Drilled
Pushkin Industries
Drilled is a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Hosted and reported by award-winning investigative climate journalists and led by Amy Westervelt, each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach.
In September 2025, a group of Brazilian ministers trekked all the way to chilly North Dakota to see a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula’s dream of turning Brazil into “the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels.” It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker and corn ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota. The problem? It all requires loads of land and none of it does a thing about climate change.
In September 2025, a group of Brazilian ministers trekked all the way to chilly North Dakota to see a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula’s dream of turning Brazil into “the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels.” It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker and corn ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota. The problem? It all requires loads of land and none of it does a thing about climate change.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 7, 2022 • 25min
Senator Whitehouse on Right-Wing Think Tanks Manipulation
Why does every right-wing think tank have an amicus program? On the surface, it seems to make no sense—is any judge surprised to learn that the Cato Institute is against regulation? These organizations don't waste money, and the presence and size of amicus programs at conservative "public interest" law firms and thinks tanks have grown steadily over the years. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, one of the only politicans publicly speaking about this, shares his thoughts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 25, 2022 • 27min
The Diaster Capitalism Response to Russia-Ukraine
In the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the gas industry is fully embracing it's new role. Right alongside the American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, and the United States Chamber of Commerce, the industry moved quickly to capture the narrative in the early days of the invasion, going from disinformation blitz to policy wins within a matter of weeks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 19, 2022 • 24min
Australia's "Gas-Fired Recovery," Carbon Capture, and Greenwashing
Australians head to the polls for the first election since catastrophic bush fires destroyed millions of acres of land and blanketed the country in smoke for weeks. In the lead-up to the election, we examine the government's current climate policies and a risky proposed move to store carbon deep in the ocean.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 17, 2022 • 19min
The Los Angeles Ports Astroturfing Scheme
Even before the gas industry started fake grassroots organizations, it was using questionable tactics to stave off electrification. LA Times energy reporter Sam Roth and Floodlight's deputy editor and investigative climate reporter Miranda Green reveal a wild story on manipulation from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Read the story here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 3, 2022 • 19min
Exposing an Energy Front Group
When Santa Barbara residents began receiving urgent text messages encouraging them to oppose the gas ban, the messages claimed to be from Citizens for Balanced Energy Solutions, a concered "grassroots" citizens group. But it wasn't a citizens group at all—it was a front group started by the country's largest gas utility.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 26, 2022 • 26min
The New Climate Villains
For over a decade, fossil gas was promoted as part of the solution to climate change. But while it did help to reduce dependency on coal, limiting CO2 emissions and air pollution, it came with a whole new host of problems. How did the industry go from climate hero to climate villain and how are they dealing with its new role as part of the problem?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 19, 2022 • 22min
A Busload of COVID
When San Luis Obispo announced its 2020 plan to become the first Southern California city to ban gas in new buildings, SoCal Gas—the largest gas utility in the country—sprung into action, threatening to bus in large numbers of protesters to crowd the town just as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold in the United States. Additional resources:How to stop a climate vote? Threaten a ‘no social distancing’ protestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 15, 2022 • 59min
Climate One Collaboration: Breaking Down Climate Misinformation
For decades, fossil fuel companies have cast doubt on climate science, delaying action and allowing them to profit. Climate communication experts, such as John Cook, have documented how such companies dismiss, delay, and deflect. They’ve also included a concerted effort to recast political speech, banned and regulated in some contexts, as protected free speech, giving corporations more leeway in broadcasting their messages. In this collaboration with Climate One, we trace the origins of the fossil fuel's free speech arguement and break down the tactics they use to spread misinformation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 9, 2022 • 41min
IPCC Report: Conflicts of Interest, Media Manipulation and More
The IPCC mitigation report dropped this week—and it's a doozy. We'll be digging into it throughout the month of April to help you make sense of it all.Read more: www.drilledpodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 31, 2022 • 14min
Responsibilities Not Rights: A Tūhoe Perspective
When Tūhoe negotiated legal personhood for their ancestral homeland Te Urewera, the global rights of nature community cheered. But in this conversation about how the case connects to rights of nature overall, and to the global push for climate action, Tamati Kruger, Tūhoe negotiator and chairman of the board that now oversees Te Urewera, explains that for Tūhoe it's about the responsibilities of people to protect the land and each other—not rights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
