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The Meaning of Green

The Meaning of Green

80 episodes — Page 1 of 2

S7 Episode 2: All Politics Is Local

May 31, 202630 min

S7 Episode 1: Harry Potter and the Jante Law

Apr 30, 202628 min

S6 Bonus Episode: Thus Always to Tyrants

John Gaventa and Gabe Schwartzman on their provocative new book about power and a post-coal future in Appalachia, and Kathy Selvage, a coal miner's daughter and anti-coal activist, on exploitation by coal companies and The Nature Conservancy

Feb 4, 202633 min

S6 Episode 10: Scotland the Brave

Green-minded Scots demand a say in wind farm expansions, the UK's aggressive climate change program, Ralph Nader and Al Gore, and a dog theft law

Jan 4, 202631 min

S6 Episode 9: Greed, Groupthink, and Carbon Inequality

A new exposé called Profit vs. Progress, how the wealthy dump on the rest of us and what to do about it, and Democracy in America

Dec 2, 202532 min

S6 Episode 8: Trash and Power

Of manatees and Mata Hari, happiness vs. stuff, George Carlin, Mt. Trashmore in Miami, reducing waste in Canada, the US, and the EU, and a controversial trash incinerator

Nov 1, 202530 min

S6 Episode 7: Damming and Undamming

The Klamath River undammed, a dam proposal likened to flooding the Sistine Chapel, fighting to preserve the forests that feed the Panama Canal, and Brazil's energy transition

Sep 28, 202531 min

S6 Episode 6: Weapons of the Weak

Trembitas, community-based conservation in Ukraine, Europe's magnificent beech forests, and why we should care about biodiversity

Aug 31, 202529 min

S6 Episode 5: Germans Know How to Party

Trabis, asparagus fests, Germany's "two voices" elections, the Berlin Wall, Angela Merkel, the Greens, and climate/energy progress

Jul 31, 202530 min

S6 Episode 4: A Cruel Bargain

Class, race, and leaf blowers, Monticello, strong vs. weak local powers, The Birds, and Cate Blanchett

Jun 30, 202529 min

S6 Episode 3: Janis and the Sea of Forested Hills

Brazil's singular Atlantic Forest, coffee, gold, a creature named Janis, and the intertwined histories of indigenous people, slaves, British railroads, and Japanese immigrants in Brazil

May 31, 202529 min

S6 Episode 2: Let Them Drink Lead

Who could lose the most from overturning pollution standards for air pollution, toxic chemicals, and lead in drinking water, a box of chocolates, and the dry cleaners of Palm Springs

Apr 14, 202532 min

S6 Episode 1: All the President's Men

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 2025, why we have the federal civil service, "ambition must be made to counter ambition", SpaceX threatens ocelots, and the Everly Brothers

Mar 6, 202532 min

S5 Episode 10: The Great Rice Fiasco

Japan's 2024 elections, sea turtles, rice prices, recycling rules, Japan's energy insecurity, and the proximity principle

Jan 11, 202530 min

S5 Episode 9: Behind the Curtain in Wonderland

Trump voters on climate change, red state renewables, Republican tariffs that could lower our carbon footprints, and the March Hare's generous offer

Nov 30, 202430 min

S5 Episode 8: Will Climate Change Influence US Swing State Voters?

The potential impacts on swing state elections of climate change, the Inflation Reduction Act's largesse, extreme weather, state demographics, and surges in voter registration

Oct 18, 202430 min

S5 Episode 7: "A Crisis Waiting to Occur"

Why swing states rule in the US's presidential elections, legal experts' fears about election stealing in 2024, and how direct popular election failed in the US Congress

Oct 15, 202430 min

S5 Episode 6: Dear Rich White People

Yachts, inequalities reminiscent of the robber barons, and why we must target the rich with climate policies

Aug 31, 202431 min

S5 Episode 5: The Silly Party Takes Westminster

Labour's victory in the UK, aggressive climate plans, a famous lettuce, and an introduction to carbon inequality

Jul 28, 202430 min

S5 Ep 4S5 Episode 4: European or Italian First?

A guide to the European Parliament elections, the EU's climate and energy "moonshot," bicycling in Denmark, and the 10-50 rule

Jun 9, 202430 min

S5 Episode 3: Will Panama Be Green?

