I Want a Better Catastrophe

An existential manual for tragic optimists, can-do pessimists, and compassionate doomers.

With global warming projected to rocket past the 1.5°C limit, lifelong activist Andrew Boyd is thrown into a crisis of hope, off on a quest to learn how to live with the "impossible news" of our climate doom.

He searches out eight of today's leading climate thinkers—from activist Tim DeChristopher to collapse-psychologist Jamey Hecht, grassroots strategist adrienne maree brown, eco-philosopher Joana Macy, and Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer—asking them: "Is it really the end of the world? And if so, now what?"

With gallows humor and a broken heart, Boyd steers listeners through their climate angst as he walks his own. Boyd's journey takes him from storm-battered coastlines to pipeline blockades and "hopelessness workshops." Along the way, he maps out our existential options and tackles some familiar dilemmas:

• "Should I bring kids into such a world?"
• "Can I lose hope when others can't afford to?"
• "Why the f--k am I recycling?"

He finds answers that will surprise, inspire, and maybe even make you laugh. Drawing on eastern, western, and indigenous traditions, Boyd crafts an insightful and irreverent guide for achieving a "better catastrophe."

This is vital listening for everyone navigating climate anxiety and grief as our world hurtles towards an unthinkable crisis.