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Important, Not Important
Important, Not Important
Important, Not Important

Science for people who give a sh*t. Want to feel better AND unf*ck the world? The 6-time Webby nominee delivers deep conversations with... more

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Episodes

Best of: Fresh Banana Leaves

There’s no word for “conservation” in many Indigenous languages.Some come close, but mean something more like “taking care of” or... more

07 Oct 2024 · 52 minutes
Essay: Why We Made An App

This week: You’d think that -- considering we just spent two years building our new What Can I Do? app -- that... more

27 Sep 2024 · 25 minutes
Introducing: What Can I Do?

It’s another big day in a very big month for us.Our extremely tiny team has been busting our asses for... more

23 Sep 2024 · 10 minutes
Finding Joy In Climate Solutions

What if we get it right? That's today's big question, and my returning guest is Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Dr.... more

16 Sep 2024 · 39 minutes
Best of: A Conversation With A Future President of the United States

In this throwback episode from October 2020, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why state elections matter not just for your state but... more

09 Sep 2024 · 1 hour, 21 minutes
Essay: How to Eat More Plants (And Less Beef)

This week: Next up in our series of “How to Eat More Plants”. Today’s topic? Beef!Here's What You Can Do:Read... more

26 Aug 2024 · 20 minutes
Essay: The Sun Machines Cometh

This week: Please enjoy this hopeful ditty on how we have finally harnessed the sun ☀️ — and how we’re... more

12 Aug 2024 · 11 minutes
Essay: How To Eat More Plants

This week: Today’s post is more of a macro introduction to the why and how of the “eat more plants (and consequently)... more

05 Aug 2024 · 17 minutes
Essay: The Turn of the Tide

This week: We're running an updated version of a popular essay from last year.Tolkien described life (and often, his stories)... more

29 Jul 2024 · 32 minutes
Everything Is Connected (No, Seriously)

How did our planet come to life? Is it alive? And where are we as part of that? Those are... more

22 Jul 2024 · 57 minutes
AI Ethics Not Found

When is a cancer scare, a rejected mortgage loan, a false arrest, or predictive grading, more than a glitch in... more

08 Jul 2024 · 59 minutes
Houston, We Have An Overfishing Problem

How do we stop overfishing if we don't know who's doing the fishing? That's today's big question, and my guest... more

24 Jun 2024 · 1 hour, 18 minutes
🌎 Essay: A Leading Question

This week: We are occasionally asked why we link to scientific journals, news outlets, and sometimes even opinion pieces that... more

20 Jun 2024 · 24 minutes
Bring A Folding Chair

How do we tackle huge systemic intersectional environmental justice issues at the local level?That's today's big question, and my guest... more

10 Jun 2024 · 47 minutes
The Science of Fiction

Why is it so important that we share the science of fiction, and what do we do with it once... more

03 Jun 2024 · 1 hour, 4 minutes
Essay: In Bruges

This week: Do you like cookies? What about olive oil cake? What about chocolate chip coffee cake? Listen on.Here's What... more

27 May 2024 · 18 minutes
Chronic Illness: Not Actually Female Hysteria!

How do we take a huge chronic disease burden like Lyme disease or long COVID or even long flu and... more

20 May 2024 · 1 hour, 10 minutes
Essay: How to get more Good Energy

This week: This week I wrote about a groundbreaking and essential new study that — thank christ — is not actually about... more

10 May 2024 · 11 minutes
Essay: Bridget Jones, Climate Hero

This week: In this essay, I will argue that Bridget Jones is the perfect climate-era hero, because she is all... more

03 May 2024 · 29 minutes
Keeping Long COVID In The News

Who is still covering Long COVID, and how much is the audience actually growing? That's today's big question, and my... more

29 Apr 2024 · 1 hour, 15 minutes
Essay: Program The World

This week: Let’s talk about the Information Era.Here's What You Can Do:Donate (and subscribe!) to the 19th, an independent, non-profit, kick-ass newsroom... more

11 Apr 2024 · 26 minutes
The Social Infrastructure of Water

What have we learned from millennia of water insecurity, of climate changes and disasters, of building along freshwater ways and... more

08 Apr 2024 · 1 hour, 19 minutes
Essay: The Aftermath

This week: Bernie decided March 15th is Long COVID Awareness Day, so I thought it was an appropriate moment to... more

25 Mar 2024 · 25 minutes
The Best Depression Treatment For You

You know you're stressed. You know you're anxious. Do you have depression? And do you need to know the latest... more

18 Mar 2024 · 1 hour, 9 minutes
Essay: How To Give

This week: There are few problems so simple that a single donation can fix them.Usually, to turn a problem into... more

13 Mar 2024 · 28 minutes
Can Capitalism (Justly) Solve the Climate Crisis?

The climate clock is ticking faster and faster. How can we use capitalism to undo the bad stuff that capitalism... more

