Energy Thinks with Tisha Schuller

Planning your 2026 leadership event? Order The Myth and The Moment for your team. (Reach out for bulk pricing.)What you’ll get in this solo episode of Energy ThinksFear works—up to a point.So even before we found ourselves amid a war in the Middle East and an energy crisis, a fear-driven politics was forming in reaction to AI, data centers, and energy buildout.Why? Because fear is politically easy for both the left and the right. But you—the successful energy leader—want much more than scoring easy political points. Your challenge: Offer an alternative vision to the demagoguery.And then connect that vision to your stakeholder communities, to give them a path out of the fear.Both of these things are true:* Fear will be the default politics around AI, data centers, and energy infrastructure growth.* Leaders must offer a vision of the future—complete with that infrastructure—that communities will actually champion.In this solo episode, I work through:* Why a politics of fear is emerging around AI, data centers, and energy* What it takes to offer a credible, optimistic vision of the future rooted in innovation and real-world outcomes* Why communities—not just policymakers—will ultimately determine what gets built and what doesn’tA previewThe opportunity the politics of fear gives us: “Fear as a political approach is the default, and we should expect that. … I think it leaves this wide-open lane for someone to talk about the future in an optimistic way.”On the real goal of community engagement: “You want champions. You don’t just want to be an invited guest, but a recruited, welcome, sought-after partner in building communities of the future.”On articulating a better enemy: “What if polarization became the enemy? The polarization is turning our politics into these wild, populist pendulum swings, making it impossible to get common sense things done, like budget bills and permitting reform.”Bonus content for this episodeMy latest book, The Myth and The Moment.A song that inspired my spring break (h/t to the hubby, Brian!).Relevant podcasts: “The World Changed. The Climate Playbook Didn’t.” and “The Center Won’t Hold Itself.”Mentioned: an Axios story on how AI CEOs are fueling a more fear-driven conversation about the future.Watch the episode on YouTube.What to do next in The Moment* We can help your busy team work more strategically. Email us to secure a contract spot for Q3 2026.* Please take a moment to give Energy Thinks a five-star rating wherever you listen to your podcasts.* Was this email forwarded to you? Please subscribe here.* If this landed for you, hit the heart button below.To providing that compelling vision,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

What you’ll get in this episode of Energy ThinksI sit down with Alex Trembath, executive director of the Breakthrough Institute, because I wanted to explore a question that’s been on my mind for a while: Are we really moving past what Alex calls the “peak climate” era? (Because I’m not so sure.)For much of the past two decades, climate change has been the central organizing force for energy policy, politics, philanthropy, and corporate strategy. But the world is shifting. Geopolitics, economic pressures, and new technologies—especially artificial intelligence—are changing the political context for energy and climate.Alex and I talk about what that means for the future of the energy transition, the persistence of what I call the “climate orthodoxy,” and the debates now emerging inside Democratic politics around oil and gas, nuclear, the grid, and the one thing that determines how everything unfolds: permitting reform.If you’re trying to understand where the conversation on energy and climate may go next, this is a good place to start.Why Alex?I’ve known Alex for a long time, and he’s one of the people I turn to when I want to stress-test my thinking about energy and climate.At the Breakthrough Institute, Alex has helped develop an eco-modernist perspective that puts technological innovation and energy abundance at the center of solving environmental challenges.When Breakthrough first started advancing these ideas, they were often seen as fringe. Today, many of these same ideas—innovation, advanced nuclear, carbon removal, energy abundance—are much closer to the center of the conversation.I wanted to talk with Alex because the world feels as if it’s shifting again. The climate agenda that dominated the past decade is running into new political and technological realities.The question now is: What replaces the old playbook—and how does our industry contribute to a thriving, vibrant energy landscape?Some of Alex’s insights* On peak climate: “For most of my career, climate change was the central organizing force for progressives and for the Democratic Party. Reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century was non-negotiable. Everything was framed around how it contributed to the climate agenda. I think that world is over.”* On our role: “The oil and gas industry has a lot of industrial and technical knowledge to share, with carbon removal, clean fuels, geothermal, and other emerging energy technologies. There are many ways industry can continue to accelerate energy innovation and expand energy abundance.”Bonus content!Watch on YouTube or listen on Substack to hear Alex and me discuss The Myth and The Moment.Order The Myth and The Moment: From Polarization to Progress in the New Energy Landscape.What to do next in The Moment* Enjoying The Myth and The Moment? Leave a review to help others find it.* If this email was forwarded to you, please subscribe here.* Are you ready to contribute to the next energy conversation? Hit that heart button below.On to what comes next,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

