Best Jesse Reynolds and Pete Irvine Podcasts (2024)

1
49. Gwynne Dyer on Intervention Earth: climate mitigation, CDR & SRM 46:39

2d ago46:39

46:39

Our guest is Gwynne Dyer, an author, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs. In this episode, we discuss the key messages from his new book Intervention Earth: Life-Saving Ideas from the World’s Climate Engineers, based on extensive interviews with the world’s top climate scientists. We discuss his insights from these intervie…

1
48. Jonathan Blake and Nils Gilman on planetary governance 51:07

1M ago51:07

51:07

Jonathan Blake is Associate Director at the Berggruen Institute, where he leads the Planetary Program. Nils Gilman is Senior Vice President at the Berggruen Institute and Deputy Editor of Noema magazine. In this episode, we discuss the ideas in their recently published book, Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises. We gra…

1
47. Shuchi Talati on ethics and governance of solar geoengineering 51:31

2M ago51:31

51:31

Today’s guest is Dr. Shuchi Talati, a climate technology and governance expert and the founder of The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering. In this episode, we discuss ethics and governance of solar geoengineering, the formal cancellation of Harvard’s SCoPEx experiment, and the UN Environment Assembly deliberations on Solar Radiat…

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46. Ulrike Lohmann on clouds, aerosols and solar radiation modification 45:20

3M ago45:20

45:20

Today’s guest is Ulrike Lohmann, Professor of Experimental Atmospheric Physics in the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich. Lohmann is also the Principal Investigator of the CLOUDLAB project, a multi-year project to investigate aerosol-cloud interactions in wintertime stratus clouds over the Alps. In this episode, we discuss …

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45. Benjamin Sovacool and Chad Baum on global trends in public perceptions of climate technologies 53:54

4M ago53:54

53:54

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Benjamin Sovacool and Dr. Chad Baum, about their newly published, high-impact paper, “Public Perceptions and Support of Climate Intervention Technologies across the Global North and Global South”. Join us as we discuss the key findings of their work, and how these findings can and should influence policy and gover…

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44. George Monbiot on environmentalism and climate activism 48:28

4M ago48:28

48:28

George Monbiot is a renowned British author, The Guardian Columnist and environmental activist. George is the author of more than a dozen books, the most recent of which is Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet, and he was awarded the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 2022. In this episode, we discuss topics of his insightful and p…

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43. Janos Pasztor on global climate policy and geoengineering 51:04

5M ago51:04

51:04

This episode’s guest is Janos Pasztor. He has four decades of work experience in the areas of energy, environment, climate change, and sustainable development, including roles as Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G) and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Change. In this episode, we explore the political len…

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42. David Stainforth on climate models and uncertainty 42:14

6M ago42:14

42:14

David Stainforth is a Professorial Research Fellow at the London School of Economics. David has had a long career studying the climate problem and the challenges of making predictions of future climate change. His research spans the philosophy of climate science, climate economics, climate modelling, and decision-making under deep uncertainty. In t…

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41. David Keith on Climate Systems Engineering 43:01

7M ago43:01

43:01

David Keith is a Professor in the Department of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago and the Founding Faculty Director of the Climate Systems Engineering initiative. Keith previously led the development of Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program. In this episode, we discuss Keith’s Climate Systems Engineering initiatives, carbo…

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40. Jennifer Allan on global climate governance and the COP28 agenda 52:29

8M ago52:29

52:29

Jennifer Allan is a Strategic Adviser and Team Leader with Earth Negotiations Bulletin, and Lecturer at Cardiff University. Jen has attended roughly 40 UN conferences where states negotiate the rules of global climate governance. Her work explores how global rules are made and remade, and currently focuses on the politics of ecosystem services and …

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39. Greg Nemet on how solar became cheap (with Energy vs Climate) 56:34

9M ago56:34

56:34

Today’s episode is brought to you in collaboration with our friends at the Energy vs Climate podcast. Energy vs Climate breaks down the trade-offs and hard truths of the energy transition in Alberta, Canada, and beyond with energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham. In this episode, they speak with Greg Nemet, a Professor a…

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A brief podcast review and update 8:52

1y ago8:52

8:52

As we break for the summer, listen here for some highlights of our previous episodes and catch up on the ones you've missed. See you in October! Support the Show. Subscribe for email updatesBy Jesse Reynolds and Pete Irvine

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38. Richard Tol on Climate Economics: the cost of carbon, geoengineering & IPCC 56:29

1y ago56:29

56:29

Richard S.J. Tol is a Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Sussex and the Professor of the Economics of Climate Change, Institute for Environmental Studies and Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is also the author of Climate Economics: Economic Analysis of Climate, Climate Change a…

