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Important, Not Important

Important, Not Important

By Important, Not Important

The 2019 Webby-nominee for Best Host and Best Science show returns to bend the motherf’ing arc of the universe towards a radically more livable planet for you, me, and everybody else. Each episode dives into one question affecting everyone on the planet right now: climate change, clean energy, space, artificial intelligence, and medicine. Our guests are diverse (78% women and/or POC) and qualified: scientists, doctors, politicians, even a reverend. We work towards action steps our listeners can take with their voice and their dollar. Hosted by Quinn Emmett & Brian Colbert Kennedy
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BONUS: Help Dr. Ghazala Hashmi Flip Virginia

Important, Not ImportantOct 29, 2019

00:00
48:10
BEST OF THE BEST: Air Pollution: The Low Hanging Fruit of Our Hellish Future

BEST OF THE BEST: Air Pollution: The Low Hanging Fruit of Our Hellish Future

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 dramatically elevate the risk of complication from diseases like COVID-19 and, CONVENIENTLY, 2) Trump just rolled back Obama’s vehicle tailpipe rules.

This change should amount to “as much as 923 million more metric tons of carbon dioxide being emitted,” according to The Washington Post, which they report “is equivalent to the emissions from running 237 coal power plants for a year.”

SO ANYWAYS. This is one place where we can actually make a difference in reversing the climate crisis, so Gardiner’s tips for citizens who want to affect change are critically important right now.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Apr 06, 202001:14:25
Fun Talk: How Do You Get From the Cast of ‘The Americans’ to “Stevie”?
Apr 01, 202043:01
BEST OF THE BEST: Is COVID-19 America’s Chernobyl?

BEST OF THE BEST: Is COVID-19 America’s Chernobyl?

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-award winning HBO mini-series Chernobyl.

This is the story of what happened in Chernobyl in 1986. And this is what’s happening in the USA right now. This moment, and how we choose to hold these people accountable, means everything.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Mar 30, 202001:28:12
Special Edition: How You Can Help — And (Mostly) Still Stay Home
Mar 27, 202005:55
Fun Talk: Why Was It Embarassing & What Were The Choices You Made to Get Yourself There?
Mar 25, 202030:40
#89: Why Does It Require a PhD in Neuroscience Just to Support a Green New Deal?

#89: Why Does It Require a PhD in Neuroscience Just to Support a Green New Deal?

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. Kreibich campaigned (a lot) for the current representative, Josh Gottheimer. She saw Josh as an opportunity for the district to move forward, but she’s been disillusioned and disappointed by the decisions he’s made in the name of “bipartisanship.” 

So, instead of backing another rich white man who doesn’t actually care, Dr. Kreibich decided to take Gottheimer down herself. WE'RE IN.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com


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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Mar 23, 202001:11:18
Fun Talk: I Sent Tiffani Amber Thiessen a Letter and I Got a Postcard Back
Mar 18, 202031:51
Fun Talk: I’m Going Boys II Men… But I Think N*SYNC Would Be a Little More Ruthless
Mar 18, 202034:13
#88: You Voted for Clean Energy… So Where The Hell Is it?

#88: You Voted for Clean Energy… So Where The Hell Is it?

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 fuels and how you can help burn it all down. The energy system in our country is functioning exactly as it was designed — poorly and toxically — but we do have the ability to reclaim our air, reclaim our water, and reclaim our health if we start working together now.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Mar 16, 202001:16:05
#87: What's In Your Moisturizer, Anyways?

#87: What's In Your Moisturizer, Anyways?

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 bodies is a good thing — a good thing that many other companies in the beauty industry fight vehemently against. There are complicated ingredients in our cosmetics, moisturizers… well, pretty much everything we’re sold to put on our body to make it look or feel better. And these ingredients are increasingly obscured by labeling trickery, like the deceptive word “fragrance” that can hide dozens of potentially dangerous chemicals — and, holy hell, after what we learned in this episode, we are so on board with getting to the bottom of all of it. Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Trump’s Book Club: “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Instagram: www.instagram.com/greggrenfrew Facebook: www.facebook.com/gregg.renfrew www.beautycounter.com The Never List: www.beautycounter.com/the-never-list Want to take action now? Text #betterbeauty to 52886 Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Mar 09, 202001:02:26
Special Edition: How to Survive the Coronavirus (With Your Sanity Intact)
Mar 03, 202025:12
#86: Farming While Black: The Past and The Future

#86: Farming While Black: The Past and The Future

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 start built on some very old roots, carrying on the legacy and wisdom of sustainable African farming traditions. We all benefit from the incredible work that Li and the others at Soul Fire Farm are doing, and this is a piece of historical and ecological education that everyone in the US, in particular, should be aware of. Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Trump’s Book Club: “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: www.soulfirefarm.org www.farmingwhileblack.org Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust: www.nefoclandtrust.org National Black Food and Justice Alliance: www.blackfoodjustice.org Instagram: www.instagram.com/leahpenniman Facebook: www.facebook.com/leah.penniman Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Mar 02, 202057:05
#85: A Blueprint for Fighting Food Waste in Your Community

#85: A Blueprint for Fighting Food Waste in Your Community

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 then consider how many people go hungry every day in the United States, it’s more than a little disheartening. 

But the bright side — and, yes, we know that we wouldn’t need to talk about the bright side of every topic if we didn’t exclusively talk about how our world is going to hell — is that, wherever you might live, you can help get food out of the landfill and onto the plates of people who need it.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com

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Feb 24, 202001:17:11
#84: How is Climate Change (Already) Affecting Immigration to the USA?

#84: How is Climate Change (Already) Affecting Immigration to the USA?

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. Early voting starts Feb. 18th in this district, so get on it Texan Shit Givers!

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 the time last Congress,” according to Jessica’s campaign website. Rick Perry also appointed him to Texas Secretary of State, so that’s a big red flag. On top of all that, Cuellar is one of the top congressional recipients from the oil and gas industry and — surprise, surprise — he has voted for rolling back environmental regulations. Funny how that works.

