Most times governments intervene in population, they push population growth. Why? Because they believe more people means more workers and consumers, which they believe will create jobs and help everyone. Podcast guest Jane O’Sullivan‘s 2017 paper “The contribution of reduced population growth rate to demographic dividend” concludes that population growth costs more than it benefits. It requires paying for infrastructure and more. She points out that lowering population growth were[…] Keep reading →

I constantly hear people saying teaching the next generation will solve our environmental problems. They’re sloughing their problems onto others, abdicating responsibility. Nobody taught older generations today to wreck the environment. I learned to protect it so presume most others were taught so too. Most people continue wrecking the environment. It didn’t work for us. Why should we think it will work for them? I learned “leave it better than[…] Keep reading →

I post student reviews of my courses. I post all, no cherry picking. This year, I only received three qualitative reviews for teaching the Senior Seminar in Leadership: Thanks for such an amazing semester – you and your class truly inspired me and gave me a new perspective on leadership and how to lead. — Just wanted to thank you for this semester and for teaching this class. I believe[…] Keep reading →

I finished the first draft of my next book, on sustainability leadership, this afternoon. I’m relieved, exhilarated, scared, worried, and many other emotions. For the first time, I skimmed through it. It’s rough. I feel like it’s too long, too short, too comprehensive, not comprehensive enough, and many other problems. Still, I know how much editing improves. I think it covers the main experiences, lessons, views, and ways forward I[…] Keep reading →

My college magazine profiled me: Joshua Spodek ’93 Found Connection by Disconnecting. The piece begins: On May 22, 2022, Joshua Spodek ’93, GSAS’99, BUS’06 disconnected the electricity in his West Village apartment. Nearly a year later, it’s still off. For Spodek, an environmentalist, executive leadership coach, motivational speaker, author, professor and podcaster, living off the grid is the latest effort in his mission to encourage personal and corporate sustainability. “You[…] Keep reading →

Rob and Andrew, hosts of America Out Loud’s radio show and podcast After Dark, hosted me. I’ve been on their podcast and they’ve been on mine. I think I can safely say we’ve become friends across political divides, exactly the sort that everyone annoyed by today’s polarization. The episode is titled Living the Simple Life Off the Grid With Josh Spodek. Here’s the audio: We spoke about Here are the[…] Keep reading →

I hear people talking about teaching children. I’ve been researching resources on teaching kids sustainability. I can’t find any that look like people who learned to live sustainably created them. I don’t hear as much about teaching adults, in this case, their teachers. Want to teach children sustainability? If their teachers don’t practice living sustainably themselves, it will be like people who don’t know piano trying to teach how to[…] Keep reading →