Rollie Williams
Rollie Williams describes himself as “Writer, Editor, Producer, Climate Change Admitter, Billiards Enthusiast, Insufferable.” He also has a masters degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University.
He hosts Climate Town, comedy videos about the climate crisis. He and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians are here to examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. They have hundreds of thousands of subscribers and millions of views. As they describe themselves:
It’s a really complicated issue and a lot of people don’t feel comfortable cracking into it with friends, co-workers, family, whatever. Climate change can also get kind of boring sometimes if you’re not careful. Rollie thinks that if people like him and us talked about the climate crisis 10x more than we do now, we’d have a shot of solving this thing. He hope his videos will help that along.
He also hosts the podcast Sweatpants:
The climate crisis is a marathon, and every good marathon needs people on the sidelines cheering, handing out water, and getting a little day drunk. The goal of Sweatpants: A Low-Key Climate Podcast is to be the loudest, day-drunkest, people in the climate game. Every episode, comedian and climate science & policy expert Rollie Williams (Climate Town, Columbia University) talks to climate scientists, journalists, and activists as well as comics, artists, and etceteras about climate change and more. Sometimes they’ll get into hard numbers, but it’s mostly a candid, human conversation between human people. Climate change is an emergency, but it’s not a sprint. If you need a break from the charts and climate projections and want to hear low-key conversation about climate, Sweatpants is the podcast for you.
He also plays pool, which he does shows on too.
557: Rollie Williams, part 1: Comedy and climate change
I hope you know Climate Town. Watch a bunch of episodes if you haven’t. This Sustainable Life listeners and hosts talk about the show. It’s funny and fun, yet intelligent and informative. On top of the content, I watch the backgrounds, which often take place where I live in lower Manhattan and where I went to school, at Columbia, where Rollie went to.
So I contacted him and his team. We spoke. Within minutes I could tell why Climate Town is so funny. He and his team are funny. Immediately, I could tell I could learn from them.
Here he is. We talk about his and his shows’ origins and goals. I always thought he was a scientist making humor. He’s a humorist taking on science, but not just a little. Enough to go to graduate school for it. That’s serious commitment to his craft. (I think he cares more about the environment than he says, but you can judge for yourself).
You’ll hear commonalities and differences between us. For example, how to influence others and especially population. I describe the Spodek Method with him. You’ll hear his commitment and some anticipation of conflict or synthesis in our next episode.
Plus, he’s funny throughout. This episode isn’t as funny and incisive as a typical Climate Town episode, but more of that than one of my normal episode, since Rollie brings it.