Karen, Richard, and Matt are professional relations: business partners who are also family members. This issue, Richard edits a conversation with his wife Karen about the People’s Emergency Briefing.

There were about 20 to 30 people from local community groups and businesses at this afternoon briefing. We subsequently attended another, evening screening in Settle which was attended by nearly a hundred people.

“Every speaker gave some hope”

Richard
In August, Karen and I went to a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing film at Settle Victoria Hall by invitation from the Settle Business and Community Hub.

Karen, what were your thoughts or takeaways from the film?

Karen
I wasn't sure what to expect. On purpose, I didn't look up too much about it before we went, so I could take whatever was coming at me.

I thought it was very well done. There were no surprises for us because we know the messages, we know the science behind the climate emergency, and we know why it is an emergency. But I thought it was put over in a very measured way, a very accessible way. The importance of it came over without being too scary.

One of the points was that every speaker gave some hope and said that the information is there, the ability is there to make changes. It's just the will of government and public to make those changes.

Richard
Members of parliament underestimate the strength of feeling – how concerned members of the public are about this issue – and [MPs] continue to downplay it. Partly, I think because they listen to the loudest voices – the businesses and the industries that are most likely to be affected by any changes, such as the petroleum industry and the energy industries.

Karen
Also, I guess they’re the most comfortable voices to listen to. If they listen to those voices then they’re not going to make any changes, they’re not going to ruffle any feathers. They’re just going to kill the world!

Richard
It drew together all the different elements. It talked about the climate, tipping points, national security, health, farming and food security and the economy. And it made it clear that climate breakdown is not just going to affect the climate. All these other elements of life are going to be affected. And it's going to have a big impact on the things that we do, the way that we live in the UK.

“Something needs to be done today, not in four years’ time or whenever the next election is going to be”

Karen
The point was made before the film that it was produced last November. It took no account of the extreme weather and the high temperatures that we've had here. It's on the news all the time that climate breakdown is causing this. It's much more recognised I think than even last year.

Richard
I agree.

One of the things that came across most strongly was the potential health issues. Hugh Montgomery, a specialist in emergency medicine, made some strong points about how damaging it is to not just individual's health but to the health services, the health systems that we have in place in this country, how badly they're going to be affected as the climate does break down.

Karen
I think some watching the screening with Chris Packham were members of the Emergency Services and we saw their point of view of how stretched they are and how much they're seeing of fire damage and storm damage. They also made the point that we’re having to use the military so much more than we ever have done to intervene and help our Emergency Services.

Richard
You said one of the things you were interested in was that all the speakers gave hope and explained that we have the solutions to these problems but we're just not implementing them. What was your positive take from it? Was there anything specific?

Karen
It’s just the need for action, for politicians to do something and for us all to lobby politicians because they're the ones that will get things moving if they put the effort behind it.

Richard
I think it’s difficult to get [politicians] to think about climate breakdown as this overarching issue that [if we tackle it] can help us to solve a lot of other problems.

It seems to be the only answer we have, to use our power of voting. But you can only vote for one MP.

Karen
And voting’s a long-term thing, isn't it? Something needs to be done today, not in four years’ time or whenever the next election is going to be.

I think a national broadcast on television will get to more people. I think it's important that happens. And I think there's a petition out to try and get that to happen.

Richard
The National Emergency Briefing website has got lots of good information. And I think one of the positive things is that they don't seem to be letting go. Often, we get campaigns that start and then they get to a bit of a roadblock and fizzle out. This one doesn't seem to be doing that. If anything, it's building momentum and could provide us with that tipping point where we get to about 25% of the population who want something to happen and suddenly it happens. I think we've just got to keep pressing.

Karen
I think there's some interesting ideas being put forward. The campaign looks good, and I think we should support it as much as we can.

There’s more to this interview. Buy us a cuppa on Ko-fi to support our work, and you can read the unabridged versions of this and every Professional Relations interview.

• So far, there have been more than 3,500 screenings of the People’s Emergency Briefing around the country and another 1,500 are already scheduled. Find a screening near you.

• I got to be a guest on the absolute institution of roleplaying game podcasts, Party of One.

• 4-8 November, York: all three of us will be at Aesthetica Film Festival repping I Need A Miracle, which is an official selection and an award nominee.

  • I Need A Miracle is playing on demand in the new Podcasting Lounge throughout the festival.

  • I’m introducing the show to the Makers’ Forum, on stage at York Theatre Royal, at 15:30 GMT on the Saturday.

• 09:00 GMT, 28 November, ExCel Centre, London: I’m running my usual Spindlewheel game at Dragonmeet, London’s one-day roleplaying game convention. I’ve got five spaces available. Tickets are free as long as you’ve got a convention pass. Booking for the convention is open now, and booking for my game opens on 1 November.

I Need A Miracle

On the morning of 1 October, we were £600 short with 12 hours to go, and I started trying to make myself okay with the idea that we wouldn’t make it. Then you lot did it. It makes sense this show about miracles would come back from the brink in a bolt from the blue. Thank you all.

Because we hit the goal, the Crowdfunder page stays live, so if you know someone (or you are someone) who meant to donate but couldn’t at the time, or forgot, you can point them there or to our Ko-fi. Any extra we raise now will go to commissioning more scripts (we didn’t hit the Michelle Kelly stretch goal, but I’m dying to know what she’d write given the chance) or to starting the pot for production.

I’ve spent the month since the campaign closed sorting paperwork with the writing team. Some of the team have started sharing their episode ideas, and we’ll properly start the exciting creative bit with the whole team soon.

And now that the work everyone donated to make happen is starting to happen, my next priority is getting rewards out to everyone who chose one. If you’re expecting a reward (like a chance to submit weird names for the writers to use, or a tarot reading, or a thanks on social media), just watch your email, and make sure you’re not blocking emails from [email protected].

Merely Roleplayers

…returns in December with Runaway Snail, in which I run Monster Care Squad for Natalie Winter, Ellie and Helen, to bring you a veterinary adventure in a world of monsters and magic.

We’ll return to the Main House in 2027 with Vigil: The Long Night, an epic full-cast finale to our years-long Hot Fuzz-meets-Supernatural story.

The Long Night is taking a while to reach you because it involves three separate recording sessions (and possibly some pickups), and it turns out scheduling people in their middle-late 30s is hard. It’s also a complicated edit; the three sessions take place simultaneously in the story, so I’m not just tacking each new batch of audio on the end of the previous one – I’m piecing and patchworking it all together as seamlessly as I can.

Session 1 is recorded and edited, session 2 is recorded (with editing starting as soon as I finish Runaway Snail), and we’re recording session 3 in November.

We might see if we can do another quick Studio production to tide you over til The Long Night – the Austen-esque Good Society, the electropunk crime game Blades in the Dark, and Discworld: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork are all on our wishlist.

Richard highlights Sir David Attenborough:

There’s nothing I can say about David Attenborough that hasn’t already been said, other than to remember that his writing, broadcasting and documentary-making has inspired me throughout my life. His ability to continue making television programmes at one hundred years old also helps me to recognise that I’m not done yet!