Tracking the latest environment-related shenanigans from Trump & his allies.
The Climate Pod covers the latest climate issues with the journalists, activists, academics, artists, and more at the center of the story. Hosted by brothers Ty and Brock Benefiel.
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The Climate Pod


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Renewable Energy and Climate Lessons From Winter Weather Disasters (w/ Dr. Gabriel Filippelli and American Clean Power CEO Heather Zichal)
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This week, we look back on the winter weather disaster in Texas and assess the lessons moving forward: how do we properly adapt to a changing climate that's affecting our winters? Dr. Gabriel Filippelli, Professor of Earth Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, explains why winter weather is getting weirder and American Clea…
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How To Understand The Next Great Migration (w/ Sonia Shah)
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Sonia Shah's new book The Next Great Migration is an essential read for the climate movement. What are most people missing when it comes to migration across the globe? Shah discusses the common misconceptions, where it originated, and the awful history of many environmental leaders promoting xenophobia and ecofascism. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock…
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Scott Kelly Gives Us An Astronaut's View On Climate Change
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56:56
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Commander Scott Kelly is here! The renowned space explorer and author of the new children's book Goodnight, Astronaut, joins the show to discuss the adventures he documents in the book, why he wants to inspire kids to dream big, what space is like, growing up with his twin brother Sen. Mark Kelly, and how looking down on Earth affected his outlook …
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Climate Activism In The Biden Era (w/ 350.org and 350 Action's May Boeve)
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1:05:22
What do activists do when you have a U.S. president that actually takes climate change seriously? May Boeve, co-founder and Executive Director of 350.org and 350 Action, has a plan and she's ready to accelerate action by continuing to push for just, equitable transition to a sustainable future. She joins the show this week to discuss the beginning …
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Why Climate Needs You To Run For Office (w/ Run For Something's Amanda Litman)
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This week, Amanda Litman, executive director of Run For Something, joins the show to talk about why running for local office matters greatly to climate issues and how you can get involved now. We discuss the importance of electoral politics in climate action and what the new generation of activists might mean for the movement. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel …
Dr. Michael Mann is back on the show! The world-renowned climate scientist and author of the recently released book, The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet, discusses how public opposition to climate action has shifted, the ongoing fight against misinformation, and the choices we have to avoid the greatest crises to come. Subscribe …
When he first ran for President, Donald Trump was called the “chaos candidate”. And to bitter end, that has been borne out. But another kind of radical change has happened over the last four years, often out of the headlines. So, for our last episode, we take stock of the past four years.By Trump on Earth
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How To Make Climate Policy Work (w/ Danny Cullenward and David Victor)
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1:07:06
What happens when market-based climate policies meet real world politics? That's exactly what Danny Cullenward and David Victor wanted to explore in their new book Making Climate Policy Work. The authors join the show to discuss the shortcomings of cap-and-trade reforms and how better regulations can deliver solutions instead. Cullenward is Policy …
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Tom Steyer On What Biden's Victory and Georgia Senate Wins Mean For Clean Energy Jobs
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This week, Tom Steyer is back! We talk about the Georgia Senate wins, upcoming Biden Administration, renewed Trump impeachment calls, and how better leadership sets the stage for a renewed effort for spurring clean energy jobs. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss what a Democratic majority in the Senate means for climate action. Su…
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Michael Grunwald On Clean Energy Lessons From The Obama Era
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1:13:09
This week, Michael Grunwald, senior writer for Politico Magazine and author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era, joins the show to discuss how the Obama Administration transformed clean energy with the 2009 stimulus package and what President-elect Joe Biden is likely to learn as a result of leading the effort. Co-hosts…
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"A Children's Bible" Author Lydia Millet On Climate Fiction And Envisioning Crisis
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1:16:52
This week, Lydia Millet, author of "A Children's Bible", a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and one of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year, joins the show to talk about why she wanted to explore intergenerational responses to the climate crisis in her new novel. We discuss coping mechanisms, the role of religion, parentin…
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"Sound science is not leading the decisions made by this nation."
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There have been a number of changes in how the EPA, under President Trump, uses science. It has come with much criticism, including from former EPA officials. On this episode, we hear from a veteran EPA scientist on what drove him to leave the Trump Administration. Chris Zarba worked at the EPA for close to four decades. He was an official in the a…
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Ian Haney López On Building Multiracial Coalitions For Climate Action
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1:22:27
This week, Ian Haney López, author of Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America and Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at the University of California, Berkeley, joins the show (3:30) to explain the race and class narrative, dog whistle politics, and how defeating racism is essential to combat the clima…
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Climate Change In 2020: America Confronts Compounding Crises
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47:04
America faced an inflection point in the climate crisis in 2020. Record-setting fires and environmental devastation were inescapable sights on the news, as the tragic consequences of a warming planet were on display at home and abroad. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the reality of living under multiple ecological disasters and the murde…
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What Motivates Environmental Voters? (w/ Nathaniel Stinnett of Environmental Voter Project)
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This week, Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project, joins the show to answer one basic question: what the hell is going on with environmental voters? Just kidding...kinda. We dig into the facts with Nathaniel to better understand what motivates environmentally-friendly voters, why it matters that many d…
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Trump’s Last Act: Drilling in the Arctic Refuge
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The outgoing president has a few orders of business he’d like to take care of before January 20. Among them is a controversial plan to drill for oil in the country’s largest stretch of untouched wilderness. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is 20 million acres of mountains, tundra and coast lands. Underneath it, there are billions of barrels of o…
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Catherine Coleman Flowers On The Sanitation Inequality At The Heart Of "Waste"
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57:18
Catherine Coleman Flowers is the author of "Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret" and the founder and current director of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice. Since 2008, Catherine has been the rural development manager at the Race and Poverty Initiative of the Equal Justice Initiative. She also serves as a …
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Heather McTeer Toney on Building An Equitable Environment, Climate, and Future For All Children
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1:06:34
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1:06:34
This week, Heather McTeer Toney, Senior Director of Moms Clean Air Force, joins the show to discuss raising the next generation for climate action and the "mom-partisan" approach to the environment. She also discusses her prior work in the EPA, addressing the BP oil spill with the impacted local communities, environmental justice initiatives, and h…
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Jamil Smith on How the Biden Administration Should Fight Environmental Racism
1:02:48
1:02:48
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This week, Jamil Smith, Senior Writer at Rolling Stone for national affairs and culture and an Emmy winner, joins the show to discuss his piece "Another Reason We Can’t Breathe" and the importance of fighting environmental racism during the Biden Administration. We discuss the president-elect's plan, the role of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, …
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What does Biden's win mean for the environment and the fight to rein in climate change?
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President-Elect Biden ran as a moderate Democrat, but he also campaigned on an aggressive climate platform. How much of that agenda he can pursue could rest on who controls the US Senate, pending results of two runoff elections in Georgia. We unpack what's coming next with Jody Freeman, law professor and director of the Environmental and Energy Law…
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Dr. Mark Hyman on the Food Fix Our Planet Needs
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58:23
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58:23
This week, Dr. Mark Hyman, author of Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet—One Bite at a Time, joins the show to discuss how to fix our broken food system, sequester more carbon from soil, and eat better for the planet. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss the 2020 election results and proof …
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The Climate Pod


