The International Energy Agency, among other prominent modelers of our energy future, projects that nuclear energy's current global capacity must double by 2050 in order for the world to hit its decarbonization goals. The annual investments needed to reach this doubling far exceed anything that's being invested today in new nuclear facilities. Just one new nuclear reactor has been successfully built in the United States in the last 30 years, and the United States hasn't financed new reactors in ...
Feb 21, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 280
In 2015, representatives from all countries attending COP21 agreed to limit global average temperature rise to well below 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial levels and to aim for a 1.5 degree rise. Flash forward less than a decade, and the United Kingdom Meteorological Office is forecasting the average annual temperature for 2024 to likely be more than 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-Industrial levels. As the world continues to break annual, monthly, and daily temperature records, what does it...
Feb 07, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 278
We witness the climate crisis every day. Unfolding on our news feeds, impacting our communities, and undeniably causing unfathomable, inequitable harm across the planet. We lament the lack of urgency in our political leaders and even find ourselves frustrated by complacency in the public's push for climate action. But we truly are in a transformative moment - though how we meet this moment remains uncertain. The changing politics of our time is the focus of Ajay Singh Chaudhary's new book, The E...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 277
The negative impacts of climate change are almost always depicted on a global scale and decades-long timeframe. However, the positive impacts of reducing the use of fossil fuels are realized at the local level and almost immediately. The co-authors of the recently published paper, "Reductions in Premature Deaths from Heat and Particulate Matter Air Pollution in South Asia, China, and the United States Under Decarbonization", found that the near term health benefits of moving to a clean energy-fu...
Jan 24, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 276
As global temperatures continue to rise, fossil fuel production continues to increase, forests continue to be cut down, and species are becoming extinct at rates faster than previous mass extinctions, it's hard to find any hope for a sustainable, or even habitable, future. But giving up is not an option. There are billions of people now and in the near future whose lives depend on solving the multitude of human-caused environmental and health crises plaguing the planet today. The good news is, e...
Jan 10, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 274
It's been a long year and so much has happened in the fight for climate justice. How has it been covered in major US media outlets? What is needed as the global fight for climate action continues? Two expert guests join the show this week to weigh in on these critical topics as we close out the year. First, Evlondo Cooper, senior writer with the climate and energy program at Media Matters, discusses what he saw in media coverage in 2023, what we can learn about how climate and environmental just...
Dec 28, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 272
As the planet warms, ecosystems are on the move. Biologists and climate scientists have observed the migration of forests toward the poles and even toward higher elevations as human-caused climate change forces species into more hospitable areas. And economists have known for centuries that countries rely on their natural resources for the raw materials needed for producing the goods that help make up their gross domestic product. So what happens to an economy when those natural resources leave?...
Dec 20, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 271
COP28 has come to a close. Since the final day of the conference, we've seen both a number of headlines noting a historic decision and news of climate injustices at this year's event. So what are the most critical takeaways from COP28? To answer, we brought on three guests that attended the conference to take a deep dive into the biggest issues, the decisions that were made, and what comes next. Nina Lakhani is a Senior Reporter for Guardian US, who spent the last two weeks covering COP28. Nina ...
Dec 16, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 270
For the last four years, John Marshall and the team at Potential Energy Coalition have been testing more than 3 billion ads in 20 countries to determine what messages are the most effective at inspiring climate action. In this conversation, we discuss what it really takes to motivate someone to support climate policies, which policies are more popular than others, what principles of climate communication everyone can learn, and why clean energy jobs aren't always appealing. John Marshall is the ...
Dec 13, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 269
Rural voters are often overlooked or completely ignored when it comes to progressive campaigns, including ones centered on climate action. And yet, it is the vast land available in rural areas that offer the greatest opportunity to build out clean energy projects in America. But years of misinformation, crumbling political infrastructure, and Republican, one-party control has lead to a major obstacle obstructing the path to a decarbonized economy. So how do we change that? There may be no better...
