Episode

Crazy Town Classics - Net Energy and Sustainability, or… the Story of the Overstuffed Strongman

Podcast
Crazy Town
Published
Aug 13, 2025
Duration seconds
5215
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-06-03/net-energy-and-sustainability-or-the-story-of-the-overstuffed-strongman-episode-44-of-crazy-town/
Audio
https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/055b68bd-2e05-4970-ac6b-70280295ae07.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/crazy-town-1164162/episodes/crazy-town-classics-net-energy-and-sustainability-or-the-story-of-the-overstuffed-strongman
Markdown
/podcast/crazy-town-1164162/crazy-town-classics-net-energy-and-sustainability-or-the-story-of-the-overstuffed-strongman.md

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Summary

All of humanity’s feats, whether a record-setting deadlift by the world’s strongest man or the construction of a gleaming city by a technologically advanced economy, originate from a single hidden source: positive net energy. Having surplus energy in the form of thirteen pounds of food per day enables a very big man, Hafthor Bjornsson, to lift very big objects. Similarly, having surplus energy in the form of fossil fuel enables very big societies to build and trade very big piles of stuff. Ma...