Chrysalis with John Fiege

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/26-christi-cooper-the-biggest-crime-against-humanity-everListen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate.The oil industry is scared. The impacts of climate change are upon us, and oil companies knew decades ago that burning fossil fuels would warm the planet.Listen on Apple PodcastsA paper published in the journal Nature in March of 2026 by several Stanford University researchers quantifies the economic impacts of fossil fuel emissions, concluding, for example, that emissions in the U.S. since 1990 have caused over $10 trillion in economic damages worldwide—what they call a conservative estimate. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.Even if emissions were to go to zero today, the future economic damages from past emissions would be, as the researchers write, “at least an order of magnitude larger than historical damages from the same emissions.”Listen on YouTubeWhat this all means for oil companies is massive liability. Their actions caused measurable economic harm to people, they knew that their activities would cause climate change, and they’ve spent decades dumping money into efforts to prevent emissions reductions.They’re scared, and they should be.On April 23, 2026, Emily Atkin, writing in the Heated newsletter, and Dharna Noor, writing in the Guardian, both reported on a bill introduced by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Republican Representative Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, dubbed the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026.Listen on CaptivateIts purpose, it states, is “To prohibit liability against those engaged in the mining, extraction, production, refinement, transportation, distribution, marketing, manufacture, or sale of energy for damages or injunctive or other relief from the use of their products, and for other purposes.”In other words, if this bill passes, it would strip Americans of their right to sue oil companies for many of the damages they’ve caused. A similar piece of legislation passed in 2005, called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which largely shields gun manufacturers and dealers from legal liability.Currently, there are lawsuits in courts all over the country attempting to hold oil companies and governments accountable for climate impacts. If the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026 passes, then those pending lawsuits will be dismissed, as well.One of the first significant lawsuits of this kind is Juliana v. United States. My guest, Christi Cooper, made a documentary called Youth v. Gov, about this historic case, filmed as it was moving through the courts.Christi has an interesting story. She studied science and earned a PhD in neuroscience, going as far as to become a professor in Sweden before leaving everything behind to go study environmental filmmaking. She became an award-winning documentary filmmaker, including an Emmy award for cinematography. Youth v. Gov was released worldwide in 2022, when it premiered on Netflix.Listen on SpotifyIn this conversation, we dive into the Juliana case and the legal arguments against governments that fail to protect their citizens from the harms of climate change. Lawsuits against governments differ from those against oil companies, but they make similar legal arguments. In both cases, the defendants knew about the harms of climate change but failed to take meaningful action to prevent those harms.The lead attorney in the Juliana case, Julia Olson, calls the climate crisis, “the biggest crime against humanity ever.” Julia responded to this crime by helping these young people sue the government. Christi responded by making a film about what happened.I’m John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films.I met Christi at an environmental filmmaking retreat at Sundance in 2018, when she was still in production on Youth v. Gov. We recorded this conversation on July 15, 2021.Here is Christi Cooper.Quotation Read by Christi Cooper“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened” ―John F. KennedyUpdate on Juliana v. United StatesThis conversation was recorded in the summer of 2021, and the plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States had to wait years for a decision. On Dec. 29, 2023, Judge Aiken of the federal district court for the District of Oregon allowed the case to proceed to trial; but just a few months later, on May 1, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals directed Judge Aiken’s lower court to dismiss Juliana v. United States for lack of standing, with no option to amend. The plaintiffs filed a petition for a rehearing from the Ninth Circuit Court, which they denied on July 12, 2024. The plaintiffs then filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to revive the case, which they denied on March 24, 2025. Many of the same plaintiffs then filed a petition against the U.S. government