It’s Freezing in LA! audiobooks return, using slow journalism to spark climate action

It’s Freezing in LA! has been running since 2018, when it launched as an independent climate publication, using art and text to spark climate action – you can read our 2019 interview with the platform here to find out more about its founding design, and how it came up with that name (a “subversive nod” nod to a Trump Tweet). In 2021, IFLA! ventured into audiobooks. This month, it returns for its second season with four new narrated stories, each 10-15 minutes long.

Topics include the toxic colonial history of tear gas, rewilding efforts taking place in the Ukrainian mountains, the artist-turned-gardener Derek Jarman’s work within a barren wilderness, and “the dark reality” beneath Netflix’s Selling Sunset, the platform states. The first episode, Selling Sunset, will be available on 14 April, with another released every two weeks on major streaming platforms.

The critically acclaimed platform has always leaned towards this mode of storytelling over podcasts, creating audio work from existing pieces of journalism. The first season of audiobooks covered subjects including the Bahamas, ecotourism and guerrilla gardening.

IFLA! shares: “In season two we’ve brought four climate narratives to life with sound. Contrasting climate tragedies with inspiring individuals pushing back, we asked voice actors to narrate some of our favourite pieces from our magazine and website. The resulting audiobooks are a nod to slow journalism and re-imagination; values key to IFLA!’s ethos. These narrated stories serve as an ever important conduit for self reflection as well as a riveting bedtime story.”

Articles for season two were written by Lelia Sackur, Imani Jaqueline Brown, Alexander Harris and Kitty Horlick, with sound production and audio editing by Hiren Parmar.