Communicating Earth – Details, episodes & analysis

What can climate and nature communicators learn from climate education in schools?

Tom speaks to Harry Waters, founder of Renewable English, about helping teachers and students to make their classrooms into engines of climate action and hope. 

Harry has helped mobilise 3,000 students across Europe to move beyond the “three Rs” and into real-world agency.

In this episode he explains his approach:

• Don’t bolt sustainability onto the curriculum, embed it
• Fashion, food, sport, business, language, climate connects to all of it
• If students take action first, belief follows.

And we learn what might help us get better at climate communication:

• Why teachers are the ultimate communicators
• How to simplify complex ideas without dumbing them down
• Embedding ideas of action across all subject areas.

From cooking meals in a car during 47°C heatwaves to Zoom calls empowering pre-teens in English, this episode is about one thing: moving from awareness to agency.

Recommended Film: Don’t Look Up

Follow Harry Waters at https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-waters/

Additional notes: 

Bilnet Schools - https://bilnetokullari.com/en

Jack Johnson, The Three Rs Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6IbRSRe8MQ 

Kids Against Plastic - https://kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/ 

Don’t Look Up - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Look_Up 

National Geographic Learning - https://www.eltngl.com/ 

Kris De Meyer, Transforming the stories we tell about climate change: From 'issue' to 'action' - https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/transforming-the-stories-we-tell-about-climate-change-from-issue-/

Released: 04/03/26

Run time: 45m

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube

What happens when you stop competing in a zero-sum game and give people a meaningful action to take?

Tom sits down with Tamsin Bishton, the new Head of Communications at Climate Acceptance Studios, to unpack a story of action from her time leading communications at Rewilding Britain.

In 2019 the small team at Rewilding Britain spotted a narrow window of opportunity to influence policy, activate an engaged supporter base and make the connection in the public imagination between nature and climate.

They launched a bold campaign linking land use, carbon capture and nature restoration - grounded in rigorous science, powered by partnership and activated through a UK parliamentary petition.

The results: 100k signatures, a parliamentary debate and wider influence on policy, widespread media coverage, and massive increases in social followers and email subscribers.

In this episode, Tamsin reflects on:

• Why “invisible action” may be more powerful than we think
• The essential need to see climate through a justice lens
• The power of partnerships over competition

Recommended book: Active Hope by Joanna Macy

Follow Tamsin Bishton at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamsinbishton/

Additional notes: 

• Rewilding and climate breakdown report https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/about-us/what-we-say/research-and-reports/rewilding-and-climate-breakdown 
• Campaign report https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/blog/lets-restore-nature-parliamentary-debate 
• Parliamentary debate video https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/5839a300-0070-4028-a3d6-ebd996e91f14 
• Ed Harrison https://edharrison.co.uk/ 
• Chantelle Lindsay https://linktr.ee/ChantelleLindsay
• Lira Valencia https://www.instagram.com/outsidewithlira 
• Clover Hogan https://www.cloverhogan.com/ 
• Favourite podcasts https://sceneonradio.org/ and https://onbeing.org/series/podcast/ 
• Pre-historic bird cave art https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cueva_del_Tajo_de_las_Figuras 
• Sunday at Bill’s Mother’s https://abitblackoverbillsmothers.substack.com/ 
• Civic Square project https://civicsquare.cc/ 

Released: 25/2/26

Run time: 44m

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube

What does it take to dismantle climate skepticism in one of the most trusted professions in America?

Tom Clark sits down with Professor Ed Maibach to unpack one of the most remarkable stories in modern climate communication.

16 years ago, US TV weathercasters were split down the middle on human-caused climate change. Today, more than 95% accept the science and they’re reporting on local climate impacts 1,200% more often than before.

