P3 Dystopia: När havet kommer : en retorisk analys

Sammanfattning: According to the IPCC sea levels can rise by up to one meter in the next century and maybe even more depending on both individual lifestyle choices and policy making on a societal level. An episode from the Swedish Rafio P3's podcast series, P3 Dystopia, has been investigated as a communication effort to spread knoowledge about the climate issue and its consequences. The episode chosen for this study deals with the sea level rise and its threat on civilizations across the globe. The podcast is part of the Swedish public serive campaign prior to the election to parliament in September of 2018. Because of this, the episode has been examined using classical rhetorical theories to identify what strategies it utilizes to promote sustainable behavior. One of the key purposes of this study is to investigate how the producers describe and dramatize the sea level rise and its aftermath. Due to this the episode was examined through a storytelling perspective considering what basic story design structures it uses. This study is based on research on risk communication about climate change and how they should be communicated to achieve the best possible effect. The research considers emotion regulation straetgies as the missing link in effective communication about climate change. Since early 21st century most of the research conducted on this area has been focused on using fear as a motivator for behavioral change, but in recent years some scientists say that fear is not enough. This study aims to investigate what sort of emotions the podcast episode uses to capture and influence its listeners and in what way these emotions are conveyed.