Podcast
Your Brain On Climate
Hosted by Dave Powell · EN
A show about climate change and climate psychology. But sideways. Explore human brains doing amazing or awful things, learn why, then see what it means for the planet.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Activist Script, with Anthea Lawson
2w ago00:54:39Tap to summarizeI am good. I protest. I save people. I must save the world - now. If this even slightly feels like something you've told yourself, then this episode is for you. Author and campaigner Anthea Lawson's brilliant new book is called How Not To Save The World. It's about the 'script' that activists - including her - tell ourselves, often without realising it. From this script, which can come from deep cultural and psychological places, comes many things that aren't much help - like burnout, the excusing of bad behaviour, and pushing people away rather than persuading them. Instead Anthea's got a new recipe for change-making which is better for the activists, and better for the world. I loved Anthea's book and, as will become abundantly clear, it spoke to me good and proper. If you've ever wrestled with how to be a good activist, I commend it, and this chat, to you in the highest terms. Let me know your thoughts on the show - hello@yourbrainonclimate.com. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. And do consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises = references below.01:19: the episode of Sustainababble in which I talked about why I quit. 16:47: here's Wikipedia explaining (using too many long words in my opinion) the Cartesian divide.20:44: a great article about Jung's idea of the shadow. 24:46: What's the amygdala? 39:03: More in Common's deep dive into Progressive Activists.40:00: My interview with Deborah Prentice about pluralistic ignorance. Your Brain on Climate is a show about human brains vs the climate crisis. It's hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. You can follow the show on instagram @yourbrainonclimate, and I occasionally put up a Substack. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Thanks as always to Ruth Everett for the voices. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://mondial-studio.com/.
Transcribe →In Praise of Being Bored
4w ago00:11:00Tap to summarizeWhen's the last time you were bored? Thanks to our phones, it's easier than ever to be distracted, stimulated, and fed attention calories of varying quality so you never have to worry about being bored again. But what do we miss when we live life without giving ourselves time not to do anything at all? In this Micro episode, I revisit my chat from 2024 with broadcaster Simon Mundie, remembering what Simon told me about how much about the natural world - good and bad - we can notice and experience if we put away our phones for a bit. Please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Transcribe →The Pilot who Quit for the Climate, with Joel Walker
May 1501:05:52Tap to summarizeIn this episode I go for a walk in the woods with a former airline pilot who packed it in because of his climate anxiety. Joel Walker flew for years but could never quite ignore the state of the planet - like the forest fires and melting glaciers he could see from his cockpit. Eventually, in 2025, the cognitive dissonance got too much and Joel left flying forever. As we natter through the trees not far from Luton Airport, Joel tells me what it feels like to walk away from a prestigious career he'd trained for for years, because he could no longer bear what it was doing to the world. He tells me about the culture of being a pilot, the ruthless logic of aviation expansion, and what he's learned about how to live a more fulfilling life from his rollercoaster journey. Joel is funny, kind and quietly inspiring. This is a fascinating chat with a man who has grappled hard with things we all face at some point. How to take big decisions when your values are telling you to do one thing, but your identity (and salary!) is built around doing something else. And what happens when you can no longer look away from how entangled you are with the climate crisis - whether you're an airline pilot or not. Let me know your thoughts on the show - hello@yourbrainonclimate.com. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. And do consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises = references below. One additional last-minute reference: for more on 'sustainable' aviation and if it's possible, check out the latest Outrage and Optimism. 21:34 - the Jeavons Paradox explained. 24:23 - the Safe Landing group. 34:31 - the overview effect: what seeing Earth from space does to you. 37:36 - more about how contrails increase the warming effect. 38:56 - slightly old stat, but 70% of flights taken by 15% of people is here. 41:33 - extreme day trips. 52:23 - my chat with Geoff Beattie about climate anxiety. 57:00 - Look Near First, Joel's new thing. 58:08 - Joel profiled in the Times. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. You can follow the show on instagram @yourbrainonclimate, and I occasionally put up a Substack. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Thanks as always to Ruth Everett for the voices. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://mondial-studio.com/.
Transcribe →Discounting the Future
May 100:12:15Tap to summarizeWould you rather have a fiver today or a tenner this time next year? That kind of calculation is called 'discounting', and the more you'd rather have the fiver today, the more you are discounting the future. Humans are hardwired to lean towards getting things now, unless the deal is sufficiently sweet. That preference makes sense when you evolved to not know where your next antelope was coming from. But our bias towards discounting the future is one of the reasons we haven't done enough about climate change. So.... we'd better learn to hack it. On this Micro episode, I revisit my chat from 2023 with cognitive scientist Adam Bulley. We chatted then all about foresight; the brain's amazing ability to jump forward (and backward in time) to make calculations about what to do today - and how it's a deeply imperfect but very human part of what made us the species we are today. OWL at 3:00: here's more about economic discounting. Please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Transcribe →Use Your Fear, with Sarah Jaquette Ray
Apr 1501:01:07Tap to summarizeClimate change is REALLY SCARY, right, but that doesn't mean you have to wibble helplessly in the corner. While the go-to currency of most climate awareness campaigns is 'hope' – does fear get a bad press? It turns out fear is a great motivator of climate action too, as long as we learn how to use its power for good, not the dark side. After all, if you think climate change isn't a bit alarming, you're not paying attention. Joining me on this episode is Professor Sarah Jaquette Ray. Sarah's written and thought loads about how fear, and its twin emotion of disgust, are used by bad people to divide us and scapegoat on climate change and the environment. But she's also thought loads about how to hack your fear: dosing yourself up just enough to make good things happen, without giving in to the terror entirely. Sarah is also the host of the fab Climate Magic podcast. Let me know your thoughts on the show - hello@yourbrainonclimate.com. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. And do consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises = references: 11:57. The 2003 film, the Fog of War. 18.26. Christiana Figueres: stubborn optimism. 21.49: Greta: cathedral thinking. 22.44: Hannah Proctor's book, Burnout. 26.55: Check out my episode about Risk, with Adam Corner... 35.01: ... and my chat about Disgust, with Yoel Inbar. 36.48: Mary Douglas's book Purity and Danger. 40.20: Don't Mess With Texas! 48.31: Tending and befriending. 50.03: Joanna Macy's three narratives / stories of now. 58.58: Thích Nhất Hạnh's ideas about nutriments.The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. You can follow the show on instagram @yourbrainonclimate, and I occasionally put up a Substack. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Thanks as always to Ruth Everett for the voices. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://mondial-studio.com/.