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37. Emma Marris on our rambunctious garden: wilderness and human influence on nature 43:06

1y ago43:06

43:06

Emma Marris is an environmental writer and Institute Fellow at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. She has also written for National Geographic, the Atlantic, the New York Times, Wired, and other publications. In this episode, we dive into the concepts introduced in her book Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild Wo…

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36. John Moore on the melting cryosphere and glacier geoengineering 50:55

1y ago50:55

50:55

Dr John Moore is a Research Professor at University of Lapland, Finland and Chief Scientist of GCESS at Beijing Normal University. His research focuses on geoengineering, sea level change, and ice sheet dynamics. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the cryosphere – the state and future of glaciers, sea ice and permafrost, as well as consider …

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35. Steve Smith on net zero pledges and CDR strategies & tech 1:02:17

1y ago1:02:17

1:02:17

Dr Steve Smith is the Executive Director of CO2RE, as well as Executive Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative, based at the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He also previously co-led the Climate Science Team at the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In this episode, we take a holis…

1
34. Heleen de Coninck on the IPCC, climate tech & a just Net Zero transition 43:46

1y ago43:46

43:46

Dr Heleen de Coninck is a Professor of Socio-Technical Innovation and Climate Change at Eindhoven University of Technology, and Associate Professor in Innovation Studies and Sustainability at Radboud University. She is also the newly appointed deputy chair of the Dutch Scientific Climate Council. In this episode, we discuss the four Net Zero transi…

1
33. David Fahey on the Montreal Protocol, ozone depletion and SRM 52:36

1+ y ago52:36

52:36

Dr David Fahey is the Director of the Chemical Sciences Laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and he also serves as a Co-Chair of its the Montreal Protocol’s Scientific Assessment Panel, which produces the quadrennial assessments of stratospheric ozone depletion. In this episode, we discuss flying planes into the…

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32. Chris Stark on the UK’s Climate Change Committee 55:10

1+ y ago55:10

55:10

Chris Stark is the Chief Executive of the UK‘s Climate Change Committee. Previously, he worked as the Director of Energy and Climate Change in the Scottish Government. In this episode, Chris breaks down the role of the CCC in UK’s climate policy. We then take a close look at how UK has done so far in cutting emissions, what else needs to be done, a…

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31. Ken Caldeira on politics in research and the feasibility of the energy transition 49:27

1+ y ago49:27

49:27

Ken Caldeira is a senior scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science and is also a senior scientist at Breakthrough Energy. Ken has a wide-spectrum approach to analyzing the world’s climate systems - with particular interests in modeling the Earth system and the energy transition, and in using experiments and observation to study our changing…

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30. Andrew Revkin on climate journalism - its evolution, perils and narrative capture 49:22

1+ y ago49:22

49:22

Andrew Revkin is one of the world's leading science and environmental journalists, with over 30 years' experience thinking and writing about climate change and sustainability. He has written at The New York Times and ProPublica, and his current outlet is “Sustain What?” at Substack. He is also the founding director of the new Initiative on Communic…

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29. Daniel Harrison on Marine Cloud Brightening and the RRAP 51:06

1+ y ago51:06

51:06

Dr Daniel Harrison is an oceanographer at Southern Cross University in Australia. His research focuses on how engineering intervention in marine systems can be used to improve ecological, environmental, or societal outcomes. In this episode, we explore Daniel’s work in applying Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) to protect the Great Barrier Reef agains…

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28. Erica Thompson on escaping Model Land 48:21

1+ y ago48:21

48:21

Dr Erica Thompson is a Senior Policy Fellow in Ethics of Modelling and Simulation at the LSE Data Science Institute. Erica's research involves the appropriate use of mathematical and computational modelling to inform real-world decision-making. In this episode, we discuss Erica’s recent book, Escape from Model Land and tackle issues such as bias, d…

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27. Luke Iseman on his for-profit solar geoengineering venture - Make Sunsets 1:00:38

1+ y ago1:00:38

1:00:38

Luke Iseman is the founder of Make Sunsets, a recently launched startup that is selling “cooling credits” on the promise that they will release sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere using weather balloons. In this episode, we discuss Make Sunset’s mission to “substantially lower global temperatures,” the details of their offering, the technical cha…

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26. The Anniversary Special 39:26

1+ y ago39:26

39:26

Our year-end special celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Challenging Climate podcast. In this episode, Pete and Jesse reflect on the past 25 episodes, whether we achieved our vision for the podcast thus far, how we’ve navigated controversial guest speakers and learning to balance diversity of thought. Looking forward into 2023, we discuss ne…

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25. Patrick Brown on extreme weather and the obvious climate strategy 48:54

