America Adapts - The Climate Change Podcast

In episode 253 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons speaks with Dr. Shalini Vajjhala , Executive Director of The Pre-Collective, about why climate adaptation still struggles to scale and whether the real challenge is less about engineering and more about coordination, trust, and financing. Drawing from two recent essays, Shalini discusses her argument that the U.S. is experiencing a "civic disaster," where weakened institutions and declining public trust are undermining our ability to respond to growing climate risks. Doug and Shalini explore why adaptation projects often remain stuck in pilot mode, the role of "predevelopment" in resilience finance, why avoided losses are so difficult to fund, and what separates communities that actually build projects from those trapped in endless planning cycles. They also examine the growing political dimensions of adaptation, the role of philanthropy and public institutions, why adaptation still lacks broader "FOMO," and how communication failures may be slowing pro