The Slow Newsletter

Good afternoon. Welcome back to Tortoise’s weekly Slow Newsletter.?

Let’s talk

The bedrock of Tortoise ThinkIns are the experiences of our members. And when you’ve got the likes of Jez Butterworth and Will Young with you in the room, talking about stuff that we can all relate to, you realise just how unique it is to be able to share.?

‘Jerusalem’, when it arrived on stage about a decade ago, stunned critics with its examination of English identity and rural life. To hear Jez talk about what the play means in 2022 was really special – and particularly salient given all that has happened since. Indeed, as Matt d’Ancona has written, debates about the bureaucratic violence of the state, and what it means to be English, continue to rage on post-Brexit. We’ve all got views on these things.?

No less so mental health. Each of us has their own way of coping, but if you're stuck for solutions, Will Young has offered a brilliantly funny and honest new guide with his latest book. At our ThinkIn he ran through his own ways of getting through. One I’m a particular fan of is the much underrated idea of “appropriateness”. When someone’s out of order, angry tweets and overblown responses get us nowhere. But asking them whether they think what they’ve done is appropriate? That’s a winner in my book.

You can catch up on all our ThinkIns here.

Fair = faster?

There’s no doubt: the next decade is going to bring some tough choices for how to deal with rising global temperatures. Who are the winners and losers? Will a transition even work if it isn’t equitable? What needs to happen – in terms of diplomacy, law, politics, economics and more – to get us to that all-important milestone of net zero?

We’re discussing all of this on 12 May at Tortoise’s second annual Climate Summit. We’d love for you to join us.

And if you want an fun and easy-going primer for what a good energy transition looks like, I thoroughly recommend listening to ‘Inside the Energy Transition’, our podcast series made in collaboration with our partners the Centre for Net Zero and Octopus Energy. Currently top of Apple Podcast Browse tab for World Earth Day. Don’t miss it!

Coming up

Got a view on the future of the BBC? Join us on Monday and tell it to Lucy Powell, Shadow Secretary of State for DCMS.

Worried about responsible AI? Tune into the experts on Tuesday.

Want a wind farm in your backyard? We’re asking if NIMBYISM is holding back climate action on Thursday.

That’s all for this week. If you aren’t a member yet, and feel like helping us build a different kind of newsroom, why not be my guest at Tortoise for the next 30 days? I hope I’ll see you soon.

Katie