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The Climate Question: Is science fiction holding back climate action?

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05/04/2021 GMT

Is science fiction holding back climate action?

BBC World Service - The Climate Question, Is science fiction holding back climate action?

Death, dystopia and apocalypse: has fiction and film got climate wrong?

For centuries, we’ve been reading, watching and listening to science fiction. And all too often, it’s pretty pessimistic about our future, especially when it touches on the topic of climate change. 

This is leading some to ask whether these doom and gloom stories are doing the climate fight more harm than good - causing us to feel so anxious and powerless that we don’t take action.  

So for this week's climate question, we’re asking: Is sci-fi holding us back? 

Graihagh Jackson is joined by:

Amy Brady, editor-in-chief of the Chicago Review of Books, where she writes a monthly column called Burning Worlds. In it she explores how fiction addresses climate change. 

Cheryl Slean is a playwright, filmmaker and educator working with the National Resource Defense Council’s Re-write the Future campaign to increase accurate climate stories in film and television. 

Ken Liu is a futurist and author of speculative fiction. He has won the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards. His debut novel, The Grace of Kings, is the first volume in a silkpunk epic fantasy series.

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