But here’s the thing: those choices don’t just affect voters in Texas’ 28th district. They affect generations of people in Texas, as well as people from other areas of the world who are already experiencing devastating effects from the climate crisis. But doing the work now to support and vote for people like Jessica will improve the lives of people around the world, for generations.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com

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Feb 17, 202027:58
SPECIAL PREVIEW: Issue #169: CRISPR’ing Cancer, BP Oil, & Democrats Campaigning on Soil

SPECIAL PREVIEW: Issue #169: CRISPR’ing Cancer, BP Oil, & Democrats Campaigning on Soil

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're not stuck on a cruise ship with the coronavirus; we CRISPR'd the first cancer patients; can we trust BP oil?; Democrats are campaigning on fixing our soil

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Feb 14, 202006:24
Introducing the Important, Not Important: Sh*t-Giver Edition!
Feb 12, 202001:59
Fun Talk: You Can’t Be Laying Next to Me, Cuddling, & Then Just Start Licking Your...

Fun Talk: You Can’t Be Laying Next to Me, Cuddling, & Then Just Start Licking Your...

This week's Fun Talk begins with a Quinn and Brian planning their next cannabis-fueled caper — think Cheech & Chong, but with more gentrification. It’s actually one of our most fun topics on Fun Talk, so you’re welcome. 

Reminder: this is the last Fun Talk on our main feed. If you enjoy them, head on over to importantnotimportant.com/shitgiver to subscribe to our new premium, Shit Giver feed!

Also today: Brian shares how things are going at the new restaurant. You still can’t check out their menu online because they don’t have a website, but you can check out their Instagram: @methimatabar. We also touch on our Amazon-sponsored Orwellian future and how even doorbells are spying on you before kinda go off the rails after that, but hey, that’s kinda the point.

FYI: Fun Talk is when we talk about whatever we want, and we stop whenever Brian gets tired. If you want to hear us pondering the many ways we are approaching world-wide catastrophe, check out the episodes that publish on Mondays.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com.


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Feb 12, 202035:54
#83: Knock Knock. Who’s There? Climate Change. Climate Change Who? Climate Change Pooped On Your Head. (A Conversation About Mangroves)

#83: Knock Knock. Who’s There? Climate Change. Climate Change Who? Climate Change Pooped On Your Head. (A Conversation About Mangroves)

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 affects shellfish aquaculture operations within the coastal ocean, as well as a board member at The Rowan Institute and a Forbes contributor writing about ocean science.

Blue Carbon is not an upcoming sequel to the highly-underrated Deep Blue Sea or a spinoff of the Netflix show Altered Carbon. Rather, it’s our best chance of sucking carbon right out of the air, if the man doesn’t keep trying to keep it down. These two more or less cut us out of the conversation — as it should be when we’re talking to two people who actually know what they’re talking about — debating the merits of different solutions to healing our oceans and addressing the climate crisis. But(!) we do make a few jokes. So, you know, we’re doing our part too.

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Nov 05, 201901:34:52
BONUS: Help Dr. Ghazala Hashmi Flip Virginia

BONUS: Help Dr. Ghazala Hashmi Flip Virginia

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 think Brian’s U.S. electoral map Halloween costume looks much better on him in blue (we’re thinking long-term here). Virginia is also Quinn’s home state and we have an opportunity to guide it towards a significantly more kick-ass future with women like Ghazala at the helm! So, if you don’t do it for the future of our nation and world, will you at least do something for Quinn?

Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!

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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Oct 29, 201948:10
#82: Sustainable Trees + Death Metal = Climate Progress

#82: Sustainable Trees + Death Metal = Climate Progress

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 planning, land use, and conservation. She also wants to, through the nursery, provide these materials on a smaller scale to homeowners.

We have a lot of work to do to combat climate change. We need to drastically rebuild our land use from top to bottom, reforesting the world — and before we can even start doing that, we have to stop deforestation. There is no one solution that’s going to solve it all, but we need a diverse portfolio of planning for our ecological future.

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Oct 22, 201901:03:18
#81: Legalizing the Other Weed

#81: Legalizing the Other Weed

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 GreenWave, a nonprofit supporting a new generation of ocean farmers feeding the planet and building a blue-green economy in the era of climate change. Tom Ford is Executive Director of The Bay Foundation, Director of the Santa Monica Bay National Estuary Program, and Co-Director of the Coastal Research Institute at Loyola Marymount University — all of which adds up to him being a super smart guy with a lot of ideas about how we can improve both the ocean and our lives, and as we’ll learn today, some of them are surprisingly cheap and easy! Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: The Lorax & In a Fisherman's Language: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message GreenWave: www.greenwave.org The Bay Foundation: www.santamonicabay.org/ Eat Like a Fish by Bren Smith: www.amazon.com/Eat-Like-Fish-Adventures-Restorative-ebook/dp/B07GMYJJWM “Is Seaweed the Next Superfood?”: www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/02/a-new-leaf Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Oct 08, 201901:16:05
#80: Mosquitoes. The Serial Killers of Nature. Should We Make Them Go Away?

#80: Mosquitoes. The Serial Killers of Nature. Should We Make Them Go Away?

