Understories | Translating doom into agency

The problem in numbers_

The problem
in numbers_

Most climate messages don’t land.
The gap between one that does and one that doesn’t is measurable.

• 40% of people actively avoid climate news because it makes them feel powerless, not motivated.

• 12:1 protecting future generations outperforms economic and jobs messaging as a driver for climate action.

• + 11 pts the lift in public support a single framing can produce.

What is understories?

What is
understories?

Climate is not only a policy problem.
It is a story problem.

Every day, well-researched campaigns fail because the message missed the mark. Not the science. The sentence.

The art of climate communication is largely inaccessible to the people who need it most — grassroots organisers, underfunded NGOs, advocates working without a communications team. Understories changes that.

It gives you research-backed feedback on your climate communications — evaluating your message peer-reviewed studies, scoring it across eight evidence-based criteria, suggesting revisions, and flagging ethical risks.

Understories translates doom into agency.
With citations, not guesswork.

Climate is not only a policy problem.
It is a story problem.

Every day, well-researched campaigns fail because the message missed the mark. Not the science. The sentence.

The art of climate communication is largely inaccessible to the people who need it most — grassroots organisers, underfunded NGOs, advocates working without a communications team. Understories changes that.

It gives you research-backed feedback on your climate communications — evaluating your message peer-reviewed studies, scoring it across eight evidence-based criteria, suggesting revisions, and flagging ethical risks.

Understories translates doom into agency.
With citations, not guesswork.

Test your message

How it works_

Paste a draft.

Get a research-backed critique.

Every score is traceable to specific studies from The Library.
The evaluation framework applies peer-reviewed social science and non-profit research — as communications standard, not ideological judgment — to assess whether a message will move people.

The Library_

Understories is built on a multi-layered governance system: the research library ensures that every message evaluation is grounded in research.

The Library is organised in five categories:

Communications: What works and what doesn't when communicating climate change to the public
Mobilisation: What moves people from concern to collective action: online, in communities, and in movements
Narrative: How stories, frames, and metaphors shape what people believe is possible on climate
Psychology: How people think, feel, and decide about climate change, and what that means for communicators
Public Opinion: The landscape of global climate opinion: who believes what, who acts, and who hasn't been reached

Access The Library

The eight criteria_

Every criterion is derived from peer-reviewed research — integrating findings across climate communications, behavioural science, and public narrative.
Disciplines that rarely speak to each other. Until now.

Each criterion asks a different question about whether your message will move people — or miss them entirely.

The ambition is simple: raise the standard for how climate is communicated.
Not more alarming. Not more polarising. More true, more human, more worth passing on.

Every criterion is derived from peer-reviewed research — integrating findings across climate communications, behavioural science, and public narrative. Disciplines that rarely speak to each other. Until now.

Each criterion asks a different question about whether your message will move people — or miss them entirely.

* Accessibility
* Actionability
* Clarity
* Credibility
* Emotional Resonance
* Hope Doom Balance
* Personal Relevance
* Solution Focus

The ambition is simple: raise the standard for how climate is communicated.
Not more alarming. Not more polarising. More true, more human, more worth passing on.

The ethical framework_

Understories is built on six human-centered principles adapted from AI ethics and applied specifically to climate communications.

Test your message

Stay close to the work.

Occasional research, field notes, and practical tools for making climate communication count.

Library

Journal

About

The problem in numbers_

The problem in numbers_

The problem
in numbers_

Most climate messages don’t land.
The gap between one that does and one that doesn’t is measurable.

• 40% of people actively avoid climate news because it makes them feel powerless, not motivated.

• 12:1 protecting future generations outperforms economic and jobs messaging as a driver for climate action.

• + 11 pts the lift in public support a single framing can produce.

What is understories?

What is understories?

What is
understories?

Climate is not only a policy problem.
It is a story problem.

Every day, well-researched campaigns fail because the message missed the mark. Not the science. The sentence.

