Our future is undecided—how will we use our collective imagination to design a better world for all?
Through unfiltered conversations, we unpack today's challenges through the lens of creativity and possibility to motivate designers to take meaningful action.
Explore bold, innovative ideas that shift away from the current paradigm towards a regenerative future.
The mission of Climate Designers is to empower designers to learn, connect, and act on climate solutions. Our vision for the future is to activate the global design community to co-create a just and regenerative world.
Marc sits down with Jasmine Bina, cultural futurist and founder of Concept Bureau, to dig into why rooms full of people who believe in climate action still fail to act on it.
They talk about why real change has to start at the top, why most climate stories cast people as the villain, and why that framing might be the actual problem.
It comes down to the fact that nobody wants to be seen as vulnerable.
Jasmine and Marc get into belonging as the thing underneath most of our social problems, the case for small, low-risk bets over big swings, and why fixing a client relationship might shift a studio's culture faster than any internal initiative ever could.
This is a winding conversation touching on a lot of different topics over the course of an hour. Enjoy!
30 Jul 2026
Thinknado
We sit down with our friends John Bielenberg and Brandt Williams, creators of Thinknado, to explore how creativity, AI, and a willingness to “think wrong” can unlock more innovative solutions in taking climate action. Together, they discuss why AI shouldn’t replace human creativity, but instead challenge our default thinking, generate unexpected ideas, and spark entirely new possibilities.
John and Brant discuss the power of small bets, or low-risk experiments that build momentum for bigger change. They share practical strategies for helping designers navigate organizational roadblocks, gain buy-in, and make climate-forward decisions the norm instead of the exception.
If you’ve ever felt like your best ideas get shut down before they have a chance, this conversation is for you. Solving the climate crisis won’t come from doing what we’ve always done. We must question assumptions, embrace curiosity, and have the courage to think differently. The best way forward is to think wrong.
30 Jun 2026
Drew Wilkinson
In episode two, we talk to Drew Wilkinson, former Microsoft employee who turned a two-person sustainability group into a ten-thousand-person climate movement inside the company. We get into why sustainability dies the second it becomes a checkbox at the end of a project and where the real creative decisions happen.
Drew breaks down his “buffet” approach to getting a whole company on board, not just the one person who cares. Why that person (the designer who feels like the only one) is really never alone. And why courage might be the best trait we need in changing the culture within our work places.
28 May 2026
Dr. Renee Lertzman
In season two of Doom & Bloom we’re focusing on how designers can shift the culture within the design industry to prioritize climate-forward design decisions.
We kicked off the new season during San Francisco Climate Week, interviewing Dr. Renee Lertzman, climate psychologist and strategist.
Listen to Renee and Marc discuss the gap between how much designers care about climate and how little they're actually able to integrate it into their work and why the usual moves (educating, persuading, making the case harder) don’t work. They also explored how shifting from “yell, tell, sell” to attunement and guiding can help designers actually move culture inside their organizations.
27 Feb 2026
Season 2 trailer
We are back with a new season of Doom & Bloom!
This time, we're unpacking how designers can shift the culture within the design industry.
We all know designers want to make their work more climate positive, but too often this desire is met with resistance or roadblocks. Transforming the entire design industry starts with changing the culture where designers work.
This season, we'll tap back into the Thinknado process to brainstorm ways to make climate action the default at any studio or company. We're inviting professionals in and outside of the design industry to help us crack the code on changing design culture from the inside out.
29 Oct 2025
Childlike Waterpark
The Doom & Bloom team reflects on Season 1's key ideas and challenges, brainstorming possibilities for Season 2 in a reflective discussion.
25 Sept 2025
Gorilla Hard
Carly Schonberg, NYC Chapter Leader, discusses how framing renewable energy as a solution to financial, operational, and human problems drives business adoption, in an interview with Marc, revealing design's crucial role in bridging problems and solutions.
21 Aug 2025
Fancy Port
Design educator Stevie Bales discusses with host [Host Name] how designers can inspire climate action by humanizing decision-makers and integrating values into everyday choices.
30 Jul 2025
Sudden Skyscrapers
Architects Eric Benson and Marc O’Brien discuss integrating climate education into design programs and repurposing existing structures into community learning hubs, emphasizing the necessity of climate action.
25 Jun 2025
Fancy Pug
Katie Patrick challenges the doom-heavy climate narrative, advocating for design-thinking and empathy to foster climate resilience and bridge polarized communities, exploring playful solutions like a "Pug Cafe" with Marc O'Brien.
29 May 2025
Integrity Ballet
UX/UI designer Zoe discusses the shift towards short-term results in design, exploring the importance of integrity, community impact, and climate considerations in the field; this is an interview.
25 Mar 2025
Unlikely Peaches
Why are we still gatekeeping designs? Why do we prioritize competition over collaboration? Why do we assume we have all the answers before asking others?
On the latest episode of Doom & Bloom, Marc O’Brien and Rachel Cellinese use the Thinknado process to question reality and dismantle outdated mindsets that keep design isolated and exclusive.
The conversation embraces open-source design and rejects the idea that ownership matters more than impact. When design moves beyond individual pursuits and into collective creation, new possibilities emerge. It’s time we build networks that connect designers, farmers, biologists, and organizers to co-create meaningful solutions.
You’ll hear Marc and Rachel challenge designers to step outside their silos, forge unexpected alliances, and develop impact-driven innovations that uplift entire communities. Remember, collaboration over competition.
7 Mar 2025
Jolly Sand
Why isn’t sustainability at the core of every project? Why are people still asking what sustainability even means? And why isn’t it baked into our education system? These communication gaps are holding us back—but what if we flipped the script?
On this episode of Doom and Bloom, host Marc O’Brien and guest Brian Stancheski explore how we can get more people excited about climate solutions.
What if we marketed sustainability like the latest tech drop—sexy, desirable, and impossible to ignore? Together, they use the two-word mash up "jolly & sand", to brainstorm bold ideas like sustainability beach festivals, viral campaigns, and immersive experiences that make climate solutions unforgettable. From influencers to massive beach cleanups, they explore ways to turn sustainability into a movement that can’t be overlooked.
It’s time to think bigger, take action, and make sustainability the main event.
10 Jan 2025
What is Thinknado?
In the first episode of Doom and Bloom, Marc O’Brien sits down with John Bielenberg and Brandt Williams, the masterminds behind Thinknado (https://www.thinknado.com/), to dismantle the predictable thinking that’s keeping us stuck. It’s time to flip the script and ask the hard questions: Is our way of thinking broken? Why do we settle for the status-quo? And most importantly, how do we unleash the creative potential we all have but rarely tap into?
11 Oct 2024
Doom & Bloom Trailer
Doom & Bloom cuts through the noise to the heart of design and climate action
Our future is undecided—how will we use our collective imagination to design a better world for all?
Through unfiltered conversations, we unpack today's challenges through the lens of creativity and possibility to motivate designers to take meaningful action.
Explore bold, innovative ideas that shift away from the current paradigm towards a regenerative future.
Who has been a guest on Doom and Bloom
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Carly Schonberg
Stevie Bales
Eric Benson
Marc O’Brien
Katie Patrick
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
4,393,588
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 28 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
6
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
32
Contact Doom and Bloom
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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