The Sustainability Agenda

In this episode, we welcome veteran investor Kevin Starr to the podcast to discuss the work of the Mulago Foundation, which funds high-impact organizations working on alleviating poverty. Kevin explains how Mulago’s focus has inevitably extended over time to take into account climate and the environment--the focus of Mulago's Henry Arnhold Fellows Program. Kevin’s main focus at Mulago is on lasting change at scale and he explains how he thinks about scaling-- and the importance of structuring investments to make sure that profit and impact are aligned.  In this wide ranging, Kevin shares his perspective on the state of social entrepreneurship today, the reality of impact investment, and his evolving thoughts on measuring impact.  Kevin is the founder of the Mulago Foundation, which funds early stage social entrepreneurs devoted to maximum impact at scale in developing countries. Kevin set up the Reiner Arnhold Fellows Program in 2003 to apply Mulago’s principles and tools to help social entrepreneurs turn goo

In this interview, Joanna Pocock talks about her recent book Surrender, a compelling, moving, and eye-opening exploration of the outsider eco-cultures blossoming in the new American West in an era of increasing climatic disruption, rising sea levels, animal extinctions, melting glaciers, and catastrophic wildfires. Joanna talks about the wide range of vibrant environmental movements that have taken root in response to the climate crisis – scavenger, rewilding, ecosexual--and explores the roots of these myriad cultures-in what is also a deeply moving and personal testimony to a rapidly changing world with an uncertain future. Joanna Pocock is an Irish-Canadian writer currently living in London. Her work of creative non-fiction, Surrender, exploring the changing landscape of the American West, won the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize in 2018 and the Arts Foundation environmental writing award in 2020. Her writing has notably appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Nation and on the Dark Mountain blog.

In this fascinating interview, climate scientist Dr. Jeffrey Kiehl brings to bear two very different ways of thinking about climate change: the scientific and the psychological—and his journey as an experienced climate scientist to bring these different perspectives together.

In this thought provoking and spirited interview, Rupert Read shares lessons and insights from his decades long experience as an activist. He discusses his new book, Parents for a Future Parents for a Future, which argues that by caring for our own children, we are committed to caring for the whole of human future, and in turn, caring for the future of the natural world. A fascinating interview—and a strongly argued plea for dramatic action and change.

Dale Jamieson, Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy at NYY, talks about the importance of environmental justice and explores the importance of taking a philosophical approach to the environmental crises we are facing today. Dale highlights the fundamental challenges that any person faces in life today, wherever they live, are: how should I live? How do I how do I go forward?

Interview with Johan Frijns, the director of BankTrack, a Netherlands based international tracking, campaigning and civil society support organisation whose mission is to stop banks from financing harmful business activities.

John Clark Professor Emeritus at Loyola University, and director of La Terre Institute for Community and Ecology, discusses his latest book Between Earth and Empire: From the Necrocene to the Beloved Community. In this wide-ranging and hard-hitting discussion, John analyses the roots of the environmental plight we are facing— what he calls the Necrocene- a period of mass extinction and reversal.

In this interview, Professor Tim Lenton discusses his work with Bruno Latour, exploring how humans could add some level of self-awareness to Earth's self-regulation.

Interview with Jagdeesh Rao, former Chief Executive of the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) in India, discussing the ecological restoration and conservation of land and water resources in ecologically fragile, degraded regions of India

In this episode, David Loy discusses his latest book EcoDharma the potential for Buddhism to deal with todays environmental and other crises.

In this episode, we talk with Professor Harriet Bulkely about the effectiveness of different approaches to climate governance and the possibility of a green recovery.

In this episode, we discuss the social and ecological impact of so-called renewable energy, and how to actually think about the impact of its development, with Dr. Alexander Dunlap.

In today's interview with writer Andri Snær Magnason, we explore Andri's use of his writing talent as a force for activism.

In this interview with Dr. Arran Stibbe, we discuss ecolinguistics, or how language influences the way we treat the environment.

In this episode, we meet with Joel Bakan to discuss corporations commitment to sustainability.

In this episode we talk with Danny Dorling, social geographer and Professor of Geography, about his views on many topics, much of which relates to large changes we see in society, and what things are slowing down.

In this episode, we talk with Roman Krznaric about the necessity of overcoming our society's short-termism and discounting of future generations. Roman argues we need to see beyond the immediacy of the pandemic that we're in and recognize the challenges and injustices that we are passing on from one generation to the next if we do nothing. It's challenging, however, when addressing these long term injustices;it requires thinking about them for sometimes decades or centuries ahead. But with COVID we have a collective sense of crisis, a crisis that is one of the only ways we can achieve change. We have a transformative opening which may give space for transformative ideas like a circular economy or Universal Basic Income.

In this episode, we dive into understanding denialism and justice dimensions that are gaining visibility with Professor Kari Norgaard. She talks about how we collectively experience and shape things as a society, and how denialism pertains to the various interconnected issues and movements of our time.

Professor Frances Fox Piven talks about this unique moment in United States history and the complexities of collective action and protest.

In this episode we dive into a discussion with Rob Nixon on climate change denialism, the difficulty of understanding and drawing attention to "slow violence," and in particular, the power of social media and using story and image to to translate scientific knowledge into powerful currents that catalyze social sentiment and action.