How do we get climate and nature stories on Coronation Street?

Rachael Orr is the CEO of Climate Outreach, the organisation behind the hugely impactful Britain Talks Climate and Nature research project.

Her career has shifted from social advocacy in the public housing sector to climate engagement - and she has seen first-hand the challenges we face as communicators around the green transition.

Rachael tells our host Tom Clark the story of where this project comes from and how her team have delivered it so successfully. She unpacks the need for research that helps climate and nature communicators to reach across the political and social spectrum and speak persuasively and actively about the subject matter in everyday ways.

Hear Rachael give valuable practical advice about:

• Creating space for open dialogue with stakeholders
• Shifting communications from awareness raising to implementation and progress
• Creating people-focused stories of action that anyone can relate to
• Empowering internal teams so they can work as a collective when the pressure is on.

If you want to move past data and facts, learn how to involve your stakeholders from day one and discover why we are actually the winning team, this conversation with Rachael Orr is an essential for your listening queue.

Recommended movie: Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy Sustainability | BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY

Connect with Rachael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-orr-9421a959/

Additional notes:

Climate Outreach: Britain Talks Climate and Nature 2025 - https://climateoutreach.org/btc/2025/report/

Climate Visuals library https://www.climatevisuals.org/

The Climate Diplomat: A Personal History of the COP Conferences by Peter Bett https://profileeditions.com/product/the-climate-diplomat/

Climate Spring - https://www.climate-spring.org/who-we-are#our-mission

Heard https://heard.org.uk/

Climate Reframe https://climatereframe.co.uk/

Edward Stourton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Stourton_(journalist)

Why stories are so memorably by John Millien https://www.johnmillen.com/blog/4-reasons-stories-are-so-memorable

Carbon Brief https://www.carbonbrief.org/

Ed Milliband https://www.gov.uk/government/people/ed-miliband

Released: 1 August 2026

Run time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Caroline Prak is a former Communications leader at Friends of the Earth and Oxfam, and creator of https://understories.io.

The Understories tool she created (after joining the MIT’s Sustainable AI Program) evaluates messaging against peer-reviewed research studies, scores it across eight evidence-based criteria and suggests revisions while also flagging ethical risks. The goal of the tool is to help us realise the power of using the 70:30 hope to doom ratio in our climate comms.

Caroline talks to Tom Clark about why she thinks:
Climate communication could do much better at cutting through the noise

Why it’s hard to connect the dots between communications science and our day-to-day work pressures

How AI could maybe help us do better?

Caroline talks to Tom Clark about why she thinks:

1. Climate communication could do much better at cutting through the noise
2. Why it’s hard to connect the dots between communications science and our day-to-day work pressures
3. How AI could maybe help us do better?

Join Caroline and Tom as they take a deep dive on her “contrarian bet” that merging AI with climate and nature comms is a necessary strategy for saving the planet.

Recommended book: "Hope in the Dark" by Rebecca Solnit - https://canongate.co.uk/books/46-hope-in-the-dark-untold-histories-wild-possibilities/

Follow Caroline at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolineprak/

Additional Notes:

Understories.io

The Case of the Century / L'Affaire du Siècle - laffairedusiecle.net

Oxfam Davos Inequality Report - https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-oxfam/fight-inequality/oxfams-global-inequality-report/

MIT Sustainable AI Program - https://climateproject.mit.edu/events/sustainable-ai

The 89% Project - https://89percent.org/

The Long Reads Interview with Rebecca Solnit (4 March 2026) - https://longreads.com/2026/03/04/questionnaire-rebecca-solnit/

Justiça Ambiental! - https://justica-ambiental.org/

Anabela Lemos - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabela_Lemos

Don’t Look Up - https://www.netflix.com/title/81252357

Maibach et al. (2015), "Do Americans Understand That Global Warming Is Harmful to Human Health?", Annals of Global Health -

Released: 2 June 2026

Run time: 60 minutes

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Boaz Paldi, former Chief Creative Officer for the United Nations Development Program, talks to Tom Clark about his inspiring work in climate communications. In particular he shares what he learned from the highly successful “Don’t choose extinction” campaign which highlighted the absurdity and damage done by fossil fuel subsidies.

