Stories of Action, with Kris de Meyer

If you want someone to change their mind, it's best if they persuade themselves. And they're much more likely to do that if they actually *do* something new, rather than just pathetically feeling like they *should*.

There's nothing like getting yer metaphorical hands dirty to show you you can do things you never thought you could  - from bleeding radiators to leading climate marches. And everyday stories of people *doing stuff* are far more effective than simply telling people there's a climate crisis going on - so why don't we tell more of them?

This episode, welcome to the noggin and work of Kris de Meyer - neuroscientist, documentarian, and science communicator par excellence. Kris is the director of the UCL Climate Action Unit and one of the most requested guests for Your Brain on Climate. There ain't much about your brain that he doesn't know, so strap yourself in for some lessons in how minds really change.  Kris even has an answer to how come Dave ended up nearly getting nicked dressed as a beagle - and how societies drift slowly apart, one tiny step at a time. 

These new-format episodes take a long time to record, script, and edit. If you like it - that'll make me happy. 

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Owl noises = references: 

• 06:22 - Here's Kris's TED talk about the pyramid ... 
• 06:40 - ... and here's his other one, 'Why we need to change how we talk about climate change'. 
• 08:50 - A nice little primer on the information deficit model. 
• 13:31 - I loved my chat with Anil Seth back in 2022. 
• 20:47 - Strong recommend for Will Storr's The Science of Storytelling. 
• 24:47 - The Single Action Bias, over at the always excellent Decision Lab. 

Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis. Contact the show:  @brainclimate on Twitter, or hello@yourbrainonclimate.com.

Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate.

The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Bluesky and X/Twitter, although I don't use the latter any more.

YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me.  Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.