Giving climate change a worthy amount of attention can seem like a daunting task. The scope of the problem is colossal; the obstacles to equitable answers immense. However, there are thousands upon thousands of people that are working hard to find solutions to this crisis and who are creating, living and teaching the alternatives that have potential to transform the cultural paradigm that has first brought us into this mess. Listening to these people’s stories, visions, knowledge and experiences, can help bring about the hope we need in order to transform our inevitable despair into action.

We cannot forget is that we all have potential to be active agents of change. As UC Santa Cruz professor Angela Davis reminds us, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world, and you have to do it all the time.” The way things are right now are not the way they’re supposed to be, and they are not how they will be forever. This is why, today, we are sharing with you three extremely informative, engaging and inspiring podcasts that serve as incredible resources to fuel you’re understanding of the climate emergency, as well as how you can become a participant of climate justice efforts. Let these audio storytellers help you understand the problems, and potential solutions.

1.    How to Save a Planet

In this incredibly refreshing podcast, Alex Blumberg, an award-winning radio journalist who has worked on This American Life radio program and co-founded his own podcast company, Gimlet, collaborates with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, to broadcast about the climate crisis with the intention of not triggering a profound sense of hopelessness in listeners but, instead, inspire in them active responses.

It’s a consistently informative and engaging podcast which covers foundational issues like energy efficiency and the scope of the climate crisis, along with less conventional topics like soil regeneration and the similarities between the climate movement and the Black Lives Movement. Above all, the hosts are trying to foster a sense of hope in their listeners to push against prevailing narratives of “doom and gloom” by connecting people to the bigger picture.

As explained by Johnson in an interview by The Guardian, their goal is “to create a show that’s focused on solutions and helping people figure out how they can be part of the systems-level change as opposed to individual behaviour change. We need to change our energy system and our transportation system and our manufacturing and our buildings and our agriculture – we don’t just need people to ride their bikes more. And so we’re backing away from the ‘10 quick easiest lifestyle changes’ to saying: we need to change everything. There are people doing this work; we’ll talk to them and let’s figure out how we can all help.” If you’re interested in exploring what the world we dream of could look like, this podcast is for you.

2.    Mothers of Invention

The show itself is summed up in the tagline repeated at the beginning of each episode: climate change is a man-made problem with a feminist solution. Former Irish president Mary Robinson, comedian and writer Maeve Higgins, and series producer Thimali Kodikara, dig into the biggest climate issues of our time with grace, laughter and storytelling.

Episodes explore different ways of effecting change in the area of climate justice and talk to a diverse array of women from across the world who are at the forefront of this fight against climate change and injustice. Mothers of Invention gives focus to the stories of black, brown and indigenous women and girls who have been innovating from the front lines of climate change for generations — all over the world. Through their knowledge – in the fields, in the courtroom, at the marches, and in the boardroom – every episode is an education on how to cope, get empowered, and urge climate justice for all.

In defiance of outdated stereotypes depicting feminists as humorless and self-serious, Ms. Robinson and Ms. Higgins, working off Ms. Kodikara’s scripts, deliver levity and brightness to a discussion that so often emphasizes fear, hoping to leave people feeling informed and empowered, rather than scared and passive.

Throughout the world, women are on the frontlines in the critical roles of primary caregiver, land manager and resource user, making their leadership essential to the protection of our planet for future generations. 

3.    The Jane Goodall Hopecast

 Jane Goodall blazed the trail and changed the world. She dedicated her life to better understanding the animal kingdom and promoting conservation efforts. She shot to international stardom in 1965 when she was featured on the cover of National Geographic for her revolutionary research on chimpanzees in Tanzania. Now, she’s studying new subjects – humans.

This brand-new podcast will take listeners on a one-of-a-kind journey as they learn from Dr. Goodall’s extraordinary life, hear from changemaking guests from every arena and become awed by a growing movement fueled by hope. The world-renowned anthropologist and humanitarian discusses how each of us can help make a difference, by speaking of what she’s seen and learnt throughout her life, as well as by talking to the people who are currently out there in the battlefield working to change the world.

As Dr.Goodall explains in an interview by the BBC, “The way to reach people is to reach the heart through stories. So I tell stories about going around the world, seeing the ice melting in Greenland, talking to Inuit elders who say that even in the height of summer the ice never used to melt. I met people who had to leave their island homes because of sea level rise. It's telling stories like that that make people listen. When I was fighting the medical research labs, I didn't attack the people in the labs. I didn't point angry fingers at them and tell them they had to change their ways. I merely showed them and told them stories about the chimps at Gombe and what wonderful lives they led compared to these 5ftx5ft cages. And so I think people need to change from within for the most part, and hard facts and figures and arguments [aren't] going to win the day; it's not going to get to their hearts.”

For a woman who defied the odds to change the world, Jane has lived a life propelled by hope. But it is not enough to expect something to happen, or to desire it. You must have confidence in the future, take action and trust – trust of yourself and in others. That is what the Jane Goodall Hopecast is all about. After a truly unimaginable 2020, that is what she aims to make the years to come about.

All three podcasts are available on all the usual platforms.

Article by Helena Leonardo

Helena is a freelance educator and writer, trained in the fields of sociology and cultural studies. Her current mission is to take part in the advancement of the regenerative development paradigm through theoretical, empirical and active investigation on the transformational potential of intersectional ecofeminism, cooperativism, community-building and the ecovillage movement.

Primal Gathering is an environmentally, socially, and psychologically regenerative gathering empowering people with skills to be self-sustainable in their day-to-day lives. Our mission is to restore people, forests, and ecosystems all over the world. Leaving both people and places better than how we find them. Join us at the next Reforestation Gathering here or sign up and receive more content like this in a monthly newsletter here