A Climate Change with Matt Matern

Today, Matt Matern speaks with Leah Qusba, CEO of GoodPower, a nonprofit working to win public support for the clean energy transition. They talk about moving the energy conversation away from sacrifice and toward abundance, where clean energy means more jobs, lower bills, and an economy that works for everyone. Leah shares GoodPower's polling with NORC at the University of Chicago, which found about half of Republicans still support large-scale solar, rising to roughly 70% when it's tied to lower energy bills. They also dig into the disinformation targeting renewables, why one in three projects now dies in permitting, and a little-known Arizona utility race putting energy bills on the 2026 ballot. Check out GoodPower at goodpower.org Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Leah Qusba is the Chief Executive Officer of GoodPower, a strategic communications, research, and campaigning nonprofit advancing the global renewable energy transition (formerly Action for the Climate Emergency, rebranded in 2025). She has spent 17 years with the organization, building its early programs and leading national campaigns before becoming CEO. Her work focuses on winning public opinion for clean energy in rural, conservative communities - where the vast majority of new solar, wind, and storage is built and where projects most often stall at the local permitting level. A frequent media voice on energy, media, and culture, she leads GoodPower's original polling, its conservative messenger network, and its work countering AI-driven disinformation. EPISODE RESOURCES GoodPower: goodpower.org A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt is joined again by Cora Stryker, co-founder of Bright Saver. One year after first joining us on the show, a lot has changed. When she was last on, plug-in solar was legal in exactly one state and nobody in the country was selling it. Since then, 35 states plus DC have introduced legislation, nine have signed it into law, and Bright Saver has started shipping kits nationwide at exactly what they cost: $285.30, no markup. Here in California, SB 868 - the Plug and Play Solar Act - just cleared both houses of the legislature and is now sitting on Governor Newsom's desk awaiting his signature. Cora argues that the climate movement's biggest opportunity is affordability, as only about 3% of Americans rank climate as their top voting priority, while 54% name the economy and household expenses. Check out Bright Saver at https://www.brightsaver.org Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Cora Stryker is co-founder of Bright Saver, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to make plug-in "balcony" solar affordable and legal across the United States. The organization sells solar kits to its members at cost and advocates for state legislation that treats small plug-in systems like household appliances rather than power plants. She is a serial founder of mission-driven organizations, including the Climate Justice Incubator and GirlBlazer. She studied biology at Brown University and began her career as a rare and endangered plant biologist in Hawaii, later teaching basic writing at a community college. EPISODE RESOURCES Bright Saver: https://www.brightsaver.org Is plug-in solar legal in your state?: https://www.brightsaver.org/is-plug-in-solar-legal A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt is joined by Saar Safra, co-founder and CEO of Beewise, to talk about one of the quietest threats to our food supply - the collapse of the world's bee colonies. Saar shares how he teamed up with a commercial beekeeper to build the BeeHome: a solar-powered, AI-driven robotic hive that monitors bees around the clock and treats problems automatically, without chemicals. They dig into why bees pollinate roughly 75% of the crops we eat, how monoculture and pesticides have turned farmland into a desert for pollinators, and how Beewise has cut colony collapse from 40–60% down to under 10%. And Saar gives Matt a peak at the company's new Bees for Buildings program bringing pollinators into cities and their goal of scaling this technology to help communities around the world. Learn more about Beewise at beewise.ag Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Saar Safra is the co-founder and CEO of Beewise, an agtech company on a mission to save bees and secure the global food supply. A serial entrepreneur - Beewise is his sixth company - he partnered with commercial beekeeper Eliyah Radzyner to build the BeeHome, a solar-powered, AI-driven robotic hive that autonomously monitors and cares for colonies. Beewise is now one of the largest pollination-services providers in the country, operating across more than 300,000 acres for growers including Blue Diamond, Driscoll's, and Taylor Farms. The company has raised roughly $170 million and reports colony collapse rates under 10%, compared with an industry average that can exceed 50%. EPISODE RESOURCES Beewise: https://www.beewise.ag A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids CURATED LIST OF EPISODES If you enjoyed this episode of A Climate Change, here is a list of some recent episodes curated especially for you: Simulating the Future: How Climate Models Shape Policy Decisions with Andrew Jones [Link] How Personal Change Sparks Global Impact: Joshua Spodek's Sustainability Secrets [Link] Bill McKibben on Renewable Energy, Political Battles & Hope for the Planet [Link]

Today, Matt Matern speaks with Zak Winnick, founder and CEO of Rangeway Energy, about building America’s first hospitality-forward EV charging network. Zak shares how a career running hotels - and years of frustration as an EV owner - led him to treat charging as an experience rather than just a piece of infrastructure. They discuss why so many public chargers feel unreliable and impersonal, and how Rangeway is targeting the scenic, underserved highways the big networks skip. Zak also explains why the real money is in the amenities rather than the electricity - and how he plans to make Rangeway the "Apple of EV charging." Check out Rangeway Energy at rangeway.co . Interested investors can reach the team at investors@rangeway.co. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Zak Winnick is the founder and CEO of Rangeway Energy, a startup building America’s first hospitality-forward EV charging network. Drawing on more than 15 years in hospitality operations and IT - and his own experience as a longtime EV owner and EV-community leader - he designs charging destinations that pair reliable fast charging with climate-controlled lounges, thoughtful amenities, and sustainable, often off-grid infrastructure. Rangeway focuses on scenic, underserved corridors, with its first sites planned for Missouri and Southern California. Winnick’s guiding idea is simple: make the stop, not just the charger, the point. EPISODE RESOURCES Rangeway Energy: rangeway.co Matt Matern on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ACClinkedin A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Bren Smith, co-founder and co-executive director of GreenWave, about his journey from commercial fisherman to pioneer of regenerative ocean farming. Bren shares how a cod collapse in his native Newfoundland and two hurricanes that destroyed his farm led him to a model that grows seaweed and shellfish with no water, fertilizer, feed, or land - while rebuilding ocean ecosystems. They also discuss GreenWave’s new State of the Kelp Industry report and how kelp is shifting from a “hero climate ingredient” to a working-class problem solver. Check out GreenWave at https://www.greenwave.org Read the State of the Kelp Industry report here: https://hub.greenwave.org/lms/resources/state-of-the-kelp-industry/ Bren’s book, Eat Like a Fish, is available wherever books are sold. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Bren Smith Bio: Bren Smith is co-founder and co-executive director of GreenWave and owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm. A lifelong commercial fisherman turned regenerative ocean farmer, he pioneered a zero-input model that grows seaweed and shellfish while restoring marine ecosystems. He is the James Beard Award-winning author of Eat Like a Fish and a winner of the Buckminster Fuller Prize and the Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize. His work has been profiled by 60 Minutes, CNN, The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic, and he was named one of Rolling Stone’s “25 People Shaping the Future.” Episode Resources GreenWave website: https://www.greenwave.org State of the Kelp Industry report: https://hub.greenwave.org/lms/resources/state-of-the-kelp-industry/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids Music Credits Music: Theme song - SMOOTA, “Save It! (The Mother Earth Boogie)” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BRuPWPgrvA) Additional music - Stereo Reform, “Midnight Synthesizer (Instrumental)”

Today, Matt is joined by Dr. Garrett Boudinot, founder and CEO of Vycarb, to talk about a new approach to carbon capture and storage that works with water instead of pipelines and underground wells. Garrett explains how Vycarb's reactor turns CO2 into bicarbonate and stores it safely in the ocean for tens of thousands of years. He shares why traditional carbon capture has been so expensive and hard to site, and how Vycarb bypasses the costly steps to target costs as low as $50 a ton. He also previews what's next as Vycarb scales from its Brooklyn Navy Yard pilot to full commercial projects. Check out Vycarb at vycarb.