Why We Care

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Ronda Carnegie, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Project Dandelion, a global women-led climate campaign that amplifies the leadership of those most impacted by the climate crisis and most equipped to drive change. Ronda was also previously part of the original executive team at TED, where she helped transform the organisation from a single conference into a global media company.We spoke about her approach to leadership and how to overcome imposter syndrome, and she also shared why the dandelion was chosen as a symbol for her organisation, and the stories of the women she works with all around the globe. This episode is filled with hope, solutions and optimism - hope you will enjoy listening to it! Thanks so much for tuning in!------------------Want to dive deeper?Projet Dandelion’s website – https://www.projectdandelion.com/ Follow Project Dandelion on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/projdandelion/ Subscribe to the Dandelion Digest newsletter – https://mailchi.mp/projectdandelion/dandelion-digest Let’s keep in touchSubscribe to my newsletter – https://whaleswolves.substack.com/subscribe Why We Care on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/ Tiphaine on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/ ------------------If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for tuning in and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with actress and activist Bonnie Wright – we discussed her new project, Hello Earthling, a platform that focuses on helping children foster their relationship with nature and never let go of their sense of wonder and playfulness. We talked about how being around kids can remind us to take ourselves less seriously and use our imagination. Bonnie also shared memories from her own childhood, and reflected on the evolution of her activism throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy listening to this conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it!------------------Want to dive deeper?Follow Hello Earthling on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/helloearthling/ Listen to the Hello Earthling podcast – https://open.spotify.com/show/2JXqHIk2i47JHEtT68BmAi?si=b24c531d094947fd Subscribe to Hello Earthling on Substack – https://helloearthlingworld.substack.com/ Bonnie on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thisisbwright/ ------------------Let’s keep in touchSubscribe to my newsletter – https://whaleswolves.substack.com/subscribe Why We Care on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/ Tiphaine on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/ ------------------If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for tuning in and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Merlin Sheldrake, Biologist and Author of one of my all time favourite books, Entangled Life. Merlin received a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama. His research ranges from fungal biology to the history of Amazonian ethnobotany, and he is fascinated by the relationships that arise between humans and more-than-human organisms. His book, Entangled Life, is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, has been translated into thirty-two languages and sold more than a million copies worldwide.Reading it a few years ago absolutely blew my mind. Never before had I read something so poetic yet informative, and since then my relationship with nature has evolved to be much more profound. It’s a book about how fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures – but also an exploration of the living world and our place in it. If you haven’t read it yet I can highly recommend it — whether you have an existing interest in fungi or not, it will turn your world upside down!The book was actually one of the reasons why I decided to launch the podcast - so it felt quite surreal to record a conversation with Merlin! A few of the things we spoke about include what drew him to the world of fungi, his work at the intersection of science and art, and also how to cultivate a relationship with organisms that feel incredibly different from us, such as fungi. We also discussed hope and what we can learn from other species to find a way forward. I hope you’ll enjoy it!Want to dive deeper?Merlin’s website — https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/Get Entangled Life — https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/entangled-life-book-merlin-sheldrake-9781784708276Merlin on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/merlin.sheldrakeSubscribe to the Why We Care newsletter on Substack (thank you so much!!!)Subscribe here — https://whywecare.substack.com/Come say hi!Why We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Farwiza Farhan, an amazing forest conservationist working to protect and restore the Leuser ecosystem on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia – the last place on Earth where tigers, elephants, rhinos and orangutans still roam together in the wild. Farwiza has been campaigning to protect it for years, and it was so interesting to hear more about how she approaches conservation and how she collaborated with the communities who live in the area to get their voices heard and protect this precious ecosystem. She also shared why it matters to protect entire ecosystems rather than a few charismatic species, as well as her tips to start making change happen in your own community, and what gives her hope – a much needed reminder in today’s world.Want to dive deeper?Follow Farwiza on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/wiiiiza/Check out her organisation HAkA — https://haka.or.id/Subscribe to the brand new Why We Care newsletter (thank you so much!)Subscribe to the newsletter — https://whywecare.substack.com/Come say hi!Why We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Jacob Dykes, the Conservation Manager of The European Nature Trust - a foundation that works to lift conservation and nature restoration projects in Europe, supporting a network of organisations working at landscape-scale to protect and restore