Ayana E. Johnson, Jason Sudeikis, Roy Wood Jr. Are Throwing a Climate Party

Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s What If We Get It Right? might be the most helpful book on the planet right now for dreamers, do-ers, and anyone concerned with Earth’s rising temperatures, sea levels, and carbon emissions. It’s especially beguiling for those looking to join the climate fight but don’t know where to start — the book reads more like a guided map inviting readers to be inspired — and ultimately take action — through art, conversations, essays, poetry, and more.

So, for a project this unconventional, it called for a book tour that was just as multifaceted, entertaining, and action-focused in its call to address the climate crisis. On Sept. 17, the Climate Variety Show — produced by Jenisha Shrestha and written by Brad Einstein — will launch Johnson’s trek that will run until Oct. 26 and stop in 13 states and 19 cities across America. The event will take place at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and be co-hosted by Johnson and actor Jason Sudeikis, while also packing in musical performances, comedy skits, poetry readings, and yes, Dance Dance Revolution. 

The evening will even include a performance by artist Perrin Ireland that involves hula hoops and a talk on “the delightful sex lives of different species.”

“I take the word ‘variety’ in variety so seriously,” Johnson tells Rolling Stone. Guests can expect comedian Roy Wood Jr. making an appearance as moderator for the night’s game show pitting a NASA climate scientist, who will be standing in as Earth, against comic Wyatt Cenac as planet Mars. Johnson quips: “Not to be a spoiler, but ‘Earth is the best planet’ is going to be the outcome of that game.”

“We have this incredible black woman magician Nicole Cardoza, who’s going to be reminding us about possibility and that we all have this capacity for magic, and we should bring that to climate solutions,” she continues, who hints at a magic show involving her book’s climate action Venn diagrams.

Throughout the night, music from the book’s “Anti-Apocalpytic Mixtape” — a playlist of “anthems for victory, love songs to Earth, tunes for tenacity, and sexy implementation vibes” — will play on speakers. The Oshima Brothers (who feature on the playlist) will be performing  “Love Is Tall” and “This Burning Earth” at the book launch, as well as five other stops on the tour. Meanwhile, poets Jacqueline Woodson and Steve Connell, who is also Johnson’s cousin, will be reading their works dedicated to the climate fight.

Music will play an integral part throughout the rest of the tour, and to celebrate its end in Portland, Maine, in October, Johnson, who trained as a jazz singer, will wrap the two-month journey with a duet alongside her boyfriend, Zack Anchors. (Technically, though, it ends at the state’s Bluehill Literary Festival.)

The author adds that the trek is essentially a tour to spotlight the contributors in the book and hold a range of conversations on climate change, including discussions with former Georgia State Representative Stacey Abrams, NASA climate scientist Dr. Kate Marvel, and more. Her wardrobe throughout the affair will be climate-focused too, as she’ll be borrowing clothes made by sustainable designer Gabriela Hearst (former Creative Director of Chloé).

As Johnson travels the country during peak election season, the book tour will also serve as a get-out-the-vote effort focused on supporting climate candidates up and down the ballot, with the author teaming up with Environmental Voter Project and Lead Locally. 

It’s an effort that will take center-stage during the Climate Variety Show’s finale on Tuesday, when Johnson and Sudeikis will challenge each other to a Dance Dance Revolution showdown. “Every time you step, it texts a voter to remind them to vote for climate candidates,” she says, noting that the winner is whoever can text the most voters, but really, “everyone wins.”

While the lineup for the Los Angeles and Portlant stops aren’t out yet, Johnson says that those will be variety shows as well. For those who aren’t able to meet the author during her tour, podcast versions of her conversations with climate leaders will be available on her Substack. Event details and ticketscan be found at getitright.earth.

With just days to go until the book’s launch, Johnson reflects on the upcoming event and engaging more people to join the climate movement. “Part of the message of all of this is addressing that the climate crisis doesn’t have to be boring … We just have to do things a different way and get creative and get together with our friends,” she says. “So that’s been really fun for me to think about how to have the tour reflect my values, reflect the values of the book, and hopefully inspire people to roll up their sleeves and get to work — but out of excitement, as opposed to fear.”

She adds, “In part, the climate movement just has to throw a better party if we want people to come hang out with us.”

What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures Book Tour

Sept. 17 — Brooklyn, NY, Climate Variety Show @ Brooklyn Museum
Sept. 19 — Brooklyn, NY @ The Berkeley Carroll School
Sept. 20 — Washington, DC, The Atlantic Festival @ The Wharf in Washington
Sept. 20 — Brunswick, ME @ Bowdoin College
Sept. 21 — Unity, ME @ Common Ground Country Fair
Sept. 23 — New York, NY @ The New School
Sept. 23 — Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneer Works
Sept. 24 — New York, NY @ Rockefeller Foundation
Sept. 24 — New York NY, @ Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit
Sept. 24 — New York, NY, Science Friday Book Club @ Caveat
Sept. 25 — Groton, CT @ University of Connecticut at Avery Point
Sept. 28 — Los Angeles, CA, Climate Variety Show @ Dynasty Typewriter
Sept. 29 — Dana Point, CA, Ohana Festival @ Doheny State Beach
Oct. 1 — San Francisco, CA @ Commonwealth Club
Oct. 1 — Berkeley, CA @ Mrs Dalloway’s
Oct. 2 — Spokane, WA @ Auntie’s Bookstore
Oct. 3 — Seattle, WA @ Elliot Bay Book Company
Oct. 4 — Portland, OR @ Powell’s Bookstore
Oct. 7 — Santa Fe, NM @ Site Santa Fe
Oct. 9 — St. Paul, MN @ Saint Paul River Centre
Oct. 9 — Kansas City, MO @ The Marriott Kansas City
Oct. 10 — Atlanta, GA @ The Carter Center
Oct. 12 — Washington DC @ Politics and Prose
Oct. 15 — Jackson, WY, Climate Solutions Summit @ Jackson Center for the Arts
Oct. 20 — Los Angeles, CA @ Westin Long Beach
Oct. 22 — New York, NY @ New York Public Library
Oct. 23 — Boston, MA, Harvard Book Store @ Brattle Theatre
Oct. 24 — Medford, MA @ Tufts University
Oct. 25 — Portland, ME, Climate Variety Show @ University of Southern Maine
Oct. 26 — Bluehill, ME, Bluehill Literary Festival @ First Congregational Church of Blue Hill