When we talk about the energy transition, we tend to circle the same topics.

Wind. Solar. Oil and gas.
Yes. No. For how long.

But there is an energy source that rarely makes it into the public conversation, even though it has been quietly developing for years.

Geothermal energy.

Not the dramatic, Iceland-with-steam kind.
But the slower, steadier, technically evolving kind. The kind that might not dominate headlines, but could strengthen the system underneath everything else.

In this month’s deep dive on Stories for the Future, I sat down with Stian Engebretsen to explore what geothermal energy actually is, what is happening in Norway today, and what seems realistic going forward.

I approached the conversation from a non-expert perspective. I asked the questions many curious listeners might be wondering about. And I left the conversation understanding far more than I did before.

Why should you care?

Even if you don’t work in energy.

Because energy systems shape more than just climate policy.

They shape:

• your electricity bill

• grid stability

• emergency preparedness

• how resilient cities and infrastructure are

• whether hospitals and data centres have reliable baseload energy

Geothermal is not weather-dependent.
In closed systems, it can operate without emissions in production.
It requires limited land use.
It doesn’t rely heavily on rare earth materials.

In a cold country like Norway, where a large share of energy consumption goes toward heating, that matters.

And beyond Norway, investment in geothermal has grown rapidly in recent years. The U.S. is pushing Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Germany and Denmark are testing new closed-loop concepts. Technology from oil and gas is being adapted in new ways.

The underground is becoming interesting again.

This is the first Monthly Deep Dive

This episode marks the beginning of a new format.

Each month, I will choose one energy form or technology and explore it in depth. Not to promote it. Not to attack it. But to understand it.

If we want less polarization in the energy transition, we need more literacy.

Geothermal is one piece of that literacy.

If you listen, I would love to hear:

• What surprised you?

• What remains unclear?

• What energy form should we dive into next?

You can find the episode here.

And as always - thank you for being curious.

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Have you made any bad decisions lately?
Felt like a failure?
Said the wrong thing?
Beaten yourself up about it for weeks?

Me too.

We’re all trying so hard not to mess up.
And still, we mess up all the time.

We fall flat on our faces. We say something awkward. We freeze in a meeting. We try something that doesn’t land.
And somehow, we act as if the most embarrassing part of falling on ice is whether anyone saw it. Not whether we actually hurt ourselves in the fall.

We’re a strange bunch.

A timely reminder not to take everything so seriously

That’s why this week’s podcast episode felt like such a good and timely reminder to me at least: not to take everything so seriously.

The episode is called “Screw Up Happy”, and my guest is Andrea Wodniok.

Andrea and I met through , and from our very first encounter I noticed something rare about her. She has this ability to make people relax and show up more as themselves. Even on Zoom. I think you can feel that in this conversation too.

What improv, ACT, and the Hero’s Journey have in common

Andrea works with applied improv, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and the Hero’s Journey. In practice, that means she helps people navigate situations where they feel they have to perform. On stage. In meetings. In life.

Together, we talk about:

• why we’re so afraid of getting things wrong

• what improv theatre can teach us about courage and uncertainty

• how inner critics often block the very futures we’re trying to build

• and why mistakes don’t define us, they’re just part of the scene

Mistakes don’t mean you’re failing

One thing Andrea says stayed with me:
Mistakes don’t mean you’re failing. Often they mean you’re trying.

That feels important right now.

So many people I talk to are in some kind of transition. Rethinking work. Identity. Direction. What a “good life” even looks like. And yet we expect ourselves to do this smoothly. Confidently. Without awkwardness or doubt.

Which is… unrealistic.

A Creative Space conversation

This episode is part of the series on Stories for the Future. Conversations with people who are building meaningful work, navigating uncertainty, and trying to stay human while doing it.

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Permission to be human

If you’ve felt like a bit of a “screw-up” lately, this one’s for you. You’re not alone (I mean, just look at the world…). Our lives will be full of mistakes and detours, and if we could all do it with a bit less banging our heads against the wall and a bit more humour and happiness, I’m pretty sure the world would be a better place.

🎧 You can listen to the episode here.

Consider this your permission slip to take things a little less seriously.

Until next time,

Veslemøy

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Just as the doors were about to slam behind me in the sometimes-lucrative, always-complex world of oil and gas, I was introduced to geothermal energy.

You can almost picture it: someone handing me a study on the potential of geothermal energy in the very moment they were also handing me my “goodbye papers”.

I got genuinely excited.

And then… life moved on.

Geothermal quietly slipped back into the subsurface for me – until it bubbled back up a few years ago through different projects and conversations.

A quiet energy source with a big question mark

Since then, I’ve tried to learn the core basics and follow developments from a distance. And every time I return to the topic, I feel the same mix of excitement and confusion.

Why aren’t we talking more about geothermal energy?

Why is this elegant, stable, weather-independent form of renewable energy still so shy?

While wind, solar and hydrogen dominate the headlines, geothermal often sits quietly in the background. Reliable. Predictable. Slightly overlooked. 🤫

At some point, I realised I didn’t want to just wonder about that anymore. I wanted to do something – even if it was small.

So I decided to use my podcast, Stories for the Future, to help bring geothermal a little more into the light.

Inviting myself to GeoEnergy 2025

Earlier this fall, I invited myself to GeoEnergy 2025 in Bergen – a conference dedicated entirely to geothermal energy, in all its forms.

From shallow ground-source systems and heat pumps, to deep wells, closed-loop technologies, drilling challenges, and subsurface modelling.

The conference is organised by GEAN – the Geothermal Energy Association of Norway, and I want to extend a huge thank you to Bjarte Lønøy and Kirsti Midttømme for welcoming me so warmly into this space.

Two days of learning – and a very warm brain

I spent two days in Bergen feeling a bit like the new kid in the sandbox.