What you’ll get in this episode of Energy ThinksThe most important conversations often must reckon with a profound tension: two opposing ideas that are both true. Example:* Communities deserve voice and process.* Communities can’t keep using their voices to “ban” the stuff that keeps the lights on—pipelines, transmission, firm generation—without consequences: spiking bills, stalling projects, and disappearing reliability.I look for conversations with people with whom I don’t always agree—in order to explore the tensions that we must confront to make progress.In this episode, I sit down with Josh Freed, senior vice president for climate and energy at the centrist think tank Third Way, to explore what a U.S. energy strategy rooted in the national interest could look like. That’s the connective tissue between today’s theme and the bigger question behind it: We can’t ban our way to the national interest. We have to define what we’re optimizing for—reliability, affordability, security, competitiveness, and yes, lower emissions—and then build the infrastructure that makes those goals real.Josh brings an important, and still too rare, perspective to our industry’s work: What is politically viable to Democrats, and what do American citizens care about? We talk about the affordability pressures shaping public sentiment, the deeper failure to build infrastructure at scale, permitting reform, nuclear power, natural gas, coal, innovation, and what it would take to restore a sense of mission to American energy policy.If we are serious about moving beyond polarization—and about building again—we need this kind of conversation. And if you’re an oil and gas leader, you can’t delegate this to your government affairs team. It’s a direct call to leadership from you. The next decade will be defined by whether we can build—and whether industry (you!) shows up as a credible partner in defining and addressing the trade-offs that building requires.Why Josh?I’ve known Josh for nearly a decade. We do not see the world the same way. And that’s exactly why I wanted him on the show.Josh and his colleagues at Third Way are helping shape the future of the Democratic Party’s energy message. That’s good news—because Josh consistently challenges orthodoxies on the left, questions ideological purity tests, and argues that clean energy must compete on cost and reliability if it’s going to scale.If you care about building durable coalitions—and ensuring oil and gas companies can be credible partners in what comes next—you need to understand how leaders like Josh are thinking. He represents the kind of center-left partner you’ll be able to do business with ... if you’re ready to make trade-offs yourself.Some of Josh’s insights* What energy is politically viable? “Democrats and centrists need to re-embrace ‘all of the above.’ The reality is, natural gas is still used in our economy and in economies around the world for a wide variety of reasons, and it’s going to continue to be used for the foreseeable future. Oil is the same way, and we have to not only accept but embrace that reality.”* On a linchpin for permitting reform: “We—as a country, the energy sector, developers, investors—need to have confidence that there’s a path that works and that the government is good for its word, regardless of who’s in power in the White House ... and we just don’t have that right now, and we didn’t have that to the full extent that we should have in the last administration, either.”* On American leadership: “There’s this broader systemic problem, which is we don’t build infrastructure or do big things in the United States anymore. And it is because there’s this ideological challenge on both sides of the aisle that we need to only adhere to a set of technologies, a set of market constraints, or other politically imposed circumstances that really do limit the way our economy builds things and powers the country.”Bonus content!We also talk about The Myth and The Moment—why “easy transition” narratives collapse the moment you collide with reliability, permitting reform, and the sheer scale of infrastructure required.Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to the podcast on Substack to hear Josh and me discuss The Myth and The Moment.Order your copy of The Myth and The Moment: From Polarization to Progress in the New Energy Landscape.What to do next in The Moment* Email us, and we’ll help you train for the energy race. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.* Enjoying The Myth and The Moment? Leave a review to help others find it.* If this email was forwarded to you, please subscribe here.* Are you ready to race? Hit that heart button below.Over (opting out) and out,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

