Podcasts · Science · True Crime

Drilled

Pushkin Industries

270 episodes · in order

By 2050, one in eight people are expected to have been displaced by climate change, forcing millions of people to leave their hometowns, their countries of origin, and in many cases their identities behind. For communities all over the world, that time has already come. In this three-part mini series, Drilled global climate justice reporter Nina Lakhani takes us to three Latin American communities, each dealing with climate displacement—and the race to save their community—in a different way, to give listeners a window into the complexities of this issue. Imagine if your kid's school was suddenly submerged in the ocean, or if the government gave you a new house but it was 20 miles away and looked like everyone else's, or if the same country that made the drought worse in your village stole your stuff and put you in prison for the crime of trying to feed your family?

More about the show

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 5 of 6

  1. The Trial Begins: Jury Selection

    · 37 min · S12 E2

    Alleen arrives in North Dakota for jury selection in the lawsuit targeting Standing Rock activists and is shocked watching it play out. Recording in the courtroom is prohibited and jurors who state their open bias…

  2. The Charge: What Greenpeace Is Accused Of

    · 50 min · S12 E3

    Energy Transfer has quietly dropped Cody Hall and Krystle Two Bulls, the other Indigenous activist originally named in their massive lawsuit, exclusively targeting Greenpeace. Allen breaks down the charges against…

  3. Coming Soon: Carbon Bros—Men and Climate Denial in America

    · 4:20 · Trailer

    You’ve heard it from cable news pundits, Democratic strategists, and your favorite YouTuber: young men swung the last United States election for Trump. Understanding what's driving the "manosphere" and how to reach the…

  4. Hanna E. Morris on Apocalyptic Authoritarianism and Media Bias

    · 52 min · Bonus

    In her new book Apocalyptic Authoritarianism: Climate Crisis, Media, and Power, University of Toronto media scholar Hanna E. Morris argues that some climate journalists, striving to preserve a self-determined “moderate…

  5. Introducing: The Outlaw Ocean | A war on migration, funded by the EU (Libya Pt. 1)

    · 29 min · Bonus

    Where the law of the land ends, the story begins. Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Ian Urbina returns with a new season of his riveting podcast anthology, The Outlaw Ocean, which explores the most lawless place on…

  6. Back to the Water: Pipeline Impacts and Indigenous Concerns

    · 34 min · S12 E4 · Explicit

    Energy Transfer has successfully kept key details out of the court, including the tribe's concerns about the Dakota Access Pipeline's impact on their water source. We uncover the pipeline spills, risks, and issues it…

  7. The Testosterone Pipeline: How the Manosphere Fuels Climate Denial

    · 32 min · S13 E1

    Manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, Joe Rogan, and Jordan Peterson aren’t just shaping ideas about masculinity—they’re also blasting their followers with climate denial. The fossil fuel industry has known since at…

  8. How "Energy Dominance" Became a Gendered Climate Narrative

    · 46 min · S13 E2

    “Energy dominance” became a defining slogan of the Trump administration—but who or what are they trying to dominate with all that oil and gas? Amy and Daniel trace how gender became so embedded in our collective…

  9. Sacred Sites: Defending Indigenous Spaces

    · 42 min · S12 E5

    One of the charges Energy Transfer has made against Greenpeace is that the organization "defamed" the company by claiming the Dakota Access Pipeline was disturbing sites the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe views as sacred.…

  10. Climate Hysteria and “Boy Math”: Masculinity, Tech Fixes, and Gendered Climate Solutions

    · 49 min · S13 E3

    Stop listening to hysterical Swedish teenagers and start listening to reasonable men! Some dudes do have solutions to the climate crisis; they just don’t involve messy interpersonal stuff, changing their lifestyles, or…

  11. The SLAPP Heard 'Round the World: Standing Rock Verdict

    · 35 min · S12 E6

    The verdict in Energy Transfer's lawsuit against Standing Rock activists and Greenpeace is announced, more than doubling the damages. At a time when repression of protest is accelerating in the United States, Energy…

  12. Why Is the Fossil Fuel Industry Funding Anti-Trans Politics?

    · 19 min · S13 E4

    Special guest Vivian Taylor, a researcher on both trans rights and climate policy, joins us to share the the shocking connections between fossil billionaires and anti-trans campaigns. Turns out, it’s easy to distract…

  13. Integration: Bringing Men Into the Climate Movement

    · 54 min · S13 E5

    The bros of the manosphere love to talk about "integrating" a man's warrior and civilized selves, but what would it look like to integrate men, and new ideas of masculinity, into the climate movement? Who is already…

  14. The "Carbon Dominance" Strategy Behind Trump's Anti-Renewables Actions

    · 34 min · S13 E7 · Bonus

    Killing a nearly-completed offshore wind farm makes no sense, even for a climate denier who thinks windmills kill whales. Political economist Mark Blyth walks Drilled reporter Royce Kumerlovs through the Trump…

