Sometimes you buy organic, sometimes you hit a restaurant that's plant-based, or at least you choose the veggie option. Maybe the fish option at the market or the restaurant is marketed as being sustainable. Maybe you compost. It's all useful. But we've been doing it for a while and it's not moving the needle for climate, for restaurants, for farmers, for our health. So anyone who gives a shit wants to know, what can I actually do to scale regenerative agriculture to benefit everyone? My guest t...
Apr 14, 2025•56 min•Ep. 192
We've spent the last few years learning up close how a crisis like a global pandemic reveals and deepens all of our faults, inequalities, biases, and outright failures of empathy. But here's the kicker: it's not the first time. Plagues and epidemics have always shown us who we really are. And they've left footprints, good and bad, on our institutions and the stories we tell ourselves. So why do we keep missing the lessons? My guest today is Edna Bonhomme , a historian, author, and public health ...
Apr 07, 2025•44 min•Ep. 191
The United States has long been the largest aid donor in the world, accounting for about 40 percent of humanitarian assistance globally last year, according to the United Nations . But that is quickly changing. Most U.S. foreign aid is currently on hold. Thousands of projects are at risk of elimination. And nearly all staff from the U.S. Agency for International Development are on administrative leave. How did we get to this moment? And what has been the impact of the foreign aid fre...
Mar 31, 2025•23 min
This week: You’ve never had a better opportunity to improve one person’s life than you do right now. I would argue, in fact, that there’s never been a better time to improve one person’s life than there is today. Sounds crazy, right, considering all the destructive nonsense? Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Matriarch to help progressive working women run for office and win. Volunteer with your l ocal Surfrider chapter to protect your waterways and reduce plastic po...
Mar 28, 2025•23 min
One of the ways this Trump administration is different from the last is, relatively at least, how much more unconstitutional, how much more organized and comprehensive the attacks on our institutions, particularly the scaffolding we built for ourselves the most precious parts of of our societies: immigration, agriculture, the VA, NIH, the CDC, the NSF and humanitarian work around the globe. Do some of these need reform? Of course, they do. Is this the way to do it? No, it is not. These instituti...
Mar 24, 2025•47 min•Ep. 190
We didn't always call our work science for people who give a shit. But ever since we did, we've welcomed at least two types of people to our flock. The first is people who are deeply invested in science, but are unsure how to tie it into measurable action on the human level. And the second is people already fighting for a healthier, more equitable society, but who are curious about the evolving science behind our complex systems. They all want to know a version of the most important question, wh...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 189
What can we do about land power? It's the most important question and my guest today is Mike Albertus . Mike is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago . He's the author of the new book, Land Power . Who has it? Who doesn't? And how that determines the fate of societies. In the book, Mike examines how land became power, how it shapes power today still, and how who holds that power determines the fundamental social problems that societies grapple with. Mike studies how...
Mar 03, 2025•52 min•Ep. 188
This week: Not. Right. Now. I hope you enjoy our new show. It’s super, super informal, and fun, and full of profanity, and personal, and — I hope — something you or a parent in your life can identify with, and maybe get some relief from. It’s intentionally and decidedly NOT an advice show. It is a once-a-week parasocial commiseration session about trying to raise kids and continue to be a human and maybe even a partner amid…all of this. Listen to Not Right Now here https://www.notri...
Feb 25, 2025•13 min
Please enjoy the debut episode from our new show, Not Right Now. Every week, Claire (Evil Witches) and Quinn (Important, Not Important) dive into the chaotic reality of raising tiny humans in these wild times. From behavioral reflection forms and schoolyard diplomacy to the eternal question of "how many water bottles does one child need?", we explore the messy, hilarious, and occasionally terrifying truth about modern parenting. Plus: why every parent should have friends who don't make you add "...
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr
Not Right Now is a podcast for parents navigating the impossible task of raising kids while *gestures wildly at everything*. Join Quinn Emmett ( Important, Not Important ) and Claire Zulkey ( Evil Witches ) for honest conversations about parenting in an era of climate change, artificial intelligence, social media anxiety, all while trying to get your kid to just please put on their shoes. From discussing how to talk to kids about the news without traumatizing them (or yourself), to debating the ...
