Climate Curious

Is the UK finally closing the door on new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea? According to Tessa Khan, Executive Director of Uplift, yes! A corner has been turned and now the UK government has announced a ban on new oil and gas exploration licensing. Khan unpacks the myths around how new drilling will lower energy bills, as well as securing our energy independence, and why even with this news we must keep the pressure on the government to deal with pending projects like the Rosebank and Cambo oil fields. Finally Tessa discusses future plans and the importance of ensuring that the communities around these fossil fuel sites are supported as they pivot to the growing offshore wind industry.

What’s the reality of life in West Texas oil country? In response to Season 2 of Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Landman’ starring Billy Bob Thornton, we asked the head of RMI's Oil & Gas Solutions Initiative and a narrative change expert to help us sort fact from fiction. What’s accurate and what’s inaccurate in this oily, macho, TV drama series? Join Climate Curious co-host Maryam Pasha with guests Debbie Gordon from RMI and Lucy Stone from Climate Spring as we unite climate science with climate culture to unpick what's really going on behind-the-scenes of ‘Landman’.

What’s the real deal with carbon capture? Sucking carbon out of the air may sound like an enticing solution, but climate advocate and investor James Mwangi warns that the technology is too often used to justify polluting behaviour rather than prevent it. As he puts it, it’s the difference between endlessly cleaning up a messy room versus simply not making the mess in the first place. Furthermore, the technology is very energy intensive; but Kenya, with 96% renewable energy, is uniquely positioned to provide this technology, says Mwangi. Recorded live in conversation with Climate Curious co-host Ben Hurst at TED Countdown 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.

What really happened at COP30? Tune in to the Climate Curious COP30 wrap-up mixtape and hear expert hot takes to soothe your soul, raise your spirits, and understand what the hits and misses were at this year’s 2025 COP30.

Featured contributors:

Fenton Lutunatabua

Raysa França

Nonette Royo

Kumi Naidoo

Tzeporah Berman

Harjeet Singh

Nicole Rycroft 

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“Poetry helps shift some of the really dominant ways we think about the environment, particularly in the west” says environmental scientist and poet Riley Faulds. With the practice of ‘life-writing’ Riley shares how he approaches the writing process, as well as how this can have an impact on the way we all appreciate and interact with the natural world, drawing from his studies of World Literatures at Oxford. He discusses tackling the tendency in the west to view the world through the lens of dualism, human versus non-human, as well as how to get inspired with our own experience with nature. Recorded live at Oxford’s Right Here Right Now Global Climate Summit 2025.

Riley’s recommended reading:

- Evelyn Araluen, ‘Dropbear’

- Elfie Shiosaki, ‘Homecoming’

- Alice Oswald, ‘Falling Awake’

- Alice Oswald, ‘Woods etc.’

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