on the rising rates of pessimism in the U.S. in response to Capital cronyism, the disappearing American dream, and our own entitled wishful thinking. During the second half of the program he examines some of the cultural and lifestyle changes we may observe in response the 21st century failures in politics, capitalism, technology and religion.

Links:

Moyers & Company Show 102: On Crony Capitalism
January 20, 2012

Sponsor:

Join CNU in West Palm Beach, FL this year May 9-12, for the 20th anniversary event of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Confirmed speakers include Richard Florida, Sprawl Repair Manual author Galina Tachieva, retail guru Robert Gibbs, Fighting Traffic author Peter Norton, Peter Calthorpe, Lizz Plater-Zyberk, Jaime Correa, Andres Duany and many more speakers being added every day.

Go to www.cnu20.org and register now to take advantage of early registration rates.

Growing Mistrust for Government in the U.S.

Released: Jan. 19, 2012

JHK discusses the concept of “The Trust Horizon,” which he first came across on one of his favorite blogs, The Automatic Earth blog. As the economy contracts, Americans are gazing at the “Trust Horizon” for big government. On the other hand, more people are forging their own trust networks at a very local level. Topics include: local currencies, bartering, small transport networks, basic local healthcare and permaculture initiatives.

Links:

The Storm Surge of Decentralization
The Automatic Earth
January 3, 2012

Sponsor:

http://www.stitcher.com/KUNSTLERCAST

JHK’s New Year’s Resolution

Released: Jan. 5, 2012

JHK discusses his 2012 Annual Forecast. He thinks this may be the year that we discover that shale gas and oil is just another bubble, simply a destination for hot money to make returns in a financial landscape that doesn’t offer many. He also mentions a recent encounter with Noam Chomsky.
Lastly, Jim shares his resolution for the new year

Links:

Dmitry Orlov on Noam Chomsky interview (with link to media file)
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2012/01/dismal-public-affair.html

A Chat With the KunstlerCast Host

Released: Dec. 15, 2011

In this episode, Duncan appears solo on a radio program called Relocalizing Vermont  to talk about The KunstlerCast book and podcast and the influence that James Howard Kunstler has had on him. In this half-hour interview by Carl Etnier asks Duncan about the KunstlerCast came to be, why JHK always seems to rip on Amory Lovins, the Y2K thing, and other topics. A caller from Britain asks about the prospects of “re-villaging” suburbia.

Links:

Relocalizing Vermont
Thursdays 8:30 – 10:00 am
Exploring energy, food, and the local economy at the end of the age of oil
WGDR Plainfield 91.1 FM
WGDH Hardwick 91.7 FM
streaming at wgdr.org

JHK Debates Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White

Released: Nov. 3, 2011

In this special episode we listen to a recording from: “The Long Emergency vs. NYC’s Resurgency: A Debate about the Future of Cities” featuring Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White and author James Howard Kunstler. Jeff Olson of Alta Planning & Design moderates before an audience at Skidmore College. Organized by Kim Marsella, professor of the Skidmore Environmental Studies Department.

Description: “We live in a time of either the collapse of our society or the emergence of innovative solutions. This discussion will feature two of America’s most interesting voices: Kunstler, whose book The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, is an apocalyptic vision of a post-oil future, and White of Transportation Alternatives, a leader who is helping to transform New York City into a livable metropolis. Both speakers share a common vision of the need for a sustainable future – the debate will focus on whether or not change is possible in light of our modern condition. ”

Links:

• Transportation Alternatives
  Transportation Alternatives’s mission is to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile, and to advocate for bicycling, walking and public transit as the best transportation alternatives.

• Alta Planning & Design
  Alta’s mission is to create active communities where bicycling and walking are safe, healthy, and fun.

• Jeffrey S. Olson
  Jeff Olson is an architect and planner who has been involved in greenways, open space, active living and alternative transportation projects for more than 20 years.

• Skidmore College: Environmental Studies Dept.
  The Environmental Studies program includes courses that are interdisciplinary and that address environmental issues from a disciplinary perspective.

• Kim Marsella
  Senior Teaching Associate, Department of Geosciences, Skidmore College

The KunstlerCast Book is Now Available for Purchase

Released: Oct. 27, 2011

CNU Fireside Chat With JHK

[Note to Listeners: I'm still getting used to the new website. I accidentally created this post without linking to the audio. It's fixed now. -DC]

James Howard Kunstler and Duncan Crary join Congress for the New Urbanism CEO & President John Norquist for a “fireside chat” about new urbanism, the future of cities and other topics. This is a 25 minute excerpt from a one hour conversation that was original broadcast live over the Internet as part of the CNU membership drive. An archive recording of the full conversation is available for listening for CNU City Builder members. For information, visit: CNU.org/membership.

