#1220 Alyssa Battistoni - Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature
RECORDED ON JANUARY 23rd 2026.
Dr. Alyssa Battistoni is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Barnard College. She works and teaches on climate and environmental politics, capitalism, Marxism, feminism, and other topics in modern social and political theory. She is the author of Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature.
In this episode, we focus on Free Gifts. We talk about the relationship between nature and politics. We discuss the concept of “free gift” in classical economics. We talk about how capitalism devalues nature, a critique of capitalist unfreedom, the free gift of human cooperation, the effects of capitalism on nature as “externalities”, why housework is unpaid and unvalued under capitalism, and the biosphere. Finally, we discuss what would happen if we stopped treating nature as a free gift, and how we should engage with the nonhuman world differently.
Time Links:
Intro
The relationship between nature and politics
What is a free gift?
In what ways does capitalism devalue nature?
A critique of capitalist unfreedom
The free gift of human cooperation
The effects of capitalism on nature as “externalities”
Why housework is unpaid and unvalued under capitalism
The biosphere
What happens if we stop treating nature as a free gift?
How should we engage with the nonhuman world differently?
Follow Dr. Battistoni’s work!
Follow Dr. Battistoni’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/5n6dznwm
Website: https://tinyurl.com/346d4xax
Free Gifts: https://tinyurl.com/2ppzzfar
X handle: @alybatt