  15. Drilling Deep: The Golden Age of Oil-Funded Influence with Casey Michel

    · 56 min · Bonus

    Reporter Adam Lowenstein talks with Casey Michel, author of Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World about the influence of oil money on United States climate policy.…

  16. Why Political Will is the Real Barrier to Climate Action

    · 1 h 08 min · S14 E1

    Despite at least a decade of scientific certainty, proposed technological solutions, and policy measures, the world still hasn’t acted on the climate crisis. The problem is a lack of political will—and how it’s been…

  17. How Rightwing Populism and Accelerationism Fuels Climate Denial

    · 1 h 19 min · S14 E2

    Jesse Bryant (Yale University) and Dieter Plehwe (University of Kassel) examine the growing connection between right-wing populism, climate change denial, and resistance to climate policy. They explore how rising…

  18. Why Misinformation Works: The Psychology Behind Climate Disinformation

    · 1 h 02 min · S14 E3

    Why does misinformation spread like wildfire—and why is it so hard to correct? Climate communication researchers John Cook (University of Melbourne) and Dominik A. Stecula (Colorado State University) explain the…

  19. How The Media Drives Climate Obstruction

    · 59 min · S14 E4

    Climate obstruction would not be nearly as effective as it is without the influence of the public relations industry and the willful ignorance of mainstream media. Melissa Aronczyk (Rutgers University) and Max Boycoff…

  20. How the Fossil Fuel Industry Sabotages Climate Action

    · 50 min · S14 E5

    The fossil fuel industry has undoubtedly played a central role in obstructing climate action through lobbying, impacting political influence, and spreading disinformation. Academic Kristoffer Ekberg (Lund University),…

  21. Facing Climate Despair: How to Cope with Wen Stephenson

    · 1 h 06 min · Bonus

    The climate crisis can feel overwhelming—to witness venture-capital-fueled AI domination, democracy’s steady drift toward authoritarianism, state-sanctioned genocide, and the collapse of one climate boundary after…

  22. Introducing The Black Thread: The Norwegians

    · 42 min · Bonus

    Over the next few weeks, we're sharing a new mini-series, The Black Thread, about Norway's complicated relationship with its identity as both a progressive leader and oil state. Social norms and cultural values shape…

  23. How the Coal, Utilities, and Transportation Industries Block Climate Policy

    · 43 min · S14 E6

    The coal, utilities, and transportation industries have all played a major role in stopping governments from regulating emissions or transitioning to cleaner energy. Examining how those effort have taken shape around…

  24. How the Animal Agriculture Industry Blocks Methane Regulation

    · 1 h 09 min · S14 E7

    For decades, the meat and dairy industries avoided scrutiny for the planet-heating emissions they pump into the atmosphere. As governments began considering methane regulation, the animal agriculture sector starting…

  25. Petroganda: How the Oil Industry Is Shaping Norway's Politics and Culture

    · 48 min

    A growing number of experts and commentators suggest "petroganda"—the pervasive phenomenon of oil industry manipulation—is at work in Norway, influencing the country's politics, culture, and support for the oli…

  26. Abdul El-Sayed on Climate Complexities and Benevolent Masculinity

    · 36 min · S13 E6 · Bonus

    In this extended conversation, climate policy expert Abdul El-Sayed explores the complexities of the climate crisis and the role of masculinity in shaping how men engage, or fail to engage, with climate solutions. See…

  27. Drilling Deep: Karen House on Saudi Arabia Under Mohammed bin Salman

    · 52 min · S14 E8

    Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Wall Street Journal publisher Karen Elliott House, author of The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia, joins Adam Lowenstein to…

  28. Challenging the Narratives

    · 50 min

    Do the facts behind the narratives being told by Norway's fossil fuel industry, and government, add up? We hear experts critique some of the stories that keep Norwegian oil and gas pumping, while industry…

  29. Climate Obstruction in the Global South

    · 54 min · S14 E9

    The United States is a global leader of climate obstruction, but it's not the only guilty country. M. Omar Faruque (Queen’s University, Canada) and Ruth E. McKie (De Montfort University) look at how and why climate…

  30. How Climate Obstruction Works at the Local Level

    · 34 min · S14 E10

    Local governments are a double-edged sword when it comes to climate policy, with the power to either do far more or far less than national governments. They can be an agent of change or an agent of obstruction. Rebecca…

  31. Norway Beyond Oil: Climate, Policy, Society

    · 43 min

    We look ahead to Norway's future, exploring how the country might begin to loosen oil's grip on its politics and identity. Hear how different voices envision aligning the country's actions with its values, its…

  32. The Corruption of COP: Inside Climate Obstruction at the UN

    · 55 min · S14 E11

    The United Nations' climate processes were created to drive global climate action, but from the beginning they've faced organized efforts to delay progress. As COP 30 begins, Kari de Pryck (University of Geneva) and…

  33. Drilling Deep: Jessica Green on Why We Need More Confrontation at COP

    · 48 min · Bonus

    After four decades of the United Nations climate conference COP, progress on global climate action remains slow. So what isn't working? How is it possible that so much fanfare, so many words, and so much work—much of…

