Pop quiz: what is the most critical—yet criminally overlooked—frontier in our battle against climate change? If you said "cities", you get the gold star! Drawing from decades of global experience transforming urban landscapes, Gil Penalosa, today's guest and founder of 8 80 Cities, argues that how we design our cities in the next 40 years will fundamentally determine human sustainability for centuries to come. While most climate conversations obsess over energy, Penalosa, who came in second place in 2022's Toronto mayoral race, passionately demonstrates that urban planning is the secret weapon we've been missing—a holistic approach that combines health, equity, environmental sustainability, and human joy. His message is both urgent and optimistic: by reimagining cities as interconnected, walkable, green spaces that prioritize people over cars, we can create solutions that are not sacrifices, but pathways to a more vibrant, connected, and livable world. With infectious enthusiasm and razor-sharp insights, Gil challenges listeners to see urban design not as a technical challenge, but as a profound opportunity to reshape how humans live, move, and thrive together.

Notes and resources

* Cities for Everyone with Gil

* 8 80 Cities

* Gil Penalosa’s LinkedIn

In this personal episode of Climate Swings, host Michael Gold shares why he’s spending three months in Europe this summer—and why it might become permanent. After Trump's re-election and amid America's retreating climate leadership, he’s questioning what keeps him here. Join him as he explores Barcelona, Madrid, and Berlin while reflecting on where climate action truly lives in 2025. Is Europe calling? Listen to find out.

Avroh Shah is a remarkable teenage climate activist who's already spent half his life advocating for environmental protection. Unlike my typical guests who've established professional careers, Avroh offers us something perhaps even more valuable: the unfiltered perspective of a generation inheriting our climate decisions. From organizing cleanups as an eight-year-old to becoming a plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit against the EPA, Avroh's journey demonstrates that age is no barrier to meaningful action. His clarity of purpose and unwavering commitment serve as a powerful reminder that passion and persistence can create change at any stage of life. Whether you're just starting your climate journey or decades into your career, Avroh's story challenges us all to examine what more we might do with the platforms we have.

Also, if you’re going to be in town for San Francisco Climate Week at the end of the month, check out the two live Climate Swings recordings I’ll be hosting—links below. Would love to see you there!

Notes and resources

* Avroh Shah's LinkedIn

* Genesis B. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

* LIVE podcast recording: Climate Swings interview with Terra.do co-founder Kamal Kapadia

* Climate VC Dealmaker Live at KALW: Inside Anku Madan's Science-to-Investing Journey

In this intimate special episode of Climate Swings, I step away from my planned six-month anniversary celebration to share a deeply personal story—the recent passing of my father, Mark Gold. Join me as I reflect on his remarkable life, his difficult final years battling health challenges, and how his adventurous spirit shaped my own journey. I explore the parallels between the human dimensions of climate work and navigating personal loss, reminding us why sharing authentic stories matters. This episode bridges the gap between the professional narratives I typically feature and the personal experiences that drive our passion for this work—and for life itself.

Climate Swings is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Dive into the wild ride that is the professional journey of Ross Kenyon—from disillusioned philosophy PhD dropout to Hollywood screenwriter to accidental climate entrepreneur. As co-founder of Nori, a pioneering carbon removal marketplace, Ross shattered the stuffy climate-tech mold with his irreverent approach and razor-sharp wit. He’s harnessed humor through viral carbon removal memes and built community by embracing vulnerability and self-deprecation in an industry often drowning in jargon, doom, and self-importance. Now an entrepreneur in residence at AirMiners and climate-tech mentor, Ross offers brutally honest insights about the rollercoaster of climate entrepreneurship—including the gut-punch of winding down a company and the unexpected liberation that followed. Whether you’re navigating your own climate career pivot or simply fascinated by how a philosophy-loving film buff became a carbon removal maverick, Ross delivers wisdom wrapped in laughter that will stick with you long after the episode ends.

