Rachel Donald
@racheldonald.bsky.social
I investigate why the world is in crisis: www.planetcritical.com
I also investigate what to do about it: www.planetcoordinate.com
Join subscribers in 186 countries.
I also investigate what to do about it: www.planetcoordinate.com
Join subscribers in 186 countries.
Alex Kleytman was just a child when he survived the Holocaust. To have been killed by anti-semitic hatred 80 years after the end of WWII is like being crushed under the wheel of time. It should take the breath out of all of us.
www.planetcritical.com/an-unmistaka...
www.planetcritical.com/an-unmistaka...
An Unmistakable Beginning
Anger has kept me sane and determined in the face of injustice. But learning that one of the victims of the mass shooting at Bondi beach was a Holocaust survivor, I broke down in tears.
www.planetcritical.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Alex Kleytman was just a child when he survived the Holocaust. To have been killed by anti-semitic hatred 80 years after the end of WWII is like being crushed under the wheel of time. It should take the breath out of all of us.
www.planetcritical.com/an-unmistaka...
www.planetcritical.com/an-unmistaka...
Organisations like Our World in Data and folk like Steven Pinker would have us believe that everything is getting better because lines are travelling a certain way on charts.
This week's guest @smillermcdonald.bsky.social thoroughly debunks that.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
This week's guest @smillermcdonald.bsky.social thoroughly debunks that.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
December 12, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Organisations like Our World in Data and folk like Steven Pinker would have us believe that everything is getting better because lines are travelling a certain way on charts.
This week's guest @smillermcdonald.bsky.social thoroughly debunks that.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
This week's guest @smillermcdonald.bsky.social thoroughly debunks that.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
Geographer @smillermcdonald.bsky.social on the myth of progress — a delusion that's been following us for 5000 years and justified endless wars, genocides and ecological destruction.
Full episode out now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
Full episode out now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
December 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Geographer @smillermcdonald.bsky.social on the myth of progress — a delusion that's been following us for 5000 years and justified endless wars, genocides and ecological destruction.
Full episode out now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
Full episode out now: www.planetcritical.com/the-myth-of-...
I read the White House National Security Plan so you don't have to.
It's bad btw.
www.planetcritical.com/trumps-natio...
It's bad btw.
www.planetcritical.com/trumps-natio...
Trump's National Security Strategy: Capture Latin America, Collaborate with Dictators and Bully Europe
You don't have to read between the lines to understand who Donald Trump is afraid of — and who he plans on beating into submission
www.planetcritical.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:26 PM
I read the White House National Security Plan so you don't have to.
It's bad btw.
www.planetcritical.com/trumps-natio...
It's bad btw.
www.planetcritical.com/trumps-natio...
Reposted by Rachel Donald
A pleasure to talk with Rachel Donald again on Planet Critical about hyper-local futures and my new book 'Finding Lights in a Dark Age'
www.planetcritical.com/hyper-local-...
www.planetcritical.com/hyper-local-...
Hyper-Local Futures | Chris Smaje
Who's going to grow your food when our complex supply chains fail?
Chris Smaje, academic turned small-hold farmer, is an advocate for hyper-local agrarianism—because that's going to be our future whe...
www.planetcritical.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:50 PM
A pleasure to talk with Rachel Donald again on Planet Critical about hyper-local futures and my new book 'Finding Lights in a Dark Age'
www.planetcritical.com/hyper-local-...
www.planetcritical.com/hyper-local-...
As a journalist, my mother knew the horrors that human beings can inflict on one another. She knew that things don't get better unless people push for justice. But she still believed, then, that justice was possible.
Her outlook is different today.
www.planetcritical.com/today-my-mot...
Her outlook is different today.
www.planetcritical.com/today-my-mot...
Today, My Mother is Worried
We used to sit and hash out the differences in our analyses of the global situation, now we scheme about how to navigate a world without commercial planes, without NATO, without food imports.
www.planetcritical.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:23 PM
As a journalist, my mother knew the horrors that human beings can inflict on one another. She knew that things don't get better unless people push for justice. But she still believed, then, that justice was possible.
Her outlook is different today.
www.planetcritical.com/today-my-mot...
