Good Ancestors

In the final episode of the Good Ancestors podcast, Noelle McCarthy spoke to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about the role of young people and the role of politics in responding to climate change. Young people are ready to confront the reality of a future with climate change.  But they are increasingly frustrated by institutions that appear unable or unwilling to make the necessary changes. Last month tens of thousands of high school students demonstrated across the country, taking a day off school to demand more action from the government to prevent global warming. On that day Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke to a crowd of protesting students in New Plymouth. She believes politics does offer the solution. She says there’s a dynamic between the school strikes and the underpinning obligations that any democracy has to its citizens. “My response to them, when I saw them in Taranaki, was “keep marching”.  I still stand by that statement – this is the next generation’s nuclear-free moment – but there are some distinct differences.  There was a real sense of consensus, certainly within New Zealand, around nuclear-free, whereas climate change, we still have to make sure that we are bringing people with us. There is that sense of urgency – and yes, it’s incumbent on us as a government to act,” she says on this episode of Good Ancestors.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From pester power to political pressure, even in the face of inertia, we do have the power to create change. And here in New Zealand, when it comes to activism around palm oil, it’s young people leading the charge. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What do Matauranga Māori and western science have to offer one another when it comes to conservation?  What role does kaitiakitanga play? Can two seemingly different worlds come together to show us a way forward? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Visiting Auckland Zoo with a class of 8-year-olds, we’ll experience the instant connection children make with animals and explore how that connection gives them a way into understanding bigger environmental issues like habitat loss and climate change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.