ecosystems. Through an approach they call ‘Noise for Nature’, they also amplify conservation storytelling by creating impactful documentary films that raise awareness and engagement with the defining issues of our time.I was really looking forward to speaking with Jacob about his conservation work in general but also more specifically about wolves. The European Nature Trust recently produced a film called The Wolf Within exploring the relationship between wolves and humans in Europe, which was released at the end of last year – just weeks before the European Commission decided to downgrade their protection status. I’ve been fascinated with wolves for as long as I can remember and really enjoyed learning more about the evolution of our relationship with them and their place in our collective imagination. Jacob and I also talked about what this relationship says about our coexistence with the wild; and what we can do to better and more equitably safeguard keystone species around us. Jacob also shared a really lovely story about seeing wolves in the wild in Italy, and an important reminder to keep practicing wonder towards the natural world.Want to dive deeper?Watch The Wolf Within: https://www.waterbear.com/campaigns/the-wolf-withinDiscover The European Nature Trust: https://theeuropeannaturetrust.com/The EU recently downgraded wolf protections in Europe: https://eeb.org/nature-under-attack-bern-convention-weakens-wolf-protection/Joint statement by 300+ civil society organisations calling for strict wolf protection to be maintained: https://eeb.org/library/joint-statement-by-300-civil-society-organisations-calling-for-strict-wolf-protection-to-be-maintained/ClientEarth’s investigation: https://www.clientearth.org/latest/press-office/press-releases/ombudsman-opens-inquiry-after-eu-trashes-wolf-protections/The European Nature Trust on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeuropeannaturetrustIo Non Ho Paura Del Lupo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iononhopauradellupoCome say hi!Why We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m incredibly honoured to be speaking with Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson. Nemonte is a Waorani leader, mother, and forest defender. She grew up in a little village in the heart of the Amazon rainforest and has now become one of the leading voices of her community. Together with her partner Mitch they created the nonprofit organisation Amazon Frontlines, bringing together Indigenous peoples to defend their rights to land, life and cultural survival in the Amazon. They have now also written a book to share her story with the world, called We Will Be Jaguars.I couldn’t have hoped for a more important conversation to kick off this new season with. Indigenous people represent just 5% of the world’s population, and yet they look after over 80% of our planet’s biodiversity. In other words - they are the experts. So in this episode, Nemonte shares what it was like for her to grow up in the heart of the Amazon, the teachings she received from her ancestors, and what she hopes the world will understand about the forest. We also spoke about how together with Mitch and their team, they made history by bringing together an alliance of Indigenous nations to defend their territories, and ultimately winning a legal battle against the oil industry, resulting in the protection of half a million acres of rainforest in her region.As you’ll notice part of this episode is in Spanish - I didn’t want to cover Nemonte’s words with a translation. So instead, Mitch helps translate her answers after she’s spoken. If you understand Spanish, wonderful - and if not, no worries. I think you’ll still very much enjoy this episode and I invite you to close your eyes if you can, if it’s safe for you to do so, and try feel the power of her words.Want to dive deeper?BUY THE BOOK!!! :) https://amazonfrontlines.org/book/Support Amazon Frontlines — https://amazonfrontlines.org/donate/Follow Amazon Frontlines on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/amazonfrontlines/Follow Nemonte on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/Nemonte.Nenquimo/Follow Mitch on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mitchandersonaf/Come say hi!Why We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Joi Lee, the Head of Editorial and an Executive Producer at Earthrise Studio. I’m sure you’ve heard of Earthrise – they’re one of the leading media platforms reporting on climate change, launched in 2020 by Alice Aedy and Jack Harries. Over the past few years, their social media channels have become one of my go-to sources of climate related news – and I know I’m not the only one! So Joi and I spoke about how the climate crisis is being portrayed in the media, and why she thinks stories are so integral to how we communicate.She then told me about POWER, their latest series digging into the energy crisis, and how they collaborated with their community to define how they would tell that story. We also discussed the many elections coming up this year all around the world, and what you can do as an individual to ensure the fossil fuel industry loses some of its power.Want to dive deeper?Watch POWER on the Earthrise YouTube channel — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXUj6a59Wb4&ab_channel=EarthriseFollow Earthrise on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/earthrise.studio/Come say hi!Joi on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/joixleeWhy We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Bodhi Patil, a United Nations-recognized, award-winning Gen Z ocean climate solutionist dedicated to improving Ocean Health and Human Health. So we spoke about many aspects of his relationship with the ocean, from his early childhood memories diving with his dad to how he helped build Ocean Uprise, an initiative he developed with Parley for the Oceans to help young people learn about the ocean and become advocates for it.I met Bodhi for the first time at COP28 in Dubai last December, where he was part of the Wisdom Keepers delegation – he told me what that experience was like and shared really beautiful thoughts and