We’ve got a post on understanding what eco-grief is and what we can do with that experience, but for many people, climate change loss is still an abstract concept. To understand it, hearing from people on the frontlines of climate change, seeing their homes, favorite places, and research subjects disappear from the planet, can help put eco-grief and climate anxiety in context. During lockdown in Toronto, your Guide did a lot of podcast listening and below you’ll find links to the best podcast episodes on eco-grief, as well as one podcast episode from Radiolab that isn’t explicitly on eco-grief, but explores a fascinating, hopeful story of a scientific researcher trying to save the world, when nobody was listening, but then succeeding in the end. Check them out:
BBC Discovery: Ecological Grief
This is an excellent podcast episode to start with for understanding eco-grief because it’s comprised of three first-hand explorations of people and communities sharing about the natural beauty, cultural practices, and biological diversity already lost.
Click here to listen. 27 minutes.
The episode refers to a letter, published in the journal Science, written by Timothy Gordon, Andrew Radford, and Stephen Simpson, about the grief researchers are experiencing as their life’s work is killed off by climate change. You can read the letter here: Grieving environmental scientists need support
The Takeaway – Ecological Grief: a Barely Understood Consequence of Climate Change
Dr. Jennifer Atkinson shares about her experience as a climate educator and professor working with college students struggling to deal with anxiety about climate change.
Click here for The Takeaway’s website. 16 minutes. Or listen here:
Facing It – Eco Grief: Our Greatest Ally?
Dr. Jennifer Atkinson shares about her experience as a climate educator and professor working with college students struggling to deal with anxiety about climate change. I really appreciate that she points out grief and hope are not mutually exclusive. We can grieve and we can take action.
Listen here on TuneIn. 17 minutes. Or listen here:
Outrage + Optimism – Dealing with Climate Grief with Luisa Neubauer
After the previous podcasts episodes on the tangible experiences of climate change loss and eco-grief, you might be wondering what we do with this information (and pain). That’s where activists/leaders/phenomenal communicators like Luisa Neubauer come in. There’s a useful discussion of the loneliness and neglect young people feel when they see older generations purposefully creating a terrible climate crisis for them. But you will also walk away from this feeling energized by Neubauer.
Luisa’s interview begins around the 4 minute mark.
Listen on the Outrage + Optimism website here. 47 minutes. Or listen here:
Radiolab: Heavy Metal
Have you ever wondered how we ditched lead paint and leaded oil and lead in basically everything? This podcast episode is the journey of scientist Clair Patterson discovering lead in everything and then convincing billion dollar industries and government they had to get rid of it. One of my favorite moments from the episode is when a committee has accepted they’ll need to implement some curbs on lead, they’re finally engaging with Clair Patterson, and they’re asking what the acceptable amount of lead is in products. And they just can’t wrap their heads around his answer: None. None is the acceptable amount of lead. It’s easy to see the parallels with where we are now on climate change and fossil fuel reduction. But the great news is, humanity actually did move from wanting only to reduce lead, to getting rid of it entirely.
Click here for Radiolab’s website. 43 minutes. Or listen here:
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