EPISODE · Oct 31, 2025 · 1H 4M
When Climate Work Comes at a Cost: Dispatches From the Upside Down
from Climate One · host Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
Human-caused climate change is fueling extreme floods, wildfires, rising seas, and record-breaking heat all around the world. At the same time, some of the most senior U.S. government officials and other powerful actors are actively defunding climate programs, dismantling research institutions, erasing decades of environmental data, and launching direct attacks on climate professionals. This week’s episode is about what it’s like to be a climate scientist, researcher, or environmental professional trying to do meaningful work in a country with a government that increasingly doesn’t want it. Many have faced harassment, threats, or dismissal — or live in fear that their funding will be frozen or cut. How does it feel to do climate work not just in an era of climate denial, but of deliberate climate erasure? Episode Guests: Rachel Rothschild, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Law School Brent Efron, Senior Manager for Permitting Innovation, Environmental Policy Innovation Center J. Timmons Roberts, Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology, Brown University **For show notes and related links, visit climateone.org/podcasts. Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 03:00 – Brent Efron on how he got into climate work 05:30 – Efron relates a casual date he had in DC 08:00 – Efron is contacted by Project Veritas, who plans to release a video they recorded of his comments about his work at the EPA during the date 11:00 – Hate and public backlash following his remarks, as well as the EPA 13:00 – Efron is contacted by EPA investigators and the FBI 17:30 – His new job in climate policy and how it feels to be doing that work again 21:30 – Rachel Rothschild explains climate superfund laws 25:00 – An organization uses FOIA to request Rothschild’s emails with environmental groups, then filed a lawsuit 32:00 – Personal and professional toll it has taken on her 37:00 – Needing to have threat monitoring 41:00 – How she thinks about her work as a teacher 42:30 – J. Timmons Roberts explains his work on links between offshore wind opposition groups and entities tied to fossil fuel interests 48:00 – Marzulla Law sends a letter to Brown University demanding Roberts’ work be redacted 52:30 – Universities in vulnerable position right now 58:45 – Why uncovering climate obstruction work is so important 59:45 – Climate One More Thing *** 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
Human-caused climate change is fueling extreme floods, wildfires, rising seas, and record-breaking heat all around the world. At the same time, some of the most senior U.S. government officials and other powerful actors are actively defunding climate programs, dismantling research institutions, erasing decades of environmental data, and launching direct attacks on climate professionals. This week’s episode is about what it’s like to be a climate scientist, researcher, or environmental professional trying to do meaningful work in a country with a government that increasingly doesn’t want it. Many have faced harassment, threats, or dismissal — or live in fear that their funding will be frozen or cut. How does it feel to do climate work not just in an era of climate denial, but of deliberate climate erasure? Episode Guests: Rachel Rothschild, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Law School Brent Efron, Senior Manager for Permitting Innovation, Environmental Policy Innovation Center J. Timmons Roberts, Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology, Brown University **For show notes and related links, visit climateone.org/podcasts. Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 03:00 – Brent Efron on how he got into climate work 05:30 – Efron relates a casual date he had in DC 08:00 – Efron is contacted by Project Veritas, who plans to release a video they recorded of his comments about his work at the EPA during the date 11:00 – Hate and public backlash following his remarks, as well as the EPA 13:00 – Efron is contacted by EPA investigators and the FBI 17:30 – His new job in climate policy and how it feels to be doing that work again 21:30 – Rachel Rothschild explains climate superfund laws 25:00 – An organization uses FOIA to request Rothschild’s emails with environmental groups, then filed a lawsuit 32:00 – Personal and professional toll it has taken on her 37:00 – Needing to have threat monitoring 41:00 – How she thinks about her work as a teacher 42:30 – J. Timmons Roberts explains his work on links between offshore wind opposition groups and entities tied to fossil fuel interests 48:00 – Marzulla Law sends a letter to Brown University demanding Roberts’ work be redacted 52:30 – Universities in vulnerable position right now 58:45 – Why uncovering climate obstruction work is so important 59:45 – Climate One More Thing *** 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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When Climate Work Comes at a Cost: Dispatches From the Upside Down
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