The Climate Pod

Dr. Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize in Economics recipient and Distinguished Professor of Economics at City University of New York, joins the show to talk about what's driving the world's rising inflation rates, how investments in climate solutions would impact inflation and the economy, and the prospects of Congress passing a climate spending bill. Dr. Krugman also provides his thoughts on the Federal...

Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin may have ended the possibility of new federal spending on climate provisions. Or at least it seems that way . What we know is that for the last year and half, people all over the world have waited and watched to see what Manchin would accept to push the United States toward meeting it's commitments in the Paris Agreement. And now, that answer may be nothing. In his rece...

Solving the climate crisis is about more than just swapping out fossil fuels with renewables. Though renewable energy is required for a sustainable planet, understanding the political, social, and economic structures that have allowed for fossil fuels to be burned long after global warming reached dangerous levels is essential for attacking the root causes of the crisis. Professor Aviva Chomsky ad...

This week, Adrienne Buller joins the show to discuss her new book " The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism ". While the book covers many issues with "green capitalist solutions", we focus on our conversation on ESG investing and sustainable finance in general. Plus, co-hosts Ty and Brock Benefiel briefly discuss the Supreme Court's ruling on West Virginia v. EPA and the need fo...

We can't fully appreciate the world around us without trying to understand the vastly different experiences of other animals on our shared planet. That is exactly what Ed Yong explores in his new book, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal The Hidden Realms Around Us .  He joins the show this week to explain the complex nature of our senses and the senses of other animals, how this reveals im...

Clayton Thomas-Müller has spent decades fighting for justice and climate action as an organizer, facilitator, public speaker and writer on environmental and economic justice. In his powerful new memoir, Life in the City of Dirty Water: A memoir of healing , he details the life he experienced that inspired him to take such action and what inspires him to fight now. This week, he joins us on the sho...

Gina McCarthy currently serves in the Biden Administration as the first ever White House National Climate Advisor. On June 6th, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to drive domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies. McCarthy joins the show to explain how this Executive Action will increase the production of clean energy in America, what technologies are included in this de...

Bill McKibben needs no introduction. The legendary author, educator, organizer, and activist has spent decades in the climate fight. He is the co-founder of 350.org , the first global grassroots climate campaign, and founder of Third Act , a new organization focused on empowering people over 60 to fight for progressive action. In his latest book The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Grayin...

Jamie Henn pulls no punches when he criticizes Big Oil's role is high prices at the gas pump. As he explains in this week's episode, skyrocketing energy costs can be attributed to oil companies price gouging and war profiteering during the current crisis with the war in Ukraine. And his organization, Fossil Free Media has a new campaign to confront the issue. The organization recently launched STO...

Facing up to a climate crisis is a lot to handle. We have to push for the rapid deployment of solutions to mitigate more warming and greater damage. We have to adapt to warming that has already occurred and will be coming soon. And we need to repair loss and damage that people around the globe have already suffered. But as denial and inaction still blocks necessary efforts and planetary destructio...

This week, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs joins the show to give his thoughts on the international diplomacy he says is needed to end the Russia-Ukraine War. In April 2022, Professor Sachs and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network issued a statement calling on the United Nations Security Council to increase diplomatic efforts to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine. Professor Sachs also explain...

This is Part Four of our four-part series, Waves of Change, in collaboration with Oceana . In March, at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Nairobi, world leaders and representatives from UN Member States endorsed a historic resolution to End Plastic Pollution. By 2024, leaders will create an international legally binding agreement to fight the plastic problem with a global treaty. So what exa...

This is Part Three of our four-part series, Waves of Change , in collaboration with  Oceana . This week, we shift our focus from offshore drilling to the devastating impacts that plastics and plastics production facilities are having on communities around the world. First, we speak with Yvette Arellano , the founder and Executive Director of Fenceline Watch , a Houston-based organization dedicated...

In his new book,  Paradise Falls , New York Times bestselling author Keith O'Brien details the true story of a working-class neighborhood in western New York that is suddenly confronted with a wide-spread environmental crisis in the late 1970s. O'Brien joins the show to discuss how he researched his book, why he wanted to revisit this story that made national headlines for years, how the tragedy t...

This is Part Two of our four-part series, Waves of Change , in collaboration with  Oceana . This week, we examine how offshore drilling for oil disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities living near the coasts and what can legally be done to prevent future disasters. First, we speak with Dr. Gabriella Meltzer about the environmental justice impacts of oil spills and climate-fueled weat...

Introducing a new four-part series,  Waves of Change,  in collaboration with Oceana . Over the next four weeks, we'll explore the climate, economic, and environmental justice impacts of offshore drilling and plastics. 12 years after the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, fossil fuel companies are drilling deeper than ever before off of America's coasts. Lawmakers seem to have learned little from the...

In her brilliant new book, The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet , activist and eco-communicator Leah Thomas put forth a helpful introduction to understanding the intersection between environmentalism, racism, and privilege. She joins the show this week to talk about the book, how she first got inspired to study environmentalism, how...

As a warming planet makes extreme weather worse, some communities are more vulnerable and less capable to react than others to hurricanes, heat waves, floods, fires, and more. Dr. Marshall Shepherd describes this as the "Extreme Weather Gap", and he joined The Climate Pod to discuss the systemic inequities that have led to the disproportionate impacts of climate-worsened weather. Dr. Shepherd also...

This is Part Four of our four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen. This week, we look at the critical need to preserve biodiversity, protect natural ecosystems, and leverage nature-based solutions for decarbonization. To discuss this topic, we have three amazing guests. First, Dr. Stephanie Roe, the World Wildlife Fund 's Global Climate & Energy Lead Scientist and L...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) latest report,  Mitigation of Climate Change ,  provides an update on the planet's current trajectory for global warming, the failings of governments to live up to their climate promises, and the solutions that need to be rapidly implemented to drastically reduce emissions and limit future warming. This is part three of its Sixth Assessment Re...

The world is populated by almost 8 billion people. Is overpopulation actually a problem? As climate change disrupts and destroys the livelihoods of so many of those 8 billion people, how will countries react to the growing need for more welcoming immigration policies? This week, we spoke with Dr. Jennifer Sciubba about her new book 8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our Wo...

This is Part Three of our four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen. This week, we look at the critical need to reckon with the loss and damage created by the climate crisis and hold accountable the nations most responsible for human-caused climate change as a result of the massive rise in greenhouse gas emissions. To discuss this topic, Professor Saleemul Huq , who...

David Sirota is a journalist, author, founder and Editor in Chief of The Lever , podcast narrator, and now an Oscar nominee for his work co-writing Don't Look Up with Adam McKay. He joins us on the show days before the Oscars to discuss the importance of having a climate change film at the Academy Awards, how he came up with the idea for Don't Look Up , and how the film is even more relevant now d...

This is Part Two of our four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen. This week, we look at the critical need for greater climate funding to help mitigate carbon emissions in the Global South and help the most vulnerable populations to adapt to climate impacts and why climate justice is only possible through fair, adequate financing. To discuss this topic, Harjeet Singh...

Introducing a new four-part series, Climate Citizen , in collaboration with Global Citizen . Over the next four weeks, we will be discussing some of the biggest issues we face as we combat the climate crisis in 2022 and beyond. This week, we look at halting climate change and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. To discuss this critical topic, Dr. Simon Evans , depu...