Drilled

The fossil fuel industry has undoubtedly played a central role in obstructing climate action through lobbying, impacting political influence, and spreading disinformation. Academic Kristoffer Ekberg (Lund University), nonprofit researcher Kert Davis (Center for Climate Integrity), and DeSmog global managing editor Geoff Dembicki walk us through how fossil fuel industry strategies have undermined c...

Climate obstruction would not be nearly as effective as it is without the influence of the public relations industry and the willful ignorance of mainstream media. Melissa Aronczyk (Rutgers University) and Max Boycoff (University of Colorado) explain why getting a handle on the media's role in climate obstruction is critical to solving the problem. Melissa and Max examine how strategic communicati...

Why does misinformation spread like wildfire—and why is it so hard to correct? Climate communication researchers John Cook (University of Melbourne) and Dominik A. Stecula (Colorado State University) explain the psychology of misinformation, drawing on years of research around climate denial, political polarization, and media dynamics. Additional resources: Climate Obstruction: A Global Asse...

Jesse Bryant (Yale University) and Dieter Plehwe (University of Kassel) examine the growing connection between right-wing populism, climate change denial, and resistance to climate policy. They explore how rising authoritarian politics in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe are reshaping public discourse and obstructing meaningful climate change. Additional resources: Climate Obstruction...

Despite at least a decade of scientific certainty, proposed technological solutions, and policy measures, the world still hasn’t acted on the climate crisis. The problem is a lack of political will—and how it’s been intentionally obstructed at every turn. As we gear up for the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) , Amy Westervelt digs into a new book, Climate Obstruction: A...

Reporter Adam Lowenstein talks with Casey Michel, author of Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World about the influence of oil money on United States climate policy. Michel also recently wrote a fascinating piece in The Atlantic , applying what he learned in researching and writing the book to what he's seeing during the second Trump administration....

Killing a nearly-completed offshore wind farm makes no sense, even for a climate denier who thinks windmills kill whales. Political economist Mark Blyth walks Drilled reporter Royce Kumerlovs through the Trump administration's "carbon dominance" strategy, a deliberate effort to protect fossil fuel power and block renewable energy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The bros of the manosphere love to talk about "integrating" a man's warrior and civilized selves, but what would it look like to integrate men, and new ideas of masculinity, into the climate movement? Who is already doing this work, how can new models of masculinity support climate action, and where are the real opportunities for repair and progress? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Special guest Vivian Taylor, a researcher on both trans rights and climate policy, joins us to share the the shocking connections between fossil billionaires and anti-trans campaigns. Turns out, it’s easy to distract people with genital inspectors so you don’t have to deal with methane leakage inspectors. We break down the overlap between anti-trans, anti-climate, and other right-wing...

The verdict in Energy Transfer's lawsuit against Standing Rock activists and Greenpeace is announced, more than doubling the damages. At a time when repression of protest is accelerating in the United States, Energy Transfer's lawyers claim it's a victory for free speech. As the trial wraps up, we look at what this verdict means for Indigenous rights, climate activists, and the decline of individu...

Stop listening to hysterical Swedish teenagers and start listening to reasonable men! Some dudes do have solutions to the climate crisis; they just don’t involve messy interpersonal stuff, changing their lifestyles, or reorganizing the global economy. Gendered narratives, from doomerism to colonies on Mars, have shaped popular responses to the climate crisis but these "boy math" solutions pr...

One of the charges Energy Transfer has made against Greenpeace is that the organization "defamed" the company by claiming the Dakota Access Pipeline was disturbing sites the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe views as sacred. The Sioux Tribe stands behind this claim and shares why protecting sacred sites is central to Indigenous rights.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Energy dominance” became a defining slogan of the Trump administration—but who or what are they trying to dominate with all that oil and gas? Amy and Daniel trace how gender became so embedded in our collective understanding of nature. From the shift away from earth-centered spiritual traditions like worshipping Gaia and Indigenous earth-mother figures to the rise of extracting...

Manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, Joe Rogan, and Jordan Peterson aren’t just shaping ideas about masculinity—they’re also blasting their followers with climate denial. The fossil fuel industry has known since at least the 1990s that certain types of men are more susceptible to climate disinformation than other segments of the public. Climate denial has now seeped into the...

Energy Transfer has successfully kept key details out of the court, including the tribe's concerns about the Dakota Access Pipeline's impact on their water source. We uncover the pipeline spills, risks, and issues it has already caused. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where the law of the land ends, the story begins. Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Ian Urbina returns with a new season of his riveting podcast anthology, The Outlaw Ocean, which explores the most lawless place on earth — the vast unpoliceable ocean.  In this episode, the Libyan Coast Guard is doing the European Union’s dirty work, capturing migrants as they attempt to cross the...

In her new book Apocalyptic Authoritarianism: Climate Crisis, Media, and Power , University of Toronto media scholar Hanna E. Morris argues that some climate journalists, striving to preserve a self-determined “moderate center,” are deploying some of the same tropes and reinforcing some of the same narratives as the extreme right. Even as they see themselves defending democracy and con...

You’ve heard it from cable news pundits, Democratic strategists, and your favorite YouTuber: young men swung the last United States election for Trump. Understanding what's driving the "manosphere" and how to reach the young men in its grips is on everyone's minds, but we're zooming into a speciific corner of it: the intersection of male grievance culture and climate denial. Why are American...

Energy Transfer has quietly dropped Cody Hall and Krystle Two Bulls, the other Indigenous activist originally named in their massive lawsuit, exclusively targeting Greenpeace . Allen breaks down the charges against Greenpeace, the evidence Energy Transfer is using, and the legal strategies behind the SLAPP suit.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alleen arrives in North Dakota for jury selection in the lawsuit targeting Standing Rock activists and is shocked watching it play out. Recording in the courtroom is prohibited and jurors who state their open bias against activists—or are even connected to the fossil fuel industry—are allowed to serve. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greenpeace , only tangentially involved in the Standing Rock protests, faces a staggering $666 million bill for damages...despite the fact that the Dakota Access Pipeline was built, and has been making Energy Transfer millions of dollars for years. Indigenous water protector Cody Hall, who was a key figure during the protests and initially targeted in the lawsuit, walks us through the 2016-2017 ev...

A decade ago, residents of a small Texas town near a naval base enjoyed quiet, ocean-adjacent living. Today, the same town has become one of the country’s top oil export hubs—and a fenceline community surrounded by terminals and industrial activity. Reporter Alex Ip, author of an investigative series from The Xylom, explains how Big Oil’s expansion disrupted the town, shut down t...

Investigative reporter Alleen Brown follows the story of an Indigenous nation fighting for its water rights, an international environmental movement finding its voice, and an industry attempting to crush its political opposition. Uncovering how industries use SLAPP suits—lawsuits to intimidate and silence activists—we look at the intersection of environmental justice, Indigenous rights...

In his new book What's Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis , Malcolm Harris challenges us to confront the climate crisis as the complex, urgent problem it truly is and tackle it at the scale it deserves. Malcolm speaks with reporter Adam Lowenstein about what that looks like and why embracing the full scope of the crisis can feel surprisingly liberating.   See omnystudio.com/listen...

A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists compiles documentary evidence on the role of fossil fuel companies in obstructing climate policy. We walk through the latest findings in the report, and get an update on climate cases in the United States.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.