I soaked up everything I could:

• drilling techniques and hard rock challenges

• heat flow and geothermal gradients

• Norway’s complex geology (and why it matters)

• the economics of geothermal projects

• and the very real opportunities for oil and gas professionals to transfer their subsurface skills

Let’s just say my brain reached near-reservoir temperatures by the end of it.

What struck me most was not disagreement about whether geothermal works – but how much energy there is around scaling, visibility, and connecting the dots between research, industry and policy.

A snapshot from the conference

To give you a feel for just how cool (and hot) this space really is, I recorded a series of short conversations during the conference.

The result is a compressed snapshot of voices, perspectives and insights from GeoEnergy 2025 – now live as the latest episode of Stories for the Future.

🎧 Listen to the episode here:

👉 GeoEnergy 2025: A Geothermal Special. Conversations, Innovations, and the Future of Subsurface Energy

You’ll hear from:

• Bjarte Lønøy (GEAN + NORCE)

• Kirsti Midttømme (NORCE)

• Kim Gunn Maver (Green Therma)

• Jesper Moberg (Norsk Retningsboring)

• Øystein Klemetsdal (SINTEF Digital)

And you’ll get a practical, accessible introduction to geothermal – whether you’re completely new to the topic, or already deep into subsurface work.

This won’t be the last time

This field deserves more attention.

Not because geothermal is a silver bullet – but because it’s a solid piece of the energy puzzle that fits beautifully with existing competence, especially in countries with strong subsurface expertise.

I’m deeply grateful for all the insights, generosity and conversations I was part of – from speed interviews during coffee breaks to long discussions over dinner.

And I can promise you this:

this is not the last time I’ll be talking about geothermal energy.

If you’re curious, I hope you’ll press play.

And if this sparks questions, ideas or connections – my inbox is always open.

💛

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“Government won’t change until we demand it. And if we’re not demanding it, who exactly are we waiting for?”

This week on Stories for the Future, I’m joined by someone who sees climate not only as a scientific or political issue, but as a leadership issue.

Charles Sheppard, professor of leadership, systems thinker, and author of Get Off the Fence, believes that many of us care deeply about the future, yet still feel stuck between concern and action.

In this conversation, we explore why.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here:
➡️Get Off the Fence: Leadership Lessons for a Warming World, with Charlie Sheppard

🌍 Who Is Charles Sheppard?

Charlie has spent decades helping leaders get out of The Drama Triangle, that unproductive cycle of Victim, Rescuer, and Adversary, and into the Leadership Triangle of Visionary, Catalyst, and Coach.

He trains professionals in systems thinking and decision-making at World Bridge University, consults with major companies on culture and performance, and even co-founded a biotech company developing treatments for aggressive cancer.

And now, he’s applying that same behavioral lens to climate change.

📘 His latest book: Get Off the Fence

🧠 Climate as a Leadership Issue

A key message from Charlie:

“It’s very difficult to solve any other issue if the ecosystem collapses first.”

When we destroy the systems we depend on, every other problem; healthcare, education, farming, safety, gets harder. Leadership isn’t just about managing people; it’s about choosing behaviors that shape the systems we live in.

That includes the atmosphere we breathe from.

💸 If We Price Trash and Water, Why Not Carbon?

One of the clearest systems-thinking points from the episode is about how we value pollution.

“The sky is not your free sewer.”

We pay to remove household waste.
We pay to keep drinking water clean.
But we treat the atmosphere as a dumping ground, and then act surprised when insurance rates skyrocket and our infrastructure becomes vulnerable.

Climate change isn’t only science. It’s economics. It’s incentives. It’s behavior.

And it’s leadership.

🧊 The 60% in the Middle

Charlie doesn’t focus on climate deniers. He doesn’t preach to the already-convinced. Instead, he’s speaking to the large group stuck in between:

“The goal isn’t to convince climate deniers. It’s to inspire the 60% of people stuck in the middle.”

People who know something is wrong, but haven’t yet connected it to their own agency, voting behavior, or leadership.

It’s not apathy. It’s overwhelm.

🔎 What Social Media Is Doing to Us

We also talk about how social media reinforces belief systems on both sides, not by giving good information, but by feeding us what keeps us scrolling.

Reinforcement + negativity = profit.

Which means outrage is rewarded, nuance is punished, and clarity takes effort.

That effort is leadership.

🎧 Listen to the Episode

If you want a thoughtful conversation that moves beyond panic and into agency, this one is worth your time.

🎧 Listen here:
➡️ Get Off the Fence: Leadership Lessons for a Warming World, with Charlie Sheppard

🌐 World Bridge University

💛 If This Resonated

You can support the podcast and this work in a few simple ways:

• Share this episode with someone who cares, but feels overwhelmed

• Subscribe on your listening platform

• Join me here on Substack for more reflections on leadership, climate, and the future

Stories for the Future by Veslemøy Klavenes-Berge

Future-fluent bridge builder helping mission-driven solopreneurs use entrepreneurial freedom strategically - for health, family, learning, and growth - while building businesses that change the world sustainably.

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Hope — not as a feeling, but as fuel

Last week, I had the joy (and nerves!) of stepping into a very different setting than I’m used to, the 2025 Beyond Oil: Changing Climate Futures conference in Bergen, hosted by Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation. Academic venues aren’t my everyday space, so I’ll admit: I was a bit shaky for the first few minutes moderating this panel.

This panel was about Actionable Hope, how we stay motivated, grounded, and in motion in a world that often feels like it’s unravelling.

And I’m so excited to share it with you as a special live episode of Stories for the Future.

🎧 Listen here

Meet the Panelists

We brought together four remarkable people from different sectors: science, media, strategy, and the arts, each navigating climate complexity in their own way:

• Kikki Flesche Kleiven – Marine geologist and director of the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research

• Petter Gulli – Chief Hope Officer and founder of 12YEARS

• Thea Emilie Maubach-Vindnes – Communicator at Verdens Beste Nyheter and engaged in civil society

• Anne Beate Hovind – Chair of the Future Library Trust, stewarding a 100-year literary art project in Oslo

Together, they unpacked what hope in action looks like, from ocean sediment layers to activist media to long-term artistic visions.

