Better Tomorrow Speaker Series

About Better Tomorrow Speaker Series

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series hosts conversations that matter. We bring together authors, advocates, and academics to talk about solving problems in Hawai‘i and the world. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

Publisher

Better Tomorrow Speaker Series

Category

education · government · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Oct 2021

Latest episode

29 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

44 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Debbie Packer--Forever People: Indigenous Politics in an Age of Peril

   In this episode, we sit down with Te Pāti Māori MP Debbie Packer to talk about Indigenous rights, ancestral wisdom, environmental protection, and what it means to lead as "forever people." In her conversation with Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, Packer shares the story of the haka heard around the world. She reflects on public health lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, and she breaks down the fight against seabed mining off the Taranaki coast. Drawing from her perspectives as a grassroots Māori activist and elected member of parliament, Packer demonstrates how Indigenous movements across the Pacific provide a blueprint for solidarity, community care, and protecting our shared ocean.

2. 

   20 Aug 2026

   David Hochschild: California's Energy Revolution

   What if a revolution can’t be stopped? The Trump administration has declared war on wind, solar, and even efficient appliances, but as our guest today makes clear, clean energy is cheap energy--and it’s advancing at a breakneck pace, climate deniers be damned. At the center of the action is David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission. David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission, joins Cindy Kan of Collective Energy for a wide-ranging conversation on the clean energy transition, from California’s rapid growth in renewables, battery storage, electrification, and microgrids to the challenges of affordability, reliability, permitting, and equitable implementation. They also explore Hawai‘i’s energy future, the role of state and community leadership, workforce transition, and the personal sources of hope, resilience, and connection that sustain long-term climate work. David Hochschild is chair of the California Energy Commission, an $9 billion agency that directs energy policy for the world’s fourth largest economy. Trained at Swarthmore and the Kennedy School, Hochschild has over 20 years of experience in energy transformation. He has been awarded the Sierra Club’s Trailblazer Award, the American Lung Association’s Clean Air Hero Award, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roof True Champion Award. In 2024, he was named the American Energy Society’s Person of the Year. Cindy Kan is the Director of Projects and Special Projects at Collective Energy.

3. 

   14 Aug 2026

   Ingerid Salvesen: The Norway Paradox

   In this episode we explore an awkward marriage between a sustainability paradise and a petrostate: Norway. If we were to conjure images of a modern green utopia – innovative cities coexisting with natural landscapes, visionary architecture topped with green rooftops and solar panels, ecological sustainability fused with techno futurism – we’d most likely be imagining a place that already exists: Norway. A country known for its breathtaking fjords, generous social services, and recent world cup fame, Norway is also internationally renowned for its ambitious climate adaptation and mitigation policies. More than 90% of the electricity in the country is generated by renewable sources, and Norway is a global leader in zero-emission vehicles. What remain aspirational carbon-neutral targets in most countries, Norway has already achieved. But here is the glaring contradiction: Norway’s green transition is substantially funded by oil and gas. Norway is the largest oil exporter in western Europe and a global super power in natural gas production. The fossil fuel industry accounts for roughly a fifth of the country’s GDP and its proceeds cover roughly a quarter of government expenditures. And while the rest of the world faces oil supply crises following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and President Trump’s war in Iran, Norway profits from increasing international demand for fossil fuels. In today’s episode, we are joined by climate journalist Ingerid Salvesen to break down this Norwegian Paradox. In addition to highlighting Norway’s environmental virtues and contradictions, we discussed the challenges facing climate journalists everywhere. How does one communicate the seriousness of the climate crisis without creating cynicism and overshadowing small victories? And how can journalists remain impartial while still advocating for scientific solutions? Join us to discuss this highly particular and paradoxical climate case study with Dr. Ingerid Salvesen in her hometown of Oslo, Norway. Ingerid Salvesen is a journalist and researcher based in Oslo, with a long career in writing and environmental policy. She earned her Master’s from the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Oslo, and has studied at Oslo University College, the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. She is currently a scholar in climate journalism at Oslo Met University and a journalist at the Sunstone Institute. Robert Perkinson (moderator) is an associate professor of American Studies at UH Manoa and director of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series. Production assistance: Oslo Metropolitan University, University of Hawai'i Center for Language & Technology. The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation. BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

213,317

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

4.5 / 5

15 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 42 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

31

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

50

Contact Better Tomorrow Speaker Series

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.