JHK Answers Questions From Listener Callers

Released: Oct. 13, 2011

JHK and Duncan get caught up on listener calls. Question topics include: Phoenix vs. Georgia; repealing the gas tax, The Long Descent, the downgrading of America and why aren’t there any African-American characters in Jim’s World Made By Hand novels. One listener also shares a bizarre and raunchy consipiracy theory.

Note: This episode contains cursewords

Upcoming:

KunstlerCast Get together in Buffalo
October 19, 2011
8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Pearl Street Grille and Brewery
67 Pearl St., Buffalo, NY
Cost: Free
In conjunction with a party hosted by the Buffalo Young Preservationists. For info and to RSVP: click here.
During National Preservation Conference

KunstlerCast Book Release Party
Nov. 1, 2011
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Daisy Bakers, Troy NY

JHK Speaks to Richard Heinberg

Released: Sept. 1, 2011

In the conclusion of this one-hour conversation, Richard Heinberg, author of Peak Everything, The Party’s Over and the newly published The End of Growth joins James Howard Kunstler by phone to talk about peak oil, financial dysfunction, techno-grandiosity, the fate of industrial aggriculture and the suburban living arrangement. Heinberg also reacts to being labeled a “Doomer.”

Buy full one-hour audio (.mp3) interview – $1

(Note: Parts 1 & 2 are now avaialble for free. But you can still buy the full interview in one file if you’d like.)

Buy Transcript (.pdf) – $1

Buy Transcript on Kindle – $1

http://PostCarbon.org.

JHK Speaks to Richard Heinberg

Released: Aug. 25, 2011

In part one of this one-hour conversation, Richard Heinberg, author of Peak Everything, The Party’s Over and the newly published The End of Growth joins James Howard Kunstler by phone to talk about peak oil, financial dysfunction, political convulsions and generational conflict.

*If you can’t wait to hear the exciting conclusion of this conversation, you can download the entire interview and/or purchase a transcript now.

Buy full one-hour audio (.mp3) interview – $1

Buy Transcript (.pdf) – $1

Buy Transcript on Kindle – $1

(Note: the price has already dropped to $1)

http://PostCarbon.org.

Car Dependency and the American National Character

Released: Aug. 18, 2011

A listener asks if American’s cherished value of spontaneity is inextricably bound to car dependency. JHK shares his thoughts on the American National Character and how it may change during The Long Emergency. Topics include: Alexis de Tocqueville, Carmageddon, Convenience, Car Sharing.

Next Week: Richard Heinberg

Richard Heinberg’s Author Page at Amazon

Visit Audible for a free Audio Book of Richard Heinberg’s “Peak Everything”

The Long Emergency Unfolds

Released: Aug. 11, 2011

JHK updates us on the recent credit downgrading of America as it relates to the unfolding Long Emergency. At the end of the show we play a song based on The Long Emergency by podcast listener Duncan Long.

Links:

myspace.com/duncanlong

myspace.com/duncanlongacoustic

ZARATHRUSTRA on YouTube

Transitioning Away from Car Dependency

Released: June 16, 2011.

JHK gives an update on the bursting housing bubble and the fate of car dependency in America. This episode includes a short interview with Sharon Feigon, CEO of I-Go Car Sharing, and Sonya Newenhouse, president of Community Car, two professionals in the car sharing industry. Car sharing is a membership-based service that allows people to have access to a car for short periods of time so that they don’t have to own a car themselves. The practice first got its start in Europe and is now cropping up across in North America as the cost of car ownership rises and public sentiments change.

Note: There is one curseword during this episode.

Links:

I-Go Car Sharing (igocars.org)

Community Car (communitycar.com)

Sponsor:

This week’s sponsor is Bjorn Bergman, who reminds you to support your local farmer and eat local this summer. With warmer temperatures in the air, it is a time for fresh local salad greens. Here is a recipe for Bjorn’s Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing that would go well on some fresh locally grown spinach, arugula, salad mix and/or mustard greens.

Bjorn’s Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing:

Ingredients:

-1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
-1 tsp dijon mustard
-1 medium clove of garlic, minced
-1/8 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp black pepper
-3 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

-Add vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper to small mixing bowl and whisk together well.
-Slowly add the olive oil to the bowl while whisking (this ensures that the dressing stays emulsified or mixed).
-Add to greens right before eating.
-Makes enough dressing for about 8 oz of greens.

Note: If you would like more dressing recipes, feel free to call Bjorn at 651-276-8875.

A Community Design Debate

Released: May 19, 2011.