Why we need more shared arenas

One thing that struck me, even as we spoke about systems change, courage, and collaboration, was a quiet absence in the room: the voices of those working in or around the oil and gas industry, the very systems we’re so often talking about.

It left me wondering:
How do we create spaces where everyone, regardless of industry, affiliation, or worldview, feels welcome to engage in imagining new futures?

Too often we talk within our bubbles. What would it look like to speak across them?

Real transformation will require uncomfortable conversations, cross-sector alliances, and yes, shared hope.

Episode Highlights

Here are a few themes we explored that might resonate:

• What’s the difference between blind optimism and actionable hope?

• Can you practice hope like a skill or muscle?

• How do we find room to maneuver when the systems feel stuck?

• The emotional side of climate work, grief, anger, courage, and creativity

Gratitude

A huge thank-you to CET and the Beyond Oil committee for the invitation and for curating such a rich, interdisciplinary conference.

📸 Photo by: Thor Brødreskift
✏️ Art by: Håvard Legreid

Listen & Share

🎧 Listen to the full episode here
🔗 Know someone working in climate, business, or policy? Or someone inside the fossil energy sector who’s ready for something different? I’d love it if you shared this with them.

Thanks for being part of this community. If you have reflections or want to share your own version of “actionable hope,” hit reply. I’d love to hear it.

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🪨 What comes to mind when you hear “mining”?

Maybe it’s pollution. Environmental destruction. Vast, open pits scarring the earth. Mining tends to evoke strong, heavy imagery, and often for good reason.

Now, what if I pair that with the word sustainability?
Sustainable mining.
Feels like a contradiction, doesn’t it?

That tension, between necessity and impact, is exactly what this week’s episode of Stories for the Future Podcast explores.

🎙️ Why this episode, why now?

“Sustainable mining” is a phrase that’s been popping up everywhere in my world lately. A bit like when you buy a blue car and suddenly start seeing blue cars all around you. It kept appearing in side conversations, articles, my own work, even in random comments. Clearly, this was a topic I needed to dig into (pun intended). And then along came Donna.

I was introduced to Donna Kitsos by another brilliant podcast guest, Holly Smith. Both are based in Singapore and doing important, innovative work, sometimes in overlapping areas, sometimes in their own distinct domains. Donna has one of the most fascinating professional backgrounds I’ve come across: from coal trading and finance to sustainability, innovation, and early-stage climate tech. In short, she’s someone who understands the mining and energy landscape from multiple, deeply informed angles.

🌏 What we talked about

In this episode, we explore:

• What sustainable mining really means, beyond the buzzwords

• Why mining is essential for the green transition (think electric cars, solar panels, smartphones…)

• How early-stage tech, biomining, circular systems, and AI are reshaping the industry

• The tension between short-term needs and long-term consequences

• Why collaboration across sectors, countries, and value chains is critical

• The complexity of supply chains and why transparency is no longer optional

🎧 Why this matters - for all of us

This episode isn’t just for those in policy, energy, or sustainability. It’s for anyone who uses technology (hi, that’s you), who cares about the future, and who wants to understand the systems shaping the world we live in.

I left this conversation both more informed and more curious. I think you might too.

🔗 Listen here

🎙️ Mining Meets Sustainability: Donna Kitsos on Innovation and Impact

And a warm thank you to Holly Smith for connecting me with Donna!

Let me know what this sparked for you. And if you enjoyed the episode, feel free to share it - we need more conversations like this in the open.

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In this episode of Stories for the Future, I speak with Dain Saint, a storyteller, game designer, musician, and creative thinker who uses interactive storytelling to help people imagine new possibilities and rehearse more caring, collaborative ways of being.

What made this conversation especially eye-opening for me is that Dain speaks from inside the kinds of cultural and political turbulence many of us only watch from the outside. He is based in Philadelphia, and we spoke about what it’s like to live through all the changes currently happenning in the U.S.

But this episode is about much more than politics.

It’s about imagination as a muscle we need to rebuild.

It’s about the surprising power of games to teach empathy and democracy.

It’s about how we might shift the question from “How do I win?” to “How do we care for everyone playing?”

Dain’s background, spanning journalism, immersive theatre, indie game development, and music, makes for a truly layered perspective. Whether he’s designing a role-playing experience where players simulate planetary-scale decision-making, or reflecting on how storytelling shapes our social norms, he brings a rare mix of clarity and creative insight.

🌱 Topics we explore:

• Why interactive storytelling is a powerful tool for change

• How systems, whether in games or societies, shape our values

• The difference between truth and honesty in journalism

• Practicing empathy through play

• Mutual care vs. individual self-care

• The importance of imagination during times of fear and division

And perhaps most importantly:

“When you change what it means to win, you change how people play, and the story we tell about winning shapes how we live in society.” — Dain Saint

🎧 Listen Now:

You can find the episode on all major podcast platforms, or click here to listen directly.

If this conversation sparks something in you, please consider sharing it with someone else who might appreciate it. And feel free to reply with your thoughts. I always love hearing from you!

We often talk about solving climate change with technology, policy, or innovation. But what if one of the most powerful tools we have is far more human? In this week’s episode, I speak with climate anthropologist Tessa Hartman about how culture, empathy, and listening deeply might be the missing links in our transition stories.

We Don’t Just Need Better Solutions – We Need Better Conversations

Climate change isn’t just a scientific or political issue. It’s a cultural one.

