ENCORE: Cities Leading the Way

Making Solar Great Again

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 [https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/27/solar-powers-newest-friends-maga-influencers-00802954] 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 [https://www.climateone.org/audio/making-solar-great-again.] at 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 [http://climateone.org/events]  *** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne]. *** Ad sales by Multitude [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Medium Rare: What’s Next For Meat?

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 [https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts]. 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 [http://climateone.org/events]  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

ENCORE: Cities Leading the Way

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  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Healing Ourselves and the Planet with Katharine Wilkinson and Uncle Pappy

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 ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne [http://patreon.com/ClimateOne].  Ad sales by Multitude [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Fighting Fire with Fiery Passion: 2026 Goldman Prize Winners

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 [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  ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne [http://patreon.com/ClimateOne].  Ad sales by Multitude [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]