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Know a local hero for the planet? Nominate them for Cox Conserves Heroes, funded by the James M. Cox Foundation. Nominate Aug 3–16, vote Sept 28–Oct 4 at cox.partners/cch. GUEST BIO Garrett Boudinot is the founder and CEO of Vycarb, a climate-tech company pioneering a water-based approach to carbon capture and storage. He earned a PhD studying global carbon cycling and its impacts on ocean and forest ecosystems, then led a carbon-management research program at Cornell University. As an inaugural Activate New York entrepreneurial fellow, he founded Vycarb to accelerate the ocean's natural carbon-storage process - and to measure it in real time. The company runs a pilot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard that captures CO2 and permanently stores it in the East River, and is now scaling toward full commercial projects in the US and abroad. EPISODE RESOURCES Vycarb: vycarb.com A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids MUSIC Theme: SMOOTA - "Save It! (The Mother Earth Boogie)" Additional music: Stereo Reform - "Midnight Synthesizer (Instrumental)"

Today, Matt is joined by David Fenton - veteran progressive communications strategist and host of The Fenton Forecast - for a conversation about the climate movement’s biggest failure: how it talks, or doesn’t talk, about the crisis. David explains “blanket of pollution” metaphor, and why framing climate action as sacrifice backfires, the soaring insurance costs hitting Americans’ wallets, and the fossil fuel industry’s push for legal immunity as climate lawsuits close in. Check out The Fenton Forecast here: https://www.fentonforecast.com Learn more about David’s work: https://davidfentonactivist.com David’s book, The Activist’s Media Handbook, is available wherever books are sold. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Guest Bio: David Fenton has spent more than fifty years helping progressive movements win. In 1982 he founded Fenton Communications, the first public relations firm built for nonprofits and public-interest causes, and pioneered the use of PR, advertising, and social media for the environment, public health, and human rights. He is the author of The Activist’s Media Handbook: Lessons from 50 Years as a Progressive Agitator, a senior advisor to Yellow Dot Studios, and host of The Fenton Forecast podcast. Episode Resources The Fenton Forecast: https://www.fentonforecast.com David Fenton: https://davidfentonactivist.com The Activist’s Media Handbook Yellow Dot Studios: https://yellowdotstudios.com A Climate Change on Apple : https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify : https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube : https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Tom Chi, founding partner of At One Ventures and a founding member of the Google X team behind Waymo, about using deep tech to restore ecosystems instead of just slowing the damage. They talk about the drone companies replanting mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds, and how the cost of restoration keeps falling by half. Tom explains that a park ranger in 1926 had a Jeep, a map, binoculars, and a clicker, and today the tools are mostly the same. He also shares his concerns about who is steering AI right now, why regulation may protect an economy rather than slow it, and a simple idea he calls the aperture of care. Check out Tom's book, Climate Capital: Investing in the Tools for a Regenerative Future: https://www.tomchi.com/ Learn more about At One Ventures: https://www.atoneventures.com/ Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Guest Bio: Tom Chi is the founding partner of At One Ventures, a venture firm that invests in deep-tech startups working to make humanity a net positive to nature. He was a founding member of Google X, where he led the teams that created self-driving cars, wearable augmented reality, and deep learning artificial intelligence. Trained in physics and electrical engineering, he is a named inventor on more than 75 patents and has worked on projects at Microsoft and Yahoo. He is the author of the national bestseller Climate Capital: Investing in the Tools for a Regenerative Future. Episode Resources Tom Chi website: https://www.tomchi.com/ At One Ventures: https://www.atoneventures.com/ Tom Chi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thegoodtomchi/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Dr. Linley Dixon, Co-Director of the Real Organic Project and cohost of the Real Organic Podcast, about why how we grow food may be the climate lever we're ignoring. Linley explains that synthesizing nitrogen fertilizer alone accounts for 1-2% of the global carbon footprint. They also dig into what's gone wrong with the label people trust. Only about 1% of US farmland is certified organic while roughly 80% of our organic blueberries are imported, fraudulent "organic" grain shipments undercut American farmers, and the USDA allows soil-less hydroponics to carry the same seal as a soil farmer. Learn more about the Real Organic Project: realorganicproject.org Listen to the Real Organic Podcast: bit.ly/realorganicpod Saving Real Organic: In Defense of Science (Sept 18-19, 2026, Churchtown Dairy, NY): Event info Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Guest Bio: Dr. Linley Dixon is Co-Director of the Real Organic Project and cohost of the Anthem Award-winning Real Organic Podcast. A soil scientist with a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida and a Master's in Soil Science from West Virginia University, she spent two years as a post-doc at the USDA's Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory before turning to organic policy. She has farmed organic vegetables at Adobe House Farm in Durango, Colorado since 2010, and launched the Real Organic Project's farmer-led certification program in 2018 - now over 1,100 farms nationwide. Episode Resources Real Organic Project: https://realorganicproject.org Real Organic Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-organic-podcast/id1573111162 Find a Real Organic certified farm near you: https://realorganicproject.org/farms A Climate Change on Apple : https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify : https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube : https://bit.ly/ACCvids If you enjoyed this episode of A Climate Change, here is a list of some recent episodes curated especially for you: The Founders Loved the Land…and Left One Thing Unfinished How We Feed the World Without Frying It, with Michael Grunwald Fast Fashion Is Killing the Planet, with Marci Zaroff

Today, Matt speaks with Jeffrey Prosserman, CEO and co-founder of Voltpost, about a simple idea with big potential: turning the lampposts and utility poles cities already have into electric vehicle chargers. Jeffrey shares his path from leading product development at Samsung to founding Voltpost, and explains why more than 40% of Americans, those without a private garage or driveway, still can't conveniently charge an EV at home. Learn more about Voltpost at https://voltpost.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Jeffrey Prosserman is the co-founder and CEO of Voltpost, a venture-backed company based in New York and San Francisco that retrofits lampposts and utility poles into electric vehicle charging platforms. Voltpost's mission is to decarbonize mobility by democratizing charging access, making public charging as common as the streetlight. Before Voltpost, Jeffrey was Director of Innovation at Samsung and spent more than 20 years working at the forefront of technology. In 2022, he graduated from Columbia University's Sustainability Management program to focus full-time on building climate technology solutions. EPISODE RESOURCES Voltpost website: https://voltpost.com A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

In this milestone 250th episode, Matt Matern goes solo for the final installment of our “250 for 250” series - tracing what the people who founded the country actually believed about land, soil, and stewardship. From Thomas Jefferson’s near-daily weather diary and George Washington’s soil-saving crop rotations, to the myth of endless abundance baked into the American character, Matt lays out what the founders left us: a genuine love of the land, and a dangerous belief that it could never run out. This episode is part of our “250 for 250” series, marking America’s 250th anniversary by revisiting the figures and stories in our environmental history when ordinary people changed everything. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. EPISODE RESOURCES Thomas Jefferson’s Weather Observations (Monticello): https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/weather-observations/ George Washington and Agriculture (Mount Vernon): https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washington-and-agriculture Held v. Montana - Montana Supreme Court ruling (NPR): https://www.npr.org/2024/12/19/nx-s1-5218285/montana-supreme-court-backs-youth-plaintiffs-in-groundbreaking-climate-trial Green Amendments For The Generations: forthegenerations.org A Climate Change on Apple : https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify : https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube : https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with New York Times bestselling biographer Brian Jay Jones, author of Becoming Dr. Seuss and the new book The Capitol: The Surprising Biography of an American Building. Brian traces Theodor Geisel’s unlikely path - from advertising man to the most beloved children’s author in America. They dig into the making of The Lorax: the cookie-cutter condos eating up La Jolla’s coastline that made Seuss furious, the nine months of writer’s block, and the Kenya trip where he drafted the whole story in 90 minutes on the back of a notepad. Brian also shares the story behind his new biography of the U.S. Capitol, and how he was inspired to write it after January 6, 2021. This episode is part of our "250 for 250" series, marking America's 250th anniversary by revisiting the figures and stories in our history when ordinary people changed everything - from Dr. Seuss and the little orange creature who speaks for the trees, to the enslaved craftsman who cast the Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol. Check out Brian’s work here: brianjayjones.