Cities 1.5 – Details, episodes & analysis

We follow Herman from the lecture halls of Louisiana to the forests of Brazil – and through a period of global upheaval and personal transformation. Herman was profoundly shaped by the realities of inequality and ecological fragility in the Global South. These experiences helped crystallize his vision of a steady-state economy; one that operates within the planet’s ecological limits and prioritizes human wellbeing and ecological boundaries over endless growth.

With reflections from his family and followers, this episode captures the moment Daly’s thinking moved from quiet resistance to creating economic theories that would go on to have a truly global influence. 

Featured in this episode:

Colvis Cavalcanti, ecological economist

Brian Czech, Author of Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train and executive director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Rob Dietz, Program Director at the Post-Carbon Institute, co-author of Enough is Enough, and co-host of Crazy Town

Terri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist and Herman and Marcia's eldest daughter

Karen Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughter

Denis Lynn Daly Heyck (Deni), Professor Emeritus of Spanish language and literature and Herman's sister

Katy Shields, Regenerative economist and co-creator/host of Tipping Point

Peter Victor, Professor Emeritus of ecological economics & author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World

Kate Raworth, Author of Doughnut Economics and co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story.

Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.

Visit the Cities 1.5 podcast page on UTP’s website for the media citations used in this episode.

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Herman Daly was a founding father of ecological economics: more than half a century ago, he warned that the pursuit of endless economic growth was driving ecological collapse and harming society, as well as harming society - and came up with a plan to unbreak our economy. 

Dismissed by mainstream economists, pushed out of the World Bank, and even targeted by menacing, anonymous threats, Daly paid a high price for challenging our unsustainable global system. But now, as climate breakdown accelerates and the failures of neoliberalism become increasingly apparent, his ideas are more relevant - and more vital - than ever. Now is the time for his theories and his legacy to get the attention they deserve. 

In the opening episode, we hear from the person who knew his story best: himself. Featuring never-heard-before interviews with Herman, alongside reflections from a whole host of experts, scholars and collaborators. We trace his childhood battle with polio, his whirlwind romance with his wife, Marcia and the moment Herman discovered the first piece of the puzzle in solving the intertwined economic, societal and climate crises: the concept of uneconomic growth.

Featured in this episode:

Peter Victor, Professor emeritus of ecological economics and author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World

Gaya Herrington, Wellbeing economist & thought leader

Joshua Farley, Professor of ecological economics

Katherine Trebeck, Political Economist & writer

Denis (Deni) Lynn Daly Heyck, Professor Emeritus of Spanish Language and Literature and Herman’s sister

Terri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist, and Herman and Marcia’s elder daughter

Karen Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Herman and Marcia’s younger daughter

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story, and to Barbara Barros for voicing Marcia Daly’s email in this episode. Thank you also to our series consultants, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

The United States of America’s second withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord under the Trump administration has enormous implications for both international and local climate efforts - and the Inflation Reduction Act is also potentially under threat. If the IRA is even partially repealed, it would be a huge step backwards in the fight against the climate crisis. But all is not lost - engaged individuals and organizations are striving to ensure the it stays and place, and more broadly, cities, mayors, and subnational entities are playing a critical role in continuing climate action amidst federal challenges. This coalition of actors are leading the growing resistance movement stateside and globally, proving the importance of local level engagement in the bid to halt climate breakdown.

Image credit: Chelsea Matson Photography

Featured guests: 

Kate Johnson, C40 Regional Director for North America

Amy Turner, Director of the City's Climate Law Initiative at the Sabin Center, Columbia University

Links:

Trump signs order to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement for second time - The Guardian

Elon Musk Says DOGE Aims to Finish $1 Trillion in Cuts by End of May - Bloomberg

The Data Hoarders Resisting Trump’s Purge - The New Yorker

Inflation Reduction Act Archives C40 website

Climate action and the Inflation Reduction Act: A guide for local government leaders - C40 Knowledge Hub

One Year After Trump Decision to Withdraw from Paris Agreement, U.S. Cities Carry Climate Action Forward - C40 website

Appeals Court Keeps Order Barring Federal Funding Freezes in Place - New York Times

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Risk is an integral part of the human experience…but risk also needs to be managed if we are to live safe, healthy and happy lives. The recent wildfires in Los Angeles were a tragic reminder of the risks that the climate crisis poses to health, homes, habitats, and the lives of human beings. But the risks posed by extreme weather events are also multi-faceted: disinformation in the wake of hurricanes and wildfires can lead to chaos, with online hate transforming into real-life violence. The insurance industry is based on mitigating risk - but for cities with high probabilities of climate impacts such as wildfires, the risk is becoming too great and financially unviable. There is hope, though: insurance can be used as a climate adaptation tool, reducing risk, to better protect people, cities and the planet. 

