A new climate change denial is spreading, and yes, we need to talk about it. So in this episode, I sit down with journalist Samantha Harrington to unpack how climate misinformation is evolving. It’s no longer about denying climate change. Instead, it claims that the solutions don’t work, that clean energy is dangerous, or that the entire climate movement is a form of government control. We break down how this narrative is gaining ground, why outrage is such a powerful tool for spreading misinfor...
Jun 24, 2025•39 min
What if our obsession with certainty is actually making us more stressed? And most importantly, less open to real change? In this episode, I sit down with psychologist and researcher Norman Farb to explore how our brains prioritize the familiar, often at the cost of creativity, well-being, and resilience. We talk about the myth of multitasking, the power of mind wandering, and why slowing down might be the fastest path to clarity. Together, we dive into what it means to be truly receptive—to our...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 2 min
What does it look like to embrace optimism when forces around you want you to feel overwhelmed, defeated, and in despair? What is climate optimism, and how do we not mistake it for toxic positivity? And what does a healthy relationship to climate grief actually look like? In this bonus episode that was originally shared on Climify Podcast , Eric Benson and I have a deeply human and heart-forward conversation about navigating climate grief, spiritual transformation, and the power of slowing down ...
Jun 10, 2025•1 hr 4 min
In this conversation, Anne Therese Gennari and guest Charlie Sellars explore the journey of sustainability, emphasizing that every job can contribute to climate action. They discuss the importance of maximizing opportunities in sustainability rather than focusing solely on minimizing negative impacts. The dialogue highlights the need for narrative shifts in climate action and the significance of engaging diverse perspectives. Additionally, they explore the balance between individual responsibili...
Jun 03, 2025•54 min
What are eco-emotions and how are they affecting our everyday lives? What role do they play in our ability to – and desire to – make a difference? And how do we overcome these mental barriers that are keeping us paralyzed and stuck in place? Seeking answers to these questions could be one of the most important topics of our times. Not just for the individual, but also for the world, as it’s a critical step in igniting the curiosity and courage needed to co-create a climate-just future. Tune into...
Oct 09, 2023•58 min
What does it mean to use your anger for good? Today's guest Mike Veny hasn't just learned to deal with his anger, he actively challenges it to better his work and do good in the world! As a mental health expert, advocate, and professional speaker, Mike tours the country helping companies and their employees revive the gifts of mental wellness. We brought him on the Hey Change Podcast to talk about how anger can serve as a powerful (and healthy) tool in our work for climate and social justice. In...
Mar 29, 2022•57 min
Can climate grief and anger be catalysts for transformational healing? Is there such a thing as healthy denial? And how can we learn to work with our emotions in a way where our hearts break open and use that to serve ourselves, others, and the world? Those are only a few of the things we get into in our beautiful conversation with Jack! In this episode: How to pay attention to our fear, anger, and anxiety to let it empower you The mental health work required to be a climate optimist Healthy gui...
Mar 15, 2022•58 min
How do we restore our spiritual relationship with nature and find ourselves as embedded participants within the web of life? More importantly -- what does that look like in practice? In this fascinating conversation with Aaron, we talk Ecopsychology, how a culture of emergence within companies can help shift society in a positive direction, as well as how a community-driven approach might lead us into a climate optimistic world. Aaron Gabriel Neyer is a Developer Relations Engineer at Google wit...
Mar 01, 2022•48 min
What could the future of fashion look like if we learned to recycle and repurpose all material already created? That is what we'll get into in this episode with two innovators in the field -- Renewcell and Circ . Considering only 1% of textiles get recycled into new clothing today, this is a field we should give a lot more attention and focus on! About Renewcell: Harald Cavalli-Bjorkman is the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Investor Relations at Renewcell , a sustainable tech company from S...
Feb 15, 2022•58 min
How important is it that we can track climate and environmental efforts in business? We'd like to say VERY. In this conversation with David Lammers from CDP Europe and Gilles Tisserand from Tetra Pak, we discuss how to bring transparency to the entire value chain as well as the business's role in paving the path forward! David Lammers is the Associate Director of Corporate Operations at CDP Europe. CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system...
