In our previous episode, Autumn spoke with Tory Stephens, a climate fiction editor and co-founder of Imagine 2200 at Grist, about the profound power of storytelling. If you haven't listened to that conversation yet, don't worry—you can dive right into this episode! In fact, hearing this reflection first will give you a completely different lens when you do go back to listen to the interview.

In this episode, co-hosts Autumn Brown and Rev. Nicole Diroff sit down to unpack the incredible themes Tory raised. They explore why the climate movement desperately needs more imagination and how we can practically incorporate that imagination into our spiritual leadership.

In this conversation, Autumn and Nicole discuss:

• The Concept of "Thrutopia": Why we need stories that navigate the messy, realistic middle ground between the world we have now and the better world we are trying to build.
• Prefigurative Fiction: How dreaming about and writing down the future we want actually serves as the first step to bringing that reality into existence.
• Hope as a Daily Practice: Why practicing hope and imagining positive futures needs to be a regular discipline—just like going to church or taking out the compost!

Next Steps: Where Imagination Meets Practice The change we need won't happen alone—it grows in community. Here are two invitations from today’s conversation to carry these ideas into your shared lives:

• Creating Your Story of Tomorrow: Visit The BTS Center's Leadership Commons to access Creating Your Story of Tomorrow. This is a beautifully crafted facilitator guide and video developed by renowned environmental artist Eve Moser. Designed for adult education facilitators and congregation leaders, this resource will guide you and your community through a collaborative workshop to envision the future together.
• Write Your Own Flash Fiction: Sit down—alone, with a friend, or with a group—and write a piece of "flash fiction" (a very short story with a beginning, middle, and end) about a future you would love to inhabit.

Share Your Visions With Us! We want to hear your flash fiction and find out what you are creating or discovering! Email us at podcast@thebtscenter.org or leave a voice message at 207-200-6986. Your insights might ripple out through future episodes.

Explore More:

• Learn more about The BTS Center: https://thebtscenter.org/
• Find transcripts, discussion guides, and full-length video episodes at www.climatechangedpodcast.org
• Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBTSCenter

In the Season Four premiere of the Climate Changed podcast, Autumn Brown engages in a deeply inspiring conversation with Tory Stephens, a storyteller, cultural worker, and climate justice advocate.

They explore the transformative power of climate fiction and its role in helping us envision the future. Tory discusses his groundbreaking work at Grist, where he co-founded Imagine 2200, an initiative that asks a simple yet radical question: What if we wrote stories not about what we fear but about what we hope to create? The discussion dives into how imagination connects with responsibility, how storytelling serves as a profound form of spiritual leadership, and why envisioning a new reality is essential for climate justice.

[Link to discussion guide and transcript]

Grounding: To begin the episode, producer Peterson Toscano leads a grounding exercise by sharing a short, speculative story. Modeled on the type of climate fiction discussed in the episode, the story features a message from "Timothy Meadows from the Future" giving a broadcast from the year 2115. Timothy explores the history of how human relationships with pets and animals shifted and adapted in the face of climate change. This strange and wonderful story sets the stage for the episode by letting imagination lead and inviting listeners to envision a workable, adaptable future.

Resources & Concepts Mentioned:

• Thrutopia: Coined by philosopher Rupert Read and popularized by author Manda Scott through the Thrutopia Masterclass, a Thrutopian narrative threads the needle between utopia and dystopia. It focuses on writing grounded, plausible, and inspiring route maps that show exactly how we navigate through our current struggles to reach a future we'd be proud to leave behind.
• Octavia E. Butler & Bloodchild: Autumn quotes the legendary science fiction author—who was the first African American woman to reach mainstream success in the genre—and her collection Bloodchild and Other Stories, reflecting on how sci-fi stimulates necessary imagination and creativity.
• Humans of New York: The iconic photoblog that Tory credits with changing his perspective early in his career, teaching him the unparalleled power of human-centric storytelling over dry statistics.
• Visionary Fiction: A framework of world-building and storytelling that Autumn Brown and her sister use in their writing retreats, which actively wrestles with the sacred and reclaims spiritual practices.
• Dream Seeds: A term favored by Grist and Imagine 2200 to describe stories that plant concrete, hopeful visions of how society could be organized completely differently.
• Eve Moser & Creating Your Story of Tomorrow: An adult education facilitator guide and video created by renowned environmental artist Eve Moser, available on the BTS Center's Leadership Commons.

