Facing up to a climate crisis is a lot to handle. We have to push for the rapid deployment of solutions to mitigate more warming and greater damage. We have to adapt to warming that has already occurred and will be coming soon. And we need to repair loss and damage that people around the globe have already suffered. But as denial and inaction still blocks necessary efforts and planetary destruction is constantly on display in our news feeds, how do we process the complex emotions that inevitably...
May 25, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 186
This week, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs joins the show to give his thoughts on the international diplomacy he says is needed to end the Russia-Ukraine War. In April 2022, Professor Sachs and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network issued a statement calling on the United Nations Security Council to increase diplomatic efforts to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine. Professor Sachs also explains how this war has diverted resources and attention away from solving the climate crisis at a time w...
May 18, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 185
This is Part Four of our four-part series, Waves of Change, in collaboration with Oceana . In March, at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Nairobi, world leaders and representatives from UN Member States endorsed a historic resolution to End Plastic Pollution. By 2024, leaders will create an international legally binding agreement to fight the plastic problem with a global treaty. So what exactly is this treaty and what should it include? Christy Leavitt , Oceana's Plastics Campaign Directo...
May 11, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 184
This is Part Three of our four-part series, Waves of Change , in collaboration with Oceana . This week, we shift our focus from offshore drilling to the devastating impacts that plastics and plastics production facilities are having on communities around the world. First, we speak with Yvette Arellano , the founder and Executive Director of Fenceline Watch , a Houston-based organization dedicated to the eradication of toxic multigenerational harm on communities living along the fenceline of indu...
May 04, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 183
In his new book, Paradise Falls , New York Times bestselling author Keith O'Brien details the true story of a working-class neighborhood in western New York that is suddenly confronted with a wide-spread environmental crisis in the late 1970s. O'Brien joins the show to discuss how he researched his book, why he wanted to revisit this story that made national headlines for years, how the tragedy that unfolded almost 50 years ago is still incredibly relevant today, and what we can learn from the o...
Apr 29, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 182
This is Part Two of our four-part series, Waves of Change , in collaboration with Oceana . This week, we examine how offshore drilling for oil disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities living near the coasts and what can legally be done to prevent future disasters. First, we speak with Dr. Gabriella Meltzer about the environmental justice impacts of oil spills and climate-fueled weather disasters and how the health of children in those communities are impacted by facing multiple fos...
Apr 27, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 181
Introducing a new four-part series, Waves of Change, in collaboration with Oceana . Over the next four weeks, we'll explore the climate, economic, and environmental justice impacts of offshore drilling and plastics. 12 years after the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, fossil fuel companies are drilling deeper than ever before off of America's coasts. Lawmakers seem to have learned little from the oil rig explosion that killed 11 people and spilled more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 180
In her brilliant new book, The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet , activist and eco-communicator Leah Thomas put forth a helpful introduction to understanding the intersection between environmentalism, racism, and privilege. She joins the show this week to talk about the book, how she first got inspired to study environmentalism, how her activism took off with post championing "Environmentalists for Black Lives Matter," and why the...
Apr 15, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 179
As a warming planet makes extreme weather worse, some communities are more vulnerable and less capable to react than others to hurricanes, heat waves, floods, fires, and more. Dr. Marshall Shepherd describes this as the "Extreme Weather Gap", and he joined The Climate Pod to discuss the systemic inequities that have led to the disproportionate impacts of climate-worsened weather. Dr. Shepherd also discusses his incredible career, why the murder of George Floyd motivated him to write a book on ju...
Apr 13, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 178
This is Part Four of our four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen. This week, we look at the critical need to preserve biodiversity, protect natural ecosystems, and leverage nature-based solutions for decarbonization. To discuss this topic, we have three amazing guests. First, Dr. Stephanie Roe, the World Wildlife Fund 's Global Climate & Energy Lead Scientist and Lead Author of the third installment of the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report, joins the show to dis...
