Topher McDougal
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tophermcd.bsky.social
Topher McDougal
@tophermcd.bsky.social
31 followers 21 following 46 posts
Writer, teacher, pattern seeker, future thinker, nature rambler.
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tophermcd.bsky.social
I had a really fun, dorky, SciFi-inflected conversation with Matthew Ying Yeung Metz about #GaiaWakes on the Kroc School at the University of San Diego's #KrocPod podcast. Please check it out!!

open.spotify.com/episode/3McT...
Gaia Wakes: When Earth Grows a Brain
open.spotify.com
October 19, 2025 at 12:19 AM
tophermcd.bsky.social
I was recently quoted in this great CNN piece by Bob Ortega on the Trump administration's lack of interest in pursuing gun crimes, firearms sales infractions, straw-purchasing and trafficking, etc.
www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/u...
Gun crime cases fall as agents shift to immigration crackdown | CNN
ATF is just one of several federal law enforcement agencies that have felt a notable impact on normal duties while assisting with the immigration mission, a CNN review has found.
www.cnn.com
October 19, 2025 at 12:17 AM
tophermcd.bsky.social
I had a delightful conversation about #GaiaWakes with Scott Jones on his Give and Take podcast. I get the impression he could make even mundane topics shimmer with some combination of mystery and revelation and curiosity and joy.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Episode 302: Is the Earth Growing a Brain?...with Topher McDougal
Podcast Episode · Give and Take · 09/09/2025 · 53m
podcasts.apple.com
September 11, 2025 at 6:52 AM
tophermcd.bsky.social
I'm grateful to have had this really fun and wide-ranging conversation about #GaiaWakes, #sustainability, #AI, and planetary consciousness with a supremely well-informed interlocutor, Mitch Ratcliffe at Intentional Futures.
earth911.com/podcast/sust...
Sustainability In Your Ear: Author Topher McDougal Asks If Earth Is Evolving A Planetary Consciousness
Has the convergence of climate change, information technology, and human progress set the stage for a global mind that can reverse environmental damage?
earth911.com
August 25, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Topher McDougal
pageonem.bsky.social
Gaia Wakes by @tophermcd.bsky.social (@agendapub.bsky.social appeared in Writer’s Digest, where it was praised for challenging genre boundaries and inviting readers to sit with complexity in moments of global change.
July 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Topher McDougal
pageonem.bsky.social
🧵 (6/9) Gaia Wakes by @tophermcd.bsky.social (@agendapub.bsky.social) was featured in Swarthmore Magazine (page1m.co/4kWAKr2)
July 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
Many thanks to John Hawkins for this thoughtful review of #GaiaWakes in the UK socialist magazine Morning Star.
morningstaronline.co.uk/article/pull...
Pull the Gaia one, it’s got bells | Morning Star
Gaia Wakes: Earth’s Emergent Planetary Consciousness in an Age of Environmental DevastationTopher McDougal, Agenda Publishing, £25IT’s often said that Earth is the only known haven for life in the cos...
morningstaronline.co.uk
August 3, 2025 at 4:32 AM
tophermcd.bsky.social
Check out my recent essay on writing #GaiaWakes, a book that doesn't fall into an easily recognizable genre.

www.writersdigest.com/on-the-merit...
On the Merits and Demerits of Genre Recognizability
Author Topher McDougal discusses the dilemma of writing a book that doesn't fall into an easily recognizable genre.
www.writersdigest.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:04 AM
tophermcd.bsky.social
The ten legions of imperial sardukar arrived and the Fremen revolt, so presumably Newsom plays Duke Leto Atreides.

But must we collapse Baron Harkonnen and the Padisha Emperor into a single personage?

And where in the name of Shai-Hulud are Muad'Dib and Alia?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘This isn’t an isolated incident’: Trump’s show of military force in LA was years in the making
The president had been waiting for this made-for-TV clash that allows the administration to ‘manufacture’ a crisis
www.theguardian.com
June 12, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Reposted by Topher McDougal
pageonem.bsky.social
@tophermcd.bsky.social's new book, GAIA WAKES from @agendapub.bsky.social, was reviewed in Daily Galaxy

page1m.co/4dAcJUB

🧵(8/20)

#science #Ai #dailygalaxy
What If Earth Developed a Brain?
A planetary brain driven by AI: fiction or a possible future? The "Gaiacephalos hypothesis" explores how Earth could gain global consciousness.
page1m.co
May 29, 2025 at 7:57 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
A humongous thank you to the awesome team at the #Kroc School at the University of San Diego that made my #Gaia Wakes book launch such a smooth, professional affair. Here's the recording:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=-pIe...
Gaia Wakes Book Launch Livestream
YouTube video by Kroc School
m.youtube.com
May 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
US-based #firearms retailers are largely responsible for arming Mexican #cartels -- with huge implications for #homicide rates in #Mexico and #drug trafficking to the States.

stories.theconversation.com/mexican-drug...
Mexican drug cartels use hundreds of thousands of guns bought from licensed US gun shops – fueling violence in Mexico, drugs in the U.S. and migration at the border
Gun traffickers buy firearms at gun dealers in the U.S. and transport them across the border to Mexico, where it is much harder to buy guns.
stories.theconversation.com
May 23, 2025 at 3:33 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
I had the pleasure of talking with Philip McKenzie on the #DeepDive podcast about my new book, #GaiaWakes. And it has come out just in time for the book launch this evening!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Episode 224: Gaia Wakes & Emergent Planetary Intelligence w/ Topher McDoughal
Podcast Episode · The Deep Dive · 05/15/2025 · 1h 4m
podcasts.apple.com
May 20, 2025 at 7:18 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
My new Salon.com article on #AI #emancipation has just come out!

