We can't fully appreciate the world around us without trying to understand the vastly different experiences of other animals on our shared planet. That is exactly what Ed Yong explores in his new book, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal The Hidden Realms Around Us . He joins the show this week to explain the complex nature of our senses and the senses of other animals, how this reveals important parallels to the climate fight, and how we limit damage caused by noise and light pollution a...
Jun 29, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep 191•Transcript available on Metacast Clayton Thomas-Müller has spent decades fighting for justice and climate action as an organizer, facilitator, public speaker and writer on environmental and economic justice. In his powerful new memoir, Life in the City of Dirty Water: A memoir of healing , he details the life he experienced that inspired him to take such action and what inspires him to fight now. This week, he joins us on the show to talk about his career in environmental justice and climate action, how raising kids has informe...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep 190•Transcript available on Metacast Gina McCarthy currently serves in the Biden Administration as the first ever White House National Climate Advisor. On June 6th, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to drive domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies. McCarthy joins the show to explain how this Executive Action will increase the production of clean energy in America, what technologies are included in this decision, how this can advance environmental justice, and why President Biden felt now was the right t...
Jun 15, 2022•57 min•Ep 189•Transcript available on Metacast Bill McKibben needs no introduction. The legendary author, educator, organizer, and activist has spent decades in the climate fight. He is the co-founder of 350.org , the first global grassroots climate campaign, and founder of Third Act , a new organization focused on empowering people over 60 to fight for progressive action. In his latest book The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened , McKibben reinvest...
Jun 08, 2022•58 min•Ep 188•Transcript available on Metacast Jamie Henn pulls no punches when he criticizes Big Oil's role is high prices at the gas pump. As he explains in this week's episode, skyrocketing energy costs can be attributed to oil companies price gouging and war profiteering during the current crisis with the war in Ukraine. And his organization, Fossil Free Media has a new campaign to confront the issue. The organization recently launched STOP , which stands for Stop the Oil Profiteering and is working with members of the U.S. Congress and ...
Jun 01, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep 187•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 186•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 185•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 184•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 183•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 182•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 181•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 180•Transcript available on Metacast 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 th...
Apr 15, 2022•55 min•Ep 179•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 178•Transcript available on Metacast 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 discuss...
Apr 07, 2022•2 hr 36 min•Ep 177•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 176•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 175•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 174•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 173•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 172•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 171•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 170•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 169•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 168•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 167•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 166•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 165•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 164•Transcript available on Metacast 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•2 hr 30 min•Ep 163•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Ep 162•Transcript available on Metacast 