with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.Notes and Media RecommendationsYouth v Gov Directed by Christi Cooper https://www.youthvgovfilm.com/Stories of Trust: Calling for Climate Recovery Directed by Christi Cooperhttps://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/short-filmsJuliana v. United Stateshttps://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/juliana-v-usLearning from the '60s By Audre Lordehttps://blackpast.org/african-american-history/1982-audre-lorde-learning-60s/Juliana v. United States https://static1.squarespace.com/static/571d109b04426270152febe0/t/57a35ac5ebbd1ac03847eece/1470323398409/YouthAmendedComplaintAgainstUS.pdfThe Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the U.S. Government over Climate Change By Elizabeth Rusch https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-twenty-one-elizabeth-rusch?variant=40980358365218CreditsThis episode was researched and edited by Gabriela Cordoba Vivas, with additional editing by Isabella Fleming, Amy Cavanaugh, and Marta Kondratiuk. Music is by Daniel Rodriguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/25-abraham-joffe-the-polar-bear-tradeListen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate.Why is there an international trade in polar bear body parts, despite their iconic status as a symbol of climate change?More than any other animal, the polar bear is an icon of climate change.Considering this iconic status, you might be surprised to learn that there is an international trade in polar bears.In the early days of talking about the greenhouse effect, scientists and activists had a hard time getting the public to care about the abstract, seemingly far-off threat of climate change.Listen on Apple PodcastsPolar bears, however, offered a story and a powerful visual to help the pubic understand the possible consequences of a changing climate.The diet of a polar bear is composed almost exclusively of seals, and they hunt those seals almost entirely on the sea ice in the Arctic. As the climate warms and the Arctic sea ice disappears, polar bears have much less habitat to hunt seals.Scientists in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s began to document the loss of sea ice and eventually its impact on polar bears. By the late 1990s, polar bears began to appear in the media as symbols of climate change. The iconic status of these charismatic, fuzzy, white teddy-bear-like animals, and their extraordinarily adorable cubs, achieved new heights in 2006, when the Academy Award-winning Al Gore climate change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, used polar bears in their graphics as a symbol for the threat of climate change.Listen on YouTubeIn 2008, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listed polar bears under the Endangered Species Act, making the polar bear the first animal listed soley due to the threat of climate change. Despite arguments from some scientists and activists that the polar bear deserved an endangered listing, the highest level of protection, due to the dire prospects for sea ice, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under George W. Bush decided to list polar bears only as threatened, one level below endangered.Over the years, there has been a lot of debate about whether the polar bear should have been used as the symbol of climate change. The criticism is largely that polar bears and the Arctic can seem far away and unrelated to people's lives and the immediate threats of climate change to people all over the world. Polar bears, critics argued, were not the best symbol for mobilizing the public to demand an immediate reduction of carbon emissions.Listen on SpotifyRegardless of whether polar bears were an effective icon of climate change, the fact is that their future in the wild is in grave danger.The lowest levels of sea ice in the Arctic typically occur in September, and the largest global climate models predict that the Arctic will be practically free of sea ice in September by 2050, if not before.It is on the context that the Australlian flimmaker, Abraham Joffw, has released his film about the global trade in polar bears, called Trade Secret. I was shocked to hear that a trade in polar bears even exists, as was Abraham when he forst learned of it. Some of the trade is illegal, but much of it is legal, and there are countires and other powerful players fighting to keep the trade open.Listen on CaptivateTaking joy or profit in buying or selling the body parts of endangered animals seems to plumb the depths of depravity, but sadly it's a reality; and Abraham's film brings this story to light in a captivating way.I saw Trade Secret last fall during Climate Week in New York City, at the Climate Film Festival, where my film Raising Aniya was also screening. Soon after the screening, Abraham sat down with me to discuss how he found this story and the epic journey to make the film.I'm John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films.Here