Important, Not Important
The Most Important Question
You already know things are broken. You read the news, you listen to the analysis, you've got the outrage. What you don't have is a plan. The Most Important Question — 6x Webby-nominated, 2x Signal Award-nominated — is a weekly conversation with one person who stopped asking "what can I do?" and went and found out. Not pundits. Not commentators. The scientists, doctors, nurses, journalists, farmers, activists, and policymakers who are doing the actual work on the frontlines of climate, public health, democracy, AI, food, water, medicine, and justice. Host Quinn Emmett goes deep with each of th...
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Important, Not Important
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Latest episode
Jun 22, 2026
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Episodes
What Causes Depression? 30.10.2023 1:11:34
Content Warning We're going to be talking about stress and anxiety, depression, suicide, and more today. If any of this could be triggering to you in any way, please feel free to just skip over this one. Nothing in this conversation should be taken as ...
Essay: The Disconnect 24.10.2023 26:30
This week: Exactly why the youths are so pissed off. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to the Steve Fund to support the mental health of young people of color. Volunteer with Everytown so youth can grow up in communities free from gun violence. Get educat...
Essay: The Illusion of Choice 18.10.2023 25:01
This week: It can be difficult as hell to understand when we don’t actually have a choice — and when we’ve got more options than we think. Deciphering the two is the key to the good stuff getting built way, way faster. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to...
Do You Know Where Your Water Comes From? 16.10.2023 1:09:58
Every single one of us needs air, water, food, shelter, and energy. So why are the infrastructure that provides them, the systems we are most reliant on hidden in plain sight? How can we reconnect with them, appreciate them, rebuild them, reinforce the...
Essay: The coolest year of the rest of your life 11.10.2023 25:54
This week: Why was this year so hot? Will it keep getting hotter, and for how long? It’s not an easy read, but it’s important you know and keep in mind the inputs and externalities. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Climate CREW to help build resilienc...
Essay: The Long Defeat 26.09.2023 33:24
This week: Tolkien described life (and often, his stories) as a "long defeat", where evil frequently, inevitably wins. But he allowed for "eucatastrophe" - sudden joyous turns, just like breakthroughs in voting rights. We must keep fighting, to hold of...
Turning The Tide On Microplastics 25.09.2023 1:01:28
What are microplastics doing to us? And how do we stop putting them into our water, and our bloodstreams, and our food? That's today's big question, and my guest is Julia Yan. Julia is the co-founder and CEO at Baleena, a closed-loop, consumer-facing l...
Essay: The Next Big Test 23.09.2023 25:09
This week: Are you ready for the next big test? Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Cooperation Humboldt, a worker-led, non-hierarchical non-profit that delivers programming in seven areas that are key to basic human rights. Volunteer with Global.health ...
Essay: Did You Hear The One About The Starfish? 21.09.2023 31:01
This week: Because I am a sap, I have been thinking about my kids a lot lately. And kids in general. They’re going to grow up and live in a world that’s very different from ours, and it’s important to me that they’re all as ready for that as they can b...
Best of: Peer Pressure Works 18.09.2023 1:04:17
Over the past few years, more and more voters have cited “action on climate” as a reason for voting the way they do. But here’s the thing: lots of voters who are registered, and even those who do vote in presidential elections – don’t turn out for midt...
Introducing: Catalyst with Shayle Kann - The Carbon Market's Quality Problem 11.09.2023 47:40
Voluntary carbon credits are a lot like used cars: You really have no idea what their quality might be. Or maybe they’re more like expensive bottles of wine. Many people (or at least Shayle) can’t tell whether they’re actually buying good-quality wine....
Essay: The Best Kinds of Stories 25.08.2023 37:41
This Week: Telling better stories is a type of Compound Action. Here's What You Can Do: Check out the Good Energy Project's playbook on how to tell better climate stories. Donate to Experiment, a platform where scientists can crowdfund their research, ...
How To Access Better Maternal Mental Health Care 21.08.2023 1:29:24
How can we provide better mental health support for pregnancy, postpartum, and loss around pregnancy? That's today's big question, and obviously in America in 2023, it's a loaded one, so I'm so thankful that my guest today is Simmone Taitt. She's the F...
What Can You Do With Just 493 Genes? 14.08.2023 1:13:44
How did we get here? That's today's big question, and today my guests are Roy Moger-Reischer, and our first three-time guest, Brandon Ogbunu. Roy Moger-Reischer is a scientist trained in microbiology, evolution and data analysis for his PhD. He's curre...
Introducing: Degrees: How To Green Any Job 07.08.2023 21:20
This week, we’re running an episode of Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers, from our friends at the Environmental Defense Fund. This episode is part of a new miniseries called “The Year of the Climate Job,” hosted by EDF Innovation Director ...
Essay: Shiny Things 02.08.2023 24:09
This week: How to be excited about the future, explained. Plus, the news: 🌊 The tipping point for the Atlantic Ocean 👶 An RSV shot for babies 🥕 Examining the “N” in SNAP 🤖 Profiting from AI tools And more! Here's What You Can Do: Donate to the Institut...
Introducing: Living Change: A Quest for Climate Leadership 31.07.2023 38:04
This week, we want to tell you about Andrea Learned’s podcast: Living Change: A Quest for Climate Leadership. In season one, Andrea interviews local leaders living the change they want to see reflected in their communities, from John Bauters and Alex F...
Essay: Haggling Over The Future 25.07.2023 14:40
This week: This week: Are car dealers the devil? And why? Plus, the news: 🇨🇳 Can we build a green economy without China? 🦆 Bird flu, explained 🇷🇺 Russia quits the Black Sea grain deal 🤖 A.I. journalists And more! Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Grid ...
⚡️Electrify Everything: What Does The Pace of Progress Look Like? 24.07.2023 1:02:42
Sure, we've got to electrify everything, including 1 billion machines by 2050. But where are we now and how do we get there? That's today's big question, and my guest is Cora Wyent from Rewiring America. Cora is the Director of Research at Rewiring Ame...
Essay: Farm to Table 19.07.2023 30:39
This week: How can we better protect farmworkers? Plus, the news: A free online summit for eco-anxiety from RITA A new era for Alzheimer’s treatments Inflated prices of packaged food Saving lives with better weather forecasting Here's What You Can Do: ...
Transit For A Habitable Planet 17.07.2023 1:12:11
Why the hell is America's public transportation so terrible? That's today's big question, and my guest is Nicholas Dagen Bloom. He's the author of the subtly titled new book, the Great American Transit Disaster. Nicholas is a professor of urban policy ...
Essay: Why I Don't Eat Animals 11.07.2023 35:21
This week: Why don’t I eat animals? Plus, the news: Carbon capture is (mostly) BS Narcan vending machines save lives The vertical farming boom doesn’t have enough power Hacking EV charging stations And more! Here's What You Can Do: Donate to the Food A...
How To Live A Happy Life 10.07.2023 1:16:58
How can we live happier lives? That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Marc Schulz, the co-author with Dr. Robert Waldinger of “The Good Life: Lessons From the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness” They're the most recent generation o...
Essay: Life, Liberty, and Solar Panels 30.06.2023 16:54
This week: Texans have a huge opportunity to get even MORE liberty — from the sun. Plus: Diabetes is expected to double, the state of carbon removal, A.I. detection tools, future pandemic prepping, BEES?!, and more Here's What You Can Do: ⚡️ It’s getti...
Essay: An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away 28.06.2023 39:06
This week: Can Apple help improve mental health? Here's What You Can Do: ⚡️LGBTQ+ youth are 4x more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. Help the The Trevor Project build a safer, more-inclusive world through crisis services, peer support, educa...
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