Climate Change and Happiness

We give language to what you feel about the climate crisis—and also what you might want to feel, feelings you can grow and cultivate. This supports your resilience and your mental health and wellbeing. We invite other experts to join us in our conversations, and we hope you can join us too.

Climate Change and Happiness is a education podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Climate Change and Happiness, a education show with 100 episodes published.

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  Episode #1

  Season 6, Episode 1: Revisiting “On the Birth of Climate Therapy” with Rosemary Randall

  Sep 15, 202645 minS6

  Panu and I wanted to share a classic interview with UK therapist and writer Rosemary “Ro” Randall. 20 years ago, Ro led some of the first public therapeutic groups to address people’s troubled feelings of guilt and despair about human-caused climate breakdown. These “Carbon Conversations” groups highlighted the struggle to live ethically in societies that continue to feed the problem. The groups were the forerunner of the global “climate café” movement, grassroots programs like the Good Grief Network, and a variety of climate-conscious counseling and therapy initiatives like the UK and US Climate Psychology Alliance. Randall’s work adapting William Worden’s research on the tasks of grief remains a model for creating theoretically and empirically grounded climate mental health care approaches.

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  Episode #24

  Season 5, Episode 24: Reprise Episode From 2022 “Holding Space”

  Aug 7, 202632 minS5

  Here at the Climate Change and Happiness podcast, Panu and I are looking back at some of our earliest episodes. And this is a great example: Our second episode from 2022 that focuses on a core mission of our podcast, that of “holding space” – for climate emotions, for healthy sensibility and consciousness, and for creative action. Listen and look back on what at the time seemed a bit strange, and even controversial: Thinking about happiness in the context of your work addressing climate breakdown. And , as you listen, see how far you and we have come in our understanding of what healthy life and coping can be. (And in this season of talk about Odysseus, it's interesting that we were talking about the Greek concept of “thumos” or passion, courage and life force back then!) Original Summary: Safe spaces are crucial for the expression of climate feelings. Thomas and Panu talk about the loneliness people feel about climate experiences. What does it take to “hold space” for climate feelings, to “stand one’s ground” and “contain” experiences of sadness, grief or rage; and to practice “climate cosmopolitanism”? Panu looks back to pioneering work by Chellis Glendinning and shares Tim Jensen’s more recent concept of “ecologies of guilt.” Thomas reminds us of the role of values and that “We hurt where we care” echoing the writing of psychologist Steven Hayes, and classic insights about the “pains of an ecological education” going back to Aldo Leopold.

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  Episode #23

  Season 5, Episode 23: A New Edition of Ecotherapy and Remembering Martin Jordan — With Hayley Marshall & Joe Hinds

  Jul 22, 202640 minS5

  Thomas Doherty was joined by Haley Marshall and Joe Hinds, editors of the new edition of Ecotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, and Education, of which Thomas authored the first chapter. The trio reflected on the science and stories behind ecotherapy’s rise from the margins to mainstream practice, and remembered their colleague, pioneering UK ecotherapist, Martin Jordan. Contrary to common misconceptions, outdoor or ecotherapy is neither new, nor unstudied. Thinkers like Martin, Hayley, Joe, Thomas and others have been clarifying and building best practices in this field for decades. This episode is an essential listen for those seeking a solid background on the history and development of mental health therapy in the outdoors.

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  Episode #22

  Season 5, Episode 22: “The Body Keeps the Storm” with Clayton Aldern

  Jul 6, 202635 minS5

  Climate change is not just happening around us, but also inside of us. Thomas and Panu join journalist Clay Aldern who explains how heat, storms, and other climate shocks can shape our minds and bodies in surprising ways. Their talk focused on climate trauma, eco-anxiety, and epigenetics — the idea that stress can leave marks on our biology and may even affect future generations. As Clay noted, “The climate’s always kind of reaching in and adding a little more weight.” This captures the episode’s core message: the environment is not distant; it is part of us. This episode is very relevant for anyone trying to make sense of climate stress about summer heat.

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  Episode #21

  Season 5, Episode 21: “Earth From Above” – The Psychology of Seeing Our Planet From Higher Perspectives 

  Jun 24, 20261 minS5

  Thomas and Panu unpacked the emotional and psychological effects we experience when we have an opportunity to see our planet and lands from on high. Artificial borders disappear and natural and human systems and patterns are revealed. Artists, explorers, and land and species protectors have long used visions of “Earth from Above” to raise our awareness and consciousness, and you can expand your own vision too.

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