The past of sustainability - Japan

Think sustainability is a modern invention? Think again. In this episode, we challenge the assumption that we're the first civilization to believe that we'll face environmental collapse—and discover we're far from it.

From the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, to 17th-century Japan, humans have been grappling with ecological consequences for millennia. We dive deep into how Tokugawa-era Japan, facing depleted forests and a tripled population, managed to reverse course through community cooperation, forest management, and a fundamental shift in how people related to nature. The lessons they learned centuries ago might just hold the keys to solving our own environmental challenges today.