The Climate Pod

The Climate Pod
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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.

  1. The Complex Problems With Critical Metals (w/ Vince Beiser)

    3 DAYS AGO

    The Complex Problems With Critical Metals (w/ Vince Beiser)

    We're undergoing a necessary renewable energy transition. And this transition will require an enormous amount of critical metals in order to power an economy without fossil fuels. Today, the processes we use to extract these materials - from copper, nickel, lithium, and more - are causing harm to both humans and our physical environment. So what do we do about it?  In his new book, Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future, Vince Beiser argues that there are huge opportunities to make mining safer, recycle more metals, and use less energy to help lessen the burden. Though the critical metals necessary for the transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles will never come without trade-offs, it's clear we could be doing much better. In this conversation, Beiser discusses the most pressing environmental damage and human rights concerns facing critical metals and how we could start to confront the problem. We also talk about the geopolitical implications of China's dominance in the critical metals supply chain,  the scale of demand for metals, and the need for equitable solutions in the energy transition. Finally, we explore deep sea mining, the challenges and opportunities in recycling metals, the growing right to repair movement, and the importance of reducing energy consumption to help ease demand.  Vince Beiser is an award-winning journalist and author. His first book, The World in a Grain, was a finalist for the PEN / E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and a California Book Award. His work has appeared in Wired, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, and The New York Times, among other publications. Read Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future Check out Vince's Substack, Power Metals 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 YouTube channel and our Substack, The Climate Weekly.

    1h 4m
  2. Are Humans Good For The Planet? A Philosophical Conversation With Todd May

    11 DEC

    Are Humans Good For The Planet? A Philosophical Conversation With Todd May

    What do human beings owe planet Earth? How are we responsible to future generations? Those are some pretty weighty questions. But in reality, if you're confronting the climate crisis, it should bring about some pretty weighty philosophical issues, shouldn't it? So to help, we called in popular philospher Todd May to guide us through tackling some of those biggest of big picture questions we could ponder. A renowned philosopher and advisor to NBC’s The Good Place with 18(!) books published on philosophy, Todd has a wide area of expertise that includes thinking critically about humanity's role in the climate crisis and our moral responsibility to act. Now, he's out with a new book, Should We Go Extinct? A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times, that explores these issues from a philosopher's perspective.    In this conversation, we explore the moral implications of human existence in the context of the climate crisis, how we should think about future generations, and why it's critical to pay attention to the interconnectedness of environmental issues. We also examine the importance of recognizing our role within the natural world and our moral responsibility in the face of ongoing deforestation, factory farming, and ecosystem damage. Todd's philosophical inquiries help show us how we can navigate the complexities of existence and focus our attention on critical actions, even when simple answers to big picture questionsa are unavailable. Todd May is a philosopher and the author of eighteen books of philosophy, was a philosophical advisor to the television sit-com The Good Place and currently teaches at Warren Wilson College. Read Should We Go Extinct? A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times. 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 YouTube channel and our Substack, The Climate Weekly.

    53 min
  3. How To Deal With Climate Anxiety (w/ Kate Schapira)

    4 DEC

    How To Deal With Climate Anxiety (w/ Kate Schapira)

    If you're a regular listener of this show or often engage with the facts of the climate crisis, it's likely you experience a fair deal of climate anxiety. I know I do. So I wanted to dive into those feelings and how to think about processing it all. For over a decade, Kate Schapira has been having these conversations as a part of her Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth. Now, she has a new book out, Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth - How to Live with Care and Purpose in an Endangered World, to document that work and more. She joins the show this week to share her journey into understanding climate change's emotional impact, the importance of listening, and why creating intentional spaces for dialogue is critical. We also explore the complexities of communicating trauma, navigating uncertainty, and the competing feelings of despair and hope we can all feel in the face of unfolding climate crises. This is a really great conversation, especially if you've felt particularly anxious about all the extreme weather and climate impacts we've seen unfold this year.  Kate Schapira is a professor of nonfiction writing at Brown University and work on local efforts toward environmental justice, climate justice and peer mental health support in her home in Providence. She’s the author of six books of poetry. 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 YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.

    56 min
  4. COP29: Breaking Down The Results (w/ Dharna Noor)

    28 NOV

    COP29: Breaking Down The Results (w/ Dharna Noor)

    COP29 is over. A new agreement has been struck. So what the hell happened? Climate reporter Dharna Noor is here to explain. She was on the ground during the conference to cover it all and she's on the show this week to deep dive into the results and what it means for global climate action. Dharna discusses the complexities and stakes surrounding COP29, how the central theme of climate finance shaped the conference, and the key takeaways of the final agreement. We also discuss the tension between the Global North and South during negotations, the wild events that unfolded during negotiations, and the importance of good reporting and press coverage during these multilateral discussions.  Dharna Noor is a fossil fuels and climate reporter at Guardian US. Prior to that, Dharna was the Boston Globe's climate producer, worked as a staff writer at Earther, where she also co-produced a season of the podcast Drilled on the fossil fuel industry's influence on education. Check out Dharna's reporting here. Check out all of The Guardians's COP29 reporting here.  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 YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.

