Earth Cast
38 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -Earth Cast is a platform for discussions about bridging the resource gap between people and planet.
Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) interviews a series of changemakers, thinkers, and disruptors who problematise nuanced sustainability topics and explore possible future imaginaries.
Earth Cast's vision is to create accessible, free, and inclusive educational resources which aim to shed light on diverse climate narratives.
Together we will discover fresh perspectives and the most useful levers in society for change.
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Episodes
S4E38 Adrian Ndayambaje | Freediving in Africa: World Ocean Day
June 07, 2024 22:00 - 50 minutes - 115 MB🎙️ In celebration of World Oceans Day 2024, Earth Cast (Olivia Taylor) spoke with trail-blazing Rwandan freediving champion, Adrian Ndayambaje, about his journey from first learning to swim, to inspiring others to jump into the water. In this episode, we talk about the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in pools and the ocean, the intersection of freediving and climate change, and hear stories from when Adrian was just starting out, all the way back in high school. Adrian shares...
S3E37 A Manifesto for Surgical Health in Africa
December 30, 2023 22:00 - 14 minutes - 33.9 MB🎙️Season 3 | A Manifesto for Surgical Health in Africa *SEASON FINALE* 🎙️In this episode, @olivia_earth and Professor Bruce Biccard discuss the learnings from season three. Bruce talks about what he did not expect from his guests, the positive responses regarding tackling this topic, strategies for advocacy, and so much more! Bruce's work in surgical outcomes in Africa has shown him that until such time as people have access to safe surgery and health equity, any attempts to address clim...
S3E36 Professor Salome Maswime & Dr Tinashe Chandauka | Global Health System Strengthening
December 30, 2023 13:31 - 36 minutes - 49.7 MB🎙️In this episode, Bruce speaks to Professor Salome Maswime and Dr Tinashe Chandauka about health strengthening, a manifesto for safe surgery, the principles on how to get people involved in activities in surgical care and, so much more! 🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book. Salome Maswime is the Professor and Head of the Global Surgery Division at the UCT; and an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. She is the vice-President of the Women in Global Healt...
S3E35 Professor Lydia Cairncross & Professor Wayne Morriss | Political Leverage and Activism
December 27, 2023 11:29 - 27 minutes - 38.1 MB🎙️In this episode, Bruce speaks to Professors Lydia Cairncross and Wayne Morriss about advocacy for safer surgery and anaesthesia for all. They address the concerns of financing for the health care sector and political leverage - how do we make governments accountable and what strategies should we use to communicate surgical needs to politicians? 🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book. Lydia Cairncross is Professor of Surgery and Head of Surgery at t...
S3E34 Prof. Emmanuel Malabo Makasa & Prof. John Meara | Health Advocacy and Resource Constraints
December 27, 2023 11:24 - 37 minutes - 86.6 MB🎙️In this episode, Bruce speaks to Professors John and Emmanuel about resource constraints regarding Africa-wide surgery (focusing on safe anaesthesia), climate adaptation, pandemic preparedness and, so much more! 🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org.za/index.php/book. Emmanuel Malabo Makasa is an Adjunct Professor of Global Surgery, a Public Health Epidemiologist and an Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgeon. He is the founding director of the Southern Africa Development Commu...
S3E33 Dr Nicky Kalafatis & Professor Rupert Pearse | Improving Health Care: Collective Competency and Information Sharing
December 19, 2023 22:00 - 23 minutes - 54.9 MB🎙️In this episode, Bruce discusses ‘collective competency’ and leadership with Dr Nicky Kalafatis and Professor Rupert Pearse. The discussion takes these concepts outside of the surgical space and into environmental health and sports and leadership. Part 2 of the book proposes a surgical quality of care model which Bruce has called the ‘inside-out’ model. This model is based on a sequential approach to improving surgical care from within a hospital. To improve surgical care and outcomes in ...
