The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast

How do you get through the summer without air conditioning if you hate to sweat? Is toilet paper bad for the environment, and if so, what are you supposed to do about it? And if you want to “get involved” but feel depressed by long incremental meetings, what’s the best way to stay plugged in to local environmental causes? Candice and Caleigh are live onstage tackling new questions in this bonus episode.

Care about our planet? Motivated to live greener? Looking to meet other climate-minded folks in the Los Angeles area? Join us for a live AMA-style panel with Caleigh Wells and Candice Dickens-Russell at the Parks Project Discovery Center in Culver City. Tickets are only $10, and proceeds go to Friends of the LA River (Candice’s org!). Get your tickets here. See you there!

This is an episode of Outrage + Optimism we think you’ll enjoy, a podcast that explore the stories behind the headlines on climate change, talking to the change-makers turning challenges into opportunities. On this episode the hosts welcome Hannah Ritchie, Deputy Editor at Our World in Data and a Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford and discuss her book “Not the End of the World, How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet.” Tune in for a thought-provoking dialogue you won't want to miss!

This is an episode of TED Climate we think you’d enjoy, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective, which is back for a new season. We know today's youth have inherited a big, unprecedented climate problem to solve -- and the eco-anxiety to go with it. Gen-Zer and activist Clover Hogan shares why the path to climate action starts with the one thing you can control: your mindset. She explains why challenging the stories that keep you feeling powerless can help you take the first step to protecting the planet for generations to come.

You can spend your whole life taking climate action… but what about disposing of your body after death? What’s the most planet-friendly way to plan a funeral? Caleigh leads Candice through the carbon costs of traditional burial and looks for more climate-friendly alternatives.

Where should you start with greening your home, and how do you get it subsidized?

If you frequently fly, then you might want to offset your carbon emissions. But what does that even mean, and how do you start? As a frequent flyer herself, Caleigh talks with Candice about the ways you can offset emissions in your personal life and through carbon offset projects.

Not every conversation about climate change is agreeable. On this episode, Candice facilitates a discussion between Caleigh and her mother to learn more about how people can have a productive relationship even if they disagree on a political issue that’s pretty central to their identities.

How do you talk about climate change with kids? Candice has lots of tips. Caleigh describes two very different 5th grade classrooms she visited that illustrate how the approach you take to talking about climate makes a big difference in how kids feel afterwards.

Calling all gardeners! Are you confused about what kinds of plants to put in your yard? An LA tree expert helps Candice and Caleigh through an in-depth discussion about native plants and best practices for landscaping.

Caleigh and Candice break down one of your daily decisions with the biggest planetary impact: what you eat. Which is better for the planet, being pescetarian or eating chicken every once in a while? And what about eating a little lower on the food chain?

Overwhelmed by climate change? Here are some ways to manage the anxiety.

Your practical, personal guide to protecting the planet will be back with new episodes starting February 21!

Today we’re sharing an episode from an environmental podcast you might like, Sea Change, from WWNO in New Orleans. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts.

Today we’re sharing an episode from a science podcast you might like, Short Wave, from NPR. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts.

Batteries are the key to a greener planet, but they cause environmental damage too.

Plastic waste keeps piling up. Is anyone working on a plan to stop using it?

Today we’re sharing an episode from another climate podcast that you might like. It’s Zero: The Climate Race from Bloomberg. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts.

How to raise kids who use fewer resources in their lifetimes than the average American

Caleigh and Candice touch the “third rail” of climate change: Is it better for the planet if you decide not to have a child – and should you factor that into your own family planning decisions? This one is personal for us, but we’re gently, respectfully going there.

Holiday shopping season is upon us, but instead of having a wasteful, plastic-heavy Christmas, why not have a green one? Candice and Caleigh have tips for how to celebrate sustainable holidays, from your wrapping paper to the menu at your holiday dinner.

Should you drive a fuel-efficient car or an electric vehicle — or ditch the car altogether? Candice and Caleigh break down the math to tell you how much planet-warming gas you emit when you drive, and what you can do to reduce your emissions. Spoiler: There’s a reason this subject always comes up when we talk climate change.

Buckeye, Arizona, is a small city with dreams of becoming “the next Phoenix.” It’s one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. In the past few decades, its population has ballooned more than twentyfold, and the city plans to add more than 100,000 new homes in coming years. The only catch? Growth requires water. And Buckeye doesn’t have enough. So what’s a small city with big dreams to do? Part of the answer lies in one scrubby acre of land way out in the desert that’s owned by a group of investors.

A boutique owner tells Candice and Caleigh her customers love when she stocks organic, sustainably sourced fashion – but they actually buy the cheaper stuff. How can she find affordable clothes that don’t hurt the planet? We’ve got suggestions to help you become a more responsible fashion shopper.

Participate in the cycle of life and sequester some carbon while you’re at it — even if you don’t have a city-provided green bin! Caleigh and Candice geek out about their own composting methods, and discuss what they’ve learned from an urban farm owner.

No one listens to a scold, but we all want to feel we’re doing the right thing. Caleigh and Candice give advice on how to move from behaving like an annoying “climate cop” to becoming more of an inspiring “climate Charlie’s Angel” by bringing the people in your life on board with you.

Which does more to help the planet: recycling, or dropping meat from your diet now and then? Candice and Caleigh discuss the advice of an expert who says her top five actions have changed as the planet has warmed.

What’s the best way to make sure your recyclables get reused – and how much of the stuff in your recycling bin is actually ending up in a landfill? For Los Angeles listeners, this episode has good news: done well, recycling really works.

Why bother taking any individual actions to help the planet if industry and other nations pollute so much that they cancel you out? Caleigh and Candice discuss how your daily choices to affect climate change can have an impact – but maybe not the way you think.

Got questions about how you can help the planet in your daily life? We have the answers, each week, in less time than it will take you to sort your recyclables.