In Episode 80, Quinn & Brian discuss Quinn’s wife’s least favorite thing: Mosquitoes! Our guest is Dr. Natalie Kofler, a trained scientist and the founding director of Editing Nature at Yale University, a global initiative to steer responsible development and deployment of environmental genetic technologies. Dr. Kofler’s work navigates the technical, ecological, and ethical complexity of gene editing applications designed to impact wild species, such as CRISPR-edited mosquitoes to prevent malaria transmission. Dr. Kofler shares a deep level of technical understanding, paired with a heaping helping of compassion and nuance that is really something to behold. We are so happy she’s one of the people leading us into the future, and leading by a much-needed example. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Editing Nature: editingnature.org Twitter: twitter.com/nataliekofler Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Oct 01, 201901:06:59
#79: Air Pollution: The Low Hanging Fruit of Our Hellish Future

#79: Air Pollution: The Low Hanging Fruit of Our Hellish Future

In Episode 79, Quinn & Brian are back to discuss: Optimism in the air (wait... that doesn’t sound like us). Our guest is Beth Gardiner, an environmental journalist and the author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution. We talk about why Beth was driven to write Choked, how we got to the sad state that we’re in on this planet right now, and how we’re actually getting out of it. It’s not improving everywhere, and it could definitely be improving faster, but this is one area where you can actually see and feel change happening. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: “Field Notes from a Catastrophe” by Elizabeth Kolbert: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Read “Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution:” www.amazon.com/Choked-Life-Breath-Age-Pollution/dp/022649585X Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Sep 24, 201901:12:19
#78: How to Be A Better Ancestor

#78: How to Be A Better Ancestor

In Episode 78, Quinn & Brian discuss: Planning for chaos. 

Our guest is Bina Venkataraman, author of the upcoming book The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age and a teacher in the program on Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. 

Fair warning, so you don’t get upset like Brian did: this is not a real telescope. But you should still be excited, like Brian is now, because Bina is awesome and her book sounds fantastic. As you can probably tell from the title of Bina’s book, this is actually a pretty positive episode! Of course, because we can’t let the silver lining distract you from the thundering cumulonimbus above our heads for too long, we will remind you that a book like this is only necessary because we’re pretty much one Instagram filter away from it being Mad Max out there. 

Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! 

Trump’s Book Club: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 


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Preorder The Optimist's Telescope: writerbina.com/the-optimists-telescope 

Twitter: twitter.com/binajv 

Bina’s TEDTalk: ted.com/talks/bina_venkataraman_the_power_to_think_ahead_in_a_reckless_age 


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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com 

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Aug 27, 201901:09:10
BEST OF THE BEST: Where Does Ebola Go From Here?

BEST OF THE BEST: Where Does Ebola Go From Here?

In Episode 62, Quinn & Brian asked: Where does Ebola go from here? Our guest is Karin Huster, a Field Coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, where she is currently bouncing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. She spent a decade in the trauma ICU before flinging herself head first into humanitarian efforts across the globe. She’s sorta the Forest Gump of humanitarian field nurses; if there’s a health-related outbreak, or a storm-related outbreak that turns into a health-related outbreak, she’s there – and she’s inspiring as hell! The latest Ebola outbreak started in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August 2018, which is the worst on record for the DRC and the second largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history. Ebola is a beast of a disease, the kind of thing Hollywood uses as a go-to when they need a horrible disease outbreak. However, we do actually have some experimental drugs for treatment and a promising vaccine, thanks to recent medical advancements, but they don’t seem to be doing a lot to slow the spread of this disease. But why? We get into it in this episode, and Karin explains in further detail in a beautifully written New York Times opinion piece, “Why Couldn’t My Ebola Treatment Center Save This Baby?” Trump’s Book Club: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Support: http://doctorswithoutborders.org “Why Couldn’t My Ebola Treatment Center Save This Baby?”: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/opinion/ebola-treatment-democratic-republic-of-congo.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-huster-a225352/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/reunionislagirl Read all of Karin’s articles: https://muckrack.com/karin-huster/articles Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Aug 20, 201901:12:56
#77: Please, Please, Please Do A Good Job, Colorado

#77: Please, Please, Please Do A Good Job, Colorado

In Episode 77, Quinn & Brian discuss: How Colorado can fix this wholllllle thing with one little election. Our guest is Mike Johnston, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Colorado and the first in our series of conversations about the 2020 elections. The 2020 Senate elections are going to be really important because flipping the Senate is one of the only protections we might have from another four years of a Republican President – or, if we want to think a little more optimistically, it will allow a new President to make more significant and impactful changes to policies that affect everyone, everywhere. Colorado is the state where we're most likely to flip a seat, so it’s really going to set the tone for the rest of the 2020 elections. And we like what Mike has done with his political career so far. As a State Senator, he passed major legislation that opened the doors of college to undocumented students, invested in renewable energy, and won a fight with the NRA to pass common sense gun safety. As Mike said when he announced his campaign, “Colorado deserves a U.S. Senator who will run to our hardest problems and show the leadership to pass real progressive policy.” Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message at anchor.fm/important-not-important/message! Trump’s Book Club: Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America by Helen Thorpe: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Support Mike at https://www.mikejohnstonforcolorado.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikejohnstonco/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeJohnstonCO/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeJohnstonCO These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore: https://www.amazon.com/These-Truths-History-United-States/dp/0393635244 Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant
Aug 13, 201959:24
#76: Save the Corals, Save the World

#76: Save the Corals, Save the World

In Episode 76, Quinn & Brian discuss: What you don’t see (any more) when you snorkel. Our guest is Dr. Kim Cobb, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology who specializes in climate change, specifically how the extremes of climate change are changing in the ocean due to anthropogenic greenhouse gasses. She describes herself as 40% Climate Scientist, 40% Mom, and 20% Indiana Jones, somehow managing to balance research in remote areas of the world with raising four children. So she’s definitely badass, probably super human. Dr. Cobb, like some of our other guests who are researching the future of climate change impacts, is doing so with increasing urgency and desperation in a valiant effort to help us avoid the worst effects of climate change. As science and Dr. Cobb’s body of work are actively attacked by politicians, policy makers, and the public, she and her colleagues are being forced to stand up and scream that we need different policies, now, to keep our communities clean and safe – and we’re happy to at least offer our roof as another place to shout from. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Merchants of Doubt by Erik M. Conway and Naomi Oreskes: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Dr. Cobb’s lab: shadow.eas.gatech.edu/~kcobb Twitter: twitter.com/coralsncaves Citizens’ Climate Lobby: citizensclimatelobby.org Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Aug 06, 201901:07:50
BEST OF THE BEST: It’s Getting Hot in Here, and America’s Poor Are Dying Faster Than Everyone Else

BEST OF THE BEST: It’s Getting Hot in Here, and America’s Poor Are Dying Faster Than Everyone Else

