How to Write a Climate Thriller Fit for Page or Screen
‘The Ministry for the Future’ author Kim Stanley Robinson, ‘Extrapolations’ creator Dorothy Fortenberry and ‘Drilled’ podcast host Amy Westervelt talk about narratives that take on the climate crisis.
The Hollywood sign in California.
Photographer: KONRAD FIEDLER/AFP/Getty Images
A powerful story can shift perspectives, and help people imagine the future differently. Powerful climate stories could, in that sense, help humanity tackle its biggest challenge yet.
Over the past several weeks, the Zero podcast has been sitting down with climate storytellers to understand what makes for a compelling climate narrative, and what pitfalls are best avoided. We spoke with Kim Stanley Robinson, whose more than 20 novels include 2020’s climate anthology The Ministry for the Future; Dorothy Fortenberry, executive producer of Apple TV+ climate show Extrapolations; and Amy Westervelt, host of the true-crime climate podcast Drilled. All of them argued in favor of a few key principles when telling stories that center on the environment.