Feb 01, 2022•1 hr 3 min
In today’s episode, we want to share with you two conversations to help us shift the narrative on business and money. We’ll talk about impact investing and how we can be creative when it comes to starting businesses that not only solve a problem but support a more sustainable world. First up we have Rebecca Orlowitz David, an impact investing expert and founder of the platform GIVE . She's also the author of the book of the same name -- and GIVE - How To Manage Your Money and Make a Difference. ...
Jan 18, 2022•48 min
When we talk about climate change, we usually talk about how we have to fly less, drive less, eat less meat, cut down our plastic, etc. What we don’t often talk about is the impact of cities, yet cities are responsible for 80 percent of all greenhouse emissions! And cities are only expected to grow. With approximately half of the global population living in cities right now, we’re expecting to see that number increase to two-thirds in 2050. So how do we rise to this challenge? Is it really possi...
Jan 04, 2022•44 min
In this episode, we discuss what mindful gifting can look like during the holiday season and how we can be intentional with how we express love for the people we care about while being kind to the planet. Then Robin joins Garik Himebaugh, founder of Eco-Stylist, for a conversation about what makes a brand sustainable, men’s role in sustainable fashion, greenwashing and what the future of fashion looks like. Eco-Stylist is a directory for truly sustainable and ethically made clothes. Garik create...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr
Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers . Her Ted talk has nearly 4 million views and she’s been named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People , one of the Huffington Post’s 20 Climate Champions , and has been named one of FORTUNE’s world’s greatest leaders. In this conversation with Katharine, we talk about: How faith informs her work as a climate scientist, proving that science and faith need not be polarized. Tips for how to onbo...
Nov 02, 2021•1 hr 1 min
We had the pleasure of speaking with Sally Ranney, the President and Co-Founder of Global Choices , a women-led organization on a mission to drive action on the Ice Crisis and climate change. We spoke with Sally about the profound importance of polar ice and how we are - in fact - all ice dependent species! The Ice Crisis 101: The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet Every year that goes by, arctic sea ice is reduced by an area about the size of Ireland When the permafrost m...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 21 min
We had the pleasure of speaking with Zanagee Artis, the 21-year-old founder, co-executive director and policy director for the global, youth-led climate justice organization Zero Hour. Zanagee has been featured in a number of publications for his work on climate justice and climate policy, including The New York Times , Teen Vogue , and edie . Zanagee is also co-author of A Kids Book About Climate Change and co-host of 1 Point 5: A Kids Podcast About Climate Justice . We spoke to Zanagee about t...
Oct 04, 2021•45 min
This episode is for every climate activist from all parts of the journey, from beginners to experienced eco-nerds, who want to learn how to better engage people into climate-positive actions and mindset! I learned all about Per Espen’s work last summer when I dove deep into his book on human psychology and the many reasons we’re not acting on climate change, and it’s a true honor to have a chance to finally sit down and speak with him. In this episode: What are the psychological barriers to clim...
Sep 28, 2021•59 min
What roles should businesses play in fighting climate justice and co-creating a better world? We'll get into that and much more in this episode with Yvette Torres-Rahman, Co-Founder and CEO of Business Fights Poverty. Get FREE tickets to the UNGA summit on September 20-24, 2021. Use code "HEYCHANGEUNGA" when registering! Event Tickets: https://businessfightspoverty.org/global-goals-summit-2021-register/ Business Fights Poverty: Website: https://businessfightspoverty.org/ Reports and Toolkits: ht...
Sep 16, 2021•39 min
This has been an incredible season for the Hey Change Podcast, where we focused on Optimism in Action. We have learned so much from each of our guests, and in today’s episode, we will be sharing with you some of the gems from our conversations in season 3. This episode is going to be packed with takeaways, so get your pen and paper ready to jot down notes, insights, and particular episodes that you may want to circle back to and hear in full. CONNECT + FOLLOW: Podcast Instagram: @heychange_podca...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 23 min
Did you know that the roots of regenerative agriculture, organic farming, and the farm-to-table movement grew from the work of Black farmers like Dr. Booker T. Whatley and Dr. George Washington Carver? And yet today, Black farmers are highly underrepresented in farming and farm ownership. While the Black population of the US is approximately 13.4%, Black farmers represent 1.3 % of farmers across the US. In this episode, we had the honor and privilege of speaking with Kiani Conley-Wilson, a growe...