In Episode 50, Quinn & Brian discussed: How D.C. and LA are dealing with urban heat issues.   Our guests are Yesim Sayin Taylor and Molly Peterson. Yesim is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center and Molly is a renowned reporter focusing on the environment and climate change (and our first returning guest!). We all remember when Nelly said, “It’s getting hot in herre,” but not a lot of people remember the whole verse: “It’s getting hot in herre, so take off all your clothes / all of the poor minorities in America are suffering and dying before everybody else / Uh, uh, uh, let it hang all out.” But it’s a shame, really, because if we’d just paid more attention to Nelly’s important message back in 2002, maybe we wouldn’t be facing this problem today. Trump’s Book Club: The Old Man Who Read Love Stories by Luis Sepúlveda Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason Stearns Links: Learn more at https://www.dcpolicycenter.org Yesim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yesimsy Check out https://pactio.us/host/molly-peterson Molly on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mollydacious Greater Greater Washington: https://ggwash.org Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters
Jul 30, 201959:32
#75: Can Zebrafish Beat Childhood Cancer?

#75: Can Zebrafish Beat Childhood Cancer?

In Episode 75, Quinn & Brian discuss: Beating the crap out of childhood cancer with science and... zebrafish? We’re getting really nerdy about beating childhood cancer with 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's Lemonade Stand Foundation, and her job is to help childhood cancer researchers like Dr. Kendall use data to answer some of the most important questions in the field. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: these badasses are trying to beat kid cancer, so if you don’t care or understand why this is important, you’re a monster. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand by Liz Scott, Jay Scott, and Pam Howard & Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade 2019: https://www.alexslemonade.org/event/279/register Jaclyn-taroni.com Dr. Taroni on Twitter: twitter.com/jaclyn_taroni Childhood Cancer Data Lab: ccdatalab.org Dr. Kendall on Twitter: twitter.com/genkendall “Zebrafish expose tumor pathway in childhood muscle cancer”: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2018/zebrafish.html Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Jul 23, 201901:06:33
#74: Incentivizing Those Dirty Capitalists to Solve Climate Change for Us

#74: Incentivizing Those Dirty Capitalists to Solve Climate Change for Us

In Episode 74, Quinn & Brian discuss: Making carbon capture suck more (but this time, with carrots). Our guest is Henry Elkus, the frustratingly young and impossibly optimistic founder of Helena, an organization that assembles “some of the world’s most remarkable people to develop and lead projects that help build a better tomorrow.” They’re a little different from other think-tanks, though, because they focus on one problem at a time, creating projects that aim to operationally address a societal problem. The first project Helena focused on was a carbon capture solution – one of the most positive and lucrative possible solutions for addressing the excess carbon in our atmosphere, which has to be done if we want to slow down and possibly reverse climate catastrophe. They helped build and scale the world’s first commercial carbon capture company, Climeworks, creators of the first carbon capture plant that is carbon net-negative. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com www.helena.org www.climeworks.com Henry on Twitter: www.twitter.com/henryelkus The Elk List: www.instagram.com/elklist Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Jul 16, 201901:11:44
BEST OF THE BEST: What’s It Feel Like To Be Asked To Save the World?

BEST OF THE BEST: What’s It Feel Like To Be Asked To Save the World?

Today’s episode is a rerun of Episode 56, where Quinn & Brian asked: What’s it feel like to be asked to save the world? Our guest is Rhiana Gunn-Wright, who is writing policy and leading the Green New Deal project at New Consensus, which is one of the main think tanks working on the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal is one of the most important pieces of policy being worked on right now, and it could have wide sweeping effects that impact not just our generation but the future for everyone. Conversations around environmental topics tend to get real political real fast, but Rhiana reminds us that this isn’t a political issue – this is not a political game and millions of people will die. Sorry, no joke there, just a stark reality that too many people are happily ignoring. Trump’s Book Club: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Rhiana Gunn-Wright on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rgunns Rhiana Gunn-Wright on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rgunner New Consensus: https://newconsensus.com/ Green New Deal explainer: bit.ly/2tgm66v  The official GND resolution: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109/text Data for Progress GND Report: https://www.dataforprogress.org/green-new-deal Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com
Jul 09, 201901:27:49
#73: Did A.I. Just Make My Life’s Work Obsolete?

#73: Did A.I. Just Make My Life’s Work Obsolete?

In Episode 73, Quinn & Brian ask: Hold On A Minute -- Did A.I. Just Take Our Jobs?  Of course, we aren’t talking about our jobs. If A.I. took our jobs, the show would have won that Webby. We’re talking about really, really important jobs – like curing cancer and slowing down our climate collapse. But we are talking about people like our guest 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 role in it – an attitude so refreshing it’s like stumbling onto a digital oasis in the internet’s hateful and pessimistic desert. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Learn more at https://moalquraishi.wordpress.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/moalquraishi “The Future of Protein Science will not be Supervised”: https://moalquraishi.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/the-future-of-protein-science-will-not-be-supervised/ Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: https://chanzuckerberg.com Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Jul 02, 201901:06:01
#72: The Monsoon Is 11 Days Late

#72: The Monsoon Is 11 Days Late

In Episode 72, Quinn & Brian discuss: Monsoons, food, and people. Our guest is Dr. Deepti Singh, an Assistant Professor in the School of the Environment at Washington State University - Vancouver who is motivated by the potential for climate studies to minimize future disaster risk to vulnerable communities around the world. Because here’s the thing: while there are still many people and governments who are still denying the existence and impact of climate change – or our active climate crisis – it’s already having a noticeable and negative impact on our planet and the people who live on it. And this is, perhaps, the most obvious (really, it’s pretty obvious) when we look at what’s happening to already extreme weather phenomenon, such as monsoons. Good news: we also talk about Dr. Singh’s dog! Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Climate Extremes in a Warming World: https://deeptis47.github.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/climatechirper Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Jun 25, 201901:09:31
#71: Why Raising the Status of Girls Can Change Everything

#71: Why Raising the Status of Girls Can Change Everything

In Episode 71, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why raising the status of girls can help change everything. Our guest is Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, a Vice President at Drawdown, an author, a public speaker, and an expert in just about everything. She’s made a very specific list of all the ways we can and should be fighting climate change and the climate crisis. She even put the list in order for us – and you won’t believe what number six is! So, this episode is pretty much an audio version of a Buzzfeed listicle, except it could literally change everything and save the planet. But you should still share it to Facebook like you would any other Buzzfeed list. That’d be swell. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Dr. Katharine Wilkinson: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Learn more at https://www.drawdown.org Read “Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming” http://www.drawdown.org/the-book Instagram: https://instagram.com/DrKWilkinson Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKWilkinson Watch “How empowering women and girls can help stop global warming”: https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_wilkinson_how_empowering_women_and_girls_can_help_stop_global_warming Mothers of Invention: https://www.mothersofinvention.online Malala Fund: https://www.malala.org Girls Opportunity Alliance: https://www.obama.org/girlsopportunityalliance Marie Stopes International: https://mariestopes.org Pathfinder International: https://www.pathfinder.org Planned Parenthood: https://www.plannedparenthood.org Solar Sister: https://solarsister.org We Do: http://wedo.org Root Capital: https://rootcapital.org Room to Read: https://www.roomtoread.org Camfed: https://camfed.org Study Hall Educational Foundation: https://www.studyhallfoundation.org Komera: https://komera.org/ Akilah Institute: https://www.akilahinstitute.org
Jun 18, 201901:26:16
#70: Who’s Fixing the People Fixing Our Planet?

#70: Who’s Fixing the People Fixing Our Planet?

In Episode 70, Quinn & Brian discuss: 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 is Nikki Silvestri, the founder and CEO of Soil and Shadow, a project development firm designing economic and environmental strategies with human left in. 

As the Co-Founder of Live Real and former Executive Director of People's Grocery and Green for All, Nikki has built and strengthened social equity for underrepresented populations in food systems, social services, public health, climate solutions, and economic development. She is a nationally recognized thought leader and general good doer, including being named as one of The Root's 100 Most Influential African Americans and receiving ELLE Magazine's "Gold" Award and OxFam America's "Act Local, Think Global" Award. 

We don’t hesitate or feel like we’re overselling things when we say that what Nikki has to say is something that most people need to hear, and this could be a truly transformative message if it falls on the right ears. Brian said it, Quinn took credit for it, and now we hope you take it to heart. 

Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! 

Trump’s Book Club: I Hate You - Don't Leave Me by Hal Straus and Jerold Jay Kreisman: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 

Links: Have feedback or questions? 

Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com 

https://www.soilandshadow.com 

https://www.nikkisilvestri.com 

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

Connect with us: 

Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! 

Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant 

Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message 

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett 

Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken 

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp 

Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant 

Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant 

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Jun 11, 201901:27:38
#69: Rebuilding Los Angeles & L.A.’s Green New Deal

#69: Rebuilding Los Angeles & L.A.’s Green New Deal

In Episode 69, Quinn & Brian discuss: Rebuilding Los Angeles and L.A.’s Green New Deal. Our guest is Jeanalee Obergfell, who works just down the street from Important, Not Important HQ as a City Planning Associate for Los Angeles. When it comes to making L.A. greener and more equitable, you know Jeanalee is either helping someone’s cause or leading the charge. Really, if the Game of Thrones were the game of creating more equitable housing and transportation options in a less hot and more breathable city (as opposed to literally burning all of the infrastructure and citizens, like some people), Jeanalee would be sitting on the Iron Throne. But, will real life end better than the show? For our sake, we sure hope so.  Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Laudato Si’—On Care For Our Common Home by Pope Francis: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com L.A.’s Green New Deal: http://plan.lamayor.org/ Food Forward: https://foodforward.org/ SEE-LA: https://seela.org/ S T A N D - L.A.: https://www.stand.la/ Los Angeles Food Policy Council: https://www.goodfoodla.org League of Conservation Voters: http://lalcv.org/ Sierra Club: https://angeles.sierraclub.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanalee-obergfell/ Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Jun 04, 201901:09:38
#68: Let’s Send Our Homework into Space

#68: Let’s Send Our Homework into Space

In Episode 68, Quinn & Brian discuss: Sending our homework to space. Our guest is Michelle Lucas, an actual rocket scientist and the founder of Higher Orbits. Michelle spent 10 years at NASA, where part of her role involved teaching astronauts how to... you know, do space stuff. And now, at Higher Orbits, she’s teaching young people who aren’t astronauts yet, but might be, some day, because of her! Now, this isn’t an episode about how to get away with not doing your homework. On the contrary, this is an episode that might actually make a kid want to do their homework – because, this time, an actual astronaut in space might help them finish it. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Learn more at https://higherorbits.org Donate: https://higherorbits.org/donate/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/spacechelle Failure Must Be An Option | Michelle Lucas | TEDxFargo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K_uEYVNHAc Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
May 28, 201901:12:30
#67: Is Climate Change "Flippable"?

#67: Is Climate Change "Flippable"?

In Episode 67, Quinn & Brian ask: Is Climate Change "Flippable"?. Our guest is Catherine Vaughan, CEO and Co-Founder of Flippable, an organization dedicated to flipping state governments from red to blue. You may not be surprised that Catherine is, indeed, one of the people trying to make a positive change by getting states back on the light side of the Force. So, when it comes to things like climate change, cancer, clean energy, (the Presidency,) artificial intelligence... are those things Flippable? The answer better be yes, or this is going to be a very depressing episode. So, pay attention today, because the answer just might help us get on the right track to an even better place – not to where we were or are, obviously, because that place was and is not great. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Learn more at https://flippable.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flippableorg/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flippableorg/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cv0 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-vaughan-759a649/ One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson: https://www.amazon.com/One-Person-Vote-Suppression-Destroying/dp/1635571375 Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
May 21, 201901:15:55
#66: So We Can’t Just Blow Up Asteroids, Then?

