"Our mission is to engage people with the WHY it matters and the how and what to do when it comes to sustainability and tackling the climate emergency — but in simple terms, with a little laughter along the way.” Juliet Kinsman, sustainability editor, consultant, broadcaster.

In each episode, Juliet and Simon discuss serious topical sustainability stories and cultural affairs, and chat to thought-provoking experts. And let’s face it, everyone’s feeling a little sustainability fatigue, and while we also need to know the facts, goodness knows we also need a little joy in our eco-anxiety-riddled lives.

Season One

About the hosts

Funny Old World was created by Juliet Kinsman, a London-based journalist and sustainability expert who is the first-ever Sustainability Editor of Condé Nast Traveller. Author of The Green Edit: Travel — Easy Tips for the Eco-Friendly Traveller (2020; Ebury) and The Bucket List Eco Experiences: Traveling the World (2022; Rizzoli), she’s been in the media for more than 25 years. Founding editor of Mr & Mrs Smith, she created purpose-led non-profit consultancy Bouteco in 2016 to help brands to be better storytellers, free of greenwash. She was part of the think tank to create sustainability management system, Weeva.

Asking the all-important questions is Simon London who’s been working in front and behind the camera for almost 25 years, well-respected as a talented media all-rounder. The Mirror’s former TV critic, he has held executive television roles at Fremantle, RDF and the BBC where he was a Creative Head of Comedy. He’s now on the frontline of digital media working as a Social Content Director, Head of Original Programming and Content for Africa Media Works’ Yanga TV, winning the channel a Screen Nation Award in 2019. Since 2021 he has been a commissioning consultant for Snapchat.

Our recommended reading from Season 1

• Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us by John Alexander and Ariane Conrad

• Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet and Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life by George Monbiot

• The Climate Book created by Greta Thunberg, featuring key climate action voices; proceeds go to her foundation to support charitable environmental organisations.

• The Green Edit: Travel — Easy Tips for the Eco Traveller and The Bucket List Eco Experiences: Traveling the World, Sustaining the Earth by Juliet Kinsman

• The Third Pillar: The Revival of Community in a Polarised World by Raghuram Rajan

• Natural Capital: Valuing the Planet by Dieter Helm

• Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life by E O Wilson

• Outsmart Waste: The Modern Idea of Garbage and How to Think Our Way Out of It by Tom Szaky

Other podcasts we love

• Outrage + Optimism with former UN Chief Christiana Figueras

• The News Agents with Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall

• Sustainababble featuring Leah Thomas

Unpacking the terms and language in the sustainability conversation. With special guests Mitzi Jonelle Tan and George Monbiot.

Special guests

George Monbiot — author, Guardian columnist and environmental activist.

His research interests include environmental issues and the global food system. His best-selling books include Feral: Rewilding the land, sea and human life, Heat: how to stop the planet burning, and Out of the Wreckage: a new politics for an age of crisis. George cowrote the concept album Breaking the Spell of Loneliness with musician Ewan McLennan, and has made a number of viral videos. One of them, adapted from his 2013 TED Talk, How Wolves Change Rivers, has been viewed on YouTube over 40m times. Another, on Natural Climate Solutions, that he co-presented with Greta Thunberg, has been watched over 60m times. George was awarded the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 2022, and his latest book, Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet, was published in May 2022.

Mitzi Jonelle Tan — climate justice activist based in Metro Manila, Philippines.

She is the convenor and international spokesperson of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), the Fridays For Future (FFF) of the Philippines. She is also an organizer with FFF International and FFF MAPA (Most Affected Peoples and Areas) making sure that voices from the Global South especially are heard, amplified, and given space. She is committed to changing the system and building a world that prioritizes people and planet, not profit, through collective action.

Connect with us across Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn on @JulietKinsman @WeAreWeeva #FunnyOldWorld

Helpful tips on ways to decarbonise our daily lives, how to measure carbon footprints, pondering the meaning of Net Zero, Juliet and Simon look back at history and grill two experts on our actions in the past, today, and how to work towards a greener world when it comes to greenhouse gases.

Guest speakers

Charlie Cotton — the founder of ecollective, a carbon footprint consultancy

Created to bring a more numbers-based approach to sustainability. Charlie is passionate about helping customers know what their footprint is today, and what it needs to be next year. Giving businesses the numbers, strategies and guidance, they need to take quantifiable action on the climate crisis and hit net zero sooner rather than later. Before ecollective, Charlie worked within the travel and events industry designing products and working with suppliers.

