Climate change podcast launched
A new radio drama series funded by our Outreach Fund and aimed at giving a voice to young people on the climate crisis, launches today, on Earth Day.
By Lucy Evans
As a science communicator and audio producer I wanted to create something to help close the gap between the arts and sciences, through immersive audio dramas that fuse science, story and sound. I also wanted to give opportunities to young people and highlight their perspectives on the climate crisis. Thus IGNITE CLIMATE SHORTS was born: a science radio drama project for 16-25-year-olds.
Thanks to the RSC’s support I commissioned six scripts from young creatives across the UK in response to the theme "the science behind the climate crisis". The writers, selected from an open call, took part in a series of industry mentors from across the arts and sciences, including authors Dava Sobel and Barbara Kingsolver, playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Tim X Atack, and climate activist Fehinti Balogun.
It was vital to me that the plays be rooted in fact, so each writer also had a science advisor tailored to their story. Each writer also worked with a dramaturg to help develop their script. The dramas have been recorded with acting students at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and will be published on Earth Day (April 22nd) 2021, along with commissioned music, sound design and artwork.
The Outreach Fund has been integral to every stage of IGNITE, and it’s been so rewarding to create opportunities for emerging artists in this difficult time, in what was the first paid writing credit for most of the young people who took part.
I was overwhelmed by the responses we had to the open call for writers – over 200 people applied! So many people wrote on their applications that they were excited to see this kind of art–science mash-up, but also that science previously felt inaccessible to them. I asked the selected IGNITE writers if science still felt inaccessible to them after the project, and it’s been such a joy to hear that they now feel able and excited to explore scientific stories in their work.
Not only will the project live on as a podcast, but both the scripts and recordings will be available for public use, for example as educational resources for schools. Fully accessible transcripts will also be released to go alongside the audio for those who need them. I’m now planning future iterations of the project, including an installation that can tour to art and science festivals, so watch this space!
You can listen to the series now anywhere you get your podcasts – just search IGNITE CLIMATE SHORTS.
For more info on the project, and to read more about the science behind the dramas, visit our website.
You can also find us @FierceGreenProd on Twitter and @FierceGreenProductions on instagram
There’s so many people to thank for this project...
Ian Hunter for the sound design and masters, John Biddle for the music, Cat Etchard for the artwork, and Kate McAll whose help throughout the process has been invaluable.
Thanks to Siriol Jenkins, Sian Jones, Chris Laurich and everyone at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama – including of course their fantastic acting students.
Thanks also to all the mentors, dramaturgs and science advisors, and of course to the writers themselves.
(I’d love to name everyone individually but it’s quite a lot of people! You can see the full list of those involved on the website,)
Finally, thanks so much to Hassun Zafar, Geri Kitley and the team at the RSC for all their support in bringing the project to life!