#66: So We Can’t Just Blow Up Asteroids, Then?

In Episode 66, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why, apparently, we can't -- and further -- shouldn’t just blow up asteroids. Our guest is Professor K.T. Ramesh, who is a professor of mechanical engineering at John Hopkins, founding director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI), and our new hero. You can think of HEMI as a real-life Avengers (no, we’re not just stuck on Endgame), except every member is like Bruce Banner without all the Hulk-iness or Tony Stark if he was never kidnapped by terrorists. Every day, they’re working to protect people, structures, and the planet, exploring a number of topics that are both critically important and impenetrably complicated.  One of their newest studies reveals that Hollywood and Atari may, in fact, have been incorrect when they repeatedly suggested that one viable way to defend the planet from an incoming asteroid would be blowing it up. We don’t know about you, but we certainly feel lied to – so it’s refreshing to have this conversation with Professor Ramesh to set the record straight. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: These Truths by Jill Lepore: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3\ Links: Learn more about Professor Ramesh & HEMI: https://hemi.jhu.edu/the-hemi-team/leadership/k-t-ramesh/ “If We Blow Up an Asteroid, It Might Put Itself Back Together”: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/science/asteroids-nuclear-weapons.html Twitter: https://twitter.com/jhu_hemi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HopkinsExtreme/ Listen to Radiolab’s Dinopocalypse ep: https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/dinopocalypse Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission: https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/dart Watch Brian’s morning show on IGS: https://www.instagram.com/importantnotimportant Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
May 14, 201901:03:26
#65: Chernobyl: A Preventable and Rare Accident from the Past or a Vivid Picture of Our Hellish Nuclear Future?

#65: Chernobyl: A Preventable and Rare Accident from the Past or a Vivid Picture of Our Hellish Nuclear Future?

In Episode 65, Quinn asks: Is Chernobyl a preventable and rare accident from the past or a vivid picture of our hellish nuclear future?
Our guest is Craig Mazin, a screenwriter, podcaster, and the creator of a new HBO mini-series called Chernobyl – which is debuting TODAY, May 6th. So, if you currently have an account just to watch Game of Thrones, you’re in luck!
We’ve had some accidents, but we’ve learned from them... right? We answer that question, talk about the how and why of nuclear power (and disaster), and take a gander into the future of energy.

Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!

Trump’s Book Club:

Final Exit by Derek Humphry

Links:

Watch Chernobyl (2019):
www.hbo.com/chernobyl
Chernobyl companion podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chernobyl-podcast/id1459712981
Scriptnotes podcast: scriptnotes.net/
Ted Cruz’s Ex-Roommate (i.e. Craig) Shares ‘Misery’ Of Living With Him, After Porn Clip ‘Like’: www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-roommate-porn-craig-mazin_n_59b7cff4e4b031cc65cc995d

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Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!
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Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
May 06, 201901:23:55
#64: Sunrise Movement Tour - Live (ish) in LA!

#64: Sunrise Movement Tour - Live (ish) in LA!

In a very special Episode 64, Quinn & Brian discuss (live! Kind of): everything that’s good at the Sunrise Movement Tour (and everything that’s not-so-good in the local communities)! Our guests are politician and native Hawaiian Kaniela Ing, environmental activist Michelle Cerecerez, native activist Miguel Quimichipilli Bravo, and LA City Councilmember Nury Martinez. We make some new friends and have a lot of fun while we chat about the Green New Deal, supporting indigenous people, the scars of hyper gentrification, being surprised when you meet people with basic consideration for other human beings, environmental racism, and all of the important work that Sunrise Movement is doing here in California. Links: Join the Sunrise Movement Tour: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/tour Kaniela Ing: https://www.kanielaing.com/ Michelle Cerecerez: https://www.calfac.org/person/michelle-cerecerez Miguel Quimichipilli Bravo: https://twitter.com/ogBravo1 Nury Martinez: http://www.nury-martinez.com/ Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Apr 30, 201917:02
#63: Green Acres: Farming for Millennials and Other People Who Like Food

#63: Green Acres: Farming for Millennials and Other People Who Like Food

In Episode 63, Quinn & Brian discuss: Building a new pipeline of sustainable food growers. Our guest is Dena Leibman, the Executive Director of the Future Harvest Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (or Future Harvest for short), a non-profit that works to build a sustainable Chesapeake Foodshed from farm and fishery to table. But Dena is one to practice what she preaches – or a workaholic – so the Leibman family also started ZigBone Farm Retreat, a 100-acre sheep and goat farm in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains that they are slowly converting into a naturally built retreat center and event space. And you know what’s really cool? Food without a bunch of shit in it, literally and figuratively; food that keeps us healthy instead of making us sick; food that makes us stronger, faster, and generally more like The Six Million Dollar Man. Today, we learn where our current food pipeline fails us – and what we can do to start supporting more sustainable farming and distribution practices today. Trump’s Book Club: He’s maybe not reachable by book, but we try: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Future Harvest: https://www.futureharvestcasa.org/ Beginner Farmer Training Program: https://www.futureharvestcasa.org/new-farmers/how-apply Foodshed Field School: https://www.futureharvestcasa.org/foodshed-field-school Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FHCASA/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fhcasa/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ Find a local CSA: https://www.localharvest.org/csa/ Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Apr 23, 201952:28
#62: Where Does Ebola Go From Here?

#62: Where Does Ebola Go From Here?