    42 min

  5. 21 NOV

    The Threat Of Warming Oceans And Superstorms (w/ Porter Fox)

    “Among the growing effects of the climate crisis, the evolution of hurricanes is one of the more immediate and destructive.” Our oceans are warming. Superstorms are intensifying. In Porter Fox's new book, the accelerating danger resulting from these two realities of the climate crisis is on full display. And Fox is no stranger to the ocean - as a longtime sailor and decades-long climate writer, he literally confronts deadly storms in his reporting. Now, with latest book, Category Five, Superstorms and the Warming Oceans that Feed Them, he's unpacking what he's heard from scientists and explorers alike to mark the changes we've already seen with oceans and superstorms and what's in store as warming accelerates. He joins this week to talk about the damage we're seeing from natural disasters, the disparity in disaster responses, and why he wanted to combine memoir and climate science for this book.  Porter Fox is a writer and author of books like The Last Winter and Northland. He writes and edits the award-winning literary travel writing journal Nowhere, teaches at Columbia University School of the Arts and is a MacDowell Fellow.  Read Category Five, Superstorms and the Warming Oceans that Feed Them 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 YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.

    42 min

  6. 9 OCT

    Climate Change Is Literally Transforming Our Brains (w/ Clayton Page Aldern)

    As our environment changes, so do our brains. Climate changes impact our physical environments is many noticeable ways, but it's also changing us on the inside as well. Clayton Page Aldern is a neuroscientist turned environmental journalist who has unpacked this phenomenon in his new book, The Weight of Nature: How A Changing Climate Changes Our Brains. He joins the show this week to discuss how our brains adapt to climate change and limits we face, how shifting baseline syndrome impacts climate action, what's happening to our brains under rising temperatures, and what climate changes tell us about broader ideas surrounding free will.  Clayton's work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New Republic, Mother Jones, Vox, Newsweek, The Economist, Scientific American, and Grist, where he is a senior data reporter.  Read The Weight of Nature: How A Changing Climate Changes Our Brains 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 YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.

    1h 9m

  7. 19 SEPT

    Ed Begley Jr. On His Life in Entertainment And Climate Activism

    For 57 years, Ed Begley Jr. has been in literally hundreds of your favorite movies and television shows. And during those years, he's also established himself as one of the most prominent voices in Hollywood on environmental sustainability and climate action. Now, he’s with a new memoir, To the Temple of Tranquility…And Step On It!, which recounts his life in both entertainment and environmental and climate advocate. Ed joins us on the show this week to discuss his life and career. We talk about his early days as a stand up comic, how he initially got into activism, his friendship with Cesar Chavez, mulling over bizarre clean energy ideas with Marlon Brando, finding common ground with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and why 1970s Los Angeles was such a great time and place for activism in entertainment. We also discuss his more recent roles in shows like Better Call Saul and why more great climate storytelling is happening, like with his friend Paul Schrader's 2017 film First Reformed. Read To the Temple of Tranquility…And Step On It! 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 YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.

    56 min

  8. 24 JUL

    Will The Climate Movement Handle The Pressure Of 2024? (w/ Rev. Lennox Yearwood)

    The climate movement faces mounting pressure in 2024. Record-setting temperatures and extreme weather disasters continue to devastate over a turbulent summer. Prominent plans to roll back environmental regulations and stiffle climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives have movement leaders pushing back on attacks. Is the climate movement able to handle the pressure at this critical moment?  Few people are as equipped to answer that question as Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. Over his decades of climate and progressive leadership, Rev. Yearwood has advanced climate solutions with policymaking, culture change, direct action, and more. And he's part of a new initiative to educate people on critical issues like climate change during this transmorative year.  The “2024 & Beyond: Creating Our Shared Future” campaign is reaching out with open town halls to educate and debate on key political issues and building a network of experts and organizations like Center for Climate Justice, Center for Popular Democracy, Hip Hop Caucus, Greenpeace, and Center for Oil and Gas Organizing.   Rev. Yearwood Jr. joins the show this week to discuss his life and work, how change actually happens in the climate movement, why the climate movement needs to address its own weaknesses, and what strategies will be most effective in advancing progress and fighting off attacks.  Rev. Yearwood Jr. is the President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus. He is the host of the award-winning climate and environmental justice podcast The Coolest Show, Senior Advisor of Bloomberg Philanthropies Beyond Petrochemicals Campaign, and one of the most innovative advocates and strategists for racial justice and climate justice. He is a White House Champion of Change for Climate leadership and according to Rolling Stone he is a “New Green Hero.” Related Links: 2024 & Beyond: Creating Our Shared Future Hip Hop Caucus 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 YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.

    47 min
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    The Climate Pod
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2024
  • Episodes
    308
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    The Climate Pod

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