How we perceive it, talk about it, and respond to it is deeply shaped by our worldview, our upbringing, our social circles, even our media bubbles. Tessa explains this beautifully using what she calls “the onion model”, where each of us sits at the center of layers of influence: from direct experience, to family, to culture, to media.

And it turns out, designing better climate solutions starts not with technology, but with people. With truly understanding where they’re coming from. What they care about. What their barriers are.

🌿 What We Talk About in This Episode

This conversation covers a lot of ground, but all of it circles around one question: how can we design climate solutions that actually work for real people?

Here are some of the key themes we dig into:

• How culture and worldview shape climate action and why understanding people’s social context matters

• The role of empathy and curiosity in difficult conversations, especially when working across sectors or political divides

• What “climate anthropology” looks like in practice, and how it helps bridge the gap between theory and lived experience

• User-centered design and sustainability – why many green solutions fail simply because they’re not human-friendly

• How citizens can shape policy, and lessons from Norway’s national citizen assembly

• Why normalizing change (instead of preaching it) might be the most powerful motivator we have

It’s a wide-ranging, reflective, and surprisingly hopeful conversation, and I think you’ll walk away with a fresh perspective on what real change can look like.

For Anyone Navigating a Transition

If you’re someone who:

• Has moved (or is moving) from a fossil-based industry to something more sustainable

• Is trying to create change in a company, a community, or even just in your own habits

• Is exhausted by the polarization around climate, and wants a more constructive way forward

…then this conversation is absolutely worth your time.

🎧 Listen to the episode here:

How Culture Shapes Climate Action – with Climate Anthropologist Tessa Hartman

If this conversation made you pause, reflect, or rethink how we engage with climate and each other, consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it.

Maybe a friend navigating a transition.
Maybe a colleague caught in “climate fatigue.”
Maybe someone who’s been quiet in the conversation, but might just be ready to join.

Let’s keep spreading ideas that build bridges.

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I don’t know about you, but I often feel like I’m walking around with 96 tabs open - in my browser, in my brain, in my life.

One moment I’m deep in the world of energy transition, the next I’m exploring solopreneurship models and how to stay healthy and sane, and the next… well it was this new partnership with some amazing people that I can’t resist.

Sound familiar?

If you’ve ever been told you need to “pick a lane” - and every part of you resists that - then this episode of Stories for the Future is absolutely for you.

Enter Charlie Rogers.

A writer, speaker, and community-builder who calls himself “undefinable” - and helps others claim that same identity with intention and clarity.

Charlie and I first crossed paths through the Portfolio Collective, and from the very first interaction, I felt that this person really got it. The chaos. The curiosity. The constant recalibration between ideas, purpose, and identity.

And now? Charlie is writing a book that I truly believe will be a gift to all of us who live in that beautifully messy middle space. I already got a sneak peek, and it has already given me tons of value.

“I truly believe that it's at the intersections of ideas that you'll find the thing worth doing.”

– Charlie Rogers

Yes. Yes. Yes.

For those of us who don’t just have one calling, one path, or one fixed identity, Charlie’s work is a permission slip and a GPS system. A framework for making meaning out of the many.

In this episode, we explore:

🎯 What it means to live undefinably and why that’s not a flaw, but a strength

🧩 How to blend your interests without causing utter chaos (hint: don’t try to be great at everything at once)

🪡 The idea of the Golden Thread, a through-line that helps you make decisions and stay aligned, even when your interests are diverse

💡 Why being semi-professional in a few things might be far more sustainable (and joyful) than going “all in” on just one

🌀 And why letting go of old identities might just be the most important thing you do next

It’s not often I talk to someone and feel like they’re reading my mind, but that’s exactly how this conversation felt. Insightful, affirming and energizing. I think you might sense a sigh of relief in audio form.

If you also live a life with 96 tabs open at all times, I urge you to give this a listen. And also - keep an eye out for Charlie's upcoming book Undefinable Life Design. It’s a must-read for all of us redefining success on our own terms.

🎧 Listen to the episode here

For more gold from Charlie, check out his publication here on Substack.

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We live in a time when disagreement has become dangerous.

Not metaphorically dangerous, but actually dangerous.
When people are ostracized, silenced, or even harmed simply for having an opinion.
When ideological bubbles become echo chambers.
When outrage drowns out understanding.
When we forget there’s a human being on the other side of the issue.

I’m so gratful for people like Morgan deNicola who chooses a different path.

🌍 Meet Morgan deNicola

In this week’s episode, I sit down with Morgan deNicola, Executive Director of the deNicola Family Foundation, who works in a field most people avoid these days: diplomacy.

Not just the geopolitical kind, but the everyday kind, but the messy, human art of building trust across disagreement. Of listening without needing to be right. Of showing up, not to convert or cancel, but to connect.

🔄 From the Classroom to Cultural Diplomacy

Morgan’s story is anything but linear.

She began in special education and eventually found herself operating at the intersection of philanthropy, cultural diplomacy, conservation, and humanitarian recognition. Her approach is grounded, accessible, and quietly radical:

• She doesn’t try to win the room - she tries to understand it.

• She doesn’t perform empathy - she practices it.

• She reminds us that real change doesn’t require agreement - just dialogue.

🎙️ What We Talk About

This conversation is highly relevant today. We explore:

• What diplomacy can teach us about working with people we don’t agree with

• The emotional toll of mission-driven work (and how to recover from it)

• The “philanthropy pendulum” and how to stay grounded

• Why empathy must extend to those we least want to offer it to

• And how bridge-building doesn’t mean being neutral - it means being human

✨ A Timely Reminder

This conversation was recorded before the most recent headlines, but it feels especially needed now.

If you’ve felt overwhelmed by polarization…
If you’ve wondered whether empathy is still worth it…
If you’ve wanted to do good without burning out…

This episode is for you.