Transcribe →The Dutch have a word for your flimsy excuses
Mar 3100:12:26Tap to summarizeA few years ago I learned the Dutch word 'goedprater': the excuses we give to justify something to others, which we can barely justify to ourselves. I do it all the time and I bet you do too, whether it's not going for that run you planned (ow, leg suddenly hurt) or caring about climate change but taking loads of flights (well, they were just going to go anyway, right?) In this micro episode, I learn all about goedprater as part of understanding the BYSTANDER EFFECT. I revisit a snippet of my 2023 chat with Professor Gerdien de Vries. Within, Gerdien explains the three reasons we walk by on the other side, when doing our bit would probably be the right thing to do. Please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Transcribe →Hope, with Pancho Lewis
Mar 1700:59:53Tap to summarizeHope! What is it good for? (Absolutely every'thin). We ain't doing much about the climate crisis without it. Movements are founded on it, and most campaigns are about wanting us to feel it. Which is exhilarating for those who feel it most urgently - but what about everyone else? The good news is it turns out there are lots of different ways to have climate hope, even ones that might not look like it. Raising kids in the age of climate breakdown; doing a strange little climate podcast; even being a mopey wee doomer: this episode, we learn about how all these things are types of hope. Joining me on this episode is researcher Pancho Lewis, who's got a brilliant paper all about the many different types of climate hope there are. We talk about how politics is all about the feels, why being a Man U fan has tested Pancho's hope reserves no end - and how to truly have hope in the dark. All that, and a bit of Terry Pratchett too. (last minute edit: The term 'slow hope' was coined by Christof Mauch. Forgot to owl that)Let me know your thoughts on the show - hello@yourbrainonclimate.com. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. And do consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises = references: 13:33: My micro chat with Geoff Beattie about optimism bias. 16.38: Pancho's paper about fluid hope. 34.21: Over to Wiki to explain collective effervescence.40.17: Jonathan Lear's book about radical hope. 45:20: Mathias Thaler's paper about eco-miserablism. 45.30: an owl is necessary to explain the Dark Mountain Collective. 50.46: Andreas Malm hates doomsters: see his book. 57:02: Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark. If you read nothing else, etc. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. You can follow the show on instagram @yourbrainonclimate, and I occasionally put up a Substack. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Thanks as always to Ruth Everett for the voices. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://mondial-studio.com/.
Transcribe →Eat a Proper Lunch
Mar 100:10:50Tap to summarizeYour brain is literally made of the food you eat. And *how* you eat it - slowly, or wolfed down at your desk - will affect how well you digest it. So way before any of the psychology stuff, getting a proper lunch might be the most important way to start getting your brain to be useful, in doing something about climate change. In this micro episode, I revisit my chat with the brilliant Kimberley Wilson from 2021. Kimberley's an author, mental health expert, nutritionist and science communicator, who knows more about the value of a hot dinner than you've had hot dinners. Please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Transcribe →Fear of Numbers, with Rob Eastaway
Feb 1500:54:17Tap to summarizeThe history of humans arguing about climate change is often just people throwing large numbers at each other. So it's time for an episode about how we think about numbers, why our brains are prone to falling for dodgy sums dressed up as facts, and how we can all learn to maths up a bit. Joining me on this episode is Rob Eastaway - maths author, cricket nerd, and all round nice bloke. You might have heard him on shows like BBC's More or Less, or read his books like Maths on the Back of an Envelope. He's passionate about helping everyone young and old more conquer their fear of maths and to take back a bit of control over those that would use numbers to beguile or bewitch us. Loads of people say they have a fear of numbers. Many of us struggle with probabilities, percentages or simply confidence in adding up in our heads. Rob says that's not just bad for our basic life skills, but it leaves us vulnerable to those who would use big numbers to make us believe things that aren't true. Let me know your thoughts on the show - hello@yourbrainonclimate.com. 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: 18.22: My episode about Common Sense, with Danna Young, featuring the Monty Hall problem and much more. 29:00: A report I once commissioned challenging the (questionable) sums the then government used to slow down climate action. 34:50: badger costs, including policing. 37:50: Matt Parker mathematically ranks insect stings. 43:27: BBC's More or Less. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. You can follow the show on instagram @yourbrainonclimate, and I occasionally put up a Substack. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Ruth Everett does all other YBOC voices. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://mondial-studio.com/.
Transcribe →Bonus episode: Climate Magic, featuring me
Feb 101:01:38Tap to summarizeI recently had the honour of being interviewed about what I've learned from 4+ years of doing this show - about human brains vs the climate crisis and how to bring them closer together. This is me on the Climate Magic podcast, under the benign grill of Sarah Jaquette Ray, herself very much not a slouch in the 'being clever about climate psychology' stakes. I hope you like. If you like this show, please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
Transcribe →