Jul 06, 2021•48 min
Did you know that there isn’t a single corner of the Earth where microplastics do not exist? Yes, plastics are taking over our world, but how bad is it, really? We sat down with our friend and colleague Madeleine MacGillivray to take a deep dive (no pun intended) into the topic of microplastics. Tune in to gain a full understanding of what they are, where they come from, and what we can all do about it! In this episode: What are microplastics? How do microplastics affect human health? That recyc...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Lonely Whale’s #stopsucking campaign has eliminated approximately 20 billion single-use plastic straws from the waste stream. Today, we learned from Kendall Starkman, the Director of NextWave Plastics, about her work with the consortium of companies convened by the award-winning non-profit Lonely Whale. In this conversation: Plastic credits & plastic neutrality How our waste system relies on informal workers in low-income countries What does the future of plastic looks like? One garbage truc...
Jun 22, 2021•54 min
A guided meditation to look beyond climate change and envision a new kind of world! Scripted, recorded, and edited by your host, Anne Therese Gennari . Visit the website for more resources: www.theclimateoptimist.com ----- What future could we find ourselves in if we kept some room in our hearts for the unimaginable? What life could YOU have if you allowed yourself to dream and believe? Too often, we’re bound by our current realities, stressed and filled with worry and fear because we don’t know...
Jun 18, 2021•21 min
In this episode, we speak with Val Emanuel, sustainability advocate, animal activist, entrepreneur and co-founder, with Anne Therese, of the world’s first ethical modeling agency, Role Models Management. Val shares with us how growing up in an immigrant family shaped her views on sustainable living, and how she practices a sustainable lifestyle, not because it’s trendy, but because it’s the only way she knows to be true. We were so inspired to talk with Val about her journey, how sobriety led to...
Jun 15, 2021•41 min
In this episode, you’ll hear the incredible story of refugee-turned-model/entrepreneur and humanitarian Mari Malek. Mari shares with us how she went from fleeing South Sudan as a child refugee to modeling and DJ'ing for top magazines and luxury brands in NYC. Mari has worked with clients like Lanvin, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar, acted in the feature film The Nile Hilton Incident, started a wellness coaching practice, and is the CVO for the charity she founded, Stand for Education. We are honored ...
Jun 08, 2021•54 min
In this episode, we speak with the incredible Dr. Julie Pullen about the importance of building community around climate solutions. Dr. Julie Pullen is a climate scientist using advanced computing technology and open-source software to quantify climate risk in the financial sector and beyond. With a background in earth system prediction and complex systems, Dr Julie brings a unique perspective as an oceanographer and former engineering professor, holding leadership roles in academia, non-profit,...
Jun 01, 2021•59 min
This episode is for the creatives and creators! We had the pleasure of speaking with 26 year old, London-based poetic phenomenon, Tom Roberts, aka Tomfoolery. His poem “The Great Realization” has been viewed over 60 million times and been transcribed into languages all over the world. Tom’s mission to spread a message of hope, optimism, and socially constructive ideas inspired us deeply and we knew you’d love to hear from him too. In the early stages of the pandemic, Tom started putting out narr...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Money is power but is it OK to use that power to change the world? Here are my few cents on this right now - tune in and see what resonates, contemplate what feels new and different, and please challenge me on whatever doesn't feel right! My four truths right now: It's OK to make (a lot of) money changing the world It’s OK to not have the answers and still be optimistic about the future! It’s OK to hold space for pain/fear and optimism at the same time! You’re probably wrong about a lot of thi...
May 21, 2021•11 min
In today’s episode, we speak with two advocates for garment worker rights, Yeni and Nayantara, about what it’s like to be a garment worker in America today. Yeni Dewi has worked in the garment industry in Los Angeles and in Indonesia for over a decade. She is a leader at the Garment Worker Center, fighting for dignity and fair wages for all garment workers, as well as a CAST LA member advocating against human trafficking. Nayantara Banerjee is a former small business owner with over a decade of ...
May 18, 2021•48 min
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by climate change? Are you afraid that if you allow yourself to fully understand the magnitude of the problem, you’ll lose yourself in despair? First of all, know that you’re not alone. Studies have shown that the more you learn about climate change, the less you tend to do, and the overwhelm that comes with this growing awareness is quite disempowering. This episode of Climate Optimist Fridays is about how to invite climate change awareness into your life in a way t...
May 14, 2021•11 min