S3E32 Professor Sue Fawcus & Adjunct Professor Agya Prempeh | Surgery & Survival: Exploring Health Equity in Africa
December 19, 2023 19:54 - 28 minutes - 65.4 MB🎙️In this episode, Bruce discusses experiences of working in Africa with Professor Sue Fawcus and Adjunct Professor Agya Prempeh. The stories they recount provide a tapestry for discussing surgical health in Africa, health equity, the ‘inverse care’ law, the relationship between surgery and primary healthcare, and its place in health systems resilience, especially in light of the profound impact of ‘climate change’ on health in Africa. 🎙️To comment on the book please visit https://asos.org....
S3E31 Professor Bruce Biccard | Championing Surgical Safety in Africa - An Anaesthetist's Story
December 19, 2023 19:45 - 18 minutes - 42.8 MB🎙️Season 3 | A Manifesto for Surgical Health in Africa 🎙️In this episode, @olivia_earth speaks to Professor Bruce Biccard about his personal journey to advocacy for safe surgery and anaesthesia in Africa. His work in surgical outcomes in Africa has shown him that until such time as people have access to safe surgery and health equity, any attempts to address climate change and sustainability in Africa will be futile. Bruce Biccard is Professor and Second Chair in the Department of Anaesthe...
S2E30 Social Enterprise Stories | Season Finale Q&A
August 31, 2023 22:00 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MB🎙In S2E30, Delicia Govender and Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) host a season finale Q&A with Chief Etienne Davids and Nthabiseng Msingatha from episodes 28 and 29. 🎙In celebration of Mandela Day 2023, Earth Cast collaborated with Push Local Ventures and recorded a live webinar at the Zapods Podcast Production studio in Cape Town. This three-part season, Social Enterprise Stories, follows the journey of two trailblazers in the EdTech and Sustainable Property Development Sector. We hope you en...
S2E29 Chief Etienne Davids | Ancient Knowledge in a Modern World
August 08, 2023 22:00 - 25 minutes - 23 MB🎙In S2E29, Delicia Govender and Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speak to Chief Etienne Davids, the Co-Founder of SpringBean Media - a proudly indigenous IXam or Khoi and Sān Social Entrepreneurship Enterprise. Etienne focusses on self-sufficient, sustainable solutions backed by ancient knowledge and indigenous wisdom. Chief Etienne discusses how he is creating micro-cities or bushman cities which foster communities that live in harmony with nature while navigating the pace of globalisation. ...
S2E28 Nthabiseng Msingatha | Persistence and Passion: EdTech Solutions for Youth Employment
July 30, 2023 22:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MB🎙In S2E28, Olivia Taylor and Delicia Govender speak to Nthabiseng Msingatha about how she is focused on driving Human Capital Development for a Just Energy Transition in South Africa. Nthabiseng credits her empowerment of young people, to develop an informed career identity, to her big risk appetite, resilience in the face of adversity and, tapping into her entrepreneurial passion Nthabiseng is the Co-Founder and CEO of YouMeta EdTech. 🎙To follow more of Nthabiseng’s work, you can find her...
S1E27 Dr Chantal Naidoo | The Nexus of Finance and Sustainability Transitions
May 07, 2023 22:00 - 30 minutes - 34.7 MB🎙In S1E27, Olivia Taylor speaks to Dr Chantal Naidoo about climate finance and the unique funding needs for financing just energy transition investment portfolios in South Africa. Chantal unpacks options and concerns regarding how to accelerate the JET, and about how her company, Rabia Transitions Initiative, is enabling financial actors to finance and contribute to a just and inclusive transition. She also gives her view on whether international and national finance architecture are suited t...
S1E26 John Belizaire | The Future of the Grid & Wasted Energy
August 04, 2022 22:17 - 42 minutes - 48.8 MB🎙 In S1E26, Olivia Taylor speaks to John Belizaire about how energy poverty came about, and its uneven distribution across communities, the biggest challenge facing the energy transition, energy poverty, wasted energy & crypto, innovative technologies, the future of the grid, and so much more! Since the age of 14 selling floppy discs in high school, John has had an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in technology. He was a recipient of the Intel Scholarship Program and he went on to receiv...
S1E25 Bathandwa Vazi | (Decentralising) Power to the People
July 19, 2022 22:00 - 42 minutes - 48.5 MB🎙In S1E25 Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Bathandwa Vazi about the impact of decommissioning coal mines on the South African economy, and unpacks the employment concerns and opportunities surrounding the transition to renewables. Bathandwa explains energy access and poverty, and dives into the topic of the decentralisation of power, and the role that trade unions could play in the just energy transition. This is followed by a discussion about how Eskom can adapt to become efficient an...
