America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast

In this special episode of America Adapts (256), host Doug Parsons brings together leading voices from journalism, filmmaking, philanthropy, research, and climate practice to explore one of the biggest challenges facing climate adaptation: how do we communicate it? These conversations, sparked by a communications panel at the National Adaptation Forum, examine why adaptation remains "the greatest...

In episode  255 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons speaks with Elliot Arthur-Worsop , founder and director of Football for Future, about how the world's most popular sport can become a powerful platform for climate adaptation and communication. Elliot shares how his organization is engaging clubs, players, governing bodies, and fans while expanding the football climate conversation beyond susta...

In episode 254 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons heads to the National Adaptation Forum to meet some of the people shaping the future of climate adaptation. With help from guest interviewers Shaun Martin of WWF and documentary filmmaker and podcaster Olga Loginova , Doug speaks with leaders working in public health, urban forestry, climate communications, sports, Indigenous engagement, adaptati...

In episode  253 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons speaks with Dr. Shalini Vajjhala , Executive Director of The Pre-Collective, about why climate adaptation still struggles to scale and whether the real challenge is less about engineering and more about coordination, trust, and financing. Drawing from two recent essays, Shalini discusses her argument that the U.S. is experiencing a "civic disas...

In episode 252 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons travels to the University of New Brunswick in Canada, where he keynoted an undergraduate climate conference bringing together students and faculty to explore a wide range of climate challenges. Doug's conversations with conference organizers Dr. Don Wright and Dr. Dion Durnford focus on how climate issues—particularly climate policy—are being ta...

In episode  251 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons speaks with Jamil Wyne , founder of Hazelwood Network, to explore whether climate adaptation is finally moving into the mainstream—or if we're seeing familiar signals that never quite add up. From growing attention in finance, consulting, and platforms like LinkedIn to real-world action in places like Singapore and across emerging markets, adap...

In episode  250 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons speaks with Dr. Thomas Zeitzoff , professor at American University and author of No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis , to explore a question at the edge of today's climate conversation: what drives movements to escalate?   Drawing on his research on political violence and environmental activism, Zei...

In episode  249 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons takes a deep dive into the growing climate-driven insurance crisis reshaping housing and communities across the United States. Doug first speaks with Rob Moore and Alfonso Pating of the Natural Resources Defense Council about their new reports on the nation's emerging insurability crisis—why premiums are rising, insurers are retreating from hig...

In episode  248 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons is joined by Professor Mark Nevitt of Emory University School of Law to unpack the repeal of the Clean Air Act's Endangerment Finding and what it means for climate governance in the United States. Long considered the legal backbone of federal climate regulation, its rescission raises fundamental questions about agency authority, the role of the...

In episode 247 of  America Adapts , host Doug Parsons hosts Dr. Mekala Krishnan , partner at the McKinsey Global Institute , for an inside look at how one of the world's most influential private research institutions is approaching climate adaptation. Drawing from MGI's recent report, Advancing Adaptation , the conversation explores what it would actually cost to protect people and economies from...

In episode 246 of  America Adapts , host Doug Parsons hosts Dr. Shiran Victoria Shen , assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, for a closer look at how climate adaptation actually emerges in China. Drawing on her research after the devastating 2021 Henan flood, Shen shows how public demand for adaptation surged—not through climate change language, but through calls for safety, i...

In episode  245 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons is joined by legendary climate journalist Jeff Goodell , author of The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet for a conversation about what's happened since the book came out — and what hasn't. Extreme heat is no longer a future risk or a background climate issue; it's a present-day killer that exposes deep failures in pu...

In episode  244 of America Adapts , we adapt in the southwest! Welcome to the desert proving ground for climate adaptation. In my home state of Arizona—Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff—we get right down on the ground to see how communities are beating extreme heat, planning responsibly for water in a changing climate, and living with wildfire risk without losing what makes these places home. You'll...

In episode  243 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons welcomes back recurring guest and leading adaptation scholar Dr. Jesse M. Keenan to discuss his new book, North: The Future of Post-Climate America (Oxford Univesity Press). Keenan examines how the United States is already changing through mobility, shifting markets, governance pressures, and evolving cultural identities. Doug and Jesse unpack...

In episode  242 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons checks in on FEMA at a moment of rapid change. With funding delays, political uncertainty, and major reforms underway, FEMA's role in national resilience is shifting in real time. Doug speaks with four guests — Joel Scata (NRDC), Michael Coen (former FEMA Chief of Staff), Samantha Medlock (former FEMA Assistant Administrator), and Derrick Hiebe...

In episode 241 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons explores what happens when federal climate services retreat—and a new adaptation ecosystem rises to fill the gaps. As agencies like NOAA, FEMA, and EPA scale back their climate work, adaptation professionals are turning to emerging climate-service innovators for the tools, data, and guidance they need. We kick off with Dr. Jesse Keenan framing t...

In episode  240 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons talks with reporter Terry Jones about the tangled story behind America's first federally funded climate relocation on Louisiana's Isle de Jean Charles . Once hailed as a model for how the nation could move entire communities out of harm's way, the project became mired in politics, confusion, and broken promises. Terry shares what he uncovered o...

In episode 239 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons revisits his conversation with Dr. Katharine Mach , Professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a lead author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report . Katharine explains the process of drafting that report and how the media both succeeds and fails at communicating its urgency. Doug and Katharine also di...

In episode  238   of America Adapts , Doug Parsons takes you inside a CCST webinar that he moderated —part of the California Council on Science and Technology 's Climate Change & Human Mobility series, organized with the UC Disaster Resilience Network and UC Berkeley. You'll hear from three experts: Dr. Hélène Benveniste (Assistant Professor, Environmental Social Sciences, Doerr School of Sustaina...

In episode  237 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons talks with Dr. Andrew Rumbach of the Urban Institute , who went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to work on recovery and has spent his career studying disasters and resilience. They discuss Katrina's enduring legacy—what's been fixed, what remains broken, and what's now under assault. Andrew shares insights on how FEMA has evolved since 2...

In episode  236 of America Adapts , we're heading to coastal Maine — a place where science, community, and nature all come together to tackle climate change. Adaptation doesn't just happen on its own. It takes data, observation, and sometimes years of research to generate the science that guides decisions. That science is often messy, imperfect, but it's the foundation for every smart adaptation....

In episode  235 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons speaks with Erin Sikorsky , Director of the Center for Climate and Security and author of the new book Climate Change on the Battlefield . Erin explains how climate change is already impacting global security—degrading military readiness, increasing conflict risks, and forcing new missions on defense forces worldwide. We explore how national ad...

In episode  234 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons explores the fast-changing world of climate risk and insurance—where escalating hazards are driving rapid changes in how we safeguard homes, businesses, and entire communities. This episode brings together an unprecedented mix of guests: policy experts advancing insurance reform, senior executives from leading insurance companies, a Miami real...

In episode  233 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons takes you inside the 2025 MR Conference at Columbia University , a gathering focused on the complex realities of climate-driven movement—whether we call it managed retreat, relocation, or mobility. What does it mean to leave behind homes, neighborhoods, or entire communities in response to climate risks—and how do we do it in ways that prioriti...

In episode 232 of America Adapts , host Doug Parsons has a candid conversation with Laurie Schoeman , former senior advisor on climate resilience in the Biden White House. Laurie offers a rare, unfiltered look inside the administration's climate resilience efforts.   Laurie helped coordinate adaptation strategy across agencies. While she didn't lead the National Climate Resilience Framework, she h...