Your Brain On Climate

• (Getting Your Head Around) the End of the World, with Laurie Laybourn

  We're reasonably good at imagining what nuclear war would be like (although it'd probably be even worse than that). But it's not the same for most other complicated, really really scary risks. Eg: the UK government is still not taking seriously the risk of another pandemic - and that's despite the fact we LITERALLY JUST HAD ONE, GUYS.  And it's the same for climate change - with knobs on. For sure, our politicians, banks and cultures just aren't ready for the climate-clusterfudge. But if you're anything like me, there's a limit to how much of it you can take into your overloaded little brain as well. Why? Are we just not evolved for it? Are we doomed to sail merrily into a storm we don't want to see coming?  No, says this episode's guest, the fab Laurie Laybourn from the Strategic Climate Risk Initiative.  Yes, it's hard to wrap your head around. But Laurie thinks we're very far from doomed - as long as we first understand where we're actually starting from. Listen for a chat that's sometimes vertiginous, sometimes funny, and always inspiring. And you can't say you weren't warned, but here's Threads (1984) on iPlayer. These new-format episodes take a long time to record, script, and edit. If you like it - that'll make me happy. Let me know your thoughts on the show - [email protected]. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. Please consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises = references: 20:48 - Derailment risk: a paper by Laurie and others. 25:50 - 58% of Americans say climate change contributed to the LA wildfires. 26:12 - George Marshall's important book, Don't Even Think About It.36:17 - Normalcy Bias over at the Decision Lab: why we believe nothing bad will happen. 37:05 - Scope insensitivity, courtesy of Wiki. 38:28 - Laurie's report, the Security Blind Spot. 41:13 - The Daily Telegraph's investigation into the pandemic prep exercise too scary to publicise. 41:42 - The UK's under preparedness for Covid, via the BBC. 50:31 - Going Infinite, Michael Lewis's superb book about Sam Bankman-Fried. 51:54 - In 2019 I quit my job live(ish) on Sustainababble #169. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Bluesky and X/Twitter, although I don't use the latter any more. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com. Other music in this episode by Robertothenice. 

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• Stories of Action, with Kris de Meyer

  If you want someone to change their mind, it's best if they persuade themselves. And they're much more likely to do that if they actually *do* something new, rather than just pathetically feeling like they *should*. There's nothing like getting yer metaphorical hands dirty to show you you can do things you never thought you could  - from bleeding radiators to leading climate marches. And everyday stories of people *doing stuff* are far more effective than simply telling people there's a climate crisis going on - so why don't we tell more of them? This episode, welcome to the noggin and work of Kris de Meyer - neuroscientist, documentarian, and science communicator par excellence. Kris is the director of the UCL Climate Action Unit and one of the most requested guests for Your Brain on Climate. There ain't much about your brain that he doesn't know, so strap yourself in for some lessons in how minds really change.  Kris even has an answer to how come Dave ended up nearly getting nicked dressed as a beagle - and how societies drift slowly apart, one tiny step at a time. These new-format episodes take a long time to record, script, and edit. If you like it - that'll make me happy. Let me know your thoughts on the show - [email protected]. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. Please consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises = references: 06:22 - Here's Kris's TED talk about the pyramid ... 06:40 - ... and here's his other one, 'Why we need to change how we talk about climate change'. 08:50 - A nice little primer on the information deficit model. 13:31 - I loved my chat with Anil Seth back in 2022. 20:47 - Strong recommend for Will Storr's The Science of Storytelling. 24:47 - The Single Action Bias, over at the always excellent Decision Lab. Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis. Contact the show:  @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected]. Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Bluesky and X/Twitter, although I don't use the latter any more. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com. 

