Climate news, culture and commentary from the team behind Drilled and Hot Take.
This Is Bullsh*t
We're pissed off and full of dread and tired of hiding it. Buckle up, folks, Mary and Amy get real about what's coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mary + Amy's Debate Preview: What Project 2025 Tells Us About Trump, What Harris Is and Isn't Saying About Climate, and More
Will we hear anything about climate in Harris's first debate with Trump? What can we glean from Project 2025 about how Trump will approach environmental justice? Plus re-thinking the climate movement and politics, with Mary Annaïse Heglar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Could You Really Charge Oil Companies with Murder? Plus: Supreme Court Climate Update
This week, we bring you an episode from our climate litigation podcast, Damages, because we've been getting SO MANY emails about what sorts of legal strategies might still be available for climate accountability given everything happening at the Supreme Court. Public Citizen has been working with various prosecutors to explore the idea of using criminal law to hold oil companies accountable for climate change, but is it really viable? The group's senior climate policy counsel, Aaron Regunburg, j
ProPublica's Abrahm Lustgarten on Climate Migration
In his new book, On the Move, ProPublica climate reporter Abrahm Lustgarten digs into the ways climate change is re-shaping where people live and how they move in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
John Kasper: A Guy Who Sucked
Over the years we've talked a lot about the intersection between civil rights and climate change. Now Mary Annaïse Heglar has a novel out (her first!) that lives in that intersection and it's fascinating. On this episode she brings us the story of a guy who fought the desegregation of schools, and why it's important to remember the many ways in which the fight for climate action and the fight for racial justice overlap. Help Mary's Aunt Jackie: https://www.gofundme.com/f/pej5x-please-help-me-sup
Maddie Stone on Microsoft's Role in the Climate Crisis
In a new story co-published by Grist and Drilled, Microsoft employees who spent years fighting the tech giant's oil ties are speaking out about the worker-led effort to get the world's most valuable company to stop helping the oil and gas industry drill.
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Welcome to Spill and Happy Earth Day: Freeing Palestine Is a Climate Issue
Hot Take co-hosts Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt are back with a new show blending climate news updates and cultural commentary, plus a monthly Hot Take-style conversation. In our first episode: what else? A conversation about the intersection between the war on Gaza and the climate crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Climate News Update: The New Carbon Majors + Swiss Elders Win Landmark Climate Case
Lots of news lately on stories we've been following, so in today's episode: an update! The landmark Carbon Majors report has been updated with some surprising new data, and the European Court of Human Rights has sent down an historic ruling that will shape how EU legislators look at energy and climate.
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Slow Factory's Céline Semaan on Climate Justice, Collective Liberation, and Building an Unbreakable Movement
When Celine Semaan began calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, she was surprised at the backlash she and her team at Slow Factory got, including multiple funders pulling their support. Today, Semaan is more determined than ever to push for climate justice and collective liberation.
Pre-order A Woman Is a School: https://shop.slowfactory.earth/products/a-woman-is-a-school
Check out course(s) on Open Edu: https://slowfactory.earth/open-edu
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Messy Conversations: Rhiana Gunn-Wright on What the Climate Movement Loses When It Excludes Environmental Justice
Rhiana Gunn-Wright was one of the architects of the Green New Deal, and today works as the climate policy director for the Roosevelt Institute. In this episode we get into the nuances of the IRA, how to handle climate being a "culture war" issue, what's going on with anti-renewables, and what the climate movement loses when it turns its back on justice issues and particularly when it turns its back on the Black community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Messy Conversations: How to Talk to Kids about Climate Change, with Mary Annaïse Heglar — a Mini Hot Take Reunion!
Mary Annaïse Heglar's first book is out today, and it's a children's book about climate change. It's the first of *three* climate books Mary has coming out in the near future (the other two are a novel, called Troubled Waters, and an essay collection of Black writers on climate). She has been busy writing up a storm since we wrapped up Hot Take (and we've roped her into editing stories for Drilled, too). In this episode we talk about her books, what's happening in climate media in general, and t
Messy Conversations: Akshat Rathi on Climate Capitalism
Bloomberg climate reporter Akshat Rathi joins us to discuss his new book Climate Capitalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Climate Impacts of Deep-Sea Mining
Some mining companies claim that we can't "electrify everything" without deep-sea mining—a claim that has been debunked by various scientists. Environmentalists, car companies, and governments are pushing back, citing not only the obvious potential damage to marine ecosystems but also the climate impact of releasing carbon from the ocean floor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Introducing: Inherited — Climate Youth Stories From Around the World
In the Season 3 premiere of Inherited, host Shaylyn Martos introduces us to storyteller Camara Aaron, who shares a personal story of family loss, structural resilience, and survival in an era of climate change.