Listen to hear what Boaz has learned really works for:

• Campaigning and influencing audiences and policy at a global level
• Ways to use humour and relatability in climate messaging
• The power of taking creative risks
• Communication that speaks to the “climate majority”.

In this honest recounting of the campaign’s development and delivery, Boaz doesn’t gloss over the challenges: bureaucracy, organisational blockers, the overwhelming nature of the subject matter. It’s a brilliant listen for anyone working in climate and nature comms who is wondering “does what I do make any difference?”

Recommended: We don’t have time - https://app.wedonthavetime.org/

Follow Boaz Paldi at: LinkedIn

Additional Notes:

Full Frame Advisory - https://fullframeadvisory.com/

UNDP - https://www.undp.org/

Don't Choose Extinction campaign video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaTgTiUhEJg

Weather Kids - https://www.weatherkids.org/

An Optimist's Guide to the Planet - https://www.bloomberg.com/originals/series/an-optimists-guide-to-the-planet

Activista - https://www.activistalosangeles.com/

Frame Store - https://www.framestore.com/

Jurassic Park - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park

The Simpsons - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons

Rosie the Riveter - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_the_Riveter

Released: 27 May 2026

Run Time: 49 minutes

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Fuzieh Jallow, CEO and Founder at Terra40, talks to Tom Clark. Fuzieh describes herself as a “strategic architect” who supports the work of climate advocacy organisations in global forums. She says her business, Terra40, is the agency “I wish I had hired” when she was Senior Director at Environmental Defense Fund seeking to influence at the highest levels of policy making.

In this fascinating conversation she shares her experience and learning - from recent experiences stewarding a delegation of 11 representatives for 57 Afro-descended organisations at the first International Conference on Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, to her professional advice for those at the start of their careers in climate advocacy.

Listen to learn more about Fuzieh’s expert approaches to:

• Developing cultural intelligence
• Teaching the public about their pathways to power
• Nurturing authentic relationships
• Measuring success at global forums.

Fuzieh shares what works when it comes to getting the right people - those who are often excluded but who have the most at stake in the climate crisis - to the negotiating table, fully prepared and ready to make change.

Recommended book or film: An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth

Follow Fuzieh Jallow at: LinkedIn

Additional Notes:

Terra40 - https://terra40.com/

Environmental Defense Fund - https://www.edf.org/

International Conference on Transition Away from Fossil Fuels - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Conference_on_Transitioning_Away_from_Fossil_Fuels

Dr Beverly Wright - https://dscej.org/beverly-wright/

Deep South Centre for Environmental Justice - https://dscej.org/

Africa Rising: Youth and Climate Justice - https://www.worldwide-climate-ed.org/africa-rising

Ground News - https://ground.news/

People’s Climate Vote 2024 - https://peoplesclimate.vote/

Released: 20 May 2026

Run Time: Approximately 48 minutes

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Description:

Rob Cooper, host of the Climate Unf*cked podcast speaks to Tom Clark, host of Communicating Earth podcast.

Rob launched his podcast last year after an ayahuasca “moment” in Bolivia in 2022. In this discussion he shares what he’s learned so far including:

• Using a podcast as a "knowledge cartilage" to support the basic "bones" of climate science
• The power of a provocative name
• Using humour to find common ground
• The power of authenticity over production polish
• LinkedIn strategy for promoting a podcast
  

Listen to Rob Cooper’s tips on how to create podcast content that cuts through the noise to reach your audience and walks the line between pro-comms and authenticity - whilst landing climate messaging and sparking action.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/

Recommended book: Speaking To My Daughter About the Economy by Yanis Varoufakis https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/books/talking-to-my-daughter-about-the-economy-a-brief-history-of-capitalism/

Notes:

Climate Unf*cked podcast - https://climateunfucked.substack.com/

The Big Bang Theory - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory

Kevin Anderson - https://climateuncensored.com/

Carbon Brief - https://www.carbonbrief.org/

The Third Door by Alex Banyan - https://alexbanayan.com/book/

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson - https://markmanson.net/not-giving-a-fuck

Tim Ferris - https://tim.blog/podcast/

Outrage and Optimism - https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/

Simon Clark - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRRr_xrOm66qaigIbwFLvbQ

The Infinite Monkey Cage - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w

The Graham Norton Show - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006xnzc

Reform Radio - https://www.reformradio.co.uk/

Released: 13 May 2026

Run Time: 53 minutes

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Phil Korbel, Co-Founder of The Carbon Literacy Project, talks to host Tom Clark in the latest episode made by and for climate communicators.