S1E24 Jotham Makarudze | Project Finance and Partnerships for Facilitating the Just Energy Transition
July 01, 2022 01:12 - 30 minutes - 35.3 MB🎙In S1E24, Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Jotham Makarudze about project finance, what it is, and why has it been so successful for enabling the financing of REIPPPP in SSA. Jotham also explains how project finance is facilitating a deeper and more just energy transition and how it can stop the perpetuation of inequalities. He also unpacks whether project finance can only succeed under capitalism, and so much more! Jotham is a Project Finance Professional at a Development Finance I...
S1E23 Prof. Peter Newell | Power Shifts: Making Sustainability the 'New Normal'
June 23, 2022 22:10 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBEarth Cast Season One: The Just Energy Transition 🎙 In S1E23, Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Peter Newell where he unpacks the global political energy transition: identifying and recognising who participates and who makes decisions, mobilising for change, bringing future ideas into the present paradigm to ensure a socially just ecological transition, the international oil economy, ensuring “no one gets left behind”, and so much more! Peter Newell is a Professor of International Re...
S1E22 Dr Nthabiseng Mohlakoana | An Ethnography of Energy: African Opportunities & Gender Inclusivity
June 16, 2022 22:22 - 34 minutes - 39.7 MBEarth Cast Season One: The Just Energy Transition 🎙 In the first episode of season one, Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Dr Nthabiseng Mohlakoana about her personal journey exploring the energy sector, her findings regarding tackling the dual goals of decarbonization and development, and their interconnections with gender equality, what an energy transition is, the enabling factors (and barriers) for a deep and just transition, as well as the Just Energy Transition in an African cont...
EP21 Jamila Janna | Environmental Racism & Inclusivity: World Ocean Day Special
June 08, 2022 00:06 - 38 minutes - 43.9 MBIn this World Ocean Day special, Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Jamila Janna about the nuances of environmental racism and how it affects inclusivity in the ocean space, the harmful effects of mainstream conservation narratives on environmental projects’ success, opportunities for youth in marine conservation, and more! Jamila is a filmmaker, social media strategist, and marine biologist from KwaZulu-Natal, whose work focuses on community engagement in decision-making. Miss Janna has...
EP20 Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert | Partnerships for Conservation
July 01, 2021 22:00 - 26 minutes - 60.5 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor (@olivia_earth) speaks to Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert about honey badgers & bee keepers, family planning for women and girls and how this affects conservation, aligning business with biodiversity, the importance of partnerships & collaboration, working with Eskom, the African Wild Dog Program, and so much more! Harriet is Head of Conservation at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, a South African-based NGO, where she provides strategic scientific oversight to a divers...
EP19 Faine Loubser | The Great African Sea Forest
June 24, 2021 22:00 - 25 minutes - 59.3 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Faine Loubser about The Great African Sea Forest, emotional ecology, ocean accessibility, marine protected areas, cold water swimming, independent media, strategic partnerships, and so much more! Faine is a documentary filmmaker and environmental storyteller with a deep passion for the ocean. Her love for nature was fostered by her parents through long camping trips deep in the Namib desert and along the west coast of South Africa. Over the past year...
EP18 Roushanna Gray | The Art of Foraging & Immersive Nourishment
June 15, 2021 22:00 - 19 minutes - 44.6 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Roushanna Gray about food as a powerful learning tool & connector that all people can relate to, access to land & limiting policies, the importance of preserving plant & animal names in vernacular, the untapped potential of seaweeds, whether foraging is a romanticised notion, how to personally re-connect with nature, and so much more! Roushanna Gray is the founder of Veld and Sea, an immersive and experiential wild flavour focused business based in Ca...