In Episode 62, Quinn & Brian ask: Where does Ebola go from here? Our guest is Karin Huster, a Field Coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, where she is currently bouncing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. She spent a decade in the trauma ICU before flinging herself head first into humanitarian efforts across the globe. She’s sorta the Forest Gump of humanitarian field nurses; if there’s a health-related outbreak, or a storm-related outbreak that turns into a health-related outbreak, she’s there – and she’s inspiring as hell! The latest Ebola outbreak started in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August 2018, which is the worst on record for the DRC and the second largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history. Ebola is a beast of a disease, the kind of thing Hollywood uses as a go-to when they need a horrible disease outbreak. However, we do actually have some experimental drugs for treatment and a promising vaccine, thanks to recent medical advancements, but they don’t seem to be doing a lot to slow the spread of this disease. But why? We get into it in this episode, and Karin explains in further detail in a beautifully written New York Times opinion piece, “Why Couldn’t My Ebola Treatment Center Save This Baby?” Trump’s Book Club: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Support: http://doctorswithoutborders.org “Why Couldn’t My Ebola Treatment Center Save This Baby?”: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/opinion/ebola-treatment-democratic-republic-of-congo.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-huster-a225352/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/reunionislagirl Read all of Karin’s articles: https://muckrack.com/karin-huster/articles Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Apr 16, 201901:13:40
#61: How Do We Atone for Poisoning Generations of American Minorities?

#61: How Do We Atone for Poisoning Generations of American Minorities?

In Episode 61, Quinn & Brian ask: How do we atone for poisoning generations of American minorities? Our guest is Dr. Michael Dorsey, a recognized expert on global energy, finance and sustainability matters. Dr. Dorsey holds Rotary International’s highest honor, The Paul Harris Medal for Distinguished Service to Humanity, and is a “full member” of the Club of Rome. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Yale, and Johns Hopkins University, he is currently Senior Program Officer for Sustainability at the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Dr. Dorsey is out there making change wherever he goes – which is just about everywhere, really – and today, he’s going to hold our hands and walk us through the history of environmental injustice in the United States (and beyond) – and how, ultimately, we can work together to make things better for future generations. We also have some BIG news to announce: we have been nominated as Best Podcast Host in the 2019 Webbys! We are so incredibly honored to be nominated with the likes of Serial, Conversations With People Who Hate Me, Ear Biscuits, and Pod Save The People. We’re the only independent podcast on the list, and with your help, maybe we won’t come in last! (Just kidding... kinda.) You can show us your support by going to importantnotimportant.com/vote! Trump’s Book Club: The Book of Embraces by Eduardo Galeano: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Dr. Dorsey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreenHejira Detroit XPAC: Detroitxpac.org Watch Michael K. Dorsey discuss innovations in the energy sector: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta46deJf1Nc Climate Working Group: http://apa.nyu.edu/climate-working-group/ Vote for us in the Webbys! importantnotimportant.com/vote Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Apr 09, 201901:15:20
#60: Why You Should Run For Something in 2020

#60: Why You Should Run For Something in 2020

In Episode 60, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why YOU should run for something in 2020! Our guest is Amanda Litman, the co-founder and Executive Director of Run For Something, a PAC that helps recruit and support young diverse progressives to run for down-ballot races in order to build a bench for the future. They aim to lower the barriers to entry for these candidates – which could and should be you, unless you’re a white guy (because we have plenty of those) – by helping them with seed money, organization building, and access to training. According to Run For Something’s strategic plan, their mission is to change the face of progressive politics, quite literally, by encouraging and supporting local candidates who can improve lives today, and who may be able to run for office on a national level in the future. They will never merge with the Democratic Party, and they never plan to support candidates in federal races – they are just here to create a much-needed, long-lasting infrastructure for regular people who just want to solve problems in their communities, but who have trouble finding resources because they’re not already part of the existing political system. Trump’s Book Club: What Happened by Hillary Clinton: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Learn more at https://runforsomething.net/ Run For Something’s strategic plan: https://medium.com/@runforsomething/run-for-somethings-2019-2020-strategic-plan-a272e5633849 Amanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandalitman Run for Something: A Real-Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself by Amanda Litman & HIllary Rodham Clinton: https://runforsomething.net/book/ “Improving Building Codes to Prepare for Climate Impacts”: https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/building-codes-climate/ Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
Apr 02, 201901:01:36
#59: Is Florida the Harbinger of Doom? (Probably)

#59: Is Florida the Harbinger of Doom? (Probably)

In Episode 59, Quinn & Brian ask: Is Florida the harbinger of doom? (Probably) Our guest is Dr. Salvador Almagro-Moreno, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Central Florida. His lab, The Moreno Lab, lies at the interface between ecology and pathogenesis, studying the emergence and evolution of bacterial pathogens. From what we can tell, this means they’re focusing on how and why bacteria want to eat and/or kill us. This episode contains what has to be some of the most scientifically-laden potty talk you’ve ever heard as we learn more about the good, the bad, and the ugly awaiting us in our poop and the water. But don’t get us wrong, this is some serious shit. We’ll also spoil one big takeaway from this episode now, and we hope you take it to heart: do NOT retire to Florida. Trump’s Book Club: Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations by Thomas Friedman: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links:  Learn more at http://vibriocholerae.org/  Florida Man: https://floridaman.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bioetry  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SalvadorAlmagroMoreno  The toxic consequences of polluting our coasts | Salvador Almagro-Moreno | TEDxOrlando: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXqJO5IJFQc The Darwin Awards: https://darwinawards.com/ “The Midwest flooding has killed livestock, ruined harvests and has farmers worried for their future”: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/21/us/floods-nebraska-iowa-agriculture-farm-loss/index.html Connect with us:  Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!  Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett  Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken  Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant  Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant  Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp  Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant  Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters
Mar 26, 201901:14:25
#58: Is Faith Sustainable?

#58: Is Faith Sustainable?

