logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
53m 19s

How a changing climate changes our minds...

RSA
About this episode

Neuroscientist and environmental journalist Clayton Aldern has travelled the world to meet scientists and doctors working at the intersections of environmental science, psychology and neuroscience to synthesize a new, interdisciplinary approach to a novel field — the neuroscience of climate change.

His new book The Weight of Nature is an impassioned work of research and storytelling, documenting the emotional and physical toll of a warming climate on our minds, brains and bodies.

In the book, he explores how our beliefs, language, communities, family ties, cultural narratives, imagery and soundscapes are all being warped by the repeated shocks and stresses of climate change, reshaping our very humanity, and contributing to a growing public health crisis that has gone largely unreported.

Join Clayton Aldern as he argues that it is only by living in fuller intimacy with our planet that we will apply the compassion, resilience and courage to act to save it. 

#RSAclimate

Become an RSA Events sponsor: https://utm.guru/udI9x

Donate to The RSA: https://utm.guru/udNNB

Follow RSA Events on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents

Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial

Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU

Join our Fellowship: https://www.thersa.org/fellowship/join

Up next
Jul 8
Listening and disagreeing productively
In a world increasingly marked by polarisation and fractured discourse, how can we truly hear each other?Join us in the Great Room of the RSA for a vital conversation between Emily Kasriel, journalist, broadcaster, and author of the new book Deep Listening, and Professor Paul Dol ... Show More
59m 1s
Jun 19
Roots of trust
What if we designed systems not for top-down control – but for human connection?At RSA House, trust expert and artist Rachel Botsman explores how design thinking and visual storytelling can rethink leadership, power, and trust systems. We often learn something new from studying s ... Show More
1h 1m
Jun 18
Justice under siege: Ukraine, war crimes, and the fight for dignity
Join the RSA, Insulate Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Institute London for a fireside chat with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk, in conversation with journalist and author Gillian Tett. Their discussion will explore the cycle of impunity and harsh realities in the te ... Show More
1h 2m
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
Is There Any Good News on Climate Change? with Bill McKibben
We’re in a massive climate crisis, but it’s hard to think about it, isn’t it? It’s a great temptation to shut our eyes to climate change. It’s overwhelming. This week on the show, climate activist and author Bill McKibben on facing the reality of the climate crisis, understanding ... Show More
51m 41s
May 2022
How Much Climate Anxiety Helps?
I take a walk with Britt Wray who studies the mental health effects of climate change, and we talk about how she overcame debilitating climate dread without turning away from the crisis.  Do you want to lessen your climate anxiety while also helping the planet? Britt says, "It's ... Show More
38m 34s
Aug 2022
Climate Anxiety is Real
Climate change has long been an existential threat, but for many young people, government inaction and increasing natural disasters are now taking a mental toll. Psychologists describe this phenomenon as climate anxiety, or ecological grief. On this episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talk ... Show More
29m 20s
Jun 2022
How is climate change affecting our mental health?
We often talk about the physical costs of climate change; the economic fallout, the effect on livelihoods and damage to the earth. But all of the changes to our world caused by global warming will have an effect on our minds, our mental health too. Earlier this year the mental he ... Show More
27m 22s
Jun 2023
Peut-on sauver la planète en luttant contre l’obésité et la pollution ?
**** Recevez gratuitement tous les mardis l'infolettre Chaleur humaine en vous inscrivant ici **** Les différentes pollutions sont responsables de 9 millions de morts par an dans le monde, l'obésité de 5 millions : dans son livre Le suicide de l'espèce (Denoël), le médecin Jean-D ... Show More
42m 52s
Jun 2021
Is climate change hurting our mental health?
Has global warming made us more depressed? There’s no doubt climate change is totally changing the world we live in, but some of these changes are more unexpected than others. Take mental health: scientists say problems like depression and anxiety are spreading faster due to the ... Show More
13m 15s
Apr 2021
How to cope with climate anxiety, with Thomas Doherty, PsyD, and Ashlee Cunsolo, PhD
Over the past several years, climate change has moved from an abstract idea to a reality in many Americans’ lives – a reality that we are increasingly worried about. An APA survey found that two-thirds of American adults said that they felt at least a little “eco-anxiety,” define ... Show More
36 m
May 2020
#18: Bending the curve on climate change, the era of commercial space travel, staying safe from coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic is a human disaster that is dominating the news right now, but climate change is going to be worse and longer-lasting. The two crises may seem to be completely separate, but there are parallels that can be drawn between the two in our reaction and respons ... Show More
25m 57s
Jan 2022
#422 - Dr Joe Henrich - Evolution, Psychology, Monogamy & Culture
Joe Henrich is Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and an author.Humans like to think that we're sovereign individuals with agency over our preferences and actions. But we are also a part of our social environment and Joe has teased apart some fascinatin ... Show More
1 h
Mar 2022
Silver Linings From The UN's Dire Climate Change Report
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just released the second of three reports on climate change. Nearly 300 scientists from all over the world worked together to create this account of how global warming is affecting our society. NPR climate report ... Show More
10m 6s