💬 “We say we want empathy — but do we offer it to people we disagree with?” — Morgan deNicola

🎧 Listen Now

🎙️ Episode: Curiosity Over Conflict: The Art of Diplomacy with Morgan deNicola

🙏 Thank You

A heartfelt thank you to Morgan for your wisdom, warmth, and unwavering belief in the power of curiosity and empathy.

If this episode resonates, I’d love for you to share it with someone who’s craving more clarity and compassion in a noisy world.

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When the world feels uncertain, chaotic, or downright overwhelming, what does it really take to lead with purpose? How do you hold on to clarity when everything around you feels like noise?

In the latest episode of Stories for the Future, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sylvana Rochet, an executive coach and strategic advisor to visionary founders, CXOs, and mission-driven leaders across the globe.

Sylvana has supported over 200 clients in navigating leadership, scaling businesses, and redefining their identity during times of transition. What makes her stand out is not just her deep experience, but her practical, human-centered approach to leadership. She believes that emotional intelligence, clarity, and courage are skills anyone can learn, and that they make all the difference when leading in chaotic times.

🌍 In this conversation, we explore:

• Why “bad leadership” is everywhere, and how it can change

• Sylvana’s Three Cs framework for navigating big transitions: Clarity, Curiosity, and Courage

• How to stay grounded and mission-driven when your company is under pressure

• Why letting go of old professional identities can create surprising freedom

• What resilience really looks like, both for leaders and employees facing uncertainty

This was such a rich conversation. I walked away with new insights and a sense of calm, and I think you’ll find it just as valuable.

👉 Listen here

🔗 Connect with Sylvana Rochet

• Website

• Podcast: Life by Intention Podcast

• LinkedIn: Sylvana Rochet

And finally, a big thank you to for supporting this episode — a wonderful community of coaches, creatives, and solopreneurs that continues to inspire me every day.

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When we recorded this episode in May, the climate conversation in the U.S. already felt fragile. Words were being removed from databases, funding for NOAA and climate research slashed, and communicators were scrambling to preserve decades of vital data.

Now, just a few months later in August, U.S. politics have only become more chaotic. Which makes this conversation with Tom Schueneman - journalist, blogger, podcaster, and founder of GlobalWarmingisReal.com - all the more essential.

Tom has been writing and reporting on climate change for more than 20 years. He’s watched how disinformation strategies borrowed from “big tobacco” have been deployed to sow doubt, how political denial keeps colliding with scientific reality, and how independent journalism is sometimes the last line of defense against silence.

In our conversation, we cover:

• How climate data is being censored and hidden in the U.S.

• The dangers of an anti-science political agenda

• Why extreme weather events might be the only thing that wakes some people up (but do they really?)

• The role of independent journalists in keeping truth alive

• What “hope” really means when facing climate disruption

👉 Listen to the full episode here

For me, this episode is also a reminder that communication is not optional in times like these. Whether through podcasts, Substack, or everyday conversations, our words matter.

If you know someone who sometimes feels overwhelmed by the chaos and denial surrounding climate change, share this one with them.

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And go follow Tom here on Substack and listen to his podcast (which is beautiful, both in content and production!)

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This week marks a milestone: five years since I launched Stories for the Future! Five years of conversations about transformation, courage, and what it really takes to build a thriving future.

In today’s episode I’m joined by Dina Hestad from cCHANGE, and I couldn’t think of a better guest to celebrate this milestone with. Dina has dedicated her life to tackling the root causes of the climate, inequality, and biodiversity crises. From reporting on UN climate negotiations to working on the ground in the Marshall Islands and Palestine, her journey has shown her that these crises are deeply intertwined, and that the solutions have to be, too.

At cCHANGE, Dina now leads initiatives in Norway and internationally that accelerate transformation at the systems level. cCHANGE’s latest project, Energiomstillerne, is a new leadership program designed for those who want to move the green transition beyond technology and economics, and ground it in values, culture, and people.

What we cover in this episode

• Why the current approach to Norway’s energy transition is “partial” and why that matters

• How values-driven leadership can unlock deeper, faster, and fairer change

• What the Energiomstillerne program offers, and who it’s for

• Dina’s own journey: from the UN to Norwegian municipalities, and why individuals matter just as much as systems

A few quotes that stayed with me

💬 “The way we’ve done the energy transition so far isn’t wrong, it’s just partial. Technology and economics matter, but without values, culture, and people, it will never be enough.”

💬 “We are the system. The organizations, the structures—they’re social constructs that we create and maintain. And that means we can change them too.”

💬 “Every single project, no matter how small, can be used to spark systems change.”

🎧Listen to the episode here.

If you know someone who’s navigating the tension between oil, renewables, and Norway’s future, please share this one with them.

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And to all of you who have been listening, sharing, and supporting Stories for the Future over the past five years - thank you! Here’s to the next chapter. 🌱

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This week marks five years since I first hit publish on Stories for the Future. What started as a quiet experiment has become a space for some of the most meaningful conversations of my life.

So it feels only right to kick off the new season, and this anniversary, with someone who embodies everything this podcast stands for: courage, clarity, and deep commitment to a better future.

💡 Enter Oliver Dauert, founder of Wildya, a venture helping ecopreneurs turn their love for nature into serious, scalable impact.

Why this episode matters

We’ve all seen the stories: nature in crisis, burnout on the rise, entrepreneurs trying to “do good” but still trapped in extractive systems. Oliver’s story is different. Not because he has all the answers, but because he’s daring to ask better questions.

Like:

• What if we measured success in impact, not income?

• What does it mean to be an “impact millionaire”?

• Can business be the engine for rewilding instead of its obstacle?

This conversation is about what happens when eco-anxiety meets strategy, when idealism meets pragmatism. And when love for nature refuses to stay small.

What we talk about

🌿 From corporate life to nature-first leadership

💰 Why we need better business models for biodiversity

🧠 The emotional weight of eco-grief and how to work with it

🌍 Practical tips for anyone building something regenerative

🧭 And what’s still missing in business education today

Oliver brings clarity, honesty, and a real-world perspective that I think many of us need right now, especially those trying to do purpose-driven work without losing themselves in the process.

