From microplastic contamination in our food supply, to endless plastic ending up in landfill, single-use plastic is a real issue.Climate Curious speaks to a bacteria trainer who has found a very promising solution to replace this problematic oil-based compound. 2025 TED Fellow Patricia Ayma Maldonado trains powerful bacteria to synthesise completely natural and biodegradable plastics, which could spell the end of single use plastics! Recorded live at TED 2025.

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

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Tuesday 22nd April saw us celebrating Earth Day 2025, and so in the spirit of #OurPlanetOurPower we spoke to a whole host of environmental experts and advocates at the TED2025 global conference in Vancouver. We wanted to hear what deserves optimism within the climate space. From water scientists to AI sustainability experts, we get the uplifting words from the field, on why when progress feels hopeless, we should stay positive, and keep up the good work!

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.

 Environmentalism isn't a one dimensional thing, says environmental justice technologist and author Joycelyn Longdon on the Climate Curious podcast. In conversation with co-host Ben Hurst, Joycelyn shares the thinking behind her new book, ‘Natural Connection’, and breaks down how anyone can step into their inner environmentalist by tapping into rage, imagination, innovation, theory, healing, and care. Tune in to learn why climate action isn’t about achieving a checklist of individualistic traits, and instead, maybe it's about being… you!

Buy Joycelyn’s book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454481/natural-connection-by-longdon-joycelyn/9781529902662

Watch Joycelyn’s TEDxLondon Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBXiWON-LDU

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

Joycelyn's reading list

• Armstrong, Karen. 2022. Sacred Nature: How We Can Recover Our Bond with the Natural World.
• Brown, Adrienne Maree. 2017. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change,Changing Worlds.
• Brown, Adrienne Maree. 2019. Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good.
• Butler, Octavia E. 1993. Parable of the Sower.
• Care Collective, The. 2020. The Care Manifesto: The Politics of Interdependence.
• Jones, Lucy. 2020. Losing Eden: Our Fundamental Need for the Natural World and Its Ability to Heal Body and Soul.
• Kelley, Robin D. G. 2002. Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination.
• Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2013. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.
• Krawec, Patty. 2022. Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future.
• Page, Cara and Woodland, Erica. 2023. Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety.
• Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi. 2018. Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice.
• Powers, Richard. 2018. The Overstory.
• Sheldrake, Merlin. 2020. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures.
• Shiva, Vandana. 1993. Monocultures of the Mind: Perspectives on Biodiversity and Biotechnology.
• Solnit, Rebecca. 2004. Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities.
• Solnit, Rebecca. 2023. Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility.
• Tori Tsui - It's Not just You
• Mikaela Loach - It's Not That Radical
• Leah Thomas - The Intersectional Environmentalist

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Sea otters are helping to capture carbon, says Alister Scott, the co-director of the Global Rewilding Alliance, on Climate Curious. By reintroducing sea otters back to their habitat in San Francisco, scientists have seen a growth in sea grass, which is a massive carbon sink. Tune in to learn more about this otterly wonderful natural climate solution – rewilding!

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.

From conveniently hiding key climate science to flat out running misinformation campaigns, Climate Curious takes a look at the far right’s influence on climate. We’re joined by journalist and ‘Alt Reich’ author Dr. Nafeez Ahmed to connect the dots between techno-authoritarian power players, right wing politics, and attempts to stall climate action. Nafeez’s take? We shouldn't give up on climate progress.

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.

Sources and sinks aren’t bathroom fixtures, they’re our most powerful tools to turn up or dial down climate change, says Project Drawdown’s Executive Director, Jon Foley, on the Climate Curious podcast. The real solution starts with cutting the pollution at source, not trying to suck it up after the fact. As Jon puts it, “now is better than new”. Tune in to learn about his six main areas of focus that can help us reduce pollution and reverse climate change the fastest.

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.

Based on a true story: last Friday saw the cinema release of the post-apocalyptic musical ‘The End'. Climate Curious co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst sat down with the academy award nominated and BAFTA winning director Joshua Oppenheimer to find out what inspired his bleak take on the surviving family of a energy exec after a world ending climate event.

Tickets: www.mubi.com/theend

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curation 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.

Uru Uru team are using giant reeds called ‘totora’ to revive polluted lakes in Bolivia. Environmental activist Gustavo Blanco joins Climate Curious to dive into how restoring his local lakes protects so much more than just nature. It protects people and livelihoods.

Learn more about the Uru Uru team: https://theirisproject.org/winner/the-uru-uru-team

Apply to the Iris Prize. Closes April 15th: https://theirisproject.org/how-to-apply

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