EPISODE · Jul 3, 2026 · 9 MIN
Thick Description
from Your Brain On Climate · host Dave Powell
If you've ever caught yourself writing off a group of people with a simple and dismissive description of why they do what they do - or been thusly written off yourself - then you'll be familiar with 'thin description'. It's a bad way to learn what makes someone tick and probably annoys them as well. So instead, here's the idea of 'thick description': properly spending time with people to understand their complex inner lives and what they really think about things, including climate change. In this Micro episode, I revisit my chat from 2025 with anthropologist Karl Dudman. Karl's inspiring work with the Trump-voting yet climate-threatened communities of Down East is description that is beautifully, nourishingly, and enlightenlingly thick. I also mention my appearance on the Look Near First podcast, talking about the psychology of flying and aviation. Check that out here. Please do consider chipping in a couple of quid over at http://www.patreon.com/yourbrainonclimate. And a written review would be ace. Please thank you please. The show is hosted and produced by me, Dave Powell. The show is over on Instagram at @yourbrainonclimate. YBOC theme music and iterations thereof, by me. Show logo by Arthur Stovell at www.designbymondial.com.
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If you've ever caught yourself writing off a group of people with a simple and dismissive description of why they do what they do - or been thusly written off yourself - then you'll be familiar with 'thin description'. It's a bad way to learn what makes someone tick and probably annoys them as well. So instead, here's the idea of 'thick description': properly spending time with people to understand their complex inner lives and what they really think about things, including climate chan...
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