The Meaning of Green
80 episodes — Page 1 of 2
S7 Episode 2: All Politics Is Local
S7 Episode 1: Harry Potter and the Jante Law
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
S6 Episode 4: A Cruel Bargain
Class, race, and leaf blowers, Monticello, strong vs. weak local powers, The Birds, and Cate Blanchett
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
S5 Episode 6: Dear Rich White People
Yachts, inequalities reminiscent of the robber barons, and why we must target the rich with climate policies
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
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
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
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"
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
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)
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
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
S4 Episode 8: Smoke and Mirrors
Smoky skies, hiking the Oregon desert, wolves, tightening an air pollution standard, Aristotle, and the gospel of GDP
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
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
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
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
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
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
S4 Episode 1: Pilgrims and Progress 2022
Stories of abundance that fall short, and the disconnect between well being and economic growth
S4 Preview: Déjà Vu and a New US Climate Law
August surprise: Why the US climate and renewable energy policy window slammed open now
S3 Episode 10: Dignity and Banditry
Season 3's finale highlights common themes from places visited in the US, Ukraine, Panama, Kenya, and Brazil
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
S3 Episode 8: Elephants Grow Grasslands, Cows Grow Trees (Pt. 1)
Elephant talk, populations decimated from ivory poaching, the Maasai as ecologists, and Waza
S3 Episode 7: Gems of Ukraine
Community based management and biodiversity in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains
S3 Episode 6: I Took the Isthmus
The Panama Canal's dependence on forests, a red phone, toucans, and US imperialism
S3 Episode 5: Garbage In, Garbage Out, and Charlottesville
Race, catadores, garbage transport, and innovation in Italy and Maine
S3 Episode 4: Breaking Even With Nature
The Berlin Wall fall effect, German citizens as renewable energy investors, and a soy field
S3 Episode 3: Some Germans Wake Up Earlier
Germany's energy transition, a pathbreaking court decision on intergenerational climate justice, and a coffee mug
S3 Episode 2: The Power Game
Coal dust pollution, racism, and the many faces of power
S3 Episode 1: Coal Dust Is Black
Vulnerable communities fight for clean air in Appalachia and in Norfolk, Virginia
S3 Preview: Flying Rivers
Magical water delivery systems in Brazil and in the US.
Silver Bullet: Earth Day Bonus Episode
Carbon taxes around the world and public skepticism about economists' claims
S2 Episode 10.1: Resistance
Spillovers, farmers who resist, and the singing revolution
S2 Episode 10.0: Community
Season finale, part 1: unequal burdens, democracy in America, Earth rules, and global connections
S2 Ep 10 Sneak Peek: Irish-Native American lifelines
S2 Ep 10 Sneak Peek: Irish-Native American lifelines by Dr. Vivian Thomson