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Imagining Climate Change

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Original Air Date:

August 12, 2017

“The climate crisis is a crisis of culture and thus of imagination,” says writer Amitav Ghosh. So what changes in our conversation about global warming when we tap into the imaginative worlds of artists? We ask some, including novelists Ghosh and Lidia Yuknavitch and visual artist Kambui Olujimi.

How Bad Can Climate Change Really Get?

ruined boats

Audio

There’s a lot of scientific debate about the future of climate change. But have you ever considered the worst case scenario? David Wallace-Wells gives us one terrifying glimpse into the future.

Length:

9:15

Where’s the Great 'Climate Change Novel'?

bamboo graffitt

Articles

If climate change is the most urgent problem facing humanity, why are there so few novels about it? Acclaimed novelist Amitav Ghosh believes that’s a big problem. He says climate change is less a science problem than a crisis of imagination.

Length:

12:31

Let’s Get Serious About the Anthropocene

earth

Dangerous Ideas

Historian Iain McCalman’s Dangerous Idea? The Anthropocene — the idea that humans have fundamentally changed our global climate. It’s scary, but we’re also seeing people come together in unprecedented ways to solve planetary problems.

Length:

2:32

Zulu Time: Artist Kambui Olujimi Explores the Many Dimensions of Time

Kambui Olujimi: The Drop, from the series InDecisive Moments, 2017. Glass, approx. 30 x 20 x 20 inches. Courtesy the artist.

Photo Gallery

It’s hard to wrap your head around climate change. How do you really take in the concept of planetary change over decades or even centuries? Visual artist Kambui Olujimi explores different ideas about time in his one-man show “Zulu Time.”

Length:

7:08

Lidia Yuknavitch’s Dream World: How Dreams Shaped Her Dazzling Speculative Novel

earth from space

Audio

Lidia Yuknavitch’s apocalyptic novel “The Book of Joan” is one of the most stunning examples of climate fiction. It’s the story of a near-future where Earth is decimated and the last few survivors are stranded out in space.

Length:

16:36

The Many Movements Toward Oblivion Tracked By The Doomsday Clock

The original 1947 cover of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Articles

In 2018, we have a lot more to be anxious about than just nuclear weapons.

Show Details 📻

Airdates

August 12, 2017

February 10, 2018

November 24, 2018

August 31, 2019

Guests:

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

David Wallace-Wells

Journalist

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Amitav Ghosh

Author

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Iain McCalman

Historian and Author

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Kambui Olujimi

Artist

Lidia Yuknavitch

Author

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Last modified:

August 30, 2019

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