The Climate Pod

This week, Michael Grunwald, senior writer for Politico Magazine and author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era, joins the show to discuss how the Obama Administration transformed clean energy with the 2009 stimulus package and what President-elect Joe Biden is likely to learn as a result of leading the effort. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss their lessons learned from Obama Administration's climate efforts and what executive actions Biden can take on Day One. Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: Day One Actions to Fulfill Biden Pledges on Climate and the Environment

This week, Lydia Millet, author of "A Children's Bible", a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and one of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year, joins the show to talk about why she wanted to explore intergenerational responses to the climate crisis in her new novel. We discuss coping mechanisms, the role of religion, parenting, and much more. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also talk about their expectations for what may drive climate politics in 2021. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: An Epic Storm Turns a Summer Holiday Into Potent Allegory Rise Up and Save Us, Joe Biden

This week, Ian Haney López, author of Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America and Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at the University of California, Berkeley, joins the show (3:30) to explain the race and class narrative, dog whistle politics, and how defeating racism is essential to combat the climate crisis. We discuss strategies for building a broad, multi-racial progressive coalition, how this compares to historical efforts, and how we got here. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss the new climate cabinet picks by President-elect Joe Biden and the clean energy benefits in a recent spending bill. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Link to Race Class Academy Further Reading and Watching: Michael Regan, Biden's E.P.A. Pick, Faces 'Massive Reconstruction and Rebuilding' Class Left Episode on the Race Class Academy Biden To Pick North Carolina Regulator Michael Regan To Lead EPA With Biden's Boost, 2 Obama Veterans Are 'Ready To Run' Climate Efforts The Senate Agrees to a Plan to Phase Out a Dangerous Greenhouse Gas Who is Ali Zaidi? He might be Biden's climate adviser What a Joe Biden Cabinet Pick Might Mean for Native Americans—and Democrats Biden to Pick Brenda Mallory to Run White House Environment Office Why Native Americans are celebrating Rep. Haaland's nomination

America faced an inflection point in the climate crisis in 2020. Record-setting fires and environmental devastation were inescapable sights on the news, as the tragic consequences of a warming planet were on display at home and abroad. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the reality of living under multiple ecological disasters and the murder of George Floyd and ongoing police and environmental violence further demonstrated the importance of an intersectional approach to environmental justice. And finally, how would American respond? With a historic presidential election and sharp contrasts between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, it was clear much was at stake with the result. This week, host Ty Benefiel takes you through this year in climate change with excerpts from 2020 guests like Dr. Michael Mann, Dr. Robert Bullard, Jamie Margolin, Bill Nye, Julian Brave Noisecat, Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, Rainn Wilson, Rep. Kathy Castor, John Podesta, Dr. Leah Stokes, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, Catherine Coleman Flowers, Tom Steyer, Dr. Gavin Schmidt, and many more. Learn More From This Episode Hear the full interview with Dr. Michael Mann Hear the full interview with Bill Nye Hear the full interview Dr. Robert Bullard Hear the full interview with Jamie Margolin Hear the full interview with Rainn Wilson Hear the full interview with Julian Brave Noisecat Hear the full interview with Tamara Toles O'Laughlin Hear the full interview with Tom Steyer Hear the full interview with Dr. Leah Stokes Hear the full interview with Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali Hear the full interview with Ted Danson Hear the full interview with Dr. Gavin Schmidt Hear the full interview with Catherine Coleman Flowers Hear the full interview with John Podesta Hear the full interview with Rep. Kathy Castor Hear the full interview with Sonia Aggarwal Hear the full interview with Dr. Stuart Blanch Hear the full interview with Dr. Daniel Swain Hear the full interview with Sharon Kelly

This week, Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project, joins the show to answer one basic question: what the hell is going on with environmental voters? Just kidding...kinda. We dig into the facts with Nathaniel to better understand what motivates environmentally-friendly voters, why it matters that many don't vote, and how to build long-term change in the electorate. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss the Trump Administration's soot rule and the selection of Xavier Becerra to run the Department of Health and Human Services. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: Trump Administration Refuses to Update Soot Rule, Condemning Thousands to Death Xavier Becerra Brings Environmental Justice to Forefront

Catherine Coleman Flowers is the author of "Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret" and the founder and current director of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice. Since 2008, Catherine has been the rural development manager at the Race and Poverty Initiative of the Equal Justice Initiative. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Climate Reality Project, and as a Senior Fellow for the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. This week, she joins the show to talk about her career as an environmental justice advocate and her fight against sanitation inequality and the devastating impacts caused by the inability to provide affordable means to properly dispose of waste. We discuss the widespread and harmful problem of wastewater, how it stems from structural racism and class inequality, why it's been a long overlooked issue, and how to address the problem. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss 2020's historically active Atlantic hurricane season. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: The 2020 Hurricane Season in Rewind

This week, Heather McTeer Toney, Senior Director of Moms Clean Air Force, joins the show to discuss raising the next generation for climate action and the "mom-partisan" approach to the environment. She also discusses her prior work in the EPA, addressing the BP oil spill with the impacted local communities, environmental justice initiatives, and her early days fighting water issues as Mayor of Greenville, Mississippi. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss John Kerry's new climate envoy role and the new focus on climate in various agencies and for cabinet officials. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: With John Kerry Pick, Biden Selects a 'Climate Envoy' With Stature John Kerry's Appointment as Climate Envoy Shows the World We're Back in the Game As The World Burns Are We Insane? Black Women are Leaders in the Climate Movement

This week, Jamil Smith, Senior Writer at Rolling Stone for national affairs and culture and an Emmy winner, joins the show to discuss his piece "Another Reason We Can't Breathe" and the importance of fighting environmental racism during the Biden Administration. We discuss the president-elect's plan, the role of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and how experience with frontline communities should be prioritized when choosing leadership. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss Ron Klain's selection as chief of staff and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: Trump Administration, in Late Push, Moves to Sell Oil Rights in Arctic Refuge The Crisis that Forged Biden's Chief of Staff What likely voters want to see in a Biden Cabinet Kamala Harris Is the Right Pick for Every Reason That Should Matter 'RS Interview: Special Edition' With Al Gore

This week, Dr. Mark Hyman, author of Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet—One Bite at a Time, joins the show to discuss how to fix our broken food system, sequester more carbon from soil, and eat better for the planet. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss the 2020 election results and proof that climate organizing and pushing climate action is a winning strategy. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: https://drhyman.com https://foodfixbook.com The Doctor's Farmacy: Meat That Is Good For You And For The Planet The Green New Deal Didn't Sink Democrats

This week, Chris Hamby, New York Times investigative reporter and author of "Soul Full of Coal Dust: A Fight for Breath and Justice in Appalachia," joins the show to discuss his new book on how coal companies endangered coal miners and prevented workers from receiving health benefits. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss false promises made to coal mining towns and the need for a just transition in a clean energy economy. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Check out our updated website! Further Reading: This Is What a Just Transition Looks Like "The Coal Industry Is Back," Trump Proclaimed. It Wasn't.