One Book at a Time: The Value of a Whale

Posted by Becca Parkinson - Tuesday, 8 Aug 2023

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In this episode of One Book at a Time, MUP’s Trade Publisher, Kim Walker, speaks to Director of Research at Common Wealth, Adrienne Buller, the author of The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism. They ponder a question which listeners may never have thought about before: How much would you pay for a whale?

In this searing and insightful critique, Adrienne Buller examines the fatal biases that have shaped the response of our governing institutions to climate and environmental breakdown, and asks: are the ‘solutions’ being proposed really solutions? Tracing the intricate connections between financial power, economic injustice and ecological crisis, she exposes the myopic economism and market-centric thinking presently undermining a future where all life can flourish.

The book examines what is wrong with mainstream climate and environmental governance, from carbon pricing and offset markets to ‘green growth’, the commodification of nature and the growing influence of the finance industry on environmental policy. In doing so, it exposes the self-defeating logic of a response to these challenges based on creating new opportunities for profit, and a refusal to grapple with the inequalities and injustices that have created them. Both honest and optimistic, The Value of a Whale asks us – in the face of crisis – what we really value.

‘One Book at a Time’ is a Manchester University Press podcast. Time to slow down, consider the issues, learn the histories, exercise your brain in the open air of considered arguments and frontline thinking – and help us change the world one book at a time.

Transcripts for each episode are available on request.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Amazon Music or Audible here.

Listen on Google Podcasts here.

Listen on Apple Podcasts here.

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