Ep. 241: Combating Climate Anxiety Through Spiritual Resilience w/ Suzanne Crawford O’Brien
EQ: What does it mean to adopt an intersectional approach to environmental issues and how can that framework be utilized to combat climate anxiety and build spiritual resilience?
Joining the podcast is a returning guest Suzanne Crawford O'Brien, Professor of Religion and Culture at Pacific Lutheran University. If you missed the first episode 197 Climate Anxiety & Sacred Resilience go check it out. Suzanne is back with a new book “Climate Anxiety and Spiritual Resilience: A Guide to Kinship, Justice, and Hope” exploring the intersections of spirituality, climate change, justice, and hope. We revisit how their understanding of climate anxiety has evolved through their research, teaching, and writing, and dig into what it means to turn toward spiritual traditions that survived colonial exploitation and extractive systems. We talk about “everyday contemplation,” rituals and practices that help us stay grounded when the world feels like it’s ending. We also get into the uncomfortable disconnect between Christian rhetoric and environmental policy in the current Trump administration, and ask how we can resist talking about the natural world in the same transactional, extractive language that has contributed to the climate crisis in the first place. Most importantly, we talk about what it looks like to build personal and collective resilience, reclaim spiritual practices from a decolonized perspective, and imagine a climate future rooted not just in survival, but in what gives us life.
You can find her on Substack at and Bluesky at @scrawfordobrien.bsky.social.
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Hope: Check out Suzanne’s website for upcoming events! You have the opportunity to see her/connect with other like minded individuals all up and down I-5 corridor over the next two months.
Annie: I know we’re all very weary of bad news and overwhelmed by the volume of BS, but please consider a singular environmental issue that’s important to you and research a new way to be its proponent. This doesn’t have to be financial–you can do something as simple as finding a group of like-minded folks online to engage in conversation and advocacy.
Suzanne: Go to the Project Drawdown website.