Climate,conflicts and crafting solutions: A case of the ‘Climate Brides’ podcast

Abstract

The manifestations of climate change take a multitude of forms in different regional contexts. For a large part of the world, it goes beyond the extreme weather events and affects their lives to the core, leading to social, economic, and cultural conflicts. The present research studies the representation of effects of climate change in the context of the Indian subcontinent, as discussed on a podcast named ‘Climate Brides’. Starting its inquiry from the issue of ‘marriages of survival’ done to cope with climate change, the podcast explores the intersectional nature of climate change. This study uses Thematic Analysis combined with Discourse Analysis to examine the portrayal of climate change and its relationship with other issues like gender, ethnicity, slow violence, and human dignity. The discourse here, however, transcends the conflict-centric portrayal of the climate crisis and also discusses possible ways to handle it. By doing this, the podcast aligns itself well with the solutions journalism framework. The article not only makes a contribution to the scarcely studied media portrayal of climate change in the Global South but also advocates for an intersectional framing of the climate crisis, necessary to foster climate justice.