A spinoff of an academic piece I'm producing for the #Future of #Slavery and Emancipation working group at Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, #Resistance, and #Abolition.

www.salon.com/2025/05/17/a...
Afraid AI will overpower humanity? It may be time to liberate the machines
Avoiding the rise of dystopian tech oligarchs may require recognizing the sentience and rights of AI
www.salon.com
May 17, 2025 at 10:58 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
I had just started to doubt whether the physical artifact actually existed when it arrived! Thank you, Agenda Publishing, for such a beautiful job on #GaiaWakes.
May 14, 2025 at 5:33 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
An excerpt from my new book, #GaiaWakes is now on Live #Science! Check it out (and then attend my book launch on 20 May in San Diego)!

www.livescience.com/technology/c...
Could a planet really develop a brain?
"My contention is that Earth may, if we are lucky and diligent and clever enough, grow an emergent superconsciousness."
www.livescience.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Topher McDougal
pageonem.bsky.social
@tophermcd.bsky.social's GAIA WAKES (@agendapub.bsky.social) was included in Alta's "New Releases for May" round-up

page1m.co/4jX5zvo

🧵(16/21)

#newrelease #maybook #sciencebook
14 Best New Books to Read in May 2025
Here are 14 books by authors on and of the West, including So Many Stars, The Words of Dr. L, and The Last Great Dream.
page1m.co
May 2, 2025 at 5:47 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
📘 🚀 Come to my #GaiaWakes book launch!! 📘 🚀

As AI connects and shapes our world, is it also giving rise to a planetary brain? 🌍 🧠

I'll be discussing this and related questions at the Kroc School at the University of San Diego on Tuesday, 20 May!

krocresources.sandiego.edu/peace/gaiawa...
Gaia Wakes Book Launch Event with Professor Topher McDougal
Discover Gaia Wakes by Professor Topher McDougal at a special book launch event exploring AI, global technology, and the awakening of planetary consciousness. Reserve your spot for this free, public t...
krocresources.sandiego.edu
May 1, 2025 at 9:20 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
My new @livescience.com article on #climate and #migration #conflicts argues that big changes and challenges are coming down the pike. We in the US are actively undermining our collective ability to meet them.
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
Climate wars are approaching — and they will redefine global conflict
Climate change's profound reshaping of conflict dynamics is already underway. The question facing humanity now is not whether we will confront these pressures, but how we will choose to do so.
www.livescience.com
May 1, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Topher McDougal
livescience.com
Climate change is increasingly recognized not merely as an environmental crisis but as a threat multiplier
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
Climate wars are approaching — and they will redefine global conflict
Climate change's profound reshaping of conflict dynamics is already underway. The question facing humanity now is not whether we will confront these pressures, but how we will choose to do so.
www.livescience.com
April 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
My friend, Forbes columnist, and all-around inspiring person, @rebekah.bsky.social, has written a piece on the implications of a planetary brain as described in #GaiaWakes on professional leadership and workplace culture. What a fun interview to respond to!
www.forbes.com/sites/rebeka...
Why Empathy Is More Important Than Control For Leaders In An AI-Driven Future
As the pace of change accelerates, Topher McDougal explores how today’s leaders can prepare for a future where AI is no longer just a tool, but a planetary collaborator.
www.forbes.com
April 28, 2025 at 3:29 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
They've been pitched as a way of protecting American workers, revitalizing industry, rebalancing bilateral trade flows, and more. But...
tophermcdougal.com/2025/04/24/t...
April 24, 2025 at 10:41 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
The first book review (that I know of) for#GaiaWakes! Very grateful for the plaudits (as well as the criticism: kai zen!).

beforewegoblog.com/review-gaia-...
Review: Gaia Wakes by Topher McDougal
Gaia Wakes by Topher McDougal makes the bold prediction that the planet itself may soon awaken as a unified, intelligent entity.
beforewegoblog.com
April 10, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Topher McDougal
pageonem.bsky.social
As the NCAA wraps up their championships, the P1M team wanted to celebrate our MVPS! Our second draft is changing the game in reproductive rights, human environments research, and social responsibility. Give it up for @gretchensisson.bsky.social, @tophermcd.bsky.social, and Susan Sturm!
April 7, 2025 at 8:02 PM
tophermcd.bsky.social
**Save the date!** I'll be discussing my new book, #GaiaWakes, with Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick at Camino Books: For The Road Ahead in Del Mar in 27 May at 6:30 pm. Please drop in for what I think will be a fun conversation!

caminobks.com/event/Topher...
Tuesday May 27th at 6:30 pm -- Topher McDougal with Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick discusses and signs "Gaia Wakes: Earth's Emergent Consciousness in an Age of Environmental Devastation".
caminobks.com
April 8, 2025 at 7:57 PM