The climate crisis gets more terrifying every year. The impact is undeniable and can feel totally overwhelming. Hope won’t solve it, but neither will hopelessness. A surefire way to manage anxiety and stress over the existential problem threatening our planet is to participate in solutions. So our team is prepared to answer your questions about how you can meaningfully make a difference.

This is an episode of Outrage + Optimism we think you’ll enjoy, a podcast that explore the stories behind the headlines on climate change, talking to the change-makers turning…

Impatient for Change (from “Outrage + Optimism”) - Bonus episode

This is an episode of Outrage + Optimism we think you’ll enjoy, a podcast that explore the stories behind the headlines on climate change, talking to the change-makers turning…

This is an episode of TED Climate we think you’d enjoy, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective, which is back for a new season.

What to do when climate change feels unstoppable (from “TED Climate”) - Bonus episode

This is an episode of TED Climate we think you’d enjoy, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective, which is back for a new season.

Yes, you can live your green values all the way to the grave.

What’s the greenest kind of funeral?

Yes, you can live your green values all the way to the grave.

Where should you start with greening your home, and how do you get it subsidized?

How to hack rebates to upgrade your home

Where should you start with greening your home, and how do you get it subsidized?

What’s the best way to offset the planetary damage of your air travel?

Do carbon offsets help with airplane emissions?

What’s the best way to offset the planetary damage of your air travel?

Here’s a hint: keep the conversation alive.

What do you do when you want to change a mind?

Here’s a hint: keep the conversation alive.

Kids want to take care of the Earth as much as you do!

How to teach kids about climate action

Kids want to take care of the Earth as much as you do!

Should I prioritize planting drought-tolerant or native plants?

How to cultivate a climate-friendly yard

Should I prioritize planting drought-tolerant or native plants?

Caleigh and Candice end the “chicken vs. fish” debate, once and for all.

Which is better, chicken or fish?

Caleigh and Candice end the “chicken vs. fish” debate, once and for all.

Overwhelmed by climate change? Here are some ways to manage the anxiety.

I have dread. Lots of dread.

Overwhelmed by climate change? Here are some ways to manage the anxiety.

Your practical, personal guide to protecting the planet will be back with new episodes starting February 21!

The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast is back! Season 2 trailer

Your practical, personal guide to protecting the planet will be back with new episodes starting February 21!

Today we’re sharing an episode from an environmental podcast you might like, Sea Change, from WWNO in New Orleans. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts.

Designing with Nature (from “Sea Change”)

Today we’re sharing an episode from an environmental podcast you might like, Sea Change, from WWNO in New Orleans. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts.

Today we’re sharing an episode from a science podcast you might like, Short Wave, from NPR. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts.

Don’t call it dirt: the science of soil (from “Short Wave”)

Today we’re sharing an episode from a science podcast you might like, Short Wave, from NPR. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts.

Batteries are the key to a greener planet, but they cause environmental damage too.

What’s the downside of going electric?

Batteries are the key to a greener planet, but they cause environmental damage too.

Plastic waste keeps piling up. Is anyone working on a plan to stop using it?

What will fix our plastic problem?

Plastic waste keeps piling up. Is anyone working on a plan to stop using it?

Today we’re sharing an episode from another climate podcast that you might like. It’s Zero: The Climate Race from Bloomberg.

How to triple renewables by 2030 (from “Zero: The Climate Race”)

Today we’re sharing an episode from another climate podcast that you might like. It’s Zero: The Climate Race from Bloomberg.

How to raise kids who use fewer resources in their lifetimes than the average American

How do I raise a low-impact kid?

How to raise kids who use fewer resources in their lifetimes than the average American

Caleigh and Candice touch the “third rail” of climate change: Is it better for the planet if you decide not to have a child – and should you factor that into your own family planning…

Should I have children?

Caleigh and Candice touch the “third rail” of climate change: Is it better for the planet if you decide not to have a child – and should you factor that into your own family planning…

Have yourself a merry, waste-free Christmas. Let your impact be light!

Green holidays, without being a Grinch

Have yourself a merry, waste-free Christmas. Let your impact be light!

How much difference does it make if you drive less or get an EV?

Does reducing driving make a dent?

How much difference does it make if you drive less or get an EV?

The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast presents Episode 1 of “How We Survive”

The $80 Million Acre (from 'How We Survive') - Bonus episode

The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast presents Episode 1 of “How We Survive”

Tips to be stylish and sustainable – without going broke.

How to find sustainable fashion for less

Tips to be stylish and sustainable – without going broke.

What’s so cool about composting, and how you can do it too.

Is composting really doing anything?

What’s so cool about composting, and how you can do it too.

Is there a way to gently nudge people toward greener behavior without becoming a nagging drag?

How do I avoid becoming a climate cop?

Is there a way to gently nudge people toward greener behavior without becoming a nagging drag?

Want to make a difference but don’t know where to start? Here’s a list of actions to take now.

What are the top five things I can do?

Want to make a difference but don’t know where to start? Here’s a list of actions to take now.

KCRW listeners want to know if they’re recycling right. Here are all your recycling do’s and don’ts.

Do my recyclables actually get recycled?

KCRW listeners want to know if they’re recycling right. Here are all your recycling do’s and don’ts.

Why bother taking any individual actions to help the planet if industry and other nations pollute so much that they cancel you out?

Does what we do really matter?

Why bother taking any individual actions to help the planet if industry and other nations pollute so much that they cancel you out?

Got questions about how you can help the planet in your daily life? We have the answers, each week, in less time than it will take you to sort your recyclables.

Introducing The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast

Got questions about how you can help the planet in your daily life? We have the answers, each week, in less time than it will take you to sort your recyclables.

Sign Up for the Anti-Dread Climate Podcast Newsletter

You’ve got questions about how to respond to the climate crisis. We’ve got answers every week about what you can do that actually makes a difference. Sign up today for KCRW's Anti-Dread Climate Newsletter.




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Meet Your Hosts


Caleigh Wells


Host, TADCP, and Climate Reporter
Contact: caleigh.wells@kcrw.org | Website

Caleigh Wells covers the environment, climate, and public health as KCRW’s Healthy Communities Reporter. Since coming to KCRW in 2019, she has covered wildfire, drought, climate legislation, and environmental health and climate anxiety. Her work regularly appears on NPR and on Marketplace. She reported with The California Newsroom on an investigation into the US Forest Service’s fire mitigation work that won a national Murrow award this year. She was a fellow this year in the Solution Journalism Network’s first climate cohort, and was selected to serve on NPR’s high impact climate collaborative. She has spent her career covering climate change for public media, first interning for ideastream in Cleveland and later coming to KCRW from its crosstown rival, LAist. 


Candice Dickens-Russell


Candice Dickens-Russell is a leader in sustainability, education, environmental literacy, and environmental justice with nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit environmental sector. Candice served as the regional director for environmental education for the State of California Department of Education for 12 years, representing all of Los Angeles County. There she built a strong and vibrant network of L.A. based environmental organizations. Candice served on the Blueprint for Environmental Literacy Taskforce for the state and continues to serve on the implementation committee, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative as the Equity Innovation Hub Chair. An equity thought leader with a passion for environmental justice, Candice is also certified in Diversity & Inclusion and Micro-aggressions. She has led organizations in equity strategic planning and organizational development for over five years.