  34. Carbon Bros Mailbag: Navigating Traditional Male Spaces and the Benefits of Solidarity

    · 42 min · Bonus

    Daniel Penny and Amy Westervelt return for the Carbon Bros mailbag episode, answering listener questions from around the world about masculinity, traditional male spaces, vocational therapy, solidarity, and the role of…

  35. How and Why Climate Adaptation Measures Get Blocked

    · 46 min · S14 E12

    Working against regulations on emissions might protect the economic interests of those with money to lose, but why would anyone fight against adapting to survive climate disaster? In the negotiating rooms at COP 30,…

  36. COP Out: What the Heck Happened at COP30?

    · 57 min · Bonus

    We're bringing you episode 5 of Dana R. Fisher's COP Out podcast, from the Center for Environment, Equity and Community at American University, featuring our own Amy Westervelt and legendary climate scientist Dr.…

  37. Drlling Deep: Uruguay's Renewable Energy System with Natasha Hakimi Zapata

    · 55 min · Bonus

    More than a decade ago—when wind and solar power were far more expensive than they are today—Uruguay, long plagued by droughts and energy shortages, transitioned its entire economy such that 98% of its electricity now…

  38. How Litigation Works to Fight Climate Obstruction

    · 48 min · S14 E13

    It's bleak out there and while climate obstruction can feel overwhelming, there are efforts being made to fight back against it. One of them is litigation and holding corporations legally accountable. Joana Setzer…

  39. How Climate Activists Successfully Fight Obstruction

    · 57 min · S14 E14

    Despite growing repression worldwide, climate activists continue to stick it to obstructionists and drive change. In this season's finale, Jennie Stephens (University of Ireland Maynooth) and Sharon Yadin (University…

  40. The Norwegian Paradox: Norway's Fossil Fuel Dilemma

    · 25 min · Bonus

    In this bonus episode of The Black Thread, we examine a single legal case that distilles the Norwegian paradox perfectly: the planned electrification of the Melkøya gas processing plant. It's a key conflict site where…

  41. Drilling Deep: John Vaillant on Climate Change and Wildfire

    · 1 h 01 min · Bonus

    Wildfires are becoming more intense, frequent, and destructive as the climate heats up. Drilled reporter Royce Kurmelovs and Canadian author John Vallaint, author of Fire Weather, discuss the climate-fire nexus. See…

  42. Introducing Lawless Planet: "Surveillance and Sabotage on the Dakota Access Pipeline"

    · 46 min · Bonus

    When activists Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya take drastic measures to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, they have no idea that a shadowy private security contractor called TigerSwan has them in its…

  43. A "Green Transition"? If Only It Were That Simple

    · 57 min · Bonus

    In More and More and More, Jean-Baptiste Fressoz shows that the human history of energy is one of accumulation, not substitution. Here, he talks to reporter Adam Lowenstein about how the "energy transition" frame got…

  44. How Climate Protest Backlash Led to Present-Day Repression

    · 46 min · Bonus

    It's easy to feel like climate "doesn't matter" as the United States descends into fascism, as if climate and democracy are somehow separate issues. Researcher Oscar Berglund and Amy Westervelt connect the dots between…

  45. Just Because the U.S. Says It's Legal Doesn't Make It So: Companies Trading in Illegally Seized Venezuelan Oil Face Legal Risk

    · 29 min · Bonus

    Fernanda Hopenhaym, member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights walks Drilled senior global climate justice reporter Nina Lakhani through the many legal pitfalls companies getting involved in the United…

  46. 10 Years After Berta Cáceres’s Murder, Why Is Honduras Still So Dangerous for Environmentalists?

    · 59 min · Bonus

    This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the hired hit that took Berta Cáceres’s life and robbed both the Honduran and global environmental movements of a uniquely effective leader. Cáceres was targeted by a dam…

  47. Drilling Deep: Karen Hao on How Big AI Is Gambling with the Planet’s Chips

    · 53 min · Bonus

    What is “artificial intelligence”? Is it a fancy technology? A management consulting buzzword? A PR effort to inflate corporate share prices? A political project designed to shape the world more to the liking of the…

  48. Never Let a War Go to Waste

    · 26 min · Bonus

    Lots of people are talking about the similarities between Iraq and Iran, but in this episode we place the two in the context of another war—World War I—and the historical arc of fossil fascism. See…

  49. On Petromasculinity and Protest

    · 21 min · Bonus

    Repression of protest has ramped up in the U.S., but everything that's happening now began with the backlash to the Standing Rock protest back in 2016. In today's episode we look at the connections between fossil…

  50. Fossil-fueled Fascism

    · 22 min · Bonus

    The U.S. invasions of Venezuela and Iran are more of the same imperialism in service of oil majors. As the climate crisis makes its presence more urgently felt, fossil fascism dictates a doubling-down on extraction and…

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