The Most Important Question

In Episode 83, Quinn & Brian discuss: Blue carbon, the patriarchy, and how one of those two things has ruined the other (we’ll give you three guesses).Our guests are Dr. Sarah Myhre and Priya Shukla. Dr. Myhre is a leading voice in the fields of climate science, science communication, and public advocacy, as well as a Fellow with Project Drawdown and the Executive Director of the Rowan Institute. Priya is a PhD Student (AKA an almost-doctor) at UC Davis studying how climate change affects shellfish aquaculture operations within the coastal ocean, as well as a board member at The Rowan Institute and a Forbes contributor writing about ocean science.Blue Carbon is not an upcoming sequel to the highly-underrated Deep Blue Sea or a spinoff of the Netflix show Altered Carbon. Rather, it’s our best chance of sucking carbon right out of the air, if the man doesn’t keep trying to keep it down. These two more or less cut us out of the conversation — as it should be when we’re talking to two people who actually know what they’re talking about — debating the merits of different solutions to healing our oceans and addressing the climate crisis. But(!) we do make a few jokes. So, you know, we’re doing our part too.Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!Trump’s Book Club:F*** You Very Much: The Surprising Truth about why People are So Rude by Danny Wallace & Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3Links:Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.comLeave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/messageSarahmyhre.comSarah on Twitter: twitter.com/sarahemyhrePriyashukla.comPriya on Twitter: twitter.com/priyologyRead Priya’s blog: www.forbes.com/sites/priyashukla/Connect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportantLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantPin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportantTumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.comIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

We’re interrupting your normally scheduled programming with a Special Election Report! So, today, Quinn & Brian ask: Will You Help Us Flip Virginia? Our guest is Dr. Ghazala Hashmi, an immigrant, educator, and mother who is running in the general election for Virginia State Senate District 10 on November 5, 2019 — just seven days after this episode airs! That means there are just seven days left to flip Virginia and make it blue. This is a special episode for us, and not only because we think Brian’s U.S. electoral map Halloween costume looks much better on him in blue (we’re thinking long-term here). Virginia is also Quinn’s home state and we have an opportunity to guide it towards a significantly more kick-ass future with women like Ghazala at the helm! So, if you don’t do it for the future of our nation and world, will you at least do something for Quinn? Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Support Dr. Hashmi: Donate to Dr. Hashmi RIGHT NOW: secure.actblue.com/donate/ghazalahashmiwebsite Learn more at ghazalahashmi.com Trump’s Book Club: The Constitution of the United States of America: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Other Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 82, Quinn & Brian discuss: How to fix our somewhat pressing land reconfiguration issues -- from 30,000 feet down to the soil under your feet.Our guest is Dr. Iara Lacher, a land use ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. She is also the co-runner of a small nursery out of northwestern Virginia called Seven Bends Nursery. The work she does is based around sustainable planning and living, where they conduct the science to provide information for use in planning, land use, and conservation. She also wants to, through the nursery, provide these materials on a smaller scale to homeowners.We have a lot of work to do to combat climate change. We need to drastically rebuild our land use from top to bottom, reforesting the world — and before we can even start doing that, we have to stop deforestation. There is no one solution that’s going to solve it all, but we need a diverse portfolio of planning for our ecological future.Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!Trump’s Book Club:Silent Spring by Rachel Carson: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3Links:Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.comLeave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/messageSmithsonian Institution: www.si.eduConservation Biology Institute: consbio.orgChanging Landscapes Initiative: www.vaworkinglandscapes.org/what-we-do/collaborative-projects/203-changing-landscapes-initiativeConnect with us:Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportantLeave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/messageFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettFollow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertkenFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpLike and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportantPin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportantTumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.comIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

In Episode 81, Quinn & Brian discuss: Legalizing the weed of the sea.Our guests are Bren Smith and Tom Ford, two fine, clean-living gentleman who are out on the water, every day, trying to change the way that we eat and use the ocean to our benefit — and, more importantly, to the ocean’s benefit (which seems obvious to us, but apparently is not).Bren started the Thimble Island Ocean Farm, a farm dedicated to restorative ocean farming, and is the Executive Director and co-founder of GreenWave, a nonprofit supporting a new generation of ocean farmers feeding the planet and building 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, and as we’ll learn today, some of them are surprisingly cheap and easy!Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!Trump’s Book Club: The Lorax & In a Fisherman's Language: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message GreenWave: www.greenwave.org The 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! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

