Ask MIT Climate

Solar panels, batteries, microgrids, and other emerging energy technologies are making it easier than ever before for a community to produce some or all of its own power. Prof. David Hsu lays out the policies and technologies challenging the traditional, centralized model of the electric grid, including in places that lack reliable access to electricity. As the world strives to make energy cleaner, cheaper, and more accessible, what can local models offer that a big utility can’t—and the other way round? For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e5-microgrid-future For more episodes of Ask MIT Climate, check out askmitclimate.org. Plus, find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for outtakes, bonus content, and more climate knowledge from MIT. As always, we love hearing from our listeners; email us at [email protected].

Climate change is putting pressure not only on humans, but also on our fellow species. How can plants, animals, and other living things survive as their habitats are transformed? In this episode, we explore one way: moving. Dr. Toni Lyn Morelli and Dr. Alexej Sirén help us understand how climate change is shaking up the map of where species live—and what that means for all of us who share this planet. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: ​​https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e4-reshuffling-life-earth. For more episodes of Ask MIT Climate, check out askmitclimate.org. Plus, find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for outtakes, bonus content, and more climate knowledge from MIT. As always, we love hearing from our listeners; email us at [email protected].

The past three years have been the three hottest humanity has ever measured. But who does the measuring, and how? Dr. Samantha Burgess, of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, joins the show to explain how we know the temperature of the Earth, and how a global community of scientists works together to keep tabs on the health of our planet. For show notes and more resources, visit https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e3-taking-earths-temperature Credits Aaron Krol, Writer and Executive Producer Madison Goldberg, Host and Associate Producer Dave Lishansky, Editor and Producer Michelle Harris, Fact-checker Music by Blue Dot Sessions License: CC-BY-NC-SA. View the license terms at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Nuclear power offers huge amounts of round-the-clock energy free of climate-warming pollution. In the United States, it’s also become very expensive to build. As government support grows to bring more nuclear power to the U.S., Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno of MIT joins us to break down how nuclear got so costly and what we can learn from countries with more active nuclear industries. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e2-nuclear-price-tag For more episodes of Ask MIT Climate, check out askmitclimate.org. Plus, find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for outtakes, bonus content, and more climate knowledge from MIT. As always, we love hearing from our listeners; email us at [email protected].

Salt marshes humming with insects and birds. Mangrove forests with tangled, arching roots. Seagrass meadows that blanket the ocean floor. The world’s coastal saltwater wetlands provide shelter for wildlife, purify water, and protect seaside infrastructure. And as Dr. Julie Simpson of MIT tells us, they also have a climate superpower: drawing down and locking away extraordinary amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide.We gratefully acknowledge Professor Heidi Nepf; Ph.D. student Ernie Lee; and undergraduate student Joyce Yambasu of MIT for additional assistance and participation in this episode. Thanks as well to the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and research coordinator Megan Tyrrell.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e1-marshes-mangroves-meadows.For more episodes of Ask MIT Climate, check out askmitclimate.org. Plus, find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for outtakes, bonus content, and more climate knowledge from MIT. As always, we love hearing from our listeners; email us at [email protected].

The eighth season of MIT’s climate change podcast starts next week, and we’ve got some news! TILclimate is now Ask MIT Climate. It’s part of an effort to bring all of our climate change resources under one umbrella and reach learners in as many ways as we can.We’re also diving into video! Find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @askmitclimate for outtakes, bonus content, and more climate knowledge from MIT. And we love hearing from our listeners; email us at [email protected]..

We’re dropping into your feed to share the news that our founding host, Laur Hesse Fisher, is departing MIT and TILclimate. In this episode, Laur sits down with new host Madison Goldberg to talk about the philosophies that have shaped TILclimate over seven seasons and take listeners behind the scenes of the show. They also discuss what’s in store for season eight—because TILclimate isn’t going anywhere.Check out an extended video version of this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB544MVZ9bgFor a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/update-where-weve-been-and-where-were-goingFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Founding Host and Senior EditorMadison Goldberg, Incoming Host and Associate ProducerAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerDanielle Simpson, EditorMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron KrolSpecial thanks to Brett Paci of MIT OpenCourseWare and to the folks at Giro Studio for their help producing this episode.

