Eugene Linden, guest in hours 2-4, is an award-winning journalist and the author of The Parrot’s Lament, Silent Partners, and other books on animals and the environment. He has consulted for the US State Department, the UN Development Program, and is a widely traveled speaker and lecturer. He discusses his new book, "The Future in Plain Sight" which addresses climate change. The weather and climate have been very unstable throughout human history, he remarks, and humanity itself is a product of climate instability.
Linden notes how the "Little Ice Age" wiped out part of Norway and without it we might be speaking Norwegian. And since then, the climate has been pretty stable: "Good weather, more food, more people." Linden forecasts what the future will look like in our current climate predicament. Family ties and religion will become more important once the climate "goes to hell." He specifically talks about a possible idea in New York where buildings will have positive air pressure inside - a building where air rushes out (rather than in) when you open the door. Art ponders if we'll be looking at a Mad Max-type world. Linden speculates that in some parts of the world, we would have that. But in other places, it will be more orderly. People will search for rational explanations and religious ones, too, in the future.
In hour 1, Art talks about news of the day. He brings up the past night's program with Mel Waters, and shares his reaction to the 'Mel's Hole' tale. Art also presents weird science items and takes Open Lines calls.