Climate Curious
by TEDxLondon
Latest episode
How ‘The Scully Effect’ can help us rethink climate storytelling…
How ‘The Scully Effect’ can help us rethink climate storytelling…
About this podcast
Are you Climate Curious? If you care about the world, but find the current conversation about climate change confusing, scary or boring – then this might be the podcast for you. Join TEDxLondon and co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst as we lift the lid on the climate emergency by speaking to the world’s leading and most relatable climate pioneers. Find out why cities are key to the climate fight, why we need to tackle systemic problems (and not just plastic straws), and why we’re all a bit crap at sustainability. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 341 episodes
- How ‘The Scully Effect’ can help us rethink climate storytelling, with Jessie Bluedorn · 9 min“They call it ‘The Scully Effect’. After The X-Files aired there was a scientifically provable increase in girls who went into STEM professions,” says climate storyteller…
- What Big Oil doesn't want you to laugh about, with Jessie Bluedorn · 56 minWhat if we could laugh at Big Oil culture, instead of cry? That’s what comedian, producer, and philanthropist Jessie Bluedorn tells Climate Curious’s co-host Ben Hurst she’s…
- Climate Curious voice notes: Jackdaw reactions · 10 minClimate Curious experts share candid voice notes on their reactions to the reopening of the Jackdaw gas field in the UK’s North Sea, and what we do next. Tune in with our guest…
- What it takes to become an expedition diver (and find a megalodon tooth), with ocean explorer Andi Cross · 9 min“There is nothing that brings me greater joy than when I'm down in a super murky river… and I find a prehistoric megalodon tooth the size of my hand,” says expedition and…
- Why NYC is bringing back oyster reefs, with expedition diver Andi Cross · 40 minWe thought New York City was built on dreams – turns out it’s built on oysters! Who knew New York’s harbour is home to one of the world’s biggest oyster rewilding projects?…
- Why VIP climate shocks aren’t the worst thing, with Dana R. Fisher · 10 minWhen Nicholas Cage’s Malibu home nearly got swallowed by a sinkhole last month, we knew climate change had hit the rich. And after a summer of deadly heatwaves sweeping Europe…
- The #1 audience climate communicators aren’t speaking to, with Dana R. Fisher · 1 h 7 minClimate communicators are quite frankly, terrible at talking to each other. Or that’s what new research just published by the Talking Climate Collaborative shows. Climate Curious…
- Why cutting down trees can save Britain's woodlands, with Luke Barley · 9 min“It seems quite counterintuitive to wade in with our chainsaws, but we are replicating a natural process that we're missing,” says National Trust woodland advisor and author…
- How local clean energy is going global: perspectives from Brazil, China and Ethiopia · 30 minA solar panel in Shanghai and a wind turbine in Brasília might sound worlds apart, but the people installing renewables around the globe are breaking similar barriers and…
- How a community built its own renewable energy farm, with Westmill Energy · 11 minFancy making over a million quid for your community and beyond from shared renewable energy resources? Climate Curious spent a day in sunny Oxfordshire with the fine folks at…
- Can going to the pub be a climate action? With Adam Bastock · 11 min“AI can do a lot of good things, but I'd like to see it out-drink a room of 30 people” jokes the founder of Small99 and People Planet Pint, Adam Bastock. From sleepless heatwaves…
- How to write a constitutional climate amendment on your notes app, with Lake Liao · 11 min"I literally took out my notes app, and I wrote an amendment," says 21-year-old climate activist and Director of the Federal Climate Amendment Institute, Lake Liao. Tune in to…
- Can markets beat illegal mining in the Andean Amazon? · 9 min“The private sector entering the Amazon is most often flanked by soldiers, allowing the extractive companies to come in,” says impact investor Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter. But…
- What cacao can teach us about protecting the Amazon, with Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter · 21 min"When you ask a young indigenous man to give up all of his land for $20,000, he'll say no way, because what grows in there is gold, cacao is gold!" Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter…
