Extinction Rebellion Podcast

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 37: Why nature loss is a national security risk, with James Bullock

Recorded live at an Extinction Rebellion Love & Rage event, Clare and Charlie are joined by Professor James Bullock for a special "live" episode to unpack what climate breakdown is already doing to nature in Britain and beyond and what it means for our security. They explain how extreme heat, drought and fire are scorching ecosystems, why species can't keep pace as the seasons shift out of sync, and why collapse is "a process, not an event". They explore what failing ecosystems mean for our food and livelihoods and why the government's redacted report on nature collapse and national security matters. Finally, they ask: what can we actually do about all this?

REFERENCES

Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security (UK Government national security assessment, January 2026, redacted version)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0eae719d837d69afc7de/National_security_assessment_-_global_biodiversity_loss__ecosystem_collapse_and_national_security.pdf

Zack Polanski demands full release of report warning of ecosystem collapse (Novara Media, 9 Sept 2026)
https://novaramedia.com/2026/09/09/zack-polanski-demands-full-release-of-report-warning-of-ecosystem-collapse/

In the Climate Emergency, Conservation Must Become Survival Ecology (Gardner & Bullock, Frontiers in Conservation Science, 2021)
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.659912

Tritrophic phenological match-mismatch in space and time: oaks, caterpillars and birds (Woodland Trust Nature's Calendar) https://naturescalendar.woodlandtrust.org.uk/analysis/research-reports/2017/tritrophic-phenological-match-mismatch-in-space-and-time/

Mountain pine beetle outbreaks and climate change in British Columbia (Forests.org)
https://forests.org/foresters-blog-mountain-pine-beetle/

The continuing plight of Lough Neagh (British Wildlife)
https://www.britishwildlife.com/?p=30154

30x30: guide to Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (IUCN)
https://iucn.org/resources/grey-literature/30x30-guide-inclusive-equitable-and-effective-implementation-target-3

Zero Hour campaign
https://www.zerohour.uk

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Follow us on BlueSky

Clare Farrell
@claretotty.bsky.social

Charlie Gardner
@charliejgardner.bsky.social

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social

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Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 36: Net Zero boosts economy and Trump accelerates transition

In this week's episode Clare and Charlie discuss the boost to the economy the push for Net Zero is delivering in the UK. They also discuss how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is accelerating decarbonization around the world.

REFERENCES The Race for Net Zero - CBI Economics

https://ca1-eci.edcdn.com/The_UK_Net-Zero-Economy_in_202_June_2026.pdf?v=1780384001 

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate!
https://ko-fi.com/worldinflux 

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 35: A food crisis is coming this year and the government is unprepared

In this episode Clare and Charlie discuss how a perfect storm is brewing that will result in a coming food crisis this year and what you can do to prepare. They cover how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is affecting fertilizer supplies and increasing fuel prices, while a developing El Niño weather event is going to exacerbate already difficult growing conditions. All this against a background of a fragile food system and an unprepared government means we need to organise to keep ourselves safe.
This isn't the final word in terms of things to think and do. It's really important to think about the near term impacts, but it's a huge topic and there is much more to cover in future episodes.

REFERENCES

Britain ‘sleepwalking into a food crisis’ without urgent action, experts say - The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/28/britain-sleepwalking-into-a-food-crisis-without-urgent-action-experts-say

Steve Keen – Things Fall Apart - Brave New Europe
https://braveneweurope.com/steve-keen-things-fall-apart

Industry body warns fuel crisis could leave crops rotting in UK fields - The Guardian
https://www.farminguk.com/news/industry-body-warns-fuel-crisis-could-leave-crops-rotting-in-uk-fields_68483.html 

'Unpredictable and extreme’: Asia braces for El Niño - The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/05/el-nino-asia-unpredictable-extreme-weather-climate-change-crisis

Pro-Social Hoarding - George Monbiot
https://www.monbiot.com/2025/03/20/pro-social-hoarding/

A food revolution: campaigners in Liège want all the region’s produce to be grown locally. Can they do it? - The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/jul/16/the-good-life-in-liege-the-start-of-a-food-revolution

Planting Value in the Food System - The Vegan Society
https://www.plantingvalueinfood.org/

Eating Away at Climate Change with Negative Emissions - Helen Harwatt and Matthew Hayek
https://animal.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/Eating-Away-at-Climate-Change-with-Negative-Emissions%E2%80%93%E2%80%93Harwatt-Hayek.pdf

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate! https://ko-fi.com/worldinflux 

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 34: The psychological effects of repression and what's next for the climate movement?

