David Attenborough at 100
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast
Persephonica
4.7 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Monarch butterflies crossing a continent. Peregrine falcons above Manhattan. A giant lemur most of the world had never heard of, until one man pointed a camera at it. For seventy years, Sir David Attenborough has been asking us to look - really look - at the world we share with three and a half billion years' worth of other life.
This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson mark the 100th birthday of the world’s longest-serving television presenter. To celebrate, they're reaching into the archives to share the very first episode of the podcast - a conversation recorded in person with their friend Sir David himself, at the Attenborough Centre in Cambridge in 2019.
They also take stock of seven years of Outrage + Optimism, and on a world that’s changed since that first episode dropped. What's moved faster than anyone expected, what's gone sideways, and what still keeps us at night?
Then Sir David. On why young people's outrage is entirely justified. On what the natural world actually needs from us. On the rare moments in history when nations chose agreement over conflict. And on why understanding might be the thing that saves us.
Learn More:
🎂 Discover moments from Sir David Attenborough's life and career on the BBC
🌿 Watch Secret Gardens, Sir David's recent series exploring the hidden natural world of the British urban garden, mentioned by Tom in this episode (UK login required)
🐋 Explore the history of the International Whaling Commission moratorium, which Sir David cites as a rare model of nations choosing to act before it was too late
🌍 Learn more about the global youth climate movement Fridays For Future, from the early days mentioned in this interview to its activity today
🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe
Join the conversation:
Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism
Or get in touch with us via this form.
Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks
Edited by: Miles Martignoni
Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan
Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford
This is a Persephonica production for Global Optimism and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Outrage and Optimism. I'm Tom Rivikarnock. I'm Christiana Fierrez. |
| 0:05.2 | And I'm Paul Dickinson. Today we celebrate the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough as we bring you a conversation with him from our archives and we mark a special milestone for outrage and optimism. Thanks for being here. |
| 0:19.1 | Okay, friends, so tomorrow, if you're listening to this podcast on the day it comes |
| 0:22.6 | out, May 8th, is Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday. He is a man who, of course, needs |
| 0:28.6 | no introduction, but a broadcasting career spanning 70 years. Join the BBC in 1952, still producing |
| 0:36.6 | major series. |
| 0:38.1 | I mean, what a remarkable career and life. |
| 0:41.1 | First series filmed on clockwork cameras. |
| 0:43.4 | Now, of course, well known around the world as somebody who has brought nature to millions, |
| 0:50.1 | billions of people to understand our natural world and increasingly what's happening to it. |
| 0:55.0 | So happy birthday, Sir David. |
| 0:56.6 | Will either of you like to say anything about David Attenborough? |
| 0:59.2 | I mean, it is a very interesting entry into the Guinness World Record, the longest career as a television presenter. |
| 1:07.8 | That's amazing. I didn't know that. |
| 1:09.4 | It's just amazing. |
| 1:11.5 | It's one thing to sort of, you know, live a long life is another thing to carry on working at the top of your game globally during an extremely long life and be a global celebrity still producing output at the age of 100. |
| 1:23.1 | That's extraordinary. |
| 1:24.0 | Yeah. |
| 1:25.0 | Yeah. |
| 1:25.5 | And it's something to do with his reverence, isn't it, for the way he |
| 1:30.2 | reveals the natural world. I've been watching his latest series recently with my family, which is |
| 1:35.2 | called Secret Gardens, which is about just the nature that's in a normal urban garden in the UK. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Persephonica, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Persephonica and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.