Camara, now 25, was only a child when she visited her grandmother’s unique house on the island of Dominica, in the West Indies. But when Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean in 2017, her grandmother died in the storm, leaving Camara to sift through her own hazy memories and reconcile
F$#%, Marry, Kill Big Oil
For our last episode of Hot Take, Amy and Mary revisit their favorite jokes, and dig into the listener mailbag to answer questions from Hot Cakes around the globe. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Zombie Apocalypse Is Real
This week, Amy and Mary discuss zombie ice viruses, the Keystone pipeline spill in Kansas, a global biodiversity crisis, the degrowth movement, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
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Won't Someone Think of The Children
This week, Amy and Mary chat with Rebecca Nagle - an Indigenous journalist, host of This Land, and long-time friend of the show. They discuss Brackeen v. Haaland (a legal case threatening Indian Law), why Indigenous issues are so under covered, Landback, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
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'Tis the Season to Want Nothing
Just in time for the holiday season, Amy and Mary chat with Aja Barber - a writer, stylist and consultant who works at the intersections of fashion and sustainability. They dive into the problems with fast fashion, and its worst offender and Aja's sworn enemy Shein. They discuss Aja’s recent book - Consumed, talk about more ethical options for gift giving, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Call the COPs
Amy and Mary break down this year's COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and explore the history of U.N. climate conferences beginning with the first summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. They also discuss the unseemly presence of fossil fuel companies at the meeting, loss and damages, climate debt, and more Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
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No Country for Centrist Dems
This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary break down the midterms, examine the shadowy billionaires funding Republican candidates, and give an honest review of Elon’s performance as Twitter's CEO. Spoiler: He’s failing, but it might be on purpose. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
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Every Election Is a Climate Election with Rhiana Gunn Wright
This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary speak with Rhiana Gunn-Wright - Director of Climate Policy at the Roosevelt Institute and one of the architects of the Green New Deal. With the midterms right around the corner, they discuss shifting narratives around climate, the IRA, and much more. Later on, Amy and Mary make sense of the phenomena of flying soup that’s taking the art world by storm, and break down a horrific take from a New York Times opinion writer. Learn more about your ad choice
Election Spooktacular
This week on Hot Take, Amy and Mary pick apart the climate implications and nuances in key midterm races (Fetterman, Booker, Barnes, Beto), plus the upcoming Brazilian presidential election. They look ahead to COP and the conversation around loss and damages (read: reparations), and the Nigeria floods. Oh, and Amy gets crafty for Halloween! Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake
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On the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis
This week on Hot Take, Mary is joined by Sara Sneath, investigative reporter and alligator doula and Drew Costley, climate & environment reporter at The Associated Press. They discuss how to approach communities in the throes of a climate disaster, the tension between chronic and acute crises, trauma-informed reporting, and the disabled community. And, gators! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Climate Candidates To Watch In The Midterms
This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary discuss the new wave of Southern Black Democrats running on climate centric platforms and break down the important climate cases before the Supreme Court. They also bring updates on this year’s hurricane season and more.
