In Episode 92 , we're headed off to climate school! Our guest is Anshuman Bapna , the creator (and headmaster) of Terra.do , which is like Hogwarts but for fixing the broken Earth. Of course, unlike Dumbledore, you can trust this headmaster won’t abandon you in your time of need. It seems so obvious that there should be a central (online) location where people can learn about climate change and how they can actually make a difference… but, until we learned about Terra.do, we didn’t even think ab...
Aug 10, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast We’re back! In Episode 91 , Quinn & Brian ask: Why is drinking water so unaffordable, or unavailable, or just filthy for so many people? Our guests are: Nina Lakhani & Mary Grant. Nina is environmental justice reporter for The Guardian US and Mary Grant is the Public Water for All Campaign Director at Food & Water Watch. They’ve bottled up their empathy and their anger for good, and we think they fit right in on the show. If it wasn’t already obvious: water is important. It’s one of ...
Aug 03, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast Back in Episode 51 , Quinn & Brian asked: Are we thinking about CRISPR all wrong (and what the hell is it)? This is one of our most popular episodes, probably because it features one of our coolest guests: C. Brandon Ogbunu , an evolutionary systems biologist with a unique perspective on data and disease, and how both were influenced by evolution and ecology. We’ve talked about CRISPR before on the show, but if you’re not familiar, here’s a brief and overly simplistic overview of this potent...
Jun 15, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast We published our company statement on the Black Lives Matter protests on June 8th. This is an audio version of that statement, titled "A Letter to My Fellow White Men." You can read the original at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/blog/a-letter-to-my-fellow-white-men . Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media...
Jun 13, 2020•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Please enjoy this preview of our weekly premium audio newsletter. Find out more at https://important.supportingcast.fm . This week : Racism is distracting us from the climate fight; if you’re black, you probably live near a coal plant; protests will worsen the coronavirus but we don’t really have a choice; COVID tracking apps are here, but how useful are they?; fighting for food equality Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at fu...
Jun 12, 2020•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Back in Episode 42 , Quinn & Brian asked: What happens when you’re almost an astronaut... and what comes next? Our guest is Dr. Sian Proctor , an explorer, scientist, full-time professor, STEM communicator, and almost an astronaut. She joins the show to tell us how we can all help get more women and more people of color into space, one way or another. If you didn’t know — and we weren’t sure — being a white, male military pilot isn’t the only way to get to space! You can be exposed to radiat...
Jun 01, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 44 , Quinn & Brian discussed: Why food waste is the stupidest thing we do and how can we cut it in half. Our guest was Dr. James Rogers , founder and CEO of Apeel Sciences and one of our most mind-blowing guests yet. You may think you know about avocados, but you have no idea. This episode is even more applicable now, when so many Americans have lost their jobs and the question of how to put food on the table is being asked by far too many families. For the first time in a long ti...
May 25, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast To continue our Good News series, we’re looking back to Episode 78 , when Quinn & Brian discussed: Planning for chaos . (Cheery, right?) For real, though. This episode offers an actionable, helpful, revealing, and — dare we say it? — PLEASURABLE way of looking at the world. And that perspective comes from the delightful Bina Venkataraman , author of The Optimist's Telescope and the Editor of The Boston Globe’s editorial page. Fair warning, so you don’t get upset like Brian did: this is not a...
May 18, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 75 , Quinn & Brian discussed: Beating the crap out of childhood cancer with science and... zebrafish? Our guests are Dr. Jaclyn Taroni and Dr. Genevieve Kendall . Dr. Kendall is a Postdoctoral scholar at UT Southwestern Medical Center who utilizes zebrafish genetic models to understand how pediatric muscle cancers develop and better identify any therapies we can use to treat it. Dr. Taroni is a Principal Data Scientist at the Childhood Cancer Data Lab , an initiative of Alex...
May 11, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you haven’t already heard, we received a Webby nomination for Best Podcast Episode in the Science & Education category. We’re really proud to be nominated again… but, we also really want to win. So, today, we’re re-airing the episode that received a nomination and asking you to help us with your vote . Back in Episode 70 , Quinn & Brian discussed: When things are broken, when the people who are working on those things are also broken, and why we need to help them. Our guest was Nikki ...
