Category: Climate Change

259: How Cora Stryker Is Bringing Plug-In Solar to the Masses

259: How Cora Stryker Is Bringing Plug-In Solar to the Masses
BrightSaver CEO Cora Stryker joins Matt Matern to explore how affordable plug-in solar could lower energy bills and expand clean energy access. They discuss new legislation, renters’ rights, battery storage, and the growing movement behind it.

258: The AI Beehive Fighting Colony Collapse, With Saar Safra

258: The AI Beehive Fighting Colony Collapse, With Saar Safra
Beewise CEO Saar Safra explains how AI, robotics, and solar-powered BeeHomes are helping save honeybees. Discover how the technology monitors and treats colonies 24/7, reduces colony collapse, and could help protect the global food supply.

257: The Future of EV Charging Looks More Like Hospitality, with Zak Winnick

257: The Future of EV Charging Looks More Like Hospitality, with Zak Winnik
Matt Matern talks with Rangeway Energy founder Zak Winnick about reinventing EV charging with reliable stations, comfortable amenities, renewable energy, and a hospitality-first approach designed to make electric road trips easier and more enjoyable.

256: Can Kelp Help Rebuild Our Oceans? with Bren Smith

256: Can Kelp Help Rebuild Our Oceans? with Bren Smith
GreenWave co-founder Bren Smith explains how regenerative ocean farming can restore ecosystems, create resilient jobs, and strengthen food systems—from kelp and shellfish farms to seaweed biostimulants that can reduce water and fertilizer use.

255: Storing Carbon in the Ocean, with Garrett Boudinot

255: Storing Carbon in the Ocean, with Garrett Boudinot
Matt speaks with Dr. Garrett Boudinot, CEO of Vycarb, about transforming industrial CO₂ into permanently stored bicarbonate using water. They explore scalable carbon capture, real-time verification, and how the technology could help decarbonize heavy industry.

254: How Fossil Fuel Companies Are Quietly Buying Legal Immunity, with David Fenton

254: How Fossil Fuel Companies Are Quietly Buying Legal Immunity, with David Fenton
Climate communications expert David Fenton explains why better storytelling—not more data—is the key to climate action. He and Matt Matern discuss messaging, media failures, fossil fuel accountability, and how ordinary people can help change the conversation.

253: The $10,000 Robot That Restores Ecosystems 24/7, with Tom Chi

253: The $10,000 Robot That Restores Ecosystems 24/7, with Tom Chi
Tom Chi, founding partner of At One Ventures and Google X pioneer, joins Matt to explain how AI, drones, and deep tech can restore mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass while making nature recovery cheaper—and why expanding our "aperture of care" matters.

252: Why Only 1% of US Farmland Is Organic, with Linley Dixon

252: Why Only 1% of US Farmland Is Organic, with Linley Dixon
Dr. Linley Dixon explains how organic farming can fight climate change, restore soil health, and improve food quality. She discusses chemical agriculture, organic fraud, PFAS contamination, policy challenges, and how consumers can support local, truly organic farms.

247: America’s Best Idea – How the U.S. Invented the National Park

247: America’s Best Idea - How the U.S. Invented the National Park
Matt explores the story behind America’s national parks - from Yellowstone’s creation in 1872 and John Muir’s influence on Theodore Roosevelt to today’s battles over public lands. Part of the “250 for 250” series on environmental history and civic action.

245: How 20 Million Americans Got a Republican President to Build the EPA

245: How 20 Million Americans Got a Republican President to Build the EPA
Earth Day 1970 brought 20 million Americans into the streets, helping create the EPA, Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act. This episode explores the era’s bipartisan support for environmental protection and asks how that shared commitment was lost.

244: Why Jonathan Criss Left SpaceX After 13 Years to Solve the Water Crisis

244: Why Jonathan Criss Left SpaceX After 13 Years to Solve the Water Crisis
Matt speaks with Jonathan Criss, CEO and co-founder of Vital Lyfe, about transforming access to clean drinking water. A former SpaceX engineer, Jonathan explains how his portable desalination technology can produce safe water from nearly any natural source, helping address global water challenges.

243: The Climate Solution Hidden in Every Sidewalk, with Dean Forgeron

243: The Climate Solution Hidden in Every Sidewalk, with Dean Forgeron
Matt speaks with CarbonCure CTO Dean Forgeron about injecting CO2 into concrete, where it mineralizes into limestone-like calcium carbonate. They discuss cutting cement use, storing 768,000 tons of CO2, and reducing emissions at the source.