EP17 Aaniyah Omardien | World Oceans Day & The Importance of Community
June 07, 2021 22:00 - 20 minutes - 47.5 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Aaniyah Omardien about World Ocean's Day & restoring historic injustice, the innovative work being done by The Beach Co-Op, storytelling & the power of community, the colonial context of conservation in South Africa, the role of women and girls in the marine environment, and so much more! Aaniyah is an intersectional environmentalist living in Cape Town. She has worked in marine conservation for 17 years. After leaving WWF as the Acting Head of the Fr...
EP16 Samir Randera-Rees | Water Wars & Poverty Traps
June 03, 2021 22:00 - 51 minutes - 118 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Samir Randera-Rees about the importance of intergenerational storytelling, Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs), poverty traps & environmental degradation, building stakeholder trust, understanding & respecting community needs & their solutions, and so much more! Samir is the programme manager for Water Source Areas at WWF-SA and has a Masters in Conservation Ecology, and a Conservation Leadership MBA from the African Leadership University. He is the ...
EP15 Elzanne Singels | Plants! Conservation vs Commercialisation
May 31, 2021 06:45 - 16 minutes - 38.2 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Elzanne Singels about the wonders of fynbos, archeology & how human's relationships with plants have changed: conservation to commercialisation, the inaccessibility of nature & biodiversity in South Africa, the role of plants in human evolution, the dangers of industrial agriculture, and so much more! Elzanne is a botanist and archaeologist interested in the plants which kept ancient humans alive and how. Elzanne has published widely and has worked as a...
EP14 Niharika Elety | Regenerative Fashion
May 27, 2021 22:00 - 24 minutes - 55.3 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Niharika Elety about regenerative fashion, sustainable supply chains and the people behind them, the real cost of a garment & affordability, the role humans play in the ecosystem, greenwashing, and so much more! Niha is a Creative Artist and Sustainability Activist on Instagram. She uses fashion, art and heritage as a vehicle to bring awareness about sustainability and its importance. Her platform looks to amplify and incorporate Indian heritage to br...
EP13 Jolynn Minnaar | Fracking, Film & The Future of Energy
May 25, 2021 22:55 - 42 minutes - 97 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Jolynn Minnaar about fracking in the Karoo, economic development & job opportunities, gender-based violence, storytelling, dispelling myths about the gas industry, the possibility of a just renewable energy transition & divesting, climate change, Eskom's rolling power cuts, building inclusive wildlife filmmaking communities, and so much more! Jolynn Minnaar is a filmmaker who focuses on stories that matter. She is an award winning South African direct...
EP12 Andile Ngcobo | Agribusiness, Bees & Opportunities
May 20, 2021 22:00 - 34 minutes - 77.9 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Andile Ngcobo about financial savviness, agriculture supply chain trends, the transition from subsistence production to commercial farming & the use of pesticides, bees & climate resilience, upskilling, the limitless career opportunities that lie in the agri sector, and agriculture as a viable investment opportunity. Andile Siphesihle Ngcobo is a 27-Year-old farmer in Pietermaritzburg, managing Tusokuhle Farming (Pty) Ltd. He is an experienced Farm Ma...
EP11 Maxine Gray | Philanthropy vs Impact Investing | Partnership or Competition?
May 13, 2021 22:00 - 39 minutes - 89.3 MBIn this episode Olivia speaks to Maxine Gray about the history and role of the sustainable development goals, financial services’ ability to enable responsible and impact seeking investment behaviours, the role of philanthropy in achieving the SDGs and its potential to focus on creating strong partnerships, tackling global problems with local innovation, and so much more! Maxine Gray is passionate about the intersection of sustainable development, business strategy, human behaviour and bein...
EP10 Jackie May | Fast Fashion Hot Planet
May 10, 2021 22:01 - 30 minutes - 70.3 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Jackie May about fashion as a positive force for good, Twyg & independent media, generational needs & conspicuous consumption, capitalist greed, inclusivity along the value chain, the power of storytelling, and then Jackie flips the switch and asks Olivia a question too! Jackie founded Twyg in response to a need for compelling stories about sustainability and circular design. This is also based on her conviction that story-telling is a powerful tool for...
