Hot Take
46 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 350 ratingsA holistic, irreverent, no-bullshit look at the climate crisis and all the ways we’re talking—and not talking—about it. We take a feminist, race-forward lens to the biggest story of our time. Some people might call it intersectional, we call it honest. Co-hosted by Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Big Oil Had a Bad Month (Which Means We Had a Good One)
June 06, 2021 08:00 - 55 minutes - 76.7 MBIn our S3 finale we talk about the very bad month Big Oil had in May, how much the climate story has changed in the past couple years, and what lies ahead as wildfire and hurricane season pick up, and pipeline protests rage on.
What Covid and Climate Have in Common: Science Denial
May 16, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 102 MBPro Publica healthcare reporter Caroline Chen joins us to talk about her experience navigating that minefiled, where public health and climate intersect, what happened when all the climate journalists got reassigned to Covid, how to better integrate the ways we talk about health and climate, and a whole lot more. Reading List: A Tiny Number of People Will Be Hospitalized Despite Being Vaccinated. We Have to Learn Why. How Inequity Gets Built Into America’s Vaccination System Vaccinating Bl...
Moving Fast and Breaking Sh*t
May 02, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 130 MBJournalist Maddie Stone joins us to talk about Silicon Valley (yes, also the HBO series) and Big Tech's approach to both climate change and climate journalism.
April 20 Is #FUBPday
April 18, 2021 09:00 - 46 minutes - 63.3 MBWe missed the 10-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, so on the 11-year anniversary we're going big: It's #FUBPday. Plus: Why Seaspiracy sucked
Hot and Cold with Rev Yearwood and The Coolest Show
April 04, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBIn this crossover episode with The Coolest Show, Rev Yearwood takes us to school and church with an in-depth conversation about the history of the civil rights movement, the climate movement, and the role of religion in both. Plus: we call bullshit on the American Petroleum Institute's "climate plan." Sign up for our newsletter: https://hot-take.ghost.io/ Check out The Coolest Show: https://think100climate.com/podcasts/coolest-show-on-climate-change/ and Hip Hop Caucus: https://hiphopcaucus.org/
The Ultimate Abolition
March 21, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 117 MBIf you want to see the true toll of the climate crisis, you have to train yourself to look for the most vulnerable populations. And you’d be hard pressed to find a population more vulnerable than prisoners. This week, we’re joined on the podcast by one of our favorite guests ever, Drew Costley, to talk about why there is no humane future for prisons and what might come next. Sign up for our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe Select readings for this episode: 'People are ...
The Greenwashing Olympics
March 07, 2021 10:00 - 27 minutes - 37.5 MBA dramatic reading of the book Donald J. Trump: An Environmental Hero with Emily Atkin and Brian Kahn, plus a look at the energy industry's annual conference, CERA Week, or as we like to call it, the Greenwashing Olympics. For more of Emily's reading: https://heated.world/p/reading-is-fundamental Subscribe to our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Two Sides to Every Story?
February 21, 2021 12:00 - 1 hourLewis Wallace, journalist and author of the book The View from somewhere, and the podcast by the same name, joins us to talk about one of our least favorite conventions in journalism: both sidesism. Check out more from Lewis, including his book, podcast, speaking events and trainings: https://www.lewispants.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Two Sides to Every Story?
