Videos

How do we make it easier for more Americans to reliably put food (in particular, hot food) on the table? That's today’s big question, and my guest is Salaam Bhatti. Salaam is the SNAP Director at the Food Research and Action Center, a 501c3 that uses advocacy and strategic partnerships…

This week: You’d think that -- considering we just spent two years building our new What Can I Do? (https://www.whatcanido.earth/?utm_source=ini&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=why-we-made-an-app) app -- that I’d have a really good answer for why we were doing it in the first place. But I didn’t. Not until about a week ago. I knew,…

It’s another big day in a very big month for us. Our extremely tiny team has been busting our asses for almost two years to bring you something fucking extraordinary, something I’m just so proud of, and now it's here: Our new app: "What Can I Do?" A one stop…

What if we get it right? That's today's big question, and my returning guest is Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist. She is a policy expert, a writer, and a teacher working to help create the best possible climate future. She co-founded and leads…

In this throwback episode from October 2020, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why state elections matter not just for your state but for the future of our planet. Our guests are: Aimy Steele & Amanda Litman. Aimy is a candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 82, a…

This week: Next up in our series of “How to Eat More Plants”. Today’s topic? Beef! Here's What You Can Do: • Read the essay and get the links online here (https://www.importantnotimportant.com/p/eat-plants-less-beef) • Donate to the Humane Farming Association (http://www.hfa.org) to support their work against factory farming. • Volunteer with…

This week: Please enjoy this hopeful ditty on how we have finally harnessed the sun ☀️ — and how we’re just getting started. Here's What You Can Do: • Donate to Grid Alternatives (https://gridalternatives.org/?utm_source=importantnotimportant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-sun-machines-cometh) to advocate for community-powered solar policy that gets everyone on a clean energy grid (🌎 go…

This week: Today’s post is more of a macro introduction to the why and how of the “eat more plants (and consequently) fewer animals” lifestyle. Deep-dives on how to eat fewer animals, by type, including meat/beef/pork, chicken/turkey, dairy, and fish (and humans! Can’t forget humans) will follow in subsequent posts.…

This week: We're running an updated version of a popular essay from last year. 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 elections and voting rights). We must keep…

How did our planet come to life? Is it alive? And where are we as part of that? Those are today's big questions and my guest is Ferris Jabr. His new book, Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life, is one of the most compelling, beautiful, timely, and important…

When is a cancer scare, a rejected mortgage loan, a false arrest, or predictive grading, more than a glitch in A.I.? That's today's big question, and my guest is Meredith Broussard. Meredith is a data journalist and associate professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University,…

How do we stop overfishing if we don't know who's doing the fishing? That's today's big question, and my guest is Jennifer Raynor. Jennifer is an Assistant Professor of natural resource economics at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Jennifer's research focuses on improving the efficiency and sustainability of fisheries and…

This week: We are occasionally asked why we link to scientific journals, news outlets, and sometimes even opinion pieces that are behind paywalls. In a world where HBO HBO Max Max and Spotify and everyone else raise prices once a month, it’s a great question: Our newsletter is free —…

Join host Quinn Emmett on this episode of 'Important, Not Important' as he dives into tackling systemic environmental justice issues at the local level with guest Jacqui Patterson. Jacqui, the founder and executive director of the Chisholm Legacy Project, shares insights on connecting black communities disproportionately affected by the climate…

Why is it so important that we share the science of fiction, and what do we do with it once we have it? That's today's big question, and my guest is Maddie Stone. Maddie is a prolific science journalist. She is a doctor of earth and environmental sciences. She's the…

This week: Do you like cookies? What about olive oil cake? What about chocolate chip coffee cake? Listen on. Here's What You Can Do: • 🌍️ Donate to support African farmers by increasing incomes and improving food security through the Alliance for a Green Africa (https://agra.org/?utm_source=importantnotimportant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=in-bruges) . • 🌎️ Volunteer…

How do we take a huge chronic disease burden like Lyme disease or long COVID or even long flu and make it so personal that we simply can't ignore it anymore? That's today's big question and my guest is Dr. Mikki Tal, an immunoengineer and a principal scientist at MIT.…

This week: This week I wrote about a groundbreaking and essential new study that — thank christ — is not actually about which seemingly reasonable dietary supplement will definitely extend/tragically cut short your life. It’s about 🍿 film, and after you’re done reading, I’d love it if you replied to…