In this episode, I speak with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, one of the depressingly few Democratic leaders showing real fight in the face of Trumpism. We get into the weeds on how Illinois is defending its climate laws, advancing clean energy and manufacturing, and tackling thorny challenges like the housing crisis, the transition away from natural gas, and the looming “fiscal cliff” facing transit agencies. Oh, and the governor explains what quantum computing is.

In this episode, the tables are turned: I'm the guest of the Climate Papa podcast, interviewed by host Ben Eidelson. We discuss the nested fractal puzzle of decarbonization, the critical importance of the grid and urban land use, and why now is the most exciting time to jump into climate work. Plus, I share some thoughts on parenting and avoiding tech-bro culture as the climate space evolves.

My guest, Val Miftakhov of ZeroAvia, argues that hydrogen fuel cells paired with electric motors are the key to decarbonizing aviation. We discuss why he prefers his solution to sustainable aviation fuels or batteries, the challenges and misconceptions around supplying and refueling with hydrogen, and the tech roadmap from today's small retrofits to tomorrow's large jets.

I talk to Emily Pontecorvo (Heatmap) and Jeff St. John (Canary Media) to grapple with the latest Trump administration moves impacting climate and energy policy. We discuss the executive orders targeting state climate programs and propping up coal plants, the baffling new tariffs threatening energy supply chains, and the flurry of lawsuits challenging the administration's actions.

In this episode, I dive into the UK's decarbonization journey with Lucy Yu of the Centre for Net Zero. We discuss how the UK has become a world leader in offshore wind while lagging in heat pump adoption, why electricity market reform is essential to prevent gas from setting electricity prices, and how community ownership models overcome NIMBY resistance to wind projects.

I'm joined by “Texas Doug” Lewin to unpack the fascinating contradictions of a state that inadvertently became the nation's renewable energy powerhouse through a free market electricity system that its politicians now seem bent on strangling. Bills before the legislature would require solar and wind developers to also build gas plants, impose extreme setback requirements only on renewables, and potentially cripple the state's economy just as data centers drive unprecedented demand growth.

In this episode, I'm joined by Helena Sarén to discover how Finland achieved a nearly 95% carbon-neutral electricity mix and set the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. We dig into the country's pragmatic approach to nuclear power, how its relationship with neighboring Russia has shaped its energy independence and security strategies, and how Finnish industry is actively pushing for more aggressive climate targets rather than resisting them.

In this episode, I dig into the just-released Global Electricity Review from the think tank Ember, with founder Bryony Worthington and lead author Nicolas Fulghum. Clean electricity surpassed 40 percent of global generation in 2024, driven by record solar deployment. We explore solar's rapid doubling, the pace of demand growth, and the way China's clean energy decisions shape global trends.

In this episode, I talk with Antoine Vagneur-Jones, head of clean energy, trade, and supply chains for BloombergNEF, about the messy world of global clean energy supply chains. We explore China's manufacturing dominance, the faltering quest to "onshore" production in Western countries, and why blanket tariffs often undermine the very goals they're supposed to achieve.

In this episode, I sit down with my old friend Sean Casten for a frank insider's take on the precarious state of clean energy policy amid our ongoing constitutional meltdown. We dive into the political knife fight over IRA tax credits (some Republicans support them), why transmission reform remains frustratingly partisan despite economic logic, and the fossil industry's fear of competition. Despite the dire political landscape, Casten makes a compelling case for why clean energy developers should keep building through the storm.