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Reclaiming Identity Politics with Olúfemi Táíwò
This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary talk to Olúfemi Táíwò, author and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown, about tokenism, reparations, how the powerful have appropriated identity politics and turned it into a tool of division, and more. Taiwo is the author of Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations and a real-life philosopher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hurricane Season Heats Up
This week on Hot Take, Amy & Mary give updates on Hurricane Ian, Manchin's failed permitting bill, discontent in Europe, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Ask a Scientist, with NASA’s Dr. Kate Marvel
Today on Hot Take, Mary and Amy are joined by Kate Marvel, climate scientist at NASA, who answers listener questions about acid rain, geoengineering, astrology, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Follow the Money, Eat the Rich
We hear all the time that acting on climate can upset the delicate balance of the economy, worsen inflation, kills jobs. So on and so forth. But is it true? Today on Hot Take, Mary and Amy are joined by Akshat Rathi, Senior Climate Reporter at Bloomberg, to break down the barriers and dispels the myths between the world of finance and the world we live on. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and sign up for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Both Sides of the Mississippi
For this week’s Hot Take Labor Day special, Mary and Amy look into the connections between labor unions and the climate movement, the mega droughts in China and California, and the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Climate Colonialism 101
This week on Hot Take, Mary and Amy talk to Abrahm Lustgarten about how colonialism, both in the past and the present, put the weight of the climate crisis on the shoulders of the people who did the least to create it. As a lens, they use Abrahm's Propublica investigation of Barbados' (and other Caribbean nations) attempt to navigate the intersection of climate change and debt. This conversation was taped on the anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Ida, during devastating floods in Pak
A FOX in the newsroom
This week, Mary and Amy are joined by Evlondo Cooper, a journalist at media watchdog - Media Matters, to chat about the connections between the shrinking local new landscape and right-wing climate disinformation campaigns that have been lying on the Green New Deal, Build Back Better, and the IRA. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Amy and Mary Take a TV Break
Tune into Hot Take this week, where Mary and Amy take a much needed break by watching TV! They look at how climate is represented in TV and film by revisiting Don’t Look Up, Billions, I May Destroy You, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Mary’s favorite film!), and so much more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Devil in the IRA details
Amy and Mary cut through the noise to break down the good and the bad in the climate legislation that just passed the Senate - and take stock of what it means for the climate movement and where the conversation should go from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Quiet Climate Emergency
This week, Mary and Amy break down the latest in climate news from - the Inflation Reduction Act, the possibility of a climate emergency declaration, Taylor Swift’s private jet use, and much more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Climate Behind Bars
This week, Mary and Amy are joined by investigative journalist Alleen Brown to take a closer look at mass incarceration. If we're going to talk about the communities most vulnerable to climate change, we have to talk about mass incarceration. From prison labor to prison evacuation, from ICE detention centers to juvenile justice centers, nothing good comes from the convergence of the climate crisis and the mass incarceration crisis. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter
Joe Manchin vs. The World
This week, Joe Manchin spiked Biden's climate bill, but the planet is no political football. This week's episode of Hot Take takes a closer look at the true stakes of the climate crisis with a focus on the Global South. Mary is joined by Dharna Noor to talk through extreme heat and rising authoritarianism in India, floating cities in the Maldives, drought in the Horn of Africa, and a rotting oil tanker in Yemen—and so much more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at
"Resistance" Over "Resilience"
Today on Hot Take is all about resilience—and the limits thereof. Mary talks with two fellow southerners - Ko Bragg, Scalawag’s Race & Place Editor, and Amal Ahmed, Disaster Reporter at Southerly. They discuss the uneasiness of today's summers, the problems with individual responsibility and why "resilience" is almost never the right word. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Scene on Radio: In the Beginning
This week on Hot Take, we’re off! But, we’ve brought you an episode from one of our favorite shows - Scene on Radio. Amy was the co-host of the most recent season, along with John Biewen. If you like this episode, make sure to check out Scene on Radio to listen to the rest of their 5 episode series about climate change. Next week, we’ll be back with more Hot Take! The climate emergency is here. How did we break so bad? How did we become the kind of society that would unleash so much destruction
Supremely F$%#ed
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary sit down with Leah Litman, a law professor from our sister show - Strict Scrutiny, about SCOTUS aka the most hated reality TV show in America. They discuss Roe v Wade, WV v EPA, Ted Cruz’s slimy finances, and the Republican Attorneys General Association otherwise known as the villains you need to know about. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Trans Rights Are Climate Justice``
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Yessenia Funes, Climate Director of Atmos Magazine, discuss queerness and climate justice, recent elections in Latin America, the vanishing Colorado River, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com. Learn more about Yessenia and Atmos’ work at atmos.earth//.
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How Many Oil Jobs Are There Really?
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary talk to Sara Sneath, New Orleans-based investigative journalist of Floodlight, about exactly what kind of jobs the fossil fuel industry creates and the quality of those jobs. Plus all the ways Big oil undermines labor rights Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A Republican Climate Plan?
