
Summer is here, temperatures are rising — and so are electric bills. That also means many people are facing a severely overlooked issue: power shutoffs. According to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2024 utility companies disconnected U.S. households from electricity more than 13.4 million times due to a customer’s inability to pay. When that happens, people can’t turn on their lights, keep food refrigerated, or cool down the home. And regulations preventing shutoffs during extreme heat events are woefully inadequate.
But when utilities help pay the upfront costs of efficiency upgrades, the customers and utilities can both save energy — and money. How do we protect the most vulnerable people from the dangers of home power shutoffs?
Guests:
Jean Su, Energy Justice Director, Center for Biological Diversity
Sanya Carley, Co-Director, Energy Justice Lab, University of Pennsylvania
Tamara Jones, Co-Executive Director, Clean Energy Works
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
4:15 Jean Su on topline takeaways from nationwide data
10:04 Jean Su on why utilities don’t cover the cost of non-payment
12:55 Jean Su on polices to prevent shutoffs
16:16 Jean Su on the reality of underreported shutoffs
22:17 Sanya Carley on what happens to a household when a shutoff occurs
25:15 Sanya Carley on seeking help after a shutoff
27:44 Sanya Carley on federal impact on shutoffs
29:56 Sanya Carley on what state legislatures can do
35:25 Tamara Jones on working for justice
38:09 Tamara Jones on who is impacted by energy injustice
46:14 Tamara Jones on examples of where policy gets it right
50:56 Tamara Jones on what work needs to be done in policy and regulation
For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit our episode page at climateone.org
Join Climate One for an induction cooking demonstration night on July 21, at 6 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Come enjoy delicious food and wine, and learn about why cooking with magnets beats cooking with gas. Tickets available at climateone.org/events
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Jul 3
59 min

Across the country, developers are racing to build huge new buildings to house computers to fuel the AI boom, creating an explosive demand for new energy. While some hyperscalers seek renewable energy, others are turning to fossil fuels. But concerns around high electric bills, air and noise pollution and water depletion have generated widespread community pushback against these giant facilities, and it seems opposing data centers is a bipartisan issue. Many cities and states are working to rapidly update zoning and other local regulations to respond to the dual pressures of developer interest and constituent backlash.
Since data center development isn’t slowing down, what policies or creative strategies can lessen the impacts for local communities and ratepayers?
Guests:
KeShaun Pearson, Executive Director, Memphis Community Against Pollution
Rebecca Egan McCarthy, Freelance Journalist
Jason Plautz, Reporter, E&E News and Politico
Astrid Atkinson, CEO, Camus
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
3:15 KeShaun Pearson on updates to the Colossus data center pollution
6:18 KeShaun Pearson on state regulators allowing an expansion of gas turbines
8:08 KeShaun Pearson on the effect of the pollution on the community
16:24 KeShaun Pearson on what he hopes the lawsuits can achieve
19:38 Rebecca Egan McCarthy on Archbald and data center development
22:26 Rebecca Egan McCarthy on who has the power to regulate data center projects
28:16 Rebecca Egan McCarthy on data center development outside of Archbald
30:21 Jason Plautz on changing attitudes toward data centers
34:32 Jason Plautz on where there is meaningful regulation happening
39:27 Jason Plautz on state level regulatory changes
41:26 Jason Plautz on the pace of data center development
44:45 Astrid Atkinson on the effects of data center energy load on the grid
46:19 Astrid Atkinson on what flexibility means in the energy world
50:39 Astrid Atkinson on hyperscalers paying for their energy
55:22 Astrid Atkinson on how some policy changes can help communities
For show notes and related links, visit our episode page at climateone.org
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Jun 26
1 hr 1 min

