Herman Daly was a founding father of ecological economics: more than half a century ago, he warned that the pursuit of endless economic growth was driving ecological collapse and harming society, as well as harming society - and came up with a plan to unbreak our economy.

Dismissed by mainstream economists, pushed out of the World Bank, and even targeted by menacing, anonymous threats, Daly paid a high price for challenging our unsustainable global system. But now, as climate breakdown accelerates and the failures of neoliberalism become increasingly apparent, his ideas are more relevant - and more vital - than ever. Now is the time for his theories and his legacy to get the attention they deserve.

In the opening episode, we hear from the person who knew his story best: himself. Featuring never-heard-before interviews with Herman, alongside reflections from a whole host of experts, scholars and collaborators. We trace his childhood battle with polio, his whirlwind romance with his wife, Marcia and the moment Herman discovered the first piece of the puzzle in solving the intertwined economic, societal and climate crises: the concept of uneconomic growth.

Featured in this episode:

Peter Victor, Professor emeritus of ecological economics and author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World.

Gaya Herrington, Wellbeing economist & thought leader.

Joshua Farley, Professor of ecological economics.

Katherine Trebeck, Political Economist & writer.

Denis (Deni) Lynn Daly Heyck, Professor Emeritus of Spanish Language and Literature and Herman’s sister.

Terri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist, and Herman and Marcia’s elder daughter.

Karen Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Herman and Marcia’s younger daughter.

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story, and to Barbara Barros for voicing Marcia Daly’s email in this episode. Thank you also to our series consultants, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.

CORRECTION: Herman Daly was born in Houston, Texas, not Beaumont (but he did grow up in Beaumont from a young age.)

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller.

Our executive producers are Peggy Whitfield and Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Is it time to retire the concept of growth as the sole measure of prosperity? This summer, join host David Miller for a special miniseries dedicated to Herman Daly, an economist who transformed how we think about growth. Featuring never heard before interviews with Daly himself alongside experts, scholars, and Herman’s nearest and dearest, this is a story you won’t want to miss!

The first episode of Going Steady with Herman Daly debuts on August 19th, 2025. We can’t wait for you to hear it!

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller.

Our executive producers are Peggy Whitfield and Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Herman Daly would have turned 87 years old on July 21st, 2025. While he is no longer with us, his ideas have lived on - shaping an economic future that we haven’t yet achieved, but is steadily becoming the most probable way forward in the face of rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and ecological and economic decimation.

But who exactly was Herman Daly? Why was his work scorned by the World Bank? And how can his plan for world economics save the planet?

Featuring economists Gaya Herrington, Tim Jackson, Kate Raworth, along with other experts, scholars, and Herman's nearest and dearest, join host David Miller for a special limited series exploring the life of Herman Daly, the economist who transformed the thinking of some of the leading economic and climate thinkers of our times. Going Steady premieres this August - check back on this feed for updates!

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller.

Our executive producers are Peggy Whitfield and Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/