My favorite quote

“Whether you're a baker, a lawyer, a marketer, or a mom — there’s a role for you in rewilding the world. Every field needs nature, and nature needs every field.”

🎧 Listen here

🌐 Learn more about Wildya

If you enjoy the episode, feel free to share it with a fellow ecopreneur, changemaker, or quietly rebellious idealist.

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I’m so excited about this season, and I would love for you to join me!

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Back in 2020, during a year filled with global uncertainty, I joined a leadership program that turned out completely change the way I see my role in the world and how I do my work.

It shifted the foundation of how I approach change, leadership, and even daily life.

The program was called Transformational Leadership for Sustainability, or TLFS. And in this week’s episode of Stories for the Future, I’m joined by two inspiring women who know this work inside and out:

🎙️ Karen O’Brien – professor at the University of Oslo, co-founder of cCHANGE, IPCC contributor, and author of “You Matter More Than You Think”.
🎙️ Idun Aune – founder of Respira.no, TLFS alum, and systems thinker working with value-driven change

Together, we explore not only what TLFS is, but how it helps people lead change from the inside out - with more clarity, courage, and connection.

👉 Listen to the episode here
📘 Learn more about TLFS

What is TLFS, really?

TLFS is not your average leadership course. It’s not focused on performance metrics or corporate jargon.

Instead, it’s based on a powerful framework that combines:

• Practical action (what we do)

• Political awareness (systems and structures we work within)

• Personal alignment (our values, beliefs, and how we show up)

The result is a deeply grounding and empowering process that supports you to lead from who you are, not just what you know.

Why this matters now

We're living in a time where leadership is needed in every corner of society, not just in boardrooms or politics.

And yet, many people still don’t see themselves as "leaders."

TLFS challenges that. It shows that:

✅ You matter more than you think
✅ You don’t need a title to lead change
✅ The way you show up - in meetings, projects, conversations - can ripple out into systems

As Karen shared in our conversation:

“It’s not just about having agency, it’s about the quality of agency - rooted in values like equity, curiosity, compassion.”

What happens in the program?

The next cohort begins in September 2025 and includes:

• 3 in-person gatherings near Oslo

• Weekly small-group triad coaching sessions

• A focus on your own real-world “breakthrough initiative”

• Space for reflection, connection, and deep learning

🌿 This year, the program will take place in a beautiful nature setting just outside Oslo, allowing for even more spaciousness and community building.

💬 It’s open to international participants and fully in English.

🔗 Get more info or apply here

Who is TLFS for?

If any of this resonates, it might be for you:

• You care deeply about the future but feel overwhelmed by where to start

• You’re working in sustainability, design, education, activism, or just navigating your own quiet pivot

• You want your work to feel more aligned with who you are

• You’re looking for a community of changemakers who go beyond surface-level change

As Idun shared in the episode:

“It’s not about throwing out all your tools. It’s about adding the one that was missing - the personal, the values-based layer that makes change sustainable.”

Final thoughts: You really do matter more than you think

Whether you’re already deep in impact work or quietly wondering where you fit in - this episode (and this program) is for you.

And if you’re curious, but unsure? Reach out. You can contact the team at cCHANGE or Idun Aune, or even hit reply to this email. I’m happy to share more about my own experience.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here
📘 Read more about You Matter More Than You Think
🛠️ Explore TLFS

📦 Bonus resource

If you’re in a moment of career transition or craving more alignment, check out my free guide:
👉 The Quiet Pivot Companion Pack

It’s designed to help you reconnect with your values, strengths, and next steps - one small practice at a time.

Until next time,
💛 Veslemøy

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Hi friends,

You know how I often talk about future fluency, about finding new ways to relate to the future that don’t leave us overwhelmed, frozen, or panicking?

Well… this episode is exactly that.

This week I sat down with Laurel Colless, a science fantasy fiction author for kids - and honestly, a storyteller for all of us trying to imagine a world beyond collapse.

✨ A diverse globetrotter

Laurel has lived on four continents and worked in very diverse sectors, but at some point she got tired of grownups choosing short-term profits over long-term change.

She started writing children’s books - an epic middle-grade adventure series where eco-monsters threaten the world and smart, diverse kids rise to meet the challenge.

The stories are thrilling and fun, yes. But they also carry something deeper: a subtle, empowering way to help kids face the cl imate crisis without being crushed by it.

As she said in the episode:

“Fantasy fiction lets kids imagine the future without being crushed by it.”

🐉 What you'll hear in this episode

This episode is an exploration of why storytelling matters right now, especially for kids who are growing up in a world that feels pretty chaotic.

We talk about:

• Laurel’s international path from Australia to Japan, Finland, Greece, and beyond

• The moment she realized that adults weren’t walking the climate talk, and how that disillusionment became fuel for change

• How to create monsters from weather events and consumption patterns

• The power of ensemble adventure stories for building collective courage

• Why helping helps, and how stories can be an unexpected bridge between fear and action

📚 Meet the Anthrog

Laurel’s fictional universe is grounded in real science. Her books are filled with mysterious islands, secret eco-academies, and the “Anthrog” - monsters born out of human waste, consumption, and climate chaos.

But instead of doom and gloom, the stories are full of agency. Kids aren’t just informed - they’re equipped. They act. They take risks. They find community.

Sound familiar? It's what so many of us are trying to do, too.

🎧 Listen to the episode

▶️ Unleashing Imagination: How Fantasy Fiction Fights Climate Change
→ Listen to the full episode here
→ Check out Laurel’s books and work: www.laurelcolless.com
→ Connect with her on LinkedIn: Laurel Colless

🙏 A big thank you to Creative Space

This episode was made possible with support from Creative Space, a community I’m proud to be a part of - one that truly believes in creating room (and resources) for meaningful work to flourish.

