Your Brain On Climate

A few years ago I learned the Dutch word 'goedprater': the excuses we give to justify something to others, which we can barely justify to ourselves. I do it all the time and I bet you do too, whether it's not going for that run you planned (ow, leg suddenly hurt) or caring about climate change but taking loads of flights (well, they were just going to go anyway, right?) 
In this micro episode, I learn all about goedprater as part of understanding the BYSTANDER EFFECT. I revisit a snippet of my 2023 chat with Professor Gerdien de Vries. Within, Gerdien explains the three reasons we walk by on the other side, when doing our bit would probably be the right thing to do.  
Please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. 
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. 
YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.

Hope! What is it good for? (Absolutely every'thin). 
We ain't doing much about the climate crisis without it. Movements are founded on it, and most campaigns are about wanting us to feel it. Which is exhilarating for those who feel it most urgently - but what about everyone else? 
The good news is it turns out there are lots of different ways to have climate hope, even ones that might not look like it. Raising kids in the age of climate breakdown; doing a strange little climate podcast; even being a mopey wee doomer: this episode, we learn about how all these things are types of hope. 
Joining me on this episode is researcher Pancho Lewis, who's got a brilliant paper all about the many different types of climate hope there are. We talk about how politics is all about the feels, why being a Man U fan has tested Pancho's hope reserves no end - and how to truly have hope in the dark. 
All that, and a bit of Terry Pratchett too. 
(last minute edit: The term 'slow hope' was coined by Christof Mauch. Forgot to owl that)
Let me know your thoughts on the show - [email protected]. Please rate, review and subscribe, and share the show on socials. And do consider chucking this humble indie podcaster a few quid at www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. 
Owl noises = references: 
13:33: My micro chat with Geoff Beattie about optimism bias. 
16.38: Pancho's paper about fluid hope. 
34.21: Over to Wiki to explain collective effervescence.
40.17: Jonathan Lear's book about radical hope. 
45:20: Mathias Thaler's paper about eco-miserablism. 
45.30: an owl is necessary to explain the Dark Mountain Collective. 
50.46: Andreas Malm hates doomsters: see his book. 
57:02: Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark. If you read nothing else, etc. 
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. You can follow the show on instagram @yourbrainonclimate, and I occasionally put up a Substack. 
YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Thanks as always to Ruth Everett for the voices. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://mondial-studio.com/.

Your brain is literally made of the food you eat. And *how* you eat it - slowly, or wolfed down at your desk - will affect how well you digest it. So way before any of the psychology stuff, getting a proper lunch might be the most important way to start getting your brain to be useful, in doing something about climate change. 
In this micro episode, I revisit my chat with the brilliant Kimberley Wilson from 2021. Kimberley's an author, mental health expert, nutritionist and science communicator, who knows more about the value of a hot dinner than you've had hot dinners. 
Please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. 
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. 
YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.

The history of humans arguing about climate change is often just people throwing large numbers at each other. So it's time for an episode about how we think about numbers, why our brains are prone to falling for dodgy sums dressed up as facts, and how we can all learn to maths up a bit.  
Joining me on this episode is Rob Eastaway - maths author, cricket nerd, and all round nice bloke. You might have heard him on shows like BBC's More or Less, or read his books like Maths on the Back of an Envelope. He's passionate about helping everyone young and old more conquer their fear of maths and to take back a bit of control over those that would use numbers to beguile or bewitch us. 
Loads of people say they have a fear of numbers. Many of us struggle with probabilities, percentages or simply confidence in adding up in our heads. Rob says that's not just bad for our basic life skills, but it leaves us vulnerable to those who would use big numbers to make us believe things that aren't true. 
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: 
18.22: My episode about Common Sense, with Danna Young, featuring the Monty Hall problem and much more. 
29:00: A report I once commissioned challenging the (questionable) sums the then government used to slow down climate action. 
34:50: badger costs, including policing. 
37:50: Matt Parker mathematically ranks insect stings. 
43:27: BBC's More or Less. 
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. You can follow the show on instagram @yourbrainonclimate, and I occasionally put up a Substack. 
YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Ruth Everett does all other YBOC voices. 
Show logo by Arthur Stovell at https://mondial-studio.com/.

I recently had the honour of being interviewed about what I've learned from 4+ years of doing this show - about human brains vs the climate crisis and how to bring them closer together. 
This is me on the Climate Magic podcast, under the benign grill of Sarah Jaquette Ray, herself very much not a slouch in the 'being clever about climate psychology' stakes. 
I hope you like. 
If you like this show, please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. 
The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. 
YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.