Climate Change Therapy - Ep. 18 - Hank's Brother
Welcome back to Climate Change Therapy, the podcast where we vent about climate change, discover reasons for optimism, and ultimately find solidarity in the fact that our existential troubles are not unique to us alone, but rather shared by so many of our dearest companions. On today’s (2/29/20) episode, host Hank Felsman sits down with his younger brother, a professional therapist, to confront climate change and unrelated topics, including:
3:00 - Hank’s brother’s professional credentials as a therapist, including his many licenses and degrees, and implicit credentials as a climate change therapist, in particular
6:00 - Social anxiety vs. uncertainty intolerance, whether participating in improvisational theater classes might be regarded as a strategy to reduce anxiety (the topic of Hank’s brother’s doctoral dissertation), and whether “eco-anxiety” should really be called “eco-uncertainty intolerance”
17:20 - “Eco-anxiety” unpacked, including its myriad causes, symptoms, and degrees
33:30 - Talking to kids about climate change, as parents, teachers, and therapists
43:25 - “Eco-trauma” from wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. and the nature of trauma in general
52:25 - How growing up in the suburbs has shaped the brothers' connection to nature
58:30 - Stories about pets, including Brian the Frog, Macaroni the Hamster, and Armstrong the Hermit Crab
1:04:45 - Beautiful things the brothers' have seen in nature
1:10:30 - Segment: Hank’s brother ranks his top 3 democratic presidential candidates on a scale of 1-10 in five categories, as a 1) boss, 2) co-worker, 3) parent, 4) sibling, and 5) friend
1:21:20 - The status of the brothers’ pact to go vegetarian for the entire month of February, the shortest month of the year
1:30:00 - Bonus segment
Listen here (mobile) or in the player below:
CLIMATE CHANGE THERAPY
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