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PODCAST

The Most Important Question

Important, Not Important

Science for people who give a sh*t. Want to feel better AND unf*ck the world? The 6-time Webby nominee delivers deep conversations with the world"s smartest people (scientists, doctors, CEO"s, farmers, and more!), and digestible news updates every single week, to help you answer the world"s most important question: What can I do? We"re talkin" clean energy and coral reefs, COVID vaccines and pediatric cancer research, clean water and carbon capture tech, asteroid deflection and artificial

science documentary

All Episodes

56:21

Table To Farm

The Most Important Question ·

2025/04/14

Sometimes you buy organic, sometimes you hit a restaurant that's plant-based, or at least you choose the veggie option. Maybe the fish option at the market or the restaurant is marketed as being sustainable. Maybe you compost. It's all useful. But we've been doing it for a while and it's not moving the needle for climate, for restaurants, for farmers, for our health.So anyone who gives a shit wants to know, what can I actually do to scale regenerative agriculture to benefit everyone?My guest today

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44:10

History's "Viral" Lessons We Keep Ignoring

The Most Important Question ·

2025/04/07

We've spent the last few years learning up close how a crisis like a global pandemic reveals and deepens all of our faults, inequalities, biases, and outright failures of empathy. But here's the kicker: it's not the first time. Plagues and epidemics have always shown us who we really are. And they've left footprints, good and bad, on our institutions and the stories we tell ourselves.So why do we keep missing the lessons?My guest today is Edna Bonhomme, a historian, author, and public health expert

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22:53

You Might Also Like: The Hidden Economics of...

The Most Important Question ·

2025/03/31

The United States has long been the largest aid donor in the world, accounting for about 40 percent of humanitarian assistance globally last year, according to the United Nations. But that is quickly changing.Most U.S. foreign aid is currently on hold. Thousands of projects are at risk of elimination. And nearly all staff from the U.S. Agency for International Development are on administrative leave.How did we get to this moment? And what has been the impact of the foreign aid freeze so far,

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22:17

Essay: Give A Little

The Most Important Question ·

2025/03/28

This week: You’ve never had a better opportunity to improve one person’s life than you do right now.I would argue, in fact, that there’s never been a better time to improve one person’s life than there is today.Sounds crazy, right, considering all the destructive nonsense?Here's What You Can Do:DonatetoMatriarchto help progressive working women run for office and win.Volunteerwith your local Surfrider chapterto protect your waterways and reduce plastic pollution.Get educated abouthow you can start

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46:38

Don't Move The Goalposts

The Most Important Question ·

2025/03/24

One of the ways this Trump administration is different from the last is, relatively at least, how much more unconstitutional, how much more organized and comprehensive the attacks on our institutions, particularly the scaffolding we built for ourselves the most precious parts of of our societies: immigration, agriculture, the VA, NIH, the CDC, the NSF and humanitarian work around the globe.Do some of these need reform? Of course, they do. Is this the way to do it? No, it is not. These institutions,

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01:06:30

Going Quietly Is Not An Option

The Most Important Question ·

2025/03/17

We didn't always call our work science for people who give a shit. But ever since we did, we've welcomed at least two types of people to our flock. The first is people who are deeply invested in science, but are unsure how to tie it into measurable action on the human level. And the second is people already fighting for a healthier, more equitable society, but who are curious about the evolving science behind our complex systems.They all want to know a version of the most important question, what

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50:15

No Country for Poor Men (or Women)

The Most Important Question ·

2025/03/03

What can we do about land power? It's the most important question and my guest today is Mike Albertus. Mike is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. He's the author of the new book, Land Power. Who has it? Who doesn't? And how that determines the fate of societies.In the book, Mike examines how land became power, how it shapes power today still, and how who holds that power determines the fundamental social problems that societies grapple with. Mike studies how countries

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12:04

Essay: The Story of Not Right Now

The Most Important Question ·

2025/02/25

This week: Not. Right. Now.I hope you enjoy our new show. It’s super, superinformal, and fun, and full of profanity, and personal, and — I hope — something you or a parent in your life can identify with, and maybe get some relief from.It’s intentionally and decidedly NOT an advice show.It is a once-a-week parasocial commiseration session about trying to raise kids and continue to be a human and maybe even a partner amid…all of this.Listen to Not Right Now here https://www.notrightnow.show/Read

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59:34

Push Them Down

The Most Important Question ·

2025/02/20

Please enjoy the debut episode from our new show, Not Right Now. Every week, Claire (Evil Witches) and Quinn (Important, Not Important) dive into the chaotic reality of raising tiny humans in these wild times. From behavioral reflection forms and schoolyard diplomacy to the eternal question of "how many water bottles does one child need?", we explore the messy, hilarious, and occasionally terrifying truth about modern parenting. Plus: why every parent should have friends who don't make you add

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01:18

Introducing: Not Right Now

The Most Important Question ·

2025/02/14

Not Right Now is a podcast for parents navigating the impossible task of raising kids while *gestures wildly at everything*. Join Quinn Emmett (Important, Not Important) and Claire Zulkey (Evil Witches) for honest conversations about parenting in an era of climate change, artificial intelligence, social media anxiety, all while trying to get your kid to just please put on their shoes. From discussing how to talk to kids about the news without traumatizing them (or yourself), to debating the right

