David Roberts, Volts

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Oct 10, 2022

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ANECDOTE

Career Entry Into Climate Reporting

David Roberts accidentally entered climate journalism after a philosophy PhD dropout period and finding a backdoor editorial assistant job at Grist.
He learned the field by writing conversationally and self-teaching himself about climate and energy issues starting in 2004.

INSIGHT

Climate as a Political Problem

Climate change is fundamentally a political and economic problem, not just a scientific or environmental one.
The transformation of energy systems is intrinsically political, contrary to early claims of climate being apolitical.

ADVICE

Celebrate Climate Progress

Celebrate climate successes and advancements to motivate sustained engagement and momentum.
Positive reinforcement fuels activism and counters the myth that only dire warnings motivate action.

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Today’s guest is David Roberts, aka Dr. Volts, who runs the Volts newsletter and podcast.

David has been reporting on and explaining clean energy topics for almost 20 years. He talks to politicians, analysts, innovators, activists, and more about the latest progress in the world's most important fight. David’s work is deeply researched and an invaluable resource for people who want a better understanding of what a clean energy transition and viable future could look like. And he isn’t afraid to share his strongly held opinions.

In this conversation, Jason learns more about David’s background, his views on the issue and how they’ve evolved throughout his career. They discuss some of the fundamental politics ingrained in climate, and some of the solutions that are accelerating our transition away from fossil fuels. There’s a lot of insight packed into this episode and we hope you enjoy it.

In this episode, we cover:

[4:49] How David got involved in journalism and climate
[9:10] His thoughts on the climate issue early in his career and how they've evolved
[13:54] How concerned he thinks people should be
[23:32] Approaching solutions to climate that also solve other issues
[27:25] Importance of celebrating small victories to motivate future progress
[34:37] David's optimism for a clean energy future
[44:16] The human need to feel some sense of control and how that impacts their views on climate
[54:07] U.S. journalism today
[57:54] Intersection between environmentalism and climate
[1:01:03] David's thoughts on tech and how it’s approaching clean energy
[1:05:02] Speed round including solar geoengineering, nuclear, carbon capture, offsets, and more

Get connected:
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Episode recorded on September 23, 2022.

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant