254. How Fossil Fuel Companies Are Quietly Buying Legal Immunity with David Fenton episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 30, 2026 · 46 MIN

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

from A Climate Change with Matt Matern · host Matthew Matern

Today, Matt is joined by David Fenton - veteran progressive communications strategist and host of The Fenton Forecast - for a conversation about the climate movement’s biggest failure: how it talks, or doesn’t talk, about the crisis. David explains “blanket of pollution” metaphor, and why framing climate action as sacrifice backfires, the soaring insurance costs hitting Americans’ wallets, and the fossil fuel industry’s push for legal immunity as climate lawsuits close in.  Check out The Fenton Forecast here: https://www.fentonforecast.com Learn more about David’s work: https://davidfentonactivist.com David’s book, The Activist’s Media Handbook, is available wherever books are sold. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Guest Bio: David Fenton has spent more than fifty years helping progressive movements win. In 1982 he founded Fenton Communications, the first public relations firm built for nonprofits and public-interest causes, and pioneered the use of PR, advertising, and social media for the environment, public health, and human rights. He is the author of The Activist’s Media Handbook: Lessons from 50 Years as a Progressive Agitator, a senior advisor to Yellow Dot Studios, and host of The Fenton Forecast podcast. Episode Resources The Fenton Forecast: https://www.fentonforecast.com David Fenton: https://davidfentonactivist.com The Activist’s Media Handbook Yellow Dot Studios: https://yellowdotstudios.com A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 30, 2026

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Matt speaks with communications strategist David Fenton, host of The Fenton Forecast, about why the climate movement keeps losing the messaging war. They discuss “climate hushing,” the jargon that alienates people, the fossil fuel immunity push, and why simply talking about climate is itself a solution.

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

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