Tilclimate

This is MIT’s climate change podcast, Today I Learned: Climate. If you're looking to get smart quick on climate change – without the jargon and without the politicking – this podcast is for you! In each episode, we work with experts at MIT and beyond to explain climate change science and solutions in fifteen minutes or less.On October 5, TILclimate is returning for our fifth season! We’ll give you the straight answers to things like:What are the two biggest hurdles to getting all our energy from wind and solar – and how do we overcome them?Why are so many people talking about methane gas these days?Can’t we just get all our water from the ocean?What makes some greenhouse gases more concerning than others?And much more. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come. 

On August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It was the largest of three bills signed over the course of 10 months that together make up the United States’ largest investment in addressing climate change… well, ever. Dr. Liz Reynolds, lecturer in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning and former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development at the National Economic Council at the White House, joins the TILclimate podcast to help us see the big picture of what these bills are trying to accomplish.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/americas-big-year-climate-actionFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Scriptwriter & Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantSylvia Scharf, Education S

On Wednesday, April 19, TILclimate will host its first live event at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts! Reserve your seat at tilclimate.org to watch a live recording and join the questions as your host Laur Hesse Fisher sits down with MIT lecturer and former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development Dr. Elisabeth Reynolds about “America’s big year of climate action” and the course set for U.S. climate policy in 2021-22.

We often hear about recycling as a way to make an impact on climate change right in your own home. But how big a difference are we really making when we recycle? For this episode, Anders Damgaard, senior researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, joins the TILclimate podcast to help us understand the climate benefits of recycling—and why they depend on what we’re recycling and how.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-recyclingFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerNatalie Jones, Script WriterIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Winters are warming faster than any other season here in the U.S. So why are some winter storms getting even more intense? Today, we’re going to explore the connections between climate change and extreme winter weather. For this episode, we sat down with atmospheric science expert Dr. Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center.Dr. Jennifer Francis is a senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, and her research is focused on the rapidly changing Arctic. This work engages in why change is occurring, how those changes are affecting the Arctic as well as temperate regions across Earth where billions live. Dr. Francis has devoted more time in recent years towards effective science communication acoss media and helping non-scientists and public officials to gain deeper understanding of why the climate is changing and how it will continue to affect each of us.For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, as well as educator guides, sources and further re

What if you could pay someone else to cancel out your carbon emissions? As countries, organizations, and even individuals around the world commit to lowering their impact on the climate, many have been doing just that. So today, we’re going to look at how “carbon offsets” work and whether they are an effective tool for slowing climate change. For this episode, we sat down with carbon trading and offsets expert Dr. Barbara Haya from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Barbara Haya is a Research Fellow at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley. She leads the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project, which studies the effectiveness of offset programs and carbon trading with the goal of ensuring these programs and policies support effective climate action. Dr. Haya is also helping the University of California to develop its own strategy of using offsets to meet their carbon neutrality goals. Haya received her PhD at UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, and has previously w

Roughly ten percent of the world’s CO2 emissions come from passenger vehicles: cars, pickups, motorcycles, buses, and taxis. So today, we’re going to zoom in on how people get around every day and what to consider when thinking about reducing carbon emissions from everyday travel. For this episode, we sat down with our former MIT colleague and transportation expert Dr. Joanna Moody.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-mobilityFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerBarrett Golding, Script WriterIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Electric vehicles (EVs) are being touted as a major solution to climate change. But why is that? How do they work and what kinds of changes are needed as more EVs hit the road? To dig into this, we brought in MIT Sloan Prof. David Keith, who studies transportation technology. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-electric-carsFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerBarrett Golding, Script WriterIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Hydrogen gas acts like a fossil fuel, but with no carbon emissions. Is it the silver bullet we’ve been waiting for? Prof. Svetlana Ikonnikova of the Technical University of Munich joins us to bring light to how hydrogen works and its potential in the energy transition.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-hydrogenFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu.  CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerNatalie Jones, Script WriterIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

The ocean is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. It's estimated that the ocean has absorbed about one third of the excess CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere and more than 90% of trapped heat in the atmosphere. So, today, we’re going underwater to talk about the ocean and climate change with renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-the-oceanFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerNatalie Jones, Script WriterIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Climate Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

The ocean is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. It's estimated that the ocean has absorbed about one third of the excess CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere and more than 90% of trapped heat in the atmosphere. So, today, we’re going underwater to talk about the ocean and climate change with renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-the-oceanFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerNatalie Jones, Script WriterIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Climate Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

At MIT, we have a commitment to sharing what we know about climate change. That’s why, this summer, we’ll be back soon with a fourth season of TILclimate, bringing you new episodes that dive into even more climate topics, like the role the ocean plays in our climate, solutions for reducing transportation emissions, the future of hydrogen energy, and a whole lot more. All around 10-15 minutes, with real scientists and experts.For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Student Production AssistantNatalie Jones, Script WriterBarrett Golding, Script WriterSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistCarolyn Shea, Fact checkerMichelle Harris, Fact checkerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Today’s episode is about the money of climate change. When people talk about how much it costs to stop climate change, what are we paying for? And who’s paying, exactly? And if we don’t pay to stop climate change – how much will that cost us? To answer these questions, we spoke with Dr. Barbara Buchner from the Climate Policy Initiative.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-what-it-costsFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Today we bring climate change to the dining room table. In this episode, we reinvited Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig onto the TILclimate podcast to tell us just a little more about the connections between the food we eat and climate change.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-what-I-eatFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Over the last fifty years, our world has made remarkable progress in reducing hunger around the world. How can we keep our farms and food system resilient in a warming climate? Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, Senior Research Scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, joins host Laur Hesse Fisher on this episode of TILclimate to explain how climate change is already impacting our global food system.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-farming-a-warmer-planetFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Student Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

In our last episode, we talked about using technology to suck out extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But you might also be thinking—don’t trees do that? Yeah, they do! In fact, some people have proposed that by planting enough trees, we could make a big dent on climate change. In this episode of TILclimate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Charles Harvey helps us answer the question: could we just plant a whole lot of trees to solve our climate problem?For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-planting-treesFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Student Production AssistantRobin Palmer, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

We’ve had people ask us, if climate change is caused by adding too much CO2 into the atmosphere, can’t we just suck it back out? Won’t that solve our climate change problem? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), Professor Niall Mac Dowell of Imperial College London joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to demystify the process and feasibility of removing CO2 from the atmosphere.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-technological-carbon-captureFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu.CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Student Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Is climate change really a national security issue, in the same way we think about terrorism or nuclear weapons? And if so, what are our governments doing about it? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), national security expert Alice C. Hill joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to help answer these questions.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-national-securityFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Student Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Sea level rise is already happening and affecting people right now. We invited Prof. James Renwick back to TILclimate to talk about the near future: what will sea-level rise look like for coastal areas in the next 20 or 30 years, and what can we do about it?For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-sea-level-rise-part-2For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Student Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

If you’ve heard only one thing about climate change, it might be that sea levels are rising, and many of the Earth’s islands and coastlines are at risk. But, why? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), Professor James Renwick of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to break down the science of sea level rise and what’s in store for the future if we do — and don’t — significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-sea-level-rise-part-1For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Associate ProducerIlana Hirschfeld, Student Production AssistantCarolyn Shea, Fact CheckerSylvia Scharf, Education SpecialistMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol