Using AI to understand and communicate with whales with Tom Mustill, Nature filmmaker and author

In today’s episode I’m speaking with not just one but two wonderful guests: Gina Lovett, Environmental Initiatives Manager at Patagonia and Jón Kaldal, of the Icelandic Wildlife Fund – a Patagonia Grantee.I was really excited to record this conversation. Like many people in the industry, for many years I’ve looked at Patagonia as a sort of North star of responsible business, and it was super interesting to hear more about how they approach activism as a global organisation. Earlier this year they released a film called A Salmon Nation, exposing the ugly truth behind open net salmon farming in Iceland. Jón from the Icelandic Wildlife Fund is a fountain of knowledge on the issue and it was great to hear from him on how the local communities in Iceland are coming together to try to stop this harmful industry before it completely destroys their beautiful ecosystems.Gina and Jón are seasoned campaigners who have managed to bring a movement together, gathering public support on social media and in real life - so this episode really is a lesson in how to get your message heard by the world. I’m really happy about it, it is full of very practical tips that I’m sure will be mega helpful whether you’re an individual or working as part of a business or organisation. I also loved Gina’s reminder that there’s not just one type of activist – she said often the people they work with are mothers, or grandmothers who are fighting to protect their families and communities.Want to dive deeper?Watch ‘A Salmon Nation’ – https://eu.patagonia.com/be/en/iceland/?srsltid=AfmBOorkXw5m5Sv0GETzMAX6DMD-K35Pp-jfcaoscp6Q1kpZTYSCc0-USupport the Icelandic Wildlife Fund – https://iwf.is/en/Guardian article on a major salmon farm escape in Iceland last year: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/30/thousands-of-salmon-escaped-an-icelandic-fish-farm-the-impact-could-be-deadlyCome say hi!Why We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m incredibly honoured to be speaking with Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson. Nemonte is a Waorani leader, mother, and forest defender. She grew up in a little village in the heart of the Amazon rainforest and has now become one of the leading voices of her community. Together with her partner Mitch they created the nonprofit organisation Amazon Frontlines, bringing together Indigenous peoples to defend their rights to land, life and cultural survival in the Amazon. They have now also written a book to share her story with the world, called We Will Be Jaguars.I couldn’t have hoped for a more important conversation to kick off this new season with. Indigenous people represent just 5% of the world’s population, and yet they look after over 80% of our planet’s biodiversity. In other words - they are the experts. So in this episode, Nemonte shares what it was like for her to grow up in the heart of the Amazon, the teachings she received from her ancestors, and what she hopes the world will understand about the forest. We also spoke about how together with Mitch and their team, they made history by bringing together an alliance of Indigenous nations to defend their territories, and ultimately winning a legal battle against the oil industry, resulting in the protection of half a million acres of rainforest in her region.As you’ll notice part of this episode is in Spanish - I didn’t want to cover Nemonte’s words with a translation. So instead, Mitch helps translate her answers after she’s spoken. If you understand Spanish, wonderful - and if not, no worries. I think you’ll still very much enjoy this episode and I invite you to close your eyes if you can, if it’s safe for you to do so, and try feel the power of her words.Want to dive deeper?BUY THE BOOK!!! :) https://amazonfrontlines.org/book/Support Amazon Frontlines — https://amazonfrontlines.org/donate/Follow Amazon Frontlines on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/amazonfrontlines/Follow Nemonte on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/Nemonte.Nenquimo/Follow Mitch on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mitchandersonaf/Come say hi!Why We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back for a third season! Thanks so much for being here and for caring, and see you tomorrow with the first episode of Why We Care, season 3. Until then, sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Joi Lee, the Head of Editorial and an Executive Producer at Earthrise Studio. I’m sure you’ve heard of Earthrise – they’re one of the leading media platforms reporting on climate change, launched in 2020 by Alice Aedy and Jack Harries. Over the past few years, their social media channels have become one of my go-to sources of climate related news – and I know I’m not the only one! So Joi and I spoke about how the climate crisis is being portrayed in the media, and why she thinks stories are so integral to how we communicate.She then told me about POWER, their latest series digging into the energy crisis, and how they collaborated with their community to define how they would tell that story. We also discussed the many elections coming up this year all around the world, and what you can do as an individual to ensure the fossil fuel industry loses some of its power.Want to dive deeper?Watch POWER on the Earthrise YouTube channel — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXUj6a59Wb4&ab_channel=EarthriseFollow Earthrise on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/earthrise.studio/Come say hi!Joi on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/joixleeWhy We Care on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Heïdi Sevestre, an amazing French glaciologist. She called me all the way from Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic ocean, between mainland Norway and the North Pole. 10 years ago, as Heidi was hiking from Chamonix to Zermatt, a mountain guide told her that it is possible to spend your life studying glaciers, and become a glaciologist. So she’s never looked back and has since studied glaciers all around the world, from the French Alps to Greenland, from the Arctic to Antarctica.We spoke about why are glaciers important and their role in regards to regulating the climate, but also what exactly is happening to them and whether or not it is too late to save them. She also told me about a climbing expedition in Greenland she recently went on called Arctic Ascent, which was filmed and is currently being released on National Geographic TV.Want to dive deeper?Heïdi’s book, “Sentinelle du Climat” (in French) — https://www.harpercollins.fr/collections/automated-collection/products/sentinelle-du-climatHeïdi’s website — https://www.heidisevestre.com/Ice & Life — https://www.iceandlife.com/index.php/en/Calculate your carbon footprint — https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/Watch Arctic Ascent — https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/shows/arctic-ascent-with-alex-honnoldCome say hi!Heïdi on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heidisevestreWhy We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Bodhi Patil, a United Nations-recognized, award-winning Gen Z ocean climate solutionist dedicated to improving Ocean Health and Human Health. So we spoke about many aspects of his relationship with the ocean, from his early childhood memories diving with his dad to how he helped build Ocean Uprise, an initiative he developed with Parley for the Oceans to help young people learn about the ocean and become advocates for it.I met Bodhi for the first time at COP28 in Dubai last December, where he was part of the Wisdom Keepers delegation – he told me what that experience was like and shared really beautiful thoughts and advice on how we can all support the transition towards a world where Indigenous voices are given more importance. One of my favourite things he said was how important it is to build bridges between generations and collaborate across all age groups.Want to dive deeper?Ocean Uprise - https://parley.tv/initiatives/ocean-upriseWisdom Keepers delegation - https://www.wisdomkeepersdelegation.org/Come say hi!Bodhi on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bodhi_patilWhy We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Christabel Reed, the co-founder of two online learning platforms: advaya, and Earthed. A few years ago Christabel and her sister Ruby created advaya, a platform at the intersection of ecology, consciousness and the body, to help people heal their relationships with themselves, each other and the natural living world. They then developed and launched Earthed, a nature skills platform removing the obstacles towards a mass mobilised ecosystem restoration movement.I love that through Earthed you can access a mix of theoretical as well as very practical courses, and learn about things such as soil health, seed saving, no dig gardening, biodynamic farming and river restoration - to name a few of the many topics they cover. Their approach is that they want to empower people to learn from and for nature – which I think is exactly what the world needs! Christabel and I spoke about how she worked with her sister to create and build these platforms, the future she envisions and her hopes for humanity’s relationship with nature. I really enjoyed our conversation and I hope you will as well!Want to dive deeper?Earthed - https://www.earthed.co/advaya - https://advaya.life/Come say hi!Christabel on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/christabel_rose/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Titouan Bernicot, the founder & CEO of Coral Gardeners. He grew up on a pearl farm in French Polynesia, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. Whenever I’m on a call with him I’m convinced he’s using one of those fake beach backgrounds but then remember it’s actually a real backdrop. We even got interrupted by dolphins swimming past the Coral Gardeners headquarters while recording this conversation…Titouan says that coral reefs gave him everything in his life, from the waves he surfs to the food he eats and the oxygen he breathes. So in 2017, at only 18 years old, he started Coral Gardeners to restore the reefs and plant corals. Together with his team he has already planted over 100,000 corals in French Polynesia and they have set the goal for themselves to plant one MILLION corals by 2025, all around the world.I met him at the World Oceans Day event in New York last year and was so impressed by his positive energy and contagious hope. He knows what’s at stake but rather than letting the state of the world get him down, he turns this into meaningful action, getting people and organisations such as Rolex, Prada, Warner Bros and many more from all around the globe to join the movement and help restore healthy ocean ecosystems.Want to dive deeper?Adopt a coral - https://coralgardeners.org/products/adopt-a-coralFollow Coral Gardeners on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coralgardenersCome say hi!Titouan on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/toutiess/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Ellen Miles, guerrilla gardener, activist and author. I found out about guerrilla gardening when I first met her a few months ago - in case you haven’t heard of it yet, it means planting flowers and plants in public spaces in your neighbourhood, both to support biodiversity but also to reclaim those spaces and connect with your local community. I asked her a ton of questions about it so if you’re curious and want to learn more about guerilla gardening, you’re in the right place! She also recently wrote an entire book about it which I’ll link in the show notes in case you’d like to dig even deeper (pun completely intended). The other book she wrote is called ‘Nature is a Human Right’, another movement she started to advocate for more access to nature in our increasingly urbanised world. So we also spoke about this a little bit and how regular contact with nature is absolutely crucial for our health.Want to dig deeper?Read ‘Get Guerrilla Gardening’ - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/ellen-miles/get-guerrilla-gardening/9780241593349Read ‘Nature is a Human Right’ - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/ellen-miles/nature-is-a-human-right/9780241531358Ellen’s organisation, Dream Green - https://www.dreamgreen.earth/Vital Seeds - https://vitalseeds.co.uk/Come say hi!Ellen on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/octaviachillWhy We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Tom Mustill, a nature filmmaker and the author of ‘How to Speak Whale’. We recorded this a few weeks ago but since then I actually had the chance to travel to COP28, the climate conference, and see Tom and his friend Vahakn perform a whale song bath on the beach, which was absolutely magical. He was in Dubai to help give whales a voice with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, an organisation he’s an ambassador for. Tom is really great at telling the story of why whales matter and how crucial it is for us not only to try to protect them but also to allocate more resources and focus towards the technologies that could allow us to understand them and maybe even one day, communicate with them.So we spoke about the anthropocentric approach we’ve taken to define language, and how both museums and zoos (the places most of us can easily go to to observe other species) are failing to capture behaviour and communication. We also discussed the philosophical idea of alignment within Ai (in other words, how do we teach new forms of computer intelligence to have value systems and a moral compass so they can operate within a framework that values human life and how the rest of the living world fits in.Want to dive deeper?Buy ‘How to speak whale’ - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/tom-mustill/how-to-speak-whale/9780008363420Come say hi!Tom on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tommustill Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. Thank you so much for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.