Planetary health: Connecting Climate, Health, and Power
ModulesPlanetary health: Connecting Climate, Health, and Power
The goal of this training activity is to help listeners critically reflect on the podcast’s insights and apply them to their own research practices, values, and ethical choices.
-Explain how gender and intersectionality shape health outcomes and vulnerabilities in the context of climate change and planetary health.
-Analyse how dominant research paradigms produce knowledge gaps and perpetuate inequalities in health research.
-Reflect on the ethical responsibilities and potential roles of researchers and students in responding to climate injustice and institutional collaborations with harmful industries.
-Apply individual strategies to engage with complex and emotionally challenging topics related to climate change, health, and social justice.
What is this about?
This activity builds on the content of the fourth episode of “Earth to Research”, titled “Planetary Health (Part One): Expelling Shell”. This episode Host Lucy Sabin speaks with Petra Verdonk, co-founder of the Dutch Society for Gender and Health. They discuss gender, intersectionality, and values in research. And how universities can divest from fossil fuel interests while nurturing integrity and activism in academia. They reflect on what new possibilities emerge when research is guided by planetary health and gender and intersectionality perspectives.
This podcast explores how health and climate research are deeply shaped by social inequalities, showing why gender, intersectionality, and power relations are essential for understanding real-world health outcomes in the context of the climate crisis. Through examples from research, activism, and creative practice, it challenges the idea of neutral science and invites researchers to rethink their roles, methods, and responsibilities.
Listen to the podcast
Listen to the fourth episode of “Earth to Research” and learn about the connection between health, gender, power and the climate crisis.
Planetary health: Connecting Climate, Health, and Power Podcast
Reframing Research
After listening to the podcast, now let’s reflect on the key lessons about how research, health, and climate should be approached differently.
Reflect on possible changes researchers can make
After completing the table above (step 2) let’s make a quick check. Pleas answer the questions below.
Test your knowledge
Decide whether each statement is True (T) or False (F) based on the podcast. Then read the feedback to check your understanding.
Making one small change
Based on the podcast, identify one realistic change you could make, for example:
- Asking a different research question
- Paying attention to gendered or social contexts you currently overlook
- Being more critical about funding sources or collaborations
- Using a more creative or reflective method in a workshop, class, or research meeting
Keep it small and concrete and use these questions to check whether your reflection is aligned with the podcast’s messages:
- Can I explain how this change responds to a limitation the podcast's guest describes in current research practices?
- Does this change move beyond simply “adding” a group, and instead question assumptions or structures?
- Does it reflect the idea that research is connected to real lives, values, and consequences?
If you can answer “yes” to at least two, you are applying the podcast’s insights.
