Feminist climate justice podcast, ‘MOTHERS OF INVENTION’, is reuniting former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson and comedian Maeve Higgins with guest hosts, as it returns for Season Two starting 19th February. The show highlights ‘mothers of invention’ of all ages and cultures, and their optimistic solutions for a sustainable climate and an equitable world.
Mothers of Invention attracted over 70,000 new subscribers worldwide during its first season and is available at mothersofinvention.online and on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud and other platforms.
In Season I, Robinson framed the discussion around climate action saying, “We’re in a bumpy time, with a lot of a nationalism, a lot of politics is going the wrong direction. What the IPCC reporters said, ‘This is global now.’ We all have to stay at 1.5 degrees. That is going to be a huge moonshot approach. It’s like John Kennedy saying, we have to reach the moon, and doing it in eight years. They did, and that was incredible. We need a moonshot approach now. Not business as usual.”
Season I guest and ‘mother of invention,’ Professor Pauline Dube, IPCC author from Botswana, stated, “And I usually say to my first world colleagues that the most vulnerable group to climate change is the developed world. We should be spending more time really figuring out how does the developed world get out of the carbon-locked economy? Because for us, our economies can still be flexible and be changed. Yours they can but with great difficulty.
In Season Two, the show moves to New York to get a closer look at how new feminist leaders in US politics are influencing climate justice, while continuing to unearth stories of ingenuity across the global South. The show follows the progress of major cities, as mayors adopt the responsibilities of presidents; explores how climate justice movements are influenced by faith; and learns about the impact of climate change on migration, new economic models, fashion and more.
The first episode of Season II is titled, Nothing Happens Unless You Press the Button, referencing the moment Robinson forgot how elevators worked after seven years of being cared for in high office.
It also features the youngest “mother of invention,” 13-year-old New York school striker Alexandria Villasenor, in addition to Professor Opha Pauline Dube, co-author of the UN’s recent IPCC climate report, and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a leader from Chad’s indigenous Mbororo tribe.
Since appearing on the show, ‘Mothers’ featured in Season One have received strong support from listeners worldwide. Tessa Khan, climate litigation expert at Urgenda said, “It’s connected us to a community of supporters all over the world that we couldn’t have reached otherwise.” And, former Kenyan environment minister, Professor Judi Wakhungu, responsible for the plastic bag ban said, “I received tremendous feedback and encouragement from individuals & organizations worldwide”.
You can listen to new episodes and the complete first series here.
