Here in America, we like stories with happy endings. Our media usually comes with a clear message and unanswered questions make us uncomfortable. But Paul Greenberg knows that there’s no simple answer to complex problems like climate change.
Paul is the award-winning food and environmental writer behind titles like The Climate Diet, American Catch, and Four Fish. On this bonus episode of Reversing Climate Change, Paul rejoins Ross to discuss his new podcast, Fish Talk, and reflect on the advantages of podcasting as a medium for open-ended storytelling around complex issues.
Paul describes the homesteading and terrace garden projects he’s working on right now, explaining why he's cautious about monetizing his hobbies and if and how a friendlier form of capitalism might support creatives. Listen in for Paul's insight on how our political system informs the way we approach both storytelling and complex challenges such as overfishing and climate change.
Key Takeaways
[2:33] The themes of environmentalism, eating and catching fish featured on Fish Talk
[7:37] Paul's take on the advantages of podcasting as a medium vs. journalism or documentary filmmaking
[12:40] How happy endings are part of the American capitalist model of storytelling (and why that won’t work for the climate crisis)
[17:03] How Paul thinks about eco-Leninism and how the role of journalism in society has changed
[21:32] Why it's so challenging for the US to reach a consensus on big issues like COVID and climate change
[25:08] How we fixed our overfishing problem in the US (and how that problem compares to the climate crisis)
[27:56] How we outsource our polluting industries to China and what might happen if the Chinese decide they want a clean environment
[29:52] The homesteading and terrace garden writing projects Paul is considering right now
[34:27] Why the idea of a deep meditation on his climate safe acre in the Adirondacks appeals to Paul
[39:37] Paul’s commitment to deprogram himself from the relentless selling he grew up with
[44:01] How a friendlier form of capitalism might support creatives
[45:23] Why Paul likes homesteaders Helen and Scott Nearing’s ideal way to organize a day
[48:42] The danger in monetizing our hobbies
[50:43] How Succession and the Monty Python films successfully critique capitalism and religion
Connect with Ross
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
Paul on Reversing Climate Change S2EP61
Monty Python’s Almost the Truth on Netflix
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