The New Generation of Environmental Leadership: Stubborn Optimism, Tending Your Inner Fire, and Why Hope Is Not Enough with Xiye Bastida
The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens
Nate Hagens
4.8 • 549 Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 82 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For many people reading this, the crises we discuss on this podcast – from ecological instability to financial collapse – often feel like a distant problem in the future. But for the youth of today, managing the impact of these situations will define most of their lives, and many have already dedicated their careers to mitigating the worst outcomes. What do the leading young voices envision for the future, and what are they doing today to make that a reality?
In this episode, Nate is joined by indigenous environmental justice activist and Planetary Guardian, Xiye Bastida, to discuss how her indigenous heritage and leadership in the youth climate movement have helped guide her to continue her work toward a more ecologically attuned world. Together, they discuss the importance of intergenerational collaboration rooted in love, rather than simply rage or blind hope. Importantly, Xiye emphasizes what could become possible if we change our definition of what success looks like, live closer to the Earth, and start to view our planet as a sacred teacher, rather than a well of resources from which to extract.
What are the hopes and fears of younger generations during these increasingly tumultuous times? How might indigenous wisdom inform our aspirations and strategy as we attempt to navigate the increasingly challenging world ahead? And how could a closer connection to the land help us cultivate a more sustained inner fire in order to continue moving in the direction of better futures – even if we don't yet know the exact destination?
(Conversation recorded on December 3rd, 2025)
About Xiye Bastida:
Xiye Bastida is a 23-year-old activist and member of the Planetary Guardians, an independent collective elevating the science to make the Planetary Boundaries a measurement framework for the world and spark a global movement by inviting everyone to become guardians of our shared home. Xiye is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Re-Earth Initiative, a global youth-led organization that has raised and allocated millions of dollars to help fund effective, small-scale projects across frontline communities in the Global South. Additionally, she has become a leading voice in the climate movement, organizing climate strikes, speaking on global stages like the United Nations, and redefining storytelling through her upcoming film, The Way of the Whale.
Additionally, Xiye has been recognized as a TIME 100 Next honoree, recipient of the UN Spirit Award, a Forbes Changemaker, and is currently a 776 Fellow, continuing to scale youth-led climate leadership globally. Most recently, she was named on Forbes' 30 under 30 Social Impact List.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | a lot of where my work has been on is shifting the narrative of what is success, what is the |
| 0:06.8 | appropriate amount of growth, why are we obsessed with growth when Mother Earth has been so wise |
| 0:13.2 | in making systems work circularly in seasons in a way that is beautiful and has a cadence. And our duty is to tap into that cadence. |
| 0:23.9 | And when you step in a place of guardianship and stewardship, a lot of the ego of, I'm helping |
| 0:30.4 | the world goes away. Because it's not about I'm helping the world. It is our responsibility to be |
| 0:36.3 | guardians, to be stewards, and what humbleness |
| 0:38.7 | do you need to recognize that Mother Earth gives us everything that we need to thrive. |
| 0:44.1 | We just need to be wise enough to live closer to the cadence of the Earth. |
| 0:51.5 | You're listening to The Great Simplification. |
| 0:54.2 | I'm Nate Higgins. |
| 0:55.8 | On this show, we describe how energy, the economy, the environment, and human behavior all fit together and what it might mean for our future. |
| 1:04.6 | By sharing insights from global thinkers, we hope to inform and inspire more humans to play emergent roles in the coming great simplification. |
| 1:18.6 | Today I'm pleased to be joined by Shia Bastida, a 23-year-old activist and member of the Planetary Guardians, |
| 1:26.6 | a group in which she shares the |
| 1:29.0 | distinguished company of peers like the late Jane Goodall, as well as many former guests of |
| 1:35.2 | this show like Johann Rockstrom, Carlos Nobri, Sunita Noreen, and Mampila Rompili. |
| 1:41.9 | Shia shares her extraordinary path to becoming a leading voice among her generation |
| 1:46.5 | working towards a future that is different from the conventional stories our cultural beliefs, |
| 1:52.0 | one where humans live in a simpler, more ecologically aligned society. |
| 1:57.5 | Shia Bastida is the executive director of Re-Earth Initiative, a global youth-led organization, |
| 2:03.8 | supporting nature-based projects in communities on the front line around the world of global heating. |
| 2:10.0 | She was also recently named on Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Impact List. |
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