Rebecca Solnit, the author of books including “A Paradise Built in Hell” (2009) and “Orwell’s Roses” (2021) and the co-editor of the new collection of essays “Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility,” discusses the long view as a “mind-blowing” way of looking at the world, why the majority of people tend to be altruistic and resourceful in a disaster, and why the climate crisis requires eschewing a scarcity mindset for one of abundance.

The civil rights activist, award-winning journalist, and former NPR and CNN foreign correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault talks about her book “My People: Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives”; why understanding history is like a form of armor in a world full of misinformation; and the transformational, life-altering notion of viewing herself as a “queen” from a young age.

Atmospheric physicist and climatologist Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the founder of Bauhaus Earth, talks with us about reforesting the planet and “re-timbering” cities, the potential for the built environment to become a “hero” in climate restoration, and the vast number of solutions to be found by looking to nature and Indigenous cultures.

Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

Artist Sanford Biggers, whose solo exhibition “Codeswitch” opens at the Bronx Museum of the Arts in September, discusses interconnectedness, the importance of “re-righting” history, and why monuments and memorials are dynamic, not static.

Bhuddist monk Gelong Thubten, author of the book “A Monk’s Guide to Happiness: Meditation in the 21st Century,” speaks with us about the real meaning of freedom, attention as a commodity, and how meditation can be a tool for combatting fear, worry, and false sources of happiness.

Meteorologist and climate journalist Eric Holthaus, author of the new book “The Future Earth: A Radical Vision for What’s Possible in the Age of Warming,” talks with us about finding hope in spite of trauma, using language to shift perspectives, and how altruism and collaboration might allow society not only to survive but thrive.

Anthropologist and legal scholar Annelise Riles, the executive director of Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Studies, discusses America’s shifting relationship with China amid Covid-19, rethinking how knowledge is made, and how language can be both a barrier to and a means for human connection.

Journalist, author, and broadcaster Peter Laufer, the James Wallace Chair in Journalism at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, speaks with us about the Portland protests, President Trump’s efforts to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, and why we need more opportunities for listening and conversation across political divides.

Buckminster Fuller Institute executive director Amanda Ravenhill talks with us about the importance of multidisciplinary thinking, the power of the individual in today’s globalized society, and the need for a deeper appreciation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

Neuroscience-trained psychotherapist Ariel Garten, co-founder of the brain-sensing headband Muse, discusses understanding and identifying helpful and hurtful technologies, ways of addressing our mental health during the pandemic, and various approaches to getting into a healing mindset.

Science journalist Emily Anthes, author of the new book “The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness,” speaks with us about the paradox of indoor spaces during a pandemic, the rich microbial worlds inside our homes, designing interiors with inclusivity in mind, and what makes for resilient architecture.

Sommelier, winemaker, and entrepreneur André Hueston Mack, owner of Maison Noir Wines and the Brooklyn “ham bar” and grocery & Sons, talks with us about producing wine in the face of global warming and climate change, his love of American country hams, Covid-19’s shock to the restaurant industry, and the connection between diversity and empathy.

New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner Gonzalo Casals discusses his difficult recovery from a Covid-19 infection; the impact of the pandemic on his neighborhood in Jackson Heights, Queens, as well as on the city’s arts and culture organizations; and today’s long-overdue shifts and necessary conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, author of the books “Reconsidering Reparations” and “Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics,” speaks with us about why future decision-making will be driven by the state of climate politics, considering the deep presence of the past within the current moment, and what a planetary “solidarity economy” could look like.

Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

Entrepreneur, analyst, strategist, and investor Azeem Azhar, creator of the Exponential View newsletter and podcast, speaks with us about Covid-19’s impact on surveillance, the role of the smartphone in contemporary society, and the emergence of “climate tech” companies.

Activist, artist, M.C., and music educator Toni Blackman talks with us about establishing a breathwork practice, the links between spirituality and hip-hop, and the healing power of music to shift our hearts and minds.

Futurist, designer, and ethicist Cennydd Bowles discusses why design often creates as many problems as it solves, the failures of “design thinking,” and the importance of bringing a longer-term perspective to addressing systemic changes.

Chef David Zilber, the former head of the fermentation lab at Noma, speaks with us about the symbiosis between microbes and mankind, science as a tool for thinking about food from new perspectives, and his hopes for shaking up our complex, deeply broken global food systems.

Architect and urban designer Mitchell Joachim, co-founder of the firm Terreform One and co-author of the new book “Design with Life: Biotech Architecture and Resilient Cities,” talks with us about the idea of utopia, the future of capitalism, and why, coming out of Covid-19, we’re going to start thinking again of ourselves as citizens instead of consumers.

Margaret Klein Salamon, the founding director of the advocacy organization The Climate Mobilization and author of the new book “Facing the Climate Emergency: How to Transform Yourself with Climate Truth,” discusses the psychological impacts of the climate crisis, the need for a collective awakening, and why we need to be explicit about the policies we advocate for to prevent the collapse of civilization.

Jeremy Lent, the founder of the Liology Institute and author of “The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning,” speaks with us about how corporations have become the “ruling force” in our world today, the vast impact of the internet on mankind, and why we need to broaden our thinking about the long-term implications of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biologist Rob Dunn, an applied ecology professor at North Carolina State University and the author of several books, including “Never Home Alone: From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live,” talks with us about his studies into sourdough starters, the impact of fast food and industrial farming on our gut’s “garden,” and the transformative nature of embracing global networks and communication.