More and more, conservative voices are making the case that the U.S. can’t achieve energy dominance without solar power. Even the leading industry trade group is changing its strategy.
Earlier this year, Politico reported that the American Clean Power Association launched the “American Energy First” campaign to engage Kellyanne Conway and conservative influencers like Katie Miller “to amplify the benefits of solar energy” and “note the harm that could result from reckless trade policy.” Meanwhile, conservative groups at the state and federal level are advocating for building out solar power in service of private property rights, economic development and national security.
Episode Guests:
Kelsey Brugger, Congressional policy reporter, Politico
Skyler Zunk, Executive Director, Energy Right; Executive Director, America First Energy
Lillian Floutsis, Indiana Senior Field Representative, Indiana Land and Liberty, Conservative Energy Network
This episode also features a reported piece from David Condos of KUER.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Intro
03:00 – Kelsey Brugger explains American Clean Power memo about reaching out to conservative influencers
06:30 – Does this indicate an ideological shift on the right?
09:40 – How much can this effort shift views within the administration
14:00 – Kelsey Brugger on what this story says about how the clean energy industry is positioning itself
19:00 – Skylar Zunk shares rationale behind his “Make Solar Great Again” hats
23:40 – How America First Energy frames solar energy
32:00 – How approach to solar energy conversation differ in D.C. and Louisiana
36:50 – KUER’s David Condos reports on Utah communities moving toward renewable energy
43:00 – Lillian Floutsis shares story from Allen County, Indiana, about local debate around setbacks for solar energy development
48:00 – Floutsis on framing solar conversations in Indiana around property rights, economic development and national security
53:00 – Climate is usually not a part of these conversations
54:20 – Floutsis share solar success stories
57:50 – Climate One More Thing
For show notes and related links, visit our episode page at climateone.org
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Join us for our induction cooking demonstration night on July 21, at 6 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Come enjoy delicious food and wine, and learn about why cooking with magnets beats cooking with gas. Tickets available at climateone.org/events
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Jun 19
1 hr 4 min

Industrial agriculture accounts for a significant share of global emissions, but meat alternatives face real hurdles in becoming a mainstay of consumer diets. The hype around plant-based meat has cooled: hurt by price gaps, ultra-processed rhetoric, and culture-war politics around masculinity and food identity. Yet feeding a growing planet will require eating less beef, wasting less food, and producing more food with less land. Cultivated meat – made from animal cells and grown in a lab – could offer a different path forward, especially in hybrid form combining plant and cultivated proteins. What might the future of meat look like?
Guests:
Robbie Lockie, CEO, Founder, foodfacts.org
Michael Grunwald, Journalist and author, “We Are Eating the Earth”
Claire Bomkamp, Senior Lead Scientist, Cultivated Meat & Seafood, Good Food Institute
Highlights:
00:00 - Introduction
4:30 Robbie Lockie on changing his diet
11:54 Robbie Lockie on who is choosing plant based meat
17:55 Robbie Lockie on how plant based meat competes on taste
20:40 Robbie Lockie on the future of plant based meat
26:54 Michael Grunwald making more food with less land
30:16 Michael Grunwald on the efficiency of industrial agriculture
33:30 Michael Grunwald on rotational grazing
38:00 Ariana Brocious’ cultivated salmon tasting
45:05 Claire Bomkamp on the state of cultivated meat
47:16 Claire Bomkamp on energy use of cultivated meat
52:23 Claire Bomkamp on what cuts cultivated meat can create
56:22 Claire Bomkamp on the price of cultivated meat
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
Join us for our induction cooking demonstration night on July 21, at 6 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Come enjoy delicious food and wine, and learn about why cooking with magnets beats cooking with gas. Tickets available at climateone.org/events
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Jun 12
1 hr 5 min

While the federal government has all but abandoned trying to address the climate crisis, cities around the world are stepping up. C40 is an international network of 97 cities representing 920 million people and 23% of the world’s economy. Seventy-three percent of these cities have already peaked their emissions. Here in the US, Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of nearly 350 U.S. mayors, representing 48 states and over 70 million Americans. How are cities innovating on reducing emissions, adapting to increasing climate risks, and — perhaps most importantly — sharing their knowledge?
Guests:
Eric Garcetti, C40 Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy; Former Mayor, Los Angeles Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix; Former Chair, Climate Mayors
Highlights:
00:00 Intro
2:46 Eric Garcetti on his time as mayor of LA
9:45 Eric Garcetti on where cities are moving the needle
17:47 Eric Garcetti on cities on the world stage
22:11 Eric Garcetti on the work of C40
26:20 Eric Garcetti on knowledge sharing
32:17 Eric Garcetti on co-leading
40:11 Kate Gallego on dealing with the heat in Phoenix
43:46 Kate Gallego on affordability
48:10 Kate Gallego on regulating data centers
52:35 Kate Gallego on working with other mayors
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Jun 5
1 hr 4 min

