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Before the end of the year, I had my annual conversation with the always wonderful Evlondo Cooper, senior writer with the climate and energy program at Media Matters. In this conversation, we explore the new challenges of climate reporting that we saw unfold in the politically charged environment of 2025. We looke at the specific changes under the Trump administration and how a continued lack of diverse voices in climate coverage is helping to contribute to the disconnect between climate issues and political discourse. Additionally, Cooper tracks the ongoing missing context in major climate events of recent years, especially around climate solutions and harms. We look at the role of media in holding politicians accountable, the gaps in current coverage, and how climate media problems visible in recent years may actually be getting worse.

You can follow all of Evlondo's coverage here.

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Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Become a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show! It's fun. All the cool kids are doing it!

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This week, we explore a fundamental question at the heart of the climate crisis: why are so many people willing to destory the environment? This is something I think about a lot and can be infurating. It's also a more complicated story when you really dig into the motivators.

To find out why environmental crims happens, Dr. Julia Shaw, a criminal psychologist and author of Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them, is on the show. She explains the intersection of criminal psychology and environmental issues and why she wanted to take on this incredibly important and complex subject. Shaw outlines the six psychological pillars that motivate environmental crimes and how motivators often differ greatly by income and levels of power. We also talk abou the murder of environmental defenders, the complexities of land ownership and stewardship, the psychology behind poaching, and the impact of misinformation has on environmental action. Shaw also explains how existing laws and regulations can help combat environmental crimes effectively.

Read: Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.

Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Become a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show! It's fun. All the cool kids are doing it!

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This week, we're taking a deep dive into the UNEP fascinating, new Global Environment Outlook with legendary climate scientist Sir Professor Robert Watson. We discuss the state (and accelerating pace) of global warming and environmental destruction. Watson explains how emissions continue to climb, what's happened since the Paris Agreement, the state of biodiversity loss, land degradation, and air pollution, and much more. He also explains the transformative investments and changes needed to come anywhere close to international environmental and climate agreements.

Sir Professor Robert Watson, Former co-chair of IPCC and IPBES and former chief scientific advisor in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House during the Clinton presidency. He is also one of the lead authors report of the 7th edition of UNEP's Global Environment Outlook Report.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.

Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel.