
Show Notes
Speculative fiction – the latest tool for imagining what’s possible on climate? Author of ‘Hum’ and winner of the 2026 Climate Fiction Prize, Helen Phillips, joins Climate Curious to share the personal trigger that got her started in writing climate fiction, breaks down the genre of ‘speculative fiction’ and how it can be used to process eco-distress, and why the AI robots at the centre of the book (The Hums) might not be the villains you’d expect… who would have thought it!? Hosted by Climate Curious’ executive producer Josie Colter.
Read Helen Phillips’ book, ‘Hum’: https://www.helencphillips.com/hum
Want more climate fiction novels? Check out the Climate Fiction Prize Shortlist 2026: https://climatefictionprize.co.uk/shortlist-2026/ 'Dusk', By Robbie Arnott 'Endling', By Maria Reva 'The Tiger's Share', By Keshava Guha 'The Book of Records', By Madeleine Thien 'Awake in the Floating City', By Susanna Kwan
Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod
Created by TEDxLondon Executive produced by Josie Colter Produced by Ben Beheshty Curated by Deesha Chandra Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Climate Curious
We thought New York City was built on dreams – turns out it’s built on oysters! Who knew New York’s harbour is home to one of the world’s biggest oyster rewilding projects? Expedition diver, Andi Cross, joins Climate Curious to share how the Billion Oyster Project is restoring NYC’s waters with the ambition of creating a self-sustaining reef system. In conversation with Climate Curious co-host Ben Hurst, they get into how these filter feeders are the backbone to a healthy ecosystem by offering the perfect nature-based solution to help create a more resilient city. They also cover what it takes to become a professional diver that specialises in the most extreme diving conditions (spoiler: farmer strength). From concrete jungle to oyster reef, tune in to hear how it all starts with one simple action: getting on the water.
When Nicholas Cage’s Malibu home nearly got swallowed by a sinkhole last month, we knew climate change had hit the rich. And after a summer of deadly heatwaves sweeping Europe and North America, governments and businesses were forced to sit up a little straighter and start clocking the climate crisis. Sociologist, professor, and Apocalyptic Optimist Dana R Fisher joins Climate Curious’ Ben Hurst in conversation in New York to share why VIP climate shocks might not be the worst thing – becuase when climate shocks go mainstream, they can move the majority.
Climate communicators are quite frankly, terrible at talking to each other. Or that’s what new research just published by the Talking Climate Collaborative shows. Climate Curious invited the study’s lead researcher, sociologist and professor Dana R. Fisher to jump on the podcast during New York Climate Week to break down the results, and chat all things communication, democracy, and climate. In conversation with Climate Curious’ co-host Ben Hurst, this Apocalyptic Optimist shares how climate communicators can link arms and momentum share, why she thinks VIP climate shocks are a good thing (but can still feel sorry for Nicolas Cage), her theory on the Luigi Mangione case, and her climate clapback to the age-old (and incorrect!) “it only takes 3.5% to change the world” rule.
“It seems quite counterintuitive to wade in with our chainsaws, but we are replicating a natural process that we're missing,” says National Trust woodland advisor and author, Luke Barley. Whilst one side of the battle for our world's forests involves protecting trees from destructive deforestation, Luke shares that British woodlands are actually suffering from the opposite problem, being left entirely alone. For thousands of years during what some have called ‘The Wood Age’, humans didn’t just live alongside forests, but actively shaped them, echoing the activities of wooly mammoths and other large animals from prehistoric times. Luke busts the myths of untouched, pristine, dark forests, and reveals why responsible and active forest management is essential to revive Britain’s biodiversity, by reconnecting us to our woodland roots.
A solar panel in Shanghai and a wind turbine in Brasília might sound worlds apart, but the people installing renewables around the globe are breaking similar barriers and achieving the same wins: cheaper bills, cleaner energy, and better jobs! After last week's trip to Oxfordshire's Westmill Solar and Wind Farm, TEDxLondon's Deesha Chandra sits down with three global renewable energy leaders to compare and contrast energy independence lessons from around the world. Featuring: Victoria Santos from Brazil's Institute for Climate and Society, Dr. Yongping Zhang from Energy Foundation China, and Sahele Fekede from the Africa Climate Foundation. Tune in to hear how local clean energy is going global, from Brazil to China and Ethiopia. Helping bring these people together is ReNew2030, building community to share learnings and spread the renewable from local to international.