When real and internal maps come up short, and the path ahead is uncertain, how do we find our way? In her new book “Climate Wayfinding," Dr. Katharine Wilkinson (co-founder of the All We Can Save Project) offers a compassionate and empowering guide for navigating through ache to action, doubt to possibility. Whether we’re steeped in climate or newly curious, we can look inward with care, outward with curiosity, and forward with courage to shape our unique contributions to healing the planet we call home.
In Florida, social media star Uncle Pappy blends his unique mix of philosophy, humor, and love of nature into his own brand of inspirational messages.
“I feel a moral imperative to nature to try to remind people of how incredible it is, and at the same time, I feel a moral imperative to people to remind them of how incredible nature is.”
Guests:
Katharine Wilkinson, Author, “Climate Wayfinding;” Co-founder & Executive Director, The All We Can Save Project
Blair Carlyle (aka Uncle Pappy), Instagram influencer; Law student
For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/podcasts
Highlights:
00:00 – Intro
04:15 – Katharine Wilkinson’s climate journey
10:45 – Climate is big, global, multifaceted, yet impacts are close and intimate
17:45 – How to transform overwhelming grief into power, joy, and meaning
21:00 – Answering the question, “What can I do?”
29:15 – Reading of the poem “Equinox" by Tamiko Byer
33:00 – How Blair Carlyle, aka Uncle Pappy, pivoted to environmental subjects
36:15 – Carlyle’s Connection to the outdoors
40:00 – “Pappy is the realest version of me, the version I aspire to be”
45:00 – Carlyle on reaching people of all political beliefs, regardless of their climate views
53:30 – Climate One More Thing
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May 29
1 hr

The Goldman Environmental Prize is known as the Nobel for grassroots environmental champions, for good reason. Award-winners are earth defenders, often bucking entrenched systems and powerful interests in order to protect and restore the natural environments we all depend on. This week we feature conversations with two of the 2026 Goldman Prize winners:
Iroro Tanshi, a tropical conservationist and bat ecologist who rediscovered a species that hadn't been seen in half a century. When climate-amplified wildfire threatened to destroy her new find, she built a community movement to virtually eliminate the wildfire risk.
Sarah Finch, a tireless environmental advocate who spent years in English courts using planning law as a defense against the fossil fuel industry. She won a major UK Supreme Court ruling, a ruling that is already constraining oil, gas, and coal development across the country.
What can we learn about passion, persistence, and collaboration from these two advocates?
Guests:
Iroro Tanshi, Tropical Conservationist
Sarah Finch, Environmental Campaigner
For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit https://climateone.org/podcasts
Highlights:
00:00 Intro
03:01 Iroro Tanshi on Warri, Nigeria and the oil industry
05:37 Iroro Tanshi on becoming interested in bats and the forest
09:24 Iroro Tanshi on finding a bat species once thought extinct
14:03 Iroro Tanshi on when a wildfire tore through the research site
19:20 Iroro Tanshi on the wildfire risks of forests in equatorial Africa
20:50 Iroro Tanshi on working with the community to address the wildfires
23:01 Iroro Tanshi how to scale what she’s learned world-wide
24:40 Iroro Tanshi on what bats can teach people about being human
27:17 Sarah Finch on realizing the far reaching implication of her work
30:49 Sarah Finch on why the legal argument finally worked
34:42 Sarah Finch on getting the confidence to go after big oil
44:43 Sarah Finch on how a group of people can make a real difference
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May 22
54 min

