Your Brain On Climate
(Getting Your Head Around) the End of the World, with Laurie Laybourn
Published: 10 February 2025 at 00:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
We're reasonably good at imagining what nuclear war would be like (although it'd probably be even worse than that). Which is one reason we haven't (yet) had one.
But it's not the same for most other complicated, really really scary risks. Eg: the UK government is still not taking seriously the risk of another pandemic - and that's despite the fact we LITERALLY JUST HAD ONE, GUYS.
And it's the same for climate change - with knobs on. For sure, our politicians, banks and cultures just aren't ready for the climate-clusterfudge. But if you're anything like me, there's a limit to how much of it you can take into your overloaded little brain as well. It HURTS to think about it too much.
Why? Are we just not evolved for it? Are we doomed to sail merrily into a storm we don't want to see coming? No, says this episode's guest, the fab Laurie Laybourn from the Strategic Climate Risk Initiative. Yes, it's hard to wrap your head around. And yes, it really could happen, so get wrappin'. But Laurie thinks we're very far from doomed - as long as we first understand where we're actually starting from. Listen for a chat that's sometimes vertiginous, sometimes funny, and always inspiring.
And you can't say you weren't warned, but here's Threads (1984) on iPlayer.
These new-format episodes take a long time to record, script, and edit. If you like it - that'll make me happy.
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Owl noises = references:
- 20:48 - Derailment risk: a paper by Laurie and others on what it means.
- 25:50 - 58% of Americans say climate change contributed to the LA wildfires.
- 26:12 - George Marshall's important book, Don't Even Think About It.
- 36:17 - Normalcy Bias over at the Decision Lab: why we believe nothing bad will happen.
- 37:05 - Scope insensitivity, courtesy of Wiki.
- 38:28 - Laurie's report, the Security Blind Spot.
- 41:13 - The Daily Telegraph's investigation into Operation Cygnus, the pandemic prep exercise too scary to publicise.
- 41:42 - The UK's under preparedness for Covid, via the BBC.
- 50:31 - Going Infinite, Michael Lewis's superb book about Sam Bankman-Fried.
- 51:54 - In 2019 I quit my job live(ish) on Sustainababble #169.
Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis. Contact the show: hello@yourbrainonclimate.com. Find YBOC on Linkedin here.
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