On a rainy night in December, author Bill McKibben joined Virginia Prescott in front of a live audience for the "In the Spotlight" series at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire, presented in partnership with Gibson's Bookstore.
In this episode, McKibben reads from his newest book, and speaks with Virginia about the importance of humor in activism, hope and despair in the face of climate change, and how to deal with the depression that's tied to covering an overwhelming global threat.
Bill McKibben is a journalist, educator, and grassroots activist. His 1989 book, The End of Nature is considered the first book about climate change written for a general audience. Now, with dozens of books and articles on the subject, he's known for gloomy predictions about where the planet is heading. That's why his newest work - and his first novel - is so surprising. In Radio Free Vermont, which is dubbed in the press materials as "a fable of resistance," a septuagenarian radio host leads a rag-tag group of Vermont activists in a push for secession. There is plenty of Vermont beer, Aaron Sorkin-style idealism, and even a chase scene that takes place on cross-country skis.