JHK and Duncan look at two new McDonald’s projects in their home towns and touch upon some universal issues with regards to these types of developments appearing throughout North America. Using the comments on a local newspaper blog, they gague how members of the community are reacting and forming a public consensus. While some people in Troy are advocating for a heightened design, others are “violently complacent” about the standard issue Mickey D’s as delivered to automobile strips around the world. Meanwhile, in Saratoga Springs, a developer did create a different take on the Golden Arches. But was the end product better?

Note: This expisode contains explicit language.

Proposed McDonald’s in Troy NY:

Saratoga Springs McDonald’s:
Freeport Maine McDonald’s:

The Articles & Blog Posts:

Is the proposed McDonald’s good for Troy?
Chris Churchill Times Union Places & Spaces Blog
April 25, 2011

A look at Troy’s proposed McDonald’s
Chris Churchill Times Union Places & Spaces Blog
April 26, 2011

Protesting a chain’s similarity by design
Chris Churchill Times Union Sunday edition
May 16, 2011

An unusual take on the Troy McDonald’s plan
Chris Churchill Times Union Places & Spaces Blog
May 17, 2011

Troy officials: Design talk is ‘ridiculously premature’
Chris Churchill Times Union Places & Spaces Blog
May 18, 2011

Troy officials: Design talk is ‘ridiculously premature’
Cecelia Martinez The Record (Troy)
May 18, 2011

James V. Franco: Bring the Golden Arches to Hoosick Street
The Troy Record
May 19, 2011

Sponsor:

This week’s sponsor is The Congress for the New Urbanism, the nation’s leading advocacy organization dedicated to promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.

And The Diminishing Returns Become Self-Evident

Released: March 31, 2011

James Howard Kunstler reacts to a recent letter published by Rustwire.com titled
“Michigan CEO: Soul-Crushing Sprawl Killing Business.”
Kunstler believes that the diminishing returns of suburbia are becoming self-evident to people of all walks of life, and this piece
of writing is yet another example. He also corrects some of his previous comments about Detroit and the Eminem Chrysler ad.
At the end of the program, Duncan plays some music by Michigan-based band Frontier Ruckus from their album “Deadmalls&Nightfalls.”

[Note: This episode contains cursewords.]

Buy the Music, Support the Podcast

When you make any purchase after clicking the links below, you will earn sales referral fees for The KunstlerCast.

Express Ticket to A World Made By Hand

Released: March 17, 2011

After the recent earthquake and tsunami, James Howard Kunstler believes that Japan may be propelled into a much different society very quickly — one that somewhat resemble his World Made By Hand vision. But JHK thinks that using less fossil fuel and dexomplexifying their society might be a good thing for Japan as it may give them a headstart down the road that other complex societies like the U.S. are heading anyway.

Sponsor:

This week’s sponsor is PostPeakLiving.com, offering online courses that prepare you for a post-peak world. Enroll now in the UnCrash Course, Sustainable Post-Peak Livelihoods, Navigating the Coming Chaos, Introduction to Sustainable Gardening or Chickens 101. Find out more at: http://postpeakliving.com.

Time for a Reset

Released: Jan. 27, 2011

James Howard Kunstler speaks about his annual forecast for 2011. Although there are a lot of people out there cheering for a “recovery,” JHK believes it’s time for a reset. He foresees food shortages, financial strain and political troubles ahead.

Read Jim’s Forecast 2011.

Note: This episode contains explicit language

Will Boomers Answer the Call?

Released: Sept. 23, 2010

James Howard Kunstler joins Duncan by phone from his hotel room in New Orleans. Their conversation moves from Dearborn, Michigan (2:49 – 5:13 mins) to the failings of the airline industry (5:13 – 14:30 mins), to Burlington, Vt. (14:30 – 22:45 mins), to the potential of Thorium, the so-called “green” nuclear energy source (22:45 – 26:50 mins), to the Boomer generation’s parting gift to future generations (26:50 – 40:06 mins).

Check out JHK’s Book Tour Schedule” http://www.kunstler.com/sched.php

The Systemic Failures of Our Financial Future

Released: Aug. 19, 2010.

JHK explains how the current financial problems around the world factor into his vision of The Long Emergency. Kunstler sees these systematic failures of finance as a threat to all of our fundamental economic arrangements, including our ability to live in an orderly society. The President, says JHK, has become “the bank’s bitch” in his continuation of the American campaign to sustain the unsustainable. Rather than more financial innovations based on the notion of getting something for nothing, Kunstler says we need to have an economy in which people invest in productive activities and are rewarded for the value that is created through those productive activities. Society is becoming poor and that’s a huge political problem. JHK foresees a very turbulent autumn, in both finance and politics.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_122.mp3
(34 MB | 48:58 mins.)

