Your Brain On Climate
Dave Powell
1 Listener
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 Your Brain On Climate Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Your Brain On Climate episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Your Brain On Climate for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Your Brain On Climate episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Change, with Andrew Simms
Your Brain On Climate
09/21/21 • 41 min
Everything changes and everything stays the same. Imagine being a squishy human brain trying to navigate that. Add on a barrage of advertising and social norms about what 'novelty' looks like, and no wonder it's so hard to make sense of what we might really want to change in our lives.
And then there's climate change. There's a clue in the name: it means Different. Are we kitted out for that kind of change? Has our thirst for newness got us into this mess in the first place? And what hope is there of changing how we live in time to do something about it?
Discussing all this and more with Dave is megabrain author, analyst and campaigner Andrew Simms. He's the director of the Rapid Transition Alliance, founder of the New Weather Institute, and formerly Policy Director at the New Economics Foundation. He's also written a bucket-load of books about the climate crisis and what needs to change - and how to change it. Follow him on Twitter @andrewsimms_uk.
A link, as highlighted by the owl noise:
- 06:30 - The hedonic treadmill, a faintly depressing thing to read about.
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
The show is hosted by Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. All music throughout the show and audio production is by Dave, because he's far too much of a control freak to let anyone else loose on it.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
1 Listener
Grief, with Ro Randall
Your Brain On Climate
09/14/21 • 43 min
When we lose someone or something we love, our brains want to grieve. Why? What's going on when grieve - when we do it well, or don't do it properly?
Is it grief we feel when we see huge forest fires or melting ice caps caused by climate change? And if it is - where do we put that grief, in a society that doesn't recognise it?
This week Dave speaks to the wonderfully kind and clever Ro Randall about the psychology of grief and loss - and what it tells us about living through the climate crisis. Ro is a psychoanalytically trained psychotherapist who has written and worked extensively about how to help people process the emotional impact of climate change. You can find out all about Ro's work at www.rorandall.org.
A link, as highlighted by the owl noise:
- 18:13 - Greek island on fire video
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
The show is hosted by Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. All music throughout the show and audio production is by Dave, because he's far too much of a control freak to let anyone else loose on it.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
1 Listener
Connection, with Alison Crowther
Your Brain On Climate
10/05/21 • 38 min
Being alive can be a lonely business, as can trying to do something about climate change. But how important to our brains is connecting with others? And in our individualised world, might we be hugely undervaluing the importance of interpersonal connection in helping society take meaningful and effective action on climate change?
Joining Dave this week is coach, facilitator, and expert in the growing field of positive psychology, Alison Crowther. Alison works to encourage deeper connection and collaboration with others, learning from science and nature to form more resilient systems – be they at work or in the community.
Extra reading as highlighted by the owl noises:
-- 04:16: TED talk with Martin Selignan on positive psychology
-- 12:17: CLANG of wellbeing (connect, learn, be active, notice and give), courtesy of MIND
-- 18:16: The story of Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, from NRDC
-- 31:51: What is Eudaimonia?
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
The show is hosted by Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. All music throughout the show and audio production is by Dave, because he's far too much of a control freak to let anyone else loose on it.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
I Contain Multitudes, with Sarah Stein Lubrano
Your Brain On Climate
04/16/25 • 59 min
An episode all about cognitive dissonance.
Ever feel like there are two yous in the same head? The one that cares about the planet, and the one that doesn't act like it does? And that having two yous makes at least one of your yous freak out? You (and you) are not alone.
Welcome to cognitive dissonance. As Walt Whitman wrote: you contain multitudes. It's a feature, not a bug, of being alive.
Humans, it turns out, are very good at thinking conflicting things at the same time. This helps us get through the day, but means we're as likely to run away from scary facts we don't like - eg, the state of planet Earth - as to take meaningful action. It's as bad for our politics as it is for getting our heads around climate change. What's to be done?
In this episode, Dave chats all things cognitive dissonance and more with the brilliant Sarah Stein Lubrano. Sarah's an author, podcaster and academic whose work is at the intersection of psychology, politics, and cognitive science. Her new book, Don't Talk About Politics: How to change 21st century minds, is out in mid-May.
- Let me know your thoughts on the show - [email protected].
- Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials.
- Please consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate.
Owl noises = references:
- 23:52 - Joseph Henrich coined the term WEIRD & wrote a book about it.