Her outlook is different today.
www.planetcritical.com/today-my-mot...
Should You Have Kids?
Choosing whether or not to have children has been a critical component of cultures around the world for millennia, and the choosing not to has always been as important as the choosing to.
Read the full piece now on Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com/should-you-h...
Choosing whether or not to have children has been a critical component of cultures around the world for millennia, and the choosing not to has always been as important as the choosing to.
Read the full piece now on Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com/should-you-h...
Should You Have Kids?
Choosing whether or not to have children has been a critical component of cultures around the world for millennia, and the choosing not to has always been as important as the choosing to.
www.planetcritical.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Should You Have Kids?
Choosing whether or not to have children has been a critical component of cultures around the world for millennia, and the choosing not to has always been as important as the choosing to.
Read the full piece now on Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com/should-you-h...
Choosing whether or not to have children has been a critical component of cultures around the world for millennia, and the choosing not to has always been as important as the choosing to.
Read the full piece now on Planet: Critical: www.planetcritical.com/should-you-h...
Reposted by Rachel Donald
Natural Scientist Fernando Racimo, author of Science in Resistance: The Scientist Rebellion for Climate Justice, joins Planet Critical podcast to discuss what works/ doesn't in climate activism; how deep complicity rot goes in universities, & much more
www.planetcritical.com/fernando-rac...
www.planetcritical.com/fernando-rac...
The Future of Rebellion | Fernando Racimo
Natural Scientist, Fernando Racimo, on why the Scientist Rebellion movement is critical—and how it must evolve to truly confront the rot deep at the heart of universities.
www.planetcritical.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Natural Scientist Fernando Racimo, author of Science in Resistance: The Scientist Rebellion for Climate Justice, joins Planet Critical podcast to discuss what works/ doesn't in climate activism; how deep complicity rot goes in universities, & much more
www.planetcritical.com/fernando-rac...
www.planetcritical.com/fernando-rac...
Planet: Critical has left Substack!
Find out why visiting Samoa and Crete made me discover something "achingly human" which encouraged me to get away from the noise.
www.planetcritical.com/into-the-woo...
Find out why visiting Samoa and Crete made me discover something "achingly human" which encouraged me to get away from the noise.
www.planetcritical.com/into-the-woo...
Into The Woods
Dear community,
Welcome to the new and improved Planet: Critical. I'll go over housekeeping, including how to sign in etc, at the end of today's newsletter. First, let me explain more deeply why the ...
www.planetcritical.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Planet: Critical has left Substack!
Find out why visiting Samoa and Crete made me discover something "achingly human" which encouraged me to get away from the noise.
www.planetcritical.com/into-the-woo...
Find out why visiting Samoa and Crete made me discover something "achingly human" which encouraged me to get away from the noise.
www.planetcritical.com/into-the-woo...
Reposted by Rachel Donald
Such a brilliant @racheldonald.bsky.social conversation with Nina Djukanovic on critical raw materials -- from the energy transition to political violence to #degrwoth: www.planetcritical.com/material-dep...
Material Dependencies | Nina Djukanović
The so-called “green transition” has triggered a mining boom all over the world which is leaving conflict, environmental devastation and political instability in its wake.
www.planetcritical.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Such a brilliant @racheldonald.bsky.social conversation with Nina Djukanovic on critical raw materials -- from the energy transition to political violence to #degrwoth: www.planetcritical.com/material-dep...
Reposted by Rachel Donald
“Individuals on the ground sent a message that reached us Monday morning that 1,200 were dead,” Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, said. “By that evening, they said 10,000. By Tuesday, we couldn’t reach them anymore. We assume our ground contacts are dead.”
Yale lab reports mass killings in Sudan, calls for student activism
The Humanitarian Research Lab was told this week that over 10,000 people in Sudan were killed within three days.
yaledailynews.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:02 PM
“Individuals on the ground sent a message that reached us Monday morning that 1,200 were dead,” Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, said. “By that evening, they said 10,000. By Tuesday, we couldn’t reach them anymore. We assume our ground contacts are dead.”
New site: www.planetcritical.com
I've switched over to Ghost and would love your feedback now that I've been able to customise my design.
Comment below!
I've switched over to Ghost and would love your feedback now that I've been able to customise my design.