Feb 14, 2025•3 min
This week: I’m not religious. But I did (barely) successfully major in religious studies. For better and often for worse, the history of faith and organized religion has been the backbone of human history, political science, culture, wars, sexual ethics, and more. Subtle or not, religion and faith are most often the answer to why people do what they do, and to how we got here, even now as the west barrels towards majority secularism. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to the Climate Justice Alliance...
Feb 10, 2025•21 min
This week: You're wasting your talent on bullshit while the world burns. You — yes, you — can actually use your very unique set of skills for good. Even and especially at scale, even — yes — right now. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help get Zuckerberg’s grubby little paws off of your data. Volunteer with Tech Shift and start creating technology that actually contributes to the betterment of humanity. 🌎️ Get educated about social media, deepfakes, misinf...
Feb 03, 2025•28 min
We (Quinn) has been avoiding this question for quite a while. I even wrote a few thousand words about it a couple months ago and didn't publish it because it was a bit of a downer. But that's kind of malpractice in a way because we promised we don't shy away from the hard stuff even if the goal is to help you understand what you can do about it. Just like there's never really an optimal time in your life to get married, or have a baby, or get arrested, there's never a good time to talk about bir...
Jan 27, 2025•42 min•Ep. 187
This week: Be prepared — because these fires that are still burning are only the beginning. Start somewhere, start right in front of you, do what you can. Here's What You Can Do: LA isn’t the only place suffering this week, but it was home for a long time, so here’s vetted ways you can contribute right now, from near or afar. Get more: Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com Support our work and become a Member at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade Get o...
Jan 13, 2025•12 min
This week: It’s been a minute. Thanks for your patience. Please check out my 2025 preview, and if you’d be so kind, share it widely. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Everytown to support their efforts to end gun violence, community by community. Volunteer with Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW) to build the supports your community needs to respond to climate impacts. Get educated about how you can run for a local office and make a huge, di...
Jan 06, 2025•23 min
What's the missing link in local journalism? That's today's big question, and my guest is Lyndsey Gilpin . Lyndsey is the Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Grist. Lyndsey was the founder and executive editor at Southerly , a nonprofit media organization that equipped people who face environmental injustices and are at most at risk of climate change effects with journalism and resources on natural disasters, pollution, food, energy, and more. It was very groundbreaking, and now she's brou...
Nov 11, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 186
This week: This entire (short!) episode is a call to action. It's time to do this thing...do the thing, but also take care of yourselves and your loved ones these next couple weeks. It's a lot right now. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to the groups that are on the ground every day organizing and fighting for a better, stronger democracy ( go ) Volunteer for democracy by picking up the phone and knocking on doors with the people who have mobilizing voters down to a science. Time’s tic...
Nov 01, 2024•11 min
Is multisolving the future? Is it today? Should we do more? That's all today's big question and my guest is Dr. Elizabeth Sawin . Dr. Sawin is the Founder and Director of the Multisolving Institute , which is convenient for our conversation. She's an expert on solutions that address climate change while also improving health, well being, and economic vitality. She developed multisolving to describe such win win win solutions. Beth writes and speaks about multisolving, climate change, and leaders...
Oct 28, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 185
How do we make it easier for more Americans to reliably put food (in particular, hot food) on the table? That's today’s big question, and my guest is Salaam Bhatti . Salaam is the SNAP Director at the Food Research and Action Center , a 501c3 that uses advocacy and strategic partnerships to improve the health and well being of people struggling against poverty related hunger in the United States. Before joining the Food Research and Action Center, Salam was the Public Benefits Attorney and Deput...
Oct 21, 2024•49 min•Ep. 184
We first ran this episode in May 2023, but following back-to-back hurricanes in Florida this month, it remains as relevant as ever. You've got insurance, right? Are you sure? That's today's big question, and my guest is Washington Post reporter Brianna Sacks. Brianna's an extreme weather and disaster reporter for the Post, where she explores how climate change is transforming the United States through violent storms, intense heat, widespread wildfires, and other forms of...