- 32:30 - Excellent article on Kristin Laurin's work studying bans.
- 42:44 - Deep organising, via the legend that was Jane McAlevey.
- 49:29 - Google Deepmind founder Mustafa Suleyman's terrifying book, the Coming Wave.
- 52:35 - critical theory and social pathology.
Clips in this episode are from the (er) 1984 film of 1984, starring Robert Burton and John Hurt.
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Bluesky and X/Twitter, although I don't use the latter any more.
YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Risk, with Adam Corner
Your Brain On Climate
07/18/21 • 45 min
In this debut episode of Your Brain On Climate, Dave talks all things RISK with Dr Adam Corner (@ajcorner).
How do our brains understand risk? Are we still part jittery lizard, and if so which part? How do we - individually and as a society - decide what's risky enough to do something about? What can we learn from the wretched pandemic? And what can all of that teach us about the fact that while there's a climate emergency going on, it's not being treated like one?
Dr Adam Corner is an independent writer and researcher, formerly Director of Policy and Research at Climate Outreach. His website is www.adamcorner.uk.
Extra reading as highlighted by the twinkly noises:
- 06:43 - Social Amplification of Risk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNHdse6jFNI
- 10.33 - System One and Two thinking ('thinking fast and slow'). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kahneman-excerpt-thinking-fast-and-slow/
- 20:32 - Lorraine Whitmarsh and colleagues work into how lockdowns increase perceptions of risk: https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/uk-public-view-covid-19-as-a-threat-because-of-lockdowns-new-study-suggests/
- 31:02 - Daniel Gilbert & PAIN: https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-some-people-cannot-believe-in-the-science-of-climate-change-31c45b626b6b
A full series of Your Brain On Climate will follow later in 2021.
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
The show is hosted by Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. All music throughout the show and audio production is by Dave, because he's far too much of a control freak to let anyone else loose on it.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://www.designbymondial.com.
Honesty, with Rupert Read
Your Brain On Climate
06/22/23 • 44 min
You can't handle the truth! Or maybe you can. But does the truth set us free, or bum us out? Do we all have a duty to say it like we see it - particularly on things we're not seeing clearly enough, like climate change? How much honesty can our flimsy little brains bear?
Joining Dave this episode is Dr Rupert Read. He's an academic, author, agitator and activist, and used to be one of Extinction Rebellion's biggest thinkers and strategists. As well as a new book - 'Do You Want To Know The Truth - the surprising rewards of climate honesty' - he's launching the Climate Majority Project to help everyday people talk more honestly about the climate crisis. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenRupertRead.
Owl noises:
-- 18:09 - El Niño doesn't sound like fun.
-- 32:58 - Rupert's call for a 'moderate flank'.
-- 34:36 - Do check out the work of Larger Us. Cool stuff.
-- 37:37 - A chewy chat with colossal-brained Daniel Schmachtenberger about the 'war on sense-making'.
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate.
The show is hosted by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. Original music by me, and I twiddle all the production knobs too.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Values Action Gap, with Gail Hochachka
Your Brain On Climate
07/01/24 • 52 min
Well you SAY you care about climate change, but you don't, do you? There's you, driving a car (!!!) or not putting that plastic bottle in the recycling (!!!!!). There's you, saying you value the planet, but acting like you JUST DON'T CARE.
You and me and everyone else. The gulf between our values and actions is large you could drive an SUV through it. This is the 'values action gap'. Closing it is the stated aim of just about all behavioural science and climate campaigns and all the rest of it. But it is evidently bloody hard. Because although most people say they care about the planet, the plastic and the carbon emissions and the dead stuff keeps on piling up. So what is the values action gap all about, and how do we actually leap it?
Joining Dave this week is Dr Gail Hochachka from the University of British Columbia in Canada. She explains her brilliant research which picks apart the values action gap in all its complexity, and gives us abundant reasons to be cheerful: perhaps the gap isn't as large as all that. Gail's paper on the gap (referenced throughout) is here.
Owl noises:
-- 12:28: This owl is a plug for Gail's paper, linked above.
-- 13:16: We've talked about hyperobjects on YBOC before, can't remember where. Read this.
-- 49:52: Gail has a fantastic new initiative, SALT.
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate.
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. Original music by me too.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Psychogeography, with Philippa Holloway
Your Brain On Climate
02/21/22 • 41 min
We are the places we live, and the places we live are us. Places made by oil, coal, and gas, by roads, and by industry. Where the choices we make about what to feel and where to go are shaped by the very things that are at the heart of the climate crisis. Eek.
