How To Talk "Climate" To Keep People Safe – Allison Agsten, USC Center for Climate Journalism & Communications

·1 hr 2 min·5 clips

How do you talk about climate to keep people safe when the very words can provoke a confrontation?

Host Joan Michelson opens the Electric Ladies Podcast by framing the central challenge: how to communicate about climate to keep people safe when words like 'climate' can be polarizing. She introduces guest Allison Agsten, director of the USC Center for Climate Journalism and Communications, who also produces the podcast Electric Futures and curates climate-related art. Agsten shares that research from her colleague Wendy Bruhn-DeBruhn indicates terms like 'climate justice' and 'climate crisis' resonate less with the public than 'climate change' or 'global warming'. She discusses her professional certificate program, noting it attracts a diverse, intergenerational group of women professionals, including an MIT researcher, an indigenous landscape architect from Hawaii, and a laid-off FEMA speechwriter, who are motivated by care for the earth rather than economic gain. Agsten emphasizes the importance of pivoting communication strategies for different audiences, advising against using the word 'climate' with some groups and instead focusing on practical adaptation measures like generators. She describes a project where high school students conducted listening sessions with survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires, creating cathartic oral histories. The conversation turns to misinformation, with Agsten noting that disinformation campaigns now use the aesthetics of science, such as graphs and charts, to appear legitimate, and she cautions against resharing false content even to debunk it. She addresses training journalists to cover climate across all beats, using examples like extreme heat in sports or health impacts, and stresses the need for data-rich, neutral storytelling. Agsten reveals her surprise at the rapid dismantling of federal climate policies and shifting rhetoric under the current administration. Finally, she offers career advice for mid-career women, encouraging them to translate their existing skills into climate communication work for greater fulfillment.

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