Episodes
March 31, 2020
BEST OF THE BEST: Is COVID-19 America’s Chernobyl?
Way back in Episode 65 , Quinn asked: Was Chernobyl a preventable and rare accident from the past, or a vivid picture of what happens when the government abandons its citizens during a crisis? FUN STORY: turns out, it’s B! We...
March 27, 2020
Special Edition: How You Can Help — And (Mostly) Still Stay Home
If you've been wondering how else you can help fight coronavirus besides staying at home in sweatpants, this episode is for you. Please share widely. You can find links and additional details at importantnotimportant.com/blog...
March 23, 2020
#89: Why Does It Require a PhD in Neuroscience Just to Support a Green New Deal?
In Episode 89 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Taking down the white guy who politically stabbed you (and the planet) in the back. Our guest is: Dr. Arati Kreibich. She gave us a call a couple weeks back to explain that she’s a fresh...
March 16, 2020
#88: You Voted for Clean Energy… So Where The Hell Is it?
In Episode 88 , Quinn & Brian ask: You voted for clean energy… so why hasn’t it become a thing yet? Our guest is: Dr. Leah Stokes , author of the new book Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Ene...
March 9, 2020
#87: What's In Your Moisturizer, Anyways?
In Episode 87 , Quinn & Brian ask: What, exactly, are we putting on our bodies (and why aren’t more people asking questions about it)? Our guest is: Gregg Renfrew . Gregg is a serial entrepreneur who most recently founded Bea...
March 3, 2020
Special Edition: How to Survive the Coronavirus (With Your Sanity Intact)
In this special episode, Quinn (with some help from our friends at the CDC and elsewhere) talks you through everything you need to know about the coronavirus, what you can do to prepare, and — maybe most importantly — what yo...
March 2, 2020
#86: Farming While Black: The Past and The Future
In Episode 86, Quinn & Brian ask: What can we do to support the black farmers who have the ancient answers to rebuilding our soil, farms, and food system? Our guest is: Leah Penniman , Co-Director and Farm Manager of Soul Fir...
Feb. 24, 2020
#85: A Blueprint for Fighting Food Waste in Your Community
In Episode 85 , Quinn asks: Is there a blueprint for fighting food waste in your city? Our guest is: Rick Nahmias. As Founder and Executive Director of Food Forward , Rick has spent more than a decade harvesting the bounty of...
Feb. 17, 2020
#84: How is Climate Change (Already) Affecting Immigration to the USA?
We’re back! In Episode 84 , Quinn & Brian ask: Is the USA responsible for climate refugees (and then turning them away)? Our guest is: Jessica Cisneros , a 26-year-old immigration and human rights attorney and proud Mexican-A...
Feb. 14, 2020
SPECIAL PREVIEW: Issue #169: CRISPR’ing Cancer, BP Oil, & Democrats Campaigning on Soil
This is a special preview of our new weekly audio newsletter . It's all the most vital science news you missed, with action steps you can take to fight back, delivered in five minutes and read by Brian. After this week, it's ...
Feb. 13, 2020
Introducing the Important, Not Important: Sh*t-Giver Edition!
We’re very excited to announce the launch of our new premium podcast feed — The Shit-Giver Edition! Our main feed (this one) will always be free, and will always host the latest in our award-nominated "save the world" convers...
Nov. 5, 2019
#83: Knock Knock. Who’s There? Climate Change. Climate Change Who? Climate Change Pooped On Your Head. (A Conversation About Mangroves)
In Episode 83 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Blue carbon, the patriarchy, and how one of those two things has ruined the other (we’ll give you three guesses). Our guests are Dr. Sarah Myhre and Priya Shukla . Dr. Myhre is a leading...
Oct. 29, 2019
BONUS: Help Dr. Ghazala Hashmi Flip Virginia
We’re interrupting your normally scheduled programming with a Special Election Report ! So, today, Quinn & Brian ask: Will You Help Us Flip Virginia? Our guest is Dr. Ghazala Hashmi , an immigrant, educator, and mother who is...
Oct. 22, 2019
#82: Sustainable Trees + Death Metal = Climate Progress
In Episode 82 , Quinn & Brian discuss: How to fix our somewhat pressing land reconfiguration issues -- from 30,000 feet down to the soil under your feet. Our guest is Dr. Iara Lacher , a land use ecologist at the Smithsonian ...
Oct. 8, 2019
#81: Legalizing the Other Weed
In Episode 81, Quinn & Brian discuss: Legalizing the weed of the sea. Our guests are Bren Smith and Tom Ford , two fine, clean-living gentleman who are out on the water, every day, trying to change the way that we eat and use...
Oct. 1, 2019
#80: Mosquitoes. The Serial Killers of Nature. Should We Make Them Go Away?
In Episode 80, Quinn & Brian discuss Quinn’s wife’s least favorite thing: Mosquitoes! Our guest is Dr. Natalie Kofler, a trained scientist and the founding director of Editing Nature at Yale University, a global initiative to...
Sept. 24, 2019
#79: Air Pollution: The Low Hanging Fruit of Our Hellish Future
In Episode 79, Quinn & Brian are back to discuss: Optimism in the air (wait... that doesn’t sound like us). Our guest is Beth Gardiner, an environmental journalist and the author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air P...
Aug. 27, 2019
#78: How to Be A Better Ancestor
In Episode 78 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Planning for chaos. Our guest is Bina Venkataraman , author of the upcoming book The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age and a teacher in the program on Science, Techn...
Aug. 21, 2019
BEST OF THE BEST: Where Does Ebola Go From Here?
In Episode 62, Quinn & Brian asked: Where does Ebola go from here? Our guest is Karin Huster, a Field Coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, where she is currently bouncing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozamb...
Aug. 13, 2019
#77: Please, Please, Please Do A Good Job, Colorado
In Episode 77, Quinn & Brian discuss: How Colorado can fix this wholllllle thing with one little election. Our guest is Mike Johnston, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Colorado and the first in our series of co...
Aug. 6, 2019
#76: Save the Corals, Save the World
In Episode 76, Quinn & Brian discuss: What you don’t see (any more) when you snorkel. Our guest is Dr. Kim Cobb, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology who specializ...
July 31, 2019
BEST OF THE BEST: It’s Getting Hot in Here, and America’s Poor Are Dying Faster Than Everyone Else
In Episode 50, Quinn & Brian discussed: How D.C. and LA are dealing with urban heat issues. Our guests are Yesim Sayin Taylor and Molly Peterson. Yesim is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center and Molly is...
July 23, 2019
#75: Can Zebrafish Beat Childhood Cancer?
In Episode 75, Quinn & Brian discuss: Beating the crap out of childhood cancer with science and... zebrafish? We’re getting really nerdy about beating childhood cancer with Dr. Jaclyn Taroni and Dr. Genevieve Kendall. Dr. Ken...
July 16, 2019
#74: Incentivizing Those Dirty Capitalists to Solve Climate Change for Us
In Episode 74, Quinn & Brian discuss: Making carbon capture suck more (but this time, with carrots). Our guest is Henry Elkus, the frustratingly young and impossibly optimistic founder of Helena, an organization that assemble...