Share

cover art for How to ignite your Natural Connection

Climate Curious

How to ignite your Natural Connection

•

 Environmentalism isn't a one dimensional thing, says environmental justice technologist and author Joycelyn Longdon on the Climate Curious podcast. In conversation with co-host Ben Hurst, Joycelyn shares the thinking behind her new book, ‘Natural Connection’, and breaks down how anyone can step into their inner environmentalist by tapping into rage, imagination, innovation, theory, healing, and care. Tune in to learn why climate action isn’t about achieving a checklist of individualistic traits, and instead, maybe it's about being… you!


Buy Joycelyn’s book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454481/natural-connection-by-longdon-joycelyn/9781529902662

Watch Joycelyn’s TEDxLondon Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBXiWON-LDU


Created by TEDxLondon

Executive produced by Josie Colter

Produced by Ben Beheshty

Curated by Deesha Chandra

Hosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst

Communications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston


Joycelyn's reading list

  • Armstrong, Karen. 2022. Sacred Nature: How We Can Recover Our Bond with the Natural World.
  • Brown, Adrienne Maree. 2017. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change,Changing Worlds.
  • Brown, Adrienne Maree. 2019. Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good.
  • Butler, Octavia E. 1993. Parable of the Sower.
  • Care Collective, The. 2020. The Care Manifesto: The Politics of Interdependence.
  • Jones, Lucy. 2020. Losing Eden: Our Fundamental Need for the Natural World and Its Ability to Heal Body and Soul.
  • Kelley, Robin D. G. 2002. Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination.
  • Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2013. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.
  • Krawec, Patty. 2022. Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future.
  • Page, Cara and Woodland, Erica. 2023. Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety. 
  • Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi. 2018. Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice.
  • Powers, Richard. 2018. The Overstory.
  • Sheldrake, Merlin. 2020. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures.
  • Shiva, Vandana. 1993. Monocultures of the Mind: Perspectives on Biodiversity and Biotechnology.
  • Solnit, Rebecca. 2004. Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities.
  • Solnit, Rebecca. 2023. Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility.
  • Tori Tsui - It's Not just You
  • Mikaela Loach - It's Not That Radical
  • Leah Thomas - The Intersectional Environmentalist

More episodes

View all episodes

  • Can markets beat illegal mining in the Andean Amazon?

    09:24|
    “The private sector entering the Amazon is most often flanked by soldiers, allowing the extractive companies to come in,” says impact investor Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter. But many of the Amazon’s new threats are also being driven by an illicit private sector, particularly illegal mining. Tune in for how private-sector tactics and market incentives make conserving the Amazon more profitable than exploiting it. Michelle’s impact investment fund is moving money directly to the people on the ground, ensuring responsible stewardship over the land and its rich biodiversity, as well as a sustainable and lucrative path forward in protecting the Andean Amazon. Recorded live at TED 2026 in conversation with TEDxLondon Director Deesha Chandra.For more on illegal mining check out Claudia Vega’s TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojfZMid20iAJoin the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper

  • What cacao can teach us about protecting the Amazon, with Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter

    21:27|
    "When you ask a young indigenous man to give up all of his land for $20,000, he'll say no way, because what grows in there is gold, cacao is gold!" Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter tells Climate Curious, breaking down how investing in the companies that bring Amazon-grown products to market is key to protecting the rich biodiversity of the Andean Amazon. Michelle explains why current public sector strategies are not enough to beat private sector actors like illegal gold mining operations, and instead how investing in businesses that pay smallholder and indigenous producers more for regenerative products, cacao and beyond, can provide sustainable and profitable alternatives to deforestation. Recorded live at TED 2026 in conversation with TEDxLondon Director Deesha Chandra.For more on illegal mining check out Claudia Vega’s TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojfZMid20iAJoin the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper

  • How the prisoner’s dilemma can reveal climate priorities

    10:37|
    “Games can go into spaces where sometimes it's hard to have these conversations,” say game designers Nathan Harrison and Mel Frances, as they unpack how gaming and scenario roleplay can help us reveal our inner climate priorities! Nathan and Mel break down key moments of their ‘Future for Beginners’ game with Climate Curious host, and game participant, Maryam Pasha. From high stakes Prisoners Dilemma challenges to short-term win vs long-term resilience decision making under pressure, we find out how playing through systemic controls can build empathy, reveal our own psychological blindspots, and provoke deep and existential discussions Recorded at TED 2026.Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full conversation with climate game strategists Mel and Nathan: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/are-you-ready-to-lead-your-town-through-an-extreme-weather-event-with-the-game-designers-behind-the-future-for-beginners/Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

