The Most Important Question

In celebration of New York state passing Bill S6532A, permitting underwater kelp cultivation, we’re re-playing one of our coolest (and most entertaining) episodes. Kelp could be THE crop of the 21st century. But why? Listen in to find out.In Episode 81, Quinn & Brian discuss: legalizing the weed of the sea.Our guests are Bren Smith and Tom Ford, two fine, clean-living gentlemen who are out on the water every day. They’re trying to change the way that we eat to our benefit and, more importantly, the ocean’s benefit (which seems obvious to us, but apparently is not).Bren Smith started The Thimble Island Ocean Farm, dedicated to restorative ocean farming, and is Executive Director and Co-Founder of GreenWave, a nonprofit supporting a new generation of ocean farmers to feed the planet and build a blue-green economy in the era of climate change. Tom Ford is Executive Director of The Bay Foundation, Director of the Santa Monica Bay National Estuary Program, and Co-Director of the Coastal Research Institute at Loyola Marymount University – all of which adds up to him being a super smart guy with a lot of ideas about how we can improve both the ocean and our lives. As we’ll learn today, some of them are surprisingly cheap and easy!Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comImportant, Not Important Book Club:“The Lorax & In a Fisherman's Language”https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportantLinks:GreenWave: www.greenwave.orgThe Bay Foundation: www.santamonicabay.org/“Eat Like a Fish” by Bren Smith: www.amazon.com/Eat-Like-Fish-Adventures-Restorative-ebook/dp/B07GMYJJWM“Is Seaweed the Next Superfood?”: www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/02/a-new-leafConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/beansaightLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This week: “Do not come”; The pandemic is not over for everyone; We can do better, can’t we? Cover crops; Language barriers in AI.Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the future.Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 115, Quinn & Brian discuss: How to stop fossil fuel advertising.Our guests are JaRel Clay and Jamie Henn.JaRel Clay is the Digital Director of Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit focused on ending the climate crisis, having some fun, and tackling racial justice along the way. No big deal.Jamie is a climate activist, strategist, and communicator. He’s the Director of Fossil Free Media, a nonprofit communications lab to boost groups taking on the fossil fuel industry. Together, they’re members of Clean Creatives, a group of strategists, creatives, and industry leaders looking to take on the fossil industry where it hurts: their mouth holes. If it kind of sounds like the introduction to the Justice League or something, you’re not far off -- the work these guys are doing is saving the planet.Yes, we have a democrat in the White House, Ford’s got a new electric truck that’s sure to make waves, and solar just keeps getting better. But let’s not forget: Exxon mobile is not f***ing around. We have to move at this thing from all angles -- and with the same level of fervor. To really do that, we have to take control of the messaging. We can’t compete dollar to dollar, so we have to get creative.Along the way, we may end up starting the Clean Creatives Family Band.Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comImportant, Not Important Book Club:"The Cold Millions" by Jess Walter"The Bully Pulpit" by Doris Kearns Goodwin"All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnsonhttps://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportantLinks:cleancreatives.orgTwitter: @cleancreativesInstagram: @clean_creativesTwitter: @jamieclimateTwitter: @iGObyJAYTwitter: @hiphopcaucusConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/beansaightLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This week: bigger doesn’t mean better; COVAX has got next, finally; a brand new day… and vaccine; AI and medicine – so close, and yet so far.Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the future.Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 114, Quinn asks: What are carbon offsets, and do they even work? Our returning guest is Akshat Rathi, a reporter at Bloomberg Green. Carbon offsets -- like our planet -- are so hot right now. And like our planet -- they kind of don’t work! So fun. But they could -- and while missions #1 to #11 are eliminate emissions, everywhere, we’ve gotta go negative at some point, so we might as well figure it out, and figure out how to scale them, like yesterday. You need them, I need them, we all need them.Forests (of all kinds) are great, but imperfect. New tech like next-generation wind and solar, methane-tracking satellites, and vacuums that literally suck carbon out of the sky are imperfect, too. But so is Quinn! Find out how you can offset your own impact, and help get us to negative, stat.Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comImportant, Not Important Book Club:"More from Less" by Andrew McAfee"Less is More" by Jason Hicklehttps://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportantLinks:akshatrathi.comTwitter: @akshatrathiLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/akshatrathiBloomberg Greenstripe.com/climatekiva.orgJPMorgan, Disney, Blackrock Buy Nature Conservancy's Useless Carbon OffsetsI, Pencil by Leonard E. ReadConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/beansaightLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This week: a brutal day for oil; fungi on the move (not great); wastewater: so hot right now; paying for climate protection; vaccine inequities; and facial recognition on the way out (for now).Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Synopsis: We can time travel to the past to understand how we got to where we are today. But the past doesn’t dictate the future - not anymore. So we have to look forward. The decisions we make today will guarantee that the world of 2041 is cleaner, safer, and more equitable than 2021.Do Better Better essays help you build mental models and ask questions about our changing world — for yourself, your family, and your business.These essays compliment the audio version of our weekly newsletter, and of course, our ground-breaking conversations with diverse, interdisciplinary humans working on the frontlines of the future.Get these essays, our newsletter, and more science that makes you feel good right in your inbox at importantnotimportant.comSend us feedback at questions@importantnotimportant.com — record a voice memo on your phone and send it in!Follow Quinn on Twitter: @quinnemmettFollow us on Twitter: @importantnotimpConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertkenLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 113, Quinn asks: What can we learn from plants?The answer, it turns out, is: A whole heck of a lot.Our guest is the wonderful and way overqualified Dr. Beronda Montgomery -- PhD, writer, researcher, scholar, and author of “Lessons from Plants.” Dr. Montgomery’s dedicated her work to understanding how individuals are impacted by their environment.Life as a human is hard. I mean, that’s why we open every episode with the question, “Why are you vital to the survival of the species?” — because it so often feels like that survival is in question.But imagine, if you will, being a plant — you think being stuck inside the past year sucks? Try being the fiddle leaf fig you one-clicked from Bloomscape in 2019! It NEVER gets to go outside. Plants are just out here, stuck in the ground, living entirely at the whim of a constantly changing, and often harsh, environment. Still, they go on and flourish, despite everything. Listen in to find out all the incredible lessons we can take away from the plants all around us -- from being a team player, how to persevere through adversity, and even being a better mentor.Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comImportant, Not Important Book Club:"Breathe: A Letter to My Sons" by Imani Perrybookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportantLinks:berondamontgomery.comInstagram: @beronda_mTwitter: @BerondaMRead: “Lessons from Plants”Connect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/beansaightLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

This week: An electric truck for the masses; India’s vaccine production stays home; Better cancer screening; Beef emissions.Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Oh, when we were young and so naive.In Episode #9 (!), Quinn and Brian got to know Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an infectious diseases physician, Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, and the Medical Director of Special Pathogens Unit (SPU) at Boston Medical Center.TLDR of the episode was “We should probably prepare for a pandemic.”FUN STORY.In Episode #112, Dr. Bhadelia’s back -- and she’s got some big news to share.But before we get to her announcement (and what it means for society as we know it) -- Quinn’s gotta know: was she as prepared for COVID as she thought? What did she learn? And how can we set ourselves and future generations up to fare, I don’t know, even slightly better next time?You won’t find a better infectious disease resource than Dr. B, and we’re so thankful she’s come back, now, at the turn of the tide. #gandalfHave feedback or questions? Tweet us or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comImportant, Not Important Book Club:“Get Well Soon” by Jennifer Wrighthttps://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportantLinks:Dr. Nahid Bhadelia on TwitterLarge Life Expectancy Gaps in U.S. Cities Linked to Racial & Ethnic Segregation by NeighborhoodCalifornia regulators launch review of long, deadly delays in L.A. County specialty careConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/beansaightLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media