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19:25

Essay: Have Mercy

The Most Important Question ·

2025/02/10

This week: I’m not religious. But I did (barely) successfully major in religious studies.For better and often for worse, the history of faith and organized religion has been the backbone of human history, political science, culture, wars, sexual ethics, and more.Subtle or not, religion and faith are most often the answer to why people do what they do, and to how we got here, even now as the west barrels towards majority secularism.Here's What You Can Do:Donate to the Climate Justice Alliance to

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26:52

Essay: Build Something Useful

The Most Important Question ·

2025/02/03

This week: You're wasting your talent on bullshit while the world burns.You — yes, you — can actually use your very unique set of skills for good. Even and especially at scale, even — yes — right now.Here's What You Can Do:Donate to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help get Zuckerberg’s grubby little paws off of your data.Volunteer with Tech Shift and start creating technology that actually contributes to the betterment of humanity.🌎️ Get educated about social media, deepfakes, misinformation,

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41:08

We Need To Talk About Bird Flu

The Most Important Question ·

2025/01/27

We (Quinn) has been avoiding this question for quite a while. I even wrote a few thousand words about it a couple months ago and didn't publish it because it was a bit of a downer. But that's kind of malpractice in a way because we promised we don't shy away from the hard stuff even if the goal is to help you understand what you can do about it. Just like there's never really an optimal time in your life to get married, or have a baby, or get arrested, there's never a good time to talk about bird

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11:05

Essay: Start where you are. Use what you have. Do...

The Most Important Question ·

2025/01/13

This week: Be prepared — because these fires that are still burning are only the beginning. Start somewhere, start right in front of you, do what you can.Here's What You Can Do:LA isn’t the only place suffering this week, but it was home for a long time, sohere’s vetted ways you can contributeright now, from near or afar.Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.comSupport our work and become a Member at importantnotimportant.com/upgradeGet our merchGot feedback

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21:24

Essay: About 2025

The Most Important Question ·

2025/01/06

This week: It’s been a minute. Thanks for your patience. Please check out my 2025 preview, and if you’d be so kind, share it widely.Here's What You Can Do:DonatetoEverytownto support their efforts to end gun violence, community by community.VolunteerwithCommunities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW)to build the supports your community needs to respond to climate impacts.Get educated abouthow you can run for a local office and make a huge, direct impact on peoples lives usingRun For Something’s

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01:02:18

Bridging Misinformation Gaps with Local Journalism

The Most Important Question ·

2024/11/11

What's the missing link in local journalism? That's today's big question, and my guest is Lyndsey Gilpin. Lyndsey is the Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Grist. Lyndsey was the founder and executive editor at Southerly, a nonprofit media organization that equipped people who face environmental injustices and are at most at risk of climate change effects with journalism and resources on natural disasters, pollution, food, energy, and more.It was very groundbreaking, and now she's brought

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09:41

Essay: Only 86,000 To Go. You in?

The Most Important Question ·

2024/11/01

This week: This entire (short!) episode is a call to action. It's time to do this thing...do the thing, but also take care of yourselves and your loved ones these next couple weeks. It's a lot right now.Here's What You Can Do:Donateto the groups that are on the ground every day organizing and fighting for a better, stronger democracy (go)Volunteerfor democracy by picking up the phone and knocking on doors with the people who have mobilizing voters down to a science. Time’s ticking but it’s not too

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01:10:03

Thinking In Systems To Save An Indivisible World

The Most Important Question ·

2024/10/28

Is multisolving the future? Is it today? Should we do more? That's all today's big question and my guest is Dr. Elizabeth Sawin. Dr. Sawin is the Founder and Director of the Multisolving Institute, which is convenient for our conversation. She's an expert on solutions that address climate change while also improving health, well being, and economic vitality. She developed multisolving to describe such win win win solutions. Beth writes and speaks about multisolving, climate change, and leadership

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48:54

Poverty Is A Policy Choice

The Most Important Question ·

2024/10/21

How do we make it easier for more Americans to reliably put food (in particular, hot food) on the table? That's today’s big question, and my guest is Salaam Bhatti. Salaam is the SNAP Director at the Food Research and Action Center, a 501c3 that uses advocacy and strategic partnerships to improve the health and well being of people struggling against poverty related hunger in the United States.Before joining the Food Research and Action Center, Salam was the Public Benefits Attorney and Deputy

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01:04:50

Best of: Check Your Insurance Policy

The Most Important Question ·

2024/10/14

We first ran this episode in May 2023, but following back-to-back hurricanes in Florida this month, it remains as relevant as ever.You've got insurance, right? Are you sure?That's today's big question, and my guest isWashington PostreporterBrianna Sacks.Brianna's an extreme weather and disaster reporter for the Post, where sheexplores how climate change is transforming the United Statesthrough violent storms, intense heat, widespread wildfires, and other forms of extreme weather.Brianna deploys to

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