  • How to make shipping part of the climate solution, with Joojin Kim

    02:10|
    If global shipping was a country, it would be the world's sixth largest greenhouse gas emitter. But help is on its way. Joojin Kim tells Climate Curious we can sink shipping's dirty old habits by following the money. "It's common sense. The alternatives are all there. It's just the policy, regulations and finance," he tells TEDxLondon's Deesha Chandra at TED2026. Hear how the CEO of Solutions for Our Climate and a grantee of The Audacious Project got his start in climate action – taking on coal financing in South Korea –and how that fight led him to shipping, one of the world's dirtiest industries, and one that happens to sit right in his backyard.Learn more about Solutions For Our Climate: https://forourclimate.org/Check out this year’s The Audacious Project grantees: https://www.audaciousproject.org/news/building-what-lasts-welcoming-the-audacious-projects-newest-cohort Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMALinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondonWebsite: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

  • How Nigeria is leading a repair transition, not just an energy one, with Vincent Egoro

    18:36|
    Africa is solar rich. But what happens when the panels stop working? Vincent Egoro – a former architecture student who once studied by candlelight and now founder of Energy Transition Africa – is betting on training over throwaway tech. His mission: teach local workers to maintain and fix solar panels, so clean energy doesn't quietly break down two years after installation: unnoticed and unfixed. As he tells Climate Curious co-host Maryam Pasha, electrifying is only half the job – the other half is making sure it sticks. A champion of skills as infrastructure to power Africa’s clean energy future, Vincent won the TEDx Global Idea Search in Nigeria. Recorded at TED2026, in conversation with Climate Curious co-host Maryam Pasha.Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

  • How to unlock billions for climate and stay chill, with Jennifer Kitt

    09:04|
    "Unless we come together, we can't build it. So yeah, I'm chill," says Jennifer Kitt on the Climate Curious podcast. If new money is moving into climate, this philanthropy aficionado knows about it. And asking people for billions to solve the crisis? Doesn't daunt her one bit. On why raising money for the world's best climate solutions is her idea of a dream day at the office – here's the President of Climate Lead, Jennifer Kitt. Recorded live at The Conduit as part of London Climate Action Week, in conversation with Climate Curious co-hosts Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha.Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full conversation with Jennifer Kitt on Climate Curious here: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/why-climate-doesnt-need-better-solutions-it-needs-bigger-bets-with-jennifer-kitt/Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

  • Why climate doesn't need better solutions, it needs bigger bets, with Jennifer Kitt

    27:22|
    “80 of the most urgent [climate solutions] could take $5 billion tomorrow,” says Jennifer Kitt on Climate Curious. Recorded live in London with Climate Curious co-hosts Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha, the Climate Lead President shares a 101 on how climate philanthropy actually works, why inviting people to dream bigger leads to bolder action, and why many of the world's leading philanthropic families are moving from asking, "what should I build?" to "how do I make the biggest difference?" From accelerating the move to clean transport, to stopping deforestation in Indonesia, Brazil and the Congo Basin, this one’s for everyone who loves a good climate solution. Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

  • How $147m supported citizens across America doing what most pundits said was impossible: ending the reign of King Coal, with Bruce Nilles

    07:15|
    “We walked out of his office, to the first bar, had a couple shots of tequila, and then got to work”, says environmental lawyer Bruce Nilles on stage as our guest at ‘Climate Curious Live: Climate Impossible?’ in London, June 2026. In conversation with co-hosts Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha, Bruce shares the surreal situation he found himself in when shutting down coal plants with the ex-mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. Tune in to learn how a bake-sale funded, grassroots movement was given the guidance and capital to scale up; eventually shuttering 92% of coal plants across the US, in one of the most effective and durable climate actions of our time. Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full conversation with Bruce Nilles on Climate Curious: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/what-the-end-of-king-coal-means-for-big-oil-gas-with-bruce-nilles/Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston

  • What the end of 'King Coal' means for Big Oil & Gas, with Bruce Nilles

    28:43|
    "I love doing it and I'll be doing it for a while, 'cause we ain't done yet," says the legendary lawyer who spurred a global campaign that led to the closing of 390 U.S. coal plants, forever: Bruce Nilles. Live on stage at Climate Curious Live 'Climate Impossible?', he shares the story of an epic climate win — combining grassroots grandmas, courtroom clashes, and a $50 million philanthropic gift — igniting an unstoppable movement and delivering one of the largest reductions in climate pollution of any sector, anywhere in the world. And we hear about the next frontier: gas. Recorded live at The Conduit as part of London Climate Action Week, in conversation with Climate Curious co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst.Read the new research on gas: https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/work/gas-stove-benzene-emissions-europe/ Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper and Issey Gladston
Copyright 2025 TEDxLondon
Hosted with ❤️ by Acast