Sustainababble

Latest Episodes:

#164: Climate Assembly Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

In a hotel room in Birmingham, one hundred ordinary people are doing something rather extraordinary. For four weekends, members of the UK's Climate Assembly are discussing - in a polite, constructive, and very un-2020 way - how on earth we achieve what the UK government has decided we will achieve, i.e. naff all climate pollution in 30 years time.What's really special is that these people are not yoghurt weavers like Dave and Ol. They represent a cross-section of society, including climate sceptics, so should arrive at solutions likely to meet with broad public and political approval. In theory.To find out what it's like in that hotel room, and what David Attenborough is really like, we speak to the person running the whole shebang. Sarah Allan is Head of Engagement at the participation charity 'Involve', who are running Climate Assembly UK for six committees of the UK Parliament.Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella.Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble.MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.comAvailable on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#163: Jonathan Rowson meets Sustainababble Dec 29, 2019

Show notes

Chess Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson won the British Championship three times and has been the no.1 player in Scotland for basically ever. He's so clever, he's got a PhD in 'Wisdom'. That sounds like a joke but it isn't.Jonathan has written extensively about what it is in our heads and our societies that stops us being wiser, and is director of Perspectiva, an organisation that inspires Important People to examine real world problems with a deeper appreciation of the influence of our inner worlds. Problems like climate change, which is a principal theme in his new book, The Moves That Matter.So, fresh from an election all-nighter (this was recorded on 13 December), Dave and Ol try to conduct a conversation with a stupendously clever human all about philosophy, psychology and climate change. In addition - and why the hell not - Dave decides to **play** Jonathan at chess while conducting the interview. You can see how that went, move by move, here: https://tinyurl.com/babblechessSustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella.Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble.MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.comAvailable on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#162: Sustainabauble 2019 Dec 22, 2019

Show notes

We don't want a lot for Christmas - there is just one thing we need: piles of festive eco-guff underneath our (potted, reusable) Christmas tree. Make our dreams come true! Let us share this year's Sustainabauble with you. Happy Babblemas. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella. Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#161: Five More Years Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Election 2019, then: Tories. LOTS of Tories. Boris is as delighted as pig in a massive pile of poo, and has carte blanche to sodding well do whatevs - including to the planet. Crikey, and indeed, Moses. What on Earth does all this mean for, well, Earth? Will the good green stuff the Tories promised ever actually happen? Is this the end for the climate movement? And if you're feeling a bit soggy and limp about it all, what's to do next? Dave and Ol haven't really been to bed, but the Babble never sleeps. Join us, and several cups of exceptionally strong coffee, for a post-electoral cuddle. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella. Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#160: Orcas Dec 08, 2019

Show notes

It's possible that a terrifyingly high proportion of babble listeners haven't seen Free Willy, which, if the case, is truly appalling. Not being alive in 1993 is NO EXCUSE.Anyway, it's a film about an orca, and orcas - killer whales - are extraordinary beings, but beings we know bugger all about. So we decided to interview someone who knows rather more.Enter Shilpa Shah, strategist and blogger for the wonderful Orca Guardians organisation in West Iceland. Shilpa is, by her own admission, completely obsessed with these animals, not only because of their remarkable social structures and astonishing intelligence, but because of what they might be trying to tell us about... us.To find out more about Orca Guardians and their work, please visit https://orcaguardians.org/. You can even adopt an orca! https://orcaguardians.org/adoption-packages/ Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella.Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble.MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.comAvailable on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#159: Advertising Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

"The gentle art of persuading the public to believe that they want something they don’t need", so a 1905 definition goes. Selling in 2019 is basically the same, except now there's the added by-product - yay! - of hastening planetary self-combustion.But what's it actually like selling stuff you know is bad news? Can the ad industry - increasingly staffed by the eco-anxious, after all - use its dark arts to save the planet? And is Mad Men basically a documentary?We natter to recovering ad man, and co-founder of The Comms Lab, Jonathan Wise, to find out.Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella.Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble.MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.comAvailable on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#158: Floods Nov 24, 2019

Show notes

Bits of northern England have been inundated by floodwater in recent weeks. Even the perpetually soggy Venice has managed to get somehow more underwater.It's grim as hell, flooding, made worse by the politicians stopping by with a mop and hi-vis. Grim, but not unpredictable. So why is everyone still reporting these events as if they're out of the blue? Shouldn't we start assuming they're going to happen more regualrly, and get our preparative shit together accordingly?Also this week, manifestos for the babble's THIRD general election make for surprisingly uplifting reading, and Coldplay kick blighty when it's down. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella.Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble.MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.comAvailable on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#157: Tories Nov 17, 2019

Show notes

Chances are, if you listen to this podcast you're a bit of a lefty. And that's fine. And we are too.But lefties surely can't claim a monopoly on environmentalism, can they? There are plenty of non-lefties who say they care just as much about the planet, after all.So, in a demonstration of BBC-standard impartiality, we decided to interview an Actual Tory. It's only been 157 episodes, after all.Step forward Sam Hall, director of the Conservative Environment Network and former aide to Michael Gove, to give a passionate defense of Tory environmentalism. Crikey moses.Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella.Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble.MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.comAvailable on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#156: Fireworks Nov 10, 2019

Show notes

Whizz! Bang! No, not BoJo's pillow talk, but the sound of millions of home explosives polluting the sky and making pets' insides go gooey. With the annual Guy Fawkes celebration now behind us, we ask if it might be time to ban yet another thing that's fun.Also this week, seismic news in fracking world: it's actually been banned in England! We pause to celebrate this epic win, and thank the people who made it happen.Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella.Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble.MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.comAvailable on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

#155: Beavers meet Sustainababble Nov 03, 2019

Show notes

In this special episode, Dave and Ol leave stinky London behind and head off to rainy, muddy Cornwall to try to meet some actual beavers. Without wellies. It's been 400 years since the humble but sodding impressive beaver was wiped out in the UK due to having nice-smelling undercarriages. Now, a handful of rewilders are starting to reintroduce them - including organic farmer, sausage chaser and beaver fancier, Chris Jones. With the help of Babble listener extraordinaire Abi, we visited Chris's farm to see these fabby rodents up close. Thanks massively to Chris Jones (@kernowbeaver) and Abi Beath for all the help. Abi's alter ego is singer/songwriter Abi Sofia, and two of her tracks are used in this episode - listen at https://soundcloud.com/abisofiamusic. Find out more about the Cornwall Beaver Project at @cornwallbeaver (Twitter) or @cornwallbeaverproject on Facebook. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Ecoguff read out by Arabella. Love the babble? Bung us a few pennies at www.patreon.com/sustainababble. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

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