In this interview with author Manda Scott we explore Manda’s journey as bestselling fiction author into the realms of the shamanic and her subsequent search for new and ancient narratives that can lead us through and beyond collapse.

Listen above or watch the episode here:

About the episode:

In this interview, award-winning novelist and the host of Accidental Gods Podcast Manda Scott explores humanity’s precarious position at the edge of chaos and transformation. She introduces "thrutopia," a visionary framework for crafting hopeful, actionable paths to flourishing futures amidst the climate crisis and broader metacrisis. Scott highlights how fear paralyzes our ability to act, urging us to embrace empowering narratives that move beyond trauma culture toward a culture rooted in myth, hope, and imagination. Through discussions on participatory democracy, citizens’ assemblies, and regenerative economics, she calls for a cross-generational movement to reimagine systems and mobilize toward sustainable, thriving futures.

Chapters:

01:20 – Ursula K. Le Guin and the Non-Inevitability of Capitalism

04:35 – Defining Thrutopia

06:26 – Overcoming Fear in the Climate Crisis

07:50 – Alternative Futures Already Possible

16:05 – Manda Scott’s Background

21:00 – Economics and the Need for a New Collective Story

25:00 – Achieving Escape Velocity from the Current System

28:45 – Trauma Culture vs. Initiation Culture

46:56 – Participatory Democracy in Thailand

49:27 – The Power of Citizens’ Assemblies

53:00 – Urgency for a Cross-Generational Political Movementecological collapse. 54:00 – The Inner Work Required for Change

56:00 – Understanding the Dark Triad

About Manda Scott:

Manda Scott is an award-winning novelist, podcaster, and visionary thinker renowned for her pioneering work in "thrutopian" fiction, which maps plausible paths from our current crises to flourishing futures we’d be proud to leave for future generations. A former veterinary surgeon with an MA in Regenerative Economics, she blends myth, technology, and radical compassion in her mytho-political thriller Any Human Power. As host of the chart-topping Accidental Gods podcast and co-creator of the Thrutopia Masterclass, Scott inspires writers and creatives to craft stories that bridge divides and foster collective action for a sustainable world.

About Rufus Pollock:

Rufus Pollock is an entrepreneur, activist and author as well as a long-term zen practitioner. He is passionate about finding wiser, weller ways to live together. He has founded several for-profit and nonprofit initiatives including Life Itself, Open Knowledge Foundation, and Datopian. His book Open Revolution is about making a radically freer and fairer information age. Previously he has been the Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge as well as a Shuttleworth and Ashoka Fellow. A recognized global expert on the information society, he has worked with G7 governments, IGOs like the UN, Fortune 500s as well as many civil society organizations. He holds a PhD in Economics and a double first in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Find out more about his work on his website: rufuspollock.com.

Production:

Podcast Production by Jacob Kishere & SENSESPACE Studio

Get full access to Life Itself at news.lifeitself.org/subscribe