advice on how we can all support the transition towards a world where Indigenous voices are given more importance. One of my favourite things he said was how important it is to build bridges between generations and collaborate across all age groups.Want to dive deeper?Ocean Uprise - https://parley.tv/initiatives/ocean-upriseWisdom Keepers delegation - https://www.wisdomkeepersdelegation.org/Come say hi!Bodhi on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bodhi_patilWhy We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Titouan Bernicot, the founder & CEO of Coral Gardeners. He grew up on a pearl farm in French Polynesia, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. Whenever I’m on a call with him I’m convinced he’s using one of those fake beach backgrounds but then remember it’s actually a real backdrop. We even got interrupted by dolphins swimming past the Coral Gardeners headquarters while recording this conversation…Titouan says that coral reefs gave him everything in his life, from the waves he surfs to the food he eats and the oxygen he breathes. So in 2017, at only 18 years old, he started Coral Gardeners to restore the reefs and plant corals. Together with his team he has already planted over 100,000 corals in French Polynesia and they have set the goal for themselves to plant one MILLION corals by 2025, all around the world.I met him at the World Oceans Day event in New York last year and was so impressed by his positive energy and contagious hope. He knows what’s at stake but rather than letting the state of the world get him down, he turns this into meaningful action, getting people and organisations such as Rolex, Prada, Warner Bros and many more from all around the globe to join the movement and help restore healthy ocean ecosystems.Want to dive deeper?Adopt a coral - https://coralgardeners.org/products/adopt-a-coralFollow Coral Gardeners on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coralgardenersCome say hi!Titouan on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/toutiess/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Tom Mustill, a nature filmmaker and the author of ‘How to Speak Whale’. We recorded this a few weeks ago but since then I actually had the chance to travel to COP28, the climate conference, and see Tom and his friend Vahakn perform a whale song bath on the beach, which was absolutely magical. He was in Dubai to help give whales a voice with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, an organisation he’s an ambassador for. Tom is really great at telling the story of why whales matter and how crucial it is for us not only to try to protect them but also to allocate more resources and focus towards the technologies that could allow us to understand them and maybe even one day, communicate with them.So we spoke about the anthropocentric approach we’ve taken to define language, and how both museums and zoos (the places most of us can easily go to to observe other species) are failing to capture behaviour and communication. We also discussed the philosophical idea of alignment within Ai (in other words, how do we teach new forms of computer intelligence to have value systems and a moral compass so they can operate within a framework that values human life and how the rest of the living world fits in.Want to dive deeper?Buy ‘How to speak whale’ - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/tom-mustill/how-to-speak-whale/9780008363420Come say hi!Tom on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tommustill Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Joycelyn Longdon, a PhD researcher at Cambridge University and the founder of Climate in Colour, an education platform dedicated to making climate conversations more accessible and diverse for the climate curious.Joycelyn works at the intersection of technology, ecology, sociology and racial justice. So there was a lot to cover in this episode! She describes bioacoustics and the technologies she works with for her PhD research as ‘Shazam for nature’, which I think is fascinating – she explained how by listening to the sounds of nature we’re able to monitor the health of ecosystems and enhance conservation work. We also spoke about the ethical implications of technology and how it can be used in service of nature and people, rather than against them. Another really important aspect of her work is participatory design, so she explained how she’s working very closely with local communities to reduce racial and climate injustice by involving them in the process, getting their insights and feedback.Want to dive deeper?Subscribe to the Climate in Colour newsletter - https://climateincolour.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=web&utm_source=subscribe-widgetWatch Joycelyn’s TED talk - https://tedxlondon.com/tedxlondon-countdown/programme/Come say hi!Climate in Colour on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/climateincolour/Joycelyn on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joycelynlongdon/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Cel Spellman, an actor, radio presenter and WWF ambassador. He’s also the host of the WWF podcast, Call of the Wild, which is one of the first environmental podcasts I started listening to a few years ago. Cel is one of those people who can talk about his love of the natural world for hours, and I felt like this conversation with him would be perfect to open this new season of Why We Care, as we dive deep into why nature is so central to our wellbeing, and how important it is to spend time connecting with it in our everyday lives. He also shared some of his most important learnings from his years as a host of the WWF podcast, and how he takes care of his mental health.Want to dive deeper?Listen to WWF’s Call of the Wild podcast - https://www.wwf.org.uk/podcastVisit the WWF website - https://www.wwf.org.uk/Make My Money Matter - https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk/Come say hi!Cel on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/celspellman/WWF UK on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wwf_uk/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.