Since our last episode on Stop Cop City, signatures of more than 116,000 Atlanta residents were gathered and submitted to the City of Atlanta in support of adding a referendum on the ballot. Atlanta officials have contested the submissions and used tactics such as doxxing signatories and enforcing RICO charges on local organizers and protesters. The case remains in limbo as we await the 11th U.S. Circuit Court’s decision on whether or not a deadline extension for signatures was lawful. In this e...
Oct 16, 2023•27 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, a novel that prophesied the US’ rise in fascism and the global impact of the climate crisis. While Butler was unable to finish the trilogy in her lifetime and experienced frustrations encompassing climate solutions in her writing, people who continue to be inspired by her life and writings are building solutions Butler may have hoped for. The Black Hive @ M4BL recently launched Parable of the Movement, a narrative project ...
Oct 09, 2023•41 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast The influence of Hollywood’s media and entertainment is undeniable. The narratives we consume impact our daily decisions and even affect changes in legislation. There are many parallels between activists and artists/entertainers, as well as the industries they are working within or fighting to end. “Profits over people is the core foundation of the issue. Because if some folks weren't so concerned, so concerned with so much profit, then they would change their business model to be something that...
Oct 02, 2023•52 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Reverend Yearwood recently was the Keynote Speaker at the University of Maryland's Environmental Justice & Health Disparities Symposium. The Symposium theme was “People, Power, & Politics,” highlighting energy justice, climate change, power dynamics in environmental justice, and the use of technology in environmental justice work. On this Episode of The Coolest Show, Reverend Yearwood delivers an eye-opening message on the result of recent climate events impacting communities, and how big busine...
Sep 25, 2023•35 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast The scale of the climate crisis requires unprecedented investments to combat its causes and impacts. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allocated $27 billion to EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), composed of three grant programs designed to: reduce greenhouse gas emissions; deliver the benefits of clean energy technologies to “low-income and disadvantaged” communities; and mobilize financing and private capital to stimulate the deployment of additional clean energy projects. Jahi Wise is...
Sep 11, 2023•51 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast In Memoriam The Coolest Show presents a Tribute to ibrahim abdul-matin, Activist, Author, and Leader. Abdul-Matin passed away in California on June 21, 2023, and we would like to honor him this Labor Day by replaying his interview with Reverend Yearwood from Season 3. Remember to love yourself and each other. It is important to be grounded when doing this work. For people like Rev Yearwood and Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, urban strategist and author, they ground themselves in their spiritual faith. They...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast The Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was established in 1978 by Congress. This Office was designed to ensure minority businesses and minority serving institutions could utilize DOE money, while also researching the effects of the energy system on Black and Brown communities. Prior to the Biden Administration, this Office was “underfunded, under-resourced, and structurally excluded from every policy conversation in the building for the last 50 years.”...
Aug 28, 2023•51 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Back From our Summer Break the producers of The Coolest Show meet in Brooklyn, New York, to discuss what our listeners will be-in store for the rest of Season 5. Reverend Yearwood, Tamara, Destiny and Cross continue the discussion of Care and Repair, burning out in the climate movement, and personal reflections of how we must show up for ourselves, as well as each other. The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental jus...
Aug 14, 2023•52 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast The City of Atlanta has leased 381-acres of Weelaunee Forest, stolen Muscogee land, to the Atlanta Police Foundation for a police military facility funded by corporations. This would be the largest police training facility in the US in a primarily Black community who overwhelmingly oppose the project. Despite over fifteen hours of public comments against the project, the City Council has approved $67 million in public funding for Cop City. The plans include military-grade training facilities, a ...
Aug 07, 2023•37 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast The City of Atlanta has leased 381-acres of Weelaunee Forest, stolen Muscogee land, to the Atlanta Police Foundation for a police military facility funded by corporations. This would be the largest police training facility in the US in a primarily Black community who overwhelmingly oppose the project. Despite over fifteen hours of public comments against the project, the City Council has approved $67 million in public funding for Cop City. The plans include military-grade training facilities, a ...
Aug 07, 2023•45 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Hip Hop Caucus joins with activists, organizers, faith leaders and the Atlanta community who are calling for a stop to Cop City, defending the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta, Georgia, and honoring the life of environmental activist Tortuguita who was killed by Atlanta police in January. Police violence and environmental activism are intimately connected not only through the power dynamics of economics, but also in the way they disproportionately threaten the ability for Black and Brown people to br...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast In this transformative episode of "The Coolest Show" podcast, the insightful Rev Yearwood engages in a profound conversation with two extraordinary guests, Ife Kilimanjaro and Anasa Troutman. Renowned for their impactful work in the realm of healing and community empowerment, Kilimanjaro and Troutman bring a wealth of wisdom to the discussion on Care and Repair. As advocates for holistic well-being and social change, Kilimanjaro, a seasoned healer, and Troutman, a visionary cultural architect, s...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In a compelling episode of "The Coolest Show" podcast, hosted by the insightful Rev Yearwood, Peggy Shepard takes center stage as an esteemed guest discussing Care and Repair: Legacy. As the co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Shepard has been a tireless advocate for environmental and social justice. With a profound commitment to addressing environmental inequities, she shares her wealth of experience and knowledge on creating a lasting legacy of care and repai...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast There’s a generation of organizers and activists that are burning out before they reach or cement themselves in adulthood. While this isn’t a new phenomenon because young people have been the foundation of many movements, the scale of young people engaged in the climate movement and the wide impact of the climate crisis should prompt us to be intentional with their care and repair. On this episode of The Coolest Show Destiny Hodges speaks to climate activist Vic Barrett and Mitchelle Mhaka, coor...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast The fossil fuel industry isn’t the only threat to our movement. It’s also how we treat each other. “Paradoxical osmosis” has us embracing the tactics of the oppression we swore we would usurp together. Lateral violence and burnout has people leaving the movement “cynical, bitter, jaded, and broken. And if that cycle continues, then this climate crisis will continue.” Tara Houska and Anthony Rogers-Wright join Rev Yearwood to reflect on their movement experience, the nonprofit industrial complex,...
