Nature Tripping Episode 32 - Climate as a Person

Jo and Cathy meet with Ashar Aslam, a post-doctoral climate researcher at Leeds University who studies tropical storms.They discuss Jo and Ashar’s 2025 collaboration as part of Leeds Cultural Institute’s Creative Labs programme.  This brought scientists and artists together to think about climate change: Jo and Ashar decided to explore what happens if you recontextualise the climate as a living entity. How do people respond to this proposition?  Is it too hard to imagine, or conversely, could it be a way of engendering more care for the climate, and prompting a shift in thinking that leads to pro-environmental behaviour?  We hear about Jo and Ashar’s experiences of discussing this with friends and colleagues, and listen to ‘Climotherapy’ – the sound art piece they made.  ‘Climotherapy’ documents responses collected as part of the project, and shares meteorological information on the nature of storm formation. With thanks to those we interviewed including Ronika Cunningham, Diane Greenwood, Katie Jukes, Arundhati Kalyan, Kathryn Loftus, Alison Ruck and Sam Williams.