The Sweaty Penguin Podcast

The Sweaty Penguin

Ethan Brown
Sometimes, climate change IS a laughing matter. Every week, The Sweaty Penguin cuts through the noise and the doom-and-gloom of the climate conversation with late-night-comedy-style monologues and in-depth conversations with leading global experts on a variety of environmental issues. Through a nonpartisan approach, The Sweaty Penguin makes environmental issues less overwhelming and politicized and more accessible and fun. In partnership with Peril and Promise, a PBS/WNET public media initiative on climate change, The Sweaty Penguin invites you to join the hottest conversation in town.
Tip of the Iceberg E38: No, the 1.5°C climate target is not dead
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27, wrapped up in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on Sunday, and the outcome contained good news and bad news. To start, we look at the bad news: India’s proposal to include a phase down of fossil fuels in the final agreement, which was backed by much of the world including the EU, UK, and US, ultimately failed to make the final agreement. This result was disappointing for many reasons, but also led to some over the top takes that global climate targets were officially doomed to fail. Ethan explains why even in spite of this bad news, there is room for optimism and hope around our climate goals and energy transition in this week’s “Tip of the Iceberg.” The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writer: Ethan Brown Fact Checker: Megan Crimmins Editor: Megan Antone Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Megan Antone Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Nov 25, 2022
24 min
107. The Bakken Formation
A few months ago, The Guardian did a five-month investigation into “carbon bombs,” or fossil fuel projects that would, over the course of their life, emit over one billion tons of carbon. They found that there are 195 planned oil and gas carbon bombs around the world, and if they proceed as planned, these projects alone would blow past internationally agreed upon climate targets. For our sixth deep dive on carbon bombs, we take a look at the Bakken Formation: a 200,000 square mile region spanning northwestern North Dakota, northeastern Montana, and southern Saskatchewan that is home to the sixth highest emitting oil and gas project in the United States. The oil industry in the Bakken began recently and grew fast, creating environmental and health issues in the region and turning once peaceful rural communities into crime-ridden messes. Today, we explore why the Bakken Formation became so popular, what challenges the region faces, and how the region can achieve a more environmentally and economically prosperous future. With special guest Dr. Wesley Blundell: Assistant Professor of Economic Sciences at Washington State University. The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writers: Megan Crimmins, Maddy Schmidt, Ethan Brown Fact Checker: Sarika Sawant Editor: Megan Antone Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Megan Antone Music: Brett Sawka
Nov 18, 2022
39 min
Tip of the Iceberg E37: COP27 begins
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27, kicked off on Sunday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, bringing 198 countries together to negotiate the next batch of global climate agreements. And in setting the stage for the conference, one word has stood out among the rest: implementation. Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Convention Simon Stiell opened the conference saying, “Today a new era begins — and we begin to do things differently. Paris gave us the agreement. Katowice and Glasgow gave us the plan. Sharm el-Sheik shifts us to implementation.” After years of pledges looking decades into the future, an implementation-focused conference may sound exciting, but there’s still a few things to clear up. Ethan discusses where current plans fall short, which issues don’t have plans at all yet, and more optimistically, why it would be wrong to say this is the “first” talk of implementation in this week’s “Tip of the Iceberg.” The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writer: Ethan Brown Fact Checker: Ysabel Wulfing Editor: Megan Antone Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Megan Antone Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Nov 11, 2022
23 min
106. Grocery Bags
Plastic bags have been a surprisingly hot topic in the environmental world, with eight states having gone so far as to enact single-use plastic bag bans. Plastic bags do present issues across their supply chain from climate, health, and justice concerns in the manufacturing process to pollution and biodiversity concerns after their disposal. But are bans or paper bags or tote bags actually viable solutions? Today, we explore what issues plastic bags create, why many proposed solutions have major shortcomings, and some lesser known possibilities for how our grocery bag use could become more sustainable. With special guest Dr. Rebecca Taylor: Senior Lecturer of Economics at the University of Sydney. The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writers: Sarika Sawant, Ethan Brown Fact Checker: Hallie Cordingley Editor: Megan Antone, Trevor Snow Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Megan Antone Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Nov 4, 2022
45 min
Tip of the Iceberg E36: It’s a tough time to be a painting
There have been a string of stunts recently with climate activists targeting artwork, from Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting to Monet’s “Grainstacks” painting to Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” painting last week. These protests have reinvigorated conversations about the “3.5% rule,” which suggests a movement needs only 3.5% of the population involved to be successful. Or, at least that’s what some climate activists have claimed. Ethan argues why the 3.5% rule might not be applicable to climate advocacy and why leading with the goal of inspiring as many people as possible could produce more success in this week’s “Tip of the Iceberg.” The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writers: Ethan Brown, Madeleine Salman, Maddy Schmidt Fact Checker: Ysabel Wulfing Editor: Megan Antone Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Sabrina Rollings Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Nov 2, 2022
