Podcasting seems to be everywhere these days, so of course, there’s no surprise that there are quite a few shows that deal with the big, important topic on everyone’s minds: climate change. Honestly, it’s kind of hard not to think about it when the planet is burning, the hurricanes are washing away homes, people are losing their livelihoods, and, well, you get the idea.
But why has podcasting emerged as a good place to talk about climate change? To get some perspective on this topic, Earther talked to Mary Annaïse Heglar, one of co-hosts of the Hot Take podcast, a show that examines how the media talks about climate change. In Heglar’s view, climate change is a big topic that can be talked about in so many ways. However, on that same note, there are many ways to talk about climate change that it can sometimes feel unclear. And in those cases, Heglar said, it’s better to just talk it out as if you were talking to a friend, something much easier to do on a podcast than through the written word.
“Sometimes you need to talk to a friend and just talk it through. And that’s a lot of what we do,” Heglar said. “A good example is when we’re talking about the language of ‘natural disaster’ versus ‘extreme weather’ and all of the different reasons why those words are used or not used. Just having that conversation in public we found was helpful for people because they could relate to it.”
In addition, Heglar said another reason that podcasting is so useful when talking about climate change is that not everyone learns through reading. Some people are audio learners. “I know when I’m feeling overwhelmed by something, I don’t want to read about it. I’m much more likely to hear about it,” she said.
Here at Earther, we know that the climate crisis can be overwhelming and that it can turn up all kinds of emotions, including sorrow, anger, fear, and dread. But we can’t deal those emotions if we don’t start talking about climate change, and more importantly, if we want to turn those emotion into action to actually address the crisis.
To get you all started, Earther has made a list of the best climate change podcasts out right now. Some are explanatory, some are narrative, and some have already finished, but absolutely all of them will leave you more informed about the climate crisis and ready to get to work.