February 21, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.5 MBLewis Wallace, journalist and author of the book The View from somewhere, and the podcast by the same name, joins us to talk about one of our least favorite conventions in journalism: both sidesism. Check out more from Lewis, including his book, podcast, speaking events and trainings: https://www.lewispants.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Blood for Oil, with Antonia Juhasz
February 07, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 116 MBInvestigative journalist Antonia Juhasz joins us to talk about all the many ways oil, war, and climate change intersect. Read more: https://antoniajuhasz.net/article/light-sweet-crude-a-former-us-ambassador-peddles-influence-in-afghanistan/ https://antoniajuhasz.net/article/the-new-war-for-afghanistans-untapped-oil/ https://antoniajuhasz.net/article/why-rex-tillerson-could-be-americas-most-dangerous-secretary-of-state/ Subscribe to our newsletter: http://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
No Better Time for Climate Reparations, with Tamara Toles O'Laughlin
January 24, 2021 08:56 - 57 minutes - 78.9 MBThe term climate reparations first came into the global climate conversation back in 2009. It disappeared for a while but has re-emerged in the past year or two. Environmental activist, organizer, lawyer, and all-around climate expert Tamara Toles O'Laughlin joins us to talk about where this idea came from, why it disappeared, and why it's back...hopefully to stay. Further reading: Maxine Burkett's original paper on climate reparations: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=153...
No Better Time for Climate Reparations
January 24, 2021 08:56 - 57 minutesThe term climate reparations first came into the global climate conversation back in 2009. It disappeared for a while but has re-emerged in the past year or two. Environmental activist, organizer, lawyer, and all-around climate expert Tamara Toles O'Laughlin joins us to talk about where this idea came from, why it disappeared, and why it's back...hopefully to stay. Further reading: Maxine Burkett's original paper on climate reparations: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=153...
2020: The Shitshow
January 10, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 130 MBIn our 2020 year-in-review episode, Mary and Amy talk about how Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter protests impacted climate coverage, how the media dealt with record-setting fires and hurricanes, the beauty that was greentrolling taking off this year, and what where we hope to see the climate story go in 2021.
Newsletter Preview
December 13, 2020 10:00 - 41 minutes - 94.3 MBThe story behind our newsletter, and a look at some of our favorite pieces from our first year.
Making the Case, with Rhiana Gunn-Wright
November 22, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 110 MBOn our birthday episode, policy expert Rhiana Gunn-Wright joins to talk about the pernicious narrative that Progressives harmed down-ballot Dem races, and that somehow Progressive values can't win races. Newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Mitch McConnell's Cold Dead Hands
November 06, 2020 03:41 - 1 hour - 87.4 MBFor our election 2020 recap episode, political consultant Rania Batrice joins us to break down what this means for climate, and Georgia Wright and Julianna Bradley, producers and hosts of the youth climate pod Inherited, join to talk about the youth vote turning out and turning up. Newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
All the Lives in the Balance, with Rachel Ramirez
November 01, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 90.9 MBThere’s a lot on the line this week. But we wanted to take a moment ahead of this momentous election to talk about the sides of the climate crisis we don’t often see here in the United States, because it’s happening in the Global South. In this episode, with Rachel Ramirez of Grist, as we waded through the crisis below the equator: all the disasters we don’t hear about, the capitols being moved away from rising seas, and the perilous and deadly work of environmental activists (many of them In...
Political Instability = Planetary Instability
October 18, 2020 15:30 - 1 hour - 100 MBTIME magazine energy and environment reporter Justin Worland joins to discuss the many ways climate change and political instability feed and exacerbate each other. Check out our newsletter for links to the stories discussed in today's episode: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
The Flyest Debate Ever
October 08, 2020 22:12 - 24 minutes - 33.2 MBA recap of the VP Debate, particularly the climate bits and what everyone got wrong on fracking, with guest commentator Brian Kahn, of Earther!
Around the Way with Drew Costley
October 04, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 113 MBDrew Costley, environment reporter for One Zero, always makes us think he's from the places he's reporting about...which made him the perfect person for a discussion on the loss of local media and what it means for the climate conversation. Sign up for our newsletter to get this week's reading list + bonus features: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Mary and Amy Watched I May Destroy You
September 20, 2020 07:45 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBWe dig into the way the HBO series I May Destroy You deals with climate and race, plus a great new IG show from Zazie Beetz on climate justice, and the issues with Zac Efron's Down to Earth..
