Nina ❤️ Climate One

Today on Pod, Actually we’re joined by Nina, who brings her curiosity, candor, and climate passion to the table as she tells us why she loves Climate One.

Climate One is a long-running public radio show that tackles the climate crisis from every angle: science, policy, business, activism—and yes, the messy human feelings underneath it all.

Nina explains what keeps her coming back:

• the calm, thoughtful tone
• the refusal to flatten complex debates
• the way the show holds space for nuance without drifting into despair

We also talk about:

• how to stay informed without burning out
• the emotional toll of following climate news
• why conversation still matters
• and what it means to engage with big, existential issues in a way that feels grounding rather than overwhelming

This episode is about finding clarity in chaos and about the podcasts that help us make sense of the world.

🔗 Links

• Listen to Climate One: https://www.climateone.org
• Read the companion piece on Substack: https://podactually.substack.com
• Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodActually
• Follow Pod, Actually on Instagram: www.instagram.com/podactuallypodcast

📩 Tell us about the podcast you love: podactuallypodcast@gmail.com

Transcript

2026 01.28 Nina Killham Climate One

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, I'm Catherine and welcome to Pod Actually, a podcast about people's favorite podcasts. Today I'm talking with Nina, who is a writer, artist, and volunteer climate activist. She now lives in Melbourne, Australia, but was born in the United States and lived for a long time in London. So let's get started. Nina, what is your favorite podcast?

SPEAKER_01 0:30

I have several, so it was hard for me to narrow them down and look uh it changes, you know, according to my mood. I think that's probably a lot for a lot of people. But my consistent one has been Climate One, and it's all about climate. I'm Kushan Avidar. I'm Ariana Brocius. And this is Climate One. As you probably know, I've been doing a lot in that field pretty much since 2020 when there was a huge lockdown, and I finally volunteered for some environmental action. And so I really had to know much more about what I was doing and what was going on. So I started listening to Climate One, and they are amazing. And one of the things they're amazing about is keeping a bit of hope going because it can be such a dreary and uh frustrating subject. My only quibble with them is that they can be a little long. They tend to run for an hour, and my attention span is a little less than that, actually, a lot less than that. But I persevere. Do you ever listen to it speed it up? You know, I haven't, and I probably should. That's something that my husband does. And in fact, sometimes when we get in the car and we we listen to podcasts together, he's got it jacked up. And I'm, you know, my my brain is still trying to process what they're saying because I'm used to it being a lot slower.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

I find sometimes if one listens to a podcast at a faster speed, then when you go back to regular speed, it can sound really unnatural. Yes. Exactly. Well, just going back again to your interest in this podcast, can you explain a little more what the podcast is about and how you found it?

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Yeah, that's a good question. How did I find it? I think I I literally looked what are some podcasts about climate.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Okay, but when you say climate, you mean in terms of environmental concerns, yes. Not about weather conditions.

Snap 1

SPEAKER_01 2:35

That's a good point. Yes. About the environmental concerns, about climate change, about what individuals can do, what governments can do, what states can do, what anybody can do. And to inform about what actually is going on. There's so much an increasing disinformation out there. So it's very important. And it it's it's so complicated. I mean, half the time I don't know what's going on sometimes because it's just, you know, each country's different, each approach is different, but the overall idea is that yes, we can do something, we gotta do it now, and we need governments to get a role on. So where is this podcast based? It's a US one, I'm assuming they've got American accents, but um they're always having people come in and speak. They do, you know, worldwide reportage, but yes, I believe it is US-based, yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

So you mentioned misinformation. What is it about this podcast that makes you feel that the information is credible?

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Their background, which I should have written down, I don't have in front of me.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

That's okay. People can get online and have a look, but they have legitimate backgrounds.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yes, strong, strong backgrounds in it. They've been doing a lot of reporting about it. And you know one of the things I like about them is they're not doomy-gloomy, which it can really, you can really get in that headspace. So they are often trying to find positive things. Certainly in the US, you know, the federal government's not doing, well, it's doing a shit job right now, but they do remind that a lot of the states are doing quite advanced work on it. So that's always good to remember.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

What does this podcast do well that you feel most other podcasts in this space don't?

SPEAKER_01 4:34

That's a hard question to ask because I've sort of landed on it and haven't moved too much around. But what it does well is it's very good reporting. It shows what's going on all over the world. It tends to stay out of politics, which is not necessarily a good thing, but it it just seems to kind of pull back in a way that shows you this is actually what's going on, even believe it or not, but this is what's going on. And I find it reassuring and uh certainly believable.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

So it's a balance of the tone and the content. You feel it gets it right for what you're looking for. It's it's it's informative, but not too grim, but not dishonest.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

And not dishonest, and it it marries well with what I'm reading in real newspapers. And so it all works and helps give a broad picture of what's going on.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Was there a particular episode that got you hooked, or did you just stumble into it in a time when you were looking for it and it just felt right?