Oct 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min
There’s no word for “conservation” in many Indigenous languages. Some come close, but mean something more like “taking care of” or “looking after.” And that’s probably because the very idea of conservation, to “prevention the wasteful use of a resource”, would have been, and continue to be, foreign to many of North America’s Indigenous peoples, who lived in an entirely different, co-dependent relationship with nature. That is to say, to have had a relationship at all. A relationship with the ver...
Oct 07, 2024•54 min
This week: You’d think that -- considering we just spent two years building our new What Can I Do? app -- that I’d have a really good answer for why we were doing it in the first place. But I didn’t. Not until about a week ago. I knew, of course, the practical reasons why it needed to exist, and I had a good idea of what I wanted it to look and feel like. I knew it was the natural evolution and a significant missing piece of our work. But I had never really interrogated myself to und...
Sep 27, 2024•27 min
It’s another big day in a very big month for us. Our extremely tiny team has been busting our asses for almost two years to bring you something fucking extraordinary, something I’m just so proud of, and now it's here: Our new app: "What Can I Do?" A one stop shop for taking action on the issues you give a shit about. Why? Because the world won't unf**k itself. Get it here: https://www.whatcanido.earth/ Get more: Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com Support...
Sep 23, 2024•12 min
What if we get it right? That's today's big question, and my returning guest is Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson . Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist. She is a policy expert, a writer, and a teacher working to help create the best possible climate future. She co-founded and leads the Urban Ocean Lab , a think tank for the future of coastal cities, and is the Roux Distinguished Scholar at Bowdoin College. Ayana authored the forthcoming book, What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate F...
Sep 16, 2024•41 min•Ep. 183
In this throwback episode from October 2020, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why state elections matter not just for your state but for the future of our planet. Our guests are: Aimy Steele & Amanda Litman. Aimy is a candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 82, a mother of five, a former Spanish teacher, and a former K-12 principal. Amanda is the co-founder and Executive Director of Run For Something, a PAC that is recruiting and supporting young progr...
Sep 09, 2024•1 hr 22 min
This week: Next up in our series of “How to Eat More Plants”. Today’s topic? Beef! Here's What You Can Do: Read the essay and get the links online here Donate to the Humane Farming Association to support their work against factory farming. Volunteer with Planted Society to help cities, restaurants, and individuals make sustainable changes in their food culture. 🌎️ Get educated about ways to transition to plant-based options by checking out the Meatless Monday campaign. Be heard about animal cru...
Aug 26, 2024•22 min
This week: Please enjoy this hopeful ditty on how we have finally harnessed the sun ☀️ — and how we’re just getting started. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Grid Alternatives to advocate for community-powered solar policy that gets everyone on a clean energy grid (🌎 go global: Donate to GiveDirectly so people have the agency to buy their own solar) Volunteer to become a member of the Green Workers Alliance to help ensure the creation and mainten...
Aug 12, 2024•13 min
This week: Today’s post is more of a macro introduction to the why and how of the “eat more plants (and consequently) fewer animals” lifestyle. Deep-dives on how to eat fewer animals, by type, including meat/beef/pork, chicken/turkey, dairy, and fish (and humans! Can’t forget humans) will follow in subsequent posts. My overall goal is to help you — someone who already gives a shit for one reason or another — understand why eating more plants and fewer animals is intersectional as hel...
Aug 05, 2024•19 min
This week: We're running an updated version of a popular essay from last year. Tolkien described life (and often, his stories) as a "long defeat", where evil frequently, inevitably wins. But he allowed for "eucatastrophe" — sudden joyous turns (just like breakthroughs in elections and voting rights). We must keep fighting, to hold off the darkness. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to protecting voting rights and advocating for democracy with Fair Fight . Volunteer to bring togeth...
Jul 29, 2024•33 min
How did our planet come to life? Is it alive? And where are we as part of that? Those are today's big questions and my guest is Ferris Jabr. His new book, Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life , is one of the most compelling, beautiful, timely, and important reads I've ever got to underline throughout. Ferris is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and Scientific American . He has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, National Geographic, Wired, Outside,...
Jul 22, 2024•58 min•Ep. 182
