
The Climate Pod
The Climate Pod is a wide-ranging conversation with leading experts on the politics, economics, activism, culture, science, and social justice issues at the heart of the climate crisis. Hear from guests like Jane Goodall, Bill McKibben, Al Roker, David Wallace-Wells, Katharine Hayhoe, Adam McKay, Bill Nye, Robert Bullard, Catherine Coleman Flowers, Ted Danson, Gina McCarthy, Paul Krugman, and many more. Hosted by Ty Benefiel. Opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own.
Latest episodes

Dec 7, 2022 • 46min
Uncovered Corporate Files On A Chemical Linked To Parkinson's Disease (w/ Carey Gillam and Aliya Uteuova)
In the recent piece, "Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease," journalists Carey Gillam and Aliya Uteuova report on documents that show efforts to refute and downplay scientific research linking the chemical paraquat to Parkinson's. In this conversation, we discuss what they found, how the EPA has responded, and how this relates to the rapid rise in Parkinson's disease in the United States. Carey Gillam is the author of Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science, managing editor of The New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group, was a longtime National Correspondent for Reuters, and is contributor to The Guardian. Aliya Uteuova is a visual journalist who reports on environmental justice for The Guardian. Access the documents discussed in this episode here. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly" 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.

Nov 30, 2022 • 39min
How Are Climate Voters Changing US Elections? (w/ Nathaniel Stinnett)
This week, Nathaniel Stinnett, the founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project, is back on the show to discuss how environmental voters became the "silent surprise" of the US midterm elections and what that could mean for the runoff election in Georgia next week. We discuss how the numbers are changing for climate as a top issue, what it could mean for future races, and how the Georgia runoff in 2022 is so much different than the election two years ago. Check out the Environmental Voter Project here for ways to contribute and volunteer. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly" 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.

Nov 23, 2022 • 54min
COP27 Is Over. Here's What Happened. (w/ Oliver Milman, Ramon Cruz, Cherelle Blazer)
COP27 has concluded and a historic agreement has been made on establishing a fund for loss and damage. What exactly happened at this year's conference - from the biggest achievements to disappointments - and where do we go from here? We have three expert guests who attended COP27 to help break it all down. First, Oliver Milman, environment reporter for Guardian US and the author of The Insect Crisis, explains the biggest takeaways from COP27 and discusses what it was like reporting at the conference. Then, Ramon Cruz, president of the Sierra Club, and Cherelle Blazer, International Climate and Policy Campaign Director of the Sierra Club, give us insight into the fight to hold the United States accountable for its loss and damage agreement and what the midterm elections mean for the international climate agreement. Read The Insect Crisis Check out the Sierra Club's work Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly" 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. Further Reading: Cop27 agrees historic ‘loss and damage’ fund for climate impact in developing countries

Nov 16, 2022 • 1h 10min
COP27: Young Activists Fight For Climate Justice (w/ Azeez Abubakar and Mitzi Jonelle Tan)
With COP27 still underway, this week, we talk to two young leaders at the conference pushing global efforts on climate action. Joining us this week: Azeez Abubakar, Partnerships and Engagement Chair of the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network, founder and executive director Climate Education Initiative Project. Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Climate justice activist with Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines and Fridays For Future Philippines. They tell us about their experience at COP27, what they hope to see accomplished this week, and how they are holding world leaders accountable to combat the crisis. Also, we review the midterm election results and what it means for climate action in the US. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly" 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. Further Reading: Weak GOP Performance in Midterms Blunts Possible Attacks on Biden Climate Agenda, Observers Say 6 wins and 2 losses on climate in the midterms

Nov 9, 2022 • 32min
How Will Global Leaders Combat 'Fossilflation'? (w/ Gernot Wagner)
COP27 is underway and the World Leaders Summit has already come to a close. With this year's global climate gathering comes another reminder of just how far we are from actually curbing emissions to hit the goals of the Paris Agreement. Plus, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and energy prices spiking this year, we are confronting the cruel reality of how our reliance on coal, oil, and gas is leading to 2022's "fossilflation." Professor Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School and author of Geoengineering: The Gamble, has written quite a bit on how global leaders should respond. He joins the show this week to discuss some of 2022's biggest energy issues and what we might expect to see unfold at COP27 and beyond to combat the turbulent prices that come with fossil fuel dependency. Follow Gernot Wagner on Twitter and check out his website for all his writings. Further Reading from Gernot Wagner: The Clean-Energy Race Is On Helping people hurt from high energy prices Cut off Russian gas

