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PODCAST

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT?

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

A show about climate solutions, about what we need to do to address the climate crisis, and how to make those things happen — from changing laws, to electrifying buildings, to improving fashion and media. Each week an expert guest joins host Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson to break it down, delightfully, and help us all envision what getting right on climate looks like, so we can reel that vision into reality. ayanaelizabeth.substack.com

society & culture nature

All Episodes

51:49

The Fight for Public Lands 🏕️, with Patagonia +...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/09/29

This episode is a double feature, recorded live during NYC Climate Week in a Patagonia store. It’s about fighting to protect our public lands, leveraging outdoor athletes as effective advocates, and (once again) getting environmentalists to vote. Plus, the scoop on Patagonia’s get-out-the-vote project that will give you a $100 incentive for encouraging friends to vote. Today’s episode features:Erin Sprague, CEO of the non-profit Protect our Winters (POW). POW’s mission: “turn passionate outdoor

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54:59

Mamdani’s team is making moves 🌇, with NYC’s Chief...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/09/22

In honor of NYC Climate Week, we’re diving into the climate initiatives happening right here in this city. There is so much going on.Our guest is Louise Yeung, New York City’s Chief Climate Officer.We interviewed Louise to give you a real sense of what we actually get when we elect someone who is committed to climate justice. Spoiler: We get a lot of good stuff!We covered everything from battery-powered food carts, to heat pumps in public housing, to BRT (bus rapid transit, we love it), to social

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32:30

Rewind: Connecting the dots on climate and democracy...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/09/17

First, happy 2nd birthday to What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures (the book version). Thank you for welcoming it into the world so warmly (NYT bestseller! 10,000+ of you coming to book tour events!) that it continues on in podcast form. 💛✨If you haven't yet checked it out, find the (massively updated) paperback edition at your local library or bookstore. The 20 interviews it contains with incredible experts (including, of course, our wise Bill McKibben, star of the “Divest and

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54:08

Clean energy super PAC says “don’t mess with solar”...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/09/15

The clean energy industry is getting aggressive, Super PAC style. And, honestly, it’s pretty exciting.Our guest this episode is Tom Matzzie, founder and CEO of Clean Choice Energy, an energy supplier whose mission is to make clean energy accessible to all. Highly relevant: he’s also a veteran political strategist.Clean energy entrepreneurs and advocates have largely relied on affordability, efficiency, and environmental upsides to make their case. You know, the facts. But elections aren’t decided on

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42:22

How the climate movement can build political power...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/09/10

The environmental movement has a voter turnout problem: 11.2 million environmental voters did not vote in the 2024 election. Over 11 MILLION! That’s over half of the people who say climate/environment is their #1 voting issue.On the one hand: Are you kidding me?! WTF 😖 — especially when elections are often decided by mere thousands of votes. On the other hand: So much room for improvement!So, what can we do about this? Enter Environmental Voter Project.Our guest for this episode is Nathaniel

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50:48

Climate hushing, EVs 🔌 and creating “The Carbon...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/09/08

Welcome to Season 5 of What If We Get It Right? 💫 While it may seem counterintuitive given the electoral subject matter, Bill McKibben and I are having a blast gabbing with all these wonderful folks who work on climate and politics.Our first guest is Dr. Leah Stokes, professor of environmental politics, energy policy wonk, activist, and writer. During the Biden administration, she also became a DC insider and was integral to the development and passage of the Inflation Reduction Act – THE biggest

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1:49

Trailer: Ayana and Bill McKibben are teaming up as...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/08/31

Season 5 of the What If We Get It Right? podcast is dedicated to environmental issues in the midterm elections — what’s at stake and how the planet can win. We are going to get INTO IT. Perhaps grappling with this requires a dynamic duo? Well, it can’t hurt. I’m thrilled to be co-hosting this season with the magnificent and wise journalist, activist, and OG climate legend Bill McKibben. We’ve been having a blast recording the episodes and can’t wait to share them with you.Environmental issues never

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51:42

On reciprocity, photosynthesis, and berries 🍓 with...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/08/25

Earlier this month at College of the Atlantic, I was over the moon to speak alongside the one and only Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist, teacher, Earth lover and legendary author of Braiding Sweetgrass.Our conversation went deeper than I expected — but that’s on me for not having higher expectations! We discussed everything from the value of books in this age of shrinking attention spans, to how to shift our thinking from competition to collaboration (inspired by the mutualism of ecosystems), to the

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64:08

What climate leadership looks like in Maine 🌲, with...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/05/21

This conversation had an odd effect on me. I found it... relaxing? To hear a politician speaking competently, calmly, clearly, practically and with nuance about climate policy was so soothing, reassuring. More of this please!How can we make things happen when your federal leaders are climate deniers in the pocket of fossil fuel industry? One answer is that state government leaders need to majorly step up. So, today’s conversation with Maine gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree is an important

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59:38

Climate Wayfinding 🧭 with Dr. Katharine Wilkinson

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/05/04

Today’s conversation is a special one. I’m joined by someone who’s been a collaborator and a dear friend in this work: Katharine K. Wilkinson.And tomorrow, May 5th, is publication day for Katharine's new book that’s the culmination of the last 5 years of her work — or perhaps of her lifetime. It’s called Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home.It’s such an important book because the vast majority of people are concerned about climate change. But a much smaller portion of

