The Climate Pod

This week, a coalition headed to Washington D.C. to try to halt changes to the National Environmental Protection Act. WE ACT's Kerene Tayloe, Director of Federal Legislative Affairs, was part of the coalition and joins the show to explain what is under threat, how to oppose the changes, and what WE ACT is doing as an organization to help support environmental justice. Then, the Washington Post published an Op-Ed this week comparing Sen. Bernie Sanders' approach to climate to President Trump's just weeks after refusing to publish an Op-Ed by scientists that support the Green New Deal. We talk to two of the scientists that signed their name to the Op-Ed about the content of the piece, why they wanted it published, and why it's important for scientists to have a voice on the Green New Deal. 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! Follow We Act on Twitter Follow Kerene Tayloe on Twitter Follow Isaac Larkin on Twitter Follow Dr. Emily Grubert on Twitter Follow Sunrise Scientists on Twitter Learn more about WE ACT Further Reading Here's the Pro-Bernie Climate Scientist Op-Ed the Washington Post Wouldn't Run by Brian Kahn

Both the continent of Antarctica and the month of January hit new record temperatures in 2020. How did this happen? We talk to Matthew Cappucci of The Washington Post about these weather patterns, how a meteorologist spots the impact of climate change in bizarre weather, and also talk about the Broomstick Challenge, the movies "Sharknado" and "Twister," and even Al Roker. Then, we are joined by the University of Arizona's Dr. John J. Wiens and Cristian Román-Palacios, who recently published a study that made headlines for its analysis on the potential extinction crisis looming if warming temperatures continue. They explain the major drivers behind extinction patterns and where plant and animal most likely to occur. Ty and Brock also discuss BP's new climate announcement, Jeff Bezos' big donation, the 2019 SEAL Awards, and that time they broke a picture frame in their parents' house and lied about it. 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! Follow Matthew Cappucci on Twitter Follow Cristian Román-Palacios on Twitter Learn more about the Wiens Lab Learn more about Cristian's work Further Reading Recent responses to climate change reveal the drivers of species extinction and survival by Dr. John J. Weins and Cristian Román-Palacios Antarctica just hit 65 degrees, its warmest temperature ever recorded by Matthew Cappucci The viral 'broomstick challenge' always works by Matthew Cappucci Beware oil execs in environmentalists' clothing - BP could derail real change by Alice Bell

This week, we take a look at ways to improve media coverage around the climate crisis with two of the most innovative, important voices in the industry. First, we're joined by Mary Annaïse Heglar, writer and co-host of the Hot Take podcast, a great new show on media criticism on climate coverage. Mary discusses her own approach to climate writing and vision for better coverage this decade. Then, Mark Hertsgaard, veteran climate journalist and co-creator of Covering Climate Now, discusses his new initiative to foster better media collaboration on covering the crisis and how to make climate issues more prominent in news coverage. This is a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion! 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! Follow Mary Annaïse Heglar on Twitter Follow Mark Hertsgaard on Twitter Learn more about the Hot Take podcast Learn more about Covering Climate Now

Big show this week! First, Felix Salmon (chief financial correspondent for Axios, Slate's Money podcast, Axios Edge Newsletter) joins the show to discuss why all that talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos may be cheap, why Greta wasn't speaking in a bigger room, where he sees some of the biggest needs for economic policy to address climate change, and how attitudes are changing on the financial prospects of fossil fuel companies. We ask Felix: Is Jim Cramer the Greta Thunberg of financial cable television? (Spoiler alert: he's not). Then, we talk to Justin Nobel, who's remarkable investigation for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and Rolling Stone reveals a shocking truth around the dangers we face with toxic waste coming from oil-and-gas wells. The threat is deadly and most of us are simply unaware it exists. 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! Follow Felix Salmon on Twitter Follow Justin Nobel on Twitter Learn more about the Economic Hardship Reporting Project Further Reading: America's Radioactive Secret by Justin Nobel Axios Edge: Davos Hypocrisy by Felix Salmon

This week, Dr. Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, joins the show to review the results of NASA and NOAA analyses on 2019 climate data. He explains what the second hottest year on record means for an increasingly concerning trend. Then, Citizens' Climate Lobby's Daniel Palken explains to us about how to talk to conservatives and Republican lawmakers. He discusses what motivates right-leaning voters, how CCL approaches reaching out to this group, and their upcoming event in Washington D.C. 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! Follow Dr. Gavin Schmidt on Twitter Follow Daniel Palken on Twitter Further Reading: NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal 2019 Second Warmest Year on Record Trump Removes Pollution Controls on Streams and Wetlands by Coral Davenport in The New York Times To learn more about Citizens' Climate Lobby's conservative lobby day on The Hill, Feb. 3-4, check out https://citizensclimatelobby.org/ or follow CCL on Twitter.

