This podcast complements the University’s Teaching Matters blog, and invites students and staff to engage in topical conversations. The first three episodes accompany the Teaching Matters mini-series on social responsibility and sustainability. In these episodes, University of Edinburgh staff and students debate how sustainability and environmental concerns are being tackled in today’s university. In this episode, students start to discuss emotionally-charged issues around climate change, asking if they are facing climate optimism or climate fatalism in the classroom. Masters student Polly Wells is our guest host, who welcomes fellow students Ryan Gilmour, Ellie Ashton and Emily Bankert to the conversation.