Are we in a polycrisis and what can we do about it? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 16, 2026 · 55 MIN

Are we in a polycrisis and what can we do about it?

from Two Inconvenient Women

When the world feels overwhelmingly complex, it is often hard to know where to put our energy; which 'crisis' to give our attention to as it were. You may have come across the term 'polycrisis' as it's fast becoming part of the public lexicon. It's not a particularly cheery term, but it is helpful in making sense of the many interconnected and overwhelming crises that we are facing in our lives. The polycrisis is characterised by feedback loops where one crisis exacerbates another, making simple, isolated solutions ineffective. Which is the greatest inconvenience we face when trying to address them. And yet diagnosing the crisis is the first step to addressing it - and this term is useful in doing just that. In this episode, we wrangle with the complexity of the times we're living in through the frame of the polycrisis; tapping into what we can appreciate from the framing of a 'metacrisis' at the same time, and how looking at changing our perspective on the world is a powerful way to focus on meeting the symptoms and addressing the root cause of a world in crisis. We reference the following during the conversation:Reconnection Retreat - ThoughtBox & Hawkwood College (in-person gathering)The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (free PDF)The Metacrisis is a crisis of meaning - Ernesto van Peborgh (article)Triple WellBeing Practitioner Course (online training course)Tasting the Pickle: Ten Flavours of Metacrisis and the Appetite for a New Civilisation - Jonathan Rowson (essay) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the world feels overwhelmingly complex, it is often hard to know where to put our energy; which 'crisis' to give our attention to as it were. You may have come across the term 'polycrisis' as it's fast becoming part of the public lexicon. It's not a particularly cheery term, but it is helpful in making sense of the many interconnected and overwhelming crises that we are facing in our lives. The polycrisis is characterised by feedback loops where one crisis exacerbates another, making simple, isolated solutions ineffective. Which is the greatest inconvenience we face when trying to address them. And yet diagnosing the crisis is the first step to addressing it - and this term is useful in doing just that. In this episode, we wrangle with the complexity of the times we're living in through the frame of the polycrisis; tapping into what we can appreciate from the framing of a 'metacrisis' at the same time, and how looking at changing our perspective on the world is a powerful way to focus on meeting the symptoms and addressing the root cause of a world in crisis. We reference the following during the conversation:Reconnection Retreat - ThoughtBox & Hawkwood College (in-person gathering)The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (free PDF)The Metacrisis is a crisis of meaning - Ernesto van Peborgh (article)Triple WellBeing Practitioner Course (online training course)Tasting the Pickle: Ten Flavours of Metacrisis and the Appetite for a New Civilisation - Jonathan Rowson (essay) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Are we in a polycrisis and what can we do about it?

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This episode was published on January 16, 2026.

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When the world feels overwhelmingly complex, it is often hard to know where to put our energy; which 'crisis' to give our attention to as it were. You may have come across the term 'polycrisis' as it's fast becoming part of the public lexicon. It's...

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