Drilled: Displaced

Alleen arrives in North Dakota for jury selection in the lawsuit targeting Standing Rock activists and is shocked watching it play out. Recording in the courtroom is prohibited and jurors who state their open bias against activists—or are even connected to the fossil fuel industry—are allowed to serve.

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Greenpeace, only tangentially involved in the Standing Rock protests, faces a staggering $666 million bill for damages...despite the fact that the Dakota Access Pipeline was built, and has been making Energy Transfer millions of dollars for years. Indigenous water protector Cody Hall, who was a key figure during the protests and initially targeted in the lawsuit, walks us through the 2016-2017 events and how the lawsuit began.

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A decade ago, residents of a small Texas town near a naval base enjoyed quiet, ocean-adjacent living. Today, the same town has become one of the country’s top oil export hubs—and a fenceline community surrounded by terminals and industrial activity. Reporter Alex Ip, author of an investigative series from The Xylom, explains how Big Oil’s expansion disrupted the town, shut down the naval base, and exposed residents to environmental and social impacts.

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Investigative reporter Alleen Brown follows the story of an Indigenous nation fighting for its water rights, an international environmental movement finding its voice, and an industry attempting to crush its political opposition. Uncovering how industries use SLAPP suits—lawsuits to intimidate and silence activists—we look at the intersection of environmental justice, Indigenous rights, and corporate power.

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In his new book What's Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis, Malcolm Harris challenges us to confront the climate crisis as the complex, urgent problem it truly is and tackle it at the scale it deserves. Malcolm speaks with reporter Adam Lowenstein about what that looks like and why embracing the full scope of the crisis can feel surprisingly liberating.

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A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists compiles documentary evidence on the role of fossil fuel companies in obstructing climate policy. We walk through the latest findings in the report, and get an update on climate cases in the United States.

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In the finale of our Real Free Speech Threat season, we examine how the United States military and its national security agencies have stoked a global crackdown on environmental protest, and bring you the inspiring story of one Filipino land defender who's been targeted by the state for years and is still fighting.

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Later this year we’ll be bringing you a season in collaboration with the podcast Non-Toxic, hosted by journalist and culture critic Daniel Penny, about the intersection between masculinity and climate. Meet Daniel and learn about his work and what you can expect from this season.

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The fossil fuel industry has long shaped public perception through advertorials and sponsored content created by the media outlets themselves. These op-eds, slide shows and videos, and podcasts are produced by media outlets' internal brand studios, not their editorial staffs. But these services are explicitly marketed as a way to make corporate content mirror the editorial content in style and approach, and when it comes to fossil fuel advertisers it often directly contradicts what the editorial staff is reporting. In late 2023, we published a report detailing the many examples of this and delving into the peer-reviewed research that shows how misleading this practice is to readers. One of the researchers who has most contributed to this body of research is Boston University's Dr. Michelle Amazeen, who has published a new study looking at why this practice is particularly misleading on social media, and what media outlets might be able to do to make it less so.

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In November, a Dutch court ruled in Shell's favor on an appeal in a big international climate case, but it wasn't quite the win for Shell that the media made it out to be. While Shell won on appeal in some areas, the court reaffirmed a critical point from the original case: that Shell is legally required to reduce its global emissions.

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