Jewish Perspectives on Climate Change with Joelle Novey and Jessica Jacobs

Brief Episode Description:

In this episode, Nicole Diroff and guest co-host Dr. Keisha McKenzie discuss Jewish perspectives on climate change with Joelle Novey, director of Interfaith Power & Light (DC, MD, and Northern VA), and poet Jessica Jacobs. Joelle shares insights into how her Jewish faith informs her climate work and reads from her latest poetry collection, Unalone.

For full show notes, including links and transcript, visit www.climatechangedpodcast.org

Grounding:

The episode begins with a grounding moment from Jessica Jacobs, who reads her poem “Collective Nouns” from her poetry collection Unalone. The poem proposes an alternative view of Noah and the Ark story. Jessica’s evocative language offers a moment of reflection as listeners prepare to engage with the conversation.

Main Conversation:

Joelle Novey shares how her Jewish faith guides her commitment to climate action, drawing from centuries of Jewish wisdom on justice and community. She highlights the importance of religious values in confronting the climate crisis, such as the Jewish principle of "pikuach nefesh" (saving a life), and how it drives her work. Joelle also discusses practical climate solutions through grassroots organizing, offering inspiring stories about her work with faith communities and environmental advocacy.

Dr. Keisha McKenzie and Nicole reflect on the stories of Noah’s Ark, addressing "small boat theology" and how climate action should include everyone, not just a select few. Together, they challenge listeners to consider how they can contribute to building a future of solidarity and collective action in response to climate change.

Next Steps:

• Join a Movement: Joelle encourages listeners to join or create a movement within their community that promotes systemic climate action. To connect with others, check out Interfaith Power & Light’s national network.
• Community Organizing: Think about ways you can partner with local organizations or faith communities to amplify your climate advocacy. Collective action is powerful!
• Start a Conversation: Initiate discussions about climate change within your congregation or community, asking how they can respond with integrity and compassion.

Additional Resources:

• (Add BTS Center resources and other resources)
• All We Can Save Project

Meet the Guests:

Dr. Keisha E. McKenzie, our guest co-host,  s a strategist and thought leader who blends communication, religion, spirituality, and politics as tools for social change. With over sixteen years of experience in nonprofit and educational leadership across the US, Keisha’s work spans leadership facilitation, faith organizing, and development strategy. She holds a PhD in technical communication and rhetoric from Texas Tech University, where her research focused on British governmental communication about weapons of mass destruction. Dr. McKenzie is a co-host of the PRX podcast Moral Repair: A Black Exploration of Tech and is deeply committed to advancing faith-rooted justice and human dignity.

• Keisha’s website
• Glitch
• LinkedIn
• Mastodon
• Spotify

Joelle Novey is the director of Interfaith Power & Light (DC, MD, and Northern VA), where she mobilizes faith communities to engage in climate action. Joelle has a background in social studies and religion from Harvard and previously worked at Green America. Her work focuses on empowering religious communities to act on their moral obligation to protect the planet.

• Interfaith Power & Light

Jessica Jacobs is an award-winning poet and author of Unalone, a collection of poems that engage deeply with the Hebrew Bible. Her work reflects on themes of climate change, spirituality, and justice, using poetic language to draw connections between ancient stories and contemporary crises.

• Jessica’s Website
• Instagram