The Communicating Climate Change Podcast
Exploring practical insights from across diverse disciplines to help climate communicators make a positive impact
By digging deep into the best practices, the worst offenses, we'll be looking for ways to help you – and me - improve our abilities to engage, empower, and ultimately, activate audiences on climate-related issues.
We’ll hear from experts producing the latest science, activists working at the front lines of the crisis, artists, influencers, NGOs, players from the private sector, and many more, bringing together a wide range of perspectives to help us be more impactful in the ways that we communicate climate change.
Each and every episode is an attempt to add to our toolkits, to help us develop the skills we’ll need for this vital task. So, if you want to start communicating climate change more effectively - tune in, subscribe, and tell your friends and colleagues about Communicating Climate Change.
Discover 50+ episodes wherever you get your podcasts!
Or explore the latest expert interviews below.
Transforming Newsrooms With Katherine Dunn
Talking to Katherine Dunn from the Oxford Climate Journalism Network, a program led by the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute, about what makes an effective climate news story, the obligations of newsrooms when it comes to addressing climate issues, and the unique role of meteorologists in delivering relevant and actionable local climate insights.
Navigating Politics and Polarization With Josh Garrett
Talking to Josh Garrett, CEO and co-founder of Redwood Climate Communications, about the state of political polarization on climate issues in the United States, what this poster child of partisanship can teach us about communicating climate change across the aisle, and which bright spots we might look to for inspiration.
Spotlighting Climate Solutions With Matt Scott
Talking to Project Drawdown's Director of Storytelling and Engagement, Matt Scott, about the power of spotlighting climate solutions and the people working to implement them, how telling such stories can propagate hope and action, and the importance of passing the mic to diverse voices that often go unheard, as well as what happens when we don’t.
Making Meaning With Laura Santamaria
Talking to communication designer, researcher, and semiotician, Dr. Laura Santamaria about how humans – whether as individuals or in communities – construct meaning, how those meanings can become appropriated or changed over time, and why deep contextual knowledge is vital to understanding how climate messages might be received by given audiences.
The Psychology of Stories With Markus Appel
Talking to psychologist and professor of media communication, Markus Appel, about the ability of stories to impact people’s attitudes and behaviours, what makes some stories more persuasive than others, and some caution that communicators should keep in mind when using the powerful tool that is storytelling.
Playing for the Planet With Matt Leacock
Talking to game designer, Matt Leacock, about the role of play in learning, the ways that games can help people understand and model complexity, and how interactivity can deepen audience engagement on climate issues.
Engaging the Persuadables With Florencia Lujani
Talking to Florencia Lujani, Strategy Director at ACT Climate Labs, about new research conducted to better understand a key new audience for climate action called the Persuadables, the ways that information we’re exposed to shapes our perceptions of the world, and lessons that those working in the climate space could learn from marketing and advertising.
The Power of Framing With Funmibi Ogunlesi
Talking to Funmibi Ogunlesi, Acting Head of Framing at NEON, about the impact that different framing strategies can have on people’s perception of an issue, why pointing the finger at those responsible for the harms around us is essential, and how doing so can combat fatalism and help give people agency to act.
Creating Viral Climate Content With Nick Oldridge
Talking to co-founder of Climate Science Breakthrough, Nick Oldridge, about the rationale behind the project’s work bringing together climate scientists and comedians to create viral climate content, what makes comedians a useful vehicle for this kind of information in the first place, and the value that marketing minds can bring to the climate context.
From Climate Shocks to Climate Action With Dana R. Fisher
Talking to Dana R. Fisher, about the role of disruptive tactics within the broader climate movement, the importance of fostering community resilience as well environmental resilience, and what the future will likely hold when it comes to activism associated with the climate crisis.
A Rare Take on Climate Communication With Kevin Green
Talking to Kevin Green, who leads Rare's Center for Behavior & the Environment, about Rare’s eight principles for effective and inviting climate communication, the unrivaled ability that humans have for solving certain types of problems, and the challenge communicators therefore face in communicating climate change in such a way that makes it the type of problem we’re already adept at solving.
Shifting Portrayals of Climate-Vulnerable Communities With Josephine Latu-Sanft
Talking to international communications expert, Josephine Latu-Sanft, about the need to challenge portrayals of climate-vulnerable peoples in the media, the ways that words can influence reality, and the power that shifting established narratives can have on the perceptions and perspectives of such communities.
Digging Into Disaster Communication With Dennis John Sumaylo
Talking to disaster communication and community engagement specialist, Dennis John Sumaylo, about the ways that audiences' respective experiences and worldviews affect their communications needs, the importance of understanding how messages are received by those exposed to them, and how power intersects with access to essential knowledge in disaster contexts.
Sharing Personal Stories For Impact With Melis Figanmeşe
Talking to award-winning campaigner, Melis Figanmeşe, about the ability of stories to help audiences relate to the ways that climate change is impacting the lives of others, the importance of cutting out the jargon and communicating with accessible language, and some practical tips for running successful campaigns at scale.
Advocating for Indigenous Perspectives With Keshoe Isaiah
Talking to youth climate activist and advocate of indigenous perspectives, Keshoe Isaiah, about the indivisibility of nature and culture within the Maasai community, the role of indigenous perspectives in conservation and adaptation, and the power of stories to carry important information across generations.
Fostering Radical Collaboration With Lucy von Sturmer
Talking to climate communications expert and business activist, Lucy von Sturmer, about theories of change, divesting talent from polluting industries, and how inevitable personal limitations make radical collaboration a weapon of choice.
A Kid’s Point of View on Climate Communication With Zachary Fox-DeVol
Talking to 11-year-old climate podcaster, Zachary Fox-DeVol, about climate anxiety in younger generations, the gaps he perceives in climate communication as it stands today, before hearing from Zach’s mum, Carol, on the impact that raising a child so engaged in climate change has had on their family.
Learning From Systems Perspectives With Solveig Zophoniasdottir
Talking to Solveig Zophoniasdottir, Head of Learning at the EU’s main climate innovation initiative, Climate-KIC, about the need for systems perspectives in efforts to address the climate crisis, what communicators can learn from this kind of thinking, and the value of embracing uncertainty, complexity, and experimentation.
Constructive Climate Conversations With Robin Webster
Talking to writer, researcher, campaigner, and advisor, Robin Webster, about the challenges associated with discussing climate change with family, friends, and others, what doing so can achieve in relation to the bigger picture, and what a good climate conversation looks like.
Big Data for Solving Big Problems With Ravi Sreenath
Talking to Ravi Sreenath of data-for-good advisory firm, Ripple Research, about the benefits of applying big data to pressing challenges like the social impacts of climate change, what aggregated online activity can tell us about society, and how we can use those kinds of insights to create more impactful communication.