Nov 2, 2022 • 1h 8min
COP27 Preview: What You Need To Know
After a year of critical elections, global conflict, major climate policy decisions, and energy crises, world leaders will now gather at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss crucial issues at the heart of the climate crisis. On the show, this week, we take a look at many of those critical issues from the trajectory of global warming to the Global North's failure to meet climate finance commitments to the lack of funding for loss and damage and much more. To help us out, two fantastic guest who will be covering COP27 in Egypt: Sarah Kaplan is a climate reporter for the Washington Post. Sarah will be in Sharm El-Sheikh covering the negotiations and helps to give us some overview on how the major developments in 2022 could impact the talks. Nina Lakhani, who is a senior climate justice reporter with the Guardian, helps us understand how significant it is to have this COP in Egypt and how Egyptian climate leaders plan to center conversations on climate finance and loss and damage. And Nina also explains the reports of human rights abuses that have been alleged of the Egyptian government, what some activists fear as they head to Egypt, and why so many African activists are having a hard time securing access to COP27. Follow Sarah Kaplan on Twitter and stories in the Washington Post Follow Nina Lakhani on Twitter and stories in The Guardian Listen to past episodes for more background: Dr. Simon Evans on the current global warming trajectory Dr. Paulina Jaramillo on the IPCC Report on mitigation of climate change Prof. Saleemul Huq on addressing loss and damage Harjeet Singh on climate finance Prof. Jörn Birkmann on the IPCC Report On Adaptation, Vulnerability, And Impact Further Reading: ‘I have a voice’: African activists struggle to attend UN climate talks in Egypt Denmark becomes first U.N. member to pay for ‘loss and damage’ from climate change Egypt silenced climate experts’ voices before hosting Cop27, HRW says

Oct 26, 2022 • 1h 7min
Brazil's Election, Deforestation, And Violence In The Amazon (w/ Washington Post's Terrence McCoy)
In this wide-ranging conversation, Washington Post's Rio de Janeiro Bureau Chief Terrence McCoy joins the show to talk about some of the most pressing issues facing Brazil in its fight for a sustainable future. First, he gives us a breakdown of Brazil's upcoming runoff election for president and how it could dramatically impact climate policy. Then, we discuss McCoy's investigative project into deforestation and destruction in the Amazon and what's driving this massive problem. Finally, McCoy talks about the violent scenes he's encountered reporting in the area and his work investigating the murder of his friend and colleague, Dom Phillips, who was killed alongside Bruno Pereira earlier this year. This is an emotional and impactful hour-long conversation featuring a truly remarkable investigative journalist. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly" 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. Follow Terrence McCoy on Twitter Further Reading: How Americans' love of beef is helping destroy the Amazon rainforest THE KILLING OF DOM AND BRUNO: My friend Dom Phillips and activist Bruno Pereira were shot dead in the Amazon. I traveled deep into the forest to find out why. Bolsonaro and Lula are heading to second round in Brazil election Takeaways from The Post’s investigation of deforestation in the Amazon

Oct 5, 2022 • 56min
Why Air Pollution Is Even Worse Than We Thought (w/ Professor Jennifer Burney)
In more than three years doing this show, there have been few things as tragic and shocking as learning more about the impacts air pollution crisis we are living in. It seems that the more we learn about air pollution the more we understand just how much worse it is than we thought and how much it's costing us - with both our lives and economies. As part of a new study, Professor Jennifer Burney joins a group that notes the impacts of air pollution on human health, economies and agriculture are wide-ranging, but differ drastically based on where on the planet pollutants are emitted. We talk to Professor Burney about the study and its findings and why this research could change how countries decide when to cut climate-changing emissions. Professor Burney is the Marshall Saunders Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Global Climate Policy and Research. Read the study "Geographically resolved social cost of anthropogenic emissions accounting for both direct and climate-mediated effects" here. Take part in the Day of Action for the Environmental Voter Project Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly" 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.

Sep 28, 2022 • 54min
How Climate Migration Will Change The World (w/ Gaia Vince)
Around the globe, people are on the move. This is nothing new. Throughout history, migration has been a vital part of human civilization. With an accelerating climate crisis, increased migration is inevitable. And it will not only be a necessary adaptation strategy, but also a way to improve nations around the world. But currently, very few nations are doing much to ensure that migration is safe, affordable, and effective. That's the focus of Gaia Vince's new book Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World. Vince is an award-winning science journalist, author, and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at UCL's Anthropocene Institute. She joins us this week to discuss how to design better immigration policy around the globe, why this is a problem that needs addressing now, and how it will reshape our world over the coming century. Read Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World Take part in the Day of Action for the Environmental Voter Project Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly" 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.

Sep 21, 2022 • 51min
Drinking Water Distrust Threatens Democracy (w/ Dr. Manny Teodoro)
Jackson, Mississippi. Flint, Michigan. The local governments of countless other communities in America have failed at providing the most basic of public services - clean drinking water. What happens to the residents of those communities and similar communities across the country as they lose faith in government's ability to supply healthy water? What can Americans' growing demand for bottled water tell us about Americans' trust in government? Dr. Manny Teodoro joins The Climate Pod to answer these questions and explain the vicious cycle of public distrust in tap water and how it can lead to broader disengagement with the democratic process. Dr. Teodoro's new book "The Profits of Distrust: Citizen-Consumers, Drinking Water, and the Crisis of Confidence in American Government" explains why Americans purchased 15 billion gallons of bottled water in 2020, even though it was more expensive, more harmful to the environment, and less regulated than tap water, and how this upward trend in bottled water consumption is eroding democracy. Buy Profits of Distrust Subscribe to our 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.
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