Get smart quickly on climate change. This award-winning MIT podcast, Today I Learned: Climate, breaks down the science, technologies, and policies behind climate change, how it’s impacting us, and what our society can do about it. Each quick episode gives you the what, why, and how on climate change — from real scientists — to help us all make informed decisions for our future.
The world’s demand for batteries to power electric vehicles is growing at incredible speed. What will we do with all these batteries when they die? Dr. Linda Gaines of Argonne National Laboratory joins TILclimate to explain what batteries are made of, how we obtain those materials, and how we can get them back when the batteries reach the end of their lives—along with other options to make this industry less wasteful and more productive. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this...
This episode of TILclimate explores geothermal energy, a clean, renewable, and always-on energy source derived from the Earth's internal heat. Professor Roland Horn discusses the technology behind geothermal energy, its current applications for electricity, heating, and cooling, and the potential of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) to expand its use. The conversation highlights geothermal's reliability and growing economic competitiveness as a key factor in the clean energy transition.
Este episodio de TILclimate explora cómo los edificios modernos contribuyen significativamente a las emisiones de carbono y cómo podemos transformarlos en estructuras más sostenibles. Se discuten estrategias de diseño, materiales de construcción y tecnologías eficientes que pueden reducir el impacto ambiental de los edificios, al tiempo que se ahorra dinero a largo plazo. El episodio también destaca la importancia de modernizar los edificios existentes para alcanzar los objetivos climáticos.
A new type of climate science is allowing us to draw clearer connections between our warming planet, and the extreme weather events this warming creates. Thanks to “climate change attribution,” scientists can now say confidently when climate change has made a heatwave or hurricane more likely, and by how much. Dr. Andrew Pershing explains how attribution science works, and why this information is useful for understanding and adapting to a warming world. For a deeper dive and additional resources...
The Earth has gone through massive climate change before—many times over, in fact!—but human civilization has not. Prof. David McGee, a specialist in the study of ancient climates, joins the show to explain what came before the 10,000 years of global stability in which complex human societies emerged and grew. Along the way, we explore the scientific tools used to study the distant past, the great cycles of the ice ages, and what it can all tell us about the climate change we’re experiencing tod...
The way we grow and distribute food today is deeply dependent on fossil fuels, yet that dependence can feel invisible. Sustainable food systems researcher Prof. Jennifer Clapp joins the show to walk us through all the ways fossil fuels are used to produce one simple food item: a tortilla chip. Along the way, we’ll explore the hard work being done to eliminate climate pollution from the food we eat. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu...
Este episodio de TILclimate explora el origen y la importancia de los objetivos de calentamiento global de 1.5 y 2 grados Celsius. La discusión abarca desde los orígenes de la meta de 2 grados en el trabajo del economista William Nordhaus hasta la influencia de la Alianza de Pequeños Estados Insulares (AOSIS) en la promoción del objetivo más ambicioso de 1.5 grados. Se destaca cómo estos objetivos, aunque no son legalmente vinculantes, impulsan la acción climática y el desarrollo de energías renovables a nivel global.
Este episodio explica el ciclo natural del carbono, cómo la Tierra absorbe el CO2 y cómo las actividades humanas, especialmente la quema de combustibles fósiles, han alterado este equilibrio. Se discute cómo la emisión de carbono por parte de los humanos, aunque parece pequeña en comparación con el ciclo natural, se acumula con el tiempo y tiene efectos a largo plazo en el clima.
Today, companies are storing millions of tons of carbon dioxide underground every year to prevent this climate pollution from warming the planet. In the future it might be billions of tons. But is it dangerous to pump so much liquefied carbon below our feet? Geologist and carbon storage expert Prof. Bradford Hager joins the podcast to explain the risks and how to avoid them. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Envi...
This episode re-airs a discussion on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) with experts from MIT. It covers the basics of carbon capture, including how it works, where the captured CO2 goes, and its potential role in addressing climate change. The episode also delves into the challenges and economic factors influencing the adoption of CCUS technologies.
Is hydrogen fuel a climate solution? That depends on how you produce it. Dr. Emre Gençer of the MIT Energy Initiative takes us on a tour of the hydrogen spectrum, from climate-polluting “gray” hydrogen made from natural gas to the much more promising “green” hydrogen made with renewable electricity. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu . Credits Laur Hesse...
Just 20 years ago, hydrogen cars and battery electric cars were pretty evenly matched as clean alternatives to gas-powered vehicles. But today, batteries are way ahead: the big car companies are rapidly electrifying their lineups, while only a few hydrogen cars are available. What happened? Sergey Paltsev, senior research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative, helps TILclimate answer this listener question. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For more epis...
Hydrogen gas acts like a fossil fuel, but with no carbon emissions. Is it the silver bullet we’ve been waiting for? To prepare for some new listener questions about hydrogen energy, we're re-airing this season four episode in which Prof. Svetlana Ikonnikova of the Technical University of Munich explains how hydrogen works and its potential in the energy transition. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e4-introduction-hydrogen...
Wind power is the largest source of clean, renewable energy in the United States. But the large turbines that create that power can endanger wildlife. MIT Professor Michael Howland returns to the podcast to answer a listener's question about the risks of wind energy to birds—and explain how wind turbines compare to coal plants, power lines, office towers, housecats, and other threats to birdlife in the modern world. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For m...
