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Book of Leaves

Navigating & Solving this Planetary War - Naomi Ní Shíocháin

Ep. 96

**Note from March 1st 2024 - we recorded this interview in November 2023. If you are wondering why Naomi doesn't refer to what's happening in Gaza as a g3noc!de, it's because things hadn't escalated as far as they have today. She now refers to it as a "Level 9 Extermination risk gen0cide". Language is important. Thank you for listening and please keep up the fight for a ceasefire.**


"We are at war. The line is drawn between the people and the polluters."

Naomi Ní Shíocháin is a sustainability scientist whose main area of research is the 'Planetary Polycrisis' that exist, from climate to health to war. Facing this every day in her home life as well as work life, she has built a resilience that many of us lack - and rightly so because humans are not meant to experience the current ongoing tragedies. In this chat, Naomi shares some tools that has helped her own resilience, as well as giving is an aural hug. Naomi can be followed on LinkedIn, and Instagram @naominishiochain.

Trigger warning: Suicide mentioned in the time stamp below.


  • [04:30] Interview begins with an introduction from Naomi.
  • [09:05] Naomi recounts getting caught in the Californian fires in 2018.
  • [12:35] TW. The personal war we experience admits this planetary polycrisis. TW.
  • [26:05] What brings Naomi joy.
  • [30:30] Why we talk about ending war when we talk about having climate justice
  • [40:30] What can we as individuals can do to help
  • [45:25] How war affects emissions and biodiversity
  • [55:05] Imagining the future


"The depth of the truth we speak is the depth of the solutions that we can find to all of this"


The New Climate War by Prof. Michael Mann

Bright New World by Cindy Forde


Donate to UNICEF


As always, don't forget to follow Book of Leaves on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, leave us a review, and share with a friend x

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