SPEAKER_01 5:42

I as I said, I started looking, I stumbled on it. But one that I just listened to was actually what was you know what we're looking for in 2026, you know, what the year could bring us. And one of the things I liked about it is they were talking about EVs and and the huge uptake of EVs. Because you know, you hear all about the US destroying it or Trump destroying it. So, you know, they're like, no, actually, all these countries are turning to it. It's not gonna be fine, but it's better than possibly we think.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Is it a podcast that you listen to as soon as it drops, or do you save it for a particular moment?

SPEAKER_01 6:22

You know, I got I got into to podcasts and I use them to walk my dog because my dog is not a walker, he's a sniffer, and I thought I was gonna lose my mind. So that's they've been sensational for that. As I say, it is an hour, so it requires a couple of walks. But I do try and get back to it. But it's yeah, it it's almost like this is my homework kind of podcast. There are other ones that I feel I enjoy more, but this one is one that I really appreciate that it exists.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

So you do tend to finish the episodes, but you might listen to them over a couple of different sessions.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. I I don't sit down and listen to podcasts. It's I only listen to them when I'm doing something else, whether I'm walking somewhere, walking the dog, gardening, that's the only time I really listen to them.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

So is this a specific walking the dog podcast, or would you also listen to it when you were gardening in the car?

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah, at any time. You know, like I say, it's it's I feel like it's my homework. And so, you know, I do try and fit it in wherever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

And do you tend to talk about it with other people?

SPEAKER_01 7:35

No, I probably should. So that's actually when when you did ask me what my favorite podcast was, I thought, oh god, I should I should mention this to more people. I think I have, you know, like on social media said, ooh, this is a really good podcast. But not actually one-on-one.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

So I shouldn't has listening to it changed the way that you think about any topic or the way that you listen to other podcasts?

Snap 3

SPEAKER_01 8:02

I think and and they're great. Climate one is great. They I think so much about podcasts is the the personalities that come through your headphones. And it's it there are are other ones that just they just jump into your head and you feel like you know them. I don't feel that so much because they they're a little less bantery, they're just given lots of good information. So it's it's not kind of a cozy feeling that some of these podcasts give. So they're not your imaginary friends. They're not my imaginary friends. And if I if I ran into them, you know, at a street or a conference, I probably wouldn't be going up to them going, hi, good friend, you know. We're you know, I'm sure people who are podcasters must get some really interesting response from people when they see them in real life, because you're so intimate with some of these voices, it must be very strange when they do show up in real life.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

If you found out that one of the hosts was just unpleasant in real life, would it ruin the show for you?

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Possibly. Because when someone's unpleasant, it suggests to me that they might be on uh unpleasant to the degree of lying that they're not being truthful. You know, how far does that unpleasantness go? And so, yeah, I would I would have to rethink what I thought about the podcast. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

If Climate One stopped tomorrow, how long would it take you to notice?

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Probably a couple of weeks, because I'm often way behind. I jump around and look at what they've got, but I'm often looking, so I do look probably once a week every other week to pop them on. So two weeks.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Two weeks? And would it leave a hole, or would you just be like, oh well?

SPEAKER_01 10:02

No, I think it'd leave a huge hole just for everybody really who's listening and who should be listening. Um I would be very worried if they disappeared. We're eating to the phone.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Who is the podcast for? Is it just for people who are climate activists?

SPEAKER_01 10:22

You know, in the climate world, we're always constantly asking ourselves, who are we trying to reach? And I'm sure they ask themselves that all the time. There's this idea that the true deniers, you're never gonna reach, you're never gonna change their mind. So basically, I think they're trying to reach certainly people who think what they're saying is got a lot of validity to it. But they're also trying to reach people who don't really think about it that much, and that they're trying to encourage to think more about. So both those groups, but I think people in the climate world are trying to increasingly capture the people who just don't think it's a big problem, and they're trying to say yes, it is.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Final question Do you think liking this podcast says something about you? And if so, what is that?

SPEAKER_01 11:15

What does it say about me? It says, well, I don't know what it says about me, but I have been lucky enough to have the time to listen to this podcast. I think a lot of people have got such crazy lives and so much things going on. So I think it says that I've got a pretty privileged life that I can walk around the dog and listen to climate change podcasts. But it's also, I know a lot of people like myself that are very concerned and we want to do what we can. And I think Climate One is doing a very good job and trying to help.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

Nina, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

And that's the show. Podactually is produced and hosted by me, Catherine Harris. If you like the program, please tell a friend. And you can also support us over at Patreon at Pod Actually or on Substack. Thanks for listening. See you soon.