Planning your 2026 leadership event? Order The Myth and The Moment for your team. (Reach out for bulk pricing.)What you’ll get in this solo episode of Energy ThinksThe political center matters—and it won’t hold itself. Whereas the political extremes reward polarization and populism, sustaining a functioning and productive polity requires … you! The work ahead needs your engagement, curiosity, and willingness to compromise—even when your effort is awkward, incremental, and unappreciated. Whether a strong, pragmatic left emerges to join a vibrant political center matters to you, your company, and what comes next.Why is this work so important? Because the same sort of tension defines the work of the Problem Solvers—governors, regulators, public utilities commissioners, and others caught between climate aspiration and on-the-ground energy reality. As affordability, reliability, and power-system growth collide with climate goals, these leaders are operating under tightening constraints and are accountable when trade-offs can no longer be avoided. You need to give them a path on which to walk forward confidently. You need to ensure there is firm ground in the political center.In this solo episode, you’ll hear me think through:* Why a functioning political center is essential—and why it requires us to build and sustain it* What’s happening on the center left as pragmatism, populism, and institutional responsibility collideHere’s a preview:On why replacing one populism with another is not a solution: “The natural order of things will be for the pendulum to swing from the current populist right to a populist, illiberal left. A lot of progressive politics suggests that this is what we should want. But I think that’s a dangerous assumption, and I don’t live in a world where that feels like a stable or healthy outcome.”On the active work required to sustain pragmatic politics: “It’s really important in America that we have two functioning parties that encourage civility, that encourage … bipartisan legislation that encourages incremental change, compromise, and progress. … To not have a country run by polarization or populism of either left or right, illiberalism on both the left and the right, we have to be curating the center.”On engaging across disagreement: “Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, be an organization and a leader worthy of engaging with those with whom you disagree. Be smart. Be curious. Be willing to compromise, and be willing to look at things from their perspective.”Bonus content for this episodeMy latest book, The Myth and The Moment.My piece “The Best Thought Experiment You’ll Do This Year”.Relevant podcasts: “The Gas Moment Is Real. It’s Also Fragile.” and “Trim Your Sails”My series on working with the Problem Solvers: Part 1, “The World According to the Problem Solvers,” Part 2, “Ding Dong The Myth Is Dead,” Part 3, “Three Steps to Calling It Right,” and Part 4, “How Building Becomes the New Climate Leadership.”Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to the podcast on Substack.What to do next in The Moment* We can help your busy team work more strategically. Email us to secure a contract spot for Q2 2026.* Please take a moment to give Energy Thinks a five-star rating wherever you listen to your podcasts.* Was this email forwarded to you? Please subscribe here.* If this landed for you, hit the heart button below.To a crowded center,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

I have a strategic advisory slot open for one leader in Q2—email to learn more.What you’ll get in this solo episode of Energy ThinksTailwinds have blown open a political window for natural gas—especially among moderate Democrats. This Moment is real. It’s also fragile. If our industry mistakes momentum for durability—or indulges our worst habits because it feels as if “we’re finally winning”—we’ll just prompt a backlash that will slam the window shut.We won’t win The Moment with bravado—or even facts. We’ll win if our industry shows up as a good partner to the stakeholders currently trying to meet us halfway. What does this mean? That we:* Emphasize our decarbonization ambitions* Acknowledge their climate concern* Deliver on environmental performanceAnd, most important, we must create the conditions for the climate-concerned to change their minds about The Myth without losing face.In this solo episode, you’ll hear me think through some of what I’m now telling oil and gas leaders privately:* How you can use reflection and intention to deepen your meaningful leadership* What it would take to convince me that The Myth is not a myth* Democrats and natural gas … what’s happening, what comes next, and what could go terribly, terribly wrongHere’s a taste of what you’ll get:On your need as a leader to be thoughtful: “There really is a consistent interest in us humans to do something that matters, that’s meaningful, and that will endure past us. … We can only achieve that if we make some space in our lives for reflection and then be really intentional about what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it.”On the political pendulum and industry amnesia: “Do not erroneously imagine that the sense of momentum and power and winning that pervades our industry right now … Do not for one moment assume that you’re going to feel remotely that way when the political pendulum swings back. … Just think back two years.”On the risk of disengagement: “There are people out there on the left going to extraordinary lengths to create a sensical energy and climate platform—we need to be worthy of their partnership, of their faith, of their engagement. … If you are a Republican or a centrist or an independent, and you think this isn’t relevant to you, I say you are smoking crack and wrong, and you need to pay attention.”Bonus content for this episodeMy latest book: The Myth and The MomentMy newsletters “The Question at Dawn” and “The Best Thought Experiment You’ll Do This Year”Alex Trembath’s recent Substack post “Environmentalism vs. Affordability in New York”The New York Times piece “Obama Supported It. The Left in Canada and Norway Does. Why Don’t Democrats?”Matthew Yglesias’ Substack “A Reply to Critics on American Oil and Gas”Emily Atkin’s Substack “It’s Time to Embrace Climate Conspiracy”Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to the podcast on Substack.What to do next in The Moment* Please take a moment to give Energy Thinks a five-star rating wherever you listen to your podcasts.* Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe here.* Do you want to leave a positive legacy? Hit that heart button below.Loving the fresh air from the open window, Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

