Heated

Over six episodes, HEATED explored how the emerging coronavirus pandemic and the long-growing climate change crisis were overlapping existential threats. HEATED founder Emily Atkin and Mikel Ellcessor, her co-Executive Producer for the HEATED podcast, dig into the tape to highlight the things we all learned - and what we need to do if we want to keep things from getting worse. Also...we show you what you can do if you want MORE EPISODES of the HEATED podcast!

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi has been an extreme weather reporter, he’s mastered explaining the DOW and now he’s one of the most visible journalists bringing consistent climate reporting to a large audience. Ali joins us to trace his evolution as a reporter, why a scoreboard makes it easier to keep people focused and the paradox a smog-free LA being good TV. Velshi brings his trademark candor and clarity to a conversation that takes us behind the scenes of one of the country’s largest news organizations. For the climate-concerned individual, Velsi says, “There is no one coming to save you. This is work for adults, you actually have to figure out what the right things are. We are in a world in which there's no time now for us to look for the leaders who are going to save us.”

Mary Annaise Heglar is a singular voice. She is uncompromising and unapologetic. Her recent Wired piece, “We Can't Tackle Climate Change Without You,” proved, once again, why she is one of our most vital climate justice writers and thinkers. A writer-in-residence at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, Mary is also fierce and funny and doesn’t just convey the facts about climate change. She conveys the truth. She brought her usual blazing candor to this conversation AND she gifted us a reading list that is perfect for these long, COVID lock-down days.

Dr. Aaron Bernstein has an extraordinary commitment to children. He’s a pediatrician and is the Interim Director at Harvard C-Change -The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Besides being a great human being, he’s one of the true experts on how the climate crisis is harming our health -- particularly children’s health. Sometimes it feels like the climate community talks a lot about “the future,” but we miss what’s right in front of our noses - the children around us. Both COVID-19 and the climate crisis are extreme health threats. We have to use this moment in time to stay focused on the ways we address these interconnected threats, learn, and then act - knowing we’re also acting on behalf of the people who are trusting us to take care of them and do the right thing. Yeah… our young people.

Strap in because environmental justice organizer Anthony Rogers-Wright brings the heat. In his role as the policy coordinator for the Climate Justice Alliance, Anthony advocates for a huge network of indigenous, urban black, and low-income communities on the front lines of climate change who all share one thing in common: they are all disproportionately harmed by the effects of climate change and pollution. As Anthony makes abundantly clear, the reality that we have to face right now is that we will not be equal in our suffering when it comes to climate change. Just as we will not be equal in our suffering when it comes to coronavirus.

The New Republic’s Kate Aronoff is our guest and shares some creative policy solutions to the climate and pandemic crises. In our conversation, we can’t help but notice that Washington has ZERO interest in creative policy. Quite the opposite, the fossil fuel and legacy polluters are clamoring for some of that sweet, sweet COVID relief money. They’re jamming their usual policy agenda while Republicans are shamelessly screaming it’s “not the time” to talk about climate policy. This seems like a good time to have a serious heart to heart with your Congressional representatives.

Bill McKibben has been a leader in the climate movement for more than 20 years as a journalist, author, and co-founder of 350.org. Here he talks to HEATED's Emily Atkin about what the COVID-19 and climate crises have in common, the lessons both teach us about delayed responses, and how to continue collective action when everyone's at home on their own.