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“Breaking Climate Behemoth: Report from Santa Marta,” a roundtable on the stakes for global climate diplomacy today. Bringing together three Red Natural History Fellows who were on the ground in Santa Marta, Colombia for the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in April, 2026, speakers discuss what happened behind closed doors—and what happened in the streets, unpacking not only the problems and controversies that flared up in Santa Marta, but also the openings, models for engagement, and new grounds for solidarity that were brought into view.

SPEAKERS

* Janene Yazzie (DinĂ©), Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and human rights advocate, longtime community organizer from the Navajo Nation, and Director of Global Programmes for The Woven Project

* Mohammed Usrof, Palestinian researcher, organiser, and Founder and Executive Director of the Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy

* Joel Wainwright, Professor at Ohio State University and author of “The End: Marx, Darwin, and the Natural History of the Climate Crisis” (2025)

“The Data Center Frontier,” a roundtable on the environmental and social costs of the AI data center boom. Drawing lessons from Indigenous-led fights against pipelines, mining projects, and other forms of extractive infrastructure—as well as successful campaigns to block data centers—speakers share insights from the frontlines of the data center frontier and explore how movements across sites and issues can build durable solidarities in the face of a rapidly expanding digital-industrial regime.

SPEAKERS

* Jordan B. Kinder (MĂ©tis), Red Natural History Fellow and author of “Petroturfing: Refining Canadian Oil through Social Media” (2024)

* Krystal Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota/Northern Cheyenne), Executive Director of Honor the Earth, organizing at the intersection of Indigenous sovereignty, anti-militarism, and environmental justice

* Thea Riofrancos, scholar and author of “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism” (2025)

* Vivek Bharathan, technologist and organizer with the No Desert Data Center Coalition in Arizona, and a Data Center Fellow with MediaJustice

“Red Natural History and the New Red Scare,” a roundtable on the conditions for activist research under the new “Red Scare.” Exploring the histories of state repression that led to the current crisis, the stakes for the Trump Administration, and the strategies people are developing to resist the current crackdown on dissident research and action, speakers reflect on the implications for their own institutions, disciplines, and practices, the histories and traditions we can learn from, and the resources we need—not just to survive this moment, but to shape what comes next.

SPEAKERS
*Rosalyn LaPier (Blackfeet/Métis), Historian and Red Natural History Fellow
* Andrew Curley (Diné), Geographer and Red Natural History Fellow
*Kai Bosworth, Geographer and Red Natural History Fellow
*Beka Economopoulos, Executive Director, The Natural History Museum

“The End of Green Capitalism,” a roundtable on the shifting landscape of carbon markets, green finance, and infrastructure subsidies—and what it means for the global working class. Livestreamed from the People’s Forum in New York City, this free roundtable discussion brings together organizers, political theorists, and environmental policy analysts to make sense of the crisis in green capitalism.

SPEAKERS

* Ajay Singh Chaudhary, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

* Alyssa Battistoni, Political Theorist at Barnard College

* Brett Christophers, Professor of Human Geography, Uppsala University

* Kai Bosworth, Geographer and Red Natural History Fellow

* Ashley Dawson, Author, Climate Justice Activist, and Red Natural History Fellow

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Held on April 10, 2025, this event was livestreamed from The People’s Forum in New York City and was curated by Kai Bosworth and Ashley Dawson as part of Natural History for a World in Crisis, a programming series organized by the 2023-2025 cohort of Red Natural History Fellows with The Natural History Museum. Made possible with support from the Henry Luce Foundation and 4Culture.

In this lecture, DinĂ© geographer Andrew Curley and NHM Research Director Steve Lyons introduce the theory and practice of “red natural history,” asking how, as the combative antithesis to the imperialist tradition of natural history, “red natural history” can orient us to the ongoing resource wars on the Colorado River, arguably the most colonized river in North America—as well as the struggles playing out over its future.

This lecture was presented at Dutch artist Jonas Staal’s Climate Propagandas Congregation at BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht on December 15, 2024.