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Hello again from my quiet and curious corner of the internet - where we rarely shout, and not every step in your journey needs a press release.

This week’s episode is a powerful one. If you’ve been feeling pulled in every direction lately - by the news, by work, by life - you’re not alone. And you’re not broken. In fact, you may just need a different kind of reset.

I spoke with Tom Meyers, a Belgian osteopath, futurist, and author of Futurize Yourself and The Future’s Effect, about how to move through chaotic times without losing yourself. His work is part body, part mind, part story - and fully about reclaiming your agency in a fast-changing world.

🧭 What if your future had a backbone?

Tom’s big idea is something he calls your DNA for the future. It’s not about your genes, but about what doesn’t change in you, even as everything around you shifts. Your inner compass. Your potential. Your “why.”

He walks us through his own breakdown-to-breakthrough moment and how it led him to identify four key steps:

1. Interspection – What is the current situation?

2. Retrospection – How can you reframe your story?

3. Introspection – What’s your deep potential?

4. Futurespection – What would a future look like where that potential thrives?

😵‍💫 Stress isn't just in your mind. It's in your body.

Tom also shares how many of today’s physical and emotional challenges aren’t mechanical or mental, but autonomic. Meaning: our nervous systems are stuck in overdrive. And no amount of yoga, running, or breathwork will fix that if the system can’t reset.

He’s developed a technique called the REASET Approach (Return to Ease) to help bring people back to a state of balance - starting with simple, gentle touch. In the episode, he even explains how you can try a version of this at home with a partner.

"Sometimes, what we really need isn’t another productivity hack - it’s someone to hold our head while we breathe."

💬 I’d love to hear if you try this at home. If you want a follow-up guide or short video showing the steps, let me know and Tom has promised to help.

🧰 Bonus Resource: The Quiet Pivot Companion Pack

If this episode speaks to you, maybe you’re going through some changes in your life. Feel free to check out the Quiet Pivot Companion Pack - a personal, practical set of tools I created for people going through identity shifts or career transitions.

I made it for the past version of myself - the one who didn’t know where to go or who to ask for help during a drastic career shift.

Whether you’re redefining your work, your values, or your voice, this pack offers:

• ✍️ What I call “mind hacks” - new ways to see the world and how to move forward

• 🧭 Simple structure for the in-between days

• 💡 Practical guidance to discover new opportunities while you figure out what you really want

🧡 Get the pack as a bonus when you become a paying subscriber here on Substack, or buy it directly here.

🎧 Listen to the episode here

🔗 More about Tom:

🌐 futurizeyourself.com

https://meyerstom.weebly.com/

📱 Follow him on LinkedIn

🎶 Look for “Fitfull” (his AI-powered music project!) on Spotify or Apple Music

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Hello again from my quiet corner of the internet - where big questions and life pivots are allowed to unfold slowly, without pressure to shout it from the rooftops. This is a space where you don’t have to perform your transformation or explain your every move. No grand declarations required - just curiosity, honesty, and the permission to take your time.

Today I’m sharing something that hit me especially hard after leaving my job in oil and gas. It wasn’t the uncertainty. It wasn’t the job loss itself. It was the identity whiplash.

🎙️ In This Episode

In Episode 2 of The Quiet Pivot, we explore that strange in-between moment when you're no longer who you were at work… but not yet sure who you’re becoming.

I tell the story of realizing just how much I had tied my sense of self to a title, a role, and an industry.
And if you’ve ever asked yourself:

• “If I’m not that job, who am I?”

• “How do I talk about what I do now?”

• “Why do I feel so out of place without a title?”

…well, then you should definitely give this short episode a listen.

🎧 Listen to Episode 2: If I’m Not That Job, Who Am I?

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🧰 The tools I wish I’ve had

Alongside this series, I’ve created a toolkit for those messy, in-between moments

When I went through my own pivot, I didn’t need a six-month course or an expensive career coach. I just needed someone to point me in the right direction and provide me with some tools to help me reorient myself.
That’s exactly what this Companion Pack is.

It’s a Notion-based toolkit you can duplicate and explore in your own time, created for professionals navigating career transitions, especially when your identity has been tightly tied to your job.

Here’s what’s inside:

• 🎨 The Identity Sketch Pad – reconnect with who you are beneath the job title

• 🧭 The Mini Alignment Explorer – spot what matters now and what’s changed

• 💡 Option Sparks – generate future paths with small, no-pressure prompts

• 📆 Pivot Day Planner – lightly structure your in-between days for energy and flow

• 🔍 The Opportunity Corridor – a mindset tool for spotting what’s been overlooked

• 📚 Shelf the Title – a strategy for gently releasing the identity you’re not ready to carry anymore

This is not homework. It’s just guidance. Something you can do with coffee in hand, on a quiet morning, or when you need to feel a little less alone.

How to get the Companion Pack:

👉 Already a paying subscriber here on Substack? Great - find your tools in this private post.
👉 Prefer a one-time purchase instead? Buy the pack here.

Either way, I truly hope it gives you what I was missing when I stood exactly where you are now.

💡 Final Thought

This is the chapter where you wander the aisles, pick up unfamiliar books, and maybe… accidentally rediscover yourself somewhere you never imagined.
No rush. No pressure. Just pages waiting to be turned.

Tell me what you find - I always love a good plot twist.

With lots of future hope and optimsim,
Veslemøy

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What if doing meaningful work didn’t come at the cost of your well-being - or your income?

That’s the question I explore in this week’s episode of Stories for the Future with Judith Hartlmaier, the founder of Positive Impactpreneur. Judith’s work is dedicated to a group that often gets overlooked in conversations about change: the supporters.

