These days, with catastrophe after catastrophe, it can be easy to turn to despair and to believe that there is nothing we can do. But writer Rebecca Solnit is determined to change that narrative. Over the course of her career, Solnit has published twenty-five books on feminism, popular power, social change and insurrection, and hope and catastrophe. Her most ... Show More
Today
William I. Robinson, "Epochal Crisis: The Exhaustion of Global Capitalism" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Epochal Crisis: The Exhaustion of Global Capitalism (Cambridge UP, 2025) is the most recent book from Professor William Robinson, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This title is the latest in excellent and ground-breaking titles ... Show More
54m 20s
Apr 28
Francisco Martínez, "The Future of Hiding: Secrecy, Infrastructure, and Ecological Memory in Estonia's Siberia" (Cornell UP, 2025)
How can lives and things that are rendered invisible be crucial to identity, politics, and the future? Drawing on experimental ethnographic research in northeastern Estonia, this book offers vivid answers. The Future of Hiding: Secrecy, Infrastructure, and Ecological Memory in Es ... Show More
54m 53s
Apr 28
Trevor Jackson, "The Insatiable Machine: How Capitalism Conquered the World" (Norton, 2026)
How did an economic system that was the result of largely uncoordinated and unplanned individual decisions come to dominate our modern world? This is the core question that my guest, Berkeley economic historian Trevor Jackson, tries to answer in his new book, The Insatiable Machi ... Show More
55m 45s
Oct 2025
The Case for Hope, With Rebecca Solnit
<p>We explore how embracing uncertainty enables us to move beyond climate anxiety and despair to hope and action, with author and activist Rebecca Solnit.</p><p>Summary: When you think about climate change, do you feel hope? In this episode of The Science of Happiness, we examine ... Show More
21m 45s
Jan 2025
How to turn climate anxiety into action (w/ Luisa Neubauer) (re-release)
Amidst the multiple devastating fires in Los Angeles, where Chris lives, extreme weather events and shifting climate patterns are occurring across the globe, making our everyday lives all the more unpredictable. Today we are re-airing this episode from the very first season of Ho ... Show More
31m 29s
Sep 2024
"We've Hit a Tipping Point" - Riz Ahmed on Protest, Joy, and the Power of Story
Mehdi is joined by Oscar-winning actor and producer Riz Ahmed for a high school reunion (yes, they went to school together back in London in the 1990s!) and catch up on life, work, and how the world has changed for brown folks since their childhood. They talk about Riz's journey ... Show More
46m 17s
Oct 2024
Extra Stupid: Tim Winton's vision for our precarious future
<p>Julia has been reading Tim Winton's new novel, Juice, and it has her thinking about eco-anxiety, climate change and whether a novel can change the public's view on an issue. Join the conversation and email the show at <a href="mailto:notstupid@abc.net.au" target="_blank">notst ... Show More
13 m