Damn! You shout into the void. You grab you coat, and leave parents house after yet another heated dinner-argument.
It shouldn't be like, they are just blinded by media, by stupid youtube videos, blinded by information that's unfiltered, unchecked, untested, information that promotes myopic (shortsighted) thinking, black and white thinking that's closed to any scrutiny.
Angry, and frustrated you navigate your way back to your place through the urban jungle, thinking about it.
News shouldn't be a minefield of lies, presented in a way that's optimized for creating rage, not for creating better society.
News, after all, are THE feedback loop of society. Something bad happens, news repots that, something good happens, news should report that. Politician lies, where are the news about that? Monopolies are created, people who report that news get killed.
That's fucked up, on a systemic scale you think, but keep driving through the city in your black Tesla.
You open Spotify, and decide to look for some podcast that could lift your spirits, that not all the news is that bad, that not all the news is biased and skewed. Hell, even recently on the gym you've been listening to Jordan Peterson podcast episode, in which he interviewed Dutch journalist, and German farmers, about recent strikes in Europe related to EU changes of policy to cut subisidies for eco-diesel.
Jordan Peterson never questioned and assumed that EU is just bad (massive oversimplification), but it was like listening to kids argue about how parents are bad because they don't give you candy anymore right before going to bed.
That completely changed your perception of him, up until now, he was someone who was able to cut through the emotional bullshit, mixed with logical sword of ability to formulate his thoughts, but even he wasn't equipped with SYSTEMIC THINKING, and unfortunately, keeps perpetuating the destructive message.
Honk! Oh damn, you've got lost in thought there for a second, cars behind you piled up, and you quickly react. It's a beautiful afternoon, it's still summer, but a bit colder, with a dash of autumn aura.
Anyway, Spotify! You open it, and start looking for podcasts that take current news and events and present them through SYSTEMS THINKING LENS. Something, where people don't argue about idiotic linear thinking, but actually recognize that most of the complex societal and environmental issues are incredibly complicated, and are in fact SYSTEMS, not problems with singular cause, and singular solution.
You keep browsing, and you realize OH MY SPACE. There is none.
There is no podcast out there, who would take existing news stream, and help to translate it from dumb linear emotional bait talk, into coherent systemic analysis, that would allow people to act in the right way in this world.
You get back to your apartment, turn the evening lights on, and check your emails - there's one from a writer you followed some time ago, and he talks about geoengineering the planet using sulfur, as a way to stop planet from overheating. He writes in a way that shows a lot of pros and cons, but you still wiggle your head thining - this kinds of information can push people to do stupid things, that will impact everybody.
You think to yourself, it's time to change that, somebody has to do something about that. You decide to take a last look at the internet, at Spotify, Apple podcasts, you try different keywords… and there it is!
FRIENDLY SYSTEMS
A podcast/show that talks about news and what's happening in the world, making sure it's analyzed through systemic thinking lens. It's either standalone episodes where host talks about current events, and unveils how elements of the story are different parts of the system, or different systems, or how confusion starts due to some idiotic linear thinking action, connecting seemingly unrelated stories from same system, into cohesive image of what the problem might actually be. Sometimes pointing out obvious systemic elements, like feedback loops, bottlenecks, parameters, buffers. Sometimes observing how seemingly simple changes in certain areas might be used as powerful leverages.
Oh wow, it's refereshing!
You spot different type of episodes - it's a panel of systems thinking experts who argue with each other on bigger topics. These don't happen that often, but are so interesting! You love the fact that it's so transparent, raw, and you actually can make your own mind about this. Unfiltered in a way that leaves you speechless.
Congratulations, you've found it!
There are even some cool animated explainer videos on this channel YouTube, precisely defining various aspects of systems, and how it all connects together.
You love branding and identity of it, FRIENDLY SYSTEMS name come from the fact that when you map any system, it gets confusing pretty fast, with lines overlapping, and it's just SCARY. But with FRIENDLY SYSTEMS, idea is to make systems approachable, understandable, and changeable. From visual side of things, it uses those hairy maps of systems as characters, with multiple legs, and make them into cute cartoony ones, making it playful, hopeful, and positive.
You can't wait for the next episode! (Oh and you send your parents link to it, now you can't wait to see them next week).