- How the prisoner’s dilemma can reveal climate priorities · 11 min“Games can go into spaces where sometimes it's hard to have these conversations,” say game designers Nathan Harrison and Mel Frances, as they unpack how gaming and scenario…
- How to make shipping part of the climate solution, with Joojin Kim · 2 minIf global shipping was a country, it would be the world's sixth largest greenhouse gas emitter. But help is on its way. Joojin Kim tells Climate Curious we can sink shipping's…
- How Nigeria is leading a repair transition, not just an energy one, with Vincent Egoro · 19 minAfrica is solar rich. But what happens when the panels stop working? Vincent Egoro – a former architecture student who once studied by candlelight and now founder of Energy…
- How to unlock billions for climate and stay chill, with Jennifer Kitt · 9 min"Unless we come together, we can't build it. So yeah, I'm chill," says Jennifer Kitt on the Climate Curious podcast. If new money is moving into climate, this philanthropy…
- Why climate doesn't need better solutions, it needs bigger bets, with Jennifer Kitt · 27 min“80 of the most urgent [climate solutions] could take $5 billion tomorrow,” says Jennifer Kitt on Climate Curious. Recorded live in London with Climate Curious co-hosts Ben Hurst…
- How $147m supported citizens across America doing what most pundits said was impossible: ending the reign of King Coal, with Bruce Nilles · 7 min“We walked out of his office, to the first bar, had a couple shots of tequila, and then got to work”, says environmental lawyer Bruce Nilles on stage as our guest at ‘Climate…
- What the end of 'King Coal' means for Big Oil & Gas, with Bruce Nilles · 29 min"I love doing it and I'll be doing it for a while, 'cause we ain't done yet," says the legendary lawyer who spurred a global campaign that led to the closing of 390 U.S. coal…
- Are you ready to lead your town through an extreme weather event? With the game designers behind ‘The Future For Beginners’ · 26 minCould you protect your city through an extreme weather event? ‘The Future For Beginners’ is a game exploring climate risk and decision-making under uncertainty. Working together…
- Who are the incrementalists? with Dana R. Fisher · 10 minBreak the system, don’t just tweak it. That’s what sociologist and professor Dana R. Fisher says on this week’s Climate Curious. Tune in with co-host Maryam Pasha to learn about…
- How to move public outrage into systemic action, with Dana R. Fisher · 37 min“The deal is, we're gonna get the revolution we deserve,” says sociologist, author, and apocalyptic optimist, Dana R. Fisher. Having spent 26 years studying and documenting…
- The secret life of glaciers, with Dr M Jackson · 9 min“A glacier is full of one single snowflake holding hands with the next snowflake,” says glaciologist and Nat Geo explorer, Dr. M Jackson. “Billions and trillions of snowflakes…
- Why ebola and hantavirus are also climate warnings, with Dr. Neil Vora · 9 min“The solution is right at our fingertips,” says doctor and disease detective Dr. Neil Vora, talking about why ebola and hantavirus are also climate warnings on the Climate…
- Could this literary genre help protect the planet? With author Helen Phillips · 34 minSpeculative fiction – the latest tool for imagining what’s possible on climate? Author of ‘Hum’ and winner of the 2026 Climate Fiction Prize, Helen Phillips, joins Climate…
- How to feed a starving glacier, with glaciologist M Jackson · 23 minOur glaciers are starving, but there’s a solution! Says glaciologist, National Geographic Explorer and TED Fellow Dr. M Jackson on the Climate Curious podcast. In conversation…
- Why I blew up a dam on my birthday, with Amy Bowers Cordalis · 11 min“The river heals, the river's free, the salmon are free, and so are the people,” says Yurok Tribe attorney and devoted advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental…
- How history's biggest wild salmon restoration project in the Klamath River happened, with Amy Bowers Cordalis · 20 min“My colleague looks at me [on my birthday] and is like, do you wanna blow up a dam!?” Native Yurok attorney and Indigenous advocate Amy Bowers Cordalis campaigned with her…
- Why chemists are conservationists too! With Tim Cernak · 14 minChemistry is the new frontier of conservation, says professor of medicinal chemistry, Tim Cernak, on Climate Curious. Unable to ignore sick sea turtles washed up on the beach…
- Feel lost in eco-anxiety? Find your way with social scientist Katharine K. Wilkinson’s Climate Wayfinding method · 57 minEco-anxious – rejoice! This week’s episode is a salve for the eco-shaken, (i.e. all of us!?). Katharine K. Wilkinson returns to share her new framework for navigating eco-anxiety…
