Episodes
Aug. 16, 2021
122. We Are The Algorithm
In Episode 122 , Quinn has big questions about AI ethics and, like many other situations, is left wondering: was Dr. Ian Malcolm right all along? Our guest is Dr. Rumman Chowdury. She is the director of the Machine Ethics Tra...
Aug. 9, 2021
121. QueerBrownVegan
In Episode #121 , Quinn’s got a fantastic new guest to help answer his favorite question: “ What can I do? ” Isaias Hernandez – or, as he’s known pretty much everywhere on the internet, Queer Brown Vegan -- shares the mic tod...
Aug. 6, 2021
Issue #242: Facebook's Oil Ads Are Killing Us
This week: 50% isn’t good enough; Facebook fossil fuel ads; How to get shots to Africa; Oysters!?; Why has AI failed to help during COVID? Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got f...
Aug. 4, 2021
120. Welcome to the Discontinuity
In Episode 120 , Quinn discusses retraining our mind to understand and operate in the discontinuity we are in. Let’s get META. HIs guest is Alex Steffen, a longtime climate reporter and futurist, as well as writer of the fort...
Aug. 2, 2021
Issue #241: A Different Kind of Thirst Trap, Back to the Mask, Where’s Smokey the Bear when you need him?
This week: FDA got next?; Flooded subways; Delta's a game-changer; Epic (AI) fail; Fire predictions; Food stamp groceries delivered. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedbac...
Aug. 2, 2021
119. How to Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke
In Episode 119 , Quinn asks: what’s in wildfire smoke, what does it do to your body, and how can you stay safe? Our guest is Dr. Mary Prunicki , the director of air pollution and health research at Stanford University under T...
July 26, 2021
Introducing "A Matter of Degrees"
I don't have to tell you folks – climate change is the story of our time. There’s been a sharp rise (like last week) in people are anxious, angry, and want action – and the opening for bold climate action has never been wider...
July 23, 2021
Issue #240: The Pizza King of Vaccines, Beef: It’s (Still) for Dinner, Investors on Notice
This week: The climate crisis kicked down the door of the west and global north this week; The Pizza King of Vaccines; Mental health care now available everywhere; The Human-Machine interface; You like drugs, Danny? Find link...
July 19, 2021
118. F*cking Mosquitoes
In Episode 118 , Quinn discusses: the big mosquito problem . Our guest is Dr. Omar Akbari , one of the world’s pre-eminent biotechnology and mosquito researchers. For how afraid people are of sharks, mountain lions, or even j...
July 16, 2021
Issue #239: Go to Farmers’ Markets, Climate Reparations, Held Hostage by Hackers
This week: deep breath; COVID all around the world; there are two Americas and it’s obvious why; the global hungry jump to 768 million; call your doctor!; money for nothing; held hostage by hackers. Find links from this newsl...
July 12, 2021
117. Keep ‘em Accountable
In Episode 117 , Quinn discusses: how accountability works – and doesn’t – in the climate movement, how you can get involved, and how the best in the world are doing it. Our guests are Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt ....
July 9, 2021
Issue #238: Seattle in the Oven, Vaccine Money Grab, Building Biased Robots
This week: To understand Africa, look to India -- or not; Reverse course; Don’t believe everything you read -- especially Best Buy food labels; New headline, who dis? Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotim...
July 6, 2021
Introducing HERO, from Foreign Policy
This week, Quinn is proud to share a new favorite podcast: “The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women (HERO).” Could empowering women in the workplace be the simplest way to boost the global economy? In a word: “yes,” but how ...
July 2, 2021
Issue #237: Do the Dew Point, Thanos SNAP Benefits, Putting the AI in Ethical
This week: What’s a dew point, anyways?; The COVID Delta variant is here; And then there were six; An all female Justice League of social media. #51: Are We Talking About CRISPR All Wrong? Also, What The Hell Is CRISPR? Find ...
June 28, 2021
116: What Really Happens When You Just Give People Money?
In Episode 116 , Quinn wants to know: why is simply giving people money the most effective way to 1) help them make positive changes to their lives and 2) erase global poverty along the way? To help him understand the answer,...
June 25, 2021
Issue #236: Amazon Held to Ransom (Not That One), COVID Doesn’t Discriminate (But We Do), Vaccinate the 99%
This week: it’s Bolsonaro all the way down; the 99%; 44 thousand patients can’t be wrong; “fire beats water” should be relegated to D&D; Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got fee...
June 22, 2021
Best of the Best: Do We Really Know What’s in that Moisturizer (& Where the Hell Did it Come From?)
In light of new research on toxic ingredients, it looks like America might finally start regulating cosmetic products, so it’s a great moment to re-run one of our most popular episodes with Beautycounter CEO Gregg Renfrew. In...
June 14, 2021
Best of the Best: Legalizing the Other Weed
In celebration of New York state passing Bill S6532A, permitting underwater kelp cultivation, we’re re-playing one of our coolest (and most entertaining) episodes. Kelp could be THE crop of the 21st century. But why? Listen i...
June 11, 2021
Issue #234: Tripping Over Our Bootstraps, Cover My Crops, AI is as Bad as Us
This week: “Do not come”; The pandemic is not over for everyone; We can do better, can’t we? Cover crops; Language barriers in AI. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the future. Find l...
June 7, 2021
115: Fossil Fuel Propaganda
In Episode 115 , Quinn & Brian discuss: How to stop fossil fuel advertising. Our guests are JaRel Clay and Jamie Henn. JaRel Clay is the Digital Director of Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit focused on ending the climate c...
June 4, 2021
Issue #233: Big Renewable Energy, AI Isn’t All That (Yet), Hot Vax Summer
This week: bigger doesn’t mean better; COVAX has got next, finally; a brand new day… and vaccine; AI and medicine – so close, and yet so far. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the fut...
May 31, 2021
114. Carbon Offsets: Not A Get Out of Jail Free Card, TBH
In Episode 114 , Quinn asks: What are carbon offsets, and do they even work? Our returning guest is Akshat Rathi , a reporter at Bloomberg Green. Carbon offsets -- like our planet -- are so hot right now. And like our planet ...
May 28, 2021
Issue #232: These Shrooms Aren’t Fungi, Climate Change Is Costly, Keep the Vaccines Rolling
This week: a brutal day for oil; fungi on the move (not great); wastewater: so hot right now; paying for climate protection; vaccine inequities; and facial recognition on the way out (for now). Find links from this newsletter...
May 26, 2021
Do Better Better #18: Back to the Future
Synopsis: We can time travel to the past to understand how we got to where we are today. But the past doesn’t dictate the future - not anymore. So we have to look forward. The decisions we make today will guarantee that the w...