May 04, 2020•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast That's right, we are now a four-time Webby-nominated podcast! But what we really want is to be a Webby-winning podcast. So, please, go vote! It's free and you can stick it to the AARP. Vote for Important, Not Important for Best episode (Science & Education): https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2020/podcasts/individual-episodes-mini-series-specials/science-education Vote for Important, Not Important for Best newsletter: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting/#/2020/websites/general-...
Apr 29, 2020•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 73 , Quinn & Brian asked: Did A.I. take our jobs? Of course, we aren’t talking about our jobs. If A.I. took our jobs, the show would have won that goddamn Webby. No, no — we’re talking about really, really important jobs – the jobs being done by people like Dr. Mohammed AlQuraishi , who is a Department Fellow at the Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology and the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. Still, Dr. AlQuraishi is hopeful about the future and his rol...
Apr 27, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our “Good News” series of replays begins today with Episode 66 , when Quinn & Brian hosted a delightfully important discussion: Why, apparently, we shouldn’t just blow up asteroids. Our guest is: Professor K.T. Ramesh , who is an absolute delight and may have the coolest job in the world. He is the founding director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI), which is pretty much a real-life Avengers, except every member is like Bruce Banner without all the Hulk-iness or Tony Stark if...
Apr 20, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 90 , Quinn & Brian discuss: What it’s like to be a COVID-19 Lab Rat. Our guest is: Allie Broas , an almost-MBA and one of Quinn’s many, many cousins. We weren’t exactly planning to do more of these episodes right now — most of the people who are trying to change the world are quite busy at the moment — but then we had this unique opportunity to talk to someone who is not just a COVID-19 survivor but also, now, a COVID-19 test subject! So, we had to take it and learn more about how...
Apr 13, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast Cast your mind back to Episode 79 , when Quinn & Brian discussed: Optimism in the air (can it be?). Our guest is: Beth Gardiner , an environmental journalist and the author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution . The Guardian writes, “You couldn't ask for a better guide for ... concerned citizens,” which pretty much sums up our audience. We’re replaying this fan favorite during this crisis for two timely reasons: 1) breathing in pollution creates underlying conditions that d...
Apr 07, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Way back in Episode 65 , Quinn asked: Was Chernobyl a preventable and rare accident from the past, or a vivid picture of what happens when the government abandons its citizens during a crisis? FUN STORY: turns out, it’s B! We’re replaying one of our most listened to episodes ever, because, well, COVID-19. Or, more specifically, because of the American government’s response to COVID-19. Which was to lie. Our guest is: Craig Mazin , a screenwriter, podcaster, and the creator of the Emmy-awar...
Mar 31, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you've been wondering how else you can help fight coronavirus besides staying at home in sweatpants, this episode is for you. Please share widely. You can find links and additional details at importantnotimportant.com/blog/fight . Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media...
Mar 27, 2020•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 89 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Taking down the white guy who politically stabbed you (and the planet) in the back. Our guest is: Dr. Arati Kreibich. She gave us a call a couple weeks back to explain that she’s a freshman Councilmember in Glen Rock, a proud immigrant, a neuroscientist, a mother, and a grassroots organizer who is now running for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District, because I GUESS THAT’S WHAT IT’S COME TO. In the last congressional election, Dr. Kreibic...
Mar 23, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 88 , Quinn & Brian ask: You voted for clean energy… so why hasn’t it become a thing yet? Our guest is: Dr. Leah Stokes , author of the new book Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States She’s like Captain Planet if Captain Planet was a powerful woman with a Ph.D. in kicking polluters’ asses AND public policy. At the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly why your state is still building or spewing fossil f...
Mar 16, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 87 , Quinn & Brian ask: What, exactly, are we putting on our bodies (and why aren’t more people asking questions about it)? Our guest is: Gregg Renfrew . Gregg is a serial entrepreneur who most recently founded Beautycounter to increase transparency and safety in the personal care industry. She also actively lobbies for regulation in the cosmetics industry to limit the number of harmful chemicals included in products sold in America because, you know, less poison in and on our bod...
Mar 09, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast In this special episode, Quinn (with some help from our friends at the CDC and elsewhere) talks you through everything you need to know about the coronavirus, what you can do to prepare, and — maybe most importantly — what you can’t. Want to read or print or share with friends? The matching blog post is here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/blog/2020/3/2/how-to-survive-the-coronavirus-with-your-sanity-intact ....
