The Climate Pod

Latest Episodes:

The Fossil Fuel Funding Behind Influential University Research (w/ Maddie Stone and Katie Worth) Jul 08, 2026

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In 2004, Princeton professors Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow published a paper in Science Magazine called "Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies". This paper gained wide popularity for its proposed solutions that it claimed were a comprehensive strategy to reduce emission levels over the next 50 years. Even though the goal of this paper was a pathway to reduced emissions, it didn't call for the complete phase out of fossil fuels, but rather proposed fossil fuels play a significant role in our energy system for decades. If that seems strange to you, you're not alone.

Drilled and ProPublica have teamed up to release a new series titled "Beyond Denial", which examines the influence of fossil fuel industry funding on climate research and its subsequent impact on policy, public debate and our approach to environmental solutions. Series reporters Maddie Stone and Katie Worth join The Climate Pod to discuss what they found in their reporting intob who was funding the 2004 "Wedges" paper, the unfulfilled promises of Carbon Capture and Sequestration, and the critical need for climate journalism in 2026.

Read: Beyond Denial: How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study

Read: Why Carbon Capture Can't Solve Climate Change

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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, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The Big Questions Facing Plant-Based And Cultivated Meats (w/ Bruce Friedrich) Jul 01, 2026

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The meat industry is causing huge problems. It's accelerating climate change, increasing risks of pandemics and antibiotic-resistant diseases, and taking up a lot of land. There's a good chance you've tried alternative proteins, but as author Bruce Friedrich argues, that industry is just getting started on the course of innovation. Friedrich is the founder and president of the Good Food Institute and the author of the new book, Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food—and Our Future. In this conversation, he makes the case for why he thinks alternative proteins can revolutionize food systems, reduce climate impact, and improve global health. He explains the biological reasons humans crave meat and why it's important to understand it. Friedrich details the scientific progress and challenges in cultivated meat and what future innovation is possible. He also explains what he sees as the role of government and industry in scaling alternative proteins. I found this conversation to be very honest and straightforward. Hopefully, the exciting future Freidrich sees is possible! Read Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food—and Our Future

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MS NOW's Jacob Soboroff on Covering Climate Change, Immigration, LA Fires, California Elections And More Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

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This week, MS NOW anchor Jacob Soboroff is on the show for a wide-ranging conservation. We discuss his long reporting career covering the climate crisis, immigration, elections, and much, much more. I've been a longtime fan of Jacob, which you can hear about in this interview. He will anchor Connect with Jacob Soboroff on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on MS NOW. Jacob is the author Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster.

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The Big Money Myths (w/ Arjun Jayadev and JW Mason) Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

Money is both a concrete thing and an abstract measure. If you only look at money as an abstract measure, as traditional economists have done for centuries, you'll miss out on the real role that money plays in our society. The decisions of governments, corporations, and everyday people are influenced by money, and understanding this is helpful in understanding what's driving the decision making that's ultimately leading to a worsening climate crisis. While discussing the new book "Against Money" by Arjun Jayadev and JW Mason, we explore a variety of topics such as John Maynard Keynes' early objections to economists' treatment of money, the fuzzy math behind the measurement of inflation and GDP, and even the fallout between Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Arjun Jayadev is professor of economics and director of the Center for the Study of the Indian Economy at Azim Premji University in India. JW Mason is associate professor of economics at John Jay College, City University of New York.

You can purchase "Against Money" here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo265118979.html

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The Paris Reckoning: Energy Revolution (w/ Kingsmill Bond) Mar 25, 2026

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It's the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. In this new series from The Climate Pod, we're looking back on the global pact to determine: how have things changed since 2015 and what has the Paris Agreement accomplished? Our first three episodes were on extreme heat, adaptation, and the state of climate action.

This week, we look at the transformative change in clean energy and electrification technology over the last decade, Our guest today, Kingsmill Bond (along with the team at Ember Energy) are championing this change as the "Electrotech Revolution." As they note, "humanity is graduating from burning fossil commodities to mastering manufactured technologies—from hunting scarce fossils to farming the inexhaustible sun, from consuming Earth's resources to merely borrowing them. This isn't a marginal climate substitution. It's an energy revolution.

Kingsmill Bond, CFA is an energy strategist for Ember. He has worked as a financial market analyst and strategist for over 30 years, including for Deutsche Bank and Citibank. Bond and I talk about the decade's technological advances, geopolitical implications of the changing energy system, and the future opportunities he sees. We also talk about the role of China and emerging markets in global energy transition and the economic implications of real energy independence around the globe.

Check out Ember Energy's full report here.