What you’ll get in this episode of Energy ThinksClimate activists have overplayed their political hand with righteous language, inflexible targets, and clear villains.But you don’t have to look far to see industry supporters displaying a similarly overconfident absolutism—just pro-fossil and anti-renewables.We can do better—much better—than an energy politics focused on accumulating temporary wins. Especially when the next swing of the pendulum is always coming.While this political environment rewards performative certainty, savvy industry leaders are setting their sights past the zero-sum story. Their discipline? “Trim your sails,” focus on the destination, match tactics to strategy, and refuse the intoxicating certainty of being “finally right.” That’s how they’ve always built durable outcomes—and this time will be no different.I wanted to explore these ideas with a thought partner who would challenge my point of view. So to kick off Energy Thinks for 2026, I sat down with Daniel Raimi, fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF) and host of the Resources Radio podcast.Why Daniel?Daniel acknowledged something many in our audience know well:If anyone thinks the energy transition is going to be easy, that’s totally a myth.Daniel is a rare voice in our polarized landscape. He lays out why the work ahead is hard—technically, socially, and politically. He encourages all of us—climate hawk to industry stalwart—to check our hype and focus on building durable progress instead. Which starts by talking about what’s hard.That’s what we do in this episode: discuss the scale of the system, the political hurdles, and the pressures—for affordability, reliability, and decarbonization—that shape public sentiment and policymaker reactions. In other words: crosswinds.Listen and learn why it’s time to trim your sails.Some of Daniel’s insights* On oil and gas in the future: “I think there’s a big role for oil and gas in pretty much every scenario that I can envision, but the role is different under different policy assumptions.”* On the Problem Solvers tack to climate realism: “I think there has been this correction and a return to realism that some of these super-ambitious climate goals are just not really achievable, and in many ways, they’re actually not desirable. They’re not realistic. They would involve trade-offs that I don’t think are acceptable to most people.”* On the intensity of the polarization: “I think there is room for people on both sides of the argument to try and trim their sails a little bit and really focus on the things that actually make sense from an economic and a scientific perspective. I think there’s going to continue to be energy from the political left on climate. I don’t think that’s going to go away. I think it might actually become more intense.”Bonus content!Check out my appearance on Resources Radio next week.My book: The Myth and The Moment: From Polarization to Progress in the New Energy Landscape.Report: RFF’s Global Energy Outlook 2025.Book: Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition.Bill Gates’s memo, “Three Tough Truths About Climate.”Watch on YouTube or listen on Substack to hear Daniel and me discuss The Myth and The Moment.What to do next in The MomentLet me help you trim your sails and shape realistic energy solutions:* If this email was forwarded to you, subscribe here. It’s free!* Email us to book your 2026 tactical meetings.* The most important thing you can do is tap the heart button below! It helps others find my work.To leaders who work past the zero-sum story,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

Happy new year! To celebrate the holiday season, I’m running some of 2025’s most popular episodes of Energy Thinks—including this dance favorite of mine. …What you’ll get in this solo episode of Energy ThinksThere was so much volatility in 2025. Were you occupied just doing the freak, as in the classic Chic song? (“All that pressure got you down? Has your head been spinning all around?”)What I cover in this solo pod: How do you handle yourself as a leader during times of great volatility and uncertainty? What should you do (and definitely not do)?You’ll hear my lessons learned from forging a career amidst chaos and volatility. One big one: While many of those experiences felt apocalyptic at the time, none of them were.I walk you through key takeaways from major personal and professional upheavals, peppered with a few never-before-shared stories, such as watching a boss gamble away $20,000. (He could have paid off my student loans instead!)Bonus contentTo hear more about what got me from environmental activist to face of the oil and gas industry, read my first book, Accidentally Adamant.What to do next in The Moment* Please forward this Both True to three colleagues looking to start the new year off right!* Was this email forwarded to you? Please subscribe here.* Take heart! Hit that heart button below.Wishing you and yours a happy new year,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

Happy holidays! To celebrate, I’m returning to 2025’s most popular episodes of Energy Thinks—including this five-star feast with Chad Zamarin, CEO of Williams.What you’ll get in this episode of Energy ThinksA great conversation (as usual) with Chad. His optimism is infectious. So is his discipline in resisting telling potential partners “I told you so” about The Myth. He’s focused on building relationships with those partners instead. Listen and learn why you should, too.Why Chad?Chad’s not afraid to hit hard or take a stand … and he sees The Moment as a generational opportunity for oil and gas to lead. Chad and I dig into the unraveling of The Myth of an Easy Energy Transition to discuss the bold plays he is making in The Moment at Williams.Bonus content!* The Myth and The Moment: From Polarization to Progress in the New Energy Landscape is available to order on Amazon.* Watch the episode on YouTube or listen on Substack for our exploration of The Myth and The Moment.What to do next in The Moment* Email us if you’re looking to navigate The Moment in your organization.* Was this email forwarded to you? Please subscribe here.* Are you ready to hit the gym? Then hit that heart button.Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