- How the oldest bees on earth gained legal rights, with Rosa Vásquez Espinoza · 59 minStingless bees have been around since the dinosaurs, but until recently ignored by mainstream scientific studies From her lab in the heart of the Amazon, scientist Rosa Vásquez…
- How Iroro Tanshi took on Nigeria’s wildfires to save this rare bat species · 16 minIn Nigeria’s Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, a rare short-tailed roundleaf bat whose global population is less than 1500, is trying to survive – and their biggest threat is…
- What really went down at the Supreme Court: the “Finch ruling” · 13 minThe “Finch ruling” case started small – with £20 donations from people that cared – but the eventual wins were big. What’s less well known, is the legal rollercoaster Sarah Finch…
- How a local petition became a national climate victory, with Sarah Finch of the “Finch ruling” · 48 minWhat does it really take to challenge the UK government on climate – and win? Enter climate winner – Sarah Finch of the legendary UK “Finch ruling”. From Surrey oil well to the…
- How a streamer built an online wildlife sanctuary, with Maya Higa · 14 minThis conservation will be televised! “Live streaming meant the animals could reach way more people without having to meet any of them,” says YouTube and Twitch conservationist…
- Why nature isn’t “other” it’s “mother”, with Paul Hawken · 9 minWe’ve all heard the language: “fight,” “tackle,” “combat” the climate crisis, right? But what if the “warrior mindset” wasn’t just a battle cry, but actually part of the problem?…
- Why the full truth of the climate crisis starts with grief, with Paul Hawken · 1 h 7 min“Grief is a blessing. It's a guide. It's a signal. It's us being our best self when we feel grief, because it's our heart,” says OG environmentalist Paul Hawken on the Climate…
- How stingless bees made your morning coffee, with Rosa Vásquez Espinoza · 10 min“[Stingless bees] pollinate more than 80% of Amazonian flora, from your coffee, chocolate, and the avocado on your toast,” says Peruvian scientist and conservationist Rosa…
- How to wayfind without a map, with Katharine K. Wilkinson · 11 minThe world is not going to stop changing. So what do we do with that? Katharine K. Wilkinson, author, climate strategist, and two-decade veteran of the climate movement, tells…
- How to trade hope for courage, with Paul Hawken · 10 min“Grief is a blessing, a guide; it's us being our best self when we feel grief,” says climate OG Paul Hawken on Climate Curious. With the rise of global conflict, Climate Curious…
- Why we need bugs, not bots, with Kalpana Arias · 41 min“Nature is a deep form of technology,” says nature campaigner, Kalpana Arias, on Climate Curious. It sometimes feels like“big tech” is coming to get us, from its roots in…
- How “Glitch Feminism” can bring us closer together, with Kalpana Arias · 10 minEmbrace the “glitch” to unlock more sustainable, collective and joyful futures, says nature campaigner Kalpana Arias on the Climate Curious podcast. In conversation with Ben…
- Who gave Big Oil a backstage pass? With Tori Tsui · 46 min“There are no better messengers than artists” says climate campaigner, advisor, and author, Tori Tsui, as she unpicks the relationship between music and climate on the Climate…
- Which pop stars are bursting Big Oil’s culture bubble? With Tori Tsui · 11 minFrom the civil rights movement to global stages stacked with the world’s biggest artists, campaigner, activist, and author Tori Tsui joins Climate Curious to connect the dots…
- How to close climate loopholes – in court, with Tessa Khan · 8 min"It sounds totally preposterous now – excluding the climate impact of burning oil," says Tessa Khan, environmental lawyer, campaigner, and founder of Uplift. Live on stage at…
- The UK’s biggest climate wins – and what comes next, with Tessa Khan · 29 min“I feel upbeat about what's possible," says Tessa Khan, environmental lawyer, campaigner, and founder of Uplift. In this live episode, Tessa joins co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben…
- Climate OG on how to stay optimistic in a “down cycle” · 11 min“We should be as optimistic as they [Big Oil] are,” says economist, diplomat, key architect of the Paris Agreement, and climate heavy-hitter Laurence Tubiana. Having spent…
- Why climate action is a combat sport, with Laurence Tubiana · 32 min“Climate is a combat sport”, says French economist, diplomat, and climate heavy-hitter Laurence Tubiana, live on stage at Climate Curious Live Climate OGs event last week. As one…