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary discuss the recent Republican “climate plan”, the Democratic primaries, heatwaves, a special fossil fuel f@$#boi, and more. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Death of Democracy with Adam Serwer
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary talk with The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer about the future of US politics and how the path to climate justice requires a functioning democracy. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Of Meat and Men with Alicia Kennedy
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary sit down with writer Alicia Kennedy to discuss the Netflix documentary, Bad Vegan. They also talk about bad weather, bad politicians, bad carnivores, and bad Bezos. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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Down Uterus, Down Girl! with Rebecca Solnit
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary talk with Rebecca Solnit about our patriarchy problem, the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion, her role as the climate hope lady, and so much more! Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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A Total Moral Disaster
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary talk with David Wallace-Wells about the lessons we can learn from Covid-19, the parallels between pandemic response and climate response, and how Russia’s war in Ukraine sits at the intersection between the two. Follow us on twitter @RealHotTake and signup for our newsletter at hottakepod.com
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The Kids Are All Angry!
Today on Hot Take, Amy and Mary revisit why Joe Biden is struggling with Gen Z, and they talk about the terrible heatwave in South Asia, climate court cases, everybody’s (least) favorite billionaire and more!
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Free Britney and Lock Up Exxon
Amy and Mary sit down with Kate Aronoff, climate reporter at The New Republic, to talk about wtf nationalization means. They explore America's long and obscured history of it and why, how however messy it may sound, nationalization may be our best shot at transitioning the fossil fuel f*$%bois out of the business of global destruction.
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The Real F&#!bois of Fossil Fuel
Hot Take is officially BACK! And in their very first episode as part of the Crooked Media network, Amy and Mary reflect on the roots of Earth Day, which was born out of the Civil Rights movement and used as a vehicle for holding Big Oil accountable. Then they share their picks for the biggest villains in the fossil fuel industry today. (Also - Happy Fk BP Week, everybody!)
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Coming April 22... the return of Hot Take!
The climate crisis is literally the world’s biggest existential problem. But we can’t even begin to solve it if we don’t know how to talk about it first. That’s why Hot Take is back! Every week, Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar will talk about how climate change touches every aspect of our lives, and how our media is either getting the story right or entirely losing the plot. They’ll also connect you with other storytellers who grapple with how to tell this saga and who can help y
Big Oil Had a Bad Month (Which Means We Had a Good One)
In our S3 finale we talk about the very bad month Big Oil had in May, how much the climate story has changed in the past couple years, and what lies ahead as wildfire and hurricane season pick up, and pipeline protests rage on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Covid and Climate Have in Common: Science Denial
Pro Publica healthcare reporter Caroline Chen joins us to talk about her experience navigating that minefiled, where public health and climate intersect, what happened when all the climate journalists got reassigned to Covid, how to better integrate the ways we talk about health and climate, and a whole lot more.Reading List:A Tiny Number of People Will Be Hospitalized Despite Being Vaccinated. We Have to Learn Why.How Inequity Gets Built Into America’s Vaccination SystemVaccinating Bla
Moving Fast and Breaking Sh*t
Journalist Maddie Stone joins us to talk about Silicon Valley (yes, also the HBO series) and Big Tech's approach to both climate change and climate journalism.
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April 20 Is #FUBPday
We missed the 10-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, so on the 11-year anniversary we're going big: It's #FUBPday. Plus: Why Seaspiracy sucked Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hot and Cold with Rev Yearwood and The Coolest Show
In this crossover episode with The Coolest Show, Rev Yearwood takes us to school and church with an in-depth conversation about the history of the civil rights movement, the climate movement, and the role of religion in both. Plus: we call bullshit on the American Petroleum Institute's "climate plan."Sign up for our newsletter: https://hot-take.ghost.io/Check out The Coolest Show: https://think100climate.com/podcasts/coolest-show-on-climate-change/and Hip Hop Caucus: https://hiphopcaucus.org/
Le
The Ultimate Abolition
If you want to see the true toll of the climate crisis, you have to train yourself to look for the most vulnerable populations. And you’d be hard pressed to find a population more vulnerable than prisoners. This week, we’re joined on the podcast by one of our favorite guests ever, Drew Costley, to talk about why there is no humane future for prisons and what might come next.Sign up for our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribeSelect readings for this episode: 'People ar
The Greenwashing Olympics
A dramatic reading of the book Donald J. Trump: An Environmental Hero with Emily Atkin and Brian Kahn, plus a look at the energy industry's annual conference, CERA Week, or as we like to call it, the Greenwashing Olympics.For more of Emily's reading: https://heated.world/p/reading-is-fundamentalSubscribe to our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
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Two Sides to Every Story?
