Devotion, Tradition, and Healing in the Face of Climate Change

This episode is about the importance of home and community. It’s about the role of culture, of traditions, of protecting democracy, and how all of that is woven together in the context of the climate threats that we’re facing.

This is a conversation with two incredible and grounded women: Colette Pichon Battle, attorney and co-founder of climate justice organization Taproot Earth, and Jade Begay, a Dine and Tesuque Pueblo climate policy expert and Indigenous rights strategist currently serving as the Native American engagement director for the Harris-Walz campaign.

I interviewed Colette and Jade individually for my book, but I was eager to have a conversation with them together, as two heart-centered, sharply strategic leaders who are deeply rooted in the places where their families have lived for many generations – the bayous of Louisiana and the mesas of what is now called New Mexico.

A big question on my mind: What does home mean in the context of the climate crisis?

CREDITS: Thank you to Pioneer Works for hosting not only this event but the whole Science & Society event series, which was a key spark for my book. And thank you Site Santa Fe for hosting Jade and me there. This episode was produced and edited by Nora Saks and me, with production help in Brooklyn from Bob Bellarue, and in Santa Fe from Julia Sclafani. Thank you, as always, to Jenisha Shrestha, my chief of staff and tour producer. And thank YOU for listening! Please share this episode and spread the word, and we’ll be back very soon.