Protest is the ultimate in equal-opportunity political action. As Annie Leonard, former executive director of Greenpeace USA says, "Making change is like laying a stone path across the garden. Peaceful protest may be every 4th or 8th or 200th stone; it helps us get where we want to go but also we need a lot of other stones too.” Leonard explores the history of protests in her new book “Protest: Respect It. Defend It. Use It.”
And while protest is the loudest and most visible tool, it’s only one of many ways to take action. Through community building, through civic engagement, through elected office, through corporate boardrooms, through churches and nonprofit agencies, there are countless paths to exercising power and promoting positive change. In this episode we hear from three leaders working in three different arenas, all toward the same goal.
Guests:
Annie Leonard, Environmental Activist, Author of “Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It”
Danielle Lee, Founder, Climate Action Club
James Coleman, City Councilor, South San Francisco
For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit climateone.org/podcasts
Highlights:
00:00 – Intro
04:00 – Annie Leonard shares the story of the Section 504 sit-ins protest in San Francisco
06:30 – Different ways protest can be effective
08:30 – Leonard on why she puts her body on the line (gets arrested) during protests
16:00 – Leonard on the lawsuit Energy Transfer brought against Greenpeace USA over Standing Rock protests
22:00 – Protecting, defending, and using the right to protest
26:00 – Danielle Lee on organizing younger people around climate and environment
30:30 – Systemic versus personal action
37:00 – James Coleman on the decision to run for office as a tool for effective change
41:00 – Impact of local government
46:30 – How change actually happens
50:00 – Climate One More Thing
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May 15
56 min

Sometimes mothers are biological; other times, they’re chosen. But often, they're the fiercest people you can have on your side.
In this special Mother’s Day episode, we’ll hear stories about the vital role mothers and caregivers play in confronting the climate crisis. From a midwife providing essential healthcare in one of the most climate-stressed regions on the planet to an organizer who leads a network of over a million caregivers demanding cleaner air and a healthier future — these women show what it means to protect people in a changing world.
Guests:
Dominique Browning, Co-Founder and Director, Moms Clean Air Force
Neha Mankani, Founder, Mama Baby Fund; Climate Advisor, International Confederation of Midwives
Shohreh Karimipour, Former Regional Water Engineer, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; Kousha Navidar’s Mom
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org/podcasts.
Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:25 Shohreh Karimipour on instilling care for the environment
07:49 Dominique Browning on founding Moms Clean Air Force
12:36 Dominique Browning on framing climate around children’s health
15:10 Isla and Levi on what their mom has taught them
18:28 Dominique Browning on leading and dealing with federal rollbacks
23:47 Dominique Browning on how her approach is different
29:44 More mom stories
34:06 Neha Mankani on midwifery as a climate resilience strategy
35:54 Neha Mankani on connecting reproductive care to the climate crisis
38:39 Neha Mankani on the healthcare system in Pakistan
45:30 Neha Mankani on how climate impacts men and women differently
49:15 Neha Mankani on being able to serve in her role
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May 8
58 min

In 2021, legendary investor John Doerr outlined his plan to solve climate change in his bestseller “Speed & Scale.” The plan outlines 10 objectives, each with their own set of key results, to cut emissions to net zero. And in true John Doerr style, the results are to be measurable and trackable.
Now, five years later, Doerr and co-author Ryan Panchadsaram unveil their 2026 update, revealing where the world is winning, where it's falling behind, and what it will take to close the gap.
Guests:
John Doerr, Venture capitalist; Chair, Kleiner Perkins
Ryan Panchadsaram, Advisor to the Chairman, Kleiner Perkins
Aliya Haq, President, Clean Economy Project (CleanEcon)
Robinson Meyer, Founding Executive Editor, Heatmap News
Nancy E. Pfund, Founder and Managing Partner, DBL Partners
For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/podcasts
Highlights:
00:00 – Intro
01:00 – John Doerr on how his plan differs from others
05:30 – Ryan Panchadsaram: updated plan focuses on what needs to be built, rather than cut
08:30 – Bright spot: deployment of solar and wind
10:00 – Big challenges: methane leaks
15:30 – Keeping accountable with shifting deadlines
19:00 – Where government succeeds and fails in addressing climate
21:30 – Where tech industry/VC succeeds and fails in addressing climate
29:00 – Reframing the climate narrative around the good news
33:20 – Aliya Haq: load growth is an incredible opportunity for us to advance clean
37:00 – Coalition uniting to fix the grid and make policy work for clean energy
39:00 – Robinson Meyer on geopolitical energy shocks and reconsideration of fuel sources
44:15 – Race for clean tech is a “frenemy” competition
48:00 – Nancy Pfund: Clean energy remains a very “investable” area
52:00 – Cost curves for EVs, solar are inexorable – we just need to build policy to support it
54:00 – Climate One More Thing
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May 1
58 min
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