Lewis Wallace, journalist and author of the book The View from somewhere, and the podcast by the same name, joins us to talk about one of our least favorite conventions in journalism: both sidesism.Check out more from Lewis, including his book, podcast, speaking events and trainings: https://www.lewispants.com/Subscribe to our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Blood for Oil, with Antonia Juhasz
Investigative journalist Antonia Juhasz joins us to talk about all the many ways oil, war, and climate change intersect.Read more:https://antoniajuhasz.net/article/light-sweet-crude-a-former-us-ambassador-peddles-influence-in-afghanistan/https://antoniajuhasz.net/article/the-new-war-for-afghanistans-untapped-oil/https://antoniajuhasz.net/article/why-rex-tillerson-could-be-americas-most-dangerous-secretary-of-state/Subscribe to our newsletter: http://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe Le
No Better Time for Climate Reparations, with Tamara Toles O'Laughlin
The term climate reparations first came into the global climate conversation back in 2009. It disappeared for a while but has re-emerged in the past year or two. Environmental activist, organizer, lawyer, and all-around climate expert Tamara Toles O'Laughlin joins us to talk about where this idea came from, why it disappeared, and why it's back...hopefully to stay.Further reading:Maxine Burkett's original paper on climate reparations: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1539726"C
2020: The Shitshow
In our 2020 year-in-review episode, Mary and Amy talk about how Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter protests impacted climate coverage, how the media dealt with record-setting fires and hurricanes, the beauty that was greentrolling taking off this year, and what where we hope to see the climate story go in 2021.
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Newsletter Preview
The story behind our newsletter, and a look at some of our favorite pieces from our first year.
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Making the Case, with Rhiana Gunn-Wright
On our birthday episode, policy expert Rhiana Gunn-Wright joins to talk about the pernicious narrative that Progressives harmed down-ballot Dem races, and that somehow Progressive values can't win races.Newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
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Mitch McConnell's Cold Dead Hands
For our election 2020 recap episode, political consultant Rania Batrice joins us to break down what this means for climate, and Georgia Wright and Julianna Bradley, producers and hosts of the youth climate pod Inherited, join to talk about the youth vote turning out and turning up.Newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
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All the Lives in the Balance, with Rachel Ramirez
There’s a lot on the line this week. But we wanted to take a moment ahead of this momentous election to talk about the sides of the climate crisis we don’t often see here in the United States, because it’s happening in the Global South. In this episode, with Rachel Ramirez of Grist, as we waded through the crisis below the equator: all the disasters we don’t hear about, the capitols being moved away from rising seas, and the perilous and deadly work of environmental activists (many of them Indig
Political Instability = Planetary Instability
TIME magazine energy and environment reporter Justin Worland joins to discuss the many ways climate change and political instability feed and exacerbate each other. Check out our newsletter for links to the stories discussed in today's episode: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
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The Flyest Debate Ever
A recap of the VP Debate, particularly the climate bits and what everyone got wrong on fracking, with guest commentator Brian Kahn, of Earther! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Around the Way with Drew Costley
Drew Costley, environment reporter for One Zero, always makes us think he's from the places he's reporting about...which made him the perfect person for a discussion on the loss of local media and what it means for the climate conversation.Sign up for our newsletter to get this week's reading list + bonus features: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
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Mary and Amy Watched I May Destroy You
We dig into the way the HBO series I May Destroy You deals with climate and race, plus a great new IG show from Zazie Beetz on climate justice, and the issues with Zac Efron's Down to Earth.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There's No Climate Justice Without Indigenous Sovereignty, with Rebecca Nagle
We dig into colonialism and Indigenous genocide as the original sin of climate change, why tribal sovereignty is critical to climate action, and much more with intrepid and profound Cherokee reporter Rebecca Nagle. (She’s also the host of the This Land podcast from Crooked Media.) Sign up for our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
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No Ordinary Pain: Katrina at 15
In this special bonus episode on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we bring you a story Mary told about the story on the Story Collider podcast. Big thanks to them for letting us use this clip! For more on Katrina, Bush, and where both sit on the timeline of the climate crisis, check out this week's newsletter, we've made it free for all: https://realhottake.substack.com/
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Why Is It So Hard to Talk about Climate and Food?
