January 30, 2026
Civics
What we’re facing is serious, and we need to acknowledge the whole truth of it.
In this interview Joanna Macy repeats her core teaching that “the most radical thing” we can do is be fully present to what is happening in the world, instead of numbing ourselves with corporate media and distractions. Her Work That Reconnects follows a spiral sequence flowing through four stages beginning with gratitude, then, honoring our pain for the world, seeing with new eyes, and finally, going forth. Illustration by Dori Midnight
In early 2017, just after Trump’s first inauguration, journalist, Dahr Jamail, interviewed eco-philosopher Joanna Macy to ask what it means to live well in dark times marked by accelerating climate disruption, collapsing ecosystems, chronic war, and extreme inequality. Macy argued that the most radical act in such moments is to remain fully present rather than numbing ourselves with distraction.
Through her Work That Reconnects—a group practice rooted in deep ecology, systems thinking, and spiritual traditions—she shows how grief and fear, when faced together, become sources of solidarity rather than paralysis. Pain, she insists, is not pathology but evidence of care. In community, people discover they are not alone, recover self-respect, and sometimes even joy.
Macy frames late-stage corporate capitalism as a runaway system that ensnares even well-intentioned people, producing isolation and fear rather than meaning or safety. The interview unfolds as a form of public spiritual guidance for a time of authoritarian drift: stay present to reality, grieve together, see systems clearly, and choose solidarity over contempt. In doing so, Macy suggests, we reclaim active hope—not as optimism, but as participation in the healing of a shared world.
ARTICLE: Learning to See in the Dark Amid Catastrophe: An Interview With Deep Ecologist Joanna Macy
Joanna Macy made a short video introduction that provides a warm, personal introduction to the Work and how it emerged.
VIDEO: The Work That Reconnects with Joanna Macy (Part 1 – Welcome)
