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Helen Phillips: Climate Fiction Prize Winner Explores Our Present Through a Futuristic Lens

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Exploring Climate Fiction: Helen Phillips’ Award-Winning Novel “Hum”

“Hum”, set in an overheated futuristic metropolis, tells the compelling story of a mother’s struggle to protect her small family amidst relentless technological surveillance and climate change challenges. This year, Helen Phillips’ work won the prestigious Climate Fiction Award, a recognition supported by Climate Spring and valued at £10,000.

About the Award

The Climate Fiction Award, established to spotlight storytelling that engages with the realities of climate change, was previously awarded in 2025 to Abi Dalle for her novel And That’s Why I Roar. Phillips’ novel outshone other shortlisted titles, including Susanna Kwan’s tale of a flooded San Francisco in Wake Up in a Floating City and Maria Leva’s journey with a highly endangered snail in End Ring.

Judges’ Insights

Judge Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London, praised “Hum” for addressing the core issues of privilege related to the climate crisis. Fellow judge and novelist Jesse Greengrass acknowledged the book’s exploration of existential anxiety, saying, “A book about how to deal with anxiety when nothing is right, or when every choice you make ends up making things worse.”

Story Overview

Set in a near-future city where super-intelligent robots known as Hams coexist with humans, the narrative centers around Mae, a mother fighting to keep her children away from addictive technology. Desperate for a natural escape, she embarks on a journey to a hidden oasis within the city, highlighting the struggles of parenthood in a technologically dominated environment.

Inspiration behind “Hum”

In a conversation with Alison Flood, Helen Phillips shared her inspirations, noting that every novel emerges from myriad small seeds. A personal incident involving targeted advertising sparked her contemplation of extreme algorithmic surveillance, subsequently shaping the central conflict faced by Mae.

Thematic Reflections

Phillips acknowledges her anxieties surrounding climate change, surveillance, and economic inequality as key influences in her writing process. A poignant quote from the book, delivered by a wise machine, states, “We know the world is damaged, but we don’t know what that means for our children’s lives.” This sentiment captures the collective fear many parents feel today.

Art Reflecting Reality

The themes in “Hum” are deeply rooted in current societal realities. Phillips reflects on Margaret Atwood’s famous quote from The Handmaid’s Tale, suggesting that many fictional narratives are extrapolations of real-life situations. This connection between reality and fiction serves to remind readers of the pressing issues at hand while allowing room for hope.

Looking Ahead

The emotional core of “Hum” resonates with the primary goal of nurturing connections—with family, the environment, and oneself. Phillips hopes that her work inspires readers to cherish what remains of nature, emphasizing the need to protect it for future generations.

The Impact of Storytelling

Phillips believes storytelling has the potential to spark meaningful discussions on climate change and human resilience. She asserts that while her writing stems from personal anxieties, it is not meant to provide direct solutions but rather to evoke curiosity and contemplation among readers.

A Commitment to Climate Fiction

Writing about climate issues has consistently been a priority for Phillips, evident even in her earlier works. Although she doesn’t set out to write a climate novel explicitly, themes of climate anxiety and environmental degradation remain central to her storytelling.

Hope for the Future

When asked about the future of her characters and humanity, Phillips emphasizes the necessity of connection, urging collective efforts to value and care for our planet. She believes that recognizing each other’s humanity is crucial in facing the climate crisis.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Must-Read This Week: ‘Beyond Belief’ by Helen Pearson – A Captivating Journey

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Vaccination efforts may stumble, but not for lack of evidence

Ezra Akayan/Getty Images

Beyond Belief
by Helen Pearson
Princeton University Press

While reading a nonfiction book, I often think, “This could be an essay.” It’s frustrating when a compelling argument is stretched to 100,000 words with filler anecdotes, unnecessary repetition, and irrelevant topics. We’ve all encountered such works.

However, Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Actually Works is a refreshing exception. I found myself wishing it were longer. This insightful book delves into the seemingly dry subject of evidence-based policy, focusing on how experiments and trials apply across various fields such as international development, policing, and management. Despite the usual dense discussions of systematic reviews, Pearson crafted a highly readable and engaging narrative that I devoured in one weekend.

Author Helen Pearson serves as a journalist and senior editor for the magazine Nature. Having collaborated on some of my work and shared a pint in London’s pubs, I know her well.

Pearson introduces the concept of the “evidence revolution,” advocating for decision-making grounded in research rather than blind adherence to self-appointed experts or conventional wisdom. She begins with the medical field, where randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are employed to test new treatments scientifically.

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Pearson shares tales of misery, including unsuccessful ‘bat bridges’ over British roads.
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In 1747, naval surgeon James Lind carried out pivotal early clinical trials aboard the warship Salisbury to combat the issue of sailors contracting scurvy. This debilitating condition results in swollen limbs, rotting gums, and eventual death. Lind’s experiment involved recruiting 12 men, grouping them, and providing different nutritional supplements. Those receiving citrus fruits like oranges and lemons recovered quickly. Although vitamin C wasn’t identified until the 20th century, its efficacy was evident, leading to its inclusion in sailors’ diets and a marked decrease in scurvy cases.

Princeton University Press

This episode of medical history showcases how far we’ve come. However, I was surprised to learn that the phrase “evidence-based medicine” is merely 35 years old. For much of the previous century, many medical decisions relied on the judgments of senior doctors, even though comparative trials had been conducted.

Pearson recounts the journey of Ian Chalmers, a 1970s doctor baffled by the inconsistent advice given by two different doctors for the same condition. Working alongside colleagues like Archie Cochrane, he endeavored to refine medical practice by generating systematic reviews and meta-analyses. By examining the published evidence across many scientific journals, they sought to determine what was reliable and what was not, culminating in the establishment of Cochrane Collaboration, which conducts systematic reviews on a myriad of topics.