1+ y ago48:54

48:54

Dr Patrick Brown is the Co-director of the Climate & Energy group at the Breakthrough Institute and Adjunct lecturer in Energy Policy & Climate at Johns Hopkins University. In this episode, we discuss Patrick’s expertise on the economic impacts of extreme weather, and unpack trends and attributable risk. We then venture into a broader scope based o…

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24. Glen Peters and Linda Steg on the Paris Agreement, the feasibility and psychology of the 1.5ºC target 45:25

1+ y ago45:25

45:25

Our guests are Dr Glen Peters, the research director for the Climate Mitigation group at Center for International Climate Research (CICERO), and Dr Linda Steg, Professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Groningen. In light of the recent COP27 hosted in Sharm el Sheikh, we pose the question: is the 1.5 Celsius goal still alive? In th…

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23. Luke Kemp on defining, evaluating and managing catastrophic climate risk 45:12

1+ y ago45:12

45:12

Dr Luke Kemp is a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge. He has a PhD in international relations from the ANU and previous experience as a senior economist at Vivid Economics. In this episode, Luke sheds light on a surprisingly understudied and overlooked topic – catastrophic climate risk. This …

1
22. Oliver Morton on reaching net zero, and the feasibility and politics of geoengineering 52:33

1+ y ago52:33

52:33

Oliver Morton is The Economist’s briefings editor, specializing in the energy business, climate science and policy, and other green issues. He is the author of The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the World and most recently The Moon: A History for the Future. In this episode, we discuss ideas from The Planet Remade on climate change …

1
21. Ben Novak on Revive & Restore: leveraging biotechnology for de-extinction 52:37

1+ y ago52:37

52:37

Ben Novak is lead scientist at Revive & Restore, where he leads the de-extinction efforts – especially the group’s restoration of the extinct passenger pigeon. He is also the lead coordinator for its conservation cloning projects and Program Manager for Revive & Restore’s new Biotechnology for Bird Conservation. In this episode, we dive deep into t…

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20. Gaia Vince on Nomad Century: migration, food and geo-engineering 52:11

2y ago52:11

52:11

Gaia Vince is an award-winning science journalist, author, broadcaster and speaker. In this episode, we discuss her new book Nomad Century: How to Survive the Climate Upheaval. Vince gives insight on how humanity can plan for and manage an unavoidable climate migration. We also explore methods to restore the planet to a fully habitable state, such …

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19. Kerry Emanuel on hurricanes and hypercanes in a warming world 46:52

2y ago46:52

46:52

Professor Kerry Emanuel is a prominent meteorologist and climate scientist working at the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT. His research focuses on tropical meteorology and climate, with a specialty in hurricane physics. In this episode, we spoke with Kerry about what distinguishes a hurricane from tropical storms and …

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18. Arunabha Ghosh on CEEW and India's environmental challenges 42:40

2y ago42:40

42:40

Dr Arunabha Ghosh is the founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and has led CEEW to the top ranks as one of Asia's leading policy research institutions and among the world’s 20 best climate think-tanks. In this episode, we discuss the work that CEEW is involved in and dive deep into the environmental challenges that developing…

1
17. Tom Matthews on tropical glaciers and extreme heat 1:01:22

2y ago1:01:22

1:01:22

Dr Tom Matthews is a climate scientist at King’s College London, specialising in glacier-climate interactions and extreme weather. In Episode 17, we discuss Tom’s exciting fieldwork on Mt. Everest co-installing the highest-altitude weather stations in the world, as well as extreme heat and its impacts on society. Links: Tom Matthews’ profile Two ar…

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16. Hannah Ritchie on Our World in Data and some of the world's biggest problems 51:18

2y ago51:18

51:18

Dr Hannah Ritchie is a Senior Researcher at the Oxford Martin Programme in Global Development and the Head of Research at Our World in Data. In this episode, we spoke with Hannah about her work at Our World in Data and her article, "Stop Telling Kids They’ll Die From Climate Change". We discuss her thoughts on what some of the world's most pressing…

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15. Dagomar Degroot on Historical Climatology and the Frigid Golden Age 1:01:35

2y ago1:01:35

1:01:35

Dagomar Degroot is an associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University. In this episode, we spoke with Dagomar about historical climatology and how the past can inform us about contemporary climate change. We cover his book, The Frigid Golden Age, and why societies like the Dutch and Thule thrived while the Norse suffered when …

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14. Nils Gilman on avocado politics and climate security 50:03

2y ago50:03

50:03

Dr. Nils Gilman is the Senior Vice President of Programs at the Berggruen Institute and the deputy editor of Noema Magazine. We speak with Nils about two of his popular articles, "The Coming Avocado Politics" and "The Guns of Warming". We first discuss avocado politics, what it is and how it manifests in the United States and Europe. The second hal…