There's No Climate Justice Without Indigenous Sovereignty, with Rebecca Nagle
September 06, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 140 MBWe dig into colonialism and Indigenous genocide as the original sin of climate change, why tribal sovereignty is critical to climate action, and much more with intrepid and profound Cherokee reporter Rebecca Nagle. (She’s also the host of the This Land podcast from Crooked Media.) Sign up for our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
No Ordinary Pain: Katrina at 15
August 30, 2020 04:01 - 20 minutes - 27.7 MBIn this special bonus episode on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we bring you a story Mary told about the story on the Story Collider podcast. Big thanks to them for letting us use this clip! For more on Katrina, Bush, and where both sit on the timeline of the climate crisis, check out this week's newsletter, we've made it free for all: https://realhottake.substack.com/
Why Is It So Hard to Talk about Climate and Food?
August 23, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 191 MBEpicurious editor (and hot cake!) David Tamarkin joins to discuss how the aspirational world of food media has been slow to integrate climate, the machismo-and-meat problem, and how he and others are trying to push the beat forward. Plus, weird food trends! Subscribe to our newsletter: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Hate to Say We Told You So, with Brian Kahn
August 09, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBClimate disasters are piling on top of the pandemic and ongoing nationwide civil rights protests, but you wouldn't necessarily know it from reading or watching the news. Brian Kahn, managing editor at Earther, joins us to talk about why so many outlets have a hard time applying a climate lens to stories that aren't about emissions or weather, the storytelling talents of climate deniers, and the need to undo decades worth of bad climate coverage that prioritized the appearance of objectivity o...
Climate Bois Club, with Kate Aronoff
July 26, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 96 MBThe New Republic's Kate Aronoff joins us to talk about the difference between political reporting and climate reporting, the link between fossil fuel divestment and defunding the police, and of course all the various types of climate bois. Subscribe to our newsletter for bonus content! https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Mary and Amy Watched The Politician
July 19, 2020 12:46 - 26 minutes - 36.1 MBThe entire second season of Netflix series The Politician revolves around the issue of climate change and, despite a couple of big fails on the subject of race, it’s actually good. We dig into it in this coffee break episode. Bonus segment for subscribers includes a look at why Handmaid's Tale fails as an ecofascist cautionary tale, and a surprising revelation from Amy. Sign up here: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Media in Meltdown and Climate in Crisis, with Kendra Pierre-Louis
July 05, 2020 07:01 - 1 hour - 96.9 MBThe media is having a Me Too moment for journalists of color amid national protests against policy brutality and systemic, all against a backdrop of a climate emergency. NYT climate reporter-turned Gimlet podcaster Kendra Pierre-Louis joins us to talk about all of this and more. Plus: dad jokes, mayo edition! Subscribe for a bonus segment in which we talk about that crazy CBS "Karen" story, why it's so hard for national media outlets to criticize themselves, and why a certain Hot Take co-host...
S2 Coming soon!
June 24, 2020 06:48 - 3 minutes - 4.69 MBWe're so excited to bring you Season 2 in July! We'll have new guests, a new format, and the usual combination of media criticism, climate trends, f-bombs and dad jokes. See you soon!
S2 Coming soon!
June 24, 2020 06:48 - 3 minutesWe're so excited to bring you Season 2 in July! We'll have new guests, a new format, and the usual combination of media criticism, climate trends, f-bombs and dad jokes. See you soon!
Yes, It's Still Time to Talk About Climate
June 05, 2020 11:30 - 26 minutes - 36 MBAmid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, some climate activists have been saying "now's not the time to talk about climate." In this episode we talk about how justice is justice, climate and racial justice are all the same thing, they can't be separated. To access the full-length episode, consider becoming a Hot Take premium subscriber: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe
Kick Rocks, Elon
May 24, 2020 12:00 - 6 minutes - 8.61 MBElon Musk has done some great work making electric cars more of a reality in the U.S. But the hero worship of him can be dangerous, especially when it blinds people to his less-than-helpful moves when it comes to climate. Premium subscribers to our weekly newsletter got a whole feature on this last week, but there were still things we had to leave out, so ... bonus episode! If you want a weekly digest of climate coverage plus original analysis from Mary and Amy, make sure to subscribe to the ...
