Podcasts to listen to in the shade
Summer is supposed to be season for enjoying time outside, but climate change is making it increasingly hard to do that. Global warming has increased the intensity, frequency and duration of heat waves and amplified wildfire risk in a number of ways. In just the last month, we saw deadly heat in Japan, South Korea, the U.K., and Quebec, along with horrific wildfires in Greece and California. And even when it rains, conditions are often more dangerous. A warmer atmosphere has the capacity to dump more moisture at once — and heavy rains can trigger flooding and landslides, as seen in Japan early last month.
With all that going on, we wouldn’t blame you for hanging out inside this summer, but don’t just blast the AC and bury your head in a down comforter. Continue to educate yourself about climate change with these topical podcast episodes.
Climate Conversations podcast by MIT ClimateX
Season 2, Episode 9: Motherhood and Mobilization
Zeyneb Magavi is a leader in the climate group Mothers Out Front, Research Director for the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), and recently graduated from Harvard Extension School’s master’s degree program in sustainability. We talk about Mothers Out Front’s highly effective organizing and community building approach, in which personal relationships, empowerment, and trust are building the political will needed to tackle climate and environmental challenges. Their approach is grounded in the fundamental shared value that we all love our children. We highlight Mothers Out Front’s groundbreaking collaborative work that’s recently moved three regional gas utilities to take definitive action to find and repair large-volume gas leaks, using a technology developed and tested by the Gas Leaks Allies team.
Apple Podcasts | Soundcloud | Stitcher | Player FM
Forecast with Michael White
Episode 73: Sergey Gulev’s oceanographic odyssey
Oceanographer Sergey Gulev from Moscow State University recounts his life and career in the Soviet Union and later, Russia. Sergey spins a riveting tale spanning Stalin’s purges, the incredible strength of Soviet science, the dissolution of the country, a possible career in the West, and a return to Russia, where Sergey worked for almost nothing but nonetheless built a world-class research group.
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Stitcher | Overcast
Episode 74: Belinda Medlyn on climate-carbon-vegetation interactions
Belinda Medlyn from Western Sydney University discusses her work to understand how vegetation will respond to a warming climate and increasing atmospheric CO2. These interactions are both endlessly bedeviling and at the heart of understanding the degree to which the terrestrial biosphere can mediate human emissions of greenhouse gasses.
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Episode 75: Yao Tandong on research in the Third Pole
Yao Tandong from the Institute for Tibetan Plateau Research recounts the enormous span of his work on Tibetan glaciology. It starts with getting a truck stuck in permafrost for three days and runs to the current day heading a $250 million research program.
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Stitcher | Overcast
America Adapts — The Climate Change Podcast with Doug Parsons
Episode 67: Venture Adaptation: Jupiter Intel and the Emerging Business of Climate Change
Doug Parsons talks with Rich Sorkin, CEO and Co-Founder of Jupiter Intel. Rich shares the history of Jupiter Intel as a Silicon Valley start up and his short and long term goals in this emerging field. Doug and Rich discuss Jupiter’s core business of risk modeling and the uncertainties associated with future modeling. They also talk about emerging businesses in the adaptation sector and the role of profit making entities like Jupiter and the ‘wild wild west’ mentality that exists in some areas of future modeling. These topics and much more!
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Overcast
Episode 68: Victoria Rising: Tales of Innovative Adaptation in southern Australia — America Adapts Travels Down Under
Doug travels down under to Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. Doug is invited to give the keynote address at the Victoria Adaptation Summit, then he participates in the National Adaptation Conference, where he interviews experts from throughout southern Australia. Learn innovative adaptation techniques from the private sector, local councils and the state government. Topics in this episode: local council approach to climate adaptation; innovative tools for communicating climate adaptation; understanding climate risks and profiting off it; the psychology of adapting to climate change; Victoria state government and the emerging role of states in adaptation planning; the use of big data in climate planning; private sector adaptation; can kangaroos adapt to climate change, and much more!
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Doug talks about the current state of adaptation with Lois DeBacker of the Kresge Foundation and adaptation researcher Dr. Susanne Moser. The Kresge Foundation recently released their report, Rising to the Challenge, Together and Doug, Lois and Susanne dig into the report’s finding and discuss what’s happening within the field of adaptation. Other topics covered: is adaptation evolving to meet the challenges of climate change; why are there not more prominent adaptation leaders and spokespeople; equity and adaptation and much more. Susanne also explores the concept of transformational change and how adaptation offers a unique opportunity for true societal change.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Overcast
Episode 70: Adaptation Checkup: Public Health and Climate Change — A Podcast with Dr. Natasha DeJarnett
Doug Parsons celebrates two years of America Adapts by talking with Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, a policy analyst in the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Center for Public Health Policy. Natasha leads the Natural Environment portfolio focusing on water, air and climate change. Doug and Natasha cover such topics as the role of APHA in addressing climate impacts on public health; environmental justice and equity; the roles of nurses, doctors and clinics in climate building awareness, and much more!
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Overcast
