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Climate

The trouble with net zero
In the last decade, the term "net zero" has become ubiquitous in the climate world. It is now the default way of framing global climate goals. For…
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David Roberts
12
49:09
On writing an ambitious and terrifyingly realistic novel about climate change
Author Stephen Markley’s sprawling new novel The Deluge tracks dozens of characters over the course of decades, from the 2010s out past 2040, everyone…
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David Roberts
8
44:01
Reflecting on the work of the soon-to-retire House climate committee
A conversation with Rep. Kathy Castor, the chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, about the committee's accomplishments over the…
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David Roberts
4
53:11
What the midterm elections mean for climate & energy
To help walk through the midterm election results, I contacted energy analyst Whitney Stanco. We hash through the Congressional results and then dive…
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David Roberts
3
57:17
The Inflation Reduction Act: everything in one place (with transcripts!)
Over the past couple months I've done five podcasts on the Inflation Reduction Act, the climate (among other things) bill that Democrats somewhat…
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David Roberts
4
Volts podcast: how Biden can address climate change through executive action
Two senior attorneys from the Center for Biological Diversity discuss what it would mean for Biden to declare climate change a national emergency, what…
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David Roberts
5
58:57
Volts podcast: David Wallace-Wells on the ravages of air pollution
Climate change has mobilized an enormous global constituency based on the threat of millions dying by the end of the century. But the latest air…
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David Roberts
7
56:10
Volts podcast: Lori Lodes on climate activism and the path forward
These are dark times for climate activists, with Build Back Better stalled and the Supreme Court hacking away at EPA authority. I talked with the head…
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David Roberts
4
57:20
Volts podcast: Johannes Ackva on effective climate altruism
The "effective altruism" movement seeks to apply logical & empirical rigor to philanthropic giving, to maximize its impact. How do effective altruists…
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David Roberts
3
1:02:15
Volts podcast: Dr. Ye Tao on a grand scheme to cool the Earth
Some people -- including Harvard researcher Ye Tao -- believe that even aggressive decarbonization will still leave the Earth too hot to bear. He has…
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David Roberts
45
1:04:10
Volts podcast: Doug Thompson defends the deep state
Why is the conservative movement is so consumed with, in Steve Bannon's words, "deconstructing the administrative state"? What exactly is the…
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David Roberts
5
Volts podcast: Fran Moore on how to represent social change in climate models
Policy and social change are treated as "exogenous" in climate models. Modelers determine the values & feed them in; they do not interact dynamically…
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David Roberts
5
1:02:15
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