Mar 04, 2020•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 86, Quinn & Brian ask: What can we do to support the black farmers who have the ancient answers to rebuilding our soil, farms, and food system? Our guest is: Leah Penniman , Co-Director and Farm Manager of Soul Fire Farm , a farm dedicated to ending racism and injustice in the food system. Leah is also the author of “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land.” In many ways, Soul Fire Farm represents a new start for American agriculture — a new...
Mar 02, 2020•58 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 85 , Quinn asks: Is there a blueprint for fighting food waste in your city? Our guest is: Rick Nahmias. As Founder and Executive Director of Food Forward , Rick has spent more than a decade harvesting the bounty of LA’s fresh fruit and vegetables and getting them to the organizations feeding the many, many, many people in Southern California who cannot otherwise afford it. When you realize just how much food goes to waste in the United States, it’s a little sickening. And when you the...
Feb 24, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast We’re back! In Episode 84 , Quinn & Brian ask: Is the USA responsible for climate refugees (and then turning them away)? Our guest is: Jessica Cisneros , a 26-year-old immigration and human rights attorney and proud Mexican-American woman running for Congress in Texas’ 28th district to fight for working families. Jessica’s opponent and the district’s incumbent is Henry Cuellar, “an anti-choice, anti-labor, pro-NRA Democrat who voted with Donald Trump and the Republicans almost 70% of t...
Feb 17, 2020•30 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast This is a special preview of our new weekly audio newsletter . It's all the most vital science news you missed, with action steps you can take to fight back, delivered in five minutes and read by Brian. After this week, it's a premium-only product, so if you find it valuable, go to importantnotimportant.com/shitgiver to subscribe! This week: the EU lost their meat pies to Boris but gained a hell of a lot of clean energy; energy emissions are flat worldwide but flat isn't enough; be damn glad you...
Feb 14, 2020•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re very excited to announce the launch of our new premium podcast feed — The Shit-Giver Edition! Our main feed (this one) will always be free, and will always host the latest in our award-nominated "save the world" conversations, with ads read by us to help pay the bills. Our mission remains to reach the greatest audience and affect as much change as two guys and a rescue dog possibly can. But for those of you that don't want ads, or love Fun Talks, or just want to support our hard work -- yo...
Feb 13, 2020•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 83 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Blue carbon, the patriarchy, and how one of those two things has ruined the other (we’ll give you three guesses). Our guests are Dr. Sarah Myhre and Priya Shukla . Dr. Myhre is a leading voice in the fields of climate science, science communication, and public advocacy, as well as a Fellow with Project Drawdown and the Executive Director of the Rowan Institute. Priya is a PhD Student (AKA an almost-doctor) at UC Davis studying how climate change a...
Nov 05, 2019•2 hr 35 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast We’re interrupting your normally scheduled programming with a Special Election Report ! So, today, Quinn & Brian ask: Will You Help Us Flip Virginia? Our guest is Dr. Ghazala Hashmi , an immigrant, educator, and mother who is running in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 10 on November 5, 2019 — just seven days after this episode airs! That means there are just seven days left to flip Virginia and make it blue. This is a special episode for us, and not only because we th...
Oct 29, 2019•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 82 , Quinn & Brian discuss: How to fix our somewhat pressing land reconfiguration issues -- from 30,000 feet down to the soil under your feet. Our guest is Dr. Iara Lacher , a land use ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. She is also the co-runner of a small nursery out of northwestern Virginia called Seven Bends Nursery. The work she does is based around sustainable planning and living, where they conduct the science to provide information for use in plann...
Oct 22, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 81, Quinn & Brian discuss: Legalizing the weed of the sea. Our guests are Bren Smith and Tom Ford , two fine, clean-living gentleman who are out on the water, every day, trying to change the way that we eat and use the ocean to our benefit — and, more importantly, to the ocean’s benefit (which seems obvious to us, but apparently is not). Bren started the Thimble Island Ocean Farm, a farm dedicated to restorative ocean farming, and is the Executive Director and co-founder of GreenW...
Oct 08, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast 
