Mothers of Invention (podcast)

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Mothers of Invention
Mothers of Invention.png
Presentation
StarringMary Robinson
Maeve Higgins
Thimali Kodikara
GenreClimate Justice
Created byDoc Society
Production
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes20

Mothers of Invention is a podcast hosted by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, comedian Maeve Higgins and series producer Thimali Kodikara. It is produced by Doc Society. [1] [2] The podcast debuted on 23 July 2018 [1] and has so far run for three seasons. [3] The podcast [4] focuses on the intersection between climate change and feminism, exploring the idea that climate change is a man-made problem with a feminist solution. [5] [6]

Contents

Episode details

Each episode of the podcast features a guest who has been fighting for climate justice. The first guest was Tessa Khan, a Bangladeshi-Australian lawyer who specialises in climate change litigation. [7] Subsequent guests include marine biologist and environmental policy expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson; Sara Tekola, a Black Lives Matter activist undertaking a PhD in climate science, [5] [8] environmental activist and geographer Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim [9] and US Senator Bernie Sanders. [10]

Other initiatives

In 2020 the Mothers of Invention production team launched the Climate Reframe Project, an initiative to highlight the work of Black, Brown, Asian, People of Colour and UK based Indigenous Peoples who are climate experts, campaigners and advocates living and working in the UK. The project received funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Solberga Foundation. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Robinson</span> President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997

Mary Therese Winifred Robinson is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her election, Robinson was a senator in Seanad Éireann between 1969 and 1989, and a councilor on Dublin Corporation from 1979 to 1983. Though briefly affiliated with the Labour Party while a senator, she became the first independent candidate to win the presidency and the first not to have had the support of Fianna Fáil. Following her time as president, Robinson became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael D. Higgins</span> President of Ireland since 2011

Michael Daniel Higgins is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator from 1973 to 1977 having been nominated by the Taoiseach. Elected in 1981 as a Teachta Dála (TD), he represented the Galway West constituency from 1981 to 1982 and 1987 to 2011. Between these terms, he returned to Seanad Éireann from 1983 to 1987 as a senator for the National University. He served as minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993 to 1997 and mayor of Galway from 1981 to 1982 and 1990 to 1991. Higgins was the president of the Labour Party from 2003 to 2011, until he resigned following his election as president of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Carr</span> British-Irish comedian and television presenter

James Anthony Patrick Carr is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners, for which he has been both praised and criticised, and his distinctive laugh. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regularly appeared on television as the host of Channel 4 panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josie Long</span> English comedian (born 1982)

Josie Isabel Long is an English comedian. She started performing as a stand-up at the age of 14 and won the BBC New Comedy Awards at 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maeve Higgins</span> Irish comedian

Maeve Anna Higgins is a comedian from Cobh, County Cork, Ireland and is based in New York. She was a principal actor and writer of the RTÉ television production Naked Camera, as well as for her own show Maeve Higgins' Fancy Vittles. Her book of essays We Have A Good Time, Don't We? was published by Hachette in 2012. She wrote for The Irish Times and produces radio documentaries. She previously appeared on The Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM. She is a regular panelist on the NPR radio show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Higgins appeared in her first starring film role in the 2019 Irish comedy Extra Ordinary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecocide</span> Mass environmental destruction from human activities

Ecocide has its roots in the Greek oikos (home) and the Latin cadere. and describes the severe destruction of the natural environment, the home of humanity. The concept of ecocide originated in the 1970s after the United States devastated the environment in Vietnam through use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumi Naidoo</span> South African human rights and climate justice activist (1965-

Kumi Naidoo is a human rights and climate justice activist. He was International Executive Director of Greenpeace International and Secretary General of Amnesty International. Naidoo served as the Secretary-General of CIVICUS, the international alliance for citizen participation, from 1998 to 2008. As a fifteen-year old, he organised students in school boycotts against the apartheid regime and its educational system in South Africa. Naidoo’s activism went from neighbourhood organising and community youth work to civil disobedience with mass mobilisations against the white controlled apartheid government. Naidoo is a co-founder of the Helping Hands Youth Organisation. He has written about his activism in this period in his memoirs titled, Letters to My Mother: The Making of a Troublemaker. In the book Naidoo recounts the day of his mother’s suicide when he was just 15 and how it became a catalyst for his journey into radical action against the Nationalist Party’s apartheid regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in the United Kingdom</span> Emissions, impacts and responses of the United Kingdom related to climate change

Climate change is impacting the environment and human population of the United Kingdom (UK). The country's climate is becoming warmer, with drier summers and wetter winters. The frequency and intensity of storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves is increasing, and sea level rise is impacting coastal areas. The UK is also a contributor to climate change, having emitted more greenhouse gas per person than the world average. Climate change is having economic impacts on the UK and presents risks to human health and ecosystems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate fiction</span> Fiction in a setting defined in part by climate crisis

Climate fiction is literature that deals with climate change. Generally speculative in nature but scientifically-grounded, works may take place in the world as we know it or in the near future. The genre frequently includes science fiction and dystopian or utopian themes, imagining the potential futures based on how humanity responds to the impacts of climate change. Rationales for the genre typically assume knowledge of anthropogenic effects—human-altered climate as opposed to weather and disaster more generally—although broader definitions exist. Technologies such as climate engineering or climate adaptation practices often feature prominently in works exploring their impacts on society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate movement</span> Nongovernmental organizations engaged in climate activism

The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Environmental non-profit organizations have engaged in significant climate activism since the late 1980s and early 1990s, as they sought to influence the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate activism has become increasingly prominent over time, gaining significant momentum during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit and particularly following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in climate change</span>

The contributions of women in climate change have received increasing attention in the early 21st century. Feedback from women and the issues faced by women have been described as "imperative" by the United Nations and "critical" by the Population Reference Bureau. A report by the World Health Organization concluded that incorporating gender-based analysis would "provide more effective climate change mitigation and adaptation."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Mary Boyle</span> Irelands longest missing child case

Mary Boyle was a six-year-old Irish girl who disappeared on the County Donegal-County Fermanagh border on 18 March 1977. To date, her disappearance is the longest missing child case in the Republic of Ireland. The investigation into her disappearance has been beset by allegations of political intervention and police incompetence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change litigation</span> Use of legal practice to further climate change mitigation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extinction Rebellion</span> Environmental pressure group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greta Thunberg</span> Swedish environmental activist (born 2003)

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Catherine Bohart is an Irish stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The 1975 (song)</span> 2019 song by the 1975

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Colwell</span> Environmentalist and producer and author

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Podcast Awards</span> Annual awards

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References

  1. 1 2 "Mary Robinson and Maeve Higgins' Mothers of Invention podcast launched". The Irish World . 6 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  2. "3 podcasts for climate activists". www.greenpeace.org.uk. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "MOTHERS". Mothers Of Invention. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  4. "Mary Robinson fronts podcast series on women and climate change". Newstalk . Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Mothers of Invention: Mary Robinson on why climate change is a feminist issue". i . 31 July 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  6. "#MeToo has arrived and China's environment sector must respond". China Dialogue. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  7. "Podcast — Mothers of Invention: Mary Robinson turns up the heat on environmental issues" . Financial Times. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  8. Strauss, Rachelle (27 August 2014). "Zero Waste Week: a challenge to send nothing to landfill". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  9. Schlossberg, Tatiana (10 November 2019). "Telling Stories to Battle Climate Change, With a Little Humor Thrown In (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  10. "The week in radio and podcasts: Arthur Cares; Where Is George Gibney?; Mothers of Invention". the Guardian. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  11. "'We need to be heard': the BAME climate activists who won't be ignored". the Guardian. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.