In this interview with author Manda Scott we explore Manda’s journey as bestselling fiction author into the realms of the shamanic and her subsequent search for new and ancient narratives that can lead us through and beyond collapse.
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About the episode:
In this interview, award-winning novelist and the host of Accidental Gods Podcast Manda Scott explores humanity’s precarious position at the edge of chaos and transformation. She introduces "thrutopia," a visionary framework for crafting hopeful, actionable paths to flourishing futures amidst the climate crisis and broader metacrisis. Scott highlights how fear paralyzes our ability to act, urging us to embrace empowering narratives that move beyond trauma culture toward a culture rooted in myth, hope, and imagination. Through discussions on participatory democracy, citizens’ assemblies, and regenerative economics, she calls for a cross-generational movement to reimagine systems and mobilize toward sustainable, thriving futures.
Chapters:
01:20 – Ursula K. Le Guin and the Non-Inevitability of Capitalism
04:35 – Defining Thrutopia
06:26 – Overcoming Fear in the Climate Crisis
07:50 – Alternative Futures Already Possible
16:05 – Manda Scott’s Background
21:00 – Economics and the Need for a New Collective Story
25:00 – Achieving Escape Velocity from the Current System
28:45 – Trauma Culture vs. Initiation Culture
46:56 – Participatory Democracy in Thailand
49:27 – The Power of Citizens’ Assemblies
53:00 – Urgency for a Cross-Generational Political Movementecological collapse. 54:00 – The Inner Work Required for Change
56:00 – Understanding the Dark Triad
About Manda Scott:
Manda Scott is an award-winning novelist, podcaster, and visionary thinker renowned for her pioneering work in "thrutopian" fiction, which maps plausible paths from our current crises to flourishing futures we’d be proud to leave for future generations. A former veterinary surgeon with an MA in Regenerative Economics, she blends myth, technology, and radical compassion in her mytho-political thriller Any Human Power. As host of the chart-topping Accidental Gods podcast and co-creator of the Thrutopia Masterclass, Scott inspires writers and creatives to craft stories that bridge divides and foster collective action for a sustainable world.
About Rufus Pollock:
is an entrepreneur, activist and author as well as a long-term zen practitioner. He is passionate about finding wiser, weller ways to live together. He has founded several for-profit and nonprofit initiatives including Life Itself, Open Knowledge Foundation, and Datopian. His book Open Revolution is about making a radically freer and fairer information age. Previously he has been the Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge as well as a Shuttleworth and Ashoka Fellow. A recognized global expert on the information society, he has worked with G7 governments, IGOs like the UN, Fortune 500s as well as many civil society organizations. He holds a PhD in Economics and a double first in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Find out more about his work on his website: rufuspollock.com. Production:
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