Climate Curious

If you can't imagine a future, how can you create it? The collective stories we tell ourselves have a powerful role in how we understand our climate agency, says Pip Wheaton, from the Planet & Climate team at Ashoka, on Climate Curious by TEDxLondon. Tune in to learn about Ashoka’s latest research which gives actionable insight on how to activate climate changemakers: making it personal, curating...

Kynan Tegar, an 18-year old filmmaker and Indigenous Dayak Iban, joins Climate Curious to unearth the truth behind Indonesia’s capital city relocation. Specifically, why the government’s move of the capital from Jakarta to Borneo – to become a so-called “sustainable forest city” – is a pipe dream. Kynan shares how the capital city move imperils Indigenous communities throughout Borneo that have st...

Nicknamed the 'Oscars of Oil’, this October, the biggest names in the fossil fuel industry will gather for the exclusive Oil & Money summit in London, slickly rebranded as the ‘Energy Intelligence Forum’. Robin Wells from Fossil Free London joins Climate Curious to share why Londoners want Oily Money Out.  Learn more about Oily Money Out: https://www.oilymoneyout.uk/ Learn more about Fossil Free L...

Drag artist, cultural icon, and general good egg – Cheddar Gorgeous – joins Climate Curious to share why drag artistry is the perfect trojan horse for climate action. Over to Cheddar to share why drag is an incredible medium to one, create spectacle and grab awareness, and two, disrupt the master narratives that dictate our society. Follow Cheddar Gorgeous on Instagram Follow Cheddar Gorgeous on T...

Living in Chile, Catalina Santelices regularly experiences firsthand the effects of a changing climate – droughts, floods, polluted food, ruined crops. That’s why Catalina co-founded Latinas for Climate, a movement that embraces young Latina identities and perspectives in climate action. Catalina joins TEDxLondon’s Climate Curious to share what’s going on in Chile, why we need an intersectional ap...

200 farmers, 100,000 trees, 100 hectares of restored land. The Cacao Project in the Philippines is a restorative agroforestry initiative working to build climate-resilient livelihoods for farmers. Founder Louise Mabulo joins Climate Curious to share what climate resilience is, how planting toward a full moon or burying a rock under root crops can generate a better yield, and why invisible knowledg...

Next time you look into your wardrobe instead of seeing clothes, brands, logos, maybe your favourite dress, dig a little bit deeper into the story behind the clothes. Fashion designer Amy Powney joins Climate Curious to delve into the problems surrounding our pursuit of cheap clothing, from health and pollution to landfills that are visible from space. Whether you shop at Primark or Prada, Amy sha...

Xiaojun “Tom” Wang grew up in the Chinese province of Shanxi, the world’s largest coal producer. Tom joins Climate Curious to share the devastating impacts of coal mining; air pollution, landslides, acid rain, soil degradation, whilst asking, what really is China’s strategy when it comes to climate? And as the world’s largest producer of renewable technologies, how can Shanxi, and China, break fre...

Climate success story alert! Fifteen years ago, Uruguay was experiencing an energy crisis; today, the nation produces 98 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. That’s thanks to the work of just energy transition leader, Ramón Méndez Galain and his team, a former particle physicist who charted the country’s transition to renewables as head of the country’s National Energy Agency. Ramón...

Indigenous communities protect, nourish and heal ancestral forests: 470 million Indigenous Peoples care for and manage 80 percent of the world's biodiversity, in fact. So why are their rights under attack from companies, miners and illegal loggers? Nonette Royo, a human rights lawyer and executive director at the Tenure Facility, an organisation providing financial and technical assistance to Indi...

Mini-grids, or localised renewable energy systems, are increasing energy accessibility for people across Africa, says Tombo Banda, a clean energy access innovator. And with 500 million people still lacking access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa, relying instead on highly polluting materials like diesel and firewood, this climate solution will create better lives for millions of people, quickl...

We need to humanise our climate heroes, says Mauricio Porras, co-founder of HERO | herocircle.app . And we do that by paying them a fair wage. Mauricio joins Climate Curious co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst to chat through why young activists are expected to shoulder so much responsibility, how we are stronger if we work together as a global community, and how the Herocircle.app enables you to...

With Oppenheimer in the cinemas right now – nuclear s top of mind. But does nuclear energy deserve the bad reputation it seems to have gained? To clear up the confusion we’re joined by this week’s Quickie expert, Mark Dyson, a Managing Director with the Carbon-Free Electricity Program at RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute). Tune in to understand how nuclear stacks up against oil, gas, coal, wi...