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Brian Jay Jones Bio: Brian Jay Jones is a New York Times bestselling biographer known for chronicling the iconic creative figures who shaped American pop culture. He is the author of biographies of Jim Henson, George Lucas, Washington Irving, and Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, whose life he traced in Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination. His newest book, The Capitol: The Surprising Biography of an American Building, was published by Dutton in June 2026. A former U.S. Senate speechwriter and policy adviser, Jones is a past president of Biographers International Organization and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Episode Resources Brian Jay Jones website: brianjayjones.com Becoming Dr. Seuss: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1524742783 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/565982/becoming-dr-seuss-by-brian-jay-jones The Capitol (Dutton, June 2026): brianjayjones.com/book A Climate Change on Apple : https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify : https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube : https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Philip Nel, University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University and one of the world's leading Dr. Seuss scholars, about The Lorax and its place in the environmental movement. They trace the book's origins, from the coastal construction in La Jolla that made Seuss angry, to the trip to Kenya that finally unlocked the story he scribbled on a hotel laundry list. They also dig into the logging industry's counter-book Truax, why The Lorax keeps landing on banned-book lists, and how Lady Bird Johnson built an environmental campaign around it. This episode is part of our "250 for 250" series, marking America's 250th anniversary by revisiting the figures and stories in our environmental history when ordinary people changed everything. Dr. Seuss, and the little orange creature who speaks for the trees, is one of them. Learn more about Philip's work at philnel.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Philip Nel is University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University, where he directs the Program in Children's Literature. He is one of the world's leading scholars on Dr. Seuss and the author or editor of fifteen books, including Dr. Seuss: American Icon and Was the Cat in the Hat Black? His work takes children's literature seriously as a cultural and political force, and he has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, CNN, and more than 300 media outlets. ABOUT THE “250 FOR 250” SERIES In 2026, America turns 250 - and A Climate Change reaches its 250th episode. To mark both, host Matt Matern is recording a run of solo episodes that revisit the moments in American environmental history when ordinary people changed everything: the fights, the movements, and the laws that built modern environmental protection. The throughline is simple - caring for the air, water, and land isn’t separate from the American story. It is the American story. EPISODE RESOURCES Philip Nel's website: https://philnel.com Was the Cat in the Hat Black? and Dr. Seuss: American Icon: https://philnel.com/books/ We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (mentioned in the episode): https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250203557/wearewaterprotectors/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, no guest - just Matt, with the story of what one writer called “the best idea America ever had”: the national park. In 1872, in a country built on private property, the United States set aside Yellowstone as land that could never be owned by anyone - and then handed the idea to the world. Matt traces how it happened: the writer John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt, whose 1903 campfire in Yosemite helped put 230 million acres under protection; the birth of the National Park Service in 1916; and the system today - 433 sites, 85 million acres, owned in equal measure by every American. Then he turns to the present: the 2025 push to sell off public land, the bipartisan coalition that stopped it, the budget fight that quietly removed the guardrail keeping parks federal, and the global “30x30” movement to protect 30% of the planet’s land and water by 2030. The throughline: these places have never protected themselves. This episode is part of our “250 for 250” series - solo episodes marking America’s 250th anniversary by revisiting the moments in our environmental history when ordinary people changed everything. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. ABOUT THE “250 FOR 250” SERIES In 2026, America turns 250 - and A Climate Change reaches its 250th episode. To mark both, host Matt Matern is recording a run of solo episodes that revisit the moments in American environmental history when ordinary people changed everything: the fights, the movements, and the laws that built modern environmental protection. The throughline is simple - caring for the air, water, and land isn’t separate from the American story. It is the American story. EPISODE RESOURCES Key references for this episode: Yellowstone - park history & the 1872 Act (NPS): nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/park-history.htm The National Park System - 433 sites / 85M+ acres (NPS): nps.gov/aboutus/national-park-system.htm Theodore Roosevelt and Conservation (NPS): nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-and-conservation.htm The Antiquities Act of 1906 (NPS): nps.gov/subjects/archeology/antiquities-act.htm The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (PBS / Ken Burns): pbs.org/kenburns/the-national-parks National Parks Conservation Association: npca.org 30x30 / California’s conservation goal: californianature.ca.gov A note on John Muir: Muir’s legacy is complicated. Alongside his conservation work, he made racist remarks about Black and Indigenous people - something the Sierra Club, which he founded, publicly acknowledged and began reckoning with in 2020 ( sierraclub.org ). Show links: Matt Matern on LinkedIn: bit.ly/ACClinkedin A Climate Change on Apple: bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Micah Loewinger, co-host of WNYC’s On the Media and the reporter behind the new four-part series American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA, about how the agency built to respond to America’s worst disasters became one of its least trusted institutions. Micah explains how he came to FEMA through years of covering far-right militias, why the “FEMA camps” conspiracy theory traces back to the Cold War, and how it disturbingly echoes in today’s migrant detention programs. They dig into the contrast between Hurricane Katrina - a genuine failure that defined FEMA’s reputation - and Hurricane Helene, where the agency performed well but was buried under an unprecedented wave of misinformation. They also cover the political fight over the agency’s future, the strange story of Cameron Hamilton (fired from FEMA, then nominated to lead it), and what it means to head into disaster season with the agency hollowed out. Listen to American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA here. Learn more about On the Media: wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Micah Loewinger is co-host of WNYC’s On the Media, a nationally syndicated public radio show heard on more than 400 stations across the country. He joined the show in 2016, first as a producer and then as its first staff reporter, and his work focuses on political extremism, internet culture, and the changing news industry. His investigation into the walkie-talkie app Zello, used by far-right militias ahead of January 6th, won the John M. Higgins Award and was featured on 60 Minutes. His latest project is American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA, a four-part investigation into how the federal agency tasked with disaster response became distrusted, despised, and defunded. EPISODE RESOURCES American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA: wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/american-emergency-movement-kill-fema On the Media: wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm Matt Matern on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ACClinkedin A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, no guest - just Matt, telling one of the strangest and most hopeful stories in American politics. It's the story of the first Earth Day, when 20 million Americans - about one in ten of the entire country - took to the streets on a single day in April 1970, and changed the course of the nation in just two years. Matt traces how that one day produced the EPA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act - and uncovers the part most people have forgotten: nearly all of it happened with overwhelming support from both parties, under a Republican president. He tells the story of the conservation-minded Republican who co-chaired the first Earth Day, the 374-to-1 House vote for clean air, and the day Congress overrode a presidential veto to protect clean water. Then he asks the question at the heart of it all: how did environmental protection go from a shared American value to a partisan football - and what would it take to get that common ground back? This episode is part of our “250 for 250” series - solo episodes marking America's 250th anniversary by revisiting the moments in our environmental history when ordinary people changed everything. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. ABOUT THE “250 FOR 250” SERIES In 2026, America turns 250 - and A Climate Change reaches its 250th episode. To mark both, host Matt Matern is recording a run of solo episodes that revisit the moments in American environmental history when ordinary people changed everything: the fights, the movements, and the laws that built modern environmental protection. The throughline is simple - caring for the air, water, and land isn't separate from the American story. It is the American story. EPISODE RESOURCES Key references for this episode: The Origins of EPA (U.S. EPA): https://www.epa.gov/history/origins-epa Gaylord Nelson Promotes the First Earth Day (U.S. Senate): https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Gaylord_Nelson_Promotes_the_First_Earth_Day.htm Nixon's Clean Air Act signing remarks (American Presidency Project): https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-signing-the-clean-air-amendments-1970 Clean Water Act veto & override (U.S. Capitol Visitor Center): https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/artifact/president-nixons-veto-message-s-2770-october-17-1972 A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Jonathan Criss, CEO and co-founder of Vital Lyfe, about reinventing how the world gets clean drinking water. After 13 years at SpaceX working on the Starlink and Dragon programs, Jonathan set out to apply the same first-principles engineering to desalination - starting with a unit he built in his garage that cleaned ocean water. They talk about why the water crisis is really an infrastructure problem rather than a scarcity one, how Vital Lyfe’s portable “Access” device makes drinking water from nearly any natural source without the energy and problems of big desalination plants, and where this technology could go next - from off-grid communities to AI data centers. Check out Vital Lyfe at vital-lyfe.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Jonathan’s Bio: Jonathan Criss is the CEO and co-founder of Vital Lyfe, a clean-water technology company building portable, decentralized water-making systems. He spent over 13 years at SpaceX as a Lead Integration and Test Engineer and Product Manager on the Starlink and Dragon programs. He co-founded Vital Lyfe with fellow SpaceX engineer Andrew Harner to apply aerospace-grade engineering to water access - turning almost any natural source, including seawater, into clean drinking water without centralized infrastructure. The company’s flagship product, Access, launches in 2026. Episode Resources Vital Lyfe website: vital-lyfe.com Matt Matern on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ACClinkedin A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Dean Forgeron, Chief Technology Officer at CarbonCure Technologies, about the Halifax-based clean tech company decarbonizing one of the world's most polluting industries. Dean explains the chemistry behind injecting CO2 into concrete - where it permanently mineralizes into calcium carbonate, the same material as limestone, while reducing cement use by roughly 4.5% on average. They discuss CarbonCure's recent milestone of 11 million truckloads of low-carbon concrete produced (~768,000 metric tons of CO2 stored), the company's 2026 CleanTech Breakthrough Award, and how the industry is shifting from offsetting to insetting - modifying supply chains to actually reduce emissions at the source. Learn more about CarbonCure at www.carboncure.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Dean's Bio: Dean Forgeron is the Chief Technology Officer at CarbonCure Technologies, the Halifax-based clean tech company that has commercialized a process to permanently store CO2 in concrete. A Professional Engineer and Fellow of the American Concrete Institute, Dean leads CarbonCure's engineering and product development, with a background spanning fiber-reinforced concrete, self-consolidating concrete, and green concrete technologies. He holds a BEng from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in Halifax and a PhD from Dalhousie University. Under his technical leadership, CarbonCure has crossed 11 million truckloads of low-carbon concrete produced and roughly 768,000 metric tons of CO2 permanently stored - earning the company the 2026 CleanTech Breakthrough Award for Climate Technology Company of the Year. Episode Resources CarbonCure website: www.carboncure.com Dean Forgeron on LinkedIn Matt Matern on LinkedIn : https://bit.ly/ACClinkedin A Climate Change on Apple : https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify : https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube : https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt is joined by Dan Miller - Managing Director of The Roda Group and host of Climate Chat on YouTube - for a wide-ranging conversation on the economics of the energy transition and the 2026 race for California Governor. Dan explains why renewables are already cheaper than fossil fuels (a Harvard study attributes 8 million deaths a year to fossil fuel pollution), why EVs will replace gas cars the same way cars replaced horses, the $7 trillion governments still spend each year subsidizing fossil fuels, and