Panama's unprecedented elections, massive demonstrations over the environment and foreign influence, toucans, and a tragedy with echoes of the US's colonial presence in Panama

May 5, 202431 min

S5 Episode 2: And Then There's Bhopal

Why politicians have (at times) taken strong environmental action in the US, the UK, Brazil, Germany, and Japan, and why those who were killed at Bhopal "were the lucky ones"

Apr 3, 202428 min

S5 Episode 1: The Greens, Tasmania, and Tricky Dick

Greens in Europe and in Australia, Lake Pedder, "Iron Pants" Muskie, the Clean Water Act, and excerpts from Nixon's secret Oval Office tapes

Mar 1, 202431 min

S5 Ep 1S5 Preview: Chain of Fools

2024 and elections worldwide, the states in the US's national elections, and carbon inequality (or, the rich vs. everyone else)

Jan 17, 202430 min

S4 Episode 10: The Devil's Hair Dryer

Grass, leaf blowers, and environmental justice, with stops across the US and in Canada, Brazil, and the EU

Sep 16, 202329 min

S4 Episode 9: The Unicorn and the Lion

Scotland and the rest of the UK leave coal behind, Net Zero, modern struggles between the unicorn and the lion, and my Scottish grandfather

Aug 6, 202330 min

S4 Episode 8: Smoke and Mirrors

Smoky skies, hiking the Oregon desert, wolves, tightening an air pollution standard, Aristotle, and the gospel of GDP

Jul 1, 202330 min

S4 Episode 7: Mt. Mitchell, Zöbelboden, and the Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, forests in the US and Austria, an ecologist's lunch with coal executives, and a speech by Margaret Thatcher

May 29, 202330 min

S4 Episode 6: Everything Is a Size You Can't See

The Brazilian Amazon forest and the Cristalino River take us on an unforgettable journey, while the violence of history and politics of the present shadow our steps

Apr 29, 202330 min

S4 Episode 5: The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg

The most polluted city on earth, seeing Brazil's forests from many angles, the US government and Brazil's military coup, and George Santos's shoes

Mar 31, 202329 min

S4 Episode 4: Shotgun Marriage, Kittens

An historic African American school and a proposed mega-landfill, what happens when landfill protections fail, the proximity principle, and a fierce battle over clean air in Los Angeles

Feb 19, 202330 min

S4 Episode 3: Shotgun Marriage, Cats

Water wars in the American West, US Supreme Court cases on climate change, and state-level renewable energy achievements

Jan 30, 202330 min

S4 Episode 2: The Wings of a Butterfly

The US's messy political system, the states, and a butterfly that affected the course of US climate politics

Jan 2, 202327 min

S4 Episode 1: Pilgrims and Progress 2022

Stories of abundance that fall short, and the disconnect between well being and economic growth

Nov 28, 202231 min

S4 Preview: Déjà Vu and a New US Climate Law

August surprise: Why the US climate and renewable energy policy window slammed open now

Sep 6, 202214 min

S3 Episode 10: Dignity and Banditry

Season 3's finale highlights common themes from places visited in the US, Ukraine, Panama, Kenya, and Brazil

Jun 21, 202230 min

S3 Episode 9: Elephants Grow Grasslands, Cows Grow Trees (Pt. 2)

Wildlife as government cattle in Kenya, colonialism and conservation, experts Dr. Cynthia Moss, Dr. Winnie Kiiru, Dr. David Western, Dr. Paula Kahumbu, Nobel Laureate Dr. Elinor Ostrom, and Kenyan musicians Winyo and Suzanna Owiyo

May 4, 202230 min

S3 Episode 8: Elephants Grow Grasslands, Cows Grow Trees (Pt. 1)

Elephant talk, populations decimated from ivory poaching, the Maasai as ecologists, and Waza

Apr 24, 202229 min

S3 Episode 7: Gems of Ukraine

Community based management and biodiversity in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains

Mar 18, 202229 min

S3 Episode 6: I Took the Isthmus

The Panama Canal's dependence on forests, a red phone, toucans, and US imperialism

Feb 6, 202230 min

S3 Episode 5: Garbage In, Garbage Out, and Charlottesville

Race, catadores, garbage transport, and innovation in Italy and Maine

Jan 1, 202229 min

S3 Episode 4: Breaking Even With Nature

The Berlin Wall fall effect, German citizens as renewable energy investors, and a soy field

Nov 20, 202130 min

S3 Episode 3: Some Germans Wake Up Earlier

Germany's energy transition, a pathbreaking court decision on intergenerational climate justice, and a coffee mug

Oct 11, 202130 min

S3 Episode 2: The Power Game

Coal dust pollution, racism, and the many faces of power

Sep 3, 202130 min

S3 Episode 1: Coal Dust Is Black

Vulnerable communities fight for clean air in Appalachia and in Norfolk, Virginia

Aug 26, 202129 min

S3 Preview: Flying Rivers

Magical water delivery systems in Brazil and in the US.

Jul 30, 202123 min

Silver Bullet: Earth Day Bonus Episode

Carbon taxes around the world and public skepticism about economists' claims

Apr 22, 202129 min

S2 Episode 10.1: Resistance

Spillovers, farmers who resist, and the singing revolution

Dec 30, 202030 min

S2 Episode 10.0: Community

Season finale, part 1: unequal burdens, democracy in America, Earth rules, and global connections

Dec 13, 202027 min

S2 Ep 10 Sneak Peek: Irish-Native American lifelines

S2 Ep 10 Sneak Peek: Irish-Native American lifelines by Dr. Vivian Thomson

Dec 3, 20202 min