Episode 62 – Kings, Potatoes, and Pulling Patagonias

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This episode is all about our favorite topics, colonialism and the climate crisis.

Olivia tells the story of the Irish Potato Famine, which likely goes a bit deeper than you remember. We talk about the parallels between this piece of Irish history and the crises happening today that impact the most vulnerable first. What happens when power structures are completely out of balance?

Then, Elise digs further into the suspicious claims that Charles could be our new “Climate King.”

Other topics include reformist vs. abolitionist approaches, meaningfully redistributing power, and diving into fall.

P.S. Like Elise says at the top of the episode, we had some audio issues on this episode that make a little less crisp than usual. We hope you can bear with us!

Story #1: The Irish Potato Famine (Olivia)

Sources:
Irish-Catholic Immigration to America, Library of Congress
How Britain Starved Ireland, The Gravel Institute
British policy worsened potato famine, The Gazette Opinion
The Great Famine, UK Parliament [taken with a grain of salt :)]
Black Potatoes, Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Ireland: A Brief Overview, Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum
A great-grandfather’s account of the Irish potato famine (1845–1850), John Davis Cantwell, National Library of Medicine
Was the Great Irish Famine a Colonial Famine?, Peter Grey at Queen’s University Belfast

Story #2: Climate King or King of Climate Change? (Elise)

Sources:
Charles III spoke of global warming way back in 1970. Is he our climate-change king?, Morning Star, Sept 2022
Charles III and Climate Change in the U.K., The New Yorker, Sept 2022
This is why Charles III will be known as the 1st climate king, experts say, ABC News, Sept 2022
What Charles the ‘Activist King’ Means for the Climate, Wired, Sept 2022
The many paradoxes of Charles III as ‘climate king’, Washington Post, Sept 2022
Climate Change Could Strain Relations Between King Charles III and U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, Time, Sept 2022
King Charles III Should Become A Climate Monarch, Forbes, Sept 2022
Will Charles III be as green a king as he was a prince?, The Guardian, Sept 2022
Commonwealth, The Royal Website
The Long Shadow Of British Colonialism And List Of Countries Once Part Of British Empire, Outlook, Sept 2022
The UK announces 75 scholarships for Pakistan, Gov.uk, Sept 2022
In Pakistan, 33 Million People Have Been Displaced by Climate-Intensified Floods, Inside Climate News, Sept 2022
Carbon emissions of richest 1 percent more than double the emissions of the poorest half of humanity, Oxfam International, Sept 2020
British Empire, Wikipedia

The Dump

Doing fall activities! And watching Abbott Elementary on Hulu. Quinta Brunson is a star.

Check out Elise’s vintage shop page Heiss Vintage if you live in Austin and want to know when she’s doing pop-ups!

The World Is Burning bookshop is live! Help us come up with book list titles and bulk up our reading list.

Our World is Burning themed playlist is on Spotify.

You can keep up with us on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok.

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Thanks for listening!

Ep. 82 – Cheese Caves and Banana Republics – World Is Burning

We’re digging into America’s deepest darkest secrets — when it comes to food, that is. Elise tells us how one president’s cheese became the next president’s problem, which might lead you to Google “American government 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in caves.” We explore how the cheese caves of yesteryear became the weird milk ads of our present. Then Olivia gives us a brief history of bananas, which involves quite a lot of railroad tycoons, bare minimum union demands, and good old American capitalism. Plus, our theory as to why slipping on banana peels was more common a century ago, and our next book club pick. Subscribe/follow/press the button to keep up with new episodes every Wednesday! You can also follow us @worldisburnin on Instagram and Twitter, and check out our website worldisburning.com for extended show notes including sources and photos. World Is Burning is hosted by Olivia Hamilton and Elise Nye. Our theme music is by Kaycie Satterfield, and our logo was made by Sonja Katanic.

1. Ep. 82 – Cheese Caves and Banana Republics 01:10:23
2. Ep. 81 – Navigating Anger & Disinformation in Times of Conflict 01:16:42
3. Ep. 80 – Something in the Water – Hurricane Sandy & Flint Michigan 01:12:13
4. Ep. 79 – Disability & Climate: Greyhound fights the ADA and Lyme Disease 01:26:05
5. Ep. 78 – Labor & Leisure – The First Strike & A Depression-Era Prediction 01:29:24