Angela Terry is the founder of One Home: Positive Solutions

The UK's first one-stop shop on climate action providing independent advice on adapting to and preventing global warming. Angela is an environmental scientist with over 25 years' experience in renewable, clean energy; including on-shore wind, hydro, solar and biomass (organic) schemes.

In a world addicted to disposability, this episode sorts through our ’stuffocation’ pandemic and sees Juliet and Simon opening the Pandora’s box to the mind-bogglingly complicated world of recycling: how we might all do better when it comes to waste? For this conversation, our dynamic duo geek out on garbage and revel in better understanding all the ‘Rs’ of refuse, chewing over how best to reduce, reuse and recycle when it comes to tackling our trash more efficiently.

A snapshot of our guests

Dyson Chee is a youth activist living on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu.

In 2018, Dyson founded Project O.C.E.A.N. Hawaii to take on single-use plastics, and since 2019 he has been serving as a director for the Hawaiʻi Youth Climate Coalition, a youth-led, community advocacy organisation dedicated to fighting for climate justice. A student at the University of Hawaiʻi, majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Communicology, Economics, and Political Science, Dyson started his journey with Ocean Heroes Bootcamp and remembers aged 14, swimming in the water with all those plastic wrappers, thinking 'If I’m seeing this in my lifespan — how much worse is it going to get?’ Fast forward to now.

Antony Buchan is from ReLondon

The team is on a mission is to revolutionise our relationship with stuff and make London a global leader in sustainable ways to live, work and prosper, helping the city waste less and reuse, repair, share and recycle more. They provide advisory support to local authorities and stakeholders on how to decrease waste, while increasing recycling. Expect a circular conversation, that will keep you in the loop.

Connect with us across Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn on @JulietKinsman @WeAreWeeva #FunnyOldWorld

As ever, Juliet and Simon dance between delivering easy-to-follow eco tips and high-level expert advice. Tackling the most serious of sustainability topics with gusto and good cheer, they don’t just bring listeners the problems — they showcase the solutions in the climate crisis conversation, and present here simple hacks to save money by being greener — at home and in business. The two guests this episode making businesses more sustainable and cost-efficient, and the key to adapting financial systems to do more good.

A snapshot of our guests

Zita Cobb, social entrepreneur and founder of the Fogo Island Inn in Canada

Fogo Island Inn is modelling how local communities can thrive in the global economy. Check out her Economic Nutrition Certification Mark which sets the benchmark for financial transparency. “You never change things by fighting the existing reality,” said architect and futurist Buckminster Fuller almost a century ago. “To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” This visionary hotelier and community economist doesn’t just preach this sentiment, she is modelling a new community-supporting place-making way of running a business.

Julie Cheetham is renowned in the tourism sector for her expertise in sustainable development and business transformation

Based in South Africa, she’s leading a team democratising this wisdom as Weeva. We also have this 360-degree sustainability management platform to thank for making this podcast series possible. Weeva's technology enables a system of measurement and a user-friendly framework following 18 parameters, covering everything from carbon emissions, water and waste to staff satisfaction and cultural conservation.

High-level thinking made digestible and do-able — as ever, this episode of Funny Old World provides a better understanding of the basics, and how to help tackle the climate emergency.

Talk to us on Twitter or Instagram #FunnyOldWorld @JulietKinsman @WeAreWeeva

“The public has an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.“ — Oscar Wilde

Is the media covering the climate emergency well enough to allow us to tackle it? In this episode of the edutaining serious for the eco-curious, Juliet and Simon speak to the person in charge of climate change coverage for the British television news channel Sky News and they also hear from a leading spokesperson on climate misinformation and disinformation, at the ISD, an independent global organisation dedicated to powering solutions to extremism, hate and disinformation.

A snapshot of our guests

Sarah Whitehead is Deputy Head of Newsgathering at Sky News

Sarah was previously Head of International News, and before that worked for the BBC.

Jennie King is Head of Civic Action and Education at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue

Providing regular briefings for UK government departments, regulators, UNESCO and is as literate as it gets on media literacy. Jennie oversees ISD's growing portfolio on Climate Mis- and Disinformation, supporting a coalition of 30+ organisations worldwide to identify, analyse and counter related harms. Her writing and commentary have been featured by the BBC, The Guardian, Channel 4 News, Tortoise Media and NPR, amongst others.

If you want to stay informed, we also recommend Covering Climate Now's Climate Beat newsletter for media analysis, resources, must-read stories and tips on how to best cover the climate emergency.

High-level thinking made digestible and do-able — as ever, this episode of Funny Old World provides a better understanding of the basics, and how to help tackle the climate emergency.

