While those outside the field of climate science tend to think of it as consisting of independent researchers, free to pursue the truth wherever it leads them, Michaels argues that our climate scientocracy makes this impossible.

During the interview, Michaels answers questions including:

- How has government transformed climate research during Michaels’s career?

- How does government impact what research gets done?

- How does academic research get communicated with the general public?

- How do “consensus” statements come to be?

For more on how government distorts science, see Dr. Michaels’s book Scientocracy.