04 Mar 2024 · 1 hour, 1 minute
Essay: How to See The Forest

This week: Are we in the hardest part of the climate transition?Here's What You Can Do:🌎️ Donate to 350.org, a global movement working... more

26 Feb 2024 · 26 minutes
Saving Democracy From The Bottom Up

What are reverse coattails, and how might they slow climate change, prevent the next pandemic, and keep Nazis off of... more

19 Feb 2024 · 39 minutes
Essay: The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

This week: How are we supposed to navigate this energy transition, AI, and pandemics, if we cannot agree on the... more

14 Feb 2024 · 25 minutes
Essay: If This, Then What Else?

This week: Today’s essay is a bit of a departure — I just wanted to make super clear where I... more

09 Feb 2024 · 25 minutes
2024: The Gaps and How to Close Them

This week: Today’s essay is my version of a 2024 preview. Unlike other previews, though, it’s less, “This is what... more

07 Feb 2024 · 36 minutes
2023 Review: What Just Happened?

This week: I’m back today to share my 2023 wrap-up. It’s a pretty stream-of-consciousness endeavor, but I think it sums... more

29 Jan 2024 · 35 minutes
Best of: The End of the Universe

How will the universe end? That's today's big question, and my guest is Sarafina El-Badry Nance. Sarafina is an NSF... more

22 Jan 2024 · 1 hour, 14 minutes
Best of: Episode X: A Far Out Geek Girl Rises

Why does it matter who reviews our video games? That's today's big question, and my guest is Swapna Krishna. Swapna... more

15 Jan 2024 · 59 minutes
Best of: Why We Can't Focus

How do we get our attention back? That's today's big question. I think about it every day, and my guest... more

08 Jan 2024 · 1 hour, 12 minutes
Best of: Internal Activism

How's your mental health around climate change? That is today's big question, and my guest is Britt Wray. Britt and... more

01 Jan 2024 · 1 hour, 14 minutes
How To Make Ethical Decisions

Has there ever been a more important time, a more consequential time, to lead with ethics? That's today's big question,... more

04 Dec 2023 · 54 minutes
The Creepy Reality of Consumer Tech (Privacy Not Included)

What are the best holiday gifts that aren't privacy nightmares? That's today's big question, and my guest is Jen Caltrider.... more

27 Nov 2023 · 1 hour, 8 minutes
Essay: How Does The Brain Work?

This week: How the hell does the brain work? And what does it have to do with lemonade stands and... more

22 Nov 2023 · 18 minutes
Best of: Life Finds A Way

I think about time a lot. Some days I feel ancient, some days I can’t believe how old I am.I’ve... more

20 Nov 2023 · 1 hour, 1 minute
The Female Origin of Species

How did the female body drive 200 million years of human evolution? And why the hell are we just finding... more

13 Nov 2023 · 1 hour, 10 minutes
Essay: Coffee: Back To The Future

This week: Will coffee survive climate change?Here's What You Can Do:Donate to support African farmers by increasing incomes and improving food... more

10 Nov 2023 · 20 minutes
Can Your Gut Predict Alzheimer's?

Can your gut composition predict Alzheimer's? That's today's big question and my returning guest is Gautam Dantas. Gautam heads up... more

06 Nov 2023 · 1 hour, 9 minutes
Essay: How I think about how to think about what’s next

This week: How I think about how to think about what’s nextHere's What You Can Do:Donate to help the BlueGreen Alliance unite labor... more

02 Nov 2023 · 30 minutes
What Causes Depression?

Content WarningWe're going to be talking about stress and anxiety, depression, suicide, and more today.If any of this could be... more

30 Oct 2023 · 1 hour, 11 minutes
Essay: 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... more

24 Oct 2023 · 26 minutes
Essay: The Illusion of Choice

This week: It can be difficult as hell to understand when we don’t actually have a choice — and when... more

18 Oct 2023 · 23 minutes
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,... more

16 Oct 2023 · 1 hour, 9 minutes
Essay: 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... more

11 Oct 2023 · 24 minutes
Essay: The Long Defeat

This week: Tolkien described life (and often, his stories) as a "long defeat", where evil frequently, inevitably wins. But he... more

26 Sep 2023 · 32 minutes
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... more

25 Sep 2023 · 1 hour,
Essay: 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... more

23 Sep 2023 · 23 minutes
Essay: 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... more

21 Sep 2023 · 29 minutes
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... more

18 Sep 2023 · 1 hour, 2 minutes
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... more

11 Sep 2023 · 46 minutes
Essay: 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... more

25 Aug 2023 · 36 minutes
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... more

21 Aug 2023 · 1 hour, 28 minutes
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,... more

14 Aug 2023 · 1 hour, 12 minutes
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... more

07 Aug 2023 · 20 minutes
Essay: 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... more

02 Aug 2023 · 22 minutes
Important, Not Important
Introducing: Degrees: How To Green Any Job
Important, Not Important
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Description

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... more