In this episode, Marlowe reflects on her summer as a U.S. Senate Page in Washington, D.C. Sitting in the chamber, she watched Senator Sheldon Whitehouse deliver the 308th speech in his "Time to Wake Up" series and started rethinking a question she'd never fully answered: if people already know climate change is real, what actually makes them act? From insurance premiums and mortgage risk to the exhaustion of caring about a problem no single person can solve, Marlowe unpacks what persistence, communication, and government up close taught her about reaching people who see the world differently than she does.

In this episode of The Hottest Generation, Marlowe explores the surprising connection between climate change and Legionnaires' disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water systems. Prompted by the ongoing outbreak on Manhattan's Upper East Side, she breaks down how rising temperatures, urban heat islands, and aging infrastructure are creating conditions that can increase the risk of these outbreaks. From cooling towers and public health to environmental justice and climate resilience, this episode uncovers one of the lesser-known ways climate change is already affecting our everyday lives.

Most people don't spend much time thinking about wastewater, insects, or DNA sequences. After attending the Urban Barcode Research Program Symposium, I learned why we should. In this episode, I discuss how scientists use wastewater to track public health trends, how DNA barcoding helps identify species, and what my own research on urban wasps revealed about biodiversity in New York City. Plus, I share what it was like winning the Outstanding Poster Award and why science communication matters just as much as scientific discovery.

In this episode of The Hottest Generation, Marlowe explores biodiversity in an unexpected place: New York City. Through her work DNA-barcoding urban wasps, she unpacks how life adapts to heat, pollution, and density, and why biodiversity isn’t just about ecosystems, but public health and environmental justice.

From lab work to city streets, this episode challenges how we see nature and asks a simple question: what happens when we start paying attention to the life around us?

Inca Gunter from the Billion Oyster Project joins The Hottest Generation to explain how oysters help restore New York Harbor and why community involvement is just as important as the science. From volunteer training to long-term ecological change, this episode explores how urban restoration actually happens and how students can get involved.

In this episode of The Hottest Generation, Marlowe talks with Samm Kaiser from the Jewish Youth Climate Movement to discuss what youth-led climate organizing really looks like behind the scenes. Samm shares how JYCM turns climate concern into advocacy, how young people move from feeling overwhelmed to building real impact, and why youth leadership is essential. Samm also talks about burnout, hope, and what the next generation of climate leaders might look like.

Cities are heating up, flooding more, and putting the most vulnerable residents at risk. In this episode, Marlowe digs into how climate change hits urban neighborhoods differently, why adaptation has to be fair, and what real solutions look like on the ground. From subway platforms that feel like ovens to basement homes that flood in minutes, this is the story of a city on the edge, and the young people refusing to give up on it.

Join Marlowe for a quick look at how oyster restoration is reshaping New York Harbor. From filtration to shoreline protection to biodiversity boosts, oysters do heavy lifting in ways most people never see. Hear how the Billion Oyster Project is empowering students and volunteers to help bring a lost ecosystem back to life.