In this week's episode, we talk to Dr Sarah Benn, a GP who moved from decades of practice to non‑violent climate action. How did Dr Sarah go from sitting outside an oil terminal with a small placard, to ending up behind bars?
Dr Sarah explains why civil resistance, done non‑violently, can be a legitimate public health intervention when petitions and policy promises fail. We talk candidly about prison: the loss of agency, the small humiliations that reveal how power works, and how a month inside sharpened her sense of justice. Then we unpack the GMC tribunal that suspended her for breaching an injunction, the logic that “doctors must uphold the law,” and why she believes public trust is better served by doctors who act to prevent mass harm than by regulators who punish conscience.
Throughout, we connect climate change to everyday health: heatwaves and floods, air pollution driving heart and lung disease, vector‑borne infections moving north, fragile food systems, and the mental health toll of grief and anxiety. Sarah lays out what healthcare can do now—prepare for heat and air quality events, plan for migration and disruption, and speak plainly about risk. For listeners, she offers a practical ladder of action: diet shifts, travel choices, ethical banking, political pressure, local water and air campaigns, and routes into activism that don’t require breaking the law.
Credits
Guest: Dr Sarah Benn
Producer: Charlotte Janes
Soundtrack: Particles (Revo Main Version) by [Coma-Media]
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