Image credit: This image was AI-generated and does not depict real events.

Featured guests:
Jodie Molyneux, Subject Matter Expert (mis- and disinformation) at Resolver
Kate Stein, Director of the Climate-Resilient Insurance Strategy Project (CRISP) 

Links:

Estimated cost of fire damage balloons to more than $250 billion - LA Times

MAGA Blames Homeless in Deranged California Fires Theory - The Daily Beast

The LA Fires Could Change the Insurance Industry - Harvard Business Review

Man arrested over alleged violent threat against Fema staff in North Carolina - The Guardian

California wildfires deliberately set for ‘Agenda 2030’ and smart cities? Fact-checking the bizarre claims - Hindustan Times

LA's wildfires prompted a rash of fake images. Here's why - NPR

Vigilance and protection service against foreign digital interference (VIGINUM)

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

We live in the age of technology…in the blink of an eye, the Internet and social media have created new opportunities, jobs, and possibilities for connection. But they have also fuelled polarization, persecution, and real-world violence. Artificial intelligence, or AI, promises to turbocharge this revolution. But many questions remain unanswered by the advocates of these new technologies. Can we afford to let AI use infinite amounts of energy? Is it possible to create planetary responsible AI, or is that just a pipe dream? And if the need arises, how can we resist these dark machines?

Image credit: This image was AI-generated and does not depict real events.

Featured guest:

Victor Galaz is an academic and author whose expertise lies at the intersection of governance, climate and technology. He is an Associate Professor in Political Science at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, and a Program Director at the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics. His most recent book is Dark Machines: How Artificial Intelligence, Digitalization and Automation is Changing our Living Planet and he is also co-founder of the Biosphere Code. 

Links:

AI and the Future of Cities - Fortune 

The workers already replaced by artificial intelligence - BBC

AI voice cloning tools imitating political leaders threaten elections -  The Independent

New AI Now Paper Highlights Risks of Commercial AI Used In Military Contexts - AI Now Institute

A.I. has a discrimination problem - CNBC

Generative AI’s environmental impact - MIT 

The ‘AI divide’ between the Global North an

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

In times of uncertainty, leadership is key...but so is vision. As the climate crisis deepens, and people across the world are facing economic hardship and experiencing the increasing impacts of the climate crisis, mapping out an alternative to neoliberal economics, inequality and unmitigated climate breakdown has never been more vital. In our season opener, we speak to two women who are doing just that. Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown is using an innovative, inclusive and data-driven approach to addressing the challenges her city faces, and is a powerful advocate for unlocking urban climate finance. Gaya Herrington is one of the world’s leading voices in the wellbeing economics space, using her platform to argue for the transformation of our economic system away from unsustainable growth to one that prioritizes human and planetary wellbeing. 

Featured guests:

Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has served as the Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, since 2018. She is also the Co-Chair of C40 Cities. 

Gaya Herrington is sustainability researcher, wellbeing economist, thought leader and author of “Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse”.

Links:

What happened at the U20 Summit in Rio? C40 website

IDB and C40 to Strengthen Partnership for Climate Action - IDB website

Planting 1 million trees to turn the temperature down - Cities 1.5 podcast episode, featuring Eugenia Kargbo, Freetown Chief Heat Officer

Regenerative Economics - The Regenerative Centre

Will the end of economic growth come by design — or disaster? Gaya Herrington, TedTalk

The Limits to Growth model: still prescient 50 years later Gaya Herrington, Club of Rome website

Turnaround Empowerment & Focus on gender equality Club of Rome website

Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner? A revi

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

The world is standing on the brink…the deepening  impacts of the climate crisis, rising inequality and increasing levels of economic turmoil are affecting us all. But we now face a new threat: a powerful network of autocrats,  billionaires. and demagogues and fossil fuel industry leaders has emerged. This climate crisis denying coalition is weaponising disinformation and  manipulating societal distress and uncertainty in a bid to steer us into the arms of far-right populism and away from the global systems change we need. Mayors, cities, academics, scientists, economists, activists and civil society must step up and form a global axis of resistance to challenge those who threaten our way of life…and ultimately, the very survival of our world.

Season 5 of Cities 1.5 returns March 11th, with a new episode every Tuesday after that. Ask a friend to join the global resistance by inviting them to search for Cities 1.5 wherever they get their podcasts!

