Short Wave Podcast Summary

Episode: Nature Quest: What Does Climate Change Sound Like?

Date: August 26, 2025
Hosts: Emily Kwong, Hannah Chen
Guest Reporter: Drew Hawkins
Featured Experts/Musicians: Danavan Calhoun Bettis, Dr. Takeshi Okuma, Jen Brady

Overview

This episode of Short Wave takes a creative dive into how climate change can be understood—and felt—through sound. Reporter Drew Hawkins joins the hosts from New Orleans to explore how rising temperatures are impacting local culture, in particular the storied music scene. The episode’s centerpiece is the sonification of over a century’s worth of temperature data from New Orleans, performed by a live brass band. The hosts, along with Hawkins, discuss both the science and lived experience of climate change in the birthplace of jazz.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New Orleans Culture & Climate Change

• Drew Hawkins, a native of South Louisiana, introduces listeners to the city’s rich musical traditions, especially brass bands and “second lines.”
  • “If you think about Mardi Gras, parades, even funerals in New Orleans, they're followed by what's called a second line... mourning, but also dancing.” — Drew Hawkins (00:47)
• Musician Danavan Calhoun Bettis describes how increasing heat is changing what it means to play and perform in New Orleans.
  • “We’ve had hot summers ... but now it feels like the sun is, like, right above us.” — Danavan Calhoun Bettis (01:40)

2. Extreme Heat as a Hidden Killer

• Climate analyst Jen Brady highlights how fatal heat is, outpacing other weather threats.
  • “Heat is the number one weather killer in the U.S., often overlooked in places like New Orleans because they don’t have that visual... impact of a hurricane.” — Jen Brady (02:38)
• Recent statistics: In 2024, 51 heat-related deaths and over 6,000 hospitalizations in Louisiana.

3. Translating Data into Music (Sonification)

• Hawkins describes “sonification,” the process of converting data (average annual temps from NOAA, 1895-present) into musical notation and then performance.
  • “Sonification is just that, but with sound and in this case, music, which is a huge part of New Orleans culture.” — Drew Hawkins (06:22)
• Worked with Dr. Takeshi Okuma, an LSU researcher and amateur composer, to clean and transpose temperature data onto sheet music.
  • “It looks like... till 1980 or so, it's pretty steady...then it just goes up.” — Dr. Takeshi Okuma (07:38)

4. Bringing Data to Life: The Band Performs Climate Change

• The local brass band led by Danavan Calhoun Bettis performs “Joe Avery’s Blues,” mapping temperature increases onto changes in tempo.
  • First 75 years: Slow, steady tempo mirrors stable average temperatures. (09:37)
  • 1980s: Noticeable uptick in the pace, reflecting faster warming.
  • “So the speed of the music matches the rate of rising average temperature. Is that right?”
    “Yes, exactly.”
    — Emily Kwong & Drew Hawkins (10:09–10:13)
  • 2000–2015: Even quicker tempo, symbolizing a half-degree jump in annual temperature.
  • “It's like, frenetic.” — Hannah Chen (10:50)
  • 2015–Present: Accelerated tempo represents a 1.5–2 degree increase since the 1980s.

5. Impact of Heat on Musicians

• Heat is affecting musicians’ endurance, sound quality, and safety.
  • “Some said they used to be able to play all day... now they try to wait until it’s cooler... you can actually hear it when a band is hot, the music is duller.” — Drew Hawkins (11:28)
• Heat-related challenges are not just about comfort; dehydration interferes with the formation of the “embouchure,” essential for brass and wind players.

6. Economic and Cultural Vulnerabilities

• Musicians are culture bearers but face tough choices: they can’t easily turn down gigs despite the heat, with average pre-pandemic musician incomes at $28,000/year.
  • “I don’t even see what the preventative measures are or could be... and still not pass out, you know, be in sweltering heat the entire time.” — Danavan Calhoun Bettis (13:02)

7. Community and Government Response

• Officials have opened cooling centers, set up mobile cooling buses, and provided shelters for unhoused residents. But these solutions are far from perfect and underscore the persistent threat.
  • “Even if we stopped all emissions like today, the temperature in New Orleans could still continue to rise for decades to come.” — Drew Hawkins (13:29)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “We've had hot summers... now it feels like the sun is, like, right above us.” — Danavan Calhoun Bettis (01:40)
• “Heat is the number one weather killer in the U.S., often overlooked...” — Jen Brady (02:38)
• “Sonification... could be a way to convey the magnitude of it without people having to understand what a deviation is.” — Jen Brady (06:02)
• “You can actually hear it when a band is hot, the music is duller.” — Drew Hawkins (11:28)
• “Climate change is hurting New Orleans music. I don’t like this.” — Emily Kwong (12:01)
• “Even if we stopped all emissions today, the temperature in New Orleans could still continue to rise for decades to come.” — Drew Hawkins (13:29)

Notable Segment Timestamps

• 00:46–01:19 — Introduction to New Orleans culture and musician Danavan Calhoun Bettis.
• 02:38 — Jen Brady explains why heat is an underestimated threat.
• 04:44–06:22 — How rising temperatures are recorded and why sonification makes data accessible.
• 07:38 — Dr. Okuma identifies warming trend in the data.
• 09:33–11:16 — The band performs climate data as music, with Hawkins narrating the transitions between decades.
• 11:28–13:02 — Direct impacts of heat on musicians’ health, performance, and livelihood.
• 13:24–13:29 — Discussion of local mitigation efforts and persistent challenges.

Tone & Style

• The discussion is lively, inquisitive, and friendly—mixing accessible science explanations, local culture, and personal anecdotes. There’s humor, empathy, and a sense of both urgency and admiration for New Orleans’ resilience.

Summary

In under 15 minutes, this episode delivers a creative lens on climate science by translating rising temperatures into New Orleans jazz, helping listeners feel the data as well as understand it. The musical experiment is both poignant and informative: It not only demonstrates in sound how much the climate is changing, but also spotlights the real vulnerabilities musicians and communities face as the city heats up. The hosts and guests leave listeners with a renewed appreciation for both the data and the deeply human culture that’s at risk.