Two interviews this week discussing two major topics we haven't covered on the podcast. First, Zahra Hirji returns to the show to discuss her investigative reporting into George Luber, a former official in the CDC's climate program, and explains what former and current staffers told her about his dismissal. Then, Vice's Adi Renaldi joins us from Jakarta to talk about the devastating flooding in the Indonesian city, how climate change is impacting Jakarta, and the growing issue of air pollution. 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! Follow Zahra Hirji on Twitter Follow Adi Renaldi on Twitter Further Reading: How A Bad Boss Remade Himself As A Climate Hero by Zahra Hirji Jakarta's Flood Are Yet Another Wake-Up Call On Climate Change by Adi Renaldi It's Not Just Australia - Indonesia is Facing Its Own Climate Disaster by Rachel Ramirez Australia's Weird Weather Is Getting Even Weather by Umair Irfan

This week, we look at the widespread destruction that has been caused by the Australian bushfires and misinformation circulating to create a bizarre counter-narrative to argue against climate change as a main factor driving the crisis. Brian Kahn of Earther joins the show to explain how this misinformation started spreading and what impact this has had on news coverage. Then, Dr. Bin Jalaludin of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney explains how these ongoing bushfires cause air quality and health problems. Finally, Dr. Stuart Khan (also of UNSW) talks about potential water quality issues caused by the bushfires and how water systems are damaged by the disaster. 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! Follow Brian Kahn on Twitter Follow Dr. Bin Jalaludin on Twitter Follow Dr. Stuart Khan on Twitter Further Reading: Dr. Stuart Khan for The Guardian, Bushfires threaten drinking water - and the consequences could last decades Brian Kahn for Earther, It's Not Arson, You Absolute Fucking Morons Jessie Yeung for CNN, Australia Wildfires: Here's what you need to know Sarah Martin for The Guardian, Emergency payments for people affected by Australia's bushfires 'seriously inadequate' Ben Butler for The Guardian, Josh Frydenberg demands insurers provide unprecedented detail about bushfire property losses Lily Mayers for ABC, NSW bushfires leave many struggling without insurance on their homes Amaani Siddeek for The Guardian, Australia fires: heavy rain and cooler temperatures 'unlikely' to end bushfire threat

The Australian bushfires keep burning, creating a growing path of devastation and destruction in its wake. One of the many horrific aspects of the crisis is the havoc these bushfires have wreaked on Australia's wildlife. It's estimated that more than one billion animals have been killed. Dr. Stuart Blanch, senior manager of Land Clearing and Restoration for WWF-Australia, joins the show this week to talk about how the bushfires have impacted local wildlife, what this means for the endangered koala population, and how climate change is increasingly creating conditions that threaten these habitats from ever being able to recover from the disaster. This is a hard conversation that confronts the reality of the climate crisis, but it is a necessary one. Dr. Blanch is a truly remarkable person. To donate to WWF Australia and learn more about the bushfire emergency, visit their website here: https://donate.wwf.org.au/ Follow WWF Australia on Twitter Follow Dr. Stuart Blanch on Twitter 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! Further Reading: David Roberts, "1.5 degrees Celsius: The sad truth about our boldest climate target" Reuters, "Australia's leaders unmoved on climate action after devastating bushfires"

Just in time for the New Year! Two exceptional guests talking about the future of energy! This episode, we're joined by Jigar Shah of Generate Capital and "The Energy Gang" podcast AND Julia Pyper, host of the "Political Climate" podcast and contributing editor for Greentech Media. We dive into a wide range of energy topics - storage, hydrogen fuel cells, the path to renewable energy, litigation against fossil fuel corporations, and much more on the policies, politics, and predictions that will shape the next decade. We also leave you with an indie Canadian music recommendation and discuss our favorite Jimmy Buffett song. I'm not sure how that happen either, but this is an extraordinary hour of podcasting. 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!

Here it is - our big end-of-the-year, end-of-the-decade episode. First, we discuss some of the biggest stories of the past ten years with The Verge's Justine Calma. Then, we review the first year of The Climate Pod, featuring clips from past guests like Drilled's Amy Westervelt, UCB's Connor Ratliff, Axios' Amy Harder, Huffington Post's Chris D'Angelo, Earther's Yessenia Funes, WWF's Vanessa Perez-Cirera, and many more from some of our favorite episodes and the biggest topics of the year. This episode was sponsored by Hero Power, Chicago's newest 100% renewable energy option that provides affordable, reliable electricity to Illinois residents at the same price as ComEd. Learn more at myheropower.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! Follow Justine Calma on Twitter Further Reading: This was the decade climate change slapped us in the face by Justine Calma