Totally Cooked: The Climate & Weather Podcast

Cities are where so many of us really experience climate change. They’re where heatwaves keep us awake at night, where flash floods turn streets into rivers, and where concrete, glass and asphalt can reshape the weather around us. As more than half of humanity now lives in urban areas, the story of climate change is increasingly a story about cities - how they amplify extremes, how they trap heat, and how smart planning might help protect the people who call them home. In this episode of Totally Cooked, Sarah and Iain are joined by Associate Professor Negin Nazarian, and PhD student Ressy Fitria. They're hitting the streets to explore the science of urban climate. What exactly is an urban heat island? Do cities just experience climate change, or do they actually modify the climate themselves? And how well are our climate models capturing the complexity of real neighbourhoods? We’ll also head to Indonesia, where a brand new capital city is rising in tropical Borneo. As Jakarta sinks and sea levels rise, Nusantara is being billed as a 'smart forest city' built for the future. But what happens to heat, humidity and extreme weather when you replace tropical forest with high-density urban development? And can we truly design cities that work with the climate, rather than against it? Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sarah and Iain are joined by Dr Joyce Kimutai, climate attribution scientist at Imperial College London and member of World Weather Attribution (WWA), to unpack one of the most consequential fields in climate science. Joyce explains the world of attribution - quantifying how much human-induced climate change has altered the likelihood or intensity of specific extreme weather events. From the relatively straightforward case of heat waves, where the signal of climate change is now essentially guaranteed, to the far thornier problem of attributing localised flooding in data-sparse regions, the conversation covers both the power and the limits of the science. Joyce illustrates what it means to do attribution science in regions where weather station networks are sparse, records are inconsistent, and data-sharing policies can block access entirely. The show covers why satellite proxies and reanalysis products are not always a reliable substitute when the underlying observations are missing.From all things Loss & Damage, litigation meeting climate science, the use of observations, and the unlikely and unique path that brought Joyce into the field, jump into the world of attribution for this episode.Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan as they welcome Associate Professor Andrew King and PhD candidate Aditya Sengupta for a deep dive into the science, politics, and post-zero implications of net zero emissions. What does net zero actually mean, when did the concept enter our vocabulary, and why is reaching it so urgent? From the cumulative effect of atmospheric carbon to the role of natural sinks like forests and the Southern Ocean, the episode builds a grounded understanding of what we're working towards, and how far away we remain. The conversation then turns to what happens beyond net zero: a world that is in many ways still getting worse even after emissions balance out. The guests explain the concept of overshoot - why we'll likely exceed 1.5°C of warming before potentially coming back down - and walk through what we know, and what we urgently don't, about a post-net zero climate. Andrew's research reveals that the Southern Hemisphere, and Australia in particular, faces a harder trajectory than the Northern Hemisphere due to ocean thermal inertia. Aditya's PhD work on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation shows that whatever changes we've already driven in ENSO variability will be locked in once emissions stop, for centuries. So turn on a fan and buckle up as Totally Cooked looks into a warming world and what net zero really looks like as we tangle with 1.5°C and beyond. Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Help to shape how we share our weather and climate research. At 21st Century Weather, we’re always looking for ways to make our research more accessible, relevant and engaging. We’re inviting you to take part in a short audience survey to help us understand how people interact with our content, and how we can improve. By completing the survey, you can enter the draw to win limited edition 21st Century Weather-branded merchandise. Your input will help us: Improve how we communicate weather and climate research Create content that is more useful and engaging Better connect with our diverse audiences, from researchers to the broader community Whether you regularly follow our work or have only recently come across us, your perspective is valuable. About the survey Takes 2–3 minutes to complete Covers your awareness of 21st Century Weather and our content Explores how you prefer to engage with research and science communication Your response will be used to inform future content, events and campaigns. Take the survey To complete the survey, please go to: https://bit.ly/21stCenturyWeatherSurvey Prize draw (optional) As a thank you for your time, you can choose to enter a prize draw to win limited edition 21st Century Weather merchandise. To enter, you’ll be asked to provide your name and email address. This information will only be used for the purpose of administering the prize draw and will remain confidential, accessible only to our small operations team. Take part in a focus group (optional) We’re also inviting interested participants to take part in an online focus group later this year. This session will give you the opportunity to share more detailed feedback and help shape how we communicate our research and engage with our audiences. If you’d like to be considered, you can indicate your interest at the end of the survey and provide your contact details. All participants selected for the focus group will receive 21st Century Weather merchandise as a thank you for their time. Participation is entirely optional, and your details will only be used by our team to follow up about the focus group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Totally Cooked episode, Sarah and Iain talk with Professor Lesley Hughes, exploring the concept of biodiversity—what it means, why it matters, and how it connects all life on Earth, from genes to ecosystems. They cover how climate change is accelerating biodiversity loss, particularly in Australia, and the real-world consequences this has for ecosystems, communities, and the economy. Lesley shares insights from her career in climate science and public advocacy, including her role in the Climate Council and the political challenges surrounding climate communication in Australia. The episode also unpacks how scientists engage with the public and policymakers, and the importance of clear, accessible communication in driving action. Ultimately, it’s a story about resilience, evidence-based advocacy, and how climate scientists have navigated political resistance to keep critical conversations alive. Whether you want to start your own climate change organisation, learn how one of Australia's best functions, or just love successful women in STEM, this episode is for you. Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.