Epicurious editor (and hot cake!) David Tamarkin joins to discuss how the aspirational world of food media has been slow to integrate climate, the machismo-and-meat problem, and how he and others are trying to push the beat forward. Plus, weird food trends!Subscribe to our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hate to Say We Told You So, with Brian Kahn
Climate disasters are piling on top of the pandemic and ongoing nationwide civil rights protests, but you wouldn't necessarily know it from reading or watching the news. Brian Kahn, managing editor at Earther, joins us to talk about why so many outlets have a hard time applying a climate lens to stories that aren't about emissions or weather, the storytelling talents of climate deniers, and the need to undo decades worth of bad climate coverage that prioritized the appearance of objectivity over
Climate Bois Club, with Kate Aronoff
The New Republic's Kate Aronoff joins us to talk about the difference between political reporting and climate reporting, the link between fossil fuel divestment and defunding the police, and of course all the various types of climate bois.Subscribe to our newsletter for bonus content! https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mary and Amy Watched The Politician
The entire second season of Netflix series The Politician revolves around the issue of climate change and, despite a couple of big fails on the subject of race, it’s actually good. We dig into it in this coffee break episode.Bonus segment for subscribers includes a look at why Handmaid's Tale fails as an ecofascist cautionary tale, and a surprising revelation from Amy. Sign up here: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Media in Meltdown and Climate in Crisis, with Kendra Pierre-Louis
The media is having a Me Too moment for journalists of color amid national protests against policy brutality and systemic, all against a backdrop of a climate emergency. NYT climate reporter-turned Gimlet podcaster Kendra Pierre-Louis joins us to talk about all of this and more. Plus: dad jokes, mayo edition!Subscribe for a bonus segment in which we talk about that crazy CBS "Karen" story, why it's so hard for national media outlets to criticize themselves, and why a certain Hot Take co-host doe
S2 Coming soon!
We're so excited to bring you Season 2 in July! We'll have new guests, a new format, and the usual combination of media criticism, climate trends, f-bombs and dad jokes. See you soon!
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Yes, It's Still Time to Talk About Climate
Amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, some climate activists have been saying "now's not the time to talk about climate." In this episode we talk about how justice is justice, climate and racial justice are all the same thing, they can't be separated. To access the full-length episode, consider becoming a Hot Take premium subscriber: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
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Kick Rocks, Elon
Elon Musk has done some great work making electric cars more of a reality in the U.S. But the hero worship of him can be dangerous, especially when it blinds people to his less-than-helpful moves when it comes to climate. Premium subscribers to our weekly newsletter got a whole feature on this last week, but there were still things we had to leave out, so ... bonus episode! If you want a weekly digest of climate coverage plus original analysis from Mary and Amy, make sure to subscribe t
Season 1 Finale: Rum O'Clock
It's the S1 finale y'all! Mary and Amy wrap up the season with a look at the ever-evolving climate-COVID-19 story, coverage of climate for climate's sake, and pieces that provide inspiration to keep fighting on climate. Plus some rum-fueled rants and dad jokes, of course.Subscribe to our newsletter so you won't miss our curated reading lists, original writing and subscriber-only bonus episodes: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribeReading List:The US has a collective action problem that’s l
So This Is Purgatory, with Special Guest Co-host Eric Holthaus
Live from quarantine! Mary and Amy talk to The Correspondent's Eric Holthaus about how to remain optimistic, the ways corona and climate do and don't intersect, and why you can't sleep on climate just because there's another catastrophe unfolding.Reading ListWe're Not Just Stopping Coronavirus, We're Building a New World, by Eric Holthaus in The Correspondent: https://thecorrespondent.com/385/we-arent-just-stopping-coronavirus-were-building-a-new-world/50968856015-625b9768Trump Moves Forward On
Disaster Denialism with Guest Co-Host Dr. Samantha Montano
Disasterologist Dr. Samantha Montano joins to answer all our questions about the coronavirus pandemic, what it does and doesn't tell us about climate change, and why we can't take a break from worrying about climate.Reading List:Kushner Puts Himself in Middle of White House’s Chaotic Coronavirus Response, by Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Noah Weiland, New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/politics/jared-kushner-coronavirus-trump.htmlTrump team failed to foll
