Your Brain On Climate

Psychology vs climate change: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Each episode host Dave Powell interviews experts in how our brains work - from PhDs in psychology to writers, activists and beyond. They'll talk about how their brains and our brains do (and don't) work, and how all of that might help make sense of the climate crisis - and possibly what to do about it.

All Episodes

Your Brain On Climate

Mindfulness, with Jamie Bristow

May 31, 2024 • Dave Powell • Episode 30

Mindfulness: a technique for training your brain to reflect on what it thinks and why. It can help us make smarter decisions, and can even get the House of Commons to stop shouting at each other quite so much. Magic! But can it save the planet?

Today's guest is Jamie Bristow, co-founder of the Mindfulness Initiative - an amazing organisation bringing the technique to the heart of policy and parliament. Jamie's trained MPs on skills of compassion and self-reflection, and thinks (as do I) that we could all benefit hugely from a bit more time spent thinking about thinking. He's also part of the team that's devised the Inner Development Goals.

We talk about Jamie's report - Reconnection: Meeting the Climate Crisis Inside Out - a compelling and comprehensive guide to how mindfulness can help society change how we live on planet Earth.

**EDIT: In introducing Jamie I wrongly say he started the mindfulness programme in the UK parliament. He didn't, he founded the associated institute. Jamie's asked me to correct that - happy to. ***

Owl noises:

-- 13:40: a short video in which Jon Kabat-Zinn talks about homo-sapiens-sapiens.
-- 18:12: the Reconnection... report is linked above.
-- 28:45: if you've never read The Unbearable Automaticity of Being, you should.
-- 37:55: the Apolitical Foundation's Mere Mortals report.
-- 41:58: A nice primer on Bob Kegan's levels of human development work.
-- 48:38: The excellent Common Cause is a good place to read about intrinsic v extrinsic values.
-- 51:55: I was going to link to some stuff I found on google about nature connectedness but you can google it yourself. Instead a plug for my chat with Lauren Hall Ruddell about this very thing.
-- 53:16: Ian McGilchrist is a very clever man. I'm reading his The Master & His Emissary right now.

Your Brain on Climate is a podcast about human psychology vs the climate crisis: what we think, why we think it, and how it all adds up to a planet-sized emergency. Contact the show: @brainclimate on Twitter, or hello@yourbrainonclimate.com.

Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate.

The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell, who you can find @powellds on Twitter. Original music by me too.

Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.