Notes and resources

* Ross Kenyon's LinkedIn

* Nori's Wikipedia

* Carbon Removal Memes

* AirMiners

* 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub

How can creative storytelling become a powerful force for climate action and sustainability? Birgitte Rasine is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and founder of LUCITÀ, a marketing and communications agency focused on sustainability. Having escaped Communist Czechoslovakia with her parents at age 10, Birgitte's journey has been one of constant reinvention—from Hollywood filmmaker holding sticks for Dennis Quaid to journalist to sustainability communicator. Her unique perspective on how stories can drive behavior change offers a refreshing alternative to doom-and-gloom climate messaging. Drawing on her experience with clients ranging from electric vehicle companies to nonprofits focused on sustainable forestry, Birgitte makes a compelling case for why effective climate communication requires understanding human psychology and embracing authenticity.

LUCITÀ

The Muse newsletter

Birgitte's author site

Birgitte's LinkedIn

9Zero Climate Innovation Hub

How can a sustainability consultant bridge the gap between corporate bottom lines and climate action? In this episode of Climate Swings, Jonathan Taylor shares his fascinating journey from political science major writing about hybrid cars to renewable energy developer, utility specialist, head of sustainability strategy at Gap Inc, and up to his current role as global sustainability director at consultancy Kearney. Drawing on 15 years of experience across consulting and industry roles, Jonathan offers practical insights on how businesses can make sustainability profitable, why climate initiatives need strong business cases to succeed, and what it takes to translate technical sustainability goals into language that resonates with CFOs. Whether you're a climate professional looking to drive change from within corporations or simply curious about how major companies approach their climate commitments, Jonathan's balanced perspective on being both operator and advisor provides valuable lessons for navigating climate careers in today's business world.

Join me for a riveting conversation with Dr. Lisa Micheli, a wildfire resilience expert who traded water science for fire prevention when climate change chose her path! From managing a 3,200-acre preserve in Northern California and helping it recover from devastating fires to pioneering AI-powered wildfire prediction, Lisa shares crucial insights about living with fire in a warming world.

In this episode, we explore:

• How indigenous fire management holds the key to modern resilience

• Why the recent Los Angeles wildfire crisis exposes the vulnerabilities of global cities

• The revolutionary ways AI and tech are transforming fire prediction

• Why every neighborhood needs its own climate resilience strategy

Climate Swings is your gateway into the world of climate careers, hosted by Michael Gold. Each episode features fascinating conversations with people working to solve the climate crisis, sharing their personal journeys and professional insights! ✨

SUBSCRIBE for more inspiring climate career stories—new episodes drop every other Wednesday!

FOLLOW Climate Swings:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelegold/

Website: https://wordclouds.consulting/climateswings/

YouTube: @ClimateSwingsPod

Big thanks to Terra.do for the promotional support and 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub for hosting us!

What does a cognitive scientist's journey into climate tech reveal about the intersection of human behavior and environmental action? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Pooja Paul, a former academic who traded her research into human cognition for a mission to make climate action fun and accessible. From watching Captain Planet as a child in India to founding Habitable Earth, a startup creating game-based apps that drive sustainable behaviors, Pooja's path shows how expertise in understanding the human mind can help tackle our greatest environmental challenges. We explore her transition from academia to entrepreneurship, dive into the science of behavior change, and discuss why solving the climate crisis might require fewer perfect environmentalists and many more imperfect ones.

Few people understand the green shift taking place in the corporate world better than Joel Makower. Joel is co-founder and chairman of Trellis Group, formerly known as GreenBiz, a news, content, and events company sitting at the intersection of business, technology, and sustainability. His decades of experience in this space have been marked by a number of unexpected swings, from his beginnings as a workplace health reporter, to becoming one of the first journalists to cover corporate sustainability, to his current diverse slate of projects, including one helping the music industry go green. His opinions on what it means to have a green job, among other topics, are thought-provoking, to say the least.