Drilled

For years, local activists and legislators have been fighting the Enrbidge natural gas compressor in Weymouth, Massachusetts, arguing it poses serious health risks to a community already overburdened by pollution. The project was approved by FERC in 2019, built and became operational in 2020. Then it had an emergency shutdown. And another. Now FERC is considering the unprecedented move of re-think...

Across the United States, fossil fuel-backed anti-protest laws are reshaping the rights to protest and to free speech. 14 states have based new laws, and are passing through statehouses in several more states, including six different bills in Minnesota, the only state with a big pipeline fight this year: Line 3. Researcher Connor Gibson joins to talk us through how this all started and where it's...

When a report makes oil and gas companies—and the politicians they help elect—this mad, you know the author is on to something. Researcher Sean O'Leary , with the Ohio River Valley Institute, talks about his new report, which found that the local economic benefit of fracking to communities in the Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia gas corridor was slim to none.   See omnystudio.com...

Stanford researcher Ben Franta joins to talk about a bombshell new discovery: the American Petroleum Institute not only knew about climate change back in the 70s, it started pushing climate denial as early as 1980. Read Ben's article:  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09644016.2020.1863703   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steven Donziger remains under house arrest and collecting the Ecuadorian settlement seems impossible, so what happens next? We explore what this case says about accountability, the power of oil companies, and the options that remain for Ecuadorians seeking justice. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chevron pushes its fight against the Ecuadorian judgement, while Steven Donziger loses his RICO appeal and faces disbarment and contempt charges. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) case gets underway, corruption charges against the United States and Ecuadorian judges surface. Support us on Patreon.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chevron's legal team shocks the Ecuadorian plantiffs with a massive racketeering claim in the United States, alleging fraud, witness tampering, and bribery. Support us on Patreon.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chevron's attorneys go after Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker behind Crude, the documentary about the Lago Agrio case. They subpoena his outtakes, kicking off a years-long First Amendment battle. Support us on Patreon . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new Carbon Tracker report finds that the fossil fuel industry is pinning its hopes on a plastic boom. Try as it might, demand isn't materializing. The report's author, Kingsmill Bond, joins us.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New York District Court Judge Loretta Preska has denied repeated requests to delay Steven Donziger's criminal contempt trial, leaving him without legal representation. He'll stand trial Monday November 9, after which he could face six months of jail time. Reporter Karen Savage updates on the latest and we hear from attorneys Lauren Regan and Ronald Kuby about the precedent this ruiling sets. See o...

The Lago Agrio case takes a bizarre turn with a sting operation, United States subpoenas, and accusations of frad and bribery before a verdict is finally reached. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Ecuadorian plaintiffs gain press, public support, and an endorsement from the country's president, Chevron kicks things up a notch, bringing in new lawyers and a PR firm to rewrite the story. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In September 2009, Chevron filed an international arbitration claim against the Ecuadorian government over the Lago Agrio case. In the years since, Chevron has pointed to the decisions of the arbitral panel as akin to court decisions, but they're not one in the same—arbitral tribunals exist to help companies protect their profits and are largely conducted in secret. Marcos Orellana explains...

The fight for justice in Ecuador's Amazon moves to the courtroom, while an election changes the political landscape and a global PR war kicks into high gear. Support us on Patreon . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did the Amazon's oil conflict come about in the first place? We go back to the 1960s, the early days of oil colonialism in Ecuador, when the partnerships between oil men and missionaries began and disrupted Indigenous communities. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In August 2019, an American lawyer was placed under house arrest while awaiting trial for criminal contempt, stemming from a decades-long case that began with polution in the Amazon. The cas has since spanned continents and courtrooms while the victims—indigenous tribes in the Ecuadorian Amazon—continue to seek justice. This is season 5: La Lucha En La Jungla. See omnystudio.com/listen...

TheTrump administration proposed a rule that would make it harder for financial managers to investment retirement funds in environmentally or socially responsible ways. The fossil fuel industry praised the rule, noting that the divestment movement has become a serious problem and reduced its access to capital. Journalist David Sirota broke that story and joins us to explain. PLUS: a sneak peek of...

The FBI arrested Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder for racketeering or, as the state attorney general put it, "bribery, that's what it was." Private utility FirstEnergy paid politicians, including Householder, to pass a corporate bailout to keep coal and nuclear plants open while blocking renewables. Leah Stokes , University of California Santa Barbara political science profe...

An advocacy group in the Netherlands is calling for a ban on fossil fuel ads. Campaigner Femke Sleegers joins us to explain the roots of the campaign, its goal, and the initial response to it. Additional resources: Ban Fossil Fuel Advertising; a Dutch Citizens’ Initiative See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite tax breaks, royalty cuts, and other COVID-19 incentives, Chesapeake Energy, a pioneer in the American fracking industry, has declared bankruptcy. We explore why the pandemic isn't to blame and what the says about government bailouts for struggling fossil fuel companies. Support us on Patreon   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two new lawsuits, in Minnesota and D.C., were filed within 24 hours of each other and allege the same thing: that fossil fuel companies misled consumers about climate change.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new Carbon Tracker report finds that oil and gas companies have been grossly underestimating the cost for plugging and abandoning wells, particularly for fracking wells. The report co-authors Rob Schuwerk and Greg Rogers break down the scale of the problem, the cost, and who will ultimately foot the bill.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, some climate activists have been saying "now's not the time to talk about climate." On Hot Take, Mary Annaise Hegler and Amy Westervelt discuss the idea that climate and racial justice are connected and influence one another. Find Hot Take here.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naomi Klein describes how "disaster capitalism," the corporate feeding frenzy that happens in the wake of major crisis, is playing out in America right now. On a research trip to post-Katrina New Orleans for her book The Shock Doctrine, she connected her work on human rights and labor to climate, and shares what needs to happen, including the Green New Deal, to spur a justice-focused transformatio...