22 min
105. Soy
Soy is in most of the processed foods we eat, fed to the animals we eat, and has become a staple in vegan diets. But unfortunately, intensive agricultural practices such as monocropping, monoculture, pesticide use, and deforestation have created a number of environmental issues around the crop. As the world’s leading soy producer, Brazil in particular has been the topic of global dialogue around agriculture-driven deforestation in the Cerrado and the Amazon, especially with an important runoff election coming up in two days. Today, we explore what issues soy presents, how climate change intersects with these issues, and what we can do from here to make soy more sustainable. With special guest Dr. Raoni Rajão: Professor in Social Studies of Science at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writers: Hallie Cordingley, Bobbie Armstrong, Ethan Brown Fact Checker: Sarika Sawant Editor: Megan Antone, Trevor Snow Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Sabrina Rollings Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Oct 28, 2022
42 min
Tip of the Iceberg E35: The big banks got subpoenaed… for going too green
Last Wednesday, nineteen states announced that they had subpoenaed JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, asking for documents relating to the companies’ involvement with the UN Net-Zero Banking Alliance. These states felt it was against their best interests for these banks to blackball the fossil fuel industry, going so far as to call the banks “corporate activists.” But after doing some digging, it appears these companies are far from “corporate activists,” ranking number 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 14 in the world in fossil fuel financing. Ethan argues why the banks’ decision to join the NZBA was more a financial decision than a political one, and how this subpoena has already caused damage to the global banking community’s climate ambitions in this week’s “Tip of the Iceberg.” The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writer: Ethan Brown, Maddy Schmidt Fact Checker: Megan Crimmins Editor: Megan Antone Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Maddy Schmidt Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Oct 26, 2022
22 min
104. The Orinoco Belt
A few months ago, The Guardian did a five-month investigation into “carbon bombs,” or fossil fuel projects that would, over the course of their life, emit over one billion tons of carbon. They found that there are 195 planned oil and gas carbon bombs around the world, and if they proceed as planned, these projects alone would blow past internationally agreed upon climate targets. For our fifth deep dive on carbon bombs, we take a look at the Orinoco Belt: a 21,357 square mile territory in Venezuela’s Orinoco River Basin home to the highest emitting carbon bomb in South America. In addition to being the source of Venezuela’s oil economy, the Orinoco Belt faces a number of environmental and human rights challenges, many of which are tied back into this fossil fuel industry. Today, we explore the impacts of oil drilling in the Orinoco Belt, what other challenges surround it or arise from it, and how this region could move forward. With special guest Dr. Luisa Palacios: Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. Writers: Dain Kim, Isabel Plower, Maxwell Pociask, Ethan Brown Fact Checker: Sarika Sawant Editor: Trevor Snow Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Sabrina Rollings Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Oct 21, 2022
59 min
Tip of the Iceberg E34: How bad can it get?
The latest natural disasters in an unrelenting few months of climate catastrophes include Hurricane Julia in Central and South America and deadly floods in Nigeria and Australia. After all this damage, it’s challenging to envision how climate change gets any worse from here. But scientists have started imagining worst case scenarios, and in September, published a study on climate “tipping points” that brought both good news and bad news. Ethan breaks down what climate trajectory we’re on and where we’ve seen significant progress in this week’s “Tip of the Iceberg.” The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writer: Ethan Brown, Madeleine Salman, Maddy Schmidt Fact Checker: Megan Crimmins Editor: Megan Antone Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Sabrina Rollings Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Oct 19, 2022
23 min
103. Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are microscopic plants floating around in marine and aquatic ecosystems that produce 50-80% of the world’s oxygen, provide food for countless other organisms, and are so effective at absorbing carbon dioxide that some have suggested growing phytoplankton as a solution to climate change. But sometimes, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Agricultural runoff containing fertilizer and animal waste can create massive blooms of phytoplankton, which can have devastating effects on ecosystems, harm human health, and put a strain on the economy. Today, we explore the good and bad of phytoplankton, how climate change plays into this conversation, and where we go from here. With special guest Dr. Ajit Subramaniam: Lamont Research Professor of Biology and Paleo Environment at Columbia University. The Sweaty Penguin is presented by Peril and Promise: a public media initiative from The WNET Group in New York, reporting on the issues and solutions around climate change. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise. Support the show and unlock exclusive merch, bonus content, and more for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/thesweatypenguin. CREDITS Writers: Ysabel Wulfing, Maddy Schmidt, Ethan Brown Fact Checker: Owen Reith Editor: Trevor Snow Producers: Ethan Brown, Megan Crimmins, Shannon Damiano, Maddy Schmidt Ad Voiceover: Sabrina Rollings Music: Brett Sawka The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group.
Oct 14, 2022
45 min
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