Save the Planet, Wine Not Save the Planet, Wine Not

Where does the public get its information from when it comes to climate change? What role does the media play in shaping popular opinion?  Timo and Noah negotiate the issues of profit-seeking, corporate-owned media, of the unregulated proliferation of fake news, of social media "click-bait", and of the misleading framing of climate change related problems. Tricked by the complimentary label on a box of sickeningly sweet Silver Bay Point wine, Timo and Noah fell victim to the dangers of false advertising in the prelude to this episode; no one is immune to media manipulation. One must tread with caution. 

In the final part of the episode, non-mediatic literary engagements with climate change are examined. Drawing on Amitav Ghosh's 'The Great Derangement', Timo and Noah discuss the reasons why climate change poses such challenges to novelists, and encourage all artists to invest their creative energy into the monumental task of re-imagining the world.  

In this episode, Timo and Noah tackle the topic of food. In the spirit of the bold, uncompromising tones of their Lisbonese 'Porta 6' wine, they engage in a frank discussion about their personal dietary journeys, before presenting a head-on challenge to the pernicious and environmentally degrading practices of the modern factory farm. Drawing on a combination of arguments ranging from ethics and health to workers' rights and sustainability concerns, they face up to the necessity of moving away from animal products as a crucial component in the fight against climate change. In the final third of the episode, they explore permaculture and agroecology as non-intensive, environmentally friendly solutions to the challenge of food production, discussing the many advantages of such practices, and probing the obstacles that currently stand in the way of their large-scale implementation. 

The topic accompanying this week's delectation of a rich, full-bodied 'Lussec Saint Emillion' wine is money. Noah and Timo challenge the fallacy that our governments cannot afford to pay for the types of deep structural investments and decarbonising strategies required to meet the IPCC's sustainability goals. The money exists, it's just a case of acquiring the political will to claim it through various taxation schemes. By scrapping subsidies to fossil fuel companies, cutting military spending, introducing a billionaire's tax, and taxing Big Business, the massive funds needed for a Green transition can be scraped together. The episode also examines the flip-side of the 'polluter pays' concept, stressing the importance of not letting the brunt of the cost fall on already disadvantaged social groups. Finally, they question the concept of green philanthropy, with case studies ranging from Richard Branson to Bill Gates. Is the current profit-fuelled economic system just too lucrative for these "environmentally-conscious" billionaires to turn their backs on? Ought we put ourselves at the mercy of these individuals' goodwill?

The looming spectre of geo-engineering is explored by Noah and Timo as they enjoy the cloudy aromas of their Chilean 'Phantom River' wine. Will we have to turn to techno-centric solutions to battle the climate crisis? Has humankind's devastating, global-scale impact on the natural world left no choice but to become "better Gods" and intervene further? At what point will we accept the limitations of human ingenuity and come to terms with the fact that we cannot outmanoeuvre the natural world without unleashing serious unforeseeable consequences? Building on the case studies of gene editing, solar geo-engineering and carbon capture technologies, these are some of the questions they seek to answer in this episode. 

In this "graduate special", Timo and Noah take you on a journey through the ethical quandary of deciding on a career path in the shadow of the evolving climate crisis. They discuss the alluring stability of corporate office jobs, recognising the societal pressures directing young adults towards these environmentally damaging professions, while arguing for the need to think beyond the classical formula for a successful career. By examining the benefits of fewer working hours and the Universal Basic Income, Timo and Noah explore ways in which the concept of 'work' can be redefined to enable greater general happiness, less demeaning jobs, fewer inequalities, and more time to experiment with sustainable alternatives.

In this episode, Noah Herfort and Timo Marchant take a deep dive into the theme of extractivism - the pervasive practise of treating the planet like a resource to be mined, plundered and depleted without moderation. They explore the origins of this practise, the way it gathered steam (so to speak) at the birth of the industrial revolution, before exploring some of its contemporary manifestations in more depth. The overlaps between environmental and human exploitation under the banner of the extractivist ideology is probed at some length. Sipping on organic Pinot Grigio, Timo and Noah end the episode by examining some alternatives to extractivism.