In this episode Ed reveals how this transformation happened, exploring:

• Why climate change is fundamentally a public health issue
• The hidden power of “trusted messengers”
• What the tobacco wars teach us about Big Oil today
• Why funding, not evidence, is the biggest barrier

Recommended book: Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Follow Ed Maibach at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-maibach-0537882b/

Additional notes:

Climate Matters Project

https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/climate-matters/

Oil and Tobacco PR playbook

https://www.ciel.org/news/oil-tobacco-denial-playbook/

TV Weathercasters’ Views of Climate Change Evolving

https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/98/10/bams-d-15-00206.1.pdf

Senator Bill Frist on How Climate Is a Health Issue

https://time.com/collections/earth-awards-2025/7279443/bill-frist-acceptance-speech/

Katharine Hayhoe

https://www.ted.com/speakers/katharine_hayhoe

Every 10th Degree matters

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/

Renewables cheaper than fossil fuels

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/around-90-renewables-cheaper-than-fossil-fuels-worldwide-irena-says-2025-07-22/

Margaret Mead quote

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1071-never-doubt-that-a-small-group-of-thoughtful-committed-citizens

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis

Fossil fuel subsidies

https://ourworldindata.org/how-much-subsidies-fossil-fuels

Cleaner air for Londoners

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgq9nnj274xo

Released: 18 February 2026

Run time: 44m

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube

Title: Steph Speck, Global Director, Strategic Partnerships, Engagement and Communication at the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT

The one strategy climate communicators need: unity in a sea of messages

Steph Speck talks to podcast host Tom Clark. Steph is a global leader in climate investments and she shares her experience of:

• Using bold narratives and strategic messaging to drive climate action in fragile regions
• How storytelling can mobilise billions, reshape perceptions, and accelerate change
• Raising $1.3 billion for the Palestine Investment Conference
• The power of unifying messaging to combat misinformation and inspire real-world action. 

Perfect for climate communicators and activists, this episode offers insights into crafting compelling narratives that foster hope, trust, and urgency - ultimately transforming complex science into actionable change.

Recommended books: Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson & What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

Follow Steph at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-speck-51416511/ 

Additional notes: 

89% project - https://89percent.org/

Pluralistic Ignorance - https://wearethemajority.earth/

Jacqueline Novogratz - https://acumen.org/jacqueline-novogratz/

Carbon footprint - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook

Fossil fuel subsidies - https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/wp/2025/english/wpiea2025270-source-pdf.pdf

Mistral AI “Le Chat” - https://mistral.ai/ 

ESG AI footprint calculator - http://impact.esg.ai/ 

Catherine McKenna - https://www.womenleadingonclimate.org/our-podcast

Released: 11 February 2026

Run time: 48 minutes

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube

Podcast Host Emma Crow-Willard talks with Tom Clark about:

• His inspiring journey from a successful consulting career to becoming a leader in climate communication
• How storytelling and video are transforming the way we address climate change
• The importance of grassroots activism and the need for a unified approach to climate, nature, and sustainability
  

Recommended book: The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

Additional notes
Check out the research Tom mentions by Kris De Meyer https://www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-action-unit/about-us

Released: 4 February 2026
Run time: 44 minutes

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Audible | Amazon Music

People are taking action around the world to combat the climate and nature crises. These stories of action lead to more action.

This podcast will tell stories from around the world to help climate and nature communicators improve their work.

Follow along: https://climateacceptancestudios.com/communicating_earth

Description:

Rob Cooper, host of the Climate Unf*cked podcast speaks to Tom Clark, host of Communicating Earth podcast. 

Rob launched his podcast last year after an ayahuasca “moment” in Bolivia in 2022. In this discussion he shares what he’s learned so far including:

• Using a podcast as a "knowledge cartilage" to support the basic "bones" of climate science
• The power of a  provocative name
• Using humour to find common ground
• The power of authenticity over production polish
• LinkedIn strategy for promoting a podcast
  

Listen to Rob Cooper’s tips on how to create podcast content that cuts through the noise to reach your audience and walks the line between pro-comms and authenticity - whilst landing climate messaging and sparking action.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/

Recommended book: Speaking To My Daughter About the Economy by Yanis Varoufakis https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/books/talking-to-my-daughter-about-the-economy-a-brief-history-of-capitalism/

Notes:

Climate Unf*cked podcast - https://climateunfucked.substack.com/ 

The Big Bang Theory - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory

Kevin Anderson - https://climateuncensored.com/

Carbon Brief - https://www.carbonbrief.org/

The Third Door by Alex Banyan - https://alexbanayan.com/book/

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck  by Mark Manson - https://markmanson.net/not-giving-a-fuck

Tim Ferris - https://tim.blog/podcast/

Outrage and Optimism - https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/

Simon Clark - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRRr_xrOm66qaigIbwFLvbQ

The Infinite Monkey Cage - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w

The Graham Norton Show - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006xnzc

Reform Radio - https://www.reformradio.co.uk/

Released: 13 May 2026

Run Time: 53 minutes

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Phil Korbel, Co-Founder of The Carbon Literacy Project, talks to host Tom Clark in the latest episode made by and for climate communicators. 