Comment below!
Planet: Critical
Investigating why the world is in crisis.
www.planetcritical.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:12 PM
New site: www.planetcritical.com
I've switched over to Ghost and would love your feedback now that I've been able to customise my design.
Comment below!
I've switched over to Ghost and would love your feedback now that I've been able to customise my design.
Comment below!
NEED A SOURCE:
Community, I'm looking for an academic source showing the linear relationship between material footprint and GDP (I've heard they're tied 1:1 but can't find such a paper.)
Please help!
Community, I'm looking for an academic source showing the linear relationship between material footprint and GDP (I've heard they're tied 1:1 but can't find such a paper.)
Please help!
October 21, 2025 at 1:41 PM
NEED A SOURCE:
Community, I'm looking for an academic source showing the linear relationship between material footprint and GDP (I've heard they're tied 1:1 but can't find such a paper.)
Please help!
Community, I'm looking for an academic source showing the linear relationship between material footprint and GDP (I've heard they're tied 1:1 but can't find such a paper.)
Please help!
"Were our justice system capable of justice, those who furnish their own lives at the expense of others would be held accountable for their actions long before they face threats to their lives."
www.planetcritical.com/p/free-speec...
www.planetcritical.com/p/free-speec...
Free Speech is a Responsibility
Freedom from consequence is a failure of justice
www.planetcritical.com
September 22, 2025 at 7:19 AM
"Were our justice system capable of justice, those who furnish their own lives at the expense of others would be held accountable for their actions long before they face threats to their lives."
www.planetcritical.com/p/free-speec...
www.planetcritical.com/p/free-speec...
The climate crisis is causing an invisible health crisis: brain health.
On this ep, neuroscientist and environmental reporter @compatibilism.bsky.social reveals how the climate crisis intersects with our psychological, mental and brain health.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/p/how-the-ec...
On this ep, neuroscientist and environmental reporter @compatibilism.bsky.social reveals how the climate crisis intersects with our psychological, mental and brain health.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/p/how-the-ec...
September 22, 2025 at 6:15 AM
The climate crisis is causing an invisible health crisis: brain health.
On this ep, neuroscientist and environmental reporter @compatibilism.bsky.social reveals how the climate crisis intersects with our psychological, mental and brain health.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/p/how-the-ec...
On this ep, neuroscientist and environmental reporter @compatibilism.bsky.social reveals how the climate crisis intersects with our psychological, mental and brain health.
Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/p/how-the-ec...
Reposted by Rachel Donald
Canadian mining companies are 'getting away with atrocities' in South America and across the globe, says Brandi Morin. She shares the details with @racheldonald.bsky.social on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast. Listen now @mongabay.com
Canada’s mining companies destroy biodiversity with impunity, Indigenous journalist reports
An international tribunal of environmental rights activists recently found extensive evidence that the Canadian mining sector is “guilty for the violation of Rights of Nature across South America and ...
news.mongabay.com
September 17, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Canadian mining companies are 'getting away with atrocities' in South America and across the globe, says Brandi Morin. She shares the details with @racheldonald.bsky.social on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast. Listen now @mongabay.com
Reposted by Rachel Donald
The three most damning paras in the UN Report alleging that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza: Siege starvation, attacks on health care, direct targeting of children as patterns that cannot be explained except if group destruction is one animating purpose.
September 16, 2025 at 9:04 AM
The three most damning paras in the UN Report alleging that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza: Siege starvation, attacks on health care, direct targeting of children as patterns that cannot be explained except if group destruction is one animating purpose.
Reposted by Rachel Donald
"Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds"
The UN joins other experts including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Holocaust historians, and multitudes of lawyers in concluding this is genocide.
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
The UN joins other experts including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Holocaust historians, and multitudes of lawyers in concluding this is genocide.
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds
GENEVA – Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, a...
www.ohchr.org
September 16, 2025 at 9:28 AM
"Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds"
The UN joins other experts including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Holocaust historians, and multitudes of lawyers in concluding this is genocide.
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
The UN joins other experts including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Holocaust historians, and multitudes of lawyers in concluding this is genocide.
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
The modern Left demands a form of empathy which refuses to confront the actions and speech of individuals, conveniently championing the fact of their humanness over evidence of their lack of humanity.