The facilitators, the educators, the consultants, the space-holders.
The ones helping others lead transformation.
The ones who often run on empty.

And sometimes… the ones who quietly burn out while trying to make everything better.

💡 Who supports the people who support everyone else?

Judith’s mission is clear: to build a stronger, more sustainable ecosystem around those doing impact work, especially those working behind the scenes. Through Positive Impactpreneur, she and her team help service providers (solo and organizational) blend revenue and purpose in a way that feels… actually possible.

In our conversation, we talk about:

• Why the "impact vs. money" narrative needs to go

• The surprising overlap between regeneration and financial sustainability

• How to design learning journeys that truly create systemic change

• Why so many changemakers don’t make it - and how we can change that

🔁 From burnout to blended value

If you’ve ever felt conflicted about charging money for your services…
If you’ve ever defaulted to saying yes to unpaid work “for the cause”…
If you’ve ever felt proud of the impact but scared about the numbers…

This episode is for you.

One of my favourite takeaways from our conversation was the idea of “blended value creation.” It’s not just about making enough money to survive. It’s about designing your work - and your offers - in a way that supports systems change and sustains you over time.

🌍 For the facilitators, educators, consultants, and quiet rebels

Many of my listeners fall into this space - the ones who help others do big things. The ones behind community initiatives, capacity-building programs, university transitions, climate communication efforts, cross-sector collaborations, and more.

Judith calls this the supportive ecosystem - and she’s on a mission to help it thrive.

So whether you're running your own consultancy, dreaming up your next course, holding space for others, or simply trying to figure out how to stay true to your mission without burning out… I think this conversation will offer something grounding, expansive, and real.

🎧 Listen to the full episode:

➡️ Click here to listen to Supporting the Supporters: Judith Hartlmaier on Regenerative Work That Pays
🎓 And if you're curious about how to better align your impact and revenue, I highly recommend Judith’s free masterclass: The Impact–Revenue Paradox

🙏 A big thank you to Creative Space

This episode was made possible with support from Creative Space, a community I’m proud to be a part of - one that truly believes in creating room (and resources) for meaningful work to flourish.

Let me know what resonates - and if you're someone who identifies as a supporter, a systems-thinker, or someone quietly trying to hold the world together… this one’s especially for you.

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Hi there,

I've just released something slightly more personal on my podcast that's been in the making for quite some time.

Today marks the launch of a special 5-part solo podcast mini-series called The Quiet Pivot - the first episode is now available for listening.

This series emerged from my own journey after leaving the oil and gas industry in 2016. That transition period - when I was no longer who I had been professionally for a really long time, but not yet who I was becoming - was both challenging and transformative. I call it the "quiet pivot," that strange in-between space where your old identity doesn't quite fit anymore, but your new one hasn't fully formed.

About episode 1: Finding your way when you're in between

In this introductory episode, I share my personal story of transition and introduce the concept of "coconut moments" - those powerful instances when something suddenly becomes clear, like getting hit on the head with a coconut. These moments were numerous in my journey, hitting hard and fundamentally changing how I see the world. They weren't just gentle nudges but transformative realizations that altered my path forward and shifted my entire perspective.

What I desperately needed during that time were tools and stories to help navigate this in-between space. I needed to know I wasn't alone, to have permission to explore without having all the answers, and practical ways to reconnect with who I was beyond my job title.

That's exactly why I've created this podcast series and the companion tools that accompany it.

Who this series is for

This series is for anyone who's ever found themselves in that strange space between chapters:

•Those who've been laid off from jobs they thought would be forever

•People who've outgrown careers that once felt perfect (sunset industries)

•Anyone returning to work after raising children or caregiving

•Those approaching retirement and wondering "what's next?"

•Anyone feeling that persistent tug that there's something else they should be doing

If you've been quietly wondering:

"If I'm not this job... then who am I?"

"What do I do with this grief I didn't expect?"

"How do I even start figuring out what's next?"

...then this series is for you.

What to expect

Each Monday for the next 5 weeks, I'll share a new episode that explores different aspects of navigating career transitions:

•Saying goodbye to old identities without burning out or burning bridges

•Rediscovering who you are beyond your professional title

•Spotting what's working and what's not without overthinking

•Replacing pressure with exploration

•Designing your days around clarity and energy, not hustle

This series is short, honest, and practical. No big leaps. Just stories, tools, and small steps.

Subscribe now

The Quiet Pivot Companion Pack

To complement the podcast, I've created the Quiet Pivot Companion Pack - a collection of tools designed specifically for this in-between space. Not to push or fix you, but to give you space, spark curiosity, and help you stay grounded while you figure out what's next - in your own time, your own way.

The companion pack explores themes like:

•Intentional farewells and letting go of old identities

•Identity exploration beyond professional titles

•Finding alignment between your values and daily choices

•Curiosity-driven exploration instead of pressure-filled planning

•Community and shared experiences in transition

The tools will be available here via Substack for paid subscribers, or as a one-time bundle if that suits you better. (Coming with the next episode.)

Three things to remember

If you're in an in-between space right now, I want you to know three things:

1.You're not alone. This journey might feel isolating, but there are so many of us navigating similar waters.

2.You're not too late. There's no timeline for finding meaningful work, and your previous experiences - even the ones that feel irrelevant now - are valuable parts of your story.

3.You don't have to have it all figured out. The pressure to leap from one fully-formed identity to another is unrealistic and unnecessary. Sometimes the most important thing is simply to listen - to yourself, to what energizes you, to the possibilities that are beginning to emerge.

Remember: You don't have to leap. You don't have to have a plan. You just have to listen.

If you've been quietly questioning your career story - or just wondering if it's okay to want something different - I hope this series gives you a soft place to land.

Until next time, Veslemøy ☀️

P.S. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the first episode. What resonated with you? Are you experiencing your own quiet pivot? Reply to this email to share your story.

🎧 Listen here.

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