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  56:22
• Common Sense, with Dannagal Young

  Common sense? Ain't nothing common about it. Populists - like Donald Trump - love to appeal to  'common sense', while pushing ideas as contentious as they come.  But what does  Trump get right about how he talks to people about big ideas - and what can everyone else learn from it?   And what does all this mean for how to talk about something as complex and polarised as climate change? In this episode I'm joined by Dr Dannagal Young, Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware. Danna is the author of 'Wrong:  how Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation'.   We talk about her amazing work on the psychological underpinnings of political tribes, including how much any of us actually like to think about complicated things at all. These new-format episodes take a long time to record, script, and edit. If you like it - that'll make me happy. Let me know your thoughts on the show - [email protected]. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. Please consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises = references: 07:15 - Here's a paper by Danna about lay epistemology.10:45 - Sophia Rosenfeld's book, Common Sense: A Political History 12:17 - Wikipedia entry on Thomas Paine's Common Sense.24:27 - Alex Bellos sets puzzles every week in the Guardian. 25:58 - Want to measure your own need for closure? Check out the Kruglanski scale.  44:25 - Awful lot of stuff written about using fear in climate messaging. Here's a decent piece from Scientists for Global Responsibility. 47:28 - If you've liked this episode and you haven't read Kahneman's seminal Thinking Fast and Slow, you better get on it.  52:09 - Numberphile2 on YouTube explains the Monty Hall problem (with visuals, which really helps). Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis. Contact the show:  @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected]. Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Bluesky and X/Twitter, although I don't use the latter any more. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Lots of other lovely bed music in this episode by Rockot.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com. 

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  52:58
• The neutrality myth, with Lydia Messling

  Is climate science 'neutral'? Should it be? Are humans even capable of being neutral about anything? In this new-format episode, I dig into accusations that climate scientists risk undermining their work by going on climate marches. Can that really be true? Doesn't the scientific method speak for itself? And is it realistic to expect people to spend all day immersed in awful data, and NOT want to change the world afterwards? I'm joined this episode by the fab Dr Lydia Messling, climate engagement expert and a very thoughtful and clever person. Lydia talks about her experiences in being told not to go on climate marches, and what she's learned about how climate scientists can be great public communicators.  And Lydia helps me understand the big big difference between being 'neutral' and being 'objective': while the former's probably impossible in science or life, the latter is the very heart of what makes science fab in the first place. This is a new type of episode that I hope will be the norm from now on. But it takes a lot longer to do. So if you want to see more like this, let me know - [email protected] and please do leave a review. And do please consider chucking a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. Owl noises: 08:12 - Lydia et al's Nature piece challenging the 'neutrality myth'... 08:22 - which was a response to this Nature piece from Ulf Büntgen. 12:25 - More on the BBC's change of tack on 'balance' in climate reporting, from the Guardian. 13:20 - The thoroughly unedifying Climategate affair, 10 years on. 15:46 - the audio here is from a great interview with Prof Brian Cox from Champion Speakers on Youtube. 17:37 - Helen Douglas's 2009 book.28:45 - Lydia's 8 tips for climate science communication. Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis. Contact the show:  @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected]. Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find  @powellds on Twitter.  YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Other music in this episode by Daniel Cutter.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com. 

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  45:37
• Mental heat, with Alessandro Massazza

  When it gets hot, we all get a bit stroppy: think 'shouting at people on the internet' stroppy. But that's only the tip of the (melting) iceberg. Too much heat can trigger or make worse a range of mental health conditions. And what does climate change bring? More heat.  So what are the mental health implications of rising global temperatures?  Joining Dave this episode is Dr Alessandro Massazza (X / LinkedIn) - Policy Advisor for United for Global Mental Health. Ale tells Dave all about what the science has to say about the very many ways getting too hot can fry your state of mind - and why it's time to give mental health a proper seat at the climate table. Owl noises: 06:38 - Whole Body Hyperthermia as a treatment for depression - a metareview.  07:57 - I meant the wet bulb, and we didn't explain what it is. 08:38 - Schizophrenia as a key factor in heat deaths.  11:00 - more on temperature vs asylum judges. 13:31 - the links between poverty, depression and anxiety. 16:51 - a review of ambient temperature (including humidity) and mental health17:46 - the Lancet Countdown set of indicators on climate & health. 18:53 - you must read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. it will radicalise you 20:00 - more on the relationship between sleep loss and heat. 22:26 - Looky at what trees do to cool streets down. 35:04 - We've come across hyperobjects before, like in my chat with Jonathan Rowson. 36:22 - How health framing boosts support for climate policies. 42:35 - South Australian heat warning system & mental heath. I also mentioned at the end the study I'd read about a piece in the Times that conservative voters have larger fear centres (the amygdala). That's here. Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis. Contact the show:  @brainclimate on Twitter, or [email protected]. Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find  @powellds on Twitter.  Original music by me too. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.  

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