The WBUR Festival: Full Schedule

2:00pm EDT

Climate and Clean Energy in an Age of Uncertainty

Friday May 30, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave) @ 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

As the new administration works to dismantle environmental protections, is it still possible for Massachusetts to meet its climate goals?

In partnership with

Speakers

Secretary Rebecca Tepper

Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Rebecca Tepper has served as the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs since her appointment by Governor Maura Healey in 2023. Secretary Tepper oversees the agencies charged with facilitating the clean energy transition, improving resilience to climate... Read More →

Mireille Bejjani

Co-Executive Director, Slingshot

Mireille Bejjani works with community groups fighting fossil fuel infrastructure and waste facilities across Massachusetts, facilitates the Fix the Grid campaign to overhaul the regional electric grid, and helps manage the overall operations of Slingshot. Before Slingshot, Mireille... Read More →

Dan Dolan

President, New England Power Generators Association

Dan Dolan has served as President of the New England Power Generators Association (NEPGA) since the fall of 2011. NEPGA is the trade association representing roughly 95% of the installed generation capacity in New England. As President he is the principal spokesperson and oversees... Read More →

Miriam Wasser

Senior Reporter, Climate & Environment, WBUR

Miriam Wasser is a senior reporter with WBUR's climate and environment team. Before coming to WBUR, she was a staff writer for the Phoenix New Times in Arizona. Her work has also appeared in Boston Magazine, The Atlantic, Narratively, DigBoston and The Big Roundtable.

Friday May 30, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment

2:30pm EDT

Health on a Warming Planet

Friday May 30, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave) @ 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

It’s estimated that by 2050, more than 14 million people will die as a result of climate change.. From tick-borne disease to high heat exposure and avian influenza, hear how physicians, researchers, and policy-makers are tackling all the new risks.

Sponsored by

In partnership with

Speakers

Dr. Gaurab Basu

Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Gaurab Basu is a physician and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and assistant professor of global health & social medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is core faculty at the Harvard Chan Center for Climate... Read More →

Zoya Teirstein

Staff Writer, Grist

Zoya Teirstein is a staff writer covering the impacts of climate change on human health. Her work can also be found in Rolling Stone, Wired, and the Associated Press. She has received awards from the Indigenous Journalists Association, the SEAL Awards, and the Society of Environmental... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment

4:00pm EDT

FESTIVAL HUB: Greening Your Life

Friday May 30, 2025 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT

Festival Hub (808 Commonwealth Ave) @ 808 Commonwealth Avenue, 808 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

A climate writer and a “Right to Repair” advocate share their stories about small shifts that can make a big difference in the fight against climate change.

In partnership with

Speakers

Nathan Proctor

Senior Director, Right to Repair Campaign, PIRG

Nathan Proctor is the Senior Director for PIRG's Right to Repair campaigns, which stretch across dozens of states and includes shareholder, Congressional and federal advocacy to protect people's ability to repair modern electronics. He has authored more than a dozen reports on Right... Read More →

Tik Root

Senior Staff Writer, Grist

Tik Root covers the economics of climate change at Grist. He started his career as a freelance journalist in Yemen, and has since covered everything from Al Qaeda to the Olympics for outlets such as National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Atlantic, among others. He previously... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Festival Hub (808 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment

4:00pm EDT

A Vision for Powering New England with Bill McKibben

Friday May 30, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT

Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave) @ 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Explore New England’s renewable energy and climate tech possibilities from solar to wind to geothermal networks.

In partnership with

Speakers

Jamie Beard

Founder & Executive Director, Project InnerSpace

Jamie Beard is the founder and executive director of Project InnerSpace, a non-profit working for the global growth and development of geothermal energy. An energy and regulatory attorney by training but a creative at heart, Beard is principal investigator of a U.S. Department of... Read More →

Asegun Henry

Founder & Chief Technologist, Fourth Power

Asegun Henry, founder of Fourth Power and MIT professor, is advancing renewable energy with breakthrough thermal battery technology. His innovations, including pumping liquid tin at 2400°C and record-setting thermophotovoltaic efficiency, are integral components of Fourth Power’s... Read More →

Kat Bagley

Editor-in-Chief, Grist

Katherine (Kat) Bagley is the editor-in-chief of Grist, a nonprofit media organization covering climate, environmental justice, and solutions. She is a journalism leader with more than 18 years of experience covering climate change and the environment, and more than a decade working... Read More →

Emily Reichert

CEO, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

As Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Dr. Emily Reichert leads MassCEC’s efforts to build a robust, internationally competitive clean energy and climatetech economy in Massachusetts.Before joining MassCEC in 2023, Emily served as CEO of Greentown... Read More →

Bill McKibben

Environmentalist & Author

Bill McKibben is founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 for action on climate and justice.His 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages. He’s gone on to write... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment

1:30pm EDT

The Future of Dinner

Saturday May 31, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT

Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave) @ 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Global warming is shaping what’s on our plates. Join these culinary changemakers as they explore how a warming world is transforming what we eat — and talk about how we can build a more just and sustainable food system.