Kirk's only discernible quality was his homo sapiens DNA.
www.planetcritical.com/p/charlie-kirk
Kirk's only discernible quality was his homo sapiens DNA.
www.planetcritical.com/p/charlie-kirk
Charlie Kirk Probably Deserved To Die
In its quest for empathy, the Left has lost its moral clarity
www.planetcritical.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:43 AM
The modern Left demands a form of empathy which refuses to confront the actions and speech of individuals, conveniently championing the fact of their humanness over evidence of their lack of humanity.
Kirk's only discernible quality was his homo sapiens DNA.
www.planetcritical.com/p/charlie-kirk
Kirk's only discernible quality was his homo sapiens DNA.
www.planetcritical.com/p/charlie-kirk
I finally had the chance to interview neuro-philosopher @Iain McGilchrist and it was a delight.
Listen to us discuss the necessity of metaphors, the relationship between our brain hemispheres and giggle about his portrayal of the unconscious mind.
Episode: www.planetcritical.com/p/iain-mcgil...
Listen to us discuss the necessity of metaphors, the relationship between our brain hemispheres and giggle about his portrayal of the unconscious mind.
Episode: www.planetcritical.com/p/iain-mcgil...
September 11, 2025 at 6:57 AM
I finally had the chance to interview neuro-philosopher @Iain McGilchrist and it was a delight.
Listen to us discuss the necessity of metaphors, the relationship between our brain hemispheres and giggle about his portrayal of the unconscious mind.
Episode: www.planetcritical.com/p/iain-mcgil...
Listen to us discuss the necessity of metaphors, the relationship between our brain hemispheres and giggle about his portrayal of the unconscious mind.
Episode: www.planetcritical.com/p/iain-mcgil...
September 2, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Collapse: Who does it really hurt?
Listen to the full interview with Cambridge scholar for existential risk, Luke Kemp, to find out everything you couldn't have possibly imagined about what happens when empires collapse:
www.planetcritical.com/p/luke-kemp
Listen to the full interview with Cambridge scholar for existential risk, Luke Kemp, to find out everything you couldn't have possibly imagined about what happens when empires collapse:
www.planetcritical.com/p/luke-kemp
August 31, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Collapse: Who does it really hurt?
Listen to the full interview with Cambridge scholar for existential risk, Luke Kemp, to find out everything you couldn't have possibly imagined about what happens when empires collapse:
www.planetcritical.com/p/luke-kemp
Listen to the full interview with Cambridge scholar for existential risk, Luke Kemp, to find out everything you couldn't have possibly imagined about what happens when empires collapse:
www.planetcritical.com/p/luke-kemp
There is no going back. There is no going forward, either, when the path is giving way under your feet.
www.planetcritical.com/p/between-tw...
www.planetcritical.com/p/between-tw...
Between Two Worlds
Preparing for the worst while hoping for the best
www.planetcritical.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:38 AM
There is no going back. There is no going forward, either, when the path is giving way under your feet.
www.planetcritical.com/p/between-tw...
www.planetcritical.com/p/between-tw...
I recently spent 10 days with an Aboriginal community in one of Australia's remotest regions. What I learned from the elders is there is no going back.
www.planetcritical.com/p/there-is-n...
www.planetcritical.com/p/there-is-n...
There is no going back
Learning from Elders in Australia's remotest region
www.planetcritical.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:22 AM
I recently spent 10 days with an Aboriginal community in one of Australia's remotest regions. What I learned from the elders is there is no going back.
www.planetcritical.com/p/there-is-n...
www.planetcritical.com/p/there-is-n...
Reposted by Rachel Donald
The Trump administration has announced that the US will rewrite past climate reports, in a clear attempt to erase scientific history and undermine the consensus on human-caused climate change.
US to rewrite its past national climate reports
US President Donald Trump's administration is revising past editions of the nation's premier climate report -- its latest move to undermine the scientific consensus on human-caused global warming.
www.france24.com
August 8, 2025 at 6:26 AM
The Trump administration has announced that the US will rewrite past climate reports, in a clear attempt to erase scientific history and undermine the consensus on human-caused climate change.