A Fighting Chance

Climate negotiator turned influencer Lia Newman spent years at the global climate conferences we only read about. She walked me through what it feels like to be inside the “room where it happens.” From negotiating on behalf of 330 million Americans to talking to them directly on social media, Lia shares why focusing on climate matters.  

Hank Green is obsessed with what people pay attention to. He has spent nearly two decades making videos about complicated things like biology, physics, or the history of the universe, so accessible and entertaining that you actually want to share them with your friends. He talks about what gets him passionate about the climate fight and the vital solutions to motivate people to make real change.

Bill McKibben wrote the first popular book on climate change, The End of Nature, and after nearly four decades in the climate fight, and seeing many of his most dire predictions come true, something is making him feel sunnier: solar. In his newest book, Here Comes the Sun, he shows how producing renewable energy is now actually cheaper than extracting fossil fuels. If politics gets out of the way, market forces can do the rest. Here’s how to get there.

Jane Fonda shares profound stories from her life of activism, entertainment, and new film GASLIT - where she follows the fracking supply chain on a road trip through Texan oil fields and Gulf Coast, meeting locals protecting communities from the predatory industries dominating the region. For more on Gaslit: https://gaslitdoc.com/  

The climate movement has diversity and gatekeeping problems. Founder of Brown Girl Green and the Green Jobs Board, Kristy Drutman has a platform that connects over 150,000 job seekers with climate-focused employers. Every job, she says, can be a green job. You just have to know where to look.  

Why do so many tree planting projects fail? Charles talks with Paco Calvo, head of the Minimal Intelligence Lab, and forest restoration expert Anna Loi, about treating plants as partners instead of as resources. It just might change how you see every living thing around you.

Oil workers are some of the fiercest opponents of climate policy but Norman Rogers, a refinery worker and labor organizer, is putting fossil fuel workers front and center in the climate movement. He reminds us that fossil fuel workers aren't the enemy of climate action - they're the people who build what comes next. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe or follow! It really helps us spread the word.You can learn more about A Fighting Chance at afightingchancepod.org and Climate California at climatecalifornia.orgFollow us and give us feedback:(NorCal to insert) Want more environmental storytelling? Support NorCal Public Media’s Center for Environmental Reporting at norcalpublicmedia.org/donate

Meet Cesar Aguirre, a community organizer who's fought Big Oil and won. Communities living near oil production risk breathing toxic air and drinking contaminated water. His team protected homes, schools, and hospitals from drilling by defeating a dangerous industry referendum in California. Cesar shows us what ground zero of the climate crisis is like - and it’s hidden in plain sight.

Meet the Yurok Tribe of California. They’re behind the world’s largest dam removal project and huge advocates of cultural burns. Their work matters, because by reminding us of the history of water and fire, they’re helping us rewrite the future of the planet.

Most consider climate policy as a liberal viewpoint, but one conservative is leading the charge to take partisanship out of environmental politics. Meet Benji Backer, founder of Nature is Nonpartisan. In 2025, Benji landed a huge victory when President Trump issued an executive order called “Make America Beautiful Again”, establishing a council to conserve public lands, protect wildlife, and expand access to clean drinking water. This convo explores the partisan tensions pervading the climate movement - and how to overcome them. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe or follow! It really helps us spread the word. You can learn more about A Fighting Chance at afightingchancepod.org and Climate California at climatecalifornia.org Follow us or give us feedback!Instagram: @norcalpublicmedia, @climate.californiaYouTube: @northerncaliforniapublicmediaTikTok: @norcalpublicmediaEmail: [email protected] Want more environmental storytelling? Support NorCal Public Media’s Center for Environmental Reporting at norcalpublicmedia.org/donate  

If we want to get any progress done on climate change, we have to persuade the people who deny it. Traditionally, one of the largest groups of deniers are Evangelical Protestants. Charles meets with William Morris at GreenFaith, an international collective that unites local religious groups of all faiths to protect the environment. They’ve led divestment campaigns, won oil setbacks, and they’re just getting started. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe or follow! It really helps us spread the word. You can learn more about A Fighting Chance at afightingchancepod.org and Climate California at climatecalifornia.org Follow us or give us feedback!Instagram: @norcalpublicmedia, @climate.californiaYouTube: @northerncaliforniapublicmediaTikTok: @norcalpublicmediaEmail: [email protected] Want more environmental storytelling? Support NorCal Public Media’s Center for Environmental Reporting at norcalpublicmedia.org/donate

From NorCal Public Media, Emmy-winning filmmaker/host Charles Loi bridges the hard realities of climate change with the optimism of new possibilities and solutions, giving listeners renewed hope to hold onto. Subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.