Podcasts · Science · True Crime

Drilled

Pushkin Industries

269 episodes · in order

Drilled is a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Hosted and reported by award-winning investigative climate journalists and led by Amy Westervelt, each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach.

Episodes page 2 of 6

  1. Fracking Giant Chesapeake Energy Declares Bankruptcy

    · 15 min · S4 E12

    Despite tax breaks, royalty cuts, and other COVID-19 incentives, Chesapeake Energy, a pioneer in the American fracking industry, has declared bankruptcy. We explore why the pandemic isn't to blame and what the says…

  2. The Netherlands Considers a Fossil Fuel Advertising Ban

    · 20 min · Bonus

    An advocacy group in the Netherlands is calling for a ban on fossil fuel ads. Campaigner Femke Sleegers joins us to explain the roots of the campaign, its goal, and the initial response to it. Additional resources: Ban…

  3. Bribery and Bailouts: The Ohio Utility Scandal

    · 21 min · S4 E13

    The FBI arrested Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder for racketeering or, as the state attorney general put it, "bribery, that's what it was." Private utility FirstEnergy paid politicians, including…

  4. Big Oil vs. Divestment

    · 13 min · Bonus

    TheTrump administration proposed a rule that would make it harder for financial managers to investment retirement funds in environmentally or socially responsible ways. The fossil fuel industry praised the rule, noting…

  5. La Lucha En La Jungla: Pollution in the Amazon

    · 26 min · S5 E1

    In August 2019, an American lawyer was placed under house arrest while awaiting trial for criminal contempt, stemming from a decades-long case that began with polution in the Amazon. The cas has since spanned…

  6. The Colonizers: How Oil and Missionaries Shaped the Amazon

    · 29 min · S5 E2

    How did the Amazon's oil conflict come about in the first place? We go back to the 1960s, the early days of oil colonialism in Ecuador, when the partnerships between oil men and missionaries began and disrupted…

  7. The Trial: Oil and Justice in Ecuador

    · 23 min · S5 E3

    The fight for justice in Ecuador's Amazon moves to the courtroom, while an election changes the political landscape and a global PR war kicks into high gear. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for…

  8. The Secret Tribunal: Chevron vs. Ecuador

    · 45 min · S5 E4

    In September 2009, Chevron filed an international arbitration claim against the Ecuadorian government over the Lago Agrio case. In the years since, Chevron has pointed to the decisions of the arbitral panel as akin to…

  9. The Big Guns: Chevron's Legal Offensive

    · 32 min · S5 E5

    As Ecuadorian plaintiffs gain press, public support, and an endorsement from the country's president, Chevron kicks things up a notch, bringing in new lawyers and a PR firm to rewrite the story. Support us on Patreon.…

  10. The Charge: Chevron Faces a Verdict

    · 23 min · S5 E6

    The Lago Agrio case takes a bizarre turn with a sting operation, United States subpoenas, and accusations of frad and bribery before a verdict is finally reached. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for…

  11. Update: Steven Donziger Faces Criminal Contempt with No Representation

    · 25 min · Bonus

    New York District Court Judge Loretta Preska has denied repeated requests to delay Steven Donziger's criminal contempt trial, leaving him without legal representation. He'll stand trial Monday November 9, after which…

  12. Big Oil's Bad Bet on Plastic

    · 19 min · Bonus

    A new Carbon Tracker report finds that the fossil fuel industry is pinning its hopes on a plastic boom. Try as it might, demand isn't materializing. The report's author, Kingsmill Bond, joins us. See…

  13. The Linchpin: Joe Berlinger

    · 40 min · S5 E7

    Chevron's attorneys go after Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker behind Crude, the documentary about the Lago Agrio case. They subpoena his outtakes, kicking off a years-long First Amendment battle. Support us on Patreon.…

  14. Damages: Chevron's Shocking Racketeering Claim

    · 27 min · S5 E8

    Chevron's legal team shocks the Ecuadorian plantiffs with a massive racketeering claim in the United States, alleging fraud, witness tampering, and bribery. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for…

  15. The Judge: Corruption Charges Hit the Courts

    · 38 min · S5 E9

    As the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) case gets underway, corruption charges against the United States and Ecuadorian judges surface. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for…

  16. The Kill Step: Chevron Fights the Ecuadorian Government

    · 20 min · S5 E10

    Chevron pushes its fight against the Ecuadorian judgement, while Steven Donziger loses his RICO appeal and faces disbarment and contempt charges. Support us on Patreon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  17. ¿Ahora Que?: What's Next for Donziger, Chevron and Ecuador

    · 27 min · S5 E11 · Explicit

    Steven Donziger remains under house arrest and collecting the Ecuadorian settlement seems impossible, so what happens next? We explore what this case says about accountability, the power of oil companies, and the…

  18. The API Was Pushing Climate Denial Way Earlier Than Anyone Thought

    · 23 min · Bonus

    Stanford researcher Ben Franta joins to talk about a bombshell new discovery: the American Petroleum Institute not only knew about climate change back in the 70s, it started pushing climate denial as early as 1980.…

  19. Frackalachia: The Fracking Jobs Myth in Appalachia

    · 37 min · Bonus

    When a report makes oil and gas companies—and the politicians they help elect—this mad, you know the author is on to something. Researcher Sean O'Leary, with the Ohio River Valley Institute, talks about his new report,…

  20. How the Fossil Fuel Industry is Undermining Free Speech

    · 35 min · Bonus

    Across the United States, fossil fuel-backed anti-protest laws are reshaping the rights to protest and to free speech. 14 states have based new laws, and are passing through statehouses in several more states,…

  21. All Eyes on Weymouth: FERC Signals Interest in Environmental Justice

    · 22 min · Bonus

    For years, local activists and legislators have been fighting the Enrbidge natural gas compressor in Weymouth, Massachusetts, arguing it poses serious health risks to a community already overburdened by pollution. The…

  22. Infrastructure Week: Build Back Better, the THRIVE Act, and Climate Justice with Kaniela Ing

    · 28 min · Bonus

    The Biden Administration's Build Back Better plan includes progressive wish list items, but the left is pushing for more. The THRIVE Act, reintroduced by Senator Markey and Representative Dingell is what they're…

  23. Corporate Personhood? What About Ecosystem Personhood

    · 38 min · Bonus

    Can ecosystems have legal rights similar to corporations? We talked about rights of nature a bit in the Ecuador-Chevron season—the Latin American country was the first in the world to integrate the concept of rights of…

  24. Update: The Latest Developments in the Steven Donziger Case

    · 30 min · Bonus

    Steven Donziger is set for trial May 10, but his lawyers have already filed a motion to dismiss, claiming vindictive prosecution. Reporter Karen Savage provides an update. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  25. Rep. Ro Khanna on Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Biden’s Infrastructure Plan

    · 10 min · Bonus

    The first Congressional hearing on Earth Day 2021 is focused on fossil fuel subsidies. The elimination of such subsidies was written into Biden's infrastructure bill, and House Democrats want to make sure it stays…

  26. The Heath Impacts of the Coal-to-Gas Transition: Harvard's New Study

    · 17 min · Bonus

    A new study out from Harvard University sheds light on the health impacts of transitioning from coal to other combustible fuels. These findings are important for climate policy, particularly the fact that biomass is a…

  27. How Big Oil Made You Feel Guilty About Climate Change

    · 19 min · Bonus

    Harvard science historian Naomi Oreskes reveals how the fossil fuel companies use language targeted specifically to downplay the reality of climate change and shift responsibility entirely onto consumers. Geoffrey…

  28. Update: Steven Donziger's Trial in New York

    · 19 min · Bonus

    Steven Donziger went to trial for the criminal contempt charge that's kept him on house arrest for 600 days and counting. Paul Paz Y Mino of Amazon Watch brings us an update. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  29. Coming Soon: The Bridge to Nowhere

    · 3:55 · Trailer

    Season 6 explores the natural gas industry in three parts, following he story of Formosa Plastics to explain the direct connection between the fracking boom and plastics surge. Formosa Plastics is a company so…

  30. Don't Mess with Texas

    · 25 min · S6 E1

    How did the fracking boom lead to a plastics boom? We examine how the gas and plastics industries have embedded themselves in society through the story of one petrochemical company operating on the Gulf Coast and two…

  31. Fighting Formosa in Louisiana

    · 26 min · S6 E2

    Diane Wilson couldn't keep Formosa Plastics out of her Texas town, but down the coast in St. James Parish, Louisiana, Sharon Lavigne is fighting like hell to keep the petrochemical giant out. See…

  32. And Then There Was COVID

    · 22 min · S6 E3

    Just as the fossil fuel industry was starting to worry about demand for single use plastics, along comes a global pandemic that they could leverage to push more of it. And they did! But was it enough to save them…

