Podcast Corner: Maybe we should be talking about climate rather than weather
Maeve Higgins hosts the Mothers of Invention podcast with Mary Robinson.
What would you have done differently at the outset of the Covid crisis, knowing then what you know now, posits this seven-part series, which concluded in mid-April. Darragh Wynne and Ellen Hegarty, who met on a climate change master's in DCU, explain that there's a crisis worse than Covid coming down the greenhouse-gas-filled road, one which we all know about but aren’t anywhere near prepared enough to tackle.
"Nobody's passionate about climate change," says Darragh, explaining that people are rather passionate about stopping climate change, protecting the natural world. "Or the onset of societal breakdown - stopping that," adds Ellen, joking but not really.
Their conversational tone and playful nature makes the stark facts they reel off sound even worse - the climate crisis can’t be ignored. The episodes are divided into topics, from science to politics, media to ecology.
“I’m not without hope,” reassures Emma Gleeson, an expert in sustainable consumerism and ethical fashion, one of the guests on series two of this interview-based podcast hosted by Ali Sheridan, a sustainability adviser. Gleeson is talking about the fashion industry, pointing out how younger people are more engaged and aware of what goes into making their clothes and more willing to shop second hand.
Other subjects discussed over the 13 episodes to date include sustainable business, windfarms, climate justice, and ‘why climate action needs creatives’. The sound isn’t studio quality, but the discourse and ideas explored are invigorating.
Host Ceara Carney talks to people who are doing amazing things for the planet, whether individuals making a small effort, businesses hoping to effect change, or protesters demanding action.
There are nearly 50 episodes to date, with Book of Leaves having started in April 2019, and episodes are fortnightly.
You shouldn’t need more information about this show other than it’s hosted by former president Mary Robinson and comedian/author Maeve Higgins, along with Thimali Kodikara, the series producer, and bears the tagline: “Climate change is a man-made problem with a feminist solution.”
There are over 30 episodes so far, the last of which, in December 2020, was an interview with Bernie Sanders.
