In Australia, 71% of the population live in a major city - but how sustainable is this? And what exactly makes a city liveable? In this episode Tessa speak with City of Sydney Councillor Jess Miller. She breaks down what makes a city liveable, how Sydney City transitioned to 100% renewable energy, the power of trees and the importance of human connection to people and place.

Christian, a proud Woiwurrung and Maneroo Aboriginal man, is the co-founder of Yerrabingin and an advocate for interweaving Indigenous knowledge and collaborative design thinking into our urban spaces. In this episode he chats to Tessa about Aboriginal Cultural Heritage, what it means to care for and acknowledge Country, the importance of oral knowledge and community kinship, and Indigenous land management both in rural and urban settings.

Plastic pollution in our oceans is a well known and widespread problem. In this episode Tessa speaks with conservationist and marine biologist Alice Forrest about microplastics, helpful habits you can adopt to avoid/stop them, her experiences teaching in Antarctica, her self built tiny home, and lots of other interesting enviro saving stuff - like virtual reality !

Cyrus Sutton is a professional surfer, documentary filmmaker, permaculturalist and DIY king. He's also a friend of Tessa's and in this episode the pair get chatting about small scale agriculture, surf adventures in Russia, life in a van, the commodification of nature and power of storytelling and mythology.

Australia has over 600 national parks, taking up over 28 million hectares of land. Much of which was destroyed in the 2019-20 fire season. In this episode Tessa speaks with Peta Norris, a NSW National Parks veteran, who's worked in wildlife conservation, land management and fire prevention. She breaks down what caused the catastrophic fire events earlier, the recent Bushfire Inquiry Report, why wildlife conservation is key, and the importance of listening to First Nations People.

Environmental law has existed since around the 1960s, however only recently have litigations pivoted to address the concerns of growing emission levels and a warming climate. In this episode Tessa speaks with David Barnden, the founder and principal lawyer of Equity Generation Lawyers - a law firm that specialises in Australian climate change law.

Talking about climate change can be riddled with pitfalls...and as it turns out - the scientific facts aren't necessarily the best place to start. In this episode Tessa speaks with one of Australia's best known social researchers and author - Rebecca Huntley. They dig deep into the psychology of the human brain and explore how Australians really feel about climate change, why it’s sometimes hard to engage, the perils of politicization and how best to tackle tricky and scary conversations.

Could theatre be the answer to climate anxiety, science communication or even just a subtle push for action? In this episode Tessa chats with David Finnigan, a writer and theatre-maker who works with earth scientists to produce engaging performances about climate and global change. They chat about David’s plays and how he translates scientific research for the stage, why he was wrong about the fires, the power of theatre and how we’re crossing planetary boundaries.

The past 20 years has seen a staggering increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The cause? Scientific consensus says a warming climate is the culprit....but how exactly does that work? In this episode Tessa speaks with two weather obsessed guests. Nate Byrne - a meteorologist and ABC News Breakfast weatherman, and Emma Morris - an award winning documentary producer/director, immersive technology geek, and the brains behind a new augmented reality experience - Mt Resilience.

Every day, Indonesia generates around 175,000 tons of waste, and is believed to be the second largest contributor of ocean plastics, behind China. But it's not all their fault. In this episode Tessa speaks with waste management strategist Joi Danielson about what makes Indonesia’s waste problem unique, why waste management systems are so complex, and her experience living and working on the frontline with Project STOP