Planning your 2026 leadership event? Order The Myth and The Moment for your team. (Reach out for bulk pricing.)What you’ll get in this solo episode of Energy ThinksThe Myth of how climate progress is “supposed” to happen is visibly unraveling in both politics and the media. But it isn’t dead yet! We’re probably not even past “peak climate-crazy.” How we work and engage now—in The Moment—will shape everything that follows. And if you’re not vigilantly strategic, you risk feeding the zombie—maybe without even knowing it.In this solo episode, you’ll hear me think through:* The seemingly convincing evidence suggesting that The Myth and “peak climate-crazy” are behind us* Why that evidence makes me nervous—really, really nervous* The intentional leadership—how we as oil and gas leaders talk about climate and decarbonization, and how we act—that will keep The Myth from reanimating and derailing real progressHere’s a taste of what you’ll get, in two quotes:“This idea that we don’t have to talk about climate and decarbonization anymore is silly. Entire jurisdictions still treat it as a dominant priority—even as they hit the brick wall of affordability and reliability.”“We have an unprecedented generational opportunity to build the next-generation energy system. Let’s do it in a way that anticipates, engages, and respects the wide and wild world of our stakeholders.”Listen in to hear this crucial episode of Energy Thinks—it will help define your 2026 strategy.Bonus content for this episodeMy latest book, The Myth and The Moment.My series on working with the Problem Solvers: Part 1, “The World According to the Problem Solvers,” Part 2, “Ding Dong The Myth Is Dead,” Part 3, “Three Steps to Calling It Right,” and Part 4, “How Building Becomes the New Climate Leadership”.Article on Tom Steyer’s run for California governor.Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to the podcast on Substack.What to do next in The Moment* We can help your busy team work more strategically. Email us to secure a contract spot for Q2 2026.* Please take a moment to give Energy Thinks a five-star rating wherever you listen to your podcasts.* Was this email forwarded to you? Please subscribe here.* Feeling that holiday spirit? Hit that heart button below.Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!To effective inoculation,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe

The best holiday gift for your team? The Myth and The Moment!What you’ll get in this solo episode of Energy ThinksIn this episode, I take you with me into the Red Sea to make sense of today’s increasingly strange climate and energy narratives.After traveling to Egypt and swimming (voluntarily! for a long time!) in the Red Sea, I came home thinking differently about courage, villains, and what it means to keep moving forward when others around us … haven’t.In this solo episode, you’ll hear me think through* How climate narratives keep getting weirder—and less useful—for climate action* Why some adherents of The Moment are stuck, retreading components of The Myth with increasingly outlandish rationales* How all of that creates enormous opportunity for you—to lead what comes nextBecause leaders see open water and dive in.Listen in to hear about all the weird thoughts and creatures I swam with.A preview …Why The Myth explains today’s energy contradictions: “Climate-centric stakeholders think of you, the oil and gas employee, as a tobacco lobbyist. … It helps explain why, even when they need natural gas, they still don’t want to talk to you.”How climate-centric media coverage keeps falling into a self-defeating framing: “Coverage overwhelmingly sets affordability, reliability, and national security in conflict with climate goals. It sets up climate in a zero-sum game with things it will almost always lose to.”Why the industry has to own—and outgrow—its role in The Myth: “We need to understand our role as a villain, get really smart about not playing into it, and start articulating a mindset that replaces old thinking with something actually innovative.”When courage arrives disguised as dolphins: “They turned around, they heard us calling, and they swam alongside us. … It is, other than having my two children, the most magical thing that ever happened to me.”Bonus content for this episodeThe Myth and The Moment is your guide to leading into the energy future. If you don’t have it, get it.Check out my series on working with the Problem Solvers: Part 1, “The World According to the Problem Solvers,” Part 2, “Ding Dong The Myth Is Dead,” and Part 3, “Three Steps to Calling It Right.”Mentioned in the episode:* “The Future of Energy Has Arrived—Just Not in the U.S.” The Daily, New York Times.* “With the U.S. Absent, China Takes Over at COP30” POLITICO Energy.Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to the podcast on Substack.What to do next in The Moment* Starting your 2026 planning? Email us to set up a briefing on The Myth and The Moment for your team.* Please take a moment to give Energy Thinks a five-star rating wherever you listen to your podcasts.* Was this email forwarded to you? Please subscribe here.* Glad I made it back with all my limbs? Hit that heart button below.To dolphins,Tisha Get full access to Both of These Things Are True at tishaschuller.substack.com/subscribe