is Abraham Joffe.Notes and Media Recommendations:An Accidental Icon https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/polar-bear-climage-change-iconWhy Polar Bears Became an Icon of Climate Change https://www.earth.com/news/polar-bears-climate-change-2/Bearing Witness? Polar Bears as Icons for Climate Change Communication in National Geographic https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2018.1435557Why the Climate Movement doesn't Talk About Polar Bears Anymore https://grist.org/culture/climate-change-polar-bears-symbol-history/The Polar Bear as a Climate Icon https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/polar-bear-as-a-climate-iconWhy Polar Bears are no Longer the Poster Image of Climate Change https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231113-climate-change-why-photos-of-polar-bears-dont-workThe polar bear became an 'accidental icon' of climate change. Is it time to rethink that? https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whatonearth/retire-polar-bear-as-climate-icon-1.6555579The Big Meltdown https://time.com/archive/6742122/the-big-meltdown/Arctic Meltdown, TIME Magazine, September 4, 2000https://content.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20000904,00.htmlMove over, polar bears: Climate change has a new symbolhttps://grist.org/article/move-over-polar-bears-climate-change-has-a-new-symbol/Polar bears https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear/Polar Bears: Listing Under the Endangered Species Acthttps://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33941.htmlPolar Bear Designation Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-study/polar-bear-designation-under-us-endangered-species-actCourt Upholds Endangered Species Act Protection for Polar Bearshttps://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/court-upholds-endangered-species-act-protection-polar-bearsThe Polar Bear as a Climate Icon https://polarjournal.net/the-polar-bear-as-a-climate-icon/Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Extent - Earth Indicatorhttps://science.nasa.gov/earth/explore/earth-indicators/arctic-sea-ice-minimum-extent/#:~:text=Key%20Takeaway:,decade%20due%20to%20warmer%20temperatures.Charctic Interactive Sea Ice...

Subscribe to Chrysalis at https://www.johnfiege.earth/Show notes: https://www.johnfiege.earth/24-laura-dunn-live-prophets-liveListen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Captivate.If you’re concerned about what we’re doing to the climate and ecosystems around the planet and you’ve ever expressed those concerns to anyone, you probably know what it feels like to be seen as a Cassandra—the pessimist, the naysayer, the party pooper of Greek mythology. But the part of the myth we often forget is that Cassandra was a truth teller. She was right!The theater artist and activist, Laura Dunn, has brought the myth of Cassandra into an uproarious cabaret musical, called Live! Prophets! Live!, where Cassandra is a scientist who journeys into the underworld, where she meets many other truth-telling, trouble-making, prophetic woman from across the ages and confronts the very modern problems of climate change and ecological catastrophe.Listen to Chrysalis on Apple Podcats Laura Dunn is a multitalented theater artist: a playwright, actor, musician, composer, and activist. She’s also a poet and recipient of the Oregon Literary Fellowship from Literary Arts. Through her nonprofit theater company in Portland, Oregon, called The Broken Planetarium, she creates original productions that bring together professional artists and people new to theater. This kind of theater is all too rare, but it has a special ability to build community and draw more people into creativity and performance—and into a fun, campy, important discussion about how to change the world for the better.Listen on SpotifyPhoto Courtesy of Laura DunnI'm John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films.Listen on YouTubeI recorded this conversation in November of 2022. You can see Laura's lastest productions at brokenplanetarium.org.Here is Laura Dunn.Recommended Readings & Media:Spider Blue By Laura Dunn https://dulcetshop.myshopify.com/products/spider-blue-laura-christina-dunn?ref=brokenplanetarium.orgPissed-Off Prophets & Climate Catastrophe: The Broken Planetarium's Live! Prophets! Live! By Brett Campbell, for Oregon Arts Watchhttps://www.orartswatch.org/pissed-off-prophets-climate-catastrophe-the-broken-planetariums-live-prophets-live/How to Make Thrilling Theater About Climate Change Negotiations By Alex Marshall, for the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/theater/kyoto-royal-shakespeare-company.htmlCreditsThis episode was researched by Lydia Montgomery and edited by Sarah Westrich, with additional editing by Isabella Fleming, Arthur Koenig, and Marta Kondratiuk. Music is by Daniel Rodriguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.-----------Subscribe at https://www.johnfiege.earth/