  33. Keeping Oil Alive

    · 18 min · S6 E4

    Investigative journalism project UnEarthed, funded by Greenpeace in the United Kingdom, captured ExxonMobil execs talking through the company's climate playbook. We share an unpublished part of the report, in which a…

  34. Whack-A-Mole

    · 26 min · S6 E5

    Frontline communities are facing a whack-a-mole problem: as one facility gets shut down, another pops up. In many ways, the plastic problem itself is a whack-a-mole issue catalyzed by progress in shifting away from…

  35. Drilled + Earther: The ABCs of Big Oil

    · 3:26 · Trailer

    Alongside Earther reporter Dharna Noor, this multi-part series will explore the fossil fuel industry's influence in schools—shaping our understanding of environmental problems and narrowing the scope of solutions to…

  36. The First Day of School

    · 38 min · S7 E1

    Long before climate change appeared on the scene, fossil fuel companies were in America's classrooms, shaping young minds. Dharna Noor and Amy Westervelt explore how Big Oil got into the education game, why it worked…

  37. How Big Oil Targets Elementary School

    · 23 min · S7 E2

    Since the 1920s, oil companies have been creating music, activities, books, movies, and more to shape how American elementary-school aged kids think about our society, economy, and environment. Read more:…

  38. S5 Update: Donziger Sentenced to Six Months in Jail

    · 37 min

    Steven Donziger, the attorney who's been on house arrest for more than two years on a contempt charge that arose as a result of his work on the Chevron-Ecuador case, was sentenced Friday October 1st. Judge Loretta…

  39. Big Oil's High School Agenda

    · 28 min · S7 E3

    We head to high school, where the fossil fuel industry's efforts to shape Americans' thinking on economics and policy ramps up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  40. Big Oil on Campus

    · 33 min · S7 E4

    By the time students reach college, Big Oil's education strategy reaches it's largest phase: direct influence on curricula and research at the university level. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  41. Ben Franta on Big Oil in College

    · 59 min · S7 E5

    Here's our full interview with Stanford researcher Ben Franta to discuss fossil fuel influence at universities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  42. Fighting Back Against Big Oil in Education

    · 29 min · S7 E6

    Over the last five episodes, we've tracked how long the fossil fuel industry has been investing in schools, why, and what impact it's had. Now it's time for the most important question: What can we do about it? See…

  43. Climate Education in the U.S. with Katie Worth

    · 18 min · S7 E7

    Reporter Katie Worth has been researching climate education in the United States for years, forming the basis of her new book Miseducation. Here's what she's uncovered. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  44. Melissa Aronczyk on the History of Greenwashing

    · 52 min

    Melissa Aronczyk, media studies scholar at Rutgers University, is one of my go-to sources on all things disinformation. In this episode, she walks us through the history of environmental PR and how it's shaped the…

  45. Fracking the Outback: Australia's Plan to Go Big on Fracking and Plastic

    · 28 min · Bonus

    As the rest of the world is beginning to realize that fracking comes with more downsides than upsides, Australia is readying itself for a fracking boom, eyeing basins on Indigenous land. See omnystudio.com/listener…

  46. One PR Firm Works on More Climate Obstruction Than Any Other

    · 27 min

    In a new study, sociologist Robert Brulle examined which PR firms work for the various industries obstructing climate action. Only one firm was in the top 3 for every single segment. Listen to find out which one, and…

  47. The Influence Industry and Climate Obstruction

    · 32 min

    Groundbreaking new research from Brown University's Dr. Robert Brulle shows just how much oil companies have spent on PR in recent decades, and tracks how PR firms helped to architect climate obstruction. PR…

  48. Drilled Presents | Scene on Radio, The Repair | Episode 9: Pachamama

    · 44 min · Bonus

    In several countries around the world, including Ecuador, New Zealand, and the U.S., some people are trying to protect the planet using a legal concept called “rights of nature”—infusing the law with Indigenous…

  49. Climate Crisis, Meet Democracy Crisis

    · 32 min · S7 E8

    What happens when the climate crisis collides with the unraveling of American democracy? Max Berger, a longtime progressive organizer who helped incubate the Sunrise Movement and worked with both Cori Bush and…

  50. Reclaiming Environmentalism

    · 15 min · S7 E9

    For decades, the fossil fuel industry has successfully framed environmentalists as silly, radical, elitist, or out of touch. And for too long, the climate movement has bought into this framing, self-flagellating for…

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