Season 1 Finale: Rum O'Clock
May 06, 2020 10:00 - 2 hours - 166 MBIt's the S1 finale y'all! Mary and Amy wrap up the season with a look at the ever-evolving climate-COVID-19 story, coverage of climate for climate's sake, and pieces that provide inspiration to keep fighting on climate. Plus some rum-fueled rants and dad jokes, of course. Subscribe to our newsletter so you won't miss our curated reading lists, original writing and subscriber-only bonus episodes: https://realhottake.substack.com/subscribe Reading List: The US has a collective action problem th...
So This Is Purgatory, with Special Guest Co-host Eric Holthaus
April 09, 2020 07:01 - 2 hours - 296 MBLive from quarantine! Mary and Amy talk to The Correspondent's Eric Holthaus about how to remain optimistic, the ways corona and climate do and don't intersect, and why you can't sleep on climate just because there's another catastrophe unfolding. Reading List We're Not Just Stopping Coronavirus, We're Building a New World, by Eric Holthaus in The Correspondent: https://thecorrespondent.com/385/we-arent-just-stopping-coronavirus-were-building-a-new-world/50968856015-625b9768 Trump Moves Forwa...
Disaster Denialism with Guest Co-Host Dr. Samantha Montano
April 05, 2020 07:01 - 1 hour - 152 MBDisasterologist Dr. Samantha Montano joins to answer all our questions about the coronavirus pandemic, what it does and doesn't tell us about climate change, and why we can't take a break from worrying about climate. Reading List: Kushner Puts Himself in Middle of White House’s Chaotic Coronavirus Response, by Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Noah Weiland, New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/politics/jared-kushner-coronavirus-trump.html Trump team failed ...
March 22, 2020: Seeing Corona Through Climate-Colored Glasses with David Wallace-Wells
March 22, 2020 16:18 - 1 hour - 220 MBAll the things the climate story has taught us, or not, about corona, with special guest co-host David Wallace-Wells. David is deputy editor of New York magazine and the author of The Uninhabitable Earth. Reading list: Coronavirus Poses Threat to Climate Action, Says Watchdog, Jillian Ambrose in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/coronovirus-poses-threat-to-climate-action-says-watchdog What Coronavirus Teaches Us About Climate Change, David Wallace-Wells in New Y...
March 15, 2020: Pandemic, Primaries, and Not Asking Permission, with Guest Co-Host Sarah Miller
March 15, 2020 09:21 - 54 minutes - 75 MBAmidst a global pandemic and the meltdown of the U.S. Democratic primary, guest co-host Sarah Miller joins us to talk about how change gets made outside of existing systems. . Reading List; Heaven or High Water, Popula: https://popula.com/2019/04/02/heaven-or-high-water/ The Movie Assassin, Popula:https://popula.com/2018/09/30/sarahs-magnum-opus/ Joe Biden's Sketchy Climate Record, The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/article/156801/joe-bidens-sketchy-climate-record What Would Happen if...
Feb 2020: More Fucking Greenwashing! With Guest Co-Host Maddie Stone
March 01, 2020 08:01 - 1 hour - 123 MBGuest co-host Maddie Stone, Earther founder-turned-freelance science journalist talks us through the latest tech and climate angles. Plus: shifts in how financial reporters are talking about climate, the spread of climate misinformation, and media taps into the climate feelings of Gen Z. Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/171s0nlm8xvncu4/AAB9wsO7RJNFMnio5J3poKVva?dl=0 Reading list: The High Stakes Fight Over Bolivia’s Lithium, Protocol: https://www.protocol.com/bolivia-lithium-morales ...