We’d love to hear from you! Any sustainability tips to share?

Talk to us on Twitter or Instagram #FunnyOldWorld @JulietKinsman @WeAreWeeva

Our aim for our 'edutaining' six-part series is that it's a mini crash course in the key climate themes — and every episode inspires all to be activists in their own way. Sustainability is a huge conversation though, and with this final episode we thought we’d also help all who listen feel empowered to be more responsible, considerate global citizens.

A snapshot of our guests

In this longer episode, Juliet and Simon speak to five activists who represent the many ways good, global citizenry can be achieved.

Kevin Lunzalu

Climate justice crusader in Kenya, co-founder of Kenyan Youth Biodiversity Net.

Eyal Weintraub

Co-founder of Jóvenes Por El Clima Argentina where they have mobilised over 100,000 youth for climate action.

Hans Pfister

A straight-talker in how to walk all the eco talk when it comes to sustainability and what it means to be a sustainable business. Hans is the Co-founder of the Cayuga Collection of Sustainable Luxury Hotels and Lodges in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, and has more than 30 years of experience in hospitality in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Sophie Morgan

Radically changing the representation of disability, Sophie is a respected advocate for accessibility. Host of Channel 4 television show 'Living Wild: How to Change your Life', as well as ground-breaking documentaries such as Dispatches and Unreported World, the presenter of London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics explains why inclusion is key to every conversation.

Jon Alexander

Author of 'CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us', Jon explains how to involve people in the decisions that affect their lives as citizens. The co-founder of the New Citizenship Project began his career with a decade in the advertising industry, before making a dramatic change. Believing humans are collaborative, creative, caring citizens by nature, if we give each other the chance, we can fix things together as citizens.

Welcome to this special bonus episode of our climate podcast series, where your hosts Juliet Kinsman and Simon London headed to We Are Africa, a unique travel-industry get-together in Cape Town.

These are edutaining easy-listening "Africa Edition podcasts" where the conversationalists aren’t shy about exploring the causes, symptoms and solutions when it comes to the climate, you’ll find Juliet and Simon, as ever, discussing serious topical sustainability stories and cultural affairs while they chat with thought-provoking experts — in this case, thought leaders from the luxury travel industry.

Maybe you’re wondering: how can international travel ever be sustainable?

A snapshot of each episode and our expert guests

We Are Africa took place in Cape Town's DHL Stadium, 16-18 May 2023. Each 30-minute podcast stars wise words from a wide range of speakers from the event…

Shaping sustainable travel on the continent

Part 1 includes:

Tell don’t sell: why storytelling matters with esteemed journalists Jane Broughton, Harriett Owalla and Noo Saro-Wiwa

Let’s clean wash the greenwash with Julie Cheetham, Managing Director of Weeva

Redefining luxury with Melony van der Merwe, Trade Ambassador for Weeva

Inspiring climate-friendlier travel on the continent

Part 2 includes:

How women are transforming conservation with Suzanne Bayly of Classic Portfolio and Nwabisa Mjjoli of Weeva

Why the best guest experiences also achieve impact with Louise Cottar of Cottar's Safaris

The secrets to sustainable luxury success with Ruth Crichton and Clayton Niemand from Grootbos

The importance of having a sustainability manager with Prince Ngomane from Tswalu Kalahari

Funny Old World is powered by Weeva — a sustainability data management platform for tourism.

Connect with us across Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn on @JulietKinsman @WeAreWeeva #FunnyOldWorld

Produced by Bouteco, co-produced and edited by Mark Machado of 11-29 Media.

Recorded by Andy Hughes in Love Electric Studios, North London.

Sharing stories to Inspire Impact. Special LIVE Earth Month episode, spring 2024

Your Funny Old World hosts — Juliet Kinsman and Simon London — return with special guests from Campaign for Nature and Asylum Speakers to explore the transformative power of exponential storytelling at the nexus between nature and climate justice. They don’t shy from some of the toughest topics — managing to elicit a little laughter along the way. Recorded in Dover Yard at 1 Hotel Mayfair in London.

A snapshot of our guests

Katy Roxburgh

Campaign for Nature — helping to protect 30 per cent of the planet by 2030.

Giel Malual

Asylum Speakers — model, law student, advocate for refugee rights, South Sudanese speaker.

Thanks to the hosts for the evening 1 Hotel Mayfair, 3 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8DL

Asylum Speakers — buy the book and listen to the podcast by Jaz OHara which takes you on a journey across the world… without you having to go anywhere.