Power lines may not look as high-tech and inspiring as a wind turbine or a solar field. But as MIT’s Joshua Hodge explains, these lines—and the rest of the sprawling “machine” that is the transmission system—are critical for harnessing clean, cheap, reliable power. In this episode of TILclimate, we explore what we stand to gain from a bigger, better transmission system, and how we might make it happen.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e8-transmission-power-people.For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerMadison Goldberg, Associate ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Here at TILclimate, we’re often asked about the health and environmental effects of materials in solar panels and batteries. But what if the greatest costs are the ones we’re already bearing—from the fossil fuels those technologies would replace? In this episode, pulmonologist Dr. Mary Rice explains how air pollution from coal, oil, and gas can make us sick, and why a cleaner energy system benefits both the climate and our health.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e7-cleaner-air.For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerMadison Goldberg, Associate ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

The world’s demand for batteries to power electric vehicles is growing at incredible speed. What will we do with all these batteries when they die? Dr. Linda Gaines of Argonne National Laboratory joins TILclimate to explain what batteries are made of, how we obtain those materials, and how we can get them back when the batteries reach the end of their lives—along with other options to make this industry less wasteful and more productive.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e6-dealing-dead-batteriesFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerMadison Goldberg, Associate ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Deep beneath the Earth’s surface, a molten stew of metals radiates vast amounts of energy. Prof. Roland Horne, Director of the Stanford Geothermal Program, joins TILclimate to talk about the “geothermal energy” technologies that tap this underground resource for electricity, manufacturing, and home heating and cooling. He also shares the recent breakthroughs that have begun bringing this always-on, clean, renewable source of energy to new places and applications.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e5-geothermal-earths-infinite-clean-powerFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

Modern buildings are complex machines, using heating, cooling and a host of other appliances to turn energy into comfort. But that energy comes with a cost: today, our buildings do more to warm the climate than heavy industry, agriculture, or transportation. Prof. Tarek Rakha provides an architect’s view of buildings and the climate, sharing how we can build anew—and upgrade our existing buildings—to use less energy, lower our living costs, benefit the climate, and live more comfortably, all at the same time.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e4-great-indoorsFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

A new type of climate science is allowing us to draw clearer connections between our warming planet, and the extreme weather events this warming creates. Thanks to “climate change attribution,” scientists can now say confidently when climate change has made a heatwave or hurricane more likely, and by how much. Dr. Andrew Pershing explains how attribution science works, and why this information is useful for understanding and adapting to a warming world.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e3-did-climate-change-doFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

The Earth has gone through massive climate change before—many times over, in fact!—but human civilization has not. Prof. David McGee, a specialist in the study of ancient climates, joins the show to explain what came before the 10,000 years of global stability in which complex human societies emerged and grew. Along the way, we explore the scientific tools used to study the distant past, the great cycles of the ice ages, and what it can all tell us about the climate change we’re experiencing today.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e2-hasnt-climate-changedFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

The way we grow and distribute food today is deeply dependent on fossil fuels, yet that dependence can feel invisible. Sustainable food systems researcher Prof. Jennifer Clapp joins the show to walk us through all the ways fossil fuels are used to produce one simple food item: a tortilla chip. Along the way, we’ll explore the hard work being done to eliminate climate pollution from the food we eat.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/e1-farm-table-side-fossil-fuelsFor more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Climate Project, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Senior EditorAaron Krol, Writer and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerGrace Sawin, Student Production AssistantMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

The landmark Paris Agreement of 2015 gave the world a shared target for halting climate change: that global warming should stop well short of 2 degrees Celsius. But how did that target come about, and what exactly does it mean? Prof. Maria Ivanova, a specialist in international environmental policy, shares with us the history and diplomacy behind those crucial 2 degrees.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Writer and ProducerLindsay Fendt, Science ReporterMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol

The Earth naturally absorbs some of our climate pollution from burning fossil fuels. But how much, and how fast? Geophysicist Prof. Daniel Rothman joins the podcast to explain the nature and scale of the natural carbon cycle, and how our appetite for fossil fuels has pushed it out of balance.For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. CreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and Executive ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerAaron Krol, Writer and ProducerAndrew Moseman, Science ReporterMichelle Harris, Fact CheckerMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron Krol