Episodes

  • The U.S. is Losing the Iran War, and How They're Handling That

    The U.S. is Losing the Iran War, and How They're Handling That
    May 23 2026
    The United States is losing the Iran War. They tried to prompt a popular uprising, to change the regime, to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, to extract a promise of no nuclear enrichment. All that has failed. Iran actually extended its fuel blockade to the Emirati port outside the Strait. Now the Trump administration is trying to claim the war is over, even as the missiles continue to fly. This isn't Iranian propaganda--it's right there in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. We're getting some Orwellian statements out of the White House about this fossil fuel war with Iran.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Ben Leffel on Climate Deniers

    Ben Leffel on Climate Deniers
    May 17 2026
    Ben Leffel, public policy professor, was with us last episode to talk about cities making efforts to cut their emissions. Those were the good guys in the story. This week we get to the bad guys: climate lobbyists seeking profits, and climate deniers.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • What Cities Can Do About Climate Change (with Ben Leffel)

    What Cities Can Do About Climate Change (with Ben Leffel)
    May 12 2026
    Ben Leffel, who researches climate policy for a living, is with us for two episodes. This is the first, mainly about cities and what city governments can do on climate. It's probably more than you think. These are the good guys in the story. Next week's episode features the bad guys.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • The Most Expensive Natural Disaster Canada Ever Had, and Much More

    The Most Expensive Natural Disaster Canada Ever Had, and Much More
    May 9 2026
    This week we complete our conversation with Shooka Bidarian, Environmental Correspondent for Marjan Television, an Iranian news network not based outside of Iran. We hear about that time that every Democrat in the U.S. Senate voted against basic climate action - that was the Kyoto protocol. And another extreme weather event, this one in British Columbia. It was the most expensive natural disaster Canada has ever seen.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Besides the War, How's the Climate Crisis in Iran?

    Besides the War, How's the Climate Crisis in Iran?
    May 5 2026
    Besides the war, Iran is in deep crisis over climate change. Climate is severely impacting the country ecologically and politically. Our guest is Shooka Bidarian is Environmental Correspondent for Marjan Television, a Farsi-language network based in London. She received the Alfredo Sirkis Memorial Green award for her work on our climate crisis. With Shooka, Alycee and Matthew explore how global heating is affecting Iran as well as the Iranian regime's reaction to both climate change and climate activists. We'll also hear about the documentary our guest produced, the first major documentary on climate change in the Farsi language.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • We Must Never Forget the Threat to Destroy A Civilization

    We Must Never Forget the Threat to Destroy A Civilization
    Apr 29 2026
    In this episode we further reflect, process, try to comprehend how the President's threat to wipe out an entire civilization has weakened the United States and the world. It's weakened it economically, militarily, but above all morally. No one thinks he was joking. What does it mean for humanity that the threat to wipe out a civilization has occurred by someone who has the power to do it? Where does the United States go from there? Where does humanity go from there?
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Which is More Unstable: The President, or the Global Fuel Supply?

    Which is More Unstable: The President, or the Global Fuel Supply?
    Apr 24 2026
    Let's pose the question: What is more unstable? The mind of the President of the United States, or the global supply of fossil fuels? Recent events have shown that both are highly, highly unstable. The President's profanity-laced social media posts threatening to wipe out an entire civilization comes at the very same time as the real possibility that Australia or Asian countries will run out of fuel. Both of these instabilities have dire consequences. We explore them in this episode.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • What Climate Change is Doing to Coffee and Social Lives, Among Other Topics

    What Climate Change is Doing to Coffee and Social Lives, Among Other Topics
    Apr 12 2026
    In this episode we talk about some expected and unexpected bits of fallout from the climate crisis. One unexpected bit is what could happen to coffee shops and the social interaction that happens around them if, as expected, we lose a huge amount of the viable land that goes toward coffee cultivation. This isn't just a worry for latte-sippers. Cafes are almost the only indoor daytime social spaces in cities. Losing them could get even more lonely than we already are.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins