Episodes
Nov. 2, 2023
🌎 How I think about how to think about what’s next
This week: How I think about how to think about what’s next Here's What You Can Do: Donate to help the BlueGreen Alliance unite labor unions and environmental organizations to create clean jobs, develop clean infrastructure,…
Oct. 30, 2023
What Causes Depression?
Content Warning We're going to be talking about stress and anxiety, depression, suicide, and more today. If any of this could be triggering to you in any way, please feel free to just skip over this one. Nothing in this conv…
Oct. 24, 2023
🌎 The Disconnect
This week: Exactly why the youths are so pissed off. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to the Steve Fund to support the mental health of young people of color. Volunteer with Everytown so youth can grow up in communities free f…
Oct. 18, 2023
🌎 The Illusion of Choice
This week: It can be difficult as hell to understand when we don’t actually have a choice — and when we’ve got more options than we think. Deciphering the two is the key to the good stuff getting built way, way faster. Here'…
Oct. 16, 2023
Do You Know Where Your Water Comes From?
Every single one of us needs air, water, food, shelter, and energy. So why are the infrastructure that provides them, the systems we are most reliant on hidden in plain sight? How can we reconnect with them, appreciate them,…
Oct. 11, 2023
🌎 The coolest year of the rest of your life
This week: Why was this year so hot? Will it keep getting hotter, and for how long? It’s not an easy read, but it’s important you know and keep in mind the inputs and externalities. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Climate …
Sept. 26, 2023
🌎 The Long Defeat
This week: Tolkien described life (and often, his stories) as a "long defeat", where evil frequently, inevitably wins. But he allowed for "eucatastrophe" - sudden joyous turns, just like breakthroughs in voting rights. We mu…
Sept. 25, 2023
Turning The Tide On Microplastics
What are microplastics doing to us? And how do we stop putting them into our water, and our bloodstreams, and our food? That's today's big question, and my guest is Julia Yan . Julia is the co-founder and CEO at Baleena , a …
Sept. 23, 2023
The Next Big Test
This week: Are you ready for the next big test? Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Cooperation Humboldt , a worker-led, non-hierarchical non-profit that delivers programming in seven areas that are key to basic human rights. …
Sept. 21, 2023
Did You Hear The One About The Starfish?
This week: Because I am a sap, I have been thinking about my kids a lot lately. And kids in general. They’re going to grow up and live in a world that’s very different from ours, and it’s important to me that they’re all as …
Sept. 18, 2023
Best of: Peer Pressure Works
Over the past few years, more and more voters have cited “action on climate” as a reason for voting the way they do. But here’s the thing: lots of voters who are registered, and even those who do vote in presidential electio…
Sept. 11, 2023
Introducing: Catalyst with Shayle Kann - The Carbon Market's Quality Problem
Voluntary carbon credits are a lot like used cars: You really have no idea what their quality might be. Or maybe they’re more like expensive bottles of wine. Many people (or at least Shayle) can’t tell whether they’re actual…
Aug. 25, 2023
🌎 The Best Kinds of Stories
This Week: Telling better stories is a type of Compound Action. Here's What You Can Do: Check out the Good Energy Project's playbook on how to tell better climate stories. Donate to Experiment , a platform where scientists c…
Aug. 21, 2023
How To Access Better Maternal Mental Health Care
How can we provide better mental health support for pregnancy, postpartum, and loss around pregnancy? That's today's big question, and obviously in America in 2023, it's a loaded one, so I'm so thankful that my guest today i…
Aug. 14, 2023
What Can You Do With Just 493 Genes?
How did we get here? That's today's big question, and today my guests are Roy Moger-Reischer , and our first three-time guest, Brandon Ogbunu . Roy Moger-Reischer is a scientist trained in microbiology, evolution and data an…
Aug. 7, 2023
Introducing: Degrees: How To Green Any Job
This week, we’re running an episode of Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers , from our friends at the Environmental Defense Fund . This episode is part of a new miniseries called “The Year of the Climate Job,” host…
Aug. 2, 2023
🌎 Shiny Things
This week: How to be excited about the future, explained. Plus, the news: 🌊 The tipping point for the Atlantic Ocean 👶 An RSV shot for babies 🥕 Examining the “N” in SNAP 🤖 Profiting from AI tools And more! Here's What You Ca…
July 31, 2023
Introducing: Living Change: A Quest for Climate Leadership
This week, we want to tell you about Andrea Learned’s podcast: Living Change: A Quest for Climate Leadership. In season one, Andrea interviews local leaders living the change they want to see reflected in their communities, …
July 25, 2023
🌎 Haggling Over The Future
This week: This week: Are car dealers the devil? And why? Plus, the news: 🇨🇳 Can we build a green economy without China? 🦆 Bird flu, explained 🇷🇺 Russia quits the Black Sea grain deal 🤖 A.I. journalists And more! Here's What…
July 24, 2023
⚡️Electrify Everything: What Does The Pace of Progress Look Like?
Sure, we've got to electrify everything, including 1 billion machines by 2050 . But where are we now and how do we get there? That's today's big question, and my guest is Cora Wyent from Rewiring America . Cora is the Direct…
July 19, 2023
🌎 Farm to Table
This week: How can we better protect farmworkers? Plus, the news: A free online summit for eco-anxiety from RITA A new era for Alzheimer’s treatments Inflated prices of packaged food Saving lives with better weather forecast…
July 17, 2023
Transit For A Habitable Planet
Why the hell is America's public transportation so terrible? That's today's big question, and my guest is Nicholas Dagen Bloom . He's the author of the subtly titled new book, the Great American Transit Disaster . Nicholas i…
July 11, 2023
🌎 Why I Don't Eat Animals
This week: Why don’t I eat animals? Plus, the news: Carbon capture is (mostly) BS Narcan vending machines save lives The vertical farming boom doesn’t have enough power Hacking EV charging stations And more! Here's What You …
July 10, 2023
How To Live A Happy Life
How can we live happier lives? That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Marc Schulz, the co-author with Dr. Robert Waldinger of “The Good Life: Lessons From the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness” They're …