The Polycrisis is an independent publication about the political economy of climate and the energy transition – taking in geopolitics, finance, trade, industrial policy.

It's founded and edited by Tim Sahay (New York) and Kate Mackenzie (Sydney, Australia).

The Polycrisis launched in late 2022 as a newsletter series published by Phenomenal World, but in March 2026, we began to spin it out into a more stand-alone publication, though still continuing the monthly newsletter with PW.

We also run occasional panel discussions, book clubs, and a semi-experimental weekly Dispatch newsletter and a Discord and now, a podcast: our first season is "Electric World Order".

How it started
After originally meeting over Twitter in the late 2010s, we created The Polycrisis because we felt that "climate change" had become an overly siloed topic; with its own media, research disciplines and even sub-sectors within other fields, such as finance.

Our ethos
We want to put the heating climate and the need to cut emissions in a broader context of a world that is fighting – and generating – multiple interconnected problems: hot wars, information meltdowns, pandemics, broken global financial architecture, a shortage of stuff required to decarbonize, and geopolitical rupture.

We also take a Global South lens to things; climate change can only be addressed alongside development.

We are, to borrow from Carlota Perez, among "the most pessimistic optimists you will find".

It's mostly just Tim and Kate running this, but collaborators over the years have included: Lara Merling, Lee Harris, Yusuf Khan (charts) and Sarah Allely (podcast producer). Plus, our wonderful friends at Phenomenal World, and our brilliant contributors.

You can email us: kate, tim, the whole team