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NEWS: What Did The EPA Actually Just Do? An In-Depth Review Feb 14, 2026

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On Thursday, the Trump Administration's announcement that the EPA was going to repeal the endangerment finding made huge news. Major news outlets across the globe covered it. An avalanche of headlines and push notifications suddenly turned even more attention to attacks on environmental regulation than we've seen during the first year of the second Trump Administration. But what's behind the headlines of this decision? What does this announcement actually do?

I asked Andres Restrepo, senior attorney for the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program, to come on the show to react to what happened this week and explain exactly what this means and where we go from here. I was pretty surprised by his answers. This conversation introduces a lot of nuance and great information and goes behind the headlines you might have seen this week. I cannot recommend this discussion enough.

Check out Andres and the Sierra Club's ongoing work here.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.

Why Reconsidering Reparations Is Core To Climate Justice (w/ Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò) Feb 13, 2026

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"The goal I set out in the book, this planet-sized system reconstruction of the world in the direction of justice, that's a big goal."

This week, we're joined by In this conversation, Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and a fellow at the Climate and Community Institute. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Elite Capture and was a contributor to Greta Thunberg's The Climate Book. A new version of his book Reconsidering Reparations: Why Climate Justice and Constructive Politics Are Needed in the Wake of Slavery and Colonialism is out now and he joins to discuss the interconnectedness of climate justice and reparations. We talk about the importance of an ancestor's perspective in understanding our responsibilities towards future generations and how he integrates that into his work. We examine some of the recent progress in integrating justice into the climate movement and what setbacks have occured in the process. Táíwò explains what a constructive view of reparations means and advocates for systemic changes that address the root causes of inequality and injustice. We talk about how all of this is shaped by the climate crisis and why reparations must be part of the solution for any kind of justice movement. Finally, we explore the role of knowledge sharing, community control, and the political landscape surrounding reparations in 2026.

Reconsidering Reparations: Why Climate Justice and Constructive Politics Are Needed in the Wake of Slavery and Colonialism

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.

The Paris Reckoning: How Far Off Track Are We? Feb 06, 2026

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This week, we're looking at the massive gap that exists between the goals of the Paris Agreement and the current state of progress. In the decade that has past since the Paris Agreement was signed, what has changed with the biggest causes of emissions? How far off track are global efforts today? Where are the biggest gaps?

To answer these questions, we're joined by Clea Schumer and Sophie Boehm, two of the lead authors on the Systems Change Lab's latest report, State of Climate Action 2025. As they note in the report, "although more than three-quarters of indicators are heading in the right direction, progress is alarmingly inadequate, exposing communities, economies and ecosystems to unacceptable risks." We look at all these indicators to determine what needs to happen now and how we understand the complexity of the current moment. We talk about the state of energy, land use and agriculture, transporation, carbon dioxide removal, and much more.

You can read State of Climate Action 2025 here

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.

Mentioned in the show: Oliver Milman's article on "Coalie"

How Do We Focus On Climate Action Now? (w/ Ryan Hagen) Feb 03, 2026

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This episode is another discussion between two Americans talking about climate action. To say it's a weird time to focus on climate action seems like a wild understatement. But the reality is even in the face of rising fascism, the climate crisis doesn't stop. There's much happening now that will only speed it up. So what do we do about it?

On today's show, we discuss how to act in this perilous moment with Ryan Hagan, author of Your Guide to Climate Action. Hagen has spent countless hours researching and writing about the way you can make the greatest impact in your own life. In this episode, I ask him about his journey in climate action and how setting intentions has guiding his work. We also talk about the importance of engaging in local activism and finding our own unique, personal paths to contribute to a more climate-safe future. We also explore many practical steps we can all take to align our actions with our values, including financial decisions, job opportunities, changing our companies, local governments, and schools.

Read Your Guide to Climate Action: How to move beyond your footprint and make a BIG impact

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How Climate Change Is Being Covered Now (w/ Evlondo Cooper) Jan 08, 2026

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Before the end of the year, I had my annual conversation with the always wonderful Evlondo Cooper, senior writer with the climate and energy program at Media Matters. In this conversation, we explore the new challenges of climate reporting that we saw unfold in the politically charged environment of 2025. We looke at the specific changes under the Trump administration and how a continued lack of diverse voices in climate coverage is helping to contribute to the disconnect between climate issues and political discourse. Additionally, Cooper tracks the ongoing missing context in major climate events of recent years, especially around climate solutions and harms. We look at the role of media in holding politicians accountable, the gaps in current coverage, and how climate media problems visible in recent years may actually be getting worse.

You can follow all of Evlondo's coverage here.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.

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