242: Why a Top Climate VC Is Endorsing Tom Steyer for Governor, with Dan Miller

Matt and Dan Miller of The Roda Group discuss why renewables beat fossil fuels on cost, AI’s climate impact, EV adoption, fossil fuel subsidies, and why Tom Steyer could reshape California’s energy future in the 2026 governor’s race. Plus utility reform plans.

241: Cut 30% of Your Energy Bill Without Spending a Dime, with Ibhade Eigbobo

241: Cut 30% of Your Energy Bill Without Spending a Dime, with Ibhade Eigbobo
Matt talks with Budderfly’s Ibhade Eigbobo about energy efficiency, virtual power plants, battery storage, and Budderfly’s energy-as-a-service model helping small and midsize businesses reduce utility costs and modernize aging equipment.

240: Why Protecting Nature Starts With Protecting People, with Brett Jenks

240: Why Protecting Nature Starts With Protecting People, with Brett Jenks
Matt talks with Rare CEO Brett Jenks about scaling climate resilience in 2,000+ coastal communities, why adaptation matters, and how financial, ecological, and social resilience can prevent a global climate migration crisis.

239: Fast Fashion Is Killing the Planet, with Marci Zaroff

239: Fast Fashion Is Killing the Planet, with Marci Zaroff
Matt Matern talks with sustainable fashion pioneer Marci Zaroff on the true cost of clothing—from cotton in our food supply to organic fibers, greenwashing vs certification, and the shift toward traceable fashion.

238: The Right to Protest Is Under Attack, with Annie Leonard & André Carothers

238: The Right to Protest Is Under Attack, with Annie Leonard & André Carothers
Annie Leonard and André Carothers, co-authors of Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It, join Matt to discuss why the right to protest is under unprecedented attack — and why defending it is inseparable from the fight against climate change.

237: The Environmental Toll of the Iran War, with Doug Weir

237: The Environmental Toll of the Iran War, with Doug Weir
Matt talks with Doug Weir (CEOBS) about the overlooked environmental damage of war, tracking Iran conflict incidents, risks to the Persian Gulf, and how military emissions and spending hinder climate accountability.

236: The Man Who Put Carbon Back Underground, with Peter Reinhardt

236: The Man Who Put Carbon Back Underground, with Peter Reinhardt
Matt speaks with Peter Reinhardt of Charm Industrial on scaling carbon removal by turning wildfire wood into underground bio-oil storage, costs, policy barriers, and climate tech’s future.

235: The Fight for Affordable Energy in Rural America with Michelle Moore

235: The Fight for Affordable Energy in Rural America with Michelle Moore
Michelle Moore explains how rising electricity bills, AI-driven data center demand, and federal cuts are straining families, while community solar, efficiency, and rate freezes could protect affordability.

234: Why the War With Iran Is Really About Fossil Fuels, with Miranda Green

234: Why the War With Iran Is Really About Fossil Fuels, with Miranda Green
Matt interviews Miranda Green on how the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupted 20% of global oil and LNG flows, spiked gas prices, exposed fossil fuel dependence, and tied Trump-era policies to energy politics and donors.

233: The Plan to Flip the 2026 Midterms, with Nathaniel Stinnett

233: The Plan to Flip the 2026 Midterms, with Nathaniel Stinnett
Nathaniel Stinnett explains why climate action is stalled: not a lack of concern, but a lack of voter turnout. He shares how the Environmental Voter Project uses data and behavioral science to mobilize non-voting environmentalists.

232: Can Nature Have Rights? The Legal Movement Reshaping Environmentalism, with Katie Surma

232: Can Nature Have Rights? The Legal Movement Reshaping Environmentalism, with Katie Surma
Matt speaks with Inside Climate News reporter Katie Surma about the global rights of nature movement—Indigenous-led protections for whales, Ecuador’s constitutional framework, U.S. legal barriers, and new reporting on environmental inequity.

231: How We Feed the World Without Frying It, with Michael Grunwald

231: How We Feed the World Without Frying It, with Michael Grunwald
Matt talks with journalist Michael Grunwald about We Are Eating the Earth, arguing food and land use drive about a third of emissions. They examine rising meat demand, limits of vegan and organic fixes, Denmark’s farm policy, and realistic climate solutions.