This week, David Roberts is back on the show to discuss what has happened to the Inflation Reduction Act and what it means to clean energy and the climate movement to have such a major setback. We step back to think through the landscape of climate policy now and also reflect on pivotal moments in the recent history of legislative efforts that have shaped the current state of clean energy in the U.S. From his early days at Grist to his influential work at Vox, David offers a unique perspective on the challenges and triumphs of advocating for climate action.

We also discuss the shifting political theories and strategies that have influenced policy decisions over the years and examine the complex interplay between politics and climate policy. David explores the role of public perception in shaping policy outcomes and why waking up to the new media enviornment is critical for the climate movement. He argues that changing the narrative around climate solutions can engage broader audiences and drive meaningful action. We also discuss the U.S. and China dynamic in the global energy transition and what he has made of covering Elon Musk over the years.

David Roberts is a renowned journalist and the author of the "Volts" newsletter and podcast. With a career spanning over two decades, David has been a leading voice in climate and clean energy journalism, specifically offering some of the most in-depth analysis and commentary on energy policy. We are always incredibly lucky to have him on the show. You can become a subscriber to Volts here.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.

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Hey, it's been quite a while since we last posted an episode. What is going on? We explain what's been happening and what to expect now.

Please consider becoming a supporter of our show by signing up for a paid membership to our Substack, The Climate Weekly. This will give you exclusive member content and much, much more. https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/

Prior to the New Deal, millions of rural Americans were quite literally living in the dark. Though electricity had been available for decades, it was out of reach for most living in America's countryside post-World War I. That all changed within a decade. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's approach to the power sector during the Great Depression transformed electrification and public utilities on rural life and dramatically modernized the American home throught the nation. In his new book, Democracy In Power, A History of Electrification in the United States, Sandeep Vaheesan explores the rapid economic and social changes brought about by the New Deal through initiatives like the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Rural Electrification Act and argues that many lessons from the era are relevant today's push for climate action.

Sandeep joins the show this week to explain how public competition in the 20th century stimulated power consumption and improved living standards in America. He explains why Americans were ready for change during the New Deal era, how federal initiatives would later power wartime efforts, and how decisions during FDR's presidency still impact the current landscape of public and cooperative utilities. We also explore the racial and gender inequality of the era and how many New Deal programs exacerbated injustices. Finally, Sandeep argues for public leadership in achieving decarbonization targets while ensuring democratic principles in power management.

Sandeep Vaheesan is the legal director at the Open Markets Institute. He leads their legal research and advocacy, including the amicus program.

Read Democracy In Power, A History of Electrification in the United States.

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.

We're back for one last episode of 2024 with our most frequent guest on The Climate Pod! Evlondo Cooper is back on the show to review how climate change was covered in mainstream media over the course of the year. In this conversation, Evlondo Cooper discusses the evolving landscape of climate media, why it remains critical to connect extreme weather events to climate change, and how that still continues to be absent from major news coverage. He highlights the power of mainstream media in shaping public perception and the role of independent media is increasingly playing in providing in-depth coverage. We also explore the commercialization of Earth Day, missing coverage of COP29, and the need for more year-round focus on extreme weather events and the integration of attribution science to enhance climate reporting.

Evlondo Cooper is a senior writer with the climate and energy program at Media Matters. Check out Evlondo's reporting here: https://www.mediamatters.org/author/evlondo-cooper

Further Reading:

Matt Norlander's article referenced in the conversation

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.

What would the world look like at 3-degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels? In his latest work, Collision Course: 3-degrees of warming & humanity’s future, David Spratt explores the catastrophic implications of the planet we're heading towards as warming continues to accelerate. He argues we need to face up to realities of the crisis and have an honest discourse on risks and impacts already occuring. On the show this week, he joins us to discuss the significance of tipping points, and the systemic risks posed by climate change, and the non-linear, catastrophic impacts expected at 3-degrees. We also explore the dire implications for food security, agricultural yields, and social stability. David underscores the need for greater awareness and understanding of climate risks and the importance of leadership in tackling the climate crisis.

David Spratt is a climate and policy analyst who serves as the Research Director for Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration. He is the co-author of the book Climate Code Red: The case for emergency action.

Read Collision Course: 3-degrees of warming & humanity’s future

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.

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.

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.

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.