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Spill

Critical Frequency
Climate news, culture and commentary from the team behind Drilled and Hot Take.
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Episodes

This Is Bullsh*t

We're pissed off and full of dread and tired of hiding it. Buckle up, folks, Mary and Amy get real about what's coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 26, 202452 minSeason 4Ep. 7

Could You Really Charge Oil Companies with Murder? Plus: Supreme Court Climate Update

This week, we bring you an episode from our climate litigation podcast, Damages, because we've been getting SO MANY emails about what sorts of legal strategies might still be available for climate accountability given everything happening at the Supreme Court. Public Citizen has been working with various prosecutors to explore the idea of using criminal law to hold oil companies accountable for climate change, but is it really viable? The group's senior climate policy counsel, Aaron Regunburg, j...

Jul 09, 202436 minSeason 4Ep. 5

ProPublica's Abrahm Lustgarten on Climate Migration

In his new book, On the Move, ProPublica climate reporter Abrahm Lustgarten digs into the ways climate change is re-shaping where people live and how they move in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 25, 202444 minSeason 4Ep. 4

John Kasper: A Guy Who Sucked

Over the years we've talked a lot about the intersection between civil rights and climate change. Now Mary Annaïse Heglar has a novel out (her first!) that lives in that intersection and it's fascinating. On this episode she brings us the story of a guy who fought the desegregation of schools, and why it's important to remember the many ways in which the fight for climate action and the fight for racial justice overlap. Help Mary's Aunt Jackie: https://www.gofundme.com/f/pej5x-please-help-me-sup...

May 30, 202452 minSeason 4Ep. 3

Maddie Stone on Microsoft's Role in the Climate Crisis

In a new story co-published by Grist and Drilled, Microsoft employees who spent years fighting the tech giant's oil ties are speaking out about the worker-led effort to get the world's most valuable company to stop helping the oil and gas industry drill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 08, 202435 minSeason 4Ep. 2

Welcome to Spill and Happy Earth Day: Freeing Palestine Is a Climate Issue

Hot Take co-hosts Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt are back with a new show blending climate news updates and cultural commentary, plus a monthly Hot Take-style conversation. In our first episode: what else? A conversation about the intersection between the war on Gaza and the climate crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 22, 202455 minSeason 4Ep. 1

Climate News Update: The New Carbon Majors + Swiss Elders Win Landmark Climate Case

Lots of news lately on stories we've been following, so in today's episode: an update! The landmark Carbon Majors report has been updated with some surprising new data, and the European Court of Human Rights has sent down an historic ruling that will shape how EU legislators look at energy and climate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 16, 202441 min

Slow Factory's Céline Semaan on Climate Justice, Collective Liberation, and Building an Unbreakable Movement

When Celine Semaan began calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, she was surprised at the backlash she and her team at Slow Factory got, including multiple funders pulling their support. Today, Semaan is more determined than ever to push for climate justice and collective liberation. Pre-order A Woman Is a School: https://shop.slowfactory.earth/products/a-woman-is-a-school Check out course(s) on Open Edu: https://slowfactory.earth/open-edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 02, 202444 min

Messy Conversations: Rhiana Gunn-Wright on What the Climate Movement Loses When It Excludes Environmental Justice

Rhiana Gunn-Wright was one of the architects of the Green New Deal, and today works as the climate policy director for the Roosevelt Institute. In this episode we get into the nuances of the IRA, how to handle climate being a "culture war" issue, what's going on with anti-renewables, and what the climate movement loses when it turns its back on justice issues and particularly when it turns its back on the Black community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 05, 20241 hr 1 min

Messy Conversations: How to Talk to Kids about Climate Change, with Mary Annaïse Heglar — a Mini Hot Take Reunion!

Mary Annaïse Heglar's first book is out today, and it's a children's book about climate change. It's the first of *three* climate books Mary has coming out in the near future (the other two are a novel, called Troubled Waters, and an essay collection of Black writers on climate). She has been busy writing up a storm since we wrapped up Hot Take (and we've roped her into editing stories for Drilled, too). In this episode we talk about her books, what's happening in climate media in general, and t...

Feb 27, 202452 min

The Climate Impacts of Deep-Sea Mining

Some mining companies claim that we can't "electrify everything" without deep-sea mining—a claim that has been debunked by various scientists. Environmentalists, car companies, and governments are pushing back, citing not only the obvious potential damage to marine ecosystems but also the climate impact of releasing carbon from the ocean floor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 03, 202324 min

Introducing: Inherited — Climate Youth Stories From Around the World

In the Season 3 premiere of Inherited, host Shaylyn Martos introduces us to storyteller Camara Aaron, who shares a personal story of family loss, structural resilience, and survival in an era of climate change. Camara, now 25, was only a child when she visited her grandmother’s unique house on the island of Dominica, in the West Indies. But when Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean in 2017, her grandmother died in the storm, leaving Camara to sift through her own hazy memories and reconcile ...

