The Most Important Question

Latest Episodes:

Issue #234: Tripping Over Our Bootstraps, Cover My Crops, AI is as Bad as Us Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

This week: “Do not come”; The pandemic is not over for everyone; We can do better, can’t we? Cover crops; Language barriers in AI.

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

115: Fossil Fuel Propaganda Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

In Episode 115, Quinn & Brian discuss: How to stop fossil fuel advertising.

Our guests are JaRel Clay and Jamie Henn.

JaRel Clay is the Digital Director of Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit focused on ending the climate crisis, having some fun, and tackling racial justice along the way. No big deal.

Jamie is a climate activist, strategist, and communicator. He’s the Director of Fossil Free Media, a nonprofit communications lab to boost groups taking on the fossil fuel industry.

Together, they’re members of Clean Creatives, a group of strategists, creatives, and industry leaders looking to take on the fossil industry where it hurts: their mouth holes. If it kind of sounds like the introduction to the Justice League or something, you’re not far off -- the work these guys are doing is saving the planet.

Yes, we have a democrat in the White House, Ford’s got a new electric truck that’s sure to make waves, and solar just keeps getting better. But let’s not forget: Exxon mobile is not f***ing around. We have to move at this thing from all angles -- and with the same level of fervor. To really do that, we have to take control of the messaging. We can’t compete dollar to dollar, so we have to get creative.

Along the way, we may end up starting the Clean Creatives Family Band.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com

Important, Not Important Book Club:

"The Cold Millions" by Jess Walter
"The Bully Pulpit" by Doris Kearns Goodwin
"All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson
https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant

Links:

cleancreatives.org
Twitter: @cleancreatives
Instagram: @clean_creatives
Twitter: @jamieclimate
Twitter: @iGObyJAY
Twitter: @hiphopcaucus

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Issue #233: Big Renewable Energy, AI Isn’t All That (Yet), Hot Vax Summer Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

This week: bigger doesn’t mean better; COVAX has got next, finally; a brand new day… and vaccine; AI and medicine – so close, and yet so far.

Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the future.
Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter
Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com
Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

114. Carbon Offsets: Not A Get Out of Jail Free Card, TBH May 31, 2021

Show notes

In Episode 114, Quinn asks: What are carbon offsets, and do they even work?

Our returning guest is Akshat Rathi, a reporter at Bloomberg Green.

Carbon offsets -- like our planet -- are so hot right now. And like our planet -- they kind of don’t work! So fun.

But they could -- and while missions #1 to #11 are eliminate emissions, everywhere, we’ve gotta go negative at some point, so we might as well figure it out, and figure out how to scale them, like yesterday.

You need them, I need them, we all need them.

Forests (of all kinds) are great, but imperfect. New tech like next-generation wind and solar, methane-tracking satellites, and vacuums that literally suck carbon out of the sky are imperfect, too. But so is Quinn!

Find out how you can offset your own impact, and help get us to negative, stat.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com

Important, Not Important Book Club:

"More from Less" by Andrew McAfee
"Less is More" by Jason Hickle
https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant

Links:

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Issue #232: These Shrooms Aren’t Fungi, Climate Change Is Costly, Keep the Vaccines Rolling May 28, 2021

Show notes

This week: a brutal day for oil; fungi on the move (not great); wastewater: so hot right now; paying for climate protection; vaccine inequities; and facial recognition on the way out (for now).

Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter
Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com
Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Do Better Better #18: Back to the Future May 26, 2021

Show notes

Synopsis: We can time travel to the past to understand how we got to where we are today. But the past doesn’t dictate the future - not anymore. So we have to look forward. The decisions we make today will guarantee that the world of 2041 is cleaner, safer, and more equitable than 2021.

Do Better Better essays help you build mental models and ask questions about our changing world — for yourself, your family, and your business.

These essays compliment the audio version of our weekly newsletter, and of course, our ground-breaking conversations with diverse, interdisciplinary humans working on the frontlines of the future.

Get these essays, our newsletter, and more science that makes you feel good right in your inbox at importantnotimportant.com
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

113: Lessons from Plants May 24, 2021

Show notes

In Episode 113, Quinn asks: What can we learn from plants?

The answer, it turns out, is: A whole heck of a lot.

Our guest is the wonderful and way overqualified Dr. Beronda Montgomery -- PhD, writer, researcher, scholar, and author of “Lessons from Plants.” Dr. Montgomery’s dedicated her work to understanding how individuals are impacted by their environment.

Life as a human is hard. I mean, that’s why we open every episode with the question, “Why are you vital to the survival of the species?” — because it so often feels like that survival is in question.

But imagine, if you will, being a plant — you think being stuck inside the past year sucks? Try being the fiddle leaf fig you one-clicked from Bloomscape in 2019! It NEVER gets to go outside.

Plants are just out here, stuck in the ground, living entirely at the whim of a constantly changing, and often harsh, environment. Still, they go on and flourish, despite everything.

Listen in to find out all the incredible lessons we can take away from the plants all around us -- from being a team player, how to persevere through adversity, and even being a better mentor.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com

Important, Not Important Book Club:

"Breathe: A Letter to My Sons" by Imani Perry
bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant

Links:

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Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!
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Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Issue #231: Electric Truck Boogaloo, Get Your Colon Checked, What’s Your Beef May 21, 2021

Show notes

This week: An electric truck for the masses; India’s vaccine production stays home; Better cancer screening; Beef emissions.

Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter
Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com
Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

112. The Next Pandemic May 19, 2021

Show notes

Oh, when we were young and so naive.

In Episode #9 (!), Quinn and Brian got to know Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an infectious diseases physician, Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, and the Medical Director of Special Pathogens Unit (SPU) at Boston Medical Center.

TLDR of the episode was “We should probably prepare for a pandemic.”

FUN STORY.

In Episode #112, Dr. Bhadelia’s back -- and she’s got some big news to share.

But before we get to her announcement (and what it means for society as we know it) -- Quinn’s gotta know: was she as prepared for COVID as she thought? What did she learn? And how can we set ourselves and future generations up to fare, I don’t know, even slightly better next time?

You won’t find a better infectious disease resource than Dr. B, and we’re so thankful she’s come back, now, at the turn of the tide. #gandalf

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com

Important, Not Important Book Club:

“Get Well Soon” by Jennifer Wright
https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant

Links:

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Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

111: When Your Government Runs on Windows 95 May 10, 2021

Show notes

In Episode 111, Quinn & Brian discuss the past, present, and future of government IT infrastructure. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???

Our guest is Aneesh Chopra, the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Twelve years after serving under President Obama, he’s the co-founder of CareJourney, whose mission is to empower individuals and organizations they trust with open, clinically-relevant analytics and insights in the pursuit of the optimal healthcare journey. Sounds nice!

Technology moves fast. Just look at Dogecoin! Government IT… not so much.

So how the hell do we take the rapid innovations of Silicon Valley (fine, Miami) and apply it to our nimble little bureaucracy? It takes a little MacGyvering -- and a lot of talking.

Aneesh’s goal is to be a translator between the public sector and the private sector, from health care to voting to SolarWinds. And just in time: modernizing the technical infrastructure of our government actually has bipartisan support — just look how the White House embraced Twitter! (sob sob sob)

Aneesh has the ideas, tools, and plans to enhance communication, maximize our technological capabilities, and get hacked just a little less by Russia. Just a little.

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Important, Not Important Book Club:

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