March 22, 2020: Seeing Corona Through Climate-Colored Glasses with David Wallace-Wells
All the things the climate story has taught us, or not, about corona, with special guest co-host David Wallace-Wells. David is deputy editor of New York magazine and the author of The Uninhabitable Earth.Reading list:Coronavirus Poses Threat to Climate Action, Says Watchdog, Jillian Ambrose in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/coronovirus-poses-threat-to-climate-action-says-watchdogWhat Coronavirus Teaches Us About Climate Change, David Wallace-Wells in New York Ma
March 15, 2020: Pandemic, Primaries, and Not Asking Permission, with Guest Co-Host Sarah Miller
Amidst a global pandemic and the meltdown of the U.S. Democratic primary, guest co-host Sarah Miller joins us to talk about how change gets made outside of existing systems. .Reading List; Heaven or High Water, Popula: https://popula.com/2019/04/02/heaven-or-high-water/The Movie Assassin, Popula:https://popula.com/2018/09/30/sarahs-magnum-opus/Joe Biden's Sketchy Climate Record, The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/article/156801/joe-bidens-sketchy-climate-recordWhat Would Happen if the Wor
Feb 2020: More Fucking Greenwashing! With Guest Co-Host Maddie Stone
Guest co-host Maddie Stone, Earther founder-turned-freelance science journalist talks us through the latest tech and climate angles. Plus: shifts in how financial reporters are talking about climate, the spread of climate misinformation, and media taps into the climate feelings of Gen Z.Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/171s0nlm8xvncu4/AAB9wsO7RJNFMnio5J3poKVva?dl=0Reading list: The High Stakes Fight Over Bolivia’s Lithium, Protocol: https://www.protocol.com/bolivia-lithium-morales$10 Bil
Jan 2020: No Chill
The first month of 2020 proves that the climate story has no chill at all. From the Australian bushfires to big important stories on everything from climate vision to radiioactive fracking, the story just keeps getting bigger and crazier. Special guest co-host Meera Subramanian joins Mary and Amy to break it all down.About Meera: Meera Subramanian is an award-winning freelance journalist whose work has been published around the world, and her first book is A River Runs Again: India’s Na
2019: It's Go Time
2019 brought an explosion of climate coverage in a variety of forms, and from the broadest coalition of voices yet. The movement grappled with gatekeepers and finally looked honestly at its racist past. Good thing too, because with increasing disasters, growing eco-fascism, and a total absence of global political leadership on climate, we need all hands on deck. It's go time.Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/171s0nlm8xvncu4/AAB9wsO7RJNFMnio5J3poKVva?dl=0Reading list:Kanaka Maoli: Don't Mist
2018: The Wake-Up Call
2018 brought massive change to the ways we talk about climate. Global climate scientists put out the most alarming report yet on climate change impacts and projections, and media covered that report with the seriousness it deserved. The climate movement finally started moving past the hope narrative, and with megastorms ramping up and a town called Paradise burning down, climate change became impossible to ignore. Reading List: The Atlantic, The Media Barely Covered One of the Worst Storms to Hi
2016-2017 in Review: The Hangover
What happened in climate coverage in the lead-up to and aftermath of the 2016 election, how natural disasters rocked our world and our stories in 2017, Standing Rock, pieces that changed the narrative forever, and more.Stories discussed in this ep:ProPublica, "Houston's Perfect Storm" https://projects.propublica.org/houston/Rolling Stone, “Can New York Be Saved in the Era of Global Warming?” https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/can-new-york-be-saved-in-the-era-of-global-warming-2404
Fangirl vs. Fangirl
In this intro episode, Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt share their own approaches to climate storytelling and what they love most about each other's work.Mary's work:The big lie that we're told about climate change is that it's our own faultI work in the environmental movement. I don't care if you recycle.Home is always worth itAfter the StormAmy's work:Of course U.S. birthrates are fallingThe Case for Climate RageWhy Are The New York Times and Washington Post Producing Ads for B
Welcome to Hot Take
Climate change is the biggest story of our time. But sometimes we get so caught up in the story itself, we don't make time to talk about the storytelling ... how exactly are we understanding and processing this issue, and how do we ensure that conversations over both problems and solutions are productive? Welcome to Hot Take, a media criticism show about climate change coverage, with an eye toward making the conversation more productive, powerful, and inclusive. Learn more about your ad choices.