Communicating Climate Change

This episode features a conversation with climate scholar and youth climate activist, Wawa Gatheru . It was recorded in July 2024. Wawa is the founder and Executive Director of Black Girl Environmentalist , an organization dedicated to empowering Black girls, women, and non-binary people across the climate sector. Wawa works to bring climate justice to the mainstream, and in addition to her work a...

This episode features a conversation with Simone Salvo, Creative Director at Third Act , an organization harnessing unparalleled generational power to safeguard the climate and democracy. It was recorded in June 2024. Simone’s work blends design, media, and technology to bridge generational and digital divides and drive impactful social change. In her role at Third Act, she leads the charge in bui...

Communicating Climate Change is launching a Call-In Show ! That means, it’s time for you to join the conversation. Do you have questions related to climate communication? Maybe you’re running into challenges developing your own climate-related output? Or perhaps you’ve seen or heard some related content or news that you thought needed closer examination?   Well, that’s exactly what we’re look...

This episode features a conversation with Thomas Coombes, Founder and Director of narrative change organization, Hope-based communications . It was recorded in January 2024. Hope-based communications is a simple, open-source tool for anyone to use, as well as a community anyone can join. It centres around a pledge to apply five shifts to any and all communications output. Those shifts are fear to...

This episode features a conversation with Tory Stephens, who manages all things climate fiction at independent, non-profit media organization, Grist . It was recorded in March 2024. Tory is a force for good. He creates opportunities and interventions that transform organizations and shift culture, building communities around social justice issues and using storytelling to champion green, clean, an...

This episode features a conversation with John Marshall, CEO of the Potential Energy Coalition . It was recorded in March 2024. John’s three decades of experience in advising the leaders of Fortune 500 companies spans branding, marketing, innovation, and digital transformation. As well as his work leading Potential Energy Coalition, John is a Professor at Dartmouth College, a senior client advisor...

This episode features a conversation with Katherine Dunn, Content Editor at the Oxford Climate Journalism Network, a program led by the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute . It was recorded in March 2024. Through her work at the Oxford Climate Journalism Network (or OCJN) Katherine has worked with more than 500 journalists from over 100 countries, seeking to improve climate literacy and clima...

This episode features a conversation with CEO and co-founder of Redwood Climate Communications , Josh Garrett. It was recorded in November 2023. Having spent more than half of his almost two decades of strategic communications and marketing experience committed to clean energy and climate tech, Josh co-founded the climate-focused advisory and public relations firm Redwood Climate Communications in...

This episode features a conversation with Project Drawdown ’s Director of Storytelling and Engagement, Matt Scott. It was recorded in February 2024. Matt works to help everyday people find their role in climate solutions and climate justice at the community level. He’s the host of the climate solutions short documentary series Drawdown's Neighborhood , featured on the Weather Channel's Pattrn stre...

This episode features a conversation with communication designer, researcher, and semiotician, Dr. Laura Santamaria. It was recorded in January 2024. Laura’s work focuses on developing insights and methodologies for influencing paradigm change towards social and environmental justice. And her passion lies in empowering organisations and professionals with the necessary tools to achieve such change...

This episode features a conversation with psychologist, Markus Appel. It was recorded in November 2023. Markus is professor of media communication at the University of Würzburg , Germany. His work sits at the intersection of psychology and communication science, with major research areas including life in the digital age, media and reality, and, most pertinent to our conversation, narratives and p...

This episode features a conversation with game designer, Matt Leacock. It was recorded in January 2024. Matt is best known as a designer of cooperative games, including Pandemic, Pandemic Legacy, Forbidden Island, and Daybreak. Pandemic, first published in 2008, has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and is available in over 30 languages. Matt’s latest game, Daybreak challenges players to stop c...

This episode features a conversation with Florencia Lujani, Strategy Director at ACT Climate Labs . It was recorded in November 2023. With over 15 years’ experience working at a slew of top creative agencies, Florencia is an expert in brand strategy, creative planning and ideation, as well as in consumer and cultural insights. She has developed strategies and creative campaigns for globally recogn...

This episode features a conversation Funmibi Ogunlesi, interim Head of Messaging at NEON , an organization working to accelerate social movements through training, relationship building, incubation, and infrastructure support. It was recorded at the beginning of November 2023. In her role, Funmibi supports the likes of campaigners and activist groups in communicating their issues with effective fr...

This episode features a conversation Nick Oldridge, co-founder of Climate Science Breakthrough , a project working to translate the hard data of climate change into emotional, shareable, and actionable formats. It was recorded in November 2023. Nick is an advocate for climate awareness and is an ambassador for Zero Hour, a campaign in support of establishing the UK’s Climate & Ecology Bill. He...

This episode features a conversation with seasoned scholar, author, and expert on all-things activism, Professor Dana R. Fisher. It was recorded in October 2023. Dana is the Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity at American University. She’s a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Governance Studies program at The Brookings Institution, is President of the Eastern Sociologic...

This episode features a conversation with Kevin Green, of international conservation and development organization, Rare . It was recorded in October 2023. Kevin leads Rare’s Center for Behavior & the Environment , collaborating with field staff, partners and researchers in bringing the best insights from the science of human behavior to bear on the world’s most pressing environmental challenge...

This episode features a conversation with international communications expert, Josephine Latu-Sanft. It was recorded in September 2023. With nearly two decades of experience in journalism, communications, and education, Josephine’s work focuses on global issues like climate change, ocean protection, and sustainable development. Advocating for the empowerment of small island developing nations or,...

This episode features a conversation with disaster communication specialist, Dr Dennis John Sumaylo. It was recorded in June 2023. In his work, Dennis investigates the intersection of pre-disaster communication and community engagement in the context of geographic isolation and socio-economic inequalities. Examining these issues has helped him design multimodal and gamified learning tools for supp...

This episode features a conversation with Melis Figanmeşe, campaigns lead at IFRC , The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. It was recorded in June 2023. Through her work, which focuses on climate communications, Melis is tasked with bringing together 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and 14 million volunteers around the world to campaign together. In this capacity,...

This episode features a conversation with youth climate activist and advocate of indigenous perspectives, Keshoe Isaiah. It was recorded at the end of June 2023. Keshoe, who hails from Kenya’s Maasai community, works to amplify the voices of indigenous and local communities. He is a member of Fridays For Future Kenya , contributes to Penn State’s UN-supported Global Youth Storytelling and Research...

This episode features a conversation with climate communications expert and business activist, Lucy von Sturmer. It was recorded in February 2023. Lucy is the initiator and chair of Creatives for Climate , a global non-profit turning professionals into change agents through training courses, collaborative projects, and a fast-growing community committing their creativity to driving positive impact...

Over past episodes, we’ve heard from communications practitioners, academics, activists, and many more, all sharing their respective insights into how we might better communicate climate change. Despite the range of perspectives, though, these guests all had one thing in common: They’re adults. This time, I wanted to explore a very different worldview, that of a child, to see if there might be val...

This episode features a conversation with Solveig Zophoniasdottir, Head of Learning at the EU’s main climate innovation initiative, Climate-KIC . It was recorded in March 2023. Solveig, who’s worked to expand and facilitate the learning processes of organisations for over 15 years, focuses on skill building and shifting mindsets to catalyse transformation in the climate space. She’s an expert prac...

This episode features a conversation with writer, researcher, campaigner, and advisor, Robin Webster. It was recorded at the end of March 2023. Robin, who’s been knocking around the environmental world for twenty years or so in a variety of roles, first became interested in the disconnect between political debate about climate change and how we talk about it in real life, whilst working as a campa...