Dec 06, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 268
This week, we have two great guests on the show to explain what's at stake at COP28 and some of the biggest issues surrounding the conference. First, New York Times correspondent David Gelles joins to discuss what he'll be covering at COP28, why the recent US-China deal heading into the conference might provided a much needed jolt, and what to watch for when it comes to climate finance and the fund for loss and damage. Then, researcher and campaigner Pascoe Sabido joins the show to discuss a new...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 267
Since 2000, the United States Global Change Research Program has periodically published a report on its assessment of the climate crisis, its current impacts, its potential threats, and the solutions available to mitigate the worst impacts and adapt as quickly as possible. Last week, the interagency program published the Fifth National Climate Assessment. Despite accounting for just 4% of the world's population, as a result of burning fossil fuels for more than a century, the US is responsible f...
Nov 22, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 266
Each year, scientists from around the world develop a comprehensive report on the state of the climate crisis. The report provides updates on dozens of the most important indicators of the progress humans are making to limit greenhouse gas emissions and the consequences of not doing so faster. This year's report, "The 2023 State of the Climate Report: Entering Uncharted Territory" presents a frightening picture, as many of Earth's vital signs are flashing red and the trajectory of climate progre...
Nov 15, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 265
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just escape to space? Just go live on Mars and leave all our Earthly problem behind. Despite the enthusiasm for space settlement, a lot of very big questions need to be answered before we can consider leaving this planet behind. And a lot of these questions, according to authors Dr. Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith, aren't really turning up good answers. The Weinersmiths are the best-selling husband and wife writing team that have a new book out, A CITY ON M...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 264
We've just passed the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which kicked off almost a full decade of energy crises in around the globe. How has energy security changed since then? With war unfolding now in the Middle East, could it happen again? How are geopolitics shifting with the transition to clean energy? Jason Bordoff, the founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, joins the show this week to answer ...
Nov 01, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 263
Modern infrastructure has the ability to make our lives better. Instant access to power and clean water. The ability to communicate with friends and family around the world. The freedom to quickly get where we want when we want. But today's infrastructure is still very flawed. Not everyone has access to that infrastructure, which means not everyone has the agency and abilities that infrastructure can create. Our infrastructure is also directly contributing to the climate crisis. And our infrastr...
Oct 25, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 262
In his latest book, Our Fragile Moment - How Lessons From Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive The Climate Crisis , Professor Michael Mann makes it clear: uncertainty, when it comes to climate change, is not our friend. The famed climate professor is back on the show this week to discuss how looking back through Earth's paleoclimate record shows how fragile our current moment really is, but why we also have agency to do something about it and an urgent need to act now. We discuss what history has ta...
Oct 18, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 261
Every year, billions of dollars are spent worldwide on carbon offsets, and the size of the market is expected to grow substantially over the next decade. But do carbon offset projects actually do what they're intended to do in the first place, which is lower carbon dioxide emissions and help communities around the world avoid worsening climate disasters from a warming planet? Researchers at Corporate Accountability and journalists from The Guardian teamed up to answer this question and to dive d...
Oct 11, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 260
The perpetual extraction by those striving for limitless wealth has set our planet on a trajectory that could make living here impossible for billions of humans by the end of this century. Marjorie Kelly, founder of Business Ethics Magazine and currently a Senior Fellow at the Democracy Collaborative, argues that in order to overcome the capital bias that has been so destructive to our society, we must first identify the root cause, delegitimize the myths upon which extractive capitalism relies ...
Oct 04, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 259
Last weekend, we recorded some great conversations at Farm Aid 2023 in Noblesville, Indiana! Given that Farm Aid 2023 was focused on how the climate crisis is impacting family farmers and how farmers are also working on necessary solutions through regenerative agriculture, we wanted to talk to some of the folks at the center of the event. On this episode, we speak to Indiana farmers DeAnthony and Denise Greer, as well as musicians Nathaniel Rateliff and The Particle Kid (aka Micah Nelson). We di...
