Bookend episode: looking back at season 1 of Saving The World From Bad Ideas

In this special season finale of Saving the World from Bad Ideas, host Mark Lynas flips the script by inviting producer Rob on mic for the first time. Together, they look back on an exhilarating first season — what worked, what surprised them, what they learned, and where the podcast might go next.

From nuclear debates and rewilding wolves to Just Stop Cooking and geoengineering taboos, Mark and Rob unpack the biggest ideas (and the most controversial guests). They also explore a meta bad idea: the notion that “bad ideas = bad people”, and why it’s crucial to challenge ideas without descending into tribalism or cancel culture.

Expect behind-the-scenes stories, reflections on feedback, philosophical rabbit holes, and a few laugh-out-loud moments. Plus: what’s coming in Season Two — AI, decarbonising flying, oceans, and existential risks.

🧠 Topics Discussed
 ● 🤝 Meta Bad Idea: Why “bad ideas ≠ bad people” (or not!)

● 🎙️ Favourite guests & episodes: George Monbiot, Hannah Ritchie,, Luigi Boitani, and more

● ⚛️ Nuclear myths, green tribalism & the rise of a global pro-nuclear movement

● 🌍 Climate justice & cooking with charcoal — insights from Uganda

● 🐺 Wolves, rewilding, and de-romanticising nature

● 💥 Nuclear winter, biofuels, and the politics of bad ideas

● 🌡️ Planetary boundaries vs. ecomodernist optimism

● ✈️ Future topics: AI, sustainable aviation, oceans & rethinking activism

● 🧪 Why progress means embracing technology and complexity

● 📚 Blurbs, books, and podcast crossovers: Pinker, Grunwald, Richie, Robock & more

👩‍🏫 Featured Guests (Season Highlights)

• Hannah Ritchie  – urgent optimism

• George Monbiot – rewilding, food justice, and political power

• Steven Pinker – enlightenment, science, and progress

• Luigi Boitani – wolves, coexistence, and ecological realism

• Mike Grunwald – land-sparing and the biofuels disaster
• Oliver Morton & Cynthia Scharf – talking about geoengineering (yes, talking!)

• Rebecca Wrigley – wildness without nostalgia

• Patricia Nanteza – cooking fuel justice in Africa

• Alan Robock – nuclear winter is real (and terrifying)

• Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow & Tea Törmänen – the global pro nuclear movement and how Finnish Greens embraced nuclear

  
  

📚 Recommended Listening & Reading
● The God Species – Mark Lynas
● The Good Fight – podcast by Yascha Mounk
● The Decouple Podcast – deep dives on nuclear and energy
● Cleaning Up – with Michael Liebreich & Bryony Worthington
● Clearing the air– upcoming book by Hannah Ritchie

💬 Quote Highlights
“Bad ideas don’t make bad people. We have to debate the idea, play around with thel as our toys instead of cancelling people. ” — Rob
“There’s no simple slogan that can replace complexity. But there is humour.” — Rob
“If you want to kill billions of people, you need a nuclear winter, not global warming.” — Mark
“As an ecomodernist I would say, AI is a tool, and it can be used in good ways and bad ways...” — Rob

🌐 About WePlanet
WePlanet is a global citizen and science movement challenging bad ideas and championing evidence-based solutions for climate, nature, and human development. Learn more at weplanet.org.

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🎧 Binge Season One wherever you get your podcasts. Season Two launches September 2025.