Drilled

Pushkin Industries
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Drilled is a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Hosted and reported by award-winning investigative climate journalists and led by Amy Westervelt, each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach. In September 2025, a group of Brazilian ministers trekked all the way to chilly North Dakota to see a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula’s dream of turning Brazil into “the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels.” It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker and corn ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota. The problem? It all requires loads of land and none of it does a thing about climate change.

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  1. Why Political Will is the Real Barrier to Climate Action

    EPISODE 1

    Why Political Will is the Real Barrier to Climate Action

    Despite at least a decade of scientific certainty, proposed technological solutions, and policy measures, the world still hasn’t acted on the climate crisis. The problem is a lack of political will—and how it’s been intentionally obstructed at every turn. As we gear up for the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30), Amy Westervelt digs into a new book, Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment, to assess how powerful political, economic, and ideological forces have delayed global climate action. She’s joined by the leading climate and political scientists who wrote it, Timmons Roberts (Brown University), Jennifer Jacquet (University of Miami), Carlos Milani (Rio de Janeiro State University), and Christian Downie (Australian National University), to break down how climate politics reached this point, why resistance to climate policy has intensified, and what movements can realistically expect in the year ahead. You can check out and download the book here and check out the Climate Social Science Network here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1hr 8min
  2. Why Misinformation Works: The Psychology Behind Climate Disinformation

    EPISODE 3

    Why Misinformation Works: The Psychology Behind Climate Disinformation

    Why does misinformation spread like wildfire—and why is it so hard to correct? Climate communication researchers John Cook (University of Melbourne) and Dominik A. Stecula (Colorado State University) explain the psychology of misinformation, drawing on years of research around climate denial, political polarization, and media dynamics. Additional resources:Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1hr 2min
  3. How The Media Drives Climate Obstruction

    EPISODE 4

    How The Media Drives Climate Obstruction

    Climate obstruction would not be nearly as effective as it is without the influence of the public relations industry and the willful ignorance of mainstream media. Melissa Aronczyk (Rutgers University) and Max Boycoff (University of Colorado) explain why getting a handle on the media's role in climate obstruction is critical to solving the problem. Melissa and Max examine how strategic communication and media systems have contributed to climate denial, spread misinformation, and delayed action. Additional resources:Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    59 min
  4. How the Fossil Fuel Industry Sabotages Climate Action

    EPISODE 5

    How the Fossil Fuel Industry Sabotages Climate Action

    The fossil fuel industry has undoubtedly played a central role in obstructing climate action through lobbying, impacting political influence, and spreading disinformation. Academic Kristoffer Ekberg (Lund University), nonprofit researcher Kert Davis (Center for Climate Integrity), and DeSmog global managing editor Geoff Dembicki walk us through how fossil fuel industry strategies have undermined climate policy, delayed regulation, and furthered climate denial. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  5. How the Coal, Utilities, and Transportation Industries Block Climate Policy

    EPISODE 6

    How the Coal, Utilities, and Transportation Industries Block Climate Policy

    The coal, utilities, and transportation industries have all played a major role in stopping governments from regulating emissions or transitioning to cleaner energy. Examining how those effort have taken shape around the world, Jen Schneider (Boise State University) and Gregory Trencher (Kyoto University) break down the strategies these industries use to influence policymakers, resist decarbonization, and slow climate action.Additional resources:Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment You can now download a FREE copy of the book Climate Obstruction: A Global Survey here!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    43 min
  6. How the Animal Agriculture Industry Blocks Methane Regulation

    EPISODE 7

    How the Animal Agriculture Industry Blocks Methane Regulation

    For decades, the meat and dairy industries avoided scrutiny for the planet-heating emissions they pump into the atmosphere. As governments began considering methane regulation, the animal agriculture sector starting working on efforts to resist such regulations. Siliva Secchi (University of Iowa) and Kathrin Lauber (University of Edinburgh) expound the concept of "agricultural exceptionalism" and the strategies the agriculture industry uses to keep climate policy at bay. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1hr 9min
  7. Drilling Deep: Karen House on Saudi Arabia Under Mohammed bin Salman

    EPISODE 8

    Drilling Deep: Karen House on Saudi Arabia Under Mohammed bin Salman

    Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Wall Street Journal publisher Karen Elliott House, author of The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia, joins Adam Lowenstein to discuss how the crown prince has reshaped Saudi Arabia. They explore if MBS's gamble on economic and social freedoms alongside ciivil and political repression is politically, or environmentally, sustainable and examine how Saudi Arabia's oil and petrochemical industries serve its geopolitical interests. Karen and Adam also discuss the kingdom’s promises about transitioning away from fossil fuels and why it might be a bit less green than climate advocates would hope.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    52 min
  8. Climate Obstruction in the Global South

    EPISODE 9

    Climate Obstruction in the Global South

    The United States is a global leader of climate obstruction, but it's not the only guilty country. M. Omar Faruque (Queen’s University, Canada) and Ruth E. McKie (De Montfort University) look at how and why climate obstruction occurs in the Global South, exploring the political, economic, and institutional factors that lead the countries most vulnerable to climate change, and least responsible for emissions, to participate in climate obstruction.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    54 min
See All Season 14 (29)

Trailers

About

Drilled is a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Hosted and reported by award-winning investigative climate journalists and led by Amy Westervelt, each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach. In September 2025, a group of Brazilian ministers trekked all the way to chilly North Dakota to see a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula’s dream of turning Brazil into “the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels.” It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker and corn ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota. The problem? It all requires loads of land and none of it does a thing about climate change.

Information

  • Creator
    Pushkin Industries
  • Episodes
    247
  • Seasons
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Pushkin Industries
  • Show Website
    Drilled

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