Staff Picks

Looking for some motivational media to sustain your activism over the winter? We've got you covered! Here's a selection of books, podcasts, movies, and more.

Princess Mononoke (Film)

Ivy's Choice – If you haven’t already seen one of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated masterpieces, it’s time to fix that. I’ll never stop loving classics like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, but it’s his 1997 film Princess Mononoke that I find myself turning to these days. I usually find myself shying away from books and movies that remind me of how badly humans have treated our Earth. But sometimes, it’s good to just sit with that reality and let yourself be moved by it.

All We Can Save (Book)

Caroline's Choice – All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis illuminates the expertise and insights of dozens of diverse women leading on climate in the United States—scientists, journalists, farmers, lawyers, teachers, activists, innovators, wonks, and designers, across generations, geographies, and race—and aims to advance a more representative, nuanced, and solutionoriented public conversation on the climate crisis. These women offer a spectrum of ideas and insights for how we can rapidly, radically reshape society.

Scales of Change: Hope Punk (Podcast)

Chelsea's Choice – Future Ecologies' team interview Elin Kelsey, author of Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis. Elin boldly breaks through the narrative of doom and gloom that has overtaken conversations about our future to show why hope, not fear, is our most powerful tool for tackling the planetary crisis.

2040 (Documentary)

Chelsea's Choice – Motivated by concerns about the planet his 4-year-old daughter would inherit, Damon Gameau embarked on a global journey to meet innovators and changemakers in the areas of economics, technology, civil society, agriculture, education and sustainability. This journey is the central premise for the documentary ‘2040’, a story of hope that looks at the very real possibility that humanity could reverse global warming and improve the lives of every living thing in the process. It is a positive vision of what ‘could be’, instead of the dystopian future we are so often presented.

Factfulness (Book)

Michael's Choice – It turns out that the world is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a world view based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think is Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories. It is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future.