Mother is Mothering

This Mother's Day special episode of Climate One explores the profound connection between motherhood, caregiving, and environmental stewardship. Hosts Kusha Navidar and Arianna Brocious open with a heartfelt interview of Kusha’s mother, Sheila Karamipour, an environmental engineer whose early influence shaped Kusha’s values and career. The episode weaves personal stories from listeners and colleagues, illustrating how mothers and mother figures instill a deep reverence for nature through everyday moments—like planting gardens, hiking, or teaching children to appreciate the scent of ponderosa pines. The narrative expands to highlight the political and social power of mothers as change-makers, exemplified by Dominique Browning of Moms Clean Air Force, who transformed maternal protectiveness into a national movement for clean air and climate justice. The episode also features Neha Mankani, a midwife and climate advocate in Pakistan, who reveals how climate disasters disproportionately impact pregnant women and newborns, and how midwifery can be a vital climate resilience strategy. Through intimate, global stories, the episode argues that care—whether for children, communities, or the planet—is a radical, transformative force rooted in love, resilience, and action. Key takeaways include: 1) Motherhood is a powerful catalyst for environmental action, as seen in the shift from personal concern to systemic advocacy; 2) Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, especially pregnant women and newborns, making maternal health a climate justice issue; 3) Community-based, locally led solutions—like solar-powered midwifery clinics—are essential for climate resilience; 4) Framing climate issues through children’s health and family well-being makes them more relatable and urgent; 5) Caregivers, especially mothers, possess unique emotional intelligence and moral authority to mobilize change; 6) Interdisciplinary collaboration—bridging environmental, health, and social justice—leads to more sustainable outcomes; 7) Listening to frontline communities is critical to designing effective climate responses; 8) Small, everyday acts of care—like planting a garden or brushing off dirt—can nurture lifelong environmental values.