Phil is a global leader in climate education and The Carbon Literacy Project has trained more than 160,000 people in more than 14,000 organisations including BBC, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, NHS, Patagonia and many more.

Phil shares his mission to:

• Embed climate education as a core workplace competence
• Use a flexible learning framework to scale training
• Tackle confirmation bias and our innate limited psychological bandwidth for disruption
• Reframe climate action as a way to lower costs, minimise risk, and thrive.

If he could get us to do one thing differently as communicators it would be to “drop the polar bears” and focus on personal, local stories that align with people's existing values.

Recommended Book:

"Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change" by George Marshall https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/dont-even-think-about-it-9781632861023/

Follow Phil Korbel at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-korbel-2425264/

Additional Notes:

• Carbon Literacy Project - https://carbonliteracy.com
• Kris de Meyer -https://www.krisdemeyer.com/
• Katherine Hayhoe - https://katharinehayhoe.com/
• Years and Years - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000539g
• Under Salt Marsh - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Salt_Marsh
• Carbon Brief - https://www.carbonbrief.org/
• The Sheep Look Up - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Look_Up

Released: 6 May 2026

Run Time: 48 minutes

How to communicate complex climate technology like a human being

Nathaniel Walters speaks with Lucia Schweigert, Strategic Director at climate tech communications agency Life Size. A former flamenco dancer turned climate communicator, Lucia explains how storytelling, strategy and human psychology shape the adoption of climate technologies.

Hear Lucia’s experience of:

• Using communications to help climate startups scale to global companies
• Translating complex science into messages that human beings can understand
• Bridging the gap between climate tech engineers and investors - so stories connect

Lucia argues that effective communication isn’t “a nice extra”, it’s essential. Because if climate technologies aren’t understood, invested in, and adopted, they won’t scale fast enough to transform the industries that drive the climate crisis.

Connect with Lucia on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/luciaschweigert/

Life Size https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-size-media

Recommended book: “How to Feed the World” by Vaclav Smil: https://vaclavsmil.com/book/how-to-feed-the-world/

Additional notes:

Life Size: https://lifesizemedia.com/

Kempower: https://kempower.com/

Synhelion: https://synhelion.com

Sustainable Air Fuel (SAF): https://flightfree.co.uk/post/the-trouble-with-saf/

David Attenborough: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough

Nina Harjula: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninamariaharjula/

Chris Wedding’s Climate CEOs newsletter: ​​https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/about

Bloomberg’s Green Daily: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/green-daily

Released: 29 April 2026

Run time: 55m

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube

Can you “sell” climate action like a product?

In this episode, John Marshall, the founder of Potential Energy Coalition, makes the case that the barrier to climate progress isn’t awareness, it’s relevance. Drawing on the deep data of digital advertising and longitudinal studies tracking millions of people, he explores why climate messaging underperforms - and what actually moves people to act.

John’s work starts with the audience’s life: their bills, their kids, their taxes. His research shows that “soft support” for climate action is already high - but fragile. He argues that the difference between apathy and urgency often comes down to one thing: whether communicators connect climate to everyday consequences.

This conversation is packed with practical tactics and a challenge:

• A surprisingly successful Super Bowl ad
• A powerful rule—“say the consequence within five words of climate change”
• If the cost of building public support is falling fast, what’s stopping us from scaling it?

It’s about treating climate communication as a system you can measure, test and win.

Recommended book: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

Follow John Marshall at https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-marshall-1a61b516/

Additional notes:

Potential Energy Coalition - https://www.potentialenergycoalition.org/

Email Potential Energy Coalition your questions at - info@potentialenergycoalition.org

Five Simple Shifts for Climate Communication in 2026 - https://potentialenergycoalition.org/2026-climate-change-communicators-guide-five-key-shifts/

Potential Energy Coalition’s That’s Interesting Newsletter - https://potentialenergycoalition.org/newsletter/

By The Time Super Bowl Ad -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rnfywUFFSU

Swayable - https://www.swayable.com/

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication - https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/

We Mean Business Coalition - https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/

Outrage + Optimism Podcast - https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/

Released: 22 April 2026

Run time: 48m

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube