844: Maya Lilly, part 1: Effective Storytelling and Producing The Years Project
From This Sustainable Life by Joshua Spodek: Author, Speaker, Professor
January 13, 2026 · 1h 36m · Episode 844
About this episode
Maya Lilly discusses effective storytelling and her work on The Years Project.
Since I've seen Maya's work on the Years Project with people like executive producers James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, I was worried I might feel starstruck. Oh wait, she also worked with series creators Joel Bach and David Gelber (of 60 Minutes); chief science advisors podcast guest Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen; and episode hosts including Cameron, Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Ian Somerhalder, America Ferrera, David Letterman, Gisele Bündchen, Jack Black, Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, Sigourney Weaver. Oh, and the series won an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. She was engaging, informative, open, and fun. We laughed a bunch We talked about her passion for the art and practice of storytelling. You have to be true to the science, but you can't skimp on the story or take for granted it will work. We also talked about her background that brought her to this level. The Years Project Its YouTube page Maya's curated climate list UPDATE: After we recorded, Maya noted that about halfway in, she said "Bread and Puppet theatre in San Francisco." The actual troop was The San Francisco Mime Troupe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Joshua Spodek
Guest: Maya Lilly
Topics covered
- storytelling
- documentary
- climate change
- producing
- Emmy-winning series
Keywords
- Maya Lilly
- The Years Project
- storytelling
- documentary
- climate change
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Years Project, 60 Minutes, Bread and Puppet theatre, The San Francisco Mime Troupe
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