In partnership with

Speakers

Barbara Moran

Correspondent, Climate and Environment, WBUR

Barbara Moran is a correspondent on WBUR’s climate and environmental team.Moran grew up in Hudson, Mass., attended the University of Notre Dame, then got her master's in science journalism from BU. For 25 years, she has worked as a science journalist covering public health, environmental... Read More →

Irene Shiang Li

Co-founder, Mei Mei Dumplings & Prepshift

Irene Shiang Li (she/her) co-founded Mei Mei in Boston in 2013 and built the brand around sustainable sourcing and fair and transparent employment practices, including open book management. Mei Mei is now a dumpling company and Irene’s focus is on building Prepshift, a tech-enabled... Read More →

Alex Pogany

Organics Management Specialist

Alex Pogany got his start as an organic vegetable farmer who created an on-site compost operation as part of a soil fertility plan. Once he noticed the power of compost as a mechanism to divert organics from the landfill, while enhancing soils and recycling nutrients, he switched... Read More →

Neftalí Duran

Co-founder, I-Collective

Neftali Duran is a cook, advocate, educator, and organizer working towards an equitable food system and building a network of indigenous food leaders.He is a Salzburg Global Fellow and cofounder of the I-Collective, an indigenous collective that promotes a healthy food system that... Read More →

Kannan Thiruvengadam

Director, Eastie Farm

Kannan Thiruvengadam grew up in a farming family in southern India where life was inextricably linked with land and agricultural adages were part of everyday parlance. After an early career in technology, he responded to his calling and returned to his agrarian roots.In response to... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment, Food & Drink

4:30pm EDT

How to Save the Planet: A Conversation with Gina McCarthy

Saturday May 31, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Tsai Performance Center (685 Commonwealth Ave) @ 685 US-20, Boston, MA 02215, USA

The former EPA chief chats with a leading environmental researcher about making progress on climate change as the U.S. withdraws from the Paris Accords. Again.

Sponsored by

In partnership with

Speakers

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Author & Host, What If We Get It Right?

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, and writer. She is co-founder of the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab, distinguished scholar at Bowdoin College, and author of The New York Times bestseller What If We Get it Right?: Visions of Climate Futures... Read More →

Gina McCarthy

Former White House National Climate Advisor, 13th U.S. EPA Administrator

The first White House National Climate Advisor and former U.S. EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy is one of the nation’s most respected voices on climate change, the environment, and public health. As head of the Climate Policy Office under President Biden, McCarthy’s leadership... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Tsai Performance Center (685 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment

4:30pm EDT

Whose Woods are These?

Saturday May 31, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave) @ 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Join passionate land stewards for a conversation about the future of our public and private lands, from conservation efforts to outdoor recreation and land ownership.

In partnership with

Speakers

Frida Garza

Staff Writer, Food and Agriculture, Grist

Frida Garza is a staff writer covering food and agriculture at Grist. Previously, she has worked as an editor at the Guardian US where she launched America's Dirty Divide, a series on environmental and climate justice, and as a senior staff writer at Jezebel. She lives in Brooklyn... Read More →

Janelle Woods-McNish

Chief Marketing and Diversity Officer, The Trustees

Janelle Woods-McNish currently serves as the Chief Marketing & Diversity Officer for The Trustees. In this role, she oversees marketing and communications, membership, and customer relationship management, while continuing to focus on The Trustees’ diversity, belonging, equity... Read More →

Ramona Peters

President & Founder, Native Land Conservancy

Ramona Peters is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and NLC founder. She has served her tribe as: Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) Director, and researcher. She formed the NLC as a collective group of indigenous... Read More →

Diana Ruiz

Executive Director, Native Land Conservancy

Diana Ruiz is a conservation scientist who has researched humpback whales in Madagascar and endangered apes in Cameroon through community-driven projects. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, specializing in reducing the risk of extinction for threatened species... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Dance Theatre (915 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment

5:30pm EDT

Disappearing Coastlines

Saturday May 31, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT

Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave) @ 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

What does sea level rise mean for shifting coastlines, and how are Boston and other oceanside communities preparing?

Sponsored by

In partnership with

Speakers

Cindy Fitzgibbon

Chief Meteorologist, WCVB Channel 5

Cindy Fitzgibbon is chief meteorologist for WCVB StormTeam 5, overseeing the station’s weather coverage and leading Channel 5’s talented team of meteorologists. An expert and award-winning meteorologist with more than 25 years of experience, 20 of them reporting weather in the... Read More →

Elizabeth Etrie

Director of Ocean Policy, Conservation Law Foundation

Elizabeth “Libby” Etrie is the Director of Ocean Policy in our Oceans program. Libby joins CLF with over a decade of experience working on a variety of fisheries and ocean conservation initiatives, including holding three consecutive terms as an At-Large Member of the New England... Read More →

Jeremy Pochman

Co-founder & CEO, 11th Hour Racing & Ocean Hour Farm

Jeremy Pochman is a co-founder and the CEO of 11th Hour Racing and Ocean Hour Farm. Working across both organizations, Jeremy seeks to underscore the intersection of ocean and land, and us humans, who are in the middle, and how we can push each other to find better solutions for the... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Booth Theatre (820 Commonwealth Ave)

Climate & Environment