My guest this week is Sam Haygarth, a key member of Extinction Rebellion, a playwright, a former member of the Cambridge Footlights and finalist of the Chortle Student Comedy Award. He has also written Extinction, a film starring Emma Thompson, edited This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook, and has appeared in films directed by Wes Anderson (The French Dispatch) and Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit). As such, he’s uniquely placed to discuss how story can be used in film, comedy, politics and activism. So that’s exactly what we did. Speaking in one of Edinburgh’s green parks, during the run of his Fringe show ‘Sam Haygarth: Climate Crisis’, we discuss the power and importance of narrative in political activist movements and stand up comedy, his experience campaigning with Greta Thunberg as she’s gone from unknown activist to the face of the climate crisis movement, and whether, despite it all, he remains optimistic.