EPISODE · Sep 26, 2025 · 1H 10M
Scientists Who Won’t Be Silenced
from Climate One · host Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
Within the federal government, science — especially climate science — has taken a beating. The Trump administration has moved from climate denial to climate erasure, firing thousands of career scientists across departments, rolling back established landmark protections, and undermining its own authority to regulate pollutants like carbon emissions. Even at the UN General Assembly, Trump referred to green energy as a “scam” and said climate science came from “stupid people.” But climate scientists aren’t all taking it lying down. From former EPA researchers to independent academics, many are heroically maintaining open-access databases and continuing fundamental research like the National Climate Assessment without the administration’s blessing. Guests: Brandon Jones, President, American Geophysical Union Wes Ingwersen, Lead, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative Rachel Cleetus, Senior Policy Director, Climate and Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 3:23 - Brandon Jones on how the Trump administration has treated science 6:35 - Brandon Jones on what’s next for scientists who were laid off 10:58 - Brandon Jones on continuing to collect climate data 13:18 - Wes Ingwersen on the creation of USEEIO 22:24 - Wes Ingwersen on how EPA changed when Lee Zeldin took over 31:24 - Wes Ingwersen on when EPA employees decided to speak out 37:31 - Wes Ingwersen on taking his work to Stanford 42:28 - Rachel Cleetus on DOE climate report 51:27 - Rachel Cleetus on agency staff cuts 60:40 - Rachel Cleetus on how the scientific community is responding *** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
Within the federal government, science — especially climate science — has taken a beating. The Trump administration has moved from climate denial to climate erasure, firing thousands of career scientists across departments, rolling back established landmark protections, and undermining its own authority to regulate pollutants like carbon emissions. Even at the UN General Assembly, Trump referred to green energy as a “scam” and said climate science came from “stupid people.” But climate scientists aren’t all taking it lying down. From former EPA researchers to independent academics, many are heroically maintaining open-access databases and continuing fundamental research like the National Climate Assessment without the administration’s blessing. Guests: Brandon Jones, President, American Geophysical Union Wes Ingwersen, Lead, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative Rachel Cleetus, Senior Policy Director, Climate and Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction 3:23 - Brandon Jones on how the Trump administration has treated science 6:35 - Brandon Jones on what’s next for scientists who were laid off 10:58 - Brandon Jones on continuing to collect climate data 13:18 - Wes Ingwersen on the creation of USEEIO 22:24 - Wes Ingwersen on how EPA changed when Lee Zeldin took over 31:24 - Wes Ingwersen on when EPA employees decided to speak out 37:31 - Wes Ingwersen on taking his work to Stanford 42:28 - Rachel Cleetus on DOE climate report 51:27 - Rachel Cleetus on agency staff cuts 60:40 - Rachel Cleetus on how the scientific community is responding *** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Scientists Who Won’t Be Silenced
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