Communicating Climate Change

We all have preferences about how society should be ordered, and whether we believe in hierarchy and individualism or are egalitarian and value community, those cultural values shape our reception to science and communication about science. “It isn’t that the other guys are anti-science.  It isn’t that they’re stupid.  It’s that we’ve come to a [...]

Incisive research relating to successful communication about climate change and other contentious public issues is being conducted by members of the Cultural Cognition Project. Dan M. Kahan, Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law at Yale Law School, is an author of several research articles that have explored and described “how cultural values shape public risk [...]

As with some earlier podcasts, this stimulating conversation with Dr. Elinor Ostrom is also in two parts. Ostrom, the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science, Indiana University, and Co-Director, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, brings a broad, system-based perspective to a discussion of responding to climate change. Having an appropriate, workable governance [...]

The social dimensions of climate change and vulnerability are discussed by Dr. Jesse Ribot, who leads a new initiative in the Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy at University of Illinois’ School of Earth, Society and Environment. Dr. Ribot conducts research on, among other issues, decentralization and democratic local government and household vulnerability in the face [...]

This episode presents a different perspective, from a climate communication practitioner, photojournalist Gary Braasch. He discusses his new book, Earth Under Fire, highlighting his reasons for telling the climate story as he has and offering some insights into the reception that the book’s been receiving. Passionate and committed, Braasch is definitely one of those “out [...]

[Note: the following news story highlights the podcasts to date; follow the link to the complete story] Presidential hopefuls and policy-makers across the political spectrum seem to have absorbed the news that the changing global climate is a cause for serious concern and action. But communicating successfully with the American public about the issue is [...]

To help listeners, we’ve added table of content files to the original podcast postings. See below in Episode 1: Anthony Leiserowitz and Episode 2: Susanne Moser. Now all podcasts have these handy contents lists.

Dr. Maibach is a professor in the Department of Communication at George Mason University and also the director of the Center of Excellence in Climate Change Communication Research. Among topics of our conversation are a communication model which he has been developing, the results of a recent and very large climate survey he conducted, and [...]

Here’s the shorter, second part of the conversation with Dr. Fischhoff, in which he discusses a range of intriguing topics, including whether climate change is different in kind, or only degree, from other communication challenges; the role of emotions in decision making; and panic and human resiliency. Although this part could be listened to independently [...]

Episode 4 is the first part of a two-part conversation with Dr. Baruch Fischhoff of Carnegie Mellon University. A prominent national expert on risk analysis and communication, Fischhoff makes a persuasive case for a “nonpersuasive” approach when communicating with the public about scientific and technical issues such as climate change.   Episode 4: Baruch Fischhoff, [...]