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Pulitzer Prize Winner Chris Hamby on the Abandoned Miners In "Soul Full Of Coal Dust"
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52:33
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52:33
This week, Chris Hamby, New York Times investigative reporter and author of "Soul Full of Coal Dust: A Fight for Breath and Justice in Appalachia," joins the show to discuss his new book on how coal companies endangered coal miners and prevented workers from receiving health benefits. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss false promi…
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The Climate Pod


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"Sea Fever" Is A Nightmare Climate Allegory (w/ Director Neasa Hardiman)
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52:27
This week, Neasa Hardiman, writer and director of Sea Fever, joins the show to discuss her ecological thriller film and why she was thinking about the climate crisis while telling the story. We explore how science and scientists are portrayed in film and why environmental destruction can be some of the scariest stories to tell. Co-hosts Ty Benefiel…
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How the Environment is Playing in Swing States
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On this episode, we're looking at what role climate change and other environmental issues could play in deciding the election. We check in with reporters in three major battleground states--Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida--to find out. Our guests are Alex Harris, a climate reporter with the Miami Herald; Lester Graham, a reporter with the Enviro…
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The Climate Pod


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Sean McElwee of Data For Progress on Changing Climate Politics
1:18:11
1:18:11
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This week, Sean McElwee, Co-founder and Executive Director of Data for Progress, joins the show to discuss how the political landscape is changing to affect climate issues. How should Democrats talk about fracking? How do we pass progressive climate legislation? What are the biggest political shifts in climate? We dig into it all. Co-hosts Ty Benef…
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Will 2020 be the Year of the Climate Voter?
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As Election Day nears, a majority of registered voters in the United States say climate change will be an important issue in making their choice for president. That’s according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted over the summer. And it’s a sharp contrast to the 2016 race when only 2% of likely voters listed climate or the environment as thei…