World Is Burning

In the final installment of our Elements series, we're dispelling the myth that there is no such thing as good fire. Olivia tells us about the lost indigenous practice of controlled burning, what happens when colonizers ignore indigenous knowledge, and the many ways that native-led prescribed burns could help our planet. Then, Elise explains how the government of California exploits prison labor to fight fires, the reason it’s so hard for formerly incarcerated firefighters to find work, and why we need to change how the public views people with a criminal record. We also discuss climate anxiety (more on this next week!), a new no-waste food app, and our favorite environmental documentaries of late.

**CW: This episode briefly discusses genocide (12:20 - 13:40).

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

This week we're focusing on two Asian activists fighting for justice. Although Biden may call racism "un-American" in his response to the Atlanta shooting, the reality is much different. Elise tells the story of Tran To Nga, a French-Vietnamese journalist sprayed with toxic Agent Orange by the American military's Operation Ranch Hand during the Vietnam War. Her case against over a dozen chemical companies will reach a decision in May–show your support through the hashtags below. Then, Olivia tells the lesser-known, Filipino-led side of the iconic Delano Grape Strike that revolutionized farmworker's rights in the United States, including leader Larry Itliong who worked alongside Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. We also discuss birthday cakes, new books, and Youtube scavenger hunts.

**CW: This episode discusses racism, anti-asian hate, and chemical warfare.

Use the hashtags #trantonga, #justicepourtrantonga, and #justicefortrantonga to spread the word. More resources on our website.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

This week we're dusting off our music business degrees (yes, we both have one) to talk about the music industry and how touring can come back more sustainably. Olivia uses Harry Styles' first solo tour as a case study on eco-friendly efforts of large-scale shows (and as an excuse to talk about One Direction). Then Elise lays out the demands that artists, managers, and fans can advocate for to make concerts more sustainable for everyone, at any budget. We also discuss inequality in the music industry (and the many parallels to climate injustice), developing genuine connection as a means for social change, and how you can support artists for free during a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet. We need more creatives in the climate movement, join us!

The rider templates, nature sample packs, and sustainable vendor lists we mentioned are all linked in our Episode 21 extended show notes.

Listen to Elise on Episode 61 of Clotheshorse, where she shared her best tips for selling secondhand sustainably on Depop.

Follow the World Is Burning playlist on Spotify, and let us know if it's missing any essential tunes :)

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!

Do we need to save the whales all over again? What's the deal with celebrity animals? What does it mean to be a 'flagship species' for your ecosystem? This week, Elise explores how the early whaling industry led to the Save the Whales movement of the 1970s, with a few interesting family connections along the way. Then Olivia tells the story of Keiko, better known as the star of Free Willy, and how celebrity can be as toxic for animals as it can be for humans. We also discuss influential documentaries like Blackfish, diversity in high-budget environmental films, and how we're dealing with our climate (and quarantine) exhaustion.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!

In the third installment of our Elements series, we've got two very different stories about the earth. Olivia tells the fascinating but devastating story of the exploitation of the Ogoni land and people for oil, including the execution of activists known as the Ogoni Nine. Elise goes a different route, recounting a series of butterfly-effect events that explain how a 19th-century volcano in Indonesia and the "year without a summer" led to some of the pioneering horror writing we still know today. We also discuss joining the dang Zoom, being tired, and Olivia seeing her name deep in the credits of the #1 movie on Netflix.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!

First things first: we explain why we missed last week, and we think our excuse is pretty solid: Elise was caught in the middle of the ongoing snow-induced Texas energy disaster, which has been exacerbated by climate change and inequality. We talk about how, as white activists, we need to tell stories that help you talk about racial injustice, but we also need to tell celebratory stories of Black joy, success, and leadership in the environmental space. To that effort, Elise tells us the incredible story of the 'Planetwalker' Dr. John Francis, who swore off motorized vehicles and took a 17-year vow of silence after witnessing an oil spill. Then Olivia shares the life of opera singer-turned-environmentalist MaVynee Oshun Betsch, also known as the Beach Lady of American Beach in Florida.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!

The perfect accompaniment for your Valentine's Day stroll through Target. Or not. This week we cover two subjects related to the holiday of love: chocolate and consumer traps. Olivia tells us about the ongoing lawsuits surrounding the cocoa industry, the companies that have been dragging their feet regarding exploitative practices for decades, and those who are fighting the good fight. Then Elise perfectly describes the layout of your local Target (how does she know?) and what you were thinking the last time you needed "just one thing." Along the way we discuss Tiktok shopping trends, magic tricks, and why you shouldn't boil your bouquet of roses.

*The chocolate story in this episode (09:30 to 35:00) discusses modern-day slavery and child labor.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!

5 months in and we finally got around to making a trailer! Welcome to World Is Burning, an environmental storytelling podcast hosted by Olivia Hamilton and Elise Nye. We think the most powerful (and least boring) way to inspire action is through storytelling, so every week we tell each other a different story from the climate movement.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!

In the second installment of our Elements series (not like Olivia forgot or anything), we're taking off into the air. Elise tells us about Starlink, a project of Elon Musk's SpaceX, and how the race for space internet might come with a massive sacrifice. Also, space garbage? Then, Olivia tells the story of the relatively new 'flygskam' movement, all the industry executives pressed by Greta Thunberg, and how flight free travel could be the wave of the future. We talk about what we should (and shouldn't) sacrifice for the greater good, billionaire Twitter feuds, and the connection between wealth and carbon emissions.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!

**Full content warning below.** This week we're approaching an oft-discussed topic in the environmental movement–veganism! Olivia goes back thousands of years to cover the history of plant-based diets, and Elise brings us through the high and lows of the now-booming meat replacement market. We also discuss our own complicated food journeys, white veganism and gatekeeping within the vegan community, and wisdom gleaned from Jonathan Safran Foer's We Are the Weather.

**Content warning: this episode discusses food and diet, animal cruelty (non-graphic language), systemic racism and colonial history in relation to food, and briefly mentions disordered eating.

Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos.

Cover art by Sonja Katanic. Music by Kaycie Satterfield. Thanks for listening!