Rejecting climate doomerism with solarpunk
Apr 10, 2026•14 min•Ep. 1552
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Episode description
A lot of sci-fi is dystopian. Solarpunk flips that on its head. The subgenre imagines a brighter future where humans have fostered a better relationship with technology, the environment, and each other, in spite of climate disaster. On today’s show, writer and academic Phoebe Wagner joins Kimberly to make us smart about solarpunk, its connection to the green energy transition, and why you should check it out if you want to shake off climate doom.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
- "Solarpunk: A Container for More Fertile Futures" from Solarpunk Magazine
- "Tired of Dystopian Sci-Fi? You Might Like Solarpunk." from Mother Jones
- "Sunshine and Seedlings" from Hydroponic Trash
- "Underground" from Tractor Beam
- Chobani ad on YouTube
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