Jessa Crispin

The podcast that makes the world strange, mysterious and compelling again

Roaring Earth and The Bearded Vegans explore sustainability and environmentalism without any yelling or shaming

One of the best episodes on the Roaring Earth podcast was about giant invasive pythons taking over America. Image: fivespots / Shutterstock 
issue 29 May 2021

It’s interesting that we have decided shaming and yelling are the easiest ways to change people’s minds. Which is not to say I do not think there are people in this world who deserve to be shamed and yelled at: people who use the term ‘cancel culture’ sincerely, people who are deeply invested in the marriage and divorce cycles of celebrities, Meryl Streep. But do I think yelling at Ms Streep will accomplish what I fervently wish for, which is for her to stop ruining perfectly fine movies with her barely adequate performances? No.

Every issue in our cultural lives is politicised right now. Just searching through various podcasts I see episodes titled ‘The Politics of’ followed by ‘sex’, ‘meat’, ‘video games’, ‘work’, ‘Covid’, ‘race in American film’, ‘McDonaldland’, ‘the Oscars’, ‘truth’, and then a whole podcast called The Politics of Everything. Every issue in our lives that we used to be able to take for granted must now be analysed through a lens of justice, fairness and politics.

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