In this episode Clare and Charlie explore how escalating state repression is reshaping climate activism, from the rise of underground tactics and sabotage, to why crackdowns may be radicalising some campaigners while deterring others. They also discuss the future of climate organising, including: mutual aid, community resilience, local assemblies, land-based resistance in France, and the growing attempts to unite climate action with anti-war, anti-poverty and justice movements. They raise the question of what a coherent political vision and philosophy for the climate movement might actually look like in an age of collapse, inequality and authoritarianism.

REFERENCES

Research on climate protest repression in the UK (University of St Andrews / Nature Climate Change)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-026-02570-8

Guardian article on how climate protest crackdowns may radicalise activists
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/25/criminalisation-of-climate-protesters-in-uk-is-counterproductive-research-finds

Understanding and Accelerating Collective Climate Action (Report from Leiden Conference)
https://zenodo.org/records/17583133

The Difficulty Ecologism Has Not Yet Faced
https://thefurrowedmind.substack.com/p/the-difficulty-ecologism-has-not

Humanity Project
https://humanityproject.uk/

The Climate Mobilization (US climate survival organising project)
https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/

Water Sovereignty Toolkit (The Climate Mobilization)
https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/water-sovereignty-toolkit

A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301070/a-paradise-built-in-hell-by-rebecca-solnit/

Soulèvements de la Terre (“Earth Uprisings” movement in France)
https://lessoulevementsdelaterre.org/

Climáximo (Portuguese climate justice movement)
https://www.instagram.com/climaximopt/

Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative - https://fossilfueltreaty.org/

Citizens’ Convention for Climate (France)
https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr/en/

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate!
https://ko-fi.com/worldinflux 

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 33: The true cost of AI and a COP replacement?

In this episode, Clare and Charlie discuss the first Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels conference held in Santa Marta Colombia in April 2026. They also look at what data centres and a booming AI industry means for the environment and beyond.

REFERENCES

Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels Conference
https://transitionawayconference.com/

Key Outcomes from Santa Marta - Carbon Brief
https://www.carbonbrief.org/santa-marta-key-outcomes-from-first-summit-on-transitioning-away-from-fossil-fuels/

The AI Climate Hoax Report
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12l1W4W25b-_ff6yFNJABkfal9_9oevxe/view

New datacentres risk doubling Great Britain’s electricity use - Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/23/new-datacentres-risk-doubling-uk-electricity-use-ofgem-peak-demand

UK departments at odds over energy demands of AI datacentres - Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/26/uk-departments-at-odds-over-energy-demands-of-ai-datacentres 

The Thermodynamic Endgame of Industrial Civilization
https://kasperbenjamin.substack.com/p/the-thermodynamic-endgame-of-industrial Data Centre Watch report https://www.datacenterwatch.org/report

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate!
https://ko-fi.com/worldinflux 

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 32: Smashing JP Morgan, AMOC collapse, tipping points, and jury cuts

In this episode, Clare and Charlie unpack the latest climate science looking at the “Hothouse Earth” trajectory and accelerating tipping points, the growing risks around the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and what it means to lose control of the Earth system. They also discuss the acquittal of the medic protest targeting JP Morgan, the role of juries and how they're under attack.

REFERENCES

Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene - Will Steffen et al.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1810141115

The risk of a hothouse Earth trajectory - William J. Ripple et al.
https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(25)00391-4

Daily Mail coverage of AMOC risks
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9304273/The-Gulf-Stream-weakest-1-000-YEARS-climate-change.html 

Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)
https://www.aria.org.uk

JPMorgan Chase fossil fuel financing report
https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org

Defend Our Juries
https://defendourjuries.org

The Secret Barrister
https://thesecretbarrister.com

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate! https://chuffed.org/xr/uk

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 31: Biodiversity: suppressed report, finance gap, grassroot's protection, and Hannah Spencer

In this episode Clare and Charlie examine a censored UK intelligence assessment on biodiversity breakdown, the economic system driving ecosystem destruction, and the role of people power in protecting the planet. They also discuss what a surprising Green Party by-election victory might mean for climate politics.

