Theresa Leisgang is a freelance journalist and author, but also: proud aunt, wild herb expert, night owl. She has been working on climate and human rights for ten years. Her research for the book Zwei am Puls der Erde: Eine Reise zu den Schauplätzen der Klimakrise – und warum es trotz allem Hoffnung gibt (engl: “Two on the pulse of the earth: a journey to the scenes of the climate crisis – and why there is still hope”) took her from South Africa to the Arctic. Now she knows that change is coming – whether we want it or not. To shape it, she co-founded the Climate Journalism Network Germany and helped develop a new journalistic approach to the climate crisis in the Climate Lab of the Swiss online new magazin Republik.
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Climate communication is irrationally optimistic. We need to tell the truth about the Great Unraveling
Where’s the urgency in climate discussions? Scholars Theresa Leisgang and Gerriet Schwen examined why climate warnings fail to spur action and how they might better motivate us to work toward the best possible future, even in the face of catastrophe.
September 4, 2026
