Step aside blogs, tweets, and posters (oh my!), may we introduce performer, activist, and rap artist, Baba Brinkman. The PCC nominated Baba Brinkman as one of this year’s UW Graduate School Office of Public Walker-Ames Lecturers. This charismatic climate rapper joined us at UW, flying directly to Seattle from the COP27 meeting in Egypt. A review of his Nov 17 “lecture” to a crowd in Kane Hall can be found here. His visit was the catalyst for the partnership between scientists and rappers to create new raps on Marine Carbon Capture and Health and Climate. These will be available on YouTube by the start of the new year, and we’ll share a reflection on the experience in a future blog. 

In addition to the public event at Kane Hall, Brinkman visited classrooms, spoke with individuals across campus, and lunched at the Waterfront Activity Center with 15 graduate students.

What faculty said about the classroom visits:

“Baba Brinkman’s visit to COM/ENV 418 Environmental Communication was terrific! Around 40 students participated — most of whom were undergraduate Communication majors. A few undergraduates from the College of the Environment and a few graduate students from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs also participated. More than 30 of the students submitted wide-ranging questions in advance that they wanted to ask him, based on his work and published interviews with him. Most of them had the opportunity to ask at least one question, and Mr. Brinkman’s responses were frank, challenging, and inspiring to the students. The timing of his visit coincided with a course unit on creative communication about the environment, and it was wonderful for the students to have the chance to interact with him. Many thanks to all those involved in bringing him to UW!” — Kirsten Foote, UW Dart Endowed Professor in Trauma, Journalism, and Communication

“Atmospheric Sciences PCC 487/587 has 32 students (9 undergraduates, 23 graduate students), representing 14 different departments. Baba Brinkman came to our class equipped with a speaker, some beats, and a whole lot of creativity. His improvised raps on the greenhouse gases, the Green New Deal, and the Hadley circulation wowed the students with their intellectual merit and funky freshness.” — Dargan Frierson, UW Atmospheric Sciences.

Though his methods are “untraditional,” Brinkman’s intelligent and novel approaches to communicating about climate provided UW learners innovative ways to talk about climate science. His visit was thoroughly enjoyed by all.