As geopolitical power shifts, cities are rising to lead this urban century while nations cling to outdated systems. Season 6 of Cities 1.5 explores how mayors and urban leaders from around the world are turning uncertainty into opportunity, building regenerative futures with hope-filled narratives that counter disinformation and inspire action.

Join us from January 13, 2026, as we explore the urban transformation the world cannot wait for, ranging from tackling disinformation, decarbonising infrastructure, and confronting the growing alliance between political authoritarianism and the fossil fuel industry. Through intimate conversations with global mayors and urban innovators, we reveal how cities are not just adapting to change…but are actively shaping our future.

Because the future isn't waiting, and neither are cities.

Links:

Zohran Mamdani’s full victory speech, 4 November 2025 - Zohran Mamdani for NYC YouTube channel

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

 In the face of the accelerating climate crisis, rising authoritarianism, and geopolitical shifts, national governments are faltering…but cities are stepping into the void and taking the lead. 

Season 6 of Cities 1.5 will delve into how municipal-level actions and powerful coalitions are creating a carbon-free future, promoting resilience, and enabling a new economic system based on wellbeing over profit. We’ll explore how cities are countering disinformation, fear, and inertia by spearheading significant local climate initiatives and forming new alliances, daring national governments to follow in their footsteps. Because the future won’t wait - so we need to decide now who will lead, and whether we want to move towards disaster … or resilience.

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Welcome to Cities 1.5 Hot Takes: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis. Hot Takes brings you fast, focused coverage on breaking news and underserved stories at the intersection of climate, economics and public health - all through an urban lens. 

This first-ever edition of Hot Takes is about a major move in Canada’s energy future…and what it means for climate, cities, and the promises made to hold fossil fuel giants accountable. As Canadian cities race toward net zero, their efforts are being fundamentally threatened by a high stakes federal agreement known as "The Grand Bargain": a political compromise on behalf of the Mark Carney government to build a new pipeline that would transport diluted bitumen from the Alberta oil sands westward across the rocky mountains to the British Columbia coast.

Touted as a bridge to a clean energy future, we go behind the spin to explore the  real facts behind this project - and lay bare the reasons many are opposed to this doubling down on promises made by the fossil fuel industry…promises that historically haven’t been worth the paper they’re written on.

Featured guests:

Hon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities, and former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Links:

World Mayors Summit two-part special - Cities 1.5 podcast

83 Countries Join Call to End Fossil Fuels at COP30 - Earth.org 

Why Mark Carney’s pipeline deal with Alberta puts the Canadian federation in jeopardy - The Conversation

A Not-so-Grand Bargain - Pembina Institute

Canada may approve a new oil pipeline. First Nations fear another ‘worst-case scenario’ - The Guardian

Watch David’s full CPAC interview

Canada OKs ‘Massive’ $20 Billion Loan for Trans-Mountain Pipeline - DeSmog

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

In the first episode of our two-part World Mayors Summit special, we heard from mayors around the world about the power of convenings like the Summit to unite city leaders and spark collaboration. In this second episode, we explore what that collaboration looks like in practice, from new approaches to urban planning and the challenge of energy-hungry data centres, to fossil-free trucks and greener and cleaner shipping routes.

We also explore the outcomes for cities that came out of COP30 with voices from people who were on the ground in Belém…and also from a Brazilian climate leader who had a front-row seat before, during, and after what many have been calling the most important COP since the Paris Agreement. 

Photo credit: © C40 Cities

Special thanks to Pauline Eloi, Director of the Executive C40 Office and Yasmin Calandrini, Manager, CHAMP National Engagement, for their on-the-ground support in Rio for the production of this episode. 

