Baked into the American Jobs Plan is an ambitious proposal to set a federally-mandated Clean Electricity Standard of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035. It would put the US on track to get emissions under control and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. That is, if it gets through Congress.

Fossil fuel companies are tapping into America’s “best and brightest” at top banks, public relations and advertising firms, law firms, and strategy consulting firms. In this episode (our first of the second season!) Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and Dr. Leah Stokes explore the different ways this “prestige problem” influences America’s white-collar workforce and keeps fossil fuels powerful.

In 2013, a series of attack ads blitzed television sets across Arizona. They warned of a dire threat to senior citizens. Who was the villain? Solar energy.

These ads came from front groups funded by Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest utility. It was part of a years-long fight against rooftop solar.

But APS isn’t alone. It’s a prime example of how monopoly utilities abuse their power to influence regulatory decisions and slow clean-energy progress.

Most of us are in the first stage of climate grief: denial. But what does it feel like to enter the stage of grief? And how is that grief different for black people?

In this episode, Nikayla Jefferson shares her journey breaking through denial and into grief.

As a black person, grieving for the planet can look different, feel heavier and more immediate.

This week, we have a special episode about the long and winding energy transition in an often overlooked place: the Navajo Nation—the largest Indian reservation in the United States.

Journalist and climate policy expert Julian Brave NoiseCat is our guide.

We’ll look at the deep history of energy extraction and colonialism that led to the current clean-energy transition for the Navajo people.

Imagine the atmosphere as an overflowing bathtub. The water keeps gushing from the tap. Clearly, we need to turn it off. We have to bring emissions of heat-trapping gases down to zero, stat. But even after we do that, we still have a mess on our hands. So, we need to open the drain, let some water out.

In this episode, we’ll explore the different ways we can manage carbon emissions with natural and technological solutions.

It’s official. Joe Biden will be the next president. He ran on a platform that put climate at the top of the agenda.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty and tension. What will happen to the balance of power in Congress? Can we make progress on climate, even with Democrats losing down-ballot races?

There’s actually a lot of good news. In this episode, Leah and Katharine dig into what this moment means for the future of the planet.