Coffee or a liveable future? You decide! Climate activists are doing one of the world’s most crucial, and dangerous jobs. So how come they don’t get paid for it? In this week’s Climate Curious, we’re talking to Mauricio Porras, co-founder of HERO | herocircle.app , which is the subscription platform providing a stable monthly income to activists on the frontlines of climate policy campaigning with...

Cheddar Gorgeous joins Climate Curious to discuss how Pride 2023 shut down big oil. Calling for people to “pump ass, not gas”, the queer community sashayed away from oily cash, and won! Cheddar explains more.  Further resources: Follow Cheddar Gorgeous on Instagram Follow Cheddar Gorgeous on Twitter  Check out the Fossil Free Pride campaign    Follow Climate Curious: Newsletter Instagram Twitter L...

Big Oil wants you to think climate change is a lifestyle issue, says environmental campaigner Tzeporah Berman on Climate Curious. Tune in to learn why oil companies want us to sit home, blame ourselves and focus on plastic straws. Instead, let's get curious! Enjoyed this Climate Quickie? Listen to our full-length chat with Tzeporah on why fossil fuels are the new weapons of mass destruction – ever...

This Pride, we’re talking queer ecology – gender shifting fish, intersex birds, and how trees can impregnate themselves – by revisiting our conversation in 2021 with iconic environmental and intersectional drag queen, Pattie Gonia. If you enjoyed this quickie, why not listen to Pattie’s full episode on Climate Curious – Why Mother Nature is a Drag Queen: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/climate-curi...

In July 2023, deep-sea mining will ramp up across the world. It’s been proposed, and opposed, for decades. Climate Curious speaks to Belgian climate activist Adélaïde Charlier about her work as part of the #LookDown campaign to stop this, and how you can support her cause to explore, not exploit, our deep sea oceans. Follow Adélaïde Charlier on Instagram Follow Look Down on Instagram Follow Hero o...

We need more imperfect environmentalists, says Ava Langridge. Joining Climate Curious to share her journey from The Zero Waste Teen to founder of climate education organisation, Our Youth 4 The Climate, Ava explains how inviting people to delete their emails ignited the next generation of imperfect environmentalists.  Further resources:  Follow Ava on Instagram  Follow Our Youth 4 The Climate on I...

Every job can be a climate job, says Kristy Drutman the founder of Browngirl Green and the Green Jobs Board, on the Climate Curious podcast. With the potential for 24 million new green jobs to be created globally by 2030, this episode outlines some different routes for climate careers you might consider taking, and why it’s not just up to the environmentalists, engineers and scientists – there’s p...

Climate doom and gloom got you feeling like it’s too late? That you wouldn’t know where to start anyways? Or that you’re not an expert, so what’s the point? The narratives we tell ourselves have a powerful role in the climate agency we feel able to take, says Pip Wheaton, Planet & Climate team at Ashoka, based in New Zealand, on Climate Curious by TEDxLondon.  Further resources: Follow Pip on Twit...

Your gas stove’s gotta go if you want to improve your home’s air quality and protect your health, says Manager in RMI's Carbon-Free Buildings program, Brady Seals, on the Climate Curious podcast by TEDxLondon. Including four easy tips to reduce your gas exposure at home today: open a window, turn on your extractor fan, cook on the back burner, and get a plug in induction plate or even an air fryer...

Bye bye blue flame, your gas stove has gotta go, says Manager in RMI's Carbon-Free Buildings program, Brady Seals, on the Climate Curious podcast by TEDxLondon. In conversation with Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha, Brady explains the success of the induction hob movement so far, and why despite 50 years of research gas stoves are only just getting their comeuppance, and what you can do today to decarbo...

As idyllic as looking after a biodiverse sanctuary in the Philippines sounds, it’s been no walk in the rainforest. This week on Climate Curious by TEDxLondon, we’re joined by Ann and Billie Dumaliang, co-founders of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation. Tune in to learn why nature reserves are under attack, and what you can do to support #SaveMasungi.  Further resources: Sign the #SaveMasungi petitio...

Exposing carbon credits, why offsetting isn’t working, with environmental justice advocate, Daze Aghaji. Ever thought it was a bit fishy that you can take a “greener” flight? Or how that corporate event in Las Vegas was magically reduced to a “net zero” impact? You’re not alone. And you’re not wrong! This week on Climate Curious, we’re discussing the murky world of carbon offsets, and why they kin...