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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

Bridging Misinformation Gaps with Local Journalism

What's the missing link in local journalism? That's today's big question, and my guest is Lyndsey Gilpin. Lyndsey is the... more

11 Nov 2024 · 1 hour, 2 minutes
Essay: Only 86,000 To Go. You in?

This week: This entire (short!) episode is a call to action. It's time to do this thing...do the thing, but... more

01 Nov 2024 · 9 minutes
Thinking In Systems To Save An Indivisible World

Is multisolving the future? Is it today? Should we do more? That's all today's big question and my guest... more

28 Oct 2024 · 1 hour, 10 minutes
Poverty Is A Policy Choice

How do we make it easier for more Americans to reliably put food (in particular, hot food) on the table?... more

21 Oct 2024 · 48 minutes
Best of: Check Your Insurance Policy

We first ran this episode in May 2023, but following back-to-back hurricanes in Florida this month, it remains as relevant... more

14 Oct 2024 · 1 hour, 4 minutes
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
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... more

31 Jul 2023 · 36 minutes
Essay: 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,... more

25 Jul 2023 · 13 minutes
⚡️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... more

24 Jul 2023 · 1 hour, 1 minute
Essay: Farm to Table

This week: How can we better protect farmworkers?Plus, the news:A free online summit for eco-anxiety from RITAA new era for... more

19 Jul 2023 · 29 minutes
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.... more

17 Jul 2023 · 1 hour, 10 minutes
Essay: Why I Don't Eat Animals

This week: Why don’t I eat animals?Plus, the news:Carbon capture is (mostly) BSNarcan vending machines save livesThe vertical farming boom... more

11 Jul 2023 · 34 minutes
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... more

10 Jul 2023 · 1 hour, 15 minutes
Essay: Life, Liberty, and Solar Panels

This week: Texans have a huge opportunity to get even MORE liberty — from the sun.Plus: Diabetes is expected to... more

30 Jun 2023 · 15 minutes
Essay: An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

This week: Can Apple help improve mental health?Here's What You Can Do: ⚡️LGBTQ+ youth are 4x more likely to... more

28 Jun 2023 · 37 minutes
Essay: The Inevitable Future

This week: Is the future inevitable?Plus: A lack of OB-GYN’s in a post-Roe world, some new bills for agrivoltaics, the... more

26 Jun 2023 · 23 minutes
Essay: Start Over (Again)

This week: Got fired? Start over.Plus: More young people are getting cancer, the rise of solar power, new YouTube misinformation rules,... more

09 Jun 2023 · 19 minutes
Essay: 10 Questions You Need to Ask Right Now

This week: Ask these questions before you click on ANYTHING.Plus: Gut inflammation news, California insurance gets harder to find, 750k... more

07 Jun 2023 · 13 minutes
Best of: How to Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke

 What's in wildfire smoke and how can you protect yourself from it? Those are today's big questions, and my guest... more

29 May 2023 · 1 hour, 1 minute
Essay: Gradually, and then all at once

This week: Things feel pretty out of control. Get used to it.Plus: The Canadian West is burning, Oregon bans PFAS,... more

19 May 2023 · 21 minutes
Health Care Is A Human Right

Is healthcare a human right? That's today's big question, and it clearly shouldn't be a question, but here we are.... more

17 May 2023 · 1 hour, 5 minutes
Essay: COVID has ended (or has it?)

This week: COVID is over (as far as we know it). What did we learn, and what’s next?PLUS: Gay blood... more

16 May 2023 · 31 minutes
Fighting Food Waste With The iPhone of Trash Cans

How much food do you throw away every week? And do you have to? That's today's big question, and my... more

08 May 2023 · 53 minutes
Essay: Never Tell Me The Odds

This week: Solutions to our biggest problems shouldn’t be so perplexing. On the other hand, washing our hands wasn’t obvious... more

05 May 2023 · 27 minutes
Check Your Insurance Policy

You've got insurance, right? Are you sure? That's today's big question, and my guest is Washington Post reporter Brianna Sacks.... more

01 May 2023 · 1 hour, 5 minutes
Essay: What Would You Say You Do Here

This week: Is what you’re working on important?Plus: The cleanest produce, a mosquito factory, lots of rooftop solar, autonomous GPT,... more

26 Apr 2023 · 16 minutes
Every Climate Action Matters

What can I do? The simple question is the underlying premise of everything we do here. It's often the easiest... more

24 Apr 2023 · 1 hour, 12 minutes
Essay: This Isn't Rocket Science (Unless It Is)

This week: A very basic way to use a mental model, you’re welcome.PLUS: Mosquitoes, overseas abortion pills, healthy ice cream,... more

