The Climate Pod

This week, Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, joins the show to discuss the history of the conservation movement. Michelle explains how conservation expanded beyond local efforts to an international movement, why so many inspiring and problematic people alike have taken up the conservation fight, and what climate activists can learn from the historic fight to stave off extinctions.  About Our Guest: Michelle Nijhuis is a project editor at the Atlantic, a contributing editor at High Country News, coeditor of The Science Writers’ Handbook, and has has been published in National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine.  Buy Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website! 

This week, Dr. Stephanie Kelton joins the show to discuss how American politicians totally misunderstand the national debt and how the Federal government can use fiscal policy to create a just and sustainable society. Her book, The Deficit Myth, explains Modern Monetary Theory and shows why America can and must spend big on just climate solutions or we'll create the real intergenerational debt that matters. Buy The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website! 

This week, three of the authors behind Dirty Gold: The Rise And Fall Of An International Smuggling Ring join the show to talk about the tragic human and environmental loss stemming from illegal gold mining and the illegal international trade that fuels the issue. Authors Jay Weaver, Jim Wyss, and Nicholas Nehamas explain how the true crime story at the center of their reporting unfolded, how this became such a big issue, and why it matters to the climate movement.  Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also reflect on completing 100 episodes of the show.  Buy Dirty Gold: The Rise And Fall Of An International Smuggling Ring Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website! 

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 Clean Power CEO Heather Zichal discusses the accelerated need for more clean energy to combat the crisis.  Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss America officially re-entering the Paris Agreement, partisan motivation behind renewable opposition, and natural gas nonsense.  Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!  Further reading: Joe Biden's climate envoy admits US and Australia not on 'same page' As Cities Grapple With Climate Change, Gas Utilities Fight To Stay In Business How Much the Oil and Gas Industry Paid Texas Republicans Who Are Lying About Wind Energy Dr. Leah Stokes' Texas Twitter Thread

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 Benefiel also discuss the Texas winter weather emergencies, renewable energy myths in a crisis, and how the most energy insecure are being impacted.  Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!  Further reading: Dr. Jesse Jenkin's Twitter Thread Jeff Beradelli's Polar Vortex Explanation Energy Efficiency for All

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 on climate change.  Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss why renewable energy standards in Arizona matter to the entire country. Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!  Further Reading/Listening: Goodnight, Astronaut

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 of the Biden Era and the end of the Trump presidency, and how she finds inspiration to keep fighting for climate.  Co-hosts Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel also discuss Climate Day, executive orders, and state rollbacks on protecting wetlands and clean energy standards. Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!  Further Reading/Listening: Biden is blitzing by David Roberts New bill would strip protections for many of Indiana's wetlands by Sarah Bowman and London Gibson

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 and Brock Benefiel also discuss how democracy and climate action are inextricably linked. Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!  Further Reading/Listening: Run For Something: A Real-Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself Run For Something podcast  

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 to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ Dr. Michael E. Mann is the Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University, with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. In 2020, Dr. Mann was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website! 

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 Director at CarbonPlan and a lecturer at Stanford Law School. Victor is Professor of International Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He co-heads the initiative on energy and climate at the Brookings Institution. Subscribe to our new Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. 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, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!  Further Reading: The Capitol Riot and Climate Disinformation