While few rational individuals oppose the use of controlled trials and systematic reviews, Pearson shares horror stories of lavishly funded yet ineffective projects, such as ‘bat bridges’ that bats never utilized.

As the evidence revolution expands beyond medicine into social policy—concerning welfare payments, international development, policing, education, and conservation—it faces more complexity. Social policies involve human behavior, affected by free will and biases, making them harder to assess accurately. Pearson notes that interventions may work in one community but not in others due to significant differences.

I support the use of systematic reviews for such policies, but I wonder if Pearson and her interviewees are overestimating the benefits.

Numerous evidence-based policies have faltered, not due to the scientific validity of their approach but because core political challenges were overlooked. For instance, efforts like wolf reintroduction and child vaccination often fail not for lack of scientific backing but due to public distrust in authorities.

While Pearson highlights examples of evidence-based conservation practitioners collaborating with indigenous populations who possess invaluable insights, she tends to view sociopolitical barriers as minor obstacles rather than central issues. My experience with education reveals that failures stem not from a lack of evidence but from systemic challenges like overworked teachers and lack of engagement with current research.

The book Beyond Belief presents an intriguing exploration of attempts to personalize scientific methodologies within the intricate realm of human life, capturing both triumphs and setbacks. It would benefit from more depth on practical and sociopolitical barriers to evidence-driven decision-making—perhaps that could be the focus of her next work.

Michael Marshall is a science writer based in Devon, UK.

3 More Great Books on Evidence Tracking

Bad Science
by Ben Goldacre

In this enlightening narrative, doctor, author, and broadcaster Ben Goldacre uncovers how the media often propagates misinformation as truth while even simple checks can reveal the actual facts.

The Whole Golem: What You Need to Know About Technology
by Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch

This book examines the challenges faced by the scientific method in wrestling with the complexities and uncertainties inherent in real-world phenomena.

The Failure of Our Government
by Anthony King and Ivor Crewe

This engrossing and often humorous account of governmental blunders highlights why British politics can be so mismanaged. The lack of evidence is just one of many systemic issues.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Report finds that Hurricane Helen had increased rainfall and stronger winds as a result of climate change

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Samamuri

  • Climate change has increased Hurricane Helen’s wind speed by 11% and total precipitation by about 10%, according to a new report.
  • Researchers expect Milton to do the same, and say it is likely to get worse because of climate change.
  • The report says the higher sea surface temperatures that contributed to the intensification of both storms are 200 to 500 times more likely to be due to climate change.

As Hurricane Milton hurtles toward Florida’s west coast, a new report estimates how intense Hurricane Helen’s winds and rain could have been due to climate change. Scientists involved in the study said they expected Milton to do the same, and that it would likely get worse because of climate change.

The report, released late Wednesday night, is from the World Weather Attribution Group, a consortium of scientists that analyzes extreme weather events and determines how much climate change has influenced certain events. He is regarded as the leading expert in making decisions.

The findings show that because of climate change, Hurricane Helen’s wind speeds were 11% more intense and its precipitation totals were about 10% higher.

Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London who contributed to the new study, said “we now have a complete study showing a very clear link” between climate change and hurricane strength. “The biggest danger is not making the connection to climate change.”

Like Hurricane Helen, Hurricane Milton is also moving through record-breaking heat. Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are much warmer than usual, even for this time of year. Warmer water acts as fuel for such storms, helping them intensify faster.

Both hurricanes undergo a process known as rapid intensification, where the hurricane’s sustained wind speeds increase by at least 35 miles per hour over a 24-hour period. This trend is becoming more common due to climate change.

The report says the sea surface temperatures that pushed Helen and Milton up were 200 to 500 times warmer due to climate change.

On Monday, Milton experienced a dramatic pressure drop in the center of the hurricane, strengthening to one of the fifth strongest hurricanes ever recorded.

“This storm is definitely explosive,” said Bernadette Woods Plucky, chief meteorologist at the nonprofit research group Climate Central and co-author of the new report.

Using a combination of statistical analysis and detailed climate modeling, the researchers found that climate change and the fossil fuel pollution it causes are about 2.5 times more likely to produce a hurricane as strong as Helen.

This is the third and most extensive preliminary report linking climate change to the heavy rains that killed more than 200 people after Hurricane Helen made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on September 26.

Scientists at World Weather Attribution examined rainfall over two days along the coast of Florida, where Helen first hit, and three days of rainfall in mountainous areas in six neighboring states, including North Carolina and Tennessee. Assessed quantity.

They found that coastal rainfall totals are 40% more likely to be this high due to climate change, and inland rainfall totals are 70% more likely to be this high due to climate change. I discovered that there is a sex.

Helen flooded parts of southern Appalachia with more than 6 feet of rain. Floodwaters washed away houses, washed out highways, and cut off access to the town. Much of the recovery work is just beginning.

Damaged buildings in downtown Chimney Rock, North Carolina, after Hurricane Helen passed through on October 2nd.
Alison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images

The World Weather Attribution group is a loose confederation of scientists who rapidly publish extreme findings about whether and how climate change has affected particular events. Twenty-one researchers participated in the new analysis. Although the group uses peer-review methods, its findings are published prior to traditional peer-review when events are new and particularly newsworthy. Previous studies on global weather attribution have withstood further scrutiny by outside scientists and been published in major scientific journals.

Otto said the new results are consistent with two previous analyzes of the effects of climate change on Hurricane Helen, but different researchers defined the parameters of the study in different ways, and there are different He said each report produced different numbers because they focused on geography.

Scientists at World Weather Attribution will run the numbers again for Milton and write a new report.

Source: www.nbcnews.com