May 01, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast trigger warning: On this episode of The Coolest Show, we will have a conversation about care & repair. Our conversation will include many topics including suicide, burn out, stress, and many things that you may be dealing with personally. If you feel alone and need help please contact the suicide hotline by calling or texting 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org to chat with a counselor. If Outside the US please visit the link below to find support in your country or territory: https://support.g...
Apr 24, 2023•49 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast We have invited Dr. Michael Dorsey, a recognized expert on global energy, environment, finance and sustainability matters, and who sits on the board of B.O.S.S (Black Owners of Solar Services back to talk with us to dig a little deeper into the ongoing story of financial reckoning that is necessary to fight in this phase of the Climate Crisis. On the heels of conversations about climate finance campaigning, climate finance regulation, the implementation and deployment of inflation reduction act ...
Apr 17, 2023•44 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest today is Kymone Freeman, Activist, co-founder of We Act Radio, and author of Nineveh: A Conflict Over Water. Rev Yearwood and Kymone discuss the intersections between movement and the process of writing, the power of art and activism and protecting the water on the continent. The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestSho...
Apr 10, 2023•57 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Season 5 of The Coolest Show begins with a conversation with our Host Rev. Yearwood and our producers Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, Destiny Hodges, and DeJuan Cross. The Cooles Show is bought to you by the Hip Hop Caucus - Think 100% Podcast
Apr 03, 2023•42 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The closure of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 due to a bank run is not a signal of pending economic collapse or another financial crisis. The bank’s unique mix of tech start-up customers and venture-backed businesses led to a portfolio and circumstances that are exceptional for most banking institutions. This collapse was a failure of a system that continues to put the interests of Wall Street ahead of everyday people. While our communities carry concerns about health care, affordable housing, ...
Mar 23, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast We Review Season 4 of The Coolest Show with clips hosted by DeJuan Cross The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.
Dec 26, 2022•43 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Swollen: Dispatches from the Flooded Midwest, is a 3 part documentary that identifies flooding as a result of climate change in the black and brown communities of Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee.On this episode of The Coolest Show, Rev Yearwood speaks with Brenda Coley, Co-Executive Director of the Milwaukee Water Commons, Desmond Love, Co-director of Swollen, and dream hampton, filmmaker, producer, and writer. They speak about the similar history of these cities as once thriving black communi...
Dec 19, 2022•45 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast The daily grind of producing a podcast can get overlooked when so many issues are negatively impacting the Climate Movement. Now, for four seasons, The Coolest Show has aimed to amplify the voices of those on the front lines fighting through organizing, culture, and politics every week. On this episode of The Coolest Show, Rev Yearwood sits down with the producers, Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, Destiny Hodges, and DeJuan Cross. They review Rev's experience after attending COP 27, the preparation behi...
Nov 28, 2022•58 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as the Conference of the Parties (COP), was held from November 6-18, 2022, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. COP27 will bring climate activists, corporations, foundations, government officials, and others together to work to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In this 2 part series, Reverend Yearwood is live on the ground speaking with attendees from COP 27. In part 1, Rev Y...
Nov 21, 2022•47 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as the Conference of the Parties (COP), was held from November 6-18, 2022, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. COP27 will bring climate activists, corporations, foundations, government officials, and others together to work to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In this 2 part series, Reverend Yearwood is live on the ground speaking with attendees from COP 27. In part 1, Rev Y...
Nov 21, 2022•44 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast An understanding in the Black community is that Money, Power, and Respect is the key to Life. But, how do we thrive as a community if we are ignored, overlooked, and considered bargaining chips in the overall game?Hosted by The Coolest Show Producer Tamara Toles O’laughlin, on this episode, we discuss innovation and finance as a defense against climate vulnerability and infrastructure. Tamara is joined by Melanie Allen, Co-Director of the Hive Fund & Tracey Lewis, Policy Council of the Climate a...
Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.
Oct 31, 2022•51 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.
Oct 24, 2022•59 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast We will vote, we will organize, we will create the world in which we want to live. Voting is one of the most critical ways to exercise our power. When we align voting with speaking out, marching, advocating for policy, and coming together in community, we can affect change in the laws and systems that govern our society. On this episode of "The Coolest Show" Rev Yearwood speaks with award-winning transformational speaker and New York Times Best Selling author Dr. Yusef Salaam, and Respect My Vot...
Oct 03, 2022•59 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast 
