"The podcast’s peer-to-peer interviews are its greatest strength: there’s not an ounce of condescension or astonishment that young organizers have built such a promising movement. In an urgent climate crisis, who has the time for that?" Outside, Nov. 2020

Inherited sprouted as a nagging thought sometime in 2018, when I was living in Brooklyn. A couple years prior, I had interned for climate-focused media company The Years Project, and in the years since had become almost immobilized with climate anxiety. I was terrified of the changes to come in my lifetime, especially in my tiny island hometown. I felt hopeless, powerless, and despairing. I was angry at myself for choosing to study the humanities instead of hard science in college.

To soothe myself, I toyed with the idea of a climate podcast, "Hot Planet." In 2019, I solidified a pitch and accompanying sizzle reel that made it to the finals of the WNYC Podcast Accelerator at Werk It. But the premise was still vague and unfocused. I was not selected to proceed.

Things began to change midsummer, when I attended my first Sunrise Movement meeting. There, I met a coalition of impassioned young people working to elect climate champions into office. Around this time, a former college peer, Julianna Bradley, enthusiastically reached out about collaborating on Hot Planet. Her fiery work ethic and environmental policy experience were invaluable. Through our ambitious fantasies, Hot Planet was reborn as Inherited -- a tightly produced, sumptuously sound-designed storytelling podcast about a generation of young climate activists, forced to deeply confront the greatest challenge humanity has ever known.

On the heels of Inherited's trailer, which dropped Earth Day 2020, Inherited was picked up by climate network Critical Frequency. With the support of small matching grant from Merlyn's Pen Climate Grants and the network, Julianna and I hosted and produced the 4-episode capsule pilot season. We were immensely privileged to have editorial assistance from Amy Westervelt and Rekha Murthy.

The resulting season has been featured in a number of media outlets including the CBC, Gizmodo, Vulture, Outside Magazine, Grist, and more.

Currently, Inherited is seeking funding for an ambitious second season, where we'll bring in the voices of even more youth climate correspondents to share their stories. Please feel free to reach out with any funding leads!

- Georgia

Artwork by Lily Porter Wright