The Arguments For Suburbia

Released: April 15, 2010.

This conversation was recorded one day before James Howard Kunstler was scheduled to debate Randal O’Toole at Brown University in Providence, RI. O’Toole is a well-known advocate for the suburban living arrangement. Host Duncan Crary chats with JHK about the pro-suburbia arguments in preparation for the debate. JHK refutes some of the major arguments used by sprawl defenders, including the notions that sprawl is good because people choose it and that sprawl represents liberty. JHK also notes that while the infrastructure required to deliver suburbia is extremely subsidized with government money, many sprawl defenders argue against public transportation because it is subsidized.

[Update: You can download Randal O'Toole's presentation from his debate with JHK on this page.]

Sponsor:

Support for this program comes from the Congress for the New Urbanism, the nation’s leading forum dedicated to advancing urbanism and promoting alternatives to sprawl. CNU’s 18th annual Congress,”New Urbanism: Prescription for Healthy Places” will be held in Atlanta, May 19 – 22, organized with help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It will feature 90 plus sessions, tours, and immersive experiences with world’s leading thinkers and builders of good urbanism, and prominent researchers into the health impacts of how places are built, including the CDC’s Dr. Howard Frumkin, co-author of “Urban Sprawl and Public Health.” Register today, at: www.cnu18.org

The Context of Current Events

Released: Dec. 31, 2009.

James Howard Kunstler takes a moment to examine where we’re at as a culture at the end of 2009. JHK shares his thought process leading up to his 2010 Forecast. Topics include healthcare, economics and foreign affairs.

[Note: This podcast contains some cursewords.]

Announcement:

There will be a staged-reading of James Howard Kunstler’s play, “Big Slide” this Jan. 9 at the Multi-use Community Cultural Center in Rochester NY. The playwright will introduce the show, which begins a 7:30 p.m. Admission is pay what you can. For information, visit: http://muccc.org

Is Now A Good Time to Leave the U.S. for Good?

Released: Sept 10, 2009.

A Listener caller asks James Howard Kunstler if now is a good time to emigrate from the U.S. to France. During his response, Kunstler poses the question: exactly what allegiance do you owe to your country if your country is making a foolish spectacle of itself? Kunstler explains why he himself has not packed his bags for Europe. And he covers the possibility of regional autonomy arising in the U.S. if various energy, climate, political and financial crises push us in that direction.

Warning: This episode contains explicit language. Times: 5:13, 21:09, 22:15, 22:24.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_79.mp3
(28 MB | 30:08 mins.)

Sponsor:

This week’s sponsor is New Society Publishers, the leading publisher of Peak Oil thinkers such as Dmitry Orlov, Richard Heinberg, and Sharon Astyk. NewSociety.com

The Second Great Era of Globalism is Over

Released: August 6, 2009.

James Howard Kunstler believes that the consumer credit economy is over and that we are now moving on to the next phase of the U.S. economy. Kunstler provides some historical context on our current global economy and muses on the relationship between over-complexity and diminishing returns, which he believes is the “hallmark of all civilizations that come to grief.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_73.mp3
(31 MB | 33: 28 mins.)

Sponsor:

This week’s sponsor is The Stakeholders, Inc., inviting you to attend a Sept. 24 talk in Albany NY by urban theorist Richard Florida, author of “Who’s Your City?”

Planning for Peak Oil

Released: June 4, 2009.

New Urbanist Planner and Author Jaime Correa speaks about urban planning in the peak oil era. KunstlerCast Host Duncan Crary recorded Correa’s talk on May 28 at the Albany Roundtable in Albany, N.Y. Correa speaks about how the end of cheap oil will affect communities in the future. He describes his peak oil action plan, which he calls The 40 Percent Plan. As urban communities begin to contract in the future, Correa has some ideas about what people need to do to successfully prepare for the future. James Howard Kunstler introduces Correa and chats with Crary about the role that Correa has played in the New Urbanism. Kunstler also responds to a question posed to him by Correa about his preparations for peak oil.

Note: Curse words and adult language occur at 27:30, 27:37 and 30:17

Websites: The Correa Report (Jaime’s blog) | Correa And Associates | Albany Roundtable

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_67.mp3
(36.2 MB | 39:21 mins.)

Sponsor:

This week’s sponsor is PostPeakLiving.com, offering online courses that prepare you for the post peak oil world.

Rickshaws, and Other Ways to Make a Buck

Released: March 12, 2009.