REFERENCES
ITV coverage of suppressed biodiversity national security report
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59DZiPdsOc8

IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment
https://www.ipbes.net/bba-report/media-release

Role of social movements in conserving nature New paper in PNAS based on Environmental Justice Atlas
https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2513327123

NB the views in this show are Clare and Charlie's own and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Extinction Rebellion.

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate! https://chuffed.org/xr/uk
Extinction Rebellion UK: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 30: Floods, Zack Polanski, community organizing, and biofuels

In this episode Clare and Charlie tackle a new report that looks at how vulnerable the UK is to future flooding, the rise of Zack Polanski and community organizing, and why biofuels are not the answer.

REFERENCES

Towns may have to be abandoned due to flooding - The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/14/millions-more-homes-in-great-britain-at-risk-of-flooding-investigation-finds

Aviva building future communities report 2025
https://static.aviva.io/content/dam/aviva-corporate/documents/newsroom/pdfs/reports/building_future_communities_report_2025.pdf

Biofuels globally emit more CO2 than the fossil fuels they replace - T&E
https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/biofuels-globally-emit-more-co2-than-the-fossil-fuels-they-replace-study

Why I’m not pinning my hopes on Your Party, or any other - Gully Bujak
https://www.absurdintelligence.com/why-im-not-pinning-my-hopes-on-your-party-or-any-other/

NB the views in this show are Clare and Charlie's own and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Extinction Rebellion.

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate! https://chuffed.org/xr/uk 

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.
 
EPISODE 29: CO2 accelerating, corals gone forever, is it time to start geoengineering?

In this episode Charlie explains the recent measurement of accelerating atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere as well as the announcement that coral bleaching has passed a tipping point, while Clare delves into the world of solar radiation management at a recent conference she attended with James Hansen.

REFERENCES

Record leap in CO2 concentrations - The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/15/record-leap-in-co2-fuels-fears-of-accelerating-global-heating

James Hansen & Clare Farrell - Climate Reckoning in ATLAS25, Operaatio Arktis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2UME_Z8oig

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate! https://chuffed.org/xr/uk 

Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder Clare Farrell and conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner team up once more to discuss issues and stories they feel are not getting enough airtime. They want to make sure that the latest news in science and important reports that are relevant to the climate and ecological crisis are flagged and explained in ways that are easy to understand.

EPISODE 28: Tipping points, conservative models and will climate shocks cause people to rise up?

In this episode, Clare and Charlie discuss the recent heatwaves that have hit Europe this summer; can we adapt, and will it trigger a mass uprising? They also talk about the latest research into climate tipping points, both good and bad, and how some climate models may be underpredicting climate risks.

REFERENCES

Greening cities will save millions of lives
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(25)00165-2/fulltext

Extreme weather does lead to increased policy support if it’s attributed to climate
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02372-4

Extreme weather is a massive front-line for climate disinformation
https://www.desmog.com/2025/07/22/extreme-weather-events-are-the-new-frontline-of-online-climate-denial-report/ 

‘Urgent warning to world leaders’ from Exeter tipping points conference, ignored by media
https://bsky.app/profile/thierryaaron.bsky.social/post/3lt5rp67des2i https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-environment-science-and-economy/tipping-points-experts-issue-urgent-message-to-world-leaders/

Earth’s energy imbalance is worse than models predict, i.e. the planet is more sensitive to GHGs than we thought and most models may underestimate heating
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-climate-sensitivity-greenhouse-gases-align.html
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt0647

Earth’s energy imbalance has doubled in recent decades
https://theconversation.com/earth-is-trapping-much-more-heat-than-climate-models-forecast-and-the-rate-has-doubled-in-20-years-258822 

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Please, share, comment, subscribe, like, mobilise, and donate!
https://chuffed.org/xr/uk