Jul 20, 202332 min

F$#%, Marry, Kill Big Oil

For our last episode of Hot Take, Amy and Mary revisit their favorite jokes, and dig into the listener mailbag to answer questions from Hot Cakes around the globe. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 30, 20221 hr 16 min

The Zombie Apocalypse Is Real

This week, Amy and Mary discuss zombie ice viruses, the Keystone pipeline spill in Kansas, a global biodiversity crisis, the degrowth movement, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 16, 20221 hr 31 min

Won't Someone Think of The Children

This week, Amy and Mary chat with Rebecca Nagle - an Indigenous journalist, host of This Land, and long-time friend of the show. They discuss Brackeen v. Haaland (a legal case threatening Indian Law), why Indigenous issues are so under covered, Landback, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 09, 20221 hr 27 min

'Tis the Season to Want Nothing

Just in time for the holiday season, Amy and Mary chat with Aja Barber - a writer, stylist and consultant who works at the intersections of fashion and sustainability. They dive into the problems with fast fashion, and its worst offender and Aja's sworn enemy Shein. They discuss Aja’s recent book - Consumed, talk about more ethical options for gift giving, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 02, 20221 hr 29 min

Call the COPs

Amy and Mary break down this year's COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and explore the history of U.N. climate conferences beginning with the first summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. They also discuss the unseemly presence of fossil fuel companies at the meeting, loss and damages, climate debt, and more Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 18, 20221 hr 28 min

No Country for Centrist Dems

This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary break down the midterms, examine the shadowy billionaires funding Republican candidates, and give an honest review of Elon’s performance as Twitter's CEO. Spoiler: He’s failing, but it might be on purpose. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 11, 20221 hr 32 min

Every Election Is a Climate Election with Rhiana Gunn Wright

This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary speak with Rhiana Gunn-Wright - Director of Climate Policy at the Roosevelt Institute and one of the architects of the Green New Deal. With the midterms right around the corner, they discuss shifting narratives around climate, the IRA, and much more. Later on, Amy and Mary make sense of the phenomena of flying soup that’s taking the art world by storm, and break down a horrific take from a New York Times opinion writer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...

Nov 04, 20221 hr 33 min

Election Spooktacular

This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary pick apart the climate implications and nuances in key midterm races (Fetterman, Booker, Barnes, Beto), plus the upcoming Brazilian presidential election. They look ahead to COP and the conversation around loss and damages (read: reparations), and the Nigeria floods. Oh, and Amy gets crafty for Halloween! Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 28, 20221 hr 31 min

On the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis

This week on Hot Take, Mary is joined by Sara Sneath, investigative reporter and alligator doula and Drew Costley, climate & environment reporter at The Associated Press. They discuss how to approach communities in the throes of a climate disaster, the tension between chronic and acute crises, trauma-informed reporting, and the disabled community. And, gators! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 21, 20221 hr 15 min

Climate Candidates To Watch In The Midterms

This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary discuss the new wave of Southern Black Democrats running on climate centric platforms and break down the important climate cases before the Supreme Court. They also bring updates on this year’s hurricane season and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 14, 20221 hr 25 min

Reclaiming Identity Politics with Olúfemi Táíwò

This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary talk to Olúfemi Táíwò, author and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown, about tokenism, reparations, how the powerful have appropriated identity politics and turned it into a tool of division, and more. Taiwo is the author of Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations and a real-life philosopher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 07, 20221 hr 23 min

Hurricane Season Heats Up

This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary give updates on Hurricane Ian, Manchin's failed permitting bill, discontent in Europe, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 30, 20221 hr 7 min

Ask a Scientist, with NASA’s Dr. Kate Marvel

Today on Hot Take, Mary and Amy are joined by Kate Marvel, climate scientist at NASA, who answers listener questions about acid rain, geoengineering, astrology, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 23, 20221 hr 20 min

Follow the Money, Eat the Rich

We hear all the time that acting on climate can upset the delicate balance of the economy, worsen inflation, kills jobs. So on and so forth. But is it true? Today on Hot Take, Mary and Amy are joined by Akshat Rathi, Senior Climate Reporter at Bloomberg, to break down the barriers and dispels the myths between the world of finance and the world we live on. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

Sep 16, 20221 hr 8 min

Both Sides of the Mississippi

For this week’s Hot Take Labor Day special, Mary and Amy look into the connections between labor unions and the climate movement, the mega droughts in China and California, and the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 09, 20221 hr 22 min

Climate Colonialism 101

This week on Hot Take, Mary and Amy talk to Abrahm Lustgarten about how colonialism, both in the past and the present, put the weight of the climate crisis on the shoulders of the people who did the least to create it. As a lens, they use Abrahm's Propublica investigation of Barbados' (and other Caribbean nations) attempt to navigate the intersection of climate change and debt. This conversation was taped on the anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Ida, during devastating floods in Pakistan and...

Sep 02, 20221 hr 13 min
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