Understories translates doom into agency.
With citations, not guesswork.

Climate is not only a policy problem.
It is a story problem.

Every day, well-researched campaigns fail because the message missed the mark. Not the science. The sentence.

Understories translates doom into agency.
With citations, not guesswork.

How it works_

How it works_

How it works_

Paste a draft.

Get a research-backed critique.

Every score is traceable to specific studies from The Library.
The evaluation framework applies peer-reviewed social science and non-profit research — as communications standard, not ideological judgment — to assess whether a message will move people.

The Library_

The Library_

The Library_

Understories is built on a multi-layered governance system: the research library ensures that every message evaluation is grounded in research.

The Library is organised in five categories:

Communications: What works and what doesn't when communicating climate change to the public

Mobilisation: What moves people from concern to collective action: online, in communities, and in movements

Narrative: How stories, frames, and metaphors shape what people believe is possible on climate

Psychology: How people think, feel, and decide about climate change, and what that means for communicators

Public Opinion: The landscape of global climate opinion: who believes what, who acts, and who hasn't been reached

The eight criteria_

The eight criteria_

The eight criteria_

The ethical framework_

The ethical framework_

The ethical framework_

Understories is built on six human-centered principles adapted from AI ethics and applied specifically to climate communications.

Stay close to the work.

The problem in numbers_

The problem in numbers_

The problem in numbers_

Most climate messages don’t land. The gap between one that does and one that doesn’t is measurable.• 40% of people actively avoid climate news because it makes them feel powerless, not motivated.

• 12:1 protecting future generations outperforms economic and jobs messaging as a driver for climate action.• + 11 pts the lift in public support a single framing can produce.

What is understories?

What is understories?

What is understories?

Climate is not only a policy problem. It is a story problem.

Every day, well-researched campaigns fail because the message missed the mark. Not the science. The sentence.

Understories translates doom into agency. With citations, not guesswork.

Climate is not only a policy problem. It is a story problem.

Every day, well-researched campaigns fail because the message missed the mark. Not the science. The sentence.

Understories translates doom into agency. With citations, not guesswork.

How it works_

How it works_

How it works_

Paste a draft.

Get a research-backed critique.

Every score is traceable to specific studies from The Library. The evaluation framework applies peer-reviewed social science and non-profit research — as communications standard, not ideological judgment — to assess whether a message will move people.

The Library_

The Library_

The Library_

Understories is built on a multi-layered governance system: the research library ensures that every message evaluation is grounded in research.

The Library is organised in five categories:

Communications: What works and what doesn't when communicating climate change to the public

Mobilisation: What moves people from concern to collective action: online, in communities, and in movements

Narrative: How stories, frames, and metaphors shape what people believe is possible on climate

Psychology: How people think, feel, and decide about climate change, and what that means for communicators

Public Opinion: The landscape of global climate opinion: who believes what, who acts, and who hasn't been reached

The eight criteria_

The eight criteria_

The eight criteria_

The ethical framework_

The ethical framework_

The ethical framework_

Understories is built on six human-centered principles adapted from AI ethics and applied specifically to climate communications.

Stay close to the work.

The problem
in numbers_

Most climate messages don’t land.
The gap between one that does and one that doesn’t is measurable.

• 40% of people actively avoid climate news because it makes them feel powerless, not motivated.

• 12:1 protecting future generations outperforms economic and jobs messaging as a driver for climate action.

• + 11 pts the lift in public support a single framing can produce.

What is
understories?

Climate is not only a policy problem.
It is a story problem.

Understories translates doom into agency.
With citations, not guesswork.

Climate is not only a policy problem.
It is a story problem.

Understories translates doom into agency.
With citations, not guesswork.

Every score is traceable to specific studies from The Library.
The evaluation framework applies peer-reviewed social science and non-profit research — as communications standard, not ideological judgment — to assess whether a message will move people.