In Episode 58, Quinn & Brian ask: Is faith sustainable? Our guest is Dekila Chungyalpa, a trained scientist and Buddhist operating at the intersection of science, faith, and the environment. She is the director of The Loka Initiative, a new and innovative education and outreach program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for faith leaders and religious institutions. Its mission is to support faith-led environmental efforts locally and around the world through collaborations with faith leaders and religious institutions on environmental protection, sustainable development, and global health issues. Dekila believes that science and religion can be sympathetic, rather than adversarial, in their commitment to solving environmental and social problems compassionately and effectively. We are all different, in oh so very many ways, but there’s one thing that that every single human being has in common: if we destroy the planet through our own negligence, there will be nowhere left for us to argue about (and kill each other over) religion and politics. Trump’s Book Club: The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness by Eric T. Swanson and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links:  Loka Initiative: https://centerhealthyminds.org/loka-initiative  Twitter: https://twitter.com/dchungyalpa  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dekilachungyalpa/  Episode #4: What does the bible say about climate change?: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/podcast/2018/2/13/e-4-what-does-the-bible-say-about-climate-change-  Episode #29: The Pope Has Decided to Fix Climate Change With His Own Bare Hands: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/podcast/2018/08/07-e-29-the-pope-has-decided-to-fix-climate-change-with-his-own-bare-hands Being  Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh: https://www.amazon.com/Being-Peace-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/dp/188837540X Connect with us:  Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!  Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com  Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett  Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken  Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant  Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant  Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp  Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant  Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters
Mar 19, 201901:16:53
BONUS REPLAY: Is Food Waste the Stupidest Thing We Do (& How Do We Cut it in Half)?

BONUS REPLAY: Is Food Waste the Stupidest Thing We Do (& How Do We Cut it in Half)?

We’re digging into our vault and playing a hit this week because there’s big news for former guest Dr. James Rogers and his company Apeel Sciences: Fast Company named Apeel the 7th most innovative company on their list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2019 (and the 2nd most innovative company in the food sector). In this bonus replay episode, Quinn & Brian ask: Is food waste the stupidest thing we do, as a species, and how can we cut it in half? (or: avocado toast is about to go off, son) Our guest is 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. Apeel Sciences is an agricultural innovation company that creates plant-based technologies to extend the shelf life of fresh produce – like an organic rinse that keeps produce fresh twice as long! These innovations are vital for our survival because, as we said in the title, food waste is quite possibly the stupidest thing our species does. And all of you American Exceptionalism fans out there will be pumped to know that we are the very best, wasting about $165 BILLION of food every year. That means almost 40% of the food produced in the U.S. is never eaten. It’s staggering and a little heartbreaking, but Dr. Rogers is here to help. Trump’s Book Club: An Apeel avocado: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: apeelsciences.com 50 Most Innovative Companies: https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2019 Connect with James on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/james-rogers-801a572a/ Instagram: @apeelsciences Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apeelsciences/ Twitter: @apeelsciences The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food by Dan Barber: https://www.thethirdplate.com/ Learn about the egg biome: ginkgobioworks.com/ Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters
Mar 12, 201959:16
#57: Make Food Great (Nutritious) Again

#57: Make Food Great (Nutritious) Again

In Episode 57, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why more food ≠ more nutrition. Our excellent guests are Professors Kristie Ebi and Irakli Loladze.  Dr. Ebi is the Rohm & Haas Endowed Professorship in Public Health Sciences at the University of Washington, where she has been conducting research and practice on the health risks of climate variability and change for over twenty years. She focuses on understanding sources of vulnerability, estimating current and future health risks of climate change, and designing adaptation policies and measures to reduce the risks of climate change in multi-stressor environments.  Dr. Loladze is a professor of health sciences at the Bryan Medical Center at Bryan College, where he applies mathematical, computational, and statistical methods to life sciences – which is to say, he’s a math biologist.  Dr. Ebi recently testified in front of Congress – specifically, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology – in the first of a series of hearings on climate science and why it matters (a series of conversations we’re pretty surprised and excited are actually happening at all, if you need any more evidence that your vote matters). She was speaking about the health implications, which Dr. Loladze has also spent much of his life studying. In fact, he linked rising CO2 levels to the quality of human nutrition and obesity, revealing that some of the advancements that allow us to grow more food also reduce the nutritional quality of those foods.  But you want to know what’s really screwed up about the whole situation? These two don’t have any funding for this potentially world-saving research.  Trump’s Book Club: Einstein in Love: A Scientific Romance by Dennis Overbye: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3  Links:  Irakli Loladze on Twitter: https://twitter.com/loladze  Kristie Ebi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristie_ebi  “The great nutrient collapse”: https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/food-nutrients-carbon-dioxide-000511  “Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels this century will alter the protein, micronutrients, and vitamin content of rice grains with potential health consequences for the poorest rice-dependent countries”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5966189/  “Hidden shift of the ionome of plants exposed to elevated CO2 depletes minerals at the base of human nutrition”: https://lens.elifesciences.org/02245/  “Plague of plenty”: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17623715-200-plague-of-plenty/  “Net Farm Income Projected to Drop to 12-Year Low”: https://www.fb.org/market-intel/net-farm-income-projected-to-drop-to-12-year-low  “Why Is the Cold Weather So Extreme if the Earth Is Warming?”: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/climate/winter-cold-weather.html  The Tantrum That Saved the World: Carbon Neutral Kids' Book: http://michaelmann.net/content/tantrum-saved-world-carbon-neutral-kids-book  Connect with us:  Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!  Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com  Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett  Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken  Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant  Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant  Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp  Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant  Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com  Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters
Mar 05, 201901:18:15
#56: What’s It Feel Like To Be Asked To Save the World?

#56: What’s It Feel Like To Be Asked To Save the World?

In Episode 56, Quinn & Brian ask: What’s it feel like to be asked to save the world? Our guest is Rhiana Gunn-Wright, who is writing policy and leading the Green New Deal project at New Consensus, which is one of the main think tanks working on the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal is one of the most important pieces of policy being worked on right now, and it could have wide sweeping effects that impact not just our generation but the future for everyone. Conversations around environmental topics tend to get real political real fast, but Rhiana reminds us that this isn’t a political issue – this is not a political game and millions of people will die. Sorry, no joke there, just a stark reality that too many people are happily ignoring. Trump’s Book Club: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Rhiana Gunn-Wright on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rgunns Rhiana Gunn-Wright on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rgunner New Consensus: https://newconsensus.com/ Green New Deal explainer: bit.ly/2tgm66v  The official GND resolution: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109/text Data for Progress GND Report: https://www.dataforprogress.org/green-new-deal Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters
Feb 26, 201901:24:21