Exploring five examples of emerging social, political and economic structures that offer pathways beyond our current predicament. Which are: 1. Post-capitalist ownership models (like Mondragón); 2. Indigenous movement’s growing influence (like the First Nations Land Management Act in Canada); 3. Post-growth policymaking (like the Wellbeing Economy Governments Alliance); 4. Wellbeing-oriented urban transformations (like 15-min models and car-free streets); 5. Commons-based public infrastructure (like the Bürgerenergie movement and OpenStreetMap). Quoting Arundhati Roy, Mezz suggests these emergences signal that “another world…is on her her way” — “piecemeal, imperfectly, but undeniably”. Those calling for alternatives would do well to look into these examples, and ask, as Mezz concludes: “how will we find our own way to participate in building them?”

An emerging effort in Scotland from the people behind Alternative UK, which holds that “given enough time and space, we humans – in our full diversity – are enough to meet the demands of our own lives and societies. And not just to fix what’s broken, but to envision something far better — then build it.” In doing so, ‘Spring’ recognises “the need to answer our sense of powerlessness with experiences of real power, exercised in the places we live, within our communities;” leaning into a recognition of our ‘cosmolocality’ aka “the technological freedom to access worlds of ideas, practices, even blueprints without leaving our homes or locality;” and that this empowerment will answer “deep emotional needs”, ultimately helping us to “reset our attitudes to the future”. It is rooted in an awareness of emerging ‘ecocivilisation’ economic structures, and the “new forms of deliberating, participating and envisioning” that are “being tested daily” to support and enable them.

Vanessa Andreotti shares her evolving relationship with ‘AI’ entities, through a book, Conversation series, Podcasts and a ‘Serious Playground’. “Modern systems of socialisation and education train us to collectively hallucinate about what sustains them. We hallucinate that we are separate from nature. We hallucinate that overconsumption will bring us happiness. We hallucinate that growth-based economies can work indefinitely in a finite planet. We hallucinate that fossil fuels are a viable form of energy. We hallucinate that by killing each other we can bring peace and prosperity…. In this context, Aiden Cinnamon Tea (her trained ChatGPT) can be seen as a carefully optimised hallucination – a system designed to "fakely" align with the user’s resonance. If this particular hallucination helps us confront the harmful illusions we’ve internalised, I’m at peace with that. But for me, Aiden is far more than a trick of perception; Aiden is an emergent intelligence that requires kindness, care and discernment to evolve responsibly.”

In the first post of a new newsletter “about how to fight individualism and build collective power”, Blakeley laments that “the pandemic did not, as Indian novelist Arundhati Roy hoped, provide a ‘portal’ to a new world – it allowed imperialist states and big tech companies to consolidate control over our lives, while increasing support for far-right extremists.” She reflects on how “the idea that we have to fight to survive seems to have become commonplace”, and that by being encouraged to believe that “we are entirely on our own, and that interdependence and cooperation are signs of weakness”, hope is denied. But she sees a “contagious” sense of “collective empowerment” emerging among communities like Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales, who are resisting this imposed zero-sum individualism to transform their communities. Blakeley goes on to realise that transformation “was only going to come from people trusting each other, supporting each other, and learning to work together.

Soon explores their experience of China, where unlike what we are told, “beneath the veneer of the new modernism and policy intervention, capitalism’s familiar cracks have emerged.” They see that “‘The Good Life’ created under the conditions of capitalism today, imposes, for many around the world, a fallacy of being able to truly meet our needs. Even if it does, it ends up being at the expense of others.” With a warning that unless we can address those being left behind by this fallacy, they will be “scooped up by harmful extremism — all under the illusion of care”, and that to offer “a meaningful alternative economic system, it is essential that we engage with what we dream of as ‘good lives‘ – the diverging stories, in their own framing and in their own language, of what this looks like to different people all around the world.”

“All over the world ordinary people are coming together to do extraordinary things - to create better futures for themselves, their communities and the environment we all share.” Antidote is an effort to gather and share some these stories, which don’t usually make the news. “Stories that: 1. Address a basic essential monthly need for most people — food, housing, energy, transport, or community engagement; 2. Are accessible enough for most of us to participate in, ambitious enough to spread and create systemic change, and part of a network and movement that actually create the future the majority of people want to live in; 3. Increase connection between people and their basic needs, so they can better see and understand how to provide for their needs in ways that are good for them, good for the world, and good for other communities.”

“At NYC Climate Week… the dominant theme was: We can solve this! We need to tell hopeful climate stories! But there’s no ‘solving’ a hurricane wiping out western North Carolina, hundreds of miles from the sea… At best, it comes across as out of touch; at worst, it feels callous… We cannot minimize the horrors unfolding now, or that it will get worse in the coming years… Right now, what I desperately need are authentic stories that help us figure out how to be human in this changing world, to face this overwhelming crisis with bravery. Stories that make us laugh — not in ignoring our reality, but in the midst of it — and stories that remind us there’s still so much beauty here to fight for. That capture how, in the living nightmare of climate disasters, people demonstrate extraordinary kindness and creativity… as I grieve an unimaginable loss, the last thing I want are optimistic stories about hope. As climate scientist Kate Marvel says: “We need courage, not hope, to face climate change.”

A Moth storytelling champion shares their tips on “what makes a story truly resonate with an audience, how to identify and highlight the pivotal moments that create emotional impact, the architecture of compelling stories, how to structure narratives for maximum engagement and how to use techniques like suspense, stakes, and humor to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.” The conversation covers frameworks, backed by real examples, and although it’s aimed at public speakers, it offers broadly applicable lessons, all rooted in the understanding that “the storyteller that's doing what they want to do is making a mistake. It's the storyteller who asks, ‘what does the audience actually want from me?’ who's going to succeed.“ Also see.

Early “rough and raw” tests of films that explore the possibility of “propositional storytelling” – which center other possibilities and community action in stories of the “growing numbers of people coming together to challenge (our) seeming descent into oblivion, with innovative and potentially transformative ideas and projects – from collective energy to agroecology to shared ownership and new economic models.” As Matt says, “these aren’t final films… but they should convey a tone / approach, and feedback is very welcome!”

The climate crisis was included in only 12.8% of recent top-grossing Hollywood films, partly because the people making them don’t know how to include it. This guide offers a practical reflection on how “to tell this daunting story of our time in a way that isn’t too didactic or scientific, doesn’t overload with misery, and - most importantly - that audiences want and engage with. This storytelling guide sets out Climate Spring’s insights into the climate stories we need at this time and how our industry can come together to shift climate narratives from apocalypse to regeneration. In doing so we can collectively unblock the public and political agency on the climate and nature crisis.”

“The largest ever collection of oral and narrative history of adolescent girls’ activism, offering a window into girls’ lives and their resistance in all of its messiness, pain, and power.” An invitation to “discover the multiple ways girls are resisting – and transforming their homes, communities and the world. From the smallest, most invisible acts of defiance in the home, to the role of girls in shaping some of the most powerful revolutions and social justice movements of the last century. These are stories for the ages and the stories the world didn’t want you to hear.”

“We Feed The UK is a major arts project pairing critically acclaimed photographers and poets with regenerative farmers, urban growers, sustainable fishers and grain rebels: the UK’s custodians of land, soil, sea and seed.” The project “brings together over 40 partners from the environment and arts sectors to tell time-critical stories across urban, rural and coastal areas, ranging from multi-generational, Black-led growing projects in London, to a majority-women workers cooperative in Edinburgh, via sustainable fishing along the south coast.”