18 Apr 2023 · 16 minutes
Best of: Black Moms Matter

Why is it so dangerous to have Black babies in America?April 11-17th is Black Maternal Health Week, and so we... more

17 Apr 2023 · 54 minutes
Finding the Humanity in Artificial Intelligence

If you had all of the data in the world at your hands, what question would you ask first?That's today's... more

10 Apr 2023 · 57 minutes
Best of: What Really Happens When You Just Give People Money?

What if we just gave people money? That's today's big question and my guests are Caroline Teti and Michael Faye... more

03 Apr 2023 · 1 hour, 24 minutes
Best of: How to Stop School Shootings in the USA

We're going to keeping re-running this 2020 episode until America stops sacrificing children.---Here we are, yet again. We first ran... more

28 Mar 2023 · 58 minutes
Where In The World Are All Of The Electricians?

Where the hell did all of the electricians go? That's today's big question, and my guest is leading journalist Emily... more

27 Mar 2023 · 56 minutes
Essay: ESG is good business (but don't call it ESG)

This week: Fighting over ESG is stupid, risky, and bad business. Let’s move on.Plus: RSV vaccines, the E-BIKE Act, Skittles... more

24 Mar 2023 · 18 minutes
The Dive Into Challenger Deep

What if you got the chance to dive to the bottom of the ocean? Would you go? And what would... more

20 Mar 2023 · 1 hour, 19 minutes
Essay: Welcome to the Unknown Unknowns

This week: What we know — and more importantly, what we don’t — about what AI is capable of, and... more

17 Mar 2023 · 32 minutes
Best Of: Is The Ocean Running Out of Oxygen? Is That Bad?

What if I told you there was less oxygen in the ocean than there used to be? That's today's big... more

13 Mar 2023 · 1 hour, 12 minutes
⚡️Your Home Electrification Questions, Answered

This week: In response to our ongoing and delightful home electrification series with our friends at Rewiring America, we have received a hell... more

09 Mar 2023 · 54 minutes
Essay: A living act of resistance

This week: Can little-old-you really make a difference? Hell yes you can.Plus: cheaper insulin, cleaner camping gear, a new (lidless)... more

08 Mar 2023 · 12 minutes
Best of: Lessons From Plants

What can we learn from trees? That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Beronda Montgomery. Beronda's a transformative... more

06 Mar 2023 · 1 hour, 12 minutes
Best Of: Did A.I. Just Make My Life’s Work Obsolete?

How many nights have you spent up recently worried that AI is just gonna take your job? That's today's big... more

27 Feb 2023 · 1 hour, 6 minutes
Essay: How to get sh*t done

This week: Pulled in a million directions? Wondering what the hell you do with your days? Find your north stars... more

24 Feb 2023 · 16 minutes
Essay: What Do You Need?

This week: The future of search and chatbots looks a lot like our ancient past. Why do we keep making... more

22 Feb 2023 · 44 minutes
Clean Air Is An Inside Job

Imagine you’re in a sci-fi movie. The one where everything’s on the line. And while dinosaurs or aliens or a... more

20 Feb 2023 · 50 minutes
Essay: How to Survive

This week: There are a default group of problems that exist in our society because of the basic needs required... more

15 Feb 2023 · 25 minutes
Essay: "Why Do We Exist?"

This week: For the next few weeks, I’m rewriting and sharing a selection of essays I wrote in 2020 and... more

13 Feb 2023 · 16 minutes
Best of: How To Innovate

How does innovation actually work? That's today's big question, and my guest is Christopher Mims. Chris is a journalist for... more

30 Jan 2023 · 1 hour, 7 minutes
Essay: Insurance, for you and me

This week: Everyone needs insurance. But what kind? And what does it mean to have it, or not?Well, there’s actual... more

27 Jan 2023 · 22 minutes
Best of: How Do We Rebuild Capitalism in a World on Fire?

How do we reimagine capitalism in a world on fire? That's today's big question, and my guest is Rebecca Henderson,... more

24 Jan 2023 · 1 hour, 11 minutes
Essay: You Say You Want A Revolution

This week: What does it mean when people say “revolution”? For these purposes, which are pretty narrow and entirely of... more

23 Jan 2023 · 44 minutes
Best of: How To Be A Better Ancestor

How can I be a better ancestor? This question has haunted and inspired me since way back in 2019 when... more

17 Jan 2023 · 1 hour, 10 minutes
Important, Not Important
Clean Air Is An Inside Job
Important, Not Important
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Podcast Addict
Pocket Casts
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Description

Imagine you’re in a sci-fi movie. The one where everything’s on the line. And while dinosaurs or aliens or a virus takes... more