Featured guests:

Kirk Watson, Mayor of Austin, USA

Carola Schouten, Mayor of Rotterdam, Netherlands

Nick Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia

Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner of Global Optimism and Co-presenter of Outrage + Optimism

Ilan Cuperstein, C40 Regional Director for Latin America and Head of International Relations for the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities

Lars Weiss, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Denmark

Eduardo Pimentel, Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil

Eirik Lae Solberg, Governing Mayor of Oslo, Norway

Dr. Nasiphi Moya, Mayor of Tshwane, South Africa

Links:

Outrage + Optimism - Inside COP

Learn about the many versions of COP30's "Global Mutirão"

Winners: Clean, Reliable Transportation (Oslo Fossil Free Trucks)

Tshwane C40 Cities regional sustainability masterclass

The Environmental Cost of Data Centers

COP30 Local Leaders For

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

In this first instalment of our two-part special from the C40 World Mayors Summit, Cities 1.5 takes you inside the flagship gathering of the world’s most ambitious urban climate leaders. We hear directly from mayors as they unveil this year’s Offer of Action – a unified commitment that raises the stakes for urban climate leadership and pointedly challenges national governments to match their ambition with action of  their own, all on the eve of COP30. We also speak with leading climate experts and C40 partners to explore why cities remain the most effective engines for rapid, equitable decarbonization, and what they must do next to keep the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C alive. And crucially, funders share why they’ve chosen to invest in C40’s global network, highlighting the proven impact of coordinated city action and the urgency of scaling it.

Photo credit: ©Bernardo Jardim Photography

Featured:

Sir Sadiq Khan, C40 Co-Chair and Mayor of London

Nick Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne

Giuseppe “Beppe” Sala, Mayor of Milan

Yousef Al-Shawarbeh, Mayor of Amman

Keith Wilson, Mayor of Portland

Dr. Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni

Eduardo Pimentel, Mayor of Curitiba

Caterina Sarfatti, Managing Director of Inclusion and Global Leadership at C40

Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens

Eirik Lae Solberg, Governing Mayor of Oslo

Søren Staugaard Nielsen, Managing Director of the Ramboll Foundation

Jo Jewell, Director of Social Responsibility Partnerships at Novo Nordisk

Hon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities

Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner of Global Optimism and Co-presenter of Outrage + Optimism

Links:

C40 World Mayors Summit: Cities Delivering Global Leadership for Climate Action - Bloomberg Philanthropies, YouTube

C40 World Mayors Summit

From negotiation to delivery:The Yearly Offer of Action

Ramboll Foundation

Novo Nordisk

Cities for Better Health

Green and Thriving Neighbourhoods Programme

Integrity Matters: Winning the Futu

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Cities 1.5 is back with a special two-part series focused on the C40 World Mayor's Summit in Rio de Janeiro, convening just ahead of the upcoming COP30 in Brazil. City mayors are continuing to play a critical role in combating climate change as they implement substantial climate policies and actions amidst the inaction of national governments. Tune in to hear behind-the-scenes discussions with funders, policymakers, and mayors who are committed to cutting emissions, creating green jobs, and safeguarding their communities…all in the face of the accelerating urgency of the climate crisis.

Featured:

Sir Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, England and co-chair of C40 Cities

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, OBE, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone and co-chair of C40 Cities

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

We’re joining podcasts around the world in tandem with the 80th United Nations General Assembly, to ask a vital question: where do we find hope in challenging times? We explore how cities are implementing Herman Daly’s revolutionary economic theories.

Featured in this episode:

Karen Daly Junker, Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughter

Terri Daly Stewart, Herman and Marcia’s eldest daughter

Denis Daly Heyck, Herman’s sister

David Batker, Ecological economist

Katherine Trebeck, Political economist

Leonora Grcheva, Cities & Regions Lead at DEAL

Kate Raworth, Co-founder of DEAL

Katy Shields, Regenerative Economist

Cindy Acab, Waste to Resources Network Senior Manager at C40

Cllr. Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council

Takehiko Nagumo, Director of Smart Cities Institute Japan

Joshua Farley, Ecological Economist

Gaya Herrington, Ecological economist

Angelos Varvarousis, Research Fellow at UAB

Tim Jackson, Ecological economist

Clóvis Cavalcanti, Ecological economist

John Redwood, Former employee of the World Bank

Jon Sward, Environment Project Manager at the Bretton Woods Project

Peter May, Ecological economist

Brian Czech, Executive Director of CASSE

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story.

Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

We follow Herman Daly into one of the last places you’d expect to find a rebel economist: the World Bank. We will hear how the academic work of Herman’s sister, Denis Daly Heyck, impacted on his worldview. We’ll also see how this fused with Herman’s own experiences teaching in Brazil, and the building of pan-American ecological and human rights movements to fuel him to advocate for policy and philosophical changes at the Bank - culminating in his famous farewell speech. 

Featured in this episode:

Karen Daly Junker & Terri Daly Stewart, Herman and Marcia’s daughters

Jon Sward, Environment Project Manager at the Bretton Woods Project

Denis Daly Heyck (Deni), Professor Emeritus of Spanish language & literature

David Batker, Ecological economist

John Redwood, Former World Bank employee

Robert Costanza, Ecological economist

Clóvis Cavalcanti, Ecological economist

Peter May, Ecological economist

Kate Raworth, DEAL co-founder

Joshua Farley, Ecological economist

Xiye Bastida, Climate justice activist

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story. 

Thanks also to: C40's Barbara Barros for voicing Marcia Daly’s email in this episode; Denis Daly Heyck for providing the images for our episode art; and to Nate Hagens and the team behind The Great Simplification podcast for granting us permission to use a clip from their show.

Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.

Media citations by order of appearance:

(That'll Work) (Live), Chuck Brown

The Heritage Foundation - “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

The Great Simplification: “Toward an Ecological Economics”

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

We rejoin Herman Daly in the  late 1970s - a tumultuous time for our renegade economist.  Partnering with theologian John Cobb Jr., Daly began to rebuild economics from the ground up, reframing it around values, community, and the planet that sustains us.

Woven through this intellectual journey are stories of faith, family, and friendship that helped Daly persevere. We hear how he sparked a global community of scholars and inspired whole new movements, ranging from wellbeing and regenerative economics to the circular economy and doughnut economics.

Featured in this episode:

Gaya Herrington, Wellbeing economist & thought leader

Jennie King, Senior Fellow at ISD

Peter Victor, Ecological economist & author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World

Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Global Ambassador for The Club of Rome

Robert Costanza, Ecological economist

Terri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist, and Herman and Marcia’s eldest daughter

Karen Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughter

Brian Czech, Executive Director of CASSE

Rob Dietz, Program Director at the Post-Carbon Institute and co-host of Crazy Town

Colvis Cavalcanti, Ecological economist

Katy Shields, Regenerative economist, and co-creator/host of Tipping Point

Katherine Trebeck, Political economist

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story, and to Barbara Barros, C40 Global Head of Adaptation Finance, for voicing Marcia Daly’s email in this episode.

Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.

Visit the Cities 1.5 podcast page on UTP’s website for the media c

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

We follow Herman from the lecture halls of Louisiana to the forests of Brazil – and through a period of global upheaval and personal transformation. Herman was profoundly shaped by the realities of inequality and ecological fragility in the Global South. These experiences helped crystallize his vision of a steady-state economy; one that operates within the planet’s ecological limits and prioritizes human wellbeing and ecological boundaries over endless growth.

With reflections from his family and followers, this episode captures the moment Daly’s thinking moved from quiet resistance to creating economic theories that would go on to have a truly global influence. 

Featured in this episode:

Colvis Cavalcanti, ecological economist

Brian Czech, Author of Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train and executive director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Rob Dietz, Program Director at the Post-Carbon Institute, co-author of Enough is Enough, and co-host of Crazy Town

Terri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist and Herman and Marcia's eldest daughter

Karen Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughter

Denis Lynn Daly Heyck (Deni), Professor Emeritus of Spanish language and literature and Herman's sister

Katy Shields, Regenerative economist and co-creator/host of Tipping Point

Peter Victor, Professor Emeritus of ecological economics & author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World

Kate Raworth, Author of Doughnut Economics and co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab

Thank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story.

Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.

Visit the Cities 1.5 podcast page on UTP’s website for the med

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/