Psychogeography's about turning left when you're supposed to go right. Going into nuclear exclusion zones when you're not supposed to. Wandering off the beaten track, seeing what happens and who you meet. And stopping to think for a bit to notice where you are, and what's around you - and what isn't.
It's a bit of a brain-melter. So joining Dave this week is Dr Philippa Holloway - academic, author, novelist and professional psychogeographer, to talk him (very patiently) through it all. You'll find Philippa on Twitter @thejackdawspen.
Extra reading as highlighted by the owl noises:
-- 22:33: An introduction to Sartre & anti-praxis. Not for the faint of heart.
-- 23.58: How colour-changing cats (really) might warn the future about nuclear waste.
-- 28:09. The Situationists. All very French.
-- 36.54. Philippa's thesis. I wasn't making it up, I've actually read the whole thing. It's ace.
Philippa's novel, The Half Life of Snails, is out on 2 May.
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
The show is hosted by Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. All music throughout the show and audio production is by Dave, because he's far too much of a control freak to let anyone else loose on it.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Conversations, with Alex Evans
Your Brain On Climate
04/30/24 • 51 min
Or: how chinwags can save the world.
Imagine I could give you a superpower. The ability to make people trust you who currently don't. To help them change their own mind, on their own terms. And to maybe even heal society, perhaps just a little bit. WELL I CAN. It's called 'having a grown up conversation', and it's perhaps the most underrated thing we can all do about climate change.
Joining me to talk about all things chatting, nattering and deep canvassing is the charming Alex Evans, founder and director of the charity Larger Us. We (yes) have a conversation about the best ways to have a good ol' chinwag, why we're all shouting at each other more, and the psychology behind why we perhaps we don't disagree anywhere near as much as we might think.
Plenty owl noises this week:
-- 05:19: Climate Outreach's Britain Talks Climate research toolkit, which is fab in which I have precisely no vested interest whatsoever.
-- 11:18: Dave Fleischer's TED Talk about deep canvassing.
-- 15:23: George Marshall's brilliant book, Don't Even Think About It.
-- 23:55: Bill Bishop came up with the Big Sort idea back in 2004.
-- 28:00: Hannah Arendt on totalitarianism, via Wiki.
-- 30:52: Bobby Duffy's Divided Britain report.
-- 36:30: Oil and gas workers team up with greenies.
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate.
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. Original music by me too.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Biophilia, with Lauren Hall Ruddell
Your Brain On Climate
02/22/24 • 42 min
Frazzled? Go for a walk in the woods. It'll calm you down, fill your nose with lovely smells, and reset your eyes to room temperature. But why? According to today's guest, humans evolved to need to chill out in natural environments. It gives us nice chemicals like serotonin, is good for long term mental health, and generally resets our stress alarms. This is the idea of Biophilia, and it's rather nice.
Joining Dave this episode is Dr Lauren Hall Ruddell - a journalist and naturalist who has spent many years thinking about the restorative power of being in nature. We talk about all things biophilic, and how losing the nature we evolved to need is one of the biggest tragedies of the climate crisis.
The opening poem thingy is an extract from "A Transparent Eyeball" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, read by Ruth Everett.
Owl noises:
-- 08:43 - Attention Restoration Theory - a fascinating, still-developing field which posits that being in nature can restore your, well, attention.
-- 12:12 - Default Mode Network - the surprisingly large amount of brain activity that goes on when you're not thinking about anything in particular. -- 18:53 - Savannah Theory crops up in this interesting article about why so many companies put pot plants all over their offices.
-- 19:40 - Cows face north!
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected].
Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate.
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. Original music by me too.
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Your Brain On Climate have?
Your Brain On Climate currently has 43 episodes available.
What topics does Your Brain On Climate cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Earth Sciences, Podcasts, Science and Philosophy.
What is the most popular episode on Your Brain On Climate?
The episode title 'Grief, with Ro Randall' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Your Brain On Climate?
The average episode length on Your Brain On Climate is 45 minutes.
How often are episodes of Your Brain On Climate released?
Episodes of Your Brain On Climate are typically released every 29 days, 22 hours.
When was the first episode of Your Brain On Climate?
The first episode of Your Brain On Climate was released on Jul 18, 2021.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