EP09 Denisha Anand | Restorative Justice & Indigenous Plant Intimacies
May 06, 2021 23:00 - 36 minutes - 83.4 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Denisha Anand about the layered historic injustices of the Cape Town fires, intersectional environmentalism, indigenous plant practices, holistic approaches to care, ancestry and, the criticism of hardcore sciences as being too linear. Denisha is an intersectional environmentalist working in marginalized biodiversity spaces characterised by racialised neglect. She holds a BSc degree in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, a BSc Hons in Biodiversity ...
EP08 Bonné de Bod | Filmmaking & Authentic Documentary
April 22, 2021 23:00 - 52 minutes - 119 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Bonné de Bod about the links between air pollution, cancer and rhino poaching, the role of governments in species conservation, traditional medicines, dispelling racist myths, Stroop Documentary and more! Bonné is an award-winning television presenter and filmmaker, and well-known for her in-depth reporting on wildlife and environmental issues. She has been on South Africa's popular wildlife and environment programme 50/50 for nearly a decade which is k...
EP07 Yusuf Omar | Celebrating Diverse Voices Through Storytelling
April 08, 2021 23:00 - 36 minutes - 83.9 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Yusuf Omar about transparency and independence in journalism, social media algorithms, what makes a top news story, "eco-anxiety", and digital activism! Yusuf Omar is a Co-founder of Hashtag Our Stories, which is a global video publisher reaching millions of people daily on social media platforms. Hashtag Our Stories have empowered over 10,000 trained mobile journalists across 140 countries. However, Yusuf’s career started with the more traditional ro...
EP06 Edie Lush | Are the Sustainable Development Goals Achievable?
April 01, 2021 23:00 - 36 minutes - 82.5 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Edie Lush about how to motivate change using storytelling, the inclusivity of the Sustainable Development Goals, purpose, profit, and so much more! Edie Lush is a British-American journalist & author, the executive editor of Hub Culture, a communication trainer and MC. She is co-host for the award winning Global Goals Cast podcast which tells the stories of the champions making the world a better place. And as such, Edie has thousands of interviews un...
EP05 Gracelin Baskaran | Creating Equitable Economic Growth
March 27, 2021 05:07 - 13 minutes - 30.1 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Gracelin Baskaran about development economics, the complexity of the sustainability polycrisis, mining, and making decisions at the margin! Gracelin is a consultant economist for the World Bank. She is a US-national with experience living and working in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America. Gracelin is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cape Town, where she undertakes research on balancing socia...
EP04 Ben Goldsmith | Rewilding & Biophilia: How to Re-Enchant Nature?
March 19, 2021 05:55 - 44 minutes - 101 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Ben Goldsmith about regenerative farming, politics (Common Agricultural Policy vs Environmental Land Management Scheme), beavers, bears, boars, awakening to the ecological collapse and, indigenous knowledge. Ben is the co-founder and CEO of Menhaden Capital, a London-listed investment trust with a focus on energy and resources. However, Ben has many other interests which boast a huge diversity: Some of these include: Chair of the Conservative Environme...
EP03 James Mwenda | The Violence & Peace of Game Ranging
March 11, 2021 23:00 - 33 minutes - 75.9 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to James Mwenda about hope & optimism, species conservation, poaching & the threat of extinction, education and, so much more! James is a member of the rhino unit team at @olpejeta Conservancy in central Kenya, where he and his teammates provide care and protection for the last northern white rhinos in existence. A 2018 recipient of the African Ranger of the Year Award, James has become a global ambassador for conservation and the realities of extinction...
EP02 Aunnie Patton Power | (Ad)Venture Finance
March 04, 2021 23:00 - 23 minutes - 54.6 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Aunnie Patton Power about impact investing, climate change, distributive ownership and, how to get involved with accelerators! Aunnie is the founder of Intelligent Impact, A firm working in technology for social impact advisory, and a university lecturer on Innovative Finance, Impact Investing and Technology for Impact. Aunnie is also, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Skoll Centre for Entrepreneurship, an Associate Fellow at the University of Oxfo...
EP01 Wandile Sihlobo | Agriculture, Land Reform & Economics
February 28, 2021 23:00 - 26 minutes - 61.4 MBIn this episode Olivia Taylor speaks to Wandile Sihlobo about inclusive growth, permaculture, land expropriation without compensation, and so much more! Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture.” He was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 after serving on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on L...