The Elephant

We’ve all encountered those who passionately deny climate change is real. But given the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community, where does this doubt held by such a large proportion of the public stem from? Turns out, it’s not there by accident. It’s been consciously seeded within society by a few key corporations, free-market ideologues, and scientists. Through interviews with Naomi Oreskes, historian of science and author of Merchants of Doubt, and Kert Davies of the Climate Investigations Centre, we uncover the story of this secretive climate denial machine and learn about some of the key players who have been sowing doubt, and blocking action on the greatest threat facing our society.

We typically think of global warming in terms of the consequences it has for humanity. But it also has huge and troubling impacts on the other species we share our planet with. In this episode we speak with Elizabeth Kolbert about her Pulitzer Prize winning book the Sixth Extinction, and discuss how like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, human beings are having an impact so disruptive on the environment, that a large proportion of the earth's species will have likely gone extinct by the end of the century.

Climate change is in some ways a surprisingly old story, but it's also one that some of the finest minds in journalism have struggled to tell effectively. We speak with Ira Glass, Alan Rusbridger, and Max Boykoff about the ins and outs of how the media has dealt with the story of climate change, and why in 2015, things finally might be improving.

Climate change is not just about science. It's also about politics and power. And 2015 is the year that the fight to take on climate change is really heating up, with movements around the world battling the power of the fossil fuel industry. To help put this growing battle and political fight in context, we speak to Bill McKibben founder of 350.org, and Tim Flannery, scientist and author of The Weather Makers.

By now we've all heard that the climate is warming, but how do climate scientists study the problem and how do they know the current warming is unlike anything in the past? What tools do they use, and what can they tell us about how the planet is changing? To answer these questions we spend the hour with renowned professor Michael Mann, one of the foremost climate scientists in the world today, and author of the famous 'Hockey Stick' graph.

On July 16th, The Elephant, a brand new podcast series journeying into our changing climate and our changing world launches here. But it's about much more than just the climate.

From international politics and rising seas, to pipelines and how we get our food, through illuminating interviews The Elephant is a series that delves into the surprising questions, stories, battlegrounds, and changes occurring throughout the world due to climate change, and seeks to understand the challenge of our time.

Hosted by Kevin Caners, and produced with support from the CKAA.