You might have heard how wind turbines failed in Texas during a terrible cold front in 2021. Does this mean we can’t rely on this clean, renewable source of energy when the weather turns extreme? MIT Professor Michael Howland joins the podcast to explain how wind turbine operators prepare for frigid conditions, and why some turbines failed in Texas while others are working fine in Antarctica. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For more episodes of TILclima...
Plants take in CO2 from the air to grow—and today’s atmosphere has about 50% more CO2 than it did before we started burning massive amounts of fossil fuels. So, is that great news for plants? Prof. David Des Marais, a plant ecologist at MIT, helps answer this listener question. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu . Credits Laur Hesse Fisher , Host and Exe...
The sixth season of Today I Learned: Climate is coming in two weeks, and this time we’re doing something a little different. People all around the world write into our team with questions about climate change. So this season, we’re working with scientists and experts at MIT and beyond, to answer those questions in language we can all understand.
The United States has a goal to power the country with 100% clean electricity by 2035. Unfortunately, our energy regulations are not set up to make this much change this quickly. Energy economist John Parsons of MIT joins the show to explain how much clean energy infrastructure we need to build, the obstacles to building it, and reform ideas to transform our energy system on the timeline our climate goals demand. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://...
The large majority of new energy we’re building today comes from clean, renewable wind and solar projects. But to keep building wind and solar at this pace, we need energy storage: technologies that save energy when the weather is favorable, and use it when wind and sun are scarce. Prof. Asegun Henry joins TILclimate to explain how energy storage works, what storage technologies are out there, and how much we need to build to make wind and solar dominant. For a deeper dive and additional resourc...
We all want to live full, healthy lives. But climate change is threatening a growing number of people’s lives and well-being. Amruta Nori-Sarma, assistant professor of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health, joins the show to help us see climate change not in tons of carbon dioxide, but as a matter of health. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e6-public-health-experts-guide-climate-change For more...
We were going to produce an episode on El Niño, and its relationship to climate change. And then we found out that Outside/In , from New Hampshire Public Radio, already did that. And they did a really good job. So please enjoy this episode of Outside/In , where you'll learn what El Niño is, how to tell if extreme weather events are caused by climate change or by El Niño, and what the powerful El Niño event of 2023 can tell us about our climate future. Outside/In is a production of NHPR, New Hamp...
If you live in the U.S. Mountain West, the Pacific Coast of the Americas, or large parts of Australia or southern Europe, there’s a good chance a major wildfire has passed near you in the last five or six years—maybe one more intense than anything you’ve ever heard of in your area. But why exactly are wildfires getting worse? Is climate change entirely to blame? And what should we be preparing for next? Dr. Daniel Swain joins the TILclimate podcast to help break down what is going on with wildfi...
Today we’re talking about desalination: turning saltwater into freshwater, so we can drink it or use it to grow crops. And we’re talking about this because, in many parts of the world, freshwater is getting harder to come by. So… is converting saltwater a good solution? Our guest Prof. John Leinhard has devoted his whole career to this question—and its relationship with climate change. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e4-...
Refrigerants are in every refrigerator, freezer and air conditioner, and the world is on track to make a lot more of them in the years to come. They’re also powerful greenhouse gases: often thousands of times more warming than carbon dioxide. Prof. Ronald Prinn, an expert in the physics and chemistry of our climate system, joins TILclimate to discuss the past, present and future of how these chemicals affect our planet. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: h...
This episode of TILclimate focuses on methane as a potent, short-lived greenhouse gas and strategies to reduce its emissions. Professor Plata discusses methane's sources, from natural processes to human activities like agriculture and fossil fuel extraction. The episode highlights international efforts like the Global Methane Pledge and practical solutions such as capturing methane from landfills and reducing leaks in natural gas systems, emphasizing the significant near-term impact of methane abatement on slowing global warming.
You probably know that today’s climate change is caused by certain gases—what scientists call greenhouse gases—that human activity has been adding to our atmosphere. But—how do these gases actually keep heat from escaping into space? And why these gases in particular? To help answer these questions, we invited Desiree Plata , an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT and the director of the MIT Methane Network. For a deeper dive and additional resourc...
This is MIT’s climate change podcast, Today I Learned: Climate. If you're looking to get smart quick on climate change – without the jargon and without the politicking – this podcast is for you! In each episode, we work with experts at MIT and beyond to explain climate change science and solutions in fifteen minutes or less. On October 5, TILclimate is returning for our fifth season! We’ll give you the straight answers to things like: What are the two biggest hurdles to getting all our energy fr...
On August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It was the largest of three bills signed over the course of 10 months that together make up the United States’ largest investment in addressing climate change… well, ever. Dr. Liz Reynolds , lecturer in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning and former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development at the National Economic Council at the White House, joins the TILclim...
On Wednesday, April 19, TILclimate will host its first live event at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts! Reserve your seat at tilclimate.org to watch a live recording and join the questions as your host Laur Hesse Fisher sits down with MIT lecturer and former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development Dr. Elisabeth Reynolds about “America’s big year of climate action” and the course set for U.S. climate policy in 2021-22....
We often hear about recycling as a way to make an impact on climate change right in your own home. But how big a difference are we really making when we recycle? For this episode, Anders Damgaard, senior researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, joins the TILclimate podcast to help us understand the climate benefits of recycling—and why they depend on what we’re recycling and how. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts...