Phil is a global leader in climate education and The Carbon Literacy Project has trained more than 160,000 people in more than 14,000 organisations including BBC, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, NHS, Patagonia and many more.

Phil shares his mission to:

• Embed climate education as a core workplace competence
• Use a flexible learning framework to scale training 
• Tackle confirmation bias and our innate limited psychological bandwidth for disruption
• Reframe climate action as a way to lower costs, minimise risk, and thrive.

If he could get us to do one thing differently as communicators it would be to “drop the polar bears” and focus on personal, local stories that align with people's existing values.

Recommended Book:

"Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change" by George Marshall https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/dont-even-think-about-it-9781632861023/ 

Follow Phil Korbel at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-korbel-2425264/ 

Additional Notes:

• Carbon Literacy Project - https://carbonliteracy.com
• Kris de Meyer -https://www.krisdemeyer.com/ 
• Katherine Hayhoe  - https://katharinehayhoe.com/ 
• Years and Years - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000539g 
• Under Salt Marsh - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Salt_Marsh
• Carbon Brief - https://www.carbonbrief.org/ 
• The Sheep Look Up - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Look_Up 

Released: 6 May 2026

Run Time: 48 minutes

How to communicate complex climate technology like a human being

Nathaniel Walters speaks with Lucia Schweigert, Strategic Director at climate tech communications agency Life Size. A former flamenco dancer turned climate communicator, Lucia explains how storytelling, strategy and human psychology shape the adoption of climate technologies.

Hear Lucia’s experience of:

• Using communications to help climate startups scale to global companies
• Translating complex science into messages that human beings can understand
• Bridging the gap between climate tech engineers and investors - so stories connect

Lucia argues that effective communication isn’t “a nice extra”, it’s essential. Because if climate technologies aren’t understood, invested in, and adopted, they won’t scale fast enough to transform the industries that drive the climate crisis.

Connect with Lucia on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/luciaschweigert/

Life Size https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-size-media

Recommended book: “How to Feed the World” by Vaclav Smil: https://vaclavsmil.com/book/how-to-feed-the-world/ 

Additional notes: 

Life Size: https://lifesizemedia.com/

Kempower: https://kempower.com/

Synhelion: https://synhelion.com

Sustainable Air Fuel (SAF): https://flightfree.co.uk/post/the-trouble-with-saf/

David Attenborough: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough

Nina Harjula: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninamariaharjula/ 

Chris Wedding’s Climate CEOs newsletter: ​​https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/about

Bloomberg’s Green Daily: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/green-daily

Released: 29 April 2026

Run time: 55m

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube

Can you “sell” climate action like a product?

In this episode, John Marshall, the founder of Potential Energy Coalition, makes the case that the barrier to climate progress isn’t awareness, it’s relevance. Drawing on the deep data of digital advertising and longitudinal studies tracking millions of people, he explores why climate messaging underperforms - and what actually moves people to act.

John’s work starts with the audience’s life: their bills, their kids, their taxes. His research shows that “soft support” for climate action is already high - but fragile. He argues that the difference between apathy and urgency often comes down to one thing: whether communicators connect climate to everyday consequences.

This conversation is packed with practical tactics and a challenge:

• A surprisingly successful Super Bowl ad 
• A powerful rule—“say the consequence within five words of climate change”
• If the cost of building public support is falling fast, what’s stopping us from scaling it?

It’s about treating climate communication as a system you can measure, test and win.

Recommended book: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

Follow John Marshall at https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-marshall-1a61b516/

Additional notes: 

Potential Energy Coalition - https://www.potentialenergycoalition.org/

Email Potential Energy Coalition your questions at - info@potentialenergycoalition.org

Five Simple Shifts for Climate Communication in 2026 - https://potentialenergycoalition.org/2026-climate-change-communicators-guide-five-key-shifts/

Potential Energy Coalition’s That’s Interesting Newsletter - https://potentialenergycoalition.org/newsletter/

By The Time Super Bowl Ad -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rnfywUFFSU

Swayable - https://www.swayable.com/

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication - https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/

We Mean Business Coalition  - https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/

Outrage + Optimism Podcast - https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/

Released: 22 April 2026

Run time: 48m

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube