The People's Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast
Superpower Redefined: Busyness and Beyond
Published: 6 April 2025 at 10:00 Europe/London
Listen on
Episode notes
This podcast is not really a debate. It's more of a conversation. Listeners send in questions for discussion and we’ve got up to 50 questions still to get through. Some aren’t about the countryside or the environment, but co-hosts Stuart and William try and bring them beck to the environment in some way, with the actions they come up with.
Ched, sets the first question from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti - “Who or what is the world's super power?”
William initially suggests the USA as an answer to Ched's question but quickly shifts to a broader perspective. He identifies the real superpower as the ability to create an inclusive and effective community—a dynamic where people from diverse backgrounds connect, exchange ideas, and spark transformative progress. Stuart views Earth's superpower as its innate ability to foster and sustain life, a universal and extraordinary quality beyond the confines of planet Earth.
William quotes physicist Brian Cox, emphasizing humanity's unique capacity to marvel at the universe and suggesting that losing this trait would be a profound loss. Their discussion diverges into intriguing tangents: William explores the concept of large numbers by converting them into relatable measures like time, while Stuart delves into the mysteries of black holes, pondering what happens to the matter within if a black hole ceases to exist.
Fendy, from Dajabon, Haiti offers up the next question - “Is it good to be busy?”
William begins by asserting that busyness for its own sake is counterproductive, though it may serve as a useful distraction in difficult times. He cites gardening and housework as examples of purposeful activity. Drawing on his business experience, Stuart observes that many people appear busy while accomplishing little, which he describes as a form of self-sabotage. They further note that some individuals maintain an image of busyness without engaging in substantively meaningful work. Stuart then shifts the focus to consider how one might achieve effectiveness without unnecessary preoccupation, prompting William to recall a U.S. podcast on activism that stressed the importance of balancing dedicated efforts with periods of disengagement to avoid missing critical opportunities.
What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to thepeoplescountryside@gmail.com
We like to give you an ad free experience. We also like our audience to be relatively small and engaged, we’re not after numbers.
This podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice.
Help us to spread the impact of the podcast by sharing this link with 5 friends podfollow.com/ThePeoplesCountrysideEnvironmentalDebatePodcast , support our work through Patreon patreon.com/thepeoplescountryside. Find out all about the podcast via this one simple link: linktr.ee/thepeoplescountryside
Sign the Petition - Improve The Oxfordshire Countryside Accessibility For All Disabilities And Abilities: change.org/ImproveTheOxfordshireCountrysideAccessibilityForAllDisabilitiesAndAbilities
Fundraiser For An Extreme 8 All-terrain Wheelchair: justgiving.com/wildmanonwheels