Economist Matthew E. Kahn, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Economics and Business at Johns Hopkins University and the director of the university’s 21st Century Cities Initiative, discusses the idea of the American Dream, his support for a per-ton carbon tax, and why, because of the climate crisis, he doesn’t believe in homeownership.

Jennifer Rauch, the author of the book “Slow Media: Why Slow is Satisfying, Sustainable, and Smart,” speaks with us about the benefits of occasionally unplugging from technology and abstaining from the news, the effects of Covid-19 on media consumption, and the joy of boredom.

Israeli-born, Boston-based architect and urban planner Moshe Safdie, author of the new book “If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture,” discusses approaching architecture with humility and in service to society, the staying power of his Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal, and his vision for creating the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust in Jerusalem.

Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

Integrative nutritionist Daphne Javitch, the founder of Doing Well, talks with us about personal and community health as a marathon, why trying to think positively isn’t necessarily a pragmatic wellness solution, and the importance of monitoring your media diet.

Architect Michel Rojkind discusses designing against fear, why our nature as humans is interconnection, the benefits of moving away from a competitive mindset, and finding balance through running and drumming.

Biologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of the new book “Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures,” speaks with us about fungal networks, lifeforms as ecosystems, and the transformative power of LSD to shift how we think.

Tortoise Media co-founder and former BBC News director James Harding talks with us about journalism as a public conversation, the parallels between Slow News and Slow Food, and the opportunities to be found through a slower, more contextual approach to media making.

London-based Iranian artist Shirazeh Houshiary discusses her deep appreciation of the natural world, the power of embracing uncertainty, transcending the “duality of existence” through multidisciplinary learning, and training ourselves toward long-view thinking.

Food artist Laila Gohar speaks with us about togetherness in a time of crisis; food as a medium for comfort, healing, and pleasure; how a culture of convenience has dumbed down our senses; and why living a responsible life means not throwing out any food.

Dr. Alejandro Junger, the founder of the Clean Program, talks with us about impacting tomorrow’s pandemics by addressing chronic diseases today, taking an open-minded approach to medicine, and why not everybody necessarily needs to do a cleanse.

Anthropologist Gina Rae La Cerva, author of the new book “Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food,” discusses why wild food has come to be considered a luxury, and the pressing need to build better, more resilient ecological and agricultural systems.

Former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa, a senior lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, discusses the ways in which social media platforms are being weaponized and how the Trump administration has botched the handling of both Covid-19 and George Floyd’s killing.

United States Artists president and CEO Deana Haggag speaks with us about the “many viruses” of the current White House leadership, why art is essential for unpacking and exploring the complexity of our current moment, and her hopes for a reoriented political system.

Alec Nevala-Lee, author of the new biography “Inventor of the Future: The Visionary Life of Buckminster Fuller,” talks with us about what Fuller has in common (and doesn’t) with Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, the myth of the start-up founder, and why design solutions also need to take politics into account.

Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

Artist Shantell Martin talks with us about the racial and economic inequality of Covid-19, the virus of racism, the power of reflection, and the importance of fighting against institutional memory loss.

Tristan Harris, president and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology and co-host of the Your Undivided Attention podcast, discusses the speed blindness caused by our technology systems and how Silicon Valley could effectively engage in climate action.

Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley, the husband-and-wife author duo of the forthcoming book “The Coming Quarantine,” talk about quarantine’s historical origins, political abuses of power during shelter-in-place orders, and designing “pandemic-friendly” cities.

Economist, Nobel laureate, and Harvard University professor Eric Maskin discusses the supply-chain challenges in restarting the economy, the issues he foresees with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and why he thinks America will remain a center for global innovation.

Dr. David Katz, the CEO of the start-up Diet ID and the former director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, speaks with us about the importance of acknowledging doubt and analyzing Covid-19 through science, sense, and consensus.

Anthropologist and paleobiologist Nina Jablonski talks about how “this little piece of RNA with a punk haircut” is causing us to reflect on our relationship with nature and technology, and why future discourse needs to be structured around a classic liberal-arts education.

Molly Jong-Fast, editor-at-large of The Daily Beast and co-host of the podcast The New Abnormal, discusses the White House’s response to Covid-19, what’s ailing both the left and right in American politics right now, and her hopes for the November 2020 election.

Sarah Williams Goldhagen, author of the book “Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives,” speaks with us about how the pandemic may lead to a greater localization of place and the profound psychological and emotional effects of the built world.

Christian Madsbjerg, a professor at The New School and co-founder of the consultancy Red Associates, talks about conducting better high-stakes decision making under stress and why we need to overhaul how knowledge is created and organized.

Fashion designer Suzanne Lee, the founder of Biofabricate, speaks with us about a new era of materials that could lead to more circular and regenerative systems, misunderstandings around the term “biomaterials,” and leaning into biology as a means of pushing the parameters of fashion forward.

Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Randy Komisar, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, discusses the pressing need for social-justice innovations, the unregulated imbalance between capital and labor, and the monopolization of data by the big tech companies.

Paola Antonelli, the senior curator in the department of architecture and design of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, speaks with us about design’s vital role in the midst of emergency, and how, by simply showing more respect, we will be remembered in a better way.

Financial Times editor-at-large Gillian Tett talks about the urgent need to question how we construct our societies, interact with technology, and the true meaning of globalization, and why the pandemic may lead to wiser, humber, more open ways of being.