why AI's energy hunger is one of the biggest threats to climate progress. Dan also makes the case for endorsing Tom Steyer for California Governor - drawing on Steyer's book Cheaper, Faster, Better and his plan to take on the state's utility monopolies. Watch Climate Chat on YouTube: youtube.com/@climatechat Learn more about The Roda Group: rodagroup.com Read Tom Steyer's Cheaper, Faster, Better: bit.ly/4dEbZHK Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Dan Miller Bio: Dan Miller is the Managing Director and co-founder of The Roda Group, a Berkeley-based venture capital firm focused on climate solutions. He is also Senior Advisor to Starshot Capital, serves on the Investment Advisory Committee of PRIME Coalition's Azolla Fund, and is host of the Climate Chat YouTube channel. He was a member of the Biden–Harris energy and environment policy committee prior to the 2020 election, and has collaborated with climate scientist James Hansen on carbon pricing policy. Episode Resources The Roda Group: rodagroup.com Climate Chat on YouTube: youtube.com/@climatechat Tom Steyer for Governor: tomsteyer.com Cheaper, Faster, Better by Tom Steyer: Amazon A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Today, Matt speaks with Ibhade Eigbobo, Director of Corporate Project Management at Budderfly, about why the small and midsize business sector is one of America's most underused energy assets. Ibhade explains Budderfly's energy-as-a-service model - where the company takes over a customer's entire utility bill, invests its own capital to upgrade aging equipment, and earns revenue as a share of the savings. They cover why quick service restaurants are the most energy-dense buildings in the country, how batteries and virtual power plants turn small sites into grid assets, and why Ibhade believes efficiency has to come before any large-scale renewable buildout. Learn more about Budderfly here: budderfly.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Ibhade's Bio: Ibhade Eigbobo is Director of Corporate Project Management at Budderfly, one of the fastest-growing energy companies in the United States. He leads strategy for how new technologies - batteries, solar, fuel cells, geothermal, and waste heat recovery - fit into Budderfly's energy-as-a-service model. Originally from Nigeria, Ibhade holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering and began his career in oil and gas in South Texas and Louisiana. He later earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and is a named inventor on several Budderfly patents. Episode Resources Budderfly website: budderfly.com Ibhade Eigbobo on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ibhadeeigbobo Budderfly on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/budderfly-inc A Climate Change on Apple : https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify : https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube : https://bit.ly/ACCvids More About A Climate Change with Matt Matern A Climate Change with Matt Matern is a podcast dedicated to addressing the pressing issue of climate change while inspiring action and fostering a sustainable future. Each episode dives deep into the environmental challenges of our time, rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, and resource degradation, breaking down complex topics into digestible insights. The podcast goes beyond merely raising awareness. It serves as a trusted resource for practical, actionable solutions that empower listeners to reduce their carbon footprint and drive change in their communities. With a strong focus on environmental science and expert perspectives, host Matt Matern brings influential voices to the forefront, highlighting innovative ideas and collaborative efforts shaping global sustainability initiatives. More than just a source of information, A Climate Change is a movement. It builds a coalition of like-minded individuals committed to preserving the planet for future generations. Listeners are invited to participate actively in creating a legacy of positive environmental impact through informed decision-making and collective action. The podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, provides a platform for science-backed discussions, global perspectives, and community building. Whether you want to learn about renewable energy, sustainable living practices, or climate policy, A Climate Change with Matt Matern equips you with the tools and knowledge to make a tangible difference. Tune in, take action, and join the fight for a brighter, greener future. Curated List of Episodes If you enjoyed this episode of A Climate Change, here is a list of some recent episodes curated especially for you: Simulating the Future: How Climate Models Shape Policy Decisions with Andrew Jones [ Link ] How Personal Change Sparks Global Impact: Joshua Spodek's Sustainability Secrets [ Link ] Bill McKibben on Renewable Energy, Political Battles & Hope for the Planet [ Link ]