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

In this final episode of Season 4 of Cities 1.5, David has conversations with two formidable and inspiring women who are fighting to protect the health of people and the planet from Lima, Peru and New Orleans, USA. As the impacts of the climate crisis hit harder and more frequently, the effects this has on human health also multiply. It is key that urban areas plan and adapt to meet the growing challenges of temperature rise, food insecurity, migration, and more. Of course, extreme weather events often have the most catastrophic consequences for humanity, leading to mass displacement, injury, disease and death. But if the worst happens, it is possible for cities and their residents to unite and rebuild to create a more resilient future…and other communities can learn lessons from their leadership.

Image Credit: Persnickety Prints @ Unsplash

Featured guests:
Professor Stella Hartinger Peña is the Regional Director of Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change for Latin America, and Associate Professor at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell is the Mayor of New Orleans, a position which she has held since 2018.

Links:
Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis - David Miller
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change Annual Report
The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans - Big Easy Magazine
Addressing the Health Care Impact of Hurricane Katrina - The Kaiser Commission
What happened at the U20 Summit in Rio? - C40
COP29: Is the Loss and Damage Fund Becoming an Empty Promise? - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Broadmoor Lives On: How a Community Saved Their New Orleans Neighborhood - The Clinton Foundation
New Orleans, Reinvented - The Atlantic
This is how New Orleans is rebuilding to be more resilien

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

In a very Canadian episode of Cities 1.5, David discusses the urgent need for both local and global climate action with a focus on biodiversity with Mayor Valérie Plante of Montréal and Elizabeth Hendricks from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Canada. They share insights on urban biodiversity initiatives, the impact and outcomes of COP15 and COP16, and the importance of integrating nature-based solutions to combat the climate crisis. The episode also highlights the critical role cities play in preserving natural ecosystems, supporting public health, and ensuring a sustainable future where all can thrive.

Image Credit: Donovan Kelly @ Pexels

Featured guests:
Mayor Valérie Plante has served as the Mayor of Montréal since 2017.

Elizabeth Hendriks is a freshwater policy specialist and Vice President of Restoration and Regeneration at WWF Canada.

Links: 

WWF Living Planet Report 2024: A Planet in Crisis
Degradation of nature could reduce UK GDP by 12 per cent - UN Environment Programme
Last-minute pledges and sobering science: Where is the World, Post-COP28? Cities 1.5 podcast, featuring Professor Xuemei Bai
Arctic impacts: The human cost of melting ice - Cities 1.5 podcast, featuring Sheila Watt-Cloutier
COP15 ends with landmark biodiversity agreement - UN Environment Programme
The Darlington ecological corridor: a green link in CDN-NDG - City of Montréal
Video featuring Sadiq Khan, “Doers not Delayers” - C40 Cities Instagram
Montréal Breaks Ground on City’s Largest-Ever ‘Sponge Park’ - Stormwater Report
Montréal biodome
WWF Canada re:grow program

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

In this episode of Cities 1.5, David revisits and follows up on a very special collaboration between C40 and Museum for the United Nations - UN Live which he participated in during the Summit of the Future and Climate Week in New York in early autumn, 2024. David, along with Sasha Rodericks and Kayla Archer share their reflections on the power of cross-cultural and cross-sectoral communication in this increasingly polarized planet, with thoughts about creative solutions, spirituality, and the essential role of storytelling in fostering a collective sense of purpose and agency from other portal contributors.

Image Credit: Kyle Corea for UN Live/ Shared Studios

Featuring music by Mosoeu Ketlele

Panel participants in order of appearance: Nonhlanhla Moroenyane (Chef Noni): Healer and Ritualist; Alexandra Grubb: Sustainability Communications Director - Essity Group; Hector Mgiba (Xquizified): Co-CEO Makers Valley; Nicole Ng: Content Lead at TED Countdown; Angela Zhong: C40 Youth Hub member, activist and student; Thobile Chittenden: Community Builder and Network Co-Lead at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance; Jodi Lewchuck: Acquisitions Editor at University Toronto Press and writer; Masai Sepuru: Storyteller, Poet and Visual Artist: and David Miller, Managing Director, C40 Centre for City Climate Policy & Economy and author of the book “Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis”.

Featured guests
Sasha Rodricks is the Director of Global We, Museum for the United Nations - UN Live.

Kayla Archer is a Global We facilitator. She is also a writer, researcher and investigator with a strong focus on art pedagogy at the intersection of ecology.

Links
Fresh Milk Art Platform (Barbados)
Green Lab Art Alliance
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Cities are critical: C40 reacts to the UN Pact for the Future

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Centre and author of the book Solved. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/