Apr 07, 2022•1 hr 36 min•Season 1Ep. 177
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) latest report, Mitigation of Climate Change , provides an update on the planet's current trajectory for global warming, the failings of governments to live up to their climate promises, and the solutions that need to be rapidly implemented to drastically reduce emissions and limit future warming. This is part three of its Sixth Assessment Report. Dr. Paulina Jaramillo joins us to discuss the report and the section of the report which she was...
Apr 04, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 176
The world is populated by almost 8 billion people. Is overpopulation actually a problem? As climate change disrupts and destroys the livelihoods of so many of those 8 billion people, how will countries react to the growing need for more welcoming immigration policies? This week, we spoke with Dr. Jennifer Sciubba about her new book 8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World . Dr. Sciubba is an associate professor in the Department of International Studies at Rhodes Col...
Apr 01, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 175
This is Part Three of our four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen. This week, we look at the critical need to reckon with the loss and damage created by the climate crisis and hold accountable the nations most responsible for human-caused climate change as a result of the massive rise in greenhouse gas emissions. To discuss this topic, Professor Saleemul Huq , who has many roles including the Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development...
Mar 30, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 174
David Sirota is a journalist, author, founder and Editor in Chief of The Lever , podcast narrator, and now an Oscar nominee for his work co-writing Don't Look Up with Adam McKay. He joins us on the show days before the Oscars to discuss the importance of having a climate change film at the Academy Awards, how he came up with the idea for Don't Look Up , and how the film is even more relevant now during the rightwing push for more fossil fuel extraction. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The ...
Mar 25, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 173
This is Part Two of our four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen. This week, we look at the critical need for greater climate funding to help mitigate carbon emissions in the Global South and help the most vulnerable populations to adapt to climate impacts and why climate justice is only possible through fair, adequate financing. To discuss this topic, Harjeet Singh , senior adviser on climate impacts with Climate Action Network International and a strategic advis...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 172
Introducing a new four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen . Over the next four weeks, we will be discussing some of the biggest issues we face as we combat the climate crisis in 2022 and beyond. This week, we look at halting climate change and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. To discuss this critical topic, Dr. Simon Evans , deputy editor and policy editor of Carbon Brief, and Azeez Abubakar , Global Citizen Fellow and Policy a...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 171
In recent weeks, as tragedy has unfolded in Ukraine, a disturbing trend has emerged: climate misinformation flooding major media coverage of the war. Evlondo Cooper , senior writer with the climate and energy program at Media Matters, joins the show to discuss many of the bizarre, false claims that are circulating and why some are trying to use this tragedy to lock in fossil fuel use for decades. We also discuss the recent media coverage of the IPCC Report On Adaptation, Vulnerability, And Impac...
Mar 09, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 170
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) latest report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability , provides another critical summary for policymakers on the growing threat of warming temperatures as well as the loss and damages that have already occurred. This is part two of its Sixth Assessment Report. Prof. Jörn Birkmann , one of the lead authors of the report, joins the show to discuss the IPCC latest findings, what it means for policymakers, and how the world ...
Feb 28, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 169
The biggest hurdle to the mass adoption of electric vehicles seems to be the sticker shock of higher prices. But what is the true cost of an EV versus an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle? Nick Nigro, founder of Atlas Public Policy and Tom Taylor, policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy, have a new report out that answers this exact question. In this conversation, we explore the actual costs of maintenance and charging of EVs vs ICE maintenance and fuel, what wider EV adoption would mean fo...
Feb 23, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 168
The burning of fossil fuels has warmed our planet, polluted our air, and poisoned our water. On top of all of that, fossil fuel companies require billions of dollars in subsidies just to stay alive, and even with those government handouts they were on their last leg in 2016. So why did the Trump Administration focus so much of its efforts on bolstering the dying industry? And what are the long term effects of the pro-fossil fuel administration? This week, we speak with Dr. Shanti Gamper-Rabindra...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 167
This week, we speak to one of the leading global experts on climate science to get straight to the most important facts in combating the climate crisis. Prof. Mark Maslin is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London. He's a prolific author of several books and academic papers and his newest book " How To Save Our Planet: The Facts " is packed with essential knowledge of what you need to know about climate change - from Earth's early history, to how greenhouse gases rose to...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 166
This week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) joins the podcast to discuss his new book "Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us", as well as what he thinks will happen with President Biden's climate legislation in the Build Back Better Act. He also gives us a preview of what to expect with the upcoming House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Environment's hearings featuring representatives from America's biggest fossil fuel organizations. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also disc...
Feb 02, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 165
In Davos Man , an excellent new book by New York Times ' Global Economics Correspondent Peter S. Goodman , the case is clear: billionaires are making massive profits off extracting resources from the planet while social services are being gutted. From climate change to COVID-19, Goodman shows how decades of slashing taxes on the richest people and cutting social spending has accelerated the 21st century's greatest crises and threatened liberal democracy around the globe. How is this happening? W...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 164
This is one of the most wide-ranging, comprehensive episodes we've ever had. Simon Mundy , who serves as the Moral Money editor of the Financial Times, spent years traveling through 26 countries on six continents finding a diverse set of stories and people who represent many of the massive shifts underway around the globe. In his new book, Race For Tomorrow: Survival, Innovation, And Profit On The Front Lines Of The Climate Crisis, he details those travels and the vast disparities and outcomes p...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 163
Adam McKay is the writer/director of some of our favorite films over the years - from Anchorman to The Big Short to Vice and more. So when we heard he was making a disaster film that serves as an allegory for climate change, we...um...freaked out. And we freaked even more when he was kind of enough to join us on the show to discuss the film, the power structures behind the climate crisis he wanted to satirize, and what he hopes people will take from the movie. This is a fantastic conversation. W...
Jan 12, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 162
The world lost a legendary biologist and conservationist when Dr. Thomas Lovejoy passed away in December at the age of 80. Carter Roberts , president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund in the United States, knew Dr. Lovejoy well. So we asked him to join us on the podcast today to honor the memory of Dr. Lovejoy and share what he meant to WWF and talk about the legacy he leaves behind. Carter also discusses the recent passing of another conservation legend, Dr. E.O. Wilson, and what he meant as a lum...
Jan 08, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 161
This week, we spoke with Dr. Richard Alley, a glaciologist and member of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaborative, about why this particular glacier - dubbed the 'Doomsday Glacier by Jeff Goodell - could raise sea levels beyond catastrophic levels and cause so much damage to coastal communities around the world. We also discuss how soon and how likely that might actually happen, and the latest findings that his group recently published. Dr. Richard Alley is the Evan Pugh University Profe...
Jan 05, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 160
When Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in 2020, it marked a massive shift for the direction of the United States' action on climate change. And once President Biden was inaugurated in 2021, his administration brought big expectations to the Oval Office for how it would combat the crisis. So what would Joe Biden commit to through executive action? What would Congress pass to fight climate change? How would the United States repair its own reputation on climate action on the international stage? We ...
Dec 29, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 159
After decades of denial and delay tactics by the fossil fuel industry, in 2021, America was largely unprepared for multiple climate-fueled extreme weather disasters. Wildfires. Heatwaves. Hurricanes. Droughts. Floods. Tornadoes. How did a warming planet impact these weather events? Why haven't America's leaders done more to combat the climate crisis? What are fossil fuel companies still doing to delay action? We answer all of those questions and more in Part One of The Climate Pod's 2021 Year in...
Dec 22, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 158
This week, we talk to Jeffrey Ball , who lead the recent study " Hot money: Illuminating the financing of high-carbon infrastructure in the developing world ." In this conversation, we ask: if renewables are so cheap, why is fossil fuel infrastructure still being built in the developing world? Ball helps us understand what is happening and, more importantly, where the money is coming from to power the nation's most in need of more energy resources. He also explains the possible solutions and wha...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 157