At the suggestion of a listener, James Howard Kunstler muses on the future of animal powered transportation in the future. He briefly describes the systems required to maintain a horse-drawn transportation system. The conversation leads to a discussion about finding meaningful work in the new economy. Kunstler believes that as the old economy dwindles, there will be many opportunities for local entrepreneurs to create useful work in their communities. The discussion also covers the struggling media industry and new opportunities for weekly community publications. Kunstler talks about his local print newsletter project, Civitas. Host Duncan Crary asks Kunstler if the urban planning profession may receive a boom with the new economic stimulus and a renewed focus on reactivating forlorn downtowns. Kunstler thinks urban planning will be reinserted into American culture less formally than it was in the past. The show closes with a listener comment from an architect who was laid off and found a creative way to work for himself.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_55.mp3
( 29 MB | 31:11 mins.)

How the Suburbs Were Loaned into Existence

Released: January 15, 2009.

James Howard Kunstler believes the credit orgy that was the background and basis for our era is over. It will become increasingly harder to lend money into existence and Americans will probably have to pay as they go with what they have. Kunstler explores the historical relationship between credit and the creation of suburbia. But he does not know how our current credit problems will stimulate people to change the physical arrangements of their lives. He assumes, however, that Americans will be dragged kicking and screaming from the happy motoring commuter experience.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_47.mp3
( 22 MB | 27:28 mins.)

A Credit Card.
(Creative Commons photo by The Consumerist)
Promo music featured in this episode courtesy of IODA Promonet:

This Will Destroy You
“Threads” (mp3)
from “S/T”
(Magic Bullet)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

The Campaign to Sustain the Unsustainable

Released: Jan 8, 2009

A listener caller asks James Howard Kunstler about President-elect Barack Obama’s massive proposed stimulus package, which will probably be used to rebuild America’s highways. Along with the auto industry bailout, Kunstler thinks this major proposed investment in our highway infrastructure may be a last ditch effort to sustain the unsustainable. Americans have invested so much of their wealth and identity into their happy motoring suburban commuter system for daily life that they cannot imagine letting go of it or even substantially reforming it. Kunstler also talks about passenger rail, light rail and streetcars. He also strays into the thickets of futurology to talk about 21 century trans oceanic zeppelins. A listener caller ends the program with his thoughts on efforts to create local currencies, such as the Berkshares in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_46.mp3
( 17 MB | 22:00 mins.)

Promo music featured in this episode courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Opotopo
“Belama” (mp3)
from “Highlife Time”
(Vampi Soul / Light In The Attic)

More On This Album

Remembering Y2K

Released: Dec. 25, 2008

Every year James Howard Kunstler publishes his annual forecast on his popular blog. For this installment of the KunstlerCast, Jim gives us a sneak preview of some of his predictions for 2009. Topics in this show include: phony baloney money, new economies, home deliveries, oil shortages and price increases. Kunstler also talks about his 1999 predictions and thoughts about Y2K.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_44.mp3
( 21 MB | 26:23 mins.)

Promo music featured in this episode courtesy of IODA Promonet:

Opotopo
“Belama” (mp3)
from “Highlife Time”
(Vampi Soul / Light In The Attic)

More On This Album

The Increasing Irrelevance of our Two Political Parties

Released: Oct. 30, 2008

James Howard Kunstler muses on the increasing irrelevance of the two political parties in America. Neither party seems to be truly facing our energy predicament and the coming obsolescence of suburbia. Yet this is with the complete connivance of the voting public, which is too heavily invested in the status quo.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_37.mp3
( 16 MB | 20:00 mins.)

Promo music featured in this episode courtesy of iodaPromonet:

Max Richter
“Berlin By Overnight” (mp3)
from “24 Postcards In Full Colour”
(Fat Cat Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

More info about the KunstlerCast theme music

The Ponzi Algorithms that Got us Here

Released: Oct. 2, 2008.

James Howard Kunstler comments on the Great Bailout of 2008 and how we got into the current financial crisis. As the U.S. manufacturing economy withered away, Americans sought to gain wealth by getting something from nothing through Ponzi scheme investment algorithms. By assuming liability of bad mortgages, Congress may be in position of attempting to prop up the value suburban houses. But Kunstler believes the housing values will continue to go down, no matter what happens. And the truth is that we shouldn’t want that devaluation to stop because we need to reach a point where the median price of a house is equal to the median income of the average America. The true damage may yet to be seen. Kunstler also explains his meme that the GOP is the party that wrecked America.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_33.mp3
( 11 MB | 23:00 mins.)

Promo music featured in this episode courtesy of iodaPromonet:

Hauschka
“Freibad” (mp3)
from “Ferndorf”
(Fat Cat Records)

More On This Album