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29:05

An Ocean Love Story 🐠

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/04/17

In the spirit of the What If We Get It Right? paperback launch, sharing an excerpt of the audiobook. The heart of this audiobook is 20 interviews with people who have shaped my understanding of the answer to the titular question. It’s kind of like a whole season of a podcast packaged up with essays by me and poetry by others. Also, ahem, the audiobook was a finalist for the Audie Award. (If you’re gonna lose, lose to Stephen King.)Order the full audiobook here.The prelude, the first chapter, is “An

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34:22

Rewind: That time we made a Climate Variety Show. 🤪

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/04/03

Back in September 2024, on the day my book What If We Get It Right? was published, I did one of the most absurd and delightful things I’ve ever done. I co-hosted an over-the-top goofy Climate Variety Show with actor Jason Sudeikis at the Brooklyn Museum. Sold out crowd. Strong high school talent show energy. And we took the “variety” in variety show seriously – magic, music, hula hoops, comedy, costumes, dance off, and of course many shoutouts to climate solutions. Honestly have trouble believing it

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35:04

For the love of nature, culture, and the future 💖...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2026/03/13

Hello Earthlings, we are back with a new episode of the What If We Get It Right? podcast. This is the first episode of Season 4, which will be a short season — maybe 6 episodes? Not sure! We’ll see how it goes.Today’s conversation, with Dr. Heidi Roop, was recorded at The Great Northern festival’s Climate Solutions Series in Minneapolis on January 31st.Dr. Roop is an expert in climate science and adaptation. She is the Director of the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership. From

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34:48

Winning the narrative battle 🎥, with dream hampton

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2025/12/23

Hello Earthlings! Welcome back to What If We Get It Right?While you and I know that we already have most of the climate solutions we need — it’s more a matter of how quickly and justly we are going to implement them — most people do not know this. And you kinda can’t blame them because most of the news, plus movies and TV and social media, focus on climate problems.This is a massive storytelling challenge. We have a narrative gap, to put it mildly.And so for this special last episode of the season,

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62:38

Earth is our only shareholder 🌏, with Patagonia CEO...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2025/12/12

What if businesses got creative to unleash funding, political influence, and cultural clout to address our environmental challenges?What if corporations were driven not by maximizing quarterly earnings and shareholder profits, but by being good citizens of planet Earth?There are some companies truly trying to get it right. I happen to be on the board of one of them – the outdoor company Patagonia. I joined the board of directors in 2021, as Patagonia was going through a major transition that

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44:32

The Current Politics of Food and Farming 👨‍🌾 with...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2025/11/21

About a third of our climate problem is caused by agriculture and land use. So, what are we gonna do about it?One key solution is shifting to regenerative agriculture, aka growing food in ways that are actually good for soil and ecosystems and water and air.Our guest this episode is Dave Herring, executive director of Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment. It’s is a farm-based education, research, and visitor center set amidst more than 600 acres of conserved open space on the

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63:01

How to deal with the heat 🌎🥵 with Jainey Bavishi and...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2025/11/14

Today’s episode is all about HEAT, that climate change bummer from which so many other impacts ripple out. The Earth is hotter now than at any other point in all of human history. From our homes and our jobs, to our policies and culture, how do we adapt? My guests for grappling with all this are Jainey Bavishi and Jeff Goodell.Jainey served as deputy head of NOAA under President Biden, and as head of resiliency for NYC under Mayor de Blasio. Perhaps you remember her from Season 2: “The Future of

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9:49

How do you convince a room full of influential people...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2025/11/07

Last week, I received the TIME Earth Award at the TIME100 Next gala. I worked really hard on my acceptance speech because it was an opportunity to recruit those 100 culture-shaping rising stars to get more involved in climate solutions. We need them! I’m sharing this speech with you in the hopes that hearing the way I speak about climate issues in rooms of power will encourage you to also speak up. Because the truth is that every one of us has a sphere of influence we should be activating.For the

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46:52

Climate hushing, fart jokes, and love. 😝 John...

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2025/11/02

For those of us trying to advance climate solutions (go team!), there’s always the question of how to be more impactful, how to bring more people along with us into this work. And often the answer is not fancier technology or more brilliant policy, it’s more compelling communication for recruiting and persuasion.Today’s podcast guest, John Marshall, is an expert in marketing. He spent the first half of his career working with corporations who want to sell us stuff. And now, as founding executive

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37:55

Presenting — Sabotage: The Splat 🥫🖼️

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? ·

2025/10/24

Almost exactly three years ago (Oct 14, 2022) a couple of climate activists hurled tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers.” It got a whole bunch of press. Do you remember this? Did you ever look into who did it and why?Well, this week on the What If We Get It Right? podcast, we’re gonna get to the bottom of it. I’m sharing the first episode of the climate podcast Sabotage: “The Splat.” Season 1 of this fascinating investigative show, tells the story of the people behind the climate

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