#3-02 - Sustainability - A Mindset for the Anthropocene - ft. Dr. Thomas Bruhn

The Anthropocene is the current epoch in human history, proposed as a time period, during which human activities produced enough impact to constitute a distinct change on Earth’s geology and ecosystems, for example, climate change.

In this episode, Srinath and Leonie talk to Dr. Thomas Bruhn, a research group leader at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, where his projects focus on how cultivating mental qualities, such as mindfulness, can contribute to sustainability. 

They discuss the difference between simply generating knowledge and integrating the already existing forms of knowledge into the society outside academia. Thomas talks about the importance of sustainability in relationships and how the larger systemic change happens through the emergence of relationship patterns that manifest in small changes in every one of us.

Thomas talks about the role of meaningful conversations in generating new insights and the challenge of establishing such connections. They also discuss the lack of utopian outlooks for the future that we could get excited about. 

Learn more about Dr. Bruhn and his work: https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en/people/thomas-bruhn

Dr. Bruhn’s book: “Mehr sein, weniger brauchen – Was Nachhaltigkeit mit unseren Beziehungen zu tun hat“ (Bruhn, T.  & Böhme, J., 2021): https://www.beltz.de/sachbuch_ratgeber/produkte/details/45242-mehr-sein-weniger-brauchen.html

How to experiment with different forms of communication in a scientific context:  Creating space for reflection and dialogue: Examples of new modes of communication for empowering climate action (Fraude et al., 2021) https://publications.iass-potsdam.de/rest/items/item_6001281_1/component/file_6001282/content

Dr. Bruhn’s research at the climate negotiations:. Enabling new mindsets and transformative skills for negotiating and activating climate action. Lessons from UNFCCC conferences of the parties. (Wamsler et al., 2020) https://publications.iass-potsdam.de/rest/items/item_6000224_2/component/file_6000225/content

Episode Art: Photo by Noah Buscher (https://unsplash.com/@noahbuscher) on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/)

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Intro - Outro music composed by Srinath Ramkumar: https://twitter.com/srinathramkumar

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