Strength & Solidarity

If you are one of the people feeling that things are not going to be all right, this one’s for you.  Coda #46 comes from Bill McKibben, veteran climate change activist and founder of multiple campaigns and organisations – check out Strength&Solidarity Ep. 57 [https://strengthandsolidarity.substack.com/].  He told us how hard it can be to stay optimistic, when the odds against success seem high.  The Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun is one of his go-to tracks for regaining his footing, so perhaps it’s no surprise that he is currently organising people to “rise up” for Sun Day [https://www.sunday.earth/], a day of action “for a sun-powered planet” next month, 21 September,  We’ve started releasing the Coda as a separate show, not just part of the main Strength&Solidarity podcast. You will find both of them in our feed here, or on our Substack page, with transcripts, and related links. If you subscribe at https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity [https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity], you will receive the “host’s note” accompanying each show.   Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org [pod@strengthandsolidarity.org] Quick Links Bio: Bill McKibben: https://billmckibben.com/ [https://billmckibben.com/] Sun Day:  Day of action, 21 September 2025   :https://www.sunday.earth/ [https://www.sunday.earth/] Wikipedia:  The Beatle’s Abbey Road: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Road [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Road] WikipediaL  Nina Simone’s O-o-h Child: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-o-h_Child [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-o-h_Child]

What’s your image of an activist? Someone in a bandanna facing down a line of cops? Or chaining themselves to a tree? You may well have imagined someone young because that’s the stereotype: the student ready to take on the world - until they get bogged down in work obligations and childcare. But veteran climate justice organizer Bill McKibben thinks that cliché is due for retirement. Four years ago he co-founded Third Act, a campaigning organization in the United States for the over-60s, working on climate, democracy and racial justice. He tells host Akwe Amosu how well that bet has turned out, and about a game-changing development in renewable energy that’s giving him hope. Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org We are now publishing our newsletter on Substack, if you would like to subscribe: https://strengthandsolidarity.substack.com/ [https://strengthandsolidarity.substack.com/] Quick Links: * Bio: https://billmckibben.com/ [https://billmckibben.com/] * Third Act: https://thirdact.org/ [https://thirdact.org/] * GrayPAC: Political Action committee powered by Third Act: ⁠https://graypac.org/⁠ [https://graypac.org/] * Third Act: Ten working principles:  ⁠https://thirdact.org/about/working-principles/⁠ [https://thirdact.org/about/working-principles/] * Meet the seniors of the Rocking Chair Rebellion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNmdVI7QrlA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNmdVI7QrlA]

A young boy growing up in South Bend, Indiana, goes to the library every week with his mother and comes back with a brown grocery bag full of books. He doesn’t know it then, but it’s the start of a lifelong journey of involvement in the human rights movement. Listen to Chris Grove, executive director of ESCR-Net explain how books showed him a lineage of struggle he could join, and how they are still guiding him – and his young son.  From now on we are releasing the Coda as a separate show, not just part of the main Strength&Solidarity podcast. You will find both of them in our feed here, or on our Substack page, with transcripts, and related links. If you subscribe at https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity [https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity], you will receive the “host’s note” accompanying each show.   Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org [pod@strengthandsolidarity.org] MUSIC * Abdullah Ibrahim - Mannenberg (live) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSPq4AZ2GAI] * Abdullah Ibrahim - Ancient Africa (live) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHG4Sjkso0Y]

The levels of stress and – at worst – burn-out in the human rights field are, anecdotally at least, at remarkably high levels.   That may not be surprising in an era of rising authoritarianism, shrinking funds and expanding abuse of rights.  But is the impact on those who organize and work in human rights sufficiently understood and recognized? If the rights movements and organizations are to meet this moment, is there a need for a new strategy?   Host Akwe Amosu seeks the view of Trine Christensen, coach and formerly the secretary general of Amnesty Denmark, until she herself burned out. Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org [pod@strengthandsolidarity.org] We are now publishing our newsletter on Substack, if you would like to subscribe: ⁠https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity⁠ [https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity]

These are stressful times for human rights activists where every day, a new development may cause despondency or rage. Feminist activist and campaigner Francoise Girard explains why you really need some seventeenth century music in your life. Contact us at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org [pod@strengthandsolidarity.org]   We are now publishing our newsletter on Substack, if youwould like to subscribe: ⁠https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity⁠ [https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity] Contactus at pod@strengthandsolidarity.org [pod@strengthandsolidarity.org]   We are now publishing our newsletter on Substack, if youwould like to subscribe: https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity⁠https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity⁠ [https://substack.com/@strengthsolidarity]