Climate Forward Podcast

At the Climate Forward live event. Rainn Wilson, an actor, environmentalist and a star of “The Office,” read from his essay on how to connect environmentalism with spirituality. He said that in order to address climate change, we must transform our relationship with nature. “We need to value nature as profoundly sacred,” he said. “Spiritual, even.”Sign up for the Climate Forward newsletterhttps://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/climate-change Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Fusion energy has long been hailed as the ultimate climate solution: clean, limitless and just out of reach. At the Climate Forward live event, Bob Mumgaard, chief executive of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which aims to build the world’s first commercial fusion power plant, discussed how close his company is to bringing fusion energy to reality.Sign up for the Climate Forward newsletter https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/climate-change  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

President Trump has rapidly pulled the U.S. out of the fight against climate change, fired scientists, rolled back regulations and gutted the nation’s largest-ever law to address climate change. That has left climate activists reeling. Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice; Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council; and Bill McKibben, an author and activist, talk with Cara Buckley about what has worked — and failed — in the climate movement. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

As climate change accelerates, its consequences are reshaping global security. At the Climate Forward live event, Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said the Trump administration’s climate policies could pose a national security threat to the United States.This risk is already real to many in the military, he said. “Any man or woman with stars on their shoulders or general officers,” Sullivan said, “and they will tell you the climate crisis is real and has an operational impact on them.”In a conversation with Helene Cooper, Sullivan discussed about how climate change was shaping the U.S. competition with China and how a rapidly warming planet was creating new threats, from growing food insecurity in developing nations to transforming the battlefields of the future. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Melanie Nakagawa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft, and Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, explore the intersection of AI and climate action. They discuss the rapid expansion of data centers and its impact on emissions, while highlighting their companies' ambitious carbon-negative goals. Investments in clean energy, like nuclear and carbon capture, play a critical role. They also debate AI's reputation and its potential to actually reduce emissions, showcasing initiatives aimed at improving sustainability in tech.

Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California and a key Democratic figure in climate policy, engages in a gripping discussion about the state’s pressing challenges. He fiercely criticizes Trump’s U.N. remarks as a denial of reality and warns about the economic fallout from federal rollbacks. Newsom highlights California's innovative responses, including coalitions and ambitious climate policies. He also addresses the dire threats of floods, fires, and agricultural impacts, sharing lessons learned from recent disasters and the urgency of reforming housing and permitting laws.

As energy secretary under President Trump, Chris Wright, a former fracking executive, has helped to shape an energy agenda defined by deregulation and fossil fuel expansion.In a conversation with David Gelles, Mr. Wright explained why he would “absolutely” like to see countries follow the lead of the United States under the Trump administration and withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Wright also forcefully defended the Trump administration’s crackdown on wind and solar power, claiming that there was a “fever pitch” of opposition around the country to the technologies.  Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Former Vice President Al Gore, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient known for his climate activism, engages in a candid discussion about climate policy and activism. He discusses the systemic setbacks caused by the Trump administration, including rollbacks on climate regulations and increased fossil fuel subsidies. Gore highlights the urgency of grassroots movements led by the youth and stresses the need for effective political engagement. He also counters climate fatigue with hope, emphasizing that action can combat despair and accelerate necessary changes for a sustainable future.