Sep 27, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 258
As one of the architects of the Green New Deal, Rhiana Gunn-Wright has been a part of a fundamental shift in how climate policy is shaped and the discourse around it. But as she writes in her latest piece, " Our Green Transition May Leave Black People Behind ," there are a number of ways that current climate policy is falling short on racial justice. She joins the show this week to share her critiques on the Inflation Reduction Act and discuss the power structures inhibiting more just policy. We...
Sep 13, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 256
In her 2022 book, "Cannibal Capitalism", Professor Nancy Fraser argues that "capitalism harbors a deep-seated ecological contradiction that inclines it non-accidentally to environmental crisis." Like the contradictions of capitalism that Karl Marx predicted would lead to crises and capitalism's ultimate downfall, Professor Fraser compelling lays out even more contradictions of capitalism that have all led to the multitude of crises humanity faces in 2023. Racism, gender oppression, the lack of c...
Sep 06, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 255
Every year, humans generate over 2 billion metric tons of solid waste worldwide. Where does it go after you're done with it? How does it impact communities and economies and ecosystems around the world? How can we solve such an enormous and growing problem? Oliver Franklin-Wallis dives deep into these questions and more in his new book " Wasteland : The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future." Oliver spent years traveling the globe to research and understand the complex...
Aug 30, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 254
At the time of publishing, the devastating wildfires in Maui have left hundreds missing, already more than one hundred people confirmed dead, and extraordinary damage visible throughout the town of Lahaina. As recovery gets underway, the fight for justice is only starting. Maui leaders are working to ensure an adequate federal government response and fighting against private industry from buying up wildfire damaged areas and exploiting the crisis. One of the leaders in the fight for a just recov...
Aug 23, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 253
When Ty talked to Kurt Andersen back in 2020 upon the release of his exceptional book Evil Geniuses , we never thought it would lead to a sci-fi comedic series. Nevertheless, Andersen and Steven Soderbergh have co-created and recently released a new series, Command Z , which is a hilarious adaptation that addresses not only the major themes of Evil Geniuses but also explores how we might all think about all types of political action in 2023. Kurt's back on the show this week to discuss why makin...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 252
Jeff Goodell is the author of more than a few books on climate change, but none are more timely than his most recently release, The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet . Heat is not only the most deadly extreme weather event, but has also dominated news cycles for months as waves of scorching temperatures have hit across the globe. Jeff joins the show to discuss 2023's extreme heat, why heat is so deadly and what we can do about it, how heat is transforming our cities, ...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 251
David Wallace-Wells is back on the podcast to talk about the extreme heat waves, off-the-charts ocean temperatures, massive wildfires, and other climate-worsened disasters that have plagued the first seven months of 2023. The New York Times columnist and author of the 2019 book "The Uninhabitable Earth" returns to The Climate Pod to discuss what has happened since he was on the show back in 2021 and what we should expect in the near future from a rapidly warming planet. We also discuss how clima...
Aug 02, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 250
Throughout all of human history, we've been changing and adapting our landscape to advance our species. Obviously, this has often come at a great cost to the natural world and in more recent centuries, come with an extraordinary waste. So what can we learn from the long history of environmental consequences of human advancement? In Professor Mark Stoll's new book, Profit: An Environmental History , he looks at how we've refashioned ecosystems, diminished resources, and created a complicated rela...
Jul 26, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 249
Legendary TV weatherman Al Roker joins the show this week! He discussed the escalation of extreme weather events, the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis on frontline communities, and how we can all act to help mitigate the worst impacts of global warming. This is a wide-ranging, fun conversation with one of the most beloved figures in television news. How cool?! This interview was recorded live at the TED Countdown Summit in Detroit, Michigan, which brought together a group of global...
Jul 19, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 248
Years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we've learned an extraordinary amount about how governments and economies can respond during prolonged global health crisis. We've also learned in this volatile world...there's a lot we don't know. In the rapidly changing reality, author Felix Salmon put forth a call for humility and optimism in his new book The Phoenix Economy: Work, Life, and Money in the New Not Normal . Salmon is back on the show this week to discuss the book and how he sees positive signs t...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 247