In Episode 80, Quinn & Brian discuss Quinn’s wife’s least favorite thing: Mosquitoes!Our guest is Dr. Natalie Kofler, a trained scientist and the founding director of Editing Nature at Yale University, a global initiative to steer responsible development and deployment of environmental genetic technologies. Dr. Kofler’s work navigates the technical, ecological, and ethical complexity of gene editing applications designed to impact wild species, such as CRISPR-edited mosquitoes to prevent malaria transmission.Dr. Kofler shares a deep level of technical understanding, paired with a heaping helping of compassion and nuance that is really something to behold. We are so happy she’s one of the people leading us into the future, and leading by a much-needed example.Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!Trump’s Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Editing Nature: editingnature.org Twitter: twitter.com/nataliekoflerConnect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 79, Quinn & Brian are back to discuss: Optimism in the air (wait... that doesn’t sound like us). Our guest is Beth Gardiner, an environmental journalist and the author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution. We talk about why Beth was driven to write Choked, how we got to the sad state that we’re in on this planet right now, and how we’re actually getting out of it. It’s not improving everywhere, and it could definitely be improving faster, but this is one area where you can actually see and feel change happening. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: “Field Notes from a Catastrophe” by Elizabeth Kolbert: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Read “Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution:” www.amazon.com/Choked-Life-Breath-Age-Pollution/dp/022649585X Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 78, Quinn & Brian discuss: Planning for chaos. Our guest is Bina Venkataraman, author of the upcoming book The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age and a teacher in the program on Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. Fair warning, so you don’t get upset like Brian did: this is not a real telescope. But you should still be excited, like Brian is now, because Bina is awesome and her book sounds fantastic. As you can probably tell from the title of Bina’s book, this is actually a pretty positive episode! Of course, because we can’t let the silver lining distract you from the thundering cumulonimbus above our heads for too long, we will remind you that a book like this is only necessary because we’re pretty much one Instagram filter away from it being Mad Max out there. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Preorder The Optimist's Telescope: writerbina.com/the-optimists-telescope Twitter: twitter.com/binajv Bina’s TEDTalk: ted.com/talks/bina_venkataraman_the_power_to_think_ahead_in_a_reckless_age Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 62, Quinn & Brian asked: Where does Ebola go from here?Our guest is Karin Huster, a Field Coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, where she is currently bouncing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. She spent a decade in the trauma ICU before flinging herself head first into humanitarian efforts across the globe. She’s sorta the Forest Gump of humanitarian field nurses; if there’s a health-related outbreak, or a storm-related outbreak that turns into a health-related outbreak, she’s there – and she’s inspiring as hell!The latest Ebola outbreak started in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August 2018, which is the worst on record for the DRC and the second largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history. Ebola is a beast of a disease, the kind of thing Hollywood uses as a go-to when they need a horrible disease outbreak. However, we do actually have some experimental drugs for treatment and a promising vaccine, thanks to recent medical advancements, but they don’t seem to be doing a lot to slow the spread of this disease. But why? We get into it in this episode, and Karin explains in further detail in a beautifully written New York Times opinion piece, “Why Couldn’t My Ebola Treatment Center Save This Baby?”Trump’s Book Club: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3Links: Support: http://doctorswithoutborders.org “Why Couldn’t My Ebola Treatment Center Save This Baby?”: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/opinion/ebola-treatment-democratic-republic-of-congo.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-huster-a225352/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/reunionislagirl Read all of Karin’s articles: https://muckrack.com/karin-huster/articlesConnect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

In Episode 77, Quinn & Brian discuss: How Colorado can fix this wholllllle thing with one little election.Our guest is Mike Johnston, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Colorado and the first in our series of conversations about the 2020 elections.The 2020 Senate elections are going to be really important because flipping the Senate is one of the only protections we might have from another four years of a Republican President – or, if we want to think a little more optimistically, it will allow a new President to make more significant and impactful changes to policies that affect everyone, everywhere.Colorado is the state where we're most likely to flip a seat, so it’s really going to set the tone for the rest of the 2020 elections.And we like what Mike has done with his political career so far. As a State Senator, he passed major legislation that opened the doors of college to undocumented students, invested in renewable energy, and won a fight with the NRA to pass common sense gun safety. As Mike said when he announced his campaign, “Colorado deserves a U.S. Senator who will run to our hardest problems and show the leadership to pass real progressive policy.”Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message at anchor.fm/important-not-important/message!Trump’s Book Club: Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America by Helen Thorpe: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Support Mike at https://www.mikejohnstonforcolorado.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikejohnstonco/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeJohnstonCO/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeJohnstonCO These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore: https://www.amazon.com/These-Truths-History-United-States/dp/0393635244Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant

In Episode 76, Quinn & Brian discuss: What you don’t see (any more) when you snorkel.Our guest is Dr. Kim Cobb, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology who specializes in climate change, specifically how the extremes of climate change are changing in the ocean due to anthropogenic greenhouse gasses. She describes herself as 40% Climate Scientist, 40% Mom, and 20% Indiana Jones, somehow managing to balance research in remote areas of the world with raising four children. So she’s definitely badass, probably super human.Dr. Cobb, like some of our other guests who are researching the future of climate change impacts, is doing so with increasing urgency and desperation in a valiant effort to help us avoid the worst effects of climate change. As science and Dr. Cobb’s body of work are actively attacked by politicians, policy makers, and the public, she and her colleagues are being forced to stand up and scream that we need different policies, now, to keep our communities clean and safe – and we’re happy to at least offer our roof as another place to shout from.Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!Trump’s Book Club: Merchants of Doubt by Erik M. Conway and Naomi Oreskes: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message to funtalk@importantnotimportant.com Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Dr. Cobb’s lab: shadow.eas.gatech.edu/~kcobb Twitter: twitter.com/coralsncaves Citizens’ Climate Lobby: citizensclimatelobby.orgConnect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media