Lis Cohen on Building the Talking Climate Collaborative
from Finding Hope in the Climate Crisis
Host Michelle Lewis interviews Lis Cohen of the Talking Climate Collaborative, a new effort led by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and Bernadette Woods Placky to amplify climate communicators and connect people across disciplines—faith, health, nonprofits, and business—with practical communication support and accessible scientific information. Cohen describes early growth including a website, community-building, and a survey with American University suggesting climate communicators often work in isolation. They discuss tailoring climate messages to audience reading levels and linking climate impacts to local concerns like health and extreme heat, including examples of cooling spaces. Cohen shares her path from loving clouds and studying atmospheric science to becoming an interpretive park ranger at Yellowstone, where climate talk was limited. She finds hope in dedicated volunteers, cheaper renewables, local leadership, and more sophisticated climate communication, and says polluters should pay for the harm they cause. 00:00 Meet Lis Cohen 00:20 What Talking Climate Does 01:52 Building the Collaborative 03:49 Communicating for Real People 06:36 Extreme Heat on the Ground 09:08 Lis’s Climate Origin Story 12:55 Yellowstone Ranger Lessons 17:37 Finding Hope in the Work 21:34 The Climate Stick Question 23:27 Where to Find Talking Climate
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