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13. Britt Wray on Generation Dread and the rise of eco-anxiety 54:40

2y ago54:40

54:40

Dr Britt Wray is an author and researcher working at the forefront of climate change and mental health. She is currently a Human and Planetary Health Fellow at Stanford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Britt’s research focuses on the mental health impacts of the climate crisis and has published popular books such a…

1
12. Mark Maslin on Human Evolution and the Anthropocene 1:01:26

2y ago1:01:26

1:01:26

Mark Maslin is a professor of Earth System Science at University College London and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit scholar. Mark is a leading scientist in past global and regional climatic change and its links to human evolution, and has written dozens of popular science articles and popular books, including The Human Planet: How We Created…

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11. Jesse and Pete interview each other 54:51

2y ago54:51

54:51

In this episode Jesse and Pete interview each other and look back on the first 10 episodes of Challenging Climate. They discuss their backgrounds, research, and Jesse's new job as Executive Secretary of the Climate Overshoot Commission. They also reflect on how the podcast has been going and look ahead to the future. Jesse Reynolds is an expert in …

1
10. Wake Smith on Pandora's toolbox and the feasibility of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering 1:05:21

2y ago1:05:21

1:05:21

Wake Smith is a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School, writing scholarly articles on the feasibility, costs and governance of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering. Wake also teaches an undergraduate course on climate intervention at Yale University, the syllabus of which forms the basis o…

1
9. Sir David King on science advice, climate politics, and climate repair 1:10:59

2y ago1:10:59

1:10:59

Sir David King is the founder and chair of the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University and the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. Previously he held the positions of the UK's permanent Special Representative for Climate Change. He was also the Government's Chief Scientific Advisor from 2000 to 2007, during which time he raised awareness of th…

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8. Jan Minx on the IPCC's latest report on mitigation 1:06:22

2y ago1:06:22

1:06:22

We speak with Jan Minx, Head of Applied Sustainability Science at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, and a visiting Professor of Climate Change and Public Policy at The Priestley Centre at the University of Leeds. Jan has published widely on climate and sustainability issues and has a keen interest in evidence syn…

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7. Gavin Schmidt on observing, attributing and communicating climate change 1:04:40

2+ y ago1:04:40

1:04:40

We speak with Dr. Gavin Schmidt, climate scientist, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and co-founder of the RealClimate climate science blog. Gavin’s research focuses on understanding the past, present and future of the climate system and the impacts of the various drivers of climate change. In this episode we take a deep dive on …

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6. Elizabeth Kolbert on climate change, extinctions, and life Under a White Sky 47:29

2+ y ago47:29

47:29

We speak with Elizabeth Kolbert, a journalist of politics and the environment. She has been at The New Yorker for more than 20 years and is the author of Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction), and Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature…

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5. Robert Lempert on climate impacts in the IPCC and deep uncertainty 46:16

2+ y ago46:16

46:16

Robert Lempert is a principal researcher at the RAND Corporation and director of the Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition. His research focuses on risk management and decision-making under conditions of deep uncertainty. He was also a coordinating lead author on Chapter 1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Cha…

1
4. Zion Lights on nuclear energy, technology, and climate change 51:28

2+ y ago51:28

51:28

Zion Lights is an environmental activist and author. She founded Emergency Reactor, which calls for greater use of nuclear power, alongside renewables, in order to help eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Her books include "The Ultimate Guide to Green Parenting" and "Only a Moment." She was previously spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. We discu…

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3. Roger Pielke on the politics of climate change, scenarios, and extreme weather 1:00:34

2+ y ago1:00:34

1:00:34

Roger Pielke Jr. is a political scientist who writes on a diverse range of policy and governance issues related to science, technology, environment, innovation and sports. He is most famous (or infamous?) for his work on climate change. We cover his Iron Law of climate policy, his views on the problems with business-as-usual climate scenarios, and …

1
2. Holly Buck on ending fossil fuels 45:14

2+ y ago45:14

45:14

Holly Jean Buck is an expert on the social and political dimensions of environmental policies, and of strategies and technologies for preventing and adapting to climate change. Our conversation focuses on her new book, Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero Is Not Enough. Holly, Pete, and Jesse discuss why we should strive for a future of no fossil fuel…

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1. Neal Stephenson on solar geoengineering and Termination Shock 54:52

2+ y ago54:52

54:52

Neal Stephenson is a leading author of science- and speculative fiction and is a recipient of the Hugo and Prometheus Awards. His most recent novel Termination Shock is an eco-thriller that explores the political fallout from the use of solar geoengineering to counter climate change. Neal, Pete, and Jesse discuss reducing greenhouse gases, carbon d…

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