"When you ask a young indigenous man to give up all of his land for $20,000, he'll say no way, because what grows in there is gold, cacao is gold!" Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter tells Climate Curious, breaking down how investing in the companies that bring Amazon-grown products to market is key to protecting the rich biodiversity of the Andean Amazon. Michelle explains why current public sector strategies are not enough to beat private sector actors like illegal gold mining operations, and instead how investing in businesses that pay smallholder and indigenous producers more for regenerative products, cacao and beyond, can provide sustainable and profitable alternatives to deforestation. Recorded live at TED 2026 in conversation with TEDxLondon Director Deesha Chandra.

For more on illegal mining check out Claudia Vega’s TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojfZMid20iA

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

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Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Games can go into spaces where sometimes it's hard to have these conversations,” say game designers Nathan Harrison and Mel Frances, as they unpack how gaming and scenario roleplay can help us reveal our inner climate priorities! Nathan and Mel break down key moments of their ‘Future for Beginners’ game with Climate Curious host, and game participant, Maryam Pasha. From high stakes Prisoners Dilemma challenges to short-term win vs long-term resilience decision making under pressure, we find out how playing through systemic controls can build empathy, reveal our own psychological blindspots, and provoke deep and existential discussions Recorded at TED 2026.

Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full conversation with climate game strategists Mel and Nathan: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/are-you-ready-to-lead-your-town-through-an-extreme-weather-event-with-the-game-designers-behind-the-future-for-beginners/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If global shipping was a country, it would be the world's sixth largest greenhouse gas emitter. But help is on its way. Joojin Kim tells Climate Curious we can sink shipping's dirty old habits by following the money. "It's common sense. The alternatives are all there. It's just the policy, regulations and finance," he tells TEDxLondon's Deesha Chandra at TED2026. Hear how the CEO of Solutions for Our Climate and a grantee of The Audacious Project got his start in climate action – taking on coal financing in South Korea –and how that fight led him to shipping, one of the world's dirtiest industries, and one that happens to sit right in his backyard.

Learn more about Solutions For Our Climate: https://forourclimate.org/

Check out this year’s The Audacious Project grantees: https://www.audaciousproject.org/news/building-what-lasts-welcoming-the-audacious-projects-newest-cohort 

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Africa is solar rich. But what happens when the panels stop working? Vincent Egoro – a former architecture student who once studied by candlelight and now founder of Energy Transition Africa – is betting on training over throwaway tech. His mission: teach local workers to maintain and fix solar panels, so clean energy doesn't quietly break down two years after installation: unnoticed and unfixed. As he tells Climate Curious co-host Maryam Pasha, electrifying is only half the job – the other half is making sure it sticks. A champion of skills as infrastructure to power Africa’s clean energy future, Vincent won the TEDx Global Idea Search in Nigeria. Recorded at TED2026, in conversation with Climate Curious co-host Maryam Pasha.

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Unless we come together, we can't build it. So yeah, I'm chill," says Jennifer Kitt on the Climate Curious podcast. If new money is moving into climate, this philanthropy aficionado knows about it. And asking people for billions to solve the crisis? Doesn't daunt her one bit. On why raising money for the world's best climate solutions is her idea of a dream day at the office – here's the President of Climate Lead, Jennifer Kitt. Recorded live at The Conduit as part of London Climate Action Week, in conversation with Climate Curious co-hosts Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha.

Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full conversation with Jennifer Kitt on Climate Curious here: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/why-climate-doesnt-need-better-solutions-it-needs-bigger-bets-with-jennifer-kitt/

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“80 of the most urgent [climate solutions] could take $5 billion tomorrow,” says Jennifer Kitt on Climate Curious. Recorded live in London with Climate Curious co-hosts Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha, the Climate Lead President shares a 101 on how climate philanthropy actually works, why inviting people to dream bigger leads to bolder action, and why many of the world's leading philanthropic families are moving from asking, "what should I build?" to "how do I make the biggest difference?" From accelerating the move to clean transport, to stopping deforestation in Indonesia, Brazil and the Congo Basin, this one’s for everyone who loves a good climate solution. 

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We walked out of his office, to the first bar, had a couple shots of tequila, and then got to work”, says environmental lawyer Bruce Nilles on stage as our guest at ‘Climate Curious Live: Climate Impossible?’ in London, June 2026. In conversation with co-hosts Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha, Bruce shares the surreal situation he found himself in when shutting down coal plants with the ex-mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. Tune in to learn how a bake-sale funded, grassroots movement was given the guidance and capital to scale up; eventually shuttering 92% of coal plants across the US, in one of the most effective and durable climate actions of our time. 

Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full conversation with Bruce Nilles on Climate Curious: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/what-the-end-of-king-coal-means-for-big-oil-gas-with-bruce-nilles/

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I love doing it and I'll be doing it for a while, 'cause we ain't done yet," says the legendary lawyer who spurred a global campaign that led to the closing of 390 U.S. coal plants, forever: Bruce Nilles. Live on stage at Climate Curious Live 'Climate Impossible?', he shares the story of an epic climate win — combining grassroots grandmas, courtroom clashes, and a $50 million philanthropic gift — igniting an unstoppable movement and delivering one of the largest reductions in climate pollution of any sector, anywhere in the world. And we hear about the next frontier: gas. Recorded live at The Conduit as part of London Climate Action Week, in conversation with Climate Curious co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst.

Read the new research on gas: https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/work/gas-stove-benzene-emissions-europe/ 

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could you protect your city through an extreme weather event? ‘The Future For Beginners’ is a game exploring climate risk and decision-making under uncertainty. Working together over 80 minutes, 30 players negotiate challenges and make decisions to create an unforgettable cultural event in the face of catastrophe. Having just played the simulation, Climate Curious’s Maryam Pasha sits down with these game maestros to ask, why a climate simulation game? And how does creating mini mayors in all of us help inspire climate action? “Games can be quite good at giving people that real zoomed out bird's eye view of something while still letting you inhabit it”, says game designers Mel Frances and Nathan Harrison on Climate Curious. Recorded at TED 2026.

For more information on Future for Beginners, head here:https://davidfinig.com/the-future-for-beginners/ 

Read more about Mel and Nathan's wider practice head here: https://bohointeractive.com/playing-through-complexity'

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Break the system, don’t just tweak it. That’s what sociologist and professor Dana R. Fisher says on this week’s Climate Curious. Tune in with co-host Maryam Pasha to learn about incrementalists: people who think cleaning up a broken system leads to a sanitised version of the status quo – not real systemic change. From how institutions have used and jaded the youth movement for optics, whilst leaving them disconnected after crackdowns on college campus protests, this apocalyptic optimist shares the most likely path forward. Recorded at TED 2026.

Dana’s book is here: Saving Ourselves,

Check out her TED Talk and her new pod Apocalyptic Optimist Podcast!

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The deal is, we're gonna get the revolution we deserve,” says sociologist, author, and apocalyptic optimist, Dana R. Fisher. Having spent 26 years studying and documenting activism, Climate Curious host Maryam Pasha hears what it takes to forge unstoppable solidarity in the collective climate movement. We look at how turning to big tech’s quick fixes is not the answer, how the youth movement has been sidelined by the political establishment, and why real systemic change is only built from the ground up, grassroots style!

Dana’s book is here: Saving Ourselves,

Check out her TED Talk and her new pod Apocalyptic Optimist Podcast!

Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon

Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/

All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod 

Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.