logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
51m 3s

The antidote to climate anxiety

Vox
About this episode
In this episode, host Sean Illing speaks with marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson about her book What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures. Johnson approaches climate change with informed optimism, encouraging us to stop waiting for the worst to happen. She doesn’t reject the realities of a warming planet but reminds us that doomerism is paral ... Show More
Up next
Jan 26
America is football
Why do we love football so much? Why does this sport dominate American culture in a way nothing else can? Why does it feel essential even to people who barely like sports? And what does it say about us that we keep watching, even as the risks and contradictions become harder to i ... Show More
50m 43s
Jan 12
How we built a government that can’t build anything
Why is it so hard for America to build things? Bridges take years to construct. Housing costs are soaring. Transit systems are crumbling. And we’re struggling to update our infrastructure to prepare for the climate crisis. Even when there’s broad agreement that something needs to ... Show More
45m 46s
Dec 22
It’s okay to not be okay
It’s not always the most wonderful time of the year. Every December, we’re told to be merry and stay positive. But a lot of us don’t feel that way. And when we don’t, the pressure to be happy makes everything worse. Sadness feels like failure. Grief feels like a personal mistake. ... Show More
58m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Reintroducing… Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast
Outrage + Optimism is for anyone who is not ready to give up on making the world a better place. Feeling exhausted at the thought of keeping up with climate news ahead of this pivotal year? Join Christiana, Tom and Paul in their weekly conversations to make sense of it all, bring ... Show More
7 m
Sep 2024
How to Fix Our Climate Crisis — with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and co-founder of the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab, joins Scott to discuss her new book, “What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures.” She also talks to Scott about what needs to change, the ... Show More
55m 21s
Apr 2025
3 ways to fight climate change without getting overwhelmed (w/ Ayana Elizabeth Johnson)
The future could be amazing, if we get it right. That’s so rarely how we think about it though. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist and author of the anthology What If We Get it Right?, is constantly collecting visions of the future and of climate solutions that are worth w ... Show More
36m 8s
Oct 2024
The Future Is Not Yet Written: A Conversation with Ayana Johnson
<p>What if we get it right? That's the question marine biologist, climate expert, and writer Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson explores in her new book. Ayana joins us to talk about climate solutions we have right now and what's possible for the future of our planet.  </p><p>Looking fo ... Show More
29m 14s
May 2025
Meet A Pioneer Of Modern Weather Prediction
<p>Climate scientist Jagadish Shukla grew up in a small village in rural India, where people starved if the monsoon season didn’t bring rain. To help his village, he set out to become a scientist and discover a way to predict the seasons—an unthinkable idea at the time, in the 19 ... Show More
18m 51s
May 2021
Climate change will displace millions. Here's how we prepare | Colette Pichon Battle
Scientists predict climate change will displace more than 180 million people by 2100 -- a crisis of "climate migration" the world isn't ready for, says disaster recovery lawyer and Louisiana native Colette Pichon Battle. In this passionate, lyrical talk, she urges us to radically ... Show More
12m 58s
Dec 2024
The Questions We Ask Matter with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
In this live episode of A Matter of Degrees, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson joined Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson for a conversation on Ayana’s new book, What If We Get It Right, Visions of Climate Futures. The need to build community and the imperative to imagine the futures we want are n ... Show More
39m 15s
May 2023
Rob Verchick, "The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience" (Columbia UP, 2023)
One morning in Miami Beach, an unexpected guest showed up in a luxury condominium complex’s parking garage: an octopus. The image quickly went viral. But the octopus―and the combination of infrastructure quirks and climate impacts that left it stranded―is more than a funny meme. ... Show More
1h 12m
Sep 2023
Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua, "Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility" (Haymarket, 2023)
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, p ... Show More
1h 1m
May 2025
How to Age Up on a Warming Planet
How should we think about aging when the impacts of climate change can make the future feel so uncertain? That’s a question Sarah Ray, professor and chair of environmental studies at Cal Poly Humboldt, has been helping her students consider. Though climate anxiety can cause some ... Show More
42m 3s