Feb 16: Live from Amherst, with Wen Stephenson
February 16, 2020 08:01 - 1 hourIn our first live taping, Mary and guest co-host Wen Stephenson talk about how community helps us deal with grief, the line between journalism and activism, and how to keep finding new ways to tell climate stories. Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/171s0nlm8xvncu4/AAB9wsO7RJNFMnio5J3poKVva?dl=0 Wen's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/250727/what-were-fighting-for-now-is-each-other-by-wen-stephenson/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/realhottake Learn more about your ...
Jan 2020: No Chill
February 02, 2020 08:01 - 1 hour - 207 MBThe first month of 2020 proves that the climate story has no chill at all. From the Australian bushfires to big important stories on everything from climate vision to radiioactive fracking, the story just keeps getting bigger and crazier. Special guest co-host Meera Subramanian joins Mary and Amy to break it all down. About Meera: Meera Subramanian is an award-winning freelance journalist whose work has been published around the world, and her first book is A River Runs Again: India’s Natura...
2019: It's Go Time
January 10, 2020 10:42 - 2 hours - 186 MB2019 brought an explosion of climate coverage in a variety of forms, and from the broadest coalition of voices yet. The movement grappled with gatekeepers and finally looked honestly at its racist past. Good thing too, because with increasing disasters, growing eco-fascism, and a total absence of global political leadership on climate, we need all hands on deck. It's go time. Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/171s0nlm8xvncu4/AAB9wsO7RJNFMnio5J3poKVva?dl=0 Reading list: Kanaka Maoli: Don'...
2018: The Wake-Up Call
December 20, 2019 07:25 - 1 hour - 132 MB2018 brought massive change to the ways we talk about climate. Global climate scientists put out the most alarming report yet on climate change impacts and projections, and media covered that report with the seriousness it deserved. The climate movement finally started moving past the hope narrative, and with megastorms ramping up and a town called Paradise burning down, climate change became impossible to ignore. Reading List: The Atlantic, The Media Barely Covered One of the Worst Storms ...
2016-2017 in Review: The Hangover
December 06, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 115 MBWhat happened in climate coverage in the lead-up to and aftermath of the 2016 election, how natural disasters rocked our world and our stories in 2017, Standing Rock, pieces that changed the narrative forever, and more. Stories discussed in this ep: ProPublica, "Houston's Perfect Storm" https://projects.propublica.org/houston/ Rolling Stone, “Can New York Be Saved in the Era of Global Warming?” https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/can-new-york-be-saved-in-the-era-of-global-warmin...
Fangirl vs. Fangirl
November 22, 2019 09:00 - 53 minutes - 73.2 MBIn this intro episode, Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt share their own approaches to climate storytelling and what they love most about each other's work. Mary's work: The big lie that we're told about climate change is that it's our own fault I work in the environmental movement. I don't care if you recycle. Home is always worth it After the Storm Amy's work: Of course U.S. birthrates are falling The Case for Climate Rage Why Are The New York Times and Washington Post Producing Ads fo...
Meet the Hosts: Our Own Climate Stories
November 22, 2019 09:00 - 53 minutesIn this intro episode, Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt share their own approaches to climate storytelling and what they love most about each other's work. Mary's work: The big lie that we're told about climate change is that it's our own fault I work in the environmental movement. I don't care if you recycle. Home is always worth it After the Storm Amy's work: Of course U.S. birthrates are falling The Case for Climate Rage Why Are The New York Times and Washington Post Producing Ads fo...
Welcome to Hot Take
November 19, 2019 02:31 - 2 minutes - 4.12 MBClimate change is the biggest story of our time. But sometimes we get so caught up in the story itself, we don't make time to talk about the storytelling ... how exactly are we understanding and processing this issue, and how do we ensure that conversations over both problems and solutions are productive? Welcome to Hot Take, a media criticism show about climate change coverage, with an eye toward making the conversation more productive, powerful, and inclusive.