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748
September 17, 2021

The End of the World as We Know It

What happens when one family goes all in on fighting climate change.

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  • Transcript

Gracia Lam

Note: The internet version of this episode contains un-beeped curse words. BEEPED VERSION.

Prologue

Prologue

So yes, climate change is real and most Americans believe that’s what we’re seeing around us right now. But there are people out there who look at the same evidence the rest of us do and take it to heart in a way most of us don’t. They have a wake-up moment. (5 minutes)

By

Ira Glass
Act One

1.5 Degrees of Separation

Producer Aviva DeKornfeld was interested in the toll that having a wakeup-moment could have on a family, and she heard about someone who had a moment like that over a decade ago. He tried to pull his family into activism too, and what unfolded was the most extreme example of things going badly in a family that Aviva heard of. (42 minutes)

If you or somebody you know might need help, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255.

By

Aviva DeKornfeld
Act Two

Out of the Crying Pan and into the Fire

Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi takes Ira to an annual tradition in his hometown of Santa Fe, where people have figured out a surprisingly effective way to deal with the problems of the world, large and small. (8 minutes)

By

Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi

Song:

“Let it Burn” by Hellogoodbye

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