For our debut episode, Andrew Dana Hudson, a speculative fiction writer, sustainability researcher, and narrative strategist, takes us on a Solarpunk journey.

How did solarpunk emerge as a movement? What values do solarpunks embody ? As a counter-cultural force, what politics does it prefigure?

(00:00:00) Highlights & Introduction

(00:00:50) What does it mean to be solarpunk?

(00:03:25) Examples of solarpunk projects IRL

(00:06:54) How did solarpunk develop?

(00:12:00) Solarpunk going mainstream

(00:17:45) Greenwashing and solarpunk

(00:21:35) Solarpunk communities

(00:25:16) Degrowth and solarpunk

(00:30:40) Future of energy abundance

(00:36:15) Cyberpunk vs solarpunk

(00:41:30) Solarpunk as propaganda

(00:44:00) Post-normal fiction

(00:49:35) Climate fiction and Amitav Ghosh

(00:55:33) Literature vs other media for activist fiction

(00:58:10) Disney's solarpunk movie

(01:02:56) Gamification of the Green New Deal

(01:11:00) What gives Andrew hope?

🌱 With the motto “move loudly and plant things,” Andrew urges us to “talk as often and as clearly and honestly and forthrightly as we can about what kind of future we actually want to live in and demanding that of others and of power”.

•••

Andrew is an OG solarpunk. He witnessed the movement leave the confines of Tumblr and inspire an increasing number of people to express their vision of solarpunk. With his 2015 essay, “On the Political Dimensions of Solarpunk,” Andrew helped shape the movement’s political implications and real-world impact.

For him, solarpunk is a counter-cultural force, that reminds us that change need not to be painfully imposed on us.

This episode features discussions about photon-societies, degrowth, land management in the Vatican, gamifying the green new deal, post-normal fiction and Frozen.

✨Take your first dip into Solarpunk now!

Instagram - @solarpunk.manifesto

Music - @simocellmusic

Visuals - @louise_mscr @tengtengho_ @via_minhu

Studio - Edouard Picard from the @lpiparis

P.S. Apologies for the quality of the audio in some parts, the output compression of the recording equipment appeared to be faulty.