Guest Bio: Tory Stephens is a storyteller, cultural worker, and climate justice advocate. At Grist, he co-founded Imagine 2200, a climate-fiction powerhouse, and has produced two anthologies of climate fiction: Afterglow and Metamorphosis. He now focuses on publishing climate fiction year-round and building partnerships that connect culture, justice, and climate solutions. In addition to his work at Grist Magazine, Tory is also involved with the Hollywood Climate Summit.

Connect with Tory & Explore His Work:

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/torystephens
• Bluesky: @torystephens.bsky.social
• Imagine 2200 (Grist): About Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction
• Read the Anthology: Imagine 2200: We Are What We Nurture
• Read the Book: Afterglow (The New Press)
• More from Tory: Shaping the Future Through Climate Fiction (Podcast Interview)

Thank Yous: We want to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who made this episode possible:

• Tory Stephens, for sharing his incredible vision, imagination, and wisdom with us.
• Peterson Toscano, producer of Climate Changed, for producing this episode and for providing the wonderful grounding for this episode.
• The BTS Center team, for your ongoing support and for providing the resources and platform that make this podcast possible.

How do we live, love, and practice leadership in a climate-changed world?

Welcome to Season 4 of the Climate Changed podcast, a project from The BTS Center! This season, we are diving deep into spiritual leadership and imagination. Join our hosts—Autumn Brown (artist, theologian, mother, and freedom worker) and Rev. Nicole Diroff (Associate Director at The BTS Center)—as they explore what faithful leadership looks like in times of immense uncertainty.

Throughout this season, we’ll hear from spiritual leaders, artists, and healers who are helping us navigate the overlapping crises of our time with courage, connection, and community.

This season's powerful lineup includes:

• Katie Mears on navigating the front lines of disaster response and communicating risk.

• Tory Stephens on the power of speculative fiction and imagination as our greatest climate tools.

• Norma Wong, Zen master and Native Hawaiian leader, on how we breathe together and reconstitute our humanity through collapse.

• Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner on finding holiness in uncertainty and rooting into our values when we lose our ground.

• Francis Weller on the necessity of ritual, and how grief and love are two sides of the same bridge.

Before the first episode drops, we want to celebrate this new chapter with you. Join hosts Nicole and Autumn, along with producers Ben Yosua-Davis and Peterson Toscano, for a live, interactive launch event.

This isn't your average, boring webinar. We'll be diving into a deep conversation about the current pressure points in American society, politics, and justice, and how they intersect with our climate reality.

When: Monday, March 16th, 2026 at 7:30 PM Eastern

Where: Online! Register for free at thebtscenter.org What to expect at the launch party:

• Live conversations with several of our Season 4 guests

• Exclusive, behind-the-scenes video footage and bloopers

• Giveaways throughout the event!

Episode 1 drops Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, featuring a fantastic conversation with Tory Stephens on speculative storytelling and the futures we actually want to build.

Make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss an episode, and find more resources at www.climatechangedpodcast.com.

Climate change, spiritual leadership, climate resilience, Autumn Brown, Nicole Diroff, The BTS Center, disaster response, speculative fiction, climate storytelling, Zen practice, grief and ritual, climate justice, community building, navigating collapse, podcast launch event

• 00:00 - Exploring Spiritual Leadership & Imagination

• 00:24 - Meet Your Hosts: Autumn Brown & Nicole Diroff

• 00:44 - Katie Mears on Disaster Response

• 01:07 - Tory Stephens on Speculative Fiction

• 01:34 - Norma Wong on Breathing Through Collapse

• 02:21 - Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner on Holiness in Uncertainty

• 02:50